Function of Rotation

An Excerpt From GM Sam Chin / Martial Art of Awareness: ZXD Online Zoom Session
18 July 2020

Quality & Function of Rotation: Drawing & Releasing To Unify All To One Center Point

First, the rotation, we want to make it clear about this function and this principle. In rotation, you can say that it comes up with the spinning force of coordination—a bit of explanation in my book, [I Liq Chuan: The Martial Art of Awareness, 2006], page 33. As we said everything starts from one point. Now one point—we say it’s one point because of the center of gravity—of holding on the point with the support of the gravity to be stable and with that stability to propel the movement: then what you can do is only rotation. With the rotations that means align with our center of mass. Center of mass and gravity forms the axis, the center line. With the line and that kind of movement you can only do clockwise and counter clockwise rotation. The quality and the function of that rotation has the kind of drawing and releasing—that must have 2 energies, so everything that rotates at the same time is drawing to the center and the center is releasing. Sometimes we use this as a collecting and balancing to unify the whole thing. This is one of the functions to re-collect everything and balance it into one point. The one point here is also releasing. As we know, there’s always two: one to the center, one to the circumference, that kind of rotation. 

First Principles: 1, 2, 3

One thing I want students to understand is that this is one of the first principles: that everything releases from here. Then this is a reference point of actions – of course, from that one point, under Nature itself, we do talk about how one must have two, two must have three,  and that means it’s wu chi to tai chi, tai chi to yin yang. 

* First—we must be able to hold onto the rotation and be stable first. 

* With that stability of rotations, then you talk about stretching, connecting, talk about one center to another center. Stretching means you need to hold onto the very beginning of point–that contact point with the gravity that stretches to connect. When we say stretch, it must connect. That means stretching must have the quality of holding: Holding to stretch to another center—that is what you connect. 

* With that connect, at the beginning, we talk about there’s a reverse energy that’s a reflection energy from center to center. 

* Then, we have what goes out must return; what goes out is yang energy, returning as the yin energy—that means must have a complete center with a rotation here. A body rotation is a collecting and a releasing—we look into that as Condensing and Expanding (CE) Form this CE that means it’s two, but there’s also the neutral: the center that reverses: that separates the yin yang and hold the yin yang. With THIS connect, we call this the DIRECT REFLECTION.

* We must be able to understand that kind of rotation with strong hold; then we talk about rotation with circles.  For this, this is our exercise of NSEW (North South East West)—there’s a rotation there’s a NSEW there. That means we go in rotation with Concave and Convex—it goes through the cycle. With this rotation with circles, it creates the wrapping and the coiling energy Here is where our primary exercise comes in: of our spinning hands. When we do this Open Close and Rotation with circles, it turns into the spinning hands. Of course, under spinning hands, you have the rotation here, you need to look into understanding the alignment, the vertical line and the horizontal line, and the change of vertical and horizontal. That is the movement. But within the hardware, it’s about this rotation: the bone and the concave convex with the yin yang muscles.

“If you are clear you can hold; if you can hold you become clear.”
~GM Sam Chin

The Right Reference Point To Know & To Change
Using the Center To See The Right Condition

Center is the neutral point where you can’t produce power. That’s why we talk about action. Action is either yin or yang. Tai chi is just a balance; that’s why from wu chi to tai chi; tai chi is the balance.

In action goes from yin or yang. So if those people yes, they want more power they go to extremes—they go to yin or they go to yang. But for our training the important part is that you must be able to change. Able to change means we need to hold onto the center; you never leave the center. You’re always connecting with the center so you know what is the right action to take.

Because you never leave the center, you are always connected so you are always observing what is the right move; what is the right condition because you are using center to see the right condition That means we talk about the right reference point to know and to change. That’s why in action you never leave the center. You do center with yin or center with yang to generate power. Yes, once you leave the center yes you generate more power but you lose the direct connection. Center is to connect!

I want you guys to look into this and work on here. Rotation is one of the important functions that holds onto the center: to go to yin, to go to yang. Rotation is to collect everything and rotation is to distribute the energy because of holding the center. If you can’t rotate, that means you’re not with the center. You can’t rotate if you’re not with the center. Only when you rotate are you with the center. So in a way, the action itself collects the condition; in a way, because you can rotate, that means you must be a center.

But I want you to see further here. If you can rotate you want to see, to hold onto the point where it manifests the rotations—that means it must have a re-bounce energy. If it doesn’t have this rebounce energy, that means you cannot. When you see the re-bounce energy then you are more able to hold: the more you see things clearly, you’ll be able to hold on more.

Two Things Working Together
Clarity & Wisdom

We talk about clarity and attention, concentration is also based on clarity because both work together just like concentration and wisdom. Wisdom is about clarity; concentration is about holding. If you are clear you can hold; if you can hold you become clear. In Zen, we talk about this as a bird and how the wings work tougher. The wings are attention and wisdom—the wisdom is of clarity; it’s not based on past knowledge but based on the moment of clarity. When you are clear you can hold. You can hold, you become clear—these two things keep on working together