Bruce Frantzis.

Its not a name that I would think that I should be associated with. Except that my student used to learn from him and mentioned that I was the second person he heard touch on a characteristic that is little discussed in Tai Chi – the Dang or crotch region.

I said that the Dang is IMA 101. In fact, all good CMA body structure should have it regardless of external or internal arts. Its just good biomechanics 101.

For example, it is my theory that one of the skills learned from the traditional enforced learning of the horse stance is how to do a Dang properly. If this part is weak then the power chain would be compromised and you will have a problem getting out the power cleanly.

And if you cannot hold the Dang properly in a normal small horse stance, back stance and bow-n-arrow stance how then will you be able to use it in stances that call for adduction and abduction of the legs in arts such as baguazhang?

Below is a sketch of an arch from an engineering book that shows how load is carried, the forces acting on it and how this results in a stable structure. You can also read 5.8.6  Unify Upper / Lower Body on pages 55-57, TaijiKinesis Vol 2 : Learning the Taijiquan Form for more information on how the arch is used for neutralizing and issuance of force.

The path to Master Tai Chi Today is not about secrets, lineages, styles and master personalities. The true secrets lie in understanding how our body works.

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