Constant Bear (centerline, lift empty leg, Cloud Hands), front view - 04/13/09 (Spring)
Prof. Cheng Manching developed the 37 Posture Tai Chi Chuan Form
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from the Yang-style Long Form
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Not only was Prof. Cheng a tai chi grandmaster, he was also a well-renowned doctor of Eastern medicine.
At least two different English translations exist of Prof. Cheng's writings about "The Constant Bear" exercise. They are contained in these 2 books:
CHENG MAN-CH'ING: MASTER OF FIVE EXCELLENCES
Translation and commentary by Mark Hennessy
and
ZHENG MANQING'S UNCOLLECTED WRITINGS ON TAIJIQUAN, QIGONG, AND HEALTH, WITH NEW BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
By Douglas Wile
There is also a brief mention of "The Constant Bear" in Robert Smith's MARTIAL MUSINGS book, on page 313.
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Please read my video description at
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for a list of all the main ingredients & key principles of "The Constant Bear" exercise.
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Mark Hennessey, in his "Translator's Introduction" to MASTER CHENG'S NEW METHOD OF TAICHI CH'UAN SELF-CULTIVATION, on page xi, makes these very interesting observations:
"The language Cheng employs in his NEW METHOD is unique and requires some explanation. First, he creates the compound noun, waist/hip joint (yau-k'ua) for what is commonly, though erroneously, translated as waist.
"The hip joints assume a greater level of importance in later Cheng thought. My teacher [Tai Chi expert Liu Hsi-heng, Prof. Cheng's senior student in Taiwan, who became the head of Prof. Cheng's Tai Chi school in Taiwan after Prof. Cheng died in 1975] once quoted the professor as saying,
'Whoever has the most relaxed hip joints has the best taichi!'
"Cheng's pursuit of relaxed hip joints found fruition in the exercise he entitled the 'Constant Bear,' translated in my CHENG MAN-CH'ING: MASTER OF FIVE EXCELLENCES, (Berkeley: Frog Ltd., 1995).
"...Moreover, none of Cheng's English books on taichi, including Robert Smith's, contain this noun compound."
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After reading the available written descriptions, I conclude that "The Constant Bear" is a very compact exercise, requiring very little practice space - -just enough room to place one's feet approximately shoulder-width apart.
It's very much like "walking in place." When 100% of the body's weight falls through one foot, the other foot becomes "empty" and can be raised to take a step, or kick, or raise the knee, or sweep, or stomp down, or trip, etc. A great variety of movements are possible when one leg is empty and the other supports all the body's weight.
Turning movements originate from the weighted foot's connection to the earth and the waist/hip joints. The upright spine functions as a vertical axis, permitting the torso to turn left and right, like a revolving door - - as one side advances, the other side retreats.
Prof. Cheng was focusing upon the "Constant Bear" exercise near the end of his life. He wrote about it, and demonstrated it to Master Liu Hsi-heng. Prof. Cheng confided to Master Liu:
"This single move IS t'aichi - - there is nothing more than this."
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Many of the exercises I do regularly focus on improving the flexibility of my waist/hip joints. Strengthening them. Relaxing them. Extending their range of motion. Gaining conscious control over the deep internal muscles that attach to the joints.
Hip joints are ball-and-socket joints which allow the bones of the pelvic girdle and the legs to move in a variety of directions. Large leg muscles, and muscles deep inside the pelvic girdle (like the psoas), which attach to the legs and to the lower vertebrae of the spine, are involved in movements of the hip joints. It takes a great deal of effort to learn to relax, and gain conscious control over these large core muscles deep inside the body.
Prof. Cheng's compact "Constant Bear" form is a great exercise for this type of waist/hip joint training.
Please also see my other posts regarding the "Constant Bear":
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ChiGuy396
ChiGuy396@yahoo.com
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