The Tai Chi classics speak of avoiding bending the spine. This is very important for a number of reasons.

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Rose from Chicago, IL asks:
"I have been learning Cheng Man Ching's form for about 18 months and almost finished. In my general readings of Tai Chi I ran across a statement suggesting the avoidance of back bends. Something about it being negative for the body. Have you heard of this and do you know exactly why they would be frowned upon?"

Dear Rose,

First though, to answer a question you have not asked, Tai Chi is the study of a lifetime, and if you have finished your first learning, you should consider getting correction of your form.

And now to the question you asked about avoiding back bends.

Yes, I have heard of this and I can explain exactly why they are "frowned upon."

There are two ways to bend the back, and both have reasons why you should not do so.

The first way the back can be bent is so that whether your head is straight up and down or leaning forward, your spine has a bend it.

This is "frowned upon" for a few reasons. First, when your spine is not straight, you cannot move efficiently. The second reason is because you cannot draw power up from your legs and out your hands if there is a "kink" in the spine. And third is about energy and is also the reason for not tilting, as explained in the paragraph below. Your energy cannot flow smoothly and easily up the spine for use in the body and beyond when the back has a bend in it.

The second way to bend the back isn't actually bending it, but is often confused with doing so. This is tilting the whole spine forward, so that the spine is still straight, but not perpendicular to the ground. While this has applications in push hands, it is "fronwned upon" in form because it disrupts your flow of the Chi of earth into your body and also it makes the energy traveling up the spine work its way around the tilt at the bottom of the spine and so it is harder for you to experience the "Chi."

At any rate, don't frown upon too many things that are wrong, just do not do them. If you frown too much you may get wrinkly ;-).

In Tai Chi,
Bill

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William C. Phillips began his study of the martial arts in 1965. He currently holds a 7th degree black belt in Karate, and a 5th degree black belt in Ju Jitsu. He began his studies of Tai Chi in l967, studying with Prof. Cheng Man-Ch'ing from '70-'75. He became the most junior student ever to become a teacher in Cheng Man Ch'ing's New York school, the Shr Jung. Sifu Phillips became interested in the field of holistic health in the early 1970's, when a lifelong allergy problem was alleviated with Chinese herbal medicine. Since then, he has studied widely in that field as well. Sifu Phillips is available for seminars, lectures and demonstrations. He has produced two very successful Tai Chi DVDs, and is currently working on a book on Tai Chi form and a third DVD.For more information...

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