NAME OF TECHNIQUES
Commencement posture
Cross hands-closing
Repeat

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
How to use intent to drive movement
How to use intent to formulate the body structure

WHAT YOU LEARN

Commencement posture
How to root naturally
How to lengthen the spine to stand upright properly
How to open up the body internally
How to create the 3 Chi Rings
Using the Small Chi Sphere to integrate the external to the internal

Cross hands and closing
How to become one with the ancient bell
How to bring the internal energy into the body
How to rise using internal energy
Sinking the internal energy and dissolving the 3 Chi Rings
Lowering and raising the bell clapper
Using the bell clapper to compact the spine from top to bottom
Achieving inner stillness and emptiness

DESCRIPTION OF TECHNIQUES

Commencement Posture

Stand with feet together; calm your mind. Imagine a hazy cloud of chi is descending from above your head, envelopes you and continues descending into the ground.

Like how cold air descends and hot air rises, the hazy cloud of chi how comes together between your feet and rises upwards to enter your body from the tailbone and continues to rise upwards until it exits the top of your head.

In your mind see a dot emerge from the ground on your right. The dot rises to your waist height, pauses, glows. The dot then rises to your shoulder height and moves from your right to your left horizontally. As this is happening, part your left foot to your left. The dot stops when it is in front of you.

The dot glows fuzzily in front of you. The dot moves towards your throat and enters it. As it does so, let your eyes gaze out at the bottom even as you take in what you are seeing from the top. Allow your neck to move back to touch your collar. Your chin will feel slightly tucked in.

The dot descends to the top of your chest where it becomes a stone. Relax and allow your chest to open sideways. This enables your chest to open like a pair of swing doors to allow the stone to drop downwards towards your crotch.

As the stone descends down towards the level of your elbows, open up your elbows sideways, allowing the stone to pass down.

As the stone reaches your dantian, imagine the stone hitting a pool of still water, causing the water to ripple outwards. This ripple causes your back to fill out. Then your wrists elongate.

The stone continues its downward journey, arriving at your crotch. At this point the stone splits into two, becoming two energetic flow.

Each flow continues moving down along the inside of your legs, going down the thighs, passing the knees, calves, ankles and finally to the Yongquan acupoint.

The two energy flows then ascends up the outer side of your legs. The energy flows continue up it reaches the side of your hips. Then each energy flow turns inwards to meet at the Mingmen point, becoming a pulsing energy dot.

From the Mingmen point, the energy dot descends down to the tailbone where it pauses for a quick second, before going forward and up to the front of your body.

When the energy dot passes both your kua, it triggers an energy field that radiates outwards for about a meter to become the Kua Chi Ring.

As this happens your hands cup a Small Chi Sphere in each palm. Gently pressing the Small Chi Sphere against your abdomen, roll them upwards to follow the ascending energy dot.

The energy dot continues to rise past your waist, triggering the formation of the Waist Chi Ring. This ring radiates outwards about 80 centimeters. Both your palms continue to follow.

The energy dot keeps rising until the shoulder level, causing the Shoulder Chi Ring to form. All 3 Chi Rings formation have been formed. Both palms stop in front of your chest, each cupping a Small Chi Sphere. This completes the creation of the Yang-22 body structure through the use of intention.

Keep still for a moment and quiet your mind. Next both palms press the Small Chi Spheres into your chest, passing through your chest to touch your back. Then allow the Small Chi Spheres to move from the back, exit your chest and back into your palms.

Open up your chest as you rotate both Small Chi Spheres down and out to face forward. As you do so, both hands reach towards the Shoulder Chi Ring.

Both hands touch the Shoulder Chi Ring and as you do so, mentally release the Small Chi Spheres to shoot out towards a wall 3 meters away.

The moment the Small Chi Spheres leave your palms rotate your palms to face upwards. In the interim, the Small Chi Spheres have reached the wall, bounce off them and moving back towards your palms. The Small Chi Spheres reach your palms at the very moment your palms have turned completely upwards.

Now bring the Small Chi Spheres back to your chest, turn your palms until they face down and push the Small Chi Spheres forward and slantingly down until they are in front of your abdomen.

Imagine you are standing in a river and are holding both Small Chi Spheres on top of the water level. Press the Small Chi Spheres into the water until they reach at on top of your Kua Chi Ring. This completes the Commencement Posture.

Cross Hands-Closing

TO BE CONTINUED

SUMMARY
In Sequence 1 you learn to change from a state of stillness to a state of movement.

You also learn to create the Yang-22 body structure using intent such that your body structure is a combination of internal and external components.

I have listed the 22 techniques of the 22-form below. In listing the names I have followed a slightly different convention.

For example, since the 22-form only has one Play Pipa technique this technique is simply listed as Play Pipa. However, I have listed it as Left Play Pipa. The convention I use here is that if the left leg is the leading leg at the completion of the technique then I will denote this as the Left version of the technique.

White Crane Spreads Wings is also another technique that is performed one time for one side only. Since it ends with the left leg in front I have termed it as Left White Crane Spreads Wings. I am following this naming method to make it easier to describe the shortened training sequences in which the techniques will be practiced on both sides.

For example, Cloud Hands is practiced moving from right to left in the 22-form. However, in the Sequences training we will practiced it as moving from left to right as well. In this way, we will also practice not just the normal Left Single Whip but the Right Single Whip as well, for a more rounded practice.

1st Routine
1. Commencement posture
2a. Left Wild Horse Parts Mane
2b. Right Wild Horse Parts Mane
3. Left White Crane Spreads Wings
4a. Left Brush Knee, Twist Step
4b. Right Brush Knee, Twist Step
4c. Left Brush Knee, Twist Step
5. Left Play Pipa

2nd Routine
6a. Right Repulse Monkey
6b. Left Repulse Monkey
6c. Right Repulse Monkey
6d. Left Repulse Monkey
7a. Left Grasp Sparrow’s Tail
7b. Right Grasp Sparrow’s Tail

3rd Routine
8. Left Cloud Hands (1x, 2x, 3x open-close)
9. Left Single Whip
10. Left High Pat on Horse

4th Routine
11. Right Separate Leg
12. Right Double Fists Strike Ears
13. Left Heel Kick

5th Routine
14a. Right Fair Lady Works Shuttles
14b. Left Fair Lady Works Shuttles
15. Left Single Whip Lowered Posture
16. Right Golden Rooster Stands on Left Leg
17. Left Sea Bottom Needle

6th Routine
18. Left Fan Through Back
19. Right Chop Body Fist
20. Right Step Back, Left Move-Obstruct, Right Punch
21. Left Apparent Close-Up
22. Cross Hands & Closing

Someone asked me about online teaching of the 22-form. This is an interesting question in that yes, I have thought about it and that’s about it as I recognize the challenge of trying to teach the 22-form on an online platform.

Until the pandemic came along I was teaching the Dong style version of the Yang and Wu (Hao) long form on a 1-to-1 basis. What I found was that a claim of high interest mostly did not correspond to putting in sufficient time to really get into the gist of the art. If it was that difficult to learn these two forms well, I can’t imagine how much more difficult it would be to learn the 22-form.

During the COVID-19 pandemic I also tried teaching via Zoom a more external type of art based on Pok Khek Kuen. I found that as simple and straightforward as this art is, I can only sigh and shake my head when it comes to making progress. Again, learning is fun but without practice all the information will not translate into skill.

After the pandemic, I found that I didn’t miss teaching so I did not start teaching again. Instead, the only person I am teaching informally using WhatsApp is Paul. Even then trying to teach Paul is a challenge. Since I do it for the fun of it I carried on. However, to force Paul to get somewhere it had become necessary to get him to submit a weekly practice video as the one sure way to make him practice regularly.

I have been considering the question of how would I teach the 22-form regardless of whether teaching in person or online. One conclusion I reached is not to teach the 22-form as an entire form but as a series of sequences.

In order to make the sequences a more rounded practice we should practice both sides. For example, we only practice a right side (I call it right side since the right hand is held up) White Crane Spreads Wings but not a left side. For sequence practice, we can start from the half step right Press posture, change to right White Crane Spreads Wings and finish with a left Brush Knee, Twist Step.

Repeat for the other side by changing from left Brush Knee, Twist Step to change to half step left Press posture (the left side version of half step Press is not found in the 22-form), left White Crane Spreads Wings, finish off with right Brush Knee, Twist Step.

This sequence of three movements is to be practiced repeatedly to gain basic familiarity with the core principles. Once the foundation is there, you can refine the principles to extract the internal skills.

Wild Horse Parts Mane is the 2nd technique in the 22-form. You can learn the following principles from this technique :-

1. Elongated wrists
2. Both shoulders moving in tandem
3. Elbows connected to Waist Chi Ring
4. Connecting the Small Chi Spheres to the Chi Rings
5. Unifying the hand to foot
6. Controlling balance via 2-4 Dots
7. Turning using the 3 Chi Rings
8. Using the Energetic Forces of Peng, An, Ji, Cai (Ward-Off, Push, Press, Pluck)
9. Using the 3-Passes
10. Back sticking to the Chi
11. Head radiant glow
12. Chest Cross Talk
13. A moment of Quietude

Breakdown of the technique for sole focused practice of the technique :-

Begin in the completed left Wild Horse Parts Mane technique. It goes without saying that your hands are connected to your arms via Elongated Wrist structure. Both hands are each holding a Small Chi Sphere.

Shift your weight from leading left leg to right leg using Move Back 3 Passes. As you do so, lower your right hand and let this raise your left hand, like a seesaw. This action also reinforces connecting your elbows to the Waist Chi Ring.

Turn your body to the left; your left foot turns outwards. As you do so, the right hand rotates a sphere (about the size of a soccer ball). As your right hand pushes forward, it causes your left hand to come back. Shift your weight onto the left leg as you continue to rotate the sphere, this time your right hand rotates the sphere downwards and your left hand rotates upwards as if both hands are tracing a vertical circle.

Bring your right foot up to beside the left foot upon the completion of the rotation of the hands. As you do so both hands are holding up the soccer sized sphere (you compress it to make it smaller). Just before you placed your right foot on the ground gently and lightly, both palms become empty fists. Read this post Palm, Fist, Hook for description on how to change from open palm to empty fist. So now you have three Chi Spheres – two Small Chi Spheres in each fist and one soccer size Chi Sphere between two fists.

Gently bend your knees and fill out your back as you do so. The right hand moves down towards the Kua Chi Ring while the left hand moves up towards the Shoulder Chi Ring. Now the right fist opens up to insert the Small Chi Sphere into the Kua Chi Ring and the left Small Chi Sphere is inserted into the Shoulder Chi Ring. Your body is in a compressed state, like a compressed spring (feel it but don’t force it).

Use your intent to connect your right hand that has connected to the Kua Chi Ring to connect to your right foot. You do so as your right hand inserts the Small Chi Sphere into the Kua Chi Ring. As the insertion is happening your right arm imagines that it is cradling a scepter. The act of doing so helps your right hand to lift the right foot off the ground slightly, allowing it to be ready to step out.

Next your void right foot takes a step forward, gently landing on the front. Shift your weight from left leg to right leg using 2-4 dots. Once your balance is on right leg, turn your body from left to right as if turning the three unified Chi Rings. Your right hand is separating from the left hand which is performing Cai (pluck). The movement is completed when your body is facing the front. At this juncture you have compose yourself with a moment of quietude and use the Chest Cross Talk to check your body’s state of expansion and alignment before continuing on.

The right arm continues to cradle the scepter. The left hand now changes from open palm to empty fist. As it does so, turn your left arm inward towards the centre of your body. When your left arm reaches the centre, bring your left arm upwards to where the mouth of your chest is, then turn your left fist so that the palm faces upwards, and then extend your left fist out. Just before your left fist goes out, you visualize the energetic path of Peng and Ji for your left arm to move along. Your weight is on your right leg.

Next use the Move Back 3 Passes to move your weight from right leg to left leg. Your arms come back towards your body, closing as your hands come closer to your body. Then you bring your left fist towards your chest, turning the left fist from palm up to palm down position. At the same time the right palm turns into the palm down position. Your left hand changes from empty fist to open palm, inserts the Small Chi Sphere onto the Shoulder Chi Ring. Your right hand grasps the Kua Chi Ring. Simultaneously, your back sticks to the Chi, your head radiates and the Vertical Upright 3 Passes is formed.

Shift your weight back onto from left leg the right left. As you do so, both your arms push the 3 Chi Rings forward. At the conclusion, pause and check your Chest Cross.

Repeat for the other side.

The 22-form can be mastered by anybody willing to have a real go at it. Here’s some brief guidelines on how to go about it successfully :-

1) You have to learn it from someone willing to teach, explain clearly and help you to keep refining your movements and understanding as you move forward in your journey.

2) You have to be willing to practice, like really practice every day, for at least 2 hours per session (it would be better if you can put in more hours).

3) Practice carefully with an eye on the principles. Ensure that the intent always precede the movement, always!

4) Take your time to go through each movement. Work the details to the bone, make the breakthrough, then you can access the next level of understanding. And the next, and the next, until you attain your goal.

5) Seek comfort in each movement. Constantly seek to Song, San. Then you can Tong, Kong.

6) Practice until the many layers of principles can be expressed in one go, until when you move the principles manifest themselves even when you no longer think of doing them. This sounds mysterious but it really is the by-product of practicing to the point of rendering what is not natural to be natural.

7) Don’t just practice blindly but constantly review, question and research your practice to keep making it better over time.

8) Be focussed to practice only the one 22-form. This is how you can deepen your practice by practicing the one form many, many times.

9) The journey is long and lonely so don’t set unrealistic goals that you may not be able to meet and end up feeling that you have failed. The only thing you should do is to keep practicing daily. If you miss a day, don’t worry about it, just pick up the practice the next day.

10) If you really desire to master the skills of the 22-form then practice. Don’t waste time thinking of wanting the skill, don’t say that you want to learn it but end up practicing little or only occasionally.