ABRIDGED SAN FENG WUDANG SET AND THE 10 ESSENTIALS
Abridged San Feng Wudang Set
Question
With so many beautiful Taijiquan patterns to choose from, what is the significance of the patterns you chose for the Abridged San Feng Set? How do they relate to the 10 Essentials and Cultivating Spirit Training Energy?
Sifu Tim Franklin, Shaolin Wahnam UK
Answer
When I composed the Abridge San Feng Set, I considered three important factors:
- The patterns must come from the original set.
- The abridged set must be significantly shorter than the original set.
- The abridged set must express the philosophy of the original set.
All the patterns from the abridged set come from the original set. For example, One-Finger Shoot Zen, the treasure of our school, is a wonderful pattern, but it is not in the original set.
The San Feng Set has 80 patterns whereas the abridged set has only 16. It is significantly shorter, being less than one quarter the length of the original set.
The San Feng Set is actually the abridge version of the Wudang Taijiquan Set. The Wudang Taijiquan Set has 140 patterns, whereas the San Feng Set has 80. I remember that you mentioned the Wudang Taijiquan is too long, and you requested that I abridged it.
The abridged set expresses the philosophy of the original set. Both sets relate to the 10 Essentials of Taijiquan. How the abridged set relates to the 10 essentials will become clear when I discuss each of the essentials as follows.
Here are the 10 Essentials of Taijiquan.
- Empty the mind of all thoughts
- Do not tense any muscles
- Loosen the waist
- Apply the principle of false-real
- Apply the principle of sinking and pressing
- Use intention, not strength
- Co-ordinate the top and bottom part of the body
- Integrate internal and external aspects of training
- Perform patterns continuously in one gentle, graceful flow without any break
- Movement in stillness and stillness in movement
The principle of false-real is important. In “Wild Horse Charges at Stable”, for example, if an opponent is slow or cannot defend against the attack, the attack becomes real. If he wards off or avoids the attack, it becomes false.
The abridged set applies the principle of sinking and pressing. “Play the Lute” is an example of this principle. If an opponent attacks with a thrust punch, we need not move our legs but sink our body to avoid his full force, and at the same time break his arm. “Receive Wind Push Door” is an example of pressing. We press in with a palm strike. If the opponent wards off or avoid the palm strike, we press in with another palm strike.
It is necessary to use intention, not strength. It is using chi flow to perform the abridged set, or to employ patterns from the set for attack and defence. We can be fast and powerful without being tired and without panting for breaths.
We need to co-ordinate the top and the bottom part of our body. In “Cosmos First Emerges”, for example, if co-ordination is bad, we would not be able to perform the pattern well.
The internal and external aspects of training are always integrated. Whatever pattern we perform, there is internal force, which is the internal aspect. The internal force is generated by its form, which is external.
We perform the whole set, or use patterns of the set in application, in one continuous movement without any break. We may, for relative beginners or when it is suitable, break down the set into sequences, but we perform a sequence in one continuous flow.
There is stillness in movement, and movement in stillness. When we perform any sequence, our mind is still, which means calm and clear. When we are still, like observing an opponent, our chi flow and we are ready for action.
The Abridge San Feng Set can be used to cultivate spirit and train energy at different levels, which may be conveniently classified into basic, intermediate and advanced.
At the Cultivating Spirit Training Energy course, we may also use the methods of Five Dan Tians, or Five Energy Fields, and from Dragon Strength.
As a result, participants at the courses in the UK Summer Camp, Puerto Rico and Penang, will have better spirit and energy. It will be multiple-teaching, i.e. participants will benefit according to their individual levels.
One smooth continuous flow without break
The questions and answers are reproduced from the thread Questions to Grandmaster on Wudang Kungfu/Taijiquan & Zhang San Feng in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.
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