The Pa Kua Mystery
Do enough Pa Kua Chang and something really weird happens. Pa Kua, as many people know, is that martial art where you walk in a circle endlessly. Circles where you find loops within spirals within circles.
Let me explain a couple of things first, before I tell you about this weird thing in Pa Kua Chang. Understand what I tell you and you will have an easier time understanding that weird is normal in this universe, and normal is weird. Sound good?
The circle takes eight steps from beginning to end. This is about six feet in diameter, or one good leg sweep. And, of course, the end is the beginning, and the beginning is the end, and so on.
Classicists claim that as you walk the circle, and put the palms in various positions that the positions stand for various phenomena. Thunder palms, lightening palms, water palms, fire palms, and so on. In this analogy they have created an entire universe. This universe can occupy a student for a lifetime, but, really, won't explain what is really happening.
To understand what is happening, when one creates this Pa Kua universe, you must understand that the body is a machine. Power goes up the legs and down the legs, like alternating current. One must remember, at this point, that power is energy, and energy is the capacity for work, and the capacity for work is how much you can lift--and you should probably get yourself a good dictionary and start separating these terms.
The energy of the body is generated by the tan tien. The tan tien is a point which is located a couple of inches below the navel. The tan tien generates energy which goes up and down the legs and keeps passing through the tan tien.
What happens is that the body becomes a storage device, a capacitor, and the energy can be stored in the body. But, most interesting, is that after walking the circle enough times with the idea I've detailed here, you will experience actual lightening going down and up your legs. Also, you will experience a barber pole type energy swirl up and down your arms as you explore the potential of the palms in conjunction with the storing of the energy in your body.
The point here is that Pa Kua is not mystical, but it does take a dedicated practitioner and a calm mind to experience what I have explained here. One must tell the body enough times and with enough sincerity, and this while walking the circle enough times, for the body to start acting as a capacitor. It is possible, however, and even easy as one learns to believe that this universe is not a trap, but a journey.
About the Author:
Al Case has practiced the martial arts for over forty+ years. You can Walk the Circle with him at Monster Martial Arts.
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