Wayne's Blog # 24

 July  22 , 2025  Tuesday In Taipei 

  Wayne's Blog # 24

   Doing Daily Song Gong Loosening Exercises are crucial to your Internal System/ Nei Gong Development. 

   Sifu Chen explained & demonstrated some basic to  subtle details on the 1st three loosening exercises to the new students. 

    In today’s blog, I will go over the first one, the pendulum,  in details 

 The Pendulum   👍

 The Elevator 

  Rebounding 

       Two new students in class 

  I get to hear Sifu Chen explain the fundamentals to them , great reinforcement for me to hear again 

    ****** Song Gong Loosening Exercises Details by Chen : 

    The Pendulum: 

1 stand shoulder width, knees bent 

 a little , shoulders downward motion

2 gently tuck in tail bone 

3 stand upright but not ridge 

4 breath naturally, no timing 

5 both arms in bowl shape , prevent 

    stiff shoulders 

6 once the arms are moving stay in 

bowl shape ,hands below shoulders 

7  Sink chi  on right leg , right arm 

   Rebounds  up gently 

8  Sink Chi on left leg, left arm 

   Rebounds up gently 

9 When sinking Chi on right leg, that 

     is the Yang leg  , then the left leg 

     is Yin 

10. Be mindful of Yin & Yang during 

       Exercise 

11 when both arms are open , that is 

    “ Kai “ or internally open balloon 

12  When arms come in, that is 

     “ hua “ or gathering / releasing 

13  energy starts with general/ feet , 

     Then to commander / waist 

14  All body is moving as one unit , 

     directed by Rolling 8 Ball 

15 developing your Kua as you 

      activate rolling 8 Ball 

16 every time you Kai / open , you are developing Rooting 

17 maintain your Zhong Ding / 

      central equilibrium

18 Bottom of feet - always “ GOES &

      COP .” 

19 stay at one height 

20  “ CCC “ during this exercise 

21   Middle of your hands , the Lo Gung , receiving energy to Dantien

    As you can see, the Pendulum is not as easy as you think, and there are countless details on how to do it correctly. 

     The good thing is you don’t need to do all the instructions at the same time , instead just focus on a few , get comfortable with them and then the other ones will come naturally to you gradually with consistent practice. 

   ********New Students 

      In the early morning first hour of class Sifu Chen can only feed Energy aka “ Wai Ging “ one student at a time. With a couple of new people in class  Chen   directs me to work with Mike and the lady ( forgot Chinese name ) on the IST fundamentals.

    Mike has been practicing Tai Chi and Push Hands for about 15 years plus but he is new to rooting and Song on how Chen teaches these both elusive skills 

   Mike is eager to learn , learn how to not use FRCT. Mike is actually quite fit and in shape , but he is new to how to receive energy, release energy and rooting. 

   Often his intelligent back leg bottles up Energy and fatigue sets in quickly. 

  Today I shared with mike importance of proper energy alignment ( PEA ) as we were practicing  Root2Root catch. 

   Mike was catching me with his hands / arms - localize area , rather with the entire body with my energy going to his back foot , Mike’s balance is compromised

  Mike was very excited to learn this drill and kept wanting to do it because he saw the value as it pertains to open joints,  stretch stretching the fascia , muscles hanging ( JFM ) 

   I could feel Mike’s energy and focus . We have positive exchange 

I speak with him in English so he can practice conversation. 

   Both new students have tai chi and push hands experience. They are adjusting to learn how to song and root in 2 person partner drills. 

   

In Summary ,   Training with Sifu Chen has been amazing, each day he explains and demonstrates the small but essential details in everything we do in class . My personal practice has already changed since coming back to Taiwan, each day builds momentum & change 

  

  With all the ongoing,  current zoom classes  , I share some of these small details with you all. 

Note : 

Note : Dana , OARR , is the very first acronym that I started with at Arm Bridge Tai Chi a few years back

O is for open joints 

A is for proper alignment 

R is for releasing 

R is for rooting 

Wayne 

Arm Bridge Tai Chi 

 July 22 , 2025   Tuesday In Taipei 

 Wayne's Blog # 24

Wayne's Blog # 23

 July 21-2025 Monday in Taipei 

  Wayne's Blog # 23

     Here is Bob’s question : 

 “ Wayne - if you get the chance would you ask Sifu Chen what is his understanding of a person reaching “Tong Chi” in Tai Chi? How does one achieve it? “ 

  Today Monday morning I asked Sifu Chen his description and experience on internal system aka Nei Gong 

“ Tong Chi .” 

   Here is a brief translation on the video captured today : 

    “  Tong Chi are your joints all open and Song. His hand 🤚 showing a 90 degree , a corner where Chi flow is blocked. Like water passing through clear pipes. Once a joint is stiff / closed will affect rest of your body joints. Tong is not simply relax & do nothing, because your internal structure will collapse. A strong mind intention will stiffen your joints thus no Tong in your body…..

   Daily practice of Song Gong loosening exercises and tai chi form will develop Tong ,” said Sifu Chen 

   At Arm Bridge Tai Chi in person classes, we practice many choreograph, partner drills to cultivate “ Tong “ 

    Because there is an incoming force, it is very easy for your mind to process & thinking too much causing Tong to stiffen up. Partner drills are done slow to help the individual learn to feel , listen  and understand ( FLU ) of Energy ; therefore , helping you to develop better Tong access 

   To understand Tong one needs to learn and develop Song. In fact , they go hand in hand 🤚 

  When you are Song , you are releasing Energy, releasing from top to bottom of your body as your joints are open causing proper energy alignment ( PEA ) which is a Tong quality 

     Unfortunately tong is  quality that not many people understand due to how we practice, engage in push hands and the misguided competitiveness of winning and losing. 

   Typical push hands play there is way too much “ force, resistance, clutter mind , tension,” ( FRCT) 

  These are all mal qualities that will affect your Tong development 

How & where do start to learn Tong ? 

   Daily Song Gong loosening exercises is an intelligent choice to develop Song and Tong. These exercises were created by grand Masters to help you with a strong foundation in the internal systems aka Nei Gong 

   I have said many times these exercises are done externally in the beginning, but through consistent practice, you will become more familiar & comfortable, ultimately applying the principles of Nei Gong to your movements. 

       Trust in the process , be determined in your goals , & need “ time “ to lean anything of quality. No short cuts but enjoy the journey. 

  All tai chi forms are good because they are guided by the tai chi classics that describe the principles and foundation.  Daily Tai Chi Form practice will 💯 percent develop Tong because of application tools such as :  

The 5Rs 

 SOS 

 Cop

 GOES 

OARR 

 FLU

 CCC

 General-Commander

The Gift 🎁 

  

   All these acronyms at Arm Bridge Tai Chi serves as a way to guide you into the internal system correct direction. 

  In summary, Tong is internal quality often associated with both Song and Emptiness. It is not a quality that serves on its own . 

   When you feel Tong , you will also feel Song. When you have Song and Tong , you will develop Rooting 

    Important to practice  Daily Arm Bridge Stance , Song gong , Tai Chi , Meditation walking, two person partner drills to help you with the development of Tong 

   Take notes that these daily blogs do not serve as a compressive guide to a particular subject, but provides a solid foundation. 

Wayne 

Arm Bridge Tai Chi 

 July 21, 2025 Monday In Taipei 

 Wayne's Blog # 23

Website 

https://sites.google.com/view/armbridge-tai-chi/home