Once you have learned to use the 2/4 Dots to move up and down you can add the study of the 3 Passes to it.
The easiest way to think of the 3 Passes is a line connecting the top of the head to the tailbone to keep the body upright. Technically it is really the back of the head that connects to the back and thereon to the tailbone. I chose to keep it simple by just aligning the top of the head to the tailbone.
Why I do this is because aligning two points is much easier to learn. Plus, if the learner has a problem getting it, just ask him to balance a book on this head and learn to walk straight without the book falling off.
This is technically not exactly what the 3 Passes are physically. However, physically keeping the book balanced on the head is one of the four variations of the 3 Passes.
At a more advanced stage the book balancing variation of the 3 Passes is used as the Mother of the 3 Passes. You can use the Mother of the 3 Passes with the other three variations of the 3 Passes.
The four variations of the 3 Passes are :-
i) Vertical Upright 3 Passes (Mother of 3 Passes)
ii) Turn Up 3 Passes
iii) Move Back 3 Passes
iv) Front Lengthen 3 Passes
You can move beyond visualizing balancing a book on your head to imagining that there is a flagpole running from your tailbone up through your head, stretching upwards some 24 inches above your head.
When using the 3 Passes this way it is like a puppet master (your intent) above you is using a string (the 3 Passes) from above to control your movement so that you can move effortlessly.
For the study of the 3 Passes I would practice the sequence below over and over for an hour :-
1) Brush Knee Twist Step (left) – Vertical Upright 3 Passes
2) Transition to BKTS (right) – Turn Up 3 Passes
3) Brush Knee Twist Step (right) – Vertical Upright 3 Passes
4) Transition to BKTS (left) – Turn Up 3 Passes
5) Brush Knee Twist Step (left) – Vertical Upright 3 Passes
6) Play Pipa – Move Back to Vertical Upright 3 Passes
7) Repulse Monkey (right) – Move Back 3 Passes
8) Repulse Monkey (left) – Move Back 3 Passes
9) Repulse Monkey (right) – Move Back 3 Passes
10) Repulse Monkey (left) – Move Back 3 Passes
Repeat from (2)
The above exercise will enable you to study the variations of Vertical Upright, Turn Up and Move Back of the 3 Passes.
The 3 Passes is a key principle so it is important to get a handle on it early.
Yang-22 
Pingback: What is Yang-22? | Yang-22
Pingback: The 3 Passes & 2/4 Dots | Yang-22
imagine balancing a book for upright 1. But how do we practice the other 3?
ii) Turn Up 3 Passes
iii) Move Back 3 Passes
iv) Front Lengthen 3 Passes
LikeLike
How to practice the other 3 Passes? Good question. If you have learned the 22-form then you should have received the instructions on how to do it.
However, if you have never learned the 22-form then in a nutshell the key to practicing the 3 Passes and all the other principles is by using visualization.
If you are turning up, then you visualize the horizontal line as turning upwards as you are shifting your weight forward. This upward turning line leads our body to move forward.
Moving back is quite straightforward. If you are shifting your weight from front to rear leg instead of just shifting the weight imagine a rope tied to your tailbone. When the rope is pulled until its taut then it will pull your tailbone to move your weight from front to rear leg.
Front lengthen line is best exemplified by Fan Through Back. Here we can visualize the Mountain Character manifesting as we insert the Small Chi Spheres into our body. The centre vertical stroke of the Mountain Character manifests just before we do the Small Chi Sphere insertion.
Then the two smaller vertical strokes of the Mountain Character begins to form as our palms trace downwards and follow the two vertical strokes to move upwards. As our hands move into the final position to mimic the leaves of an opening hand fan, we tilt our body forward slightly even as we see in our mind the central longer vertical stroke lengthening into space.
LikeLike