1. WHAT

Fajing Exercise No. 1 is part of the learning on how to use the open palm that is holding an imaginary ball to fajing.

2. METHOD

Step 1 – To do this exercise we will be using the open palm shape information here. If you have forgotten what it is about do a review before reading the rest of the steps.

Step 2 – Pick a wall and pin a paper with a huge + sign on it that you can see from 10 feet away.

Step 3 – Stand back 10 feet away (that’s 3 meters for those who grew up with metric system). Hold your right palm in front of you. The fingers holding the imaginary ball will be pointed forward at the target.

Step 4 – We are going to use intent to do the exercise. Point the imaginary ball at the target. Now I want you to imagine that the ball is charged with kinetic energy that makes it want to pull away from your fingers and fly off forward. What’s the feeling like? Visualize and feel for a while before you do the next step.

Step 5 – Feel the ball wanting to fly off? Good. Now release the ball by opening up your fingers, just enough to release the ball. In your mind’s eye see the ball fly forward to hit the target.

Step 6 – After the ball hits the target it will fly back to your right hand. As the ball reaches your hand quickly grasp it with your fingers. What do you feel? Throughout Step 5 and 6 your right arm and rest of your body stays at rest. Let your imagination do the work and your right fingers seek the qualia.

Keep practicing until you can release the ball and it can come back to your right hand as if it is really happening with a real ball.

Practice with your left hand too. When you can do it easily try doing the exercise with both hands at the same time. This fajing exercise is extracted from the Beginning Posture of Grandmaster Wei Shuren’s 22-form.

3. LEARNING OBJECTIVE

The objective here is to learn how to use intent to move the body subtly to fajing.

4. COMMENTARY

In this basic exercise you learn to use the hand first. However, as you progress you will find that even though you appear outwardly to be moving the hand you are in effect moving the whole body.

This ability normally comes from learning the form. However, we can also take any technique from the form and train it for this purpose.

5. CONCLUSION

The training of visualization conforms to the internal Tai Chi principle of “intent comes first”.

In the beginning you may not feel anything but a few more repetitions in you should feel something.

This something feeling will grow and change and be refined. Do the training and find out the amazing discoveries that await you.