I had the idea to do this a while back with Chan Su coiling and it's been pretty successful for me. I'm in my mid 40s and surprised at how quickly this has improved my ability to inflate and awareness, and use, of jin. I'm happy to see my idea wasn't totally crazy. Great video, again! Totally knocking it out of the ballpark!
@@dontbehavewithstevemarshal7352inflate is the feeling that your body expands, like a balloon animal limb. You can inhale into it to help start the feeling. What is really expanding is the fascia. And that is why fascia mastery course is before the song mastery course, so that you become aware of and familiar with forces and movement through fascia. Does that make sense? 😃🙏
Thank you! For consistency and reducing confusion I’ve decided to use the title of only Shifu Lin. So if you can help with that that would be awesome! 😃🙏 Happy New Year! 🎉🎊
Os situation another great lesson . It's really amazing and empowering towards greater knowledge how accessible and familiar you make all these Concepts
Forever blown away by this. So now I can incorporate weight training and improve my Tai Chi and improve my weight training. I wonder if I just did this in 2025, plus my form which I will continue, and call it a year, what would be the result. I do 2 hours of class, strike air when people aren’t around and a bag anyway. Hey, maybe I can do a bench press without that stupid pain in my shoulder. I’m old, I don’t want to snap something but I also don’t want to require a manbra. Just thinking ahead. Chester’s instruction is just wonderful. And to think I came into Tai Chi waiting for when they taught the karate punches and kicks … “where’s the kicks, I asked.” “Don’t worry, they are coming, punches too, but not those kind.” The arrow is a straight punch. No knuckle punches to the face. Boxers forever break their knuckles and hands. God forbid I ever need to use it, one fall on a hard surface, cement, curbs … but I’m avoiding that punch, you don’t need it. And still I see, likely never here, people are very respectful and appreciative, people say what I used to say “yah but you really can’t use it for fighting.” I must have thought it was yoga. Which I imagine helped Indians protect themselves and weird weapons back in its history. But I only have so much band width. I know the complete Yang Long form now. Meaning, I have been instructed in all the movements, postures. Probably can’t remember it all the way through to flow it, but sometimes I find myself “turn body, whip punch” or I’ll just “part the wild horse mane” in the middle of a aisle at Walmart, forgetting there’s camera like everywhere. People must think I have a bunch of screws lose, there is certainty one. 😜
Yes! You can incorporate weight training and improve your Tai Chi as well as your physical strength. As you do this throughout 2025, alongside your Tai Chi practice, you will experience an increase in strength that is comfortable to apply and gentle on your body, that would be nice right? About Yoga, Yoga was, and is, an important part of training for Indian wrestlers as well as for spiritual practice! I will have a course out in the end of January or beginning of February, the Essence of Tai Chi striking where you can see how all of that works in the Tai Chi context! Beyond that, you're right that there's much we can do to minimize harm to ourselves as well as to others. Thank you for the lovely comment and I look forward to hearing about your progress in strength and Tai Chi throughout 2025! 😃🙌
Oh and if you can help me with one thing, for consistency and all, if you could edit your comment and refer to me as Shifu Lin or Teacher Lin if you prefer something English, that will be greatly appreciated! 😃🙏🙌
I understand the sink and relax(relaxing shoulder and letting hand and weight drop lower by my side-(my interpretation is let hand with weight hang instead of contracting muscles and holding the weight by side) The expand and float I do not comprehend how to do I have often thought because of Yin/Yang that the body operates like a piston. As one foot is stepping and sinking. The other foot is rising and floating and then vice versa as in the way we walk. You are amazing for sharing these internal concepts.
You are quite right about Yin and Yang pistons. Now extend that concept beyond just left right foot pairing. What if the legs piston down as arms piston up? What if the elbow pistons down as the fist pistons up? As you consider these ideas you'll start to form the realization of how Song expands throughout our body to create movement in many directions! Thank you for your kind comment! 😃🙏
Yes certainly! It’s much easier to find the feeling of Song expansion with non ballistic movements at first. And then you can apply that to ballistic movements whether it’s a kettlebell swing or a punch. I’ll illustrate this sometime. 😃🙏
great video Sifu , I had no idea you could strengthen fascia using weights in this way. How would one go about expanding their ribcage and specifically the lower floating ribcage so that it expands in a 3D manner
If lower rib does not expand easily you may do some stretching of the stomach and lower abdominal fascia. Check out what yoga calls Cobra for frontward expansion as well as the Warrior pose for sideways expansion. Yoga is quite interesting when you look at them as fascia exercises! 😃🙏
@@phoenixmountaintaichi Thanks for the tip Sifu. I will research those two techniques. Incidentally I looked into the warrior pose many years ago but didn't think much of it due to not wanting to mix arts however, I will take a look at it as per your suggestion.
Yes as you hold the pose, inhale and feel those places inflate and puff up. Beyond how much they move, experience the feeling that they seem to fill and expand. Enjoy your practice! 😃
Like if you suck your gut in and puff your chest up, that’s rising up. And then when you let it all hang out, almost like you’ll slouch, but without slouching or bending your back. That’s sinking down. 😃🙏
@thank you in a nutshell , i'm taking my stomach in and put out the chest and after i release my stomach without creating a curve in my lower back? is that right?
Another question, when you release a one inch punch, some will colapse opponent structure but some will internal organ impacted, how to differentiate this application?
Good question! The target in training fascia is to make the fascia sturdier, so it can hold and distribute more pressure. Like a balloon that does not pop easily. Does that make sense? In training Song you are learning to keep fascia loose and relaxed. 😃🙏
I was always interested in this concept since I saw it applied by my wing Chun sifu...but I always wanted to know if there is any scientific evidence about that
Really interesting question! What would you want to verify with the scientific analysis? The tension on the fascia network? The shape of the fascia under our skin as you lift? These would indeed be fascinating things to discover. I look forward to science understanding the human body with greater detail so that it can explain what we presently experience, and train, in a way that is helpful and makes it easier for people to learn and benefit! 😃🙏
@@phoenixmountaintaichi I would like to verify it with a scientific basis, because is a matter that some times seems involved to much with philosophy and mystical things like "chi"..but if is a real thing and not only subjective to the individual for sure science could prove it and it could also serve for learning purposes.
does breathing have anything to do with the exercise? for example, in weight training that i know, when you lift the weight you either exhale or hold your breath. but if you exhale, won't the feeling of floating or expanding be gone? which is why i'm confused because you're lifting while talking :/
You're right that inhaling will help you inflate and expand. On the other hand, you can exhale in a way that makes your chest or stomach expand too. So there are easier or more intuitive ways to begin with and you are right to want to start in the easiest way. And as you get the feel of inflating our fascia, you can begin to do it without these training wheels, such as while talking or without breathing, as you may have to do in battle! Does that make sense? 😃🙏
@@phoenixmountaintaichi oh yes, thank you for the answer. i think the method called reverse breathing can help with exhale to expand, if i'm not wrong? and an idea for video, in case you're interested: since this video is about weight training, how about flexibility training? for example, i have problem with bending my body to touch my toes, especially the back of my knees, they hurt quite a lot. if you know tai chi ways that can help, please introduce it :)
I love his video. But Shifu I must tell you.....Go ahead and lift heavy weights and get big beautiful muscles if you can. It will indeed strengthen your fascia. But also your bones, your cardiovascular system, your nervous system (especially your motor neurons, but your balance and overall body control will improve too). Your lung capacity and breath control will improve hugely. It defeats osteoporosis and reverses aging like nothing else. All of this from pushing heavy weights (free weights) as well as taking the right supplements along with a Natural Whole Food Diet. There's really no downside. I'm not talking about becoming a Body Builder who uses drugs, eats way too much, and is too heavy. Think Mountain Climber, or Running Back, or Boxer or other Martial Artist instead. You can't go wrong if it's done safely and with proper discipline. I only know this because I had to know it. Most people who aren't a former Football Player like myself don't know because they were never taught properly...which is actually a shame. Great video.
Haha I totally agree! I would love to have “big beautiful muscles” and I do admire people with the discipline and dedication to themselves who achieve that! Many of the early masters of Tai Chi are very big and muscular so it is without a doubt both compatible and beneficial. I appreciate your comment pointing out something that I neglected to point out!! 😃🙌
Can you show how you handle something which is your bodyweight? Raising 1-2kg dumbbell is not really a strength training. Or may be show at least 10-15 kg weight work as it is the weight of 3yo child or heavy grocery bag and thus applicable to real life.
Sure! I can put up a quick demo soon. Because this video is an instructional, teaching someone starting out how to exert force without tensioning and deforming their fascia is the primary goal more than me showing off anything ha ha. And starting out, one's fascia can only support a few kg before the fascia starts deforming. I should have specified that if the weight does not feel lighter after relaxing into Song and inflating into the motion, that the weight is indeed deforming the fascia or the Song expansion is not correctly performed, and if that happens to try even lighter weight until you get the feel of the method. I would totally agree with you that the weigh of a 3yo child is extremely applicable to real life, that is exactly what I most frequently carry ha ha. Beyond that, when the Fascia strengthens and is able to support more weight, that is what allows your Song to support more force and to move quicker without deforming. Any demonstration you see me do, in which I deliver force into another person, whether hitting them or sending them falling back, are all real life applications of this quality. Another major one in Tai Chi is of course swinging a sword that weighs a few pounds while maintaining relaxation and delivering force. Does that make sense? I'll make a short of some heavier weight demonstrations and update this comment with a link when it's up! Thanks for the suggestion! 😃🙏
@@phoenixmountaintaichi Thank you Shifu Lin for this very interesting video, which covers a topic that few Taiji “masters” seem willing or able to address. I have always adhered to the traditional notion that the internal and external must be developed together, and it’s helpful to see you highlight fascia as the linchpin for this process. I too would be very interested in seeing your next video on lifting heavier weights using Taiji principles.
I had the idea to do this a while back with Chan Su coiling and it's been pretty successful for me. I'm in my mid 40s and surprised at how quickly this has improved my ability to inflate and awareness, and use, of jin. I'm happy to see my idea wasn't totally crazy. Great video, again! Totally knocking it out of the ballpark!
Oh that is an excellent idea! Good job putting it into practice and being able to enjoy the fruits of that training!! 😃🙌
@phoenixmountaintaichi thanks! I found consistency is key. I have to do it daily, or almost daily, or the results fade very quickly.
How to inflate is my question
Thanks
@@dontbehavewithstevemarshal7352inflate is the feeling that your body expands, like a balloon animal limb. You can inhale into it to help start the feeling. What is really expanding is the fascia. And that is why fascia mastery course is before the song mastery course, so that you become aware of and familiar with forces and movement through fascia. Does that make sense? 😃🙏
Hi Chester! Yet another great video. Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year!
Thank you! For consistency and reducing confusion I’ve decided to use the title of only Shifu Lin. So if you can help with that that would be awesome! 😃🙏 Happy New Year! 🎉🎊
Os situation another great lesson . It's really amazing and empowering towards greater knowledge how accessible and familiar you make all these Concepts
I'm happy to hear you are growing towards greater knowledge and empowerment! Thank you for your kind comment! 😃🙏
Forever blown away by this. So now I can incorporate weight training and improve my Tai Chi and improve my weight training. I wonder if I just did this in 2025, plus my form which I will continue, and call it a year, what would be the result. I do 2 hours of class, strike air when people aren’t around and a bag anyway. Hey, maybe I can do a bench press without that stupid pain in my shoulder. I’m old, I don’t want to snap something but I also don’t want to require a manbra. Just thinking ahead. Chester’s instruction is just wonderful. And to think I came into Tai Chi waiting for when they taught the karate punches and kicks … “where’s the kicks, I asked.” “Don’t worry, they are coming, punches too, but not those kind.” The arrow is a straight punch. No knuckle punches to the face. Boxers forever break their knuckles and hands. God forbid I ever need to use it, one fall on a hard surface, cement, curbs … but I’m avoiding that punch, you don’t need it. And still I see, likely never here, people are very respectful and appreciative, people say what I used to say “yah but you really can’t use it for fighting.” I must have thought it was yoga. Which I imagine helped Indians protect themselves and weird weapons back in its history. But I only have so much band width. I know the complete Yang Long form now. Meaning, I have been instructed in all the movements, postures. Probably can’t remember it all the way through to flow it, but sometimes I find myself “turn body, whip punch” or I’ll just “part the wild horse mane” in the middle of a aisle at Walmart, forgetting there’s camera like everywhere. People must think I have a bunch of screws lose, there is certainty one. 😜
Yes! You can incorporate weight training and improve your Tai Chi as well as your physical strength. As you do this throughout 2025, alongside your Tai Chi practice, you will experience an increase in strength that is comfortable to apply and gentle on your body, that would be nice right?
About Yoga, Yoga was, and is, an important part of training for Indian wrestlers as well as for spiritual practice!
I will have a course out in the end of January or beginning of February, the Essence of Tai Chi striking where you can see how all of that works in the Tai Chi context! Beyond that, you're right that there's much we can do to minimize harm to ourselves as well as to others. Thank you for the lovely comment and I look forward to hearing about your progress in strength and Tai Chi throughout 2025! 😃🙌
Oh and if you can help me with one thing, for consistency and all, if you could edit your comment and refer to me as Shifu Lin or Teacher Lin if you prefer something English, that will be greatly appreciated! 😃🙏🙌
Thank you for the good lessons and helpful concepts.
Thank you for the kind comment! 😃🙏
I understand the sink and relax(relaxing shoulder and letting hand and weight drop lower by my side-(my interpretation is let hand with weight hang instead of contracting muscles and holding the weight by side)
The expand and float I do not comprehend how to do
I have often thought because of Yin/Yang that the body operates like a piston.
As one foot is stepping and sinking. The other foot is rising and floating and then vice versa as in the way we walk.
You are amazing for sharing these internal concepts.
You are quite right about Yin and Yang pistons. Now extend that concept beyond just left right foot pairing. What if the legs piston down as arms piston up? What if the elbow pistons down as the fist pistons up? As you consider these ideas you'll start to form the realization of how Song expands throughout our body to create movement in many directions! Thank you for your kind comment! 😃🙏
Great!!! Thanks 🙏 sifu This is what I am always searching but never know what is it
It’s the point ❤❤❤❤❤
I'm glad you have found something you have been searching for! Thank you for sharing your joyful comment! 😃🙏🙌
It would be interesting to see if this could be applied to more ballistic movements like kettlebell swings...
Yes certainly! It’s much easier to find the feeling of Song expansion with non ballistic movements at first. And then you can apply that to ballistic movements whether it’s a kettlebell swing or a punch. I’ll illustrate this sometime. 😃🙏
@@phoenixmountaintaichi Looking forward to that. Thanks.
great video Sifu , I had no idea you could strengthen fascia using weights in this way. How would one go about expanding their ribcage and specifically the lower floating ribcage so that it expands in a 3D manner
If lower rib does not expand easily you may do some stretching of the stomach and lower abdominal fascia. Check out what yoga calls Cobra for frontward expansion as well as the Warrior pose for sideways expansion. Yoga is quite interesting when you look at them as fascia exercises! 😃🙏
@@phoenixmountaintaichi Thanks for the tip Sifu. I will research those two techniques. Incidentally I looked into the warrior pose many years ago but didn't think much of it due to not wanting to mix arts however, I will take a look at it as per your suggestion.
Yes as you hold the pose, inhale and feel those places inflate and puff up. Beyond how much they move, experience the feeling that they seem to fill and expand. Enjoy your practice! 😃
What is sink down?
Like if you suck your gut in and puff your chest up, that’s rising up. And then when you let it all hang out, almost like you’ll slouch, but without slouching or bending your back. That’s sinking down. 😃🙏
@thank you in a nutshell , i'm taking my stomach in and put out the chest and after i release my stomach without creating a curve in my lower back? is that right?
Sifu Lin, the target in practicing fascia to make it more “tight” or “loose” ?
Another question, when you release a one inch punch, some will colapse opponent structure but some will internal organ impacted, how to differentiate this application?
Good question! The target in training fascia is to make the fascia sturdier, so it can hold and distribute more pressure. Like a balloon that does not pop easily. Does that make sense?
In training Song you are learning to keep fascia loose and relaxed. 😃🙏
The difference between one inch punch that damages organ versus structure depending above all on your intention and speed of release. 🙏
I was always interested in this concept since I saw it applied by my wing Chun sifu...but I always wanted to know if there is any scientific evidence about that
Really interesting question! What would you want to verify with the scientific analysis? The tension on the fascia network? The shape of the fascia under our skin as you lift? These would indeed be fascinating things to discover. I look forward to science understanding the human body with greater detail so that it can explain what we presently experience, and train, in a way that is helpful and makes it easier for people to learn and benefit! 😃🙏
@@phoenixmountaintaichi I would like to verify it with a scientific basis, because is a matter that some times seems involved to much with philosophy and mystical things like "chi"..but if is a real thing and not only subjective to the individual for sure science could prove it and it could also serve for learning purposes.
does breathing have anything to do with the exercise? for example, in weight training that i know, when you lift the weight you either exhale or hold your breath. but if you exhale, won't the feeling of floating or expanding be gone? which is why i'm confused because you're lifting while talking :/
You're right that inhaling will help you inflate and expand. On the other hand, you can exhale in a way that makes your chest or stomach expand too. So there are easier or more intuitive ways to begin with and you are right to want to start in the easiest way. And as you get the feel of inflating our fascia, you can begin to do it without these training wheels, such as while talking or without breathing, as you may have to do in battle! Does that make sense? 😃🙏
@@phoenixmountaintaichi oh yes, thank you for the answer. i think the method called reverse breathing can help with exhale to expand, if i'm not wrong?
and an idea for video, in case you're interested: since this video is about weight training, how about flexibility training? for example, i have problem with bending my body to touch my toes, especially the back of my knees, they hurt quite a lot. if you know tai chi ways that can help, please introduce it :)
@@outerlastyou’re right about the breathing! Try it out. And thanks for the flexibility idea, let’s do it! 😃🙌
I love his video. But Shifu I must tell you.....Go ahead and lift heavy weights and get big beautiful muscles if you can. It will indeed strengthen your fascia. But also your bones, your cardiovascular system, your nervous system (especially your motor neurons, but your balance and overall body control will improve too). Your lung capacity and breath control will improve hugely. It defeats osteoporosis and reverses aging like nothing else.
All of this from pushing heavy weights (free weights) as well as taking the right supplements along with a Natural Whole Food Diet. There's really no downside. I'm not talking about becoming a Body Builder who uses drugs, eats way too much, and is too heavy. Think Mountain Climber, or Running Back, or Boxer or other Martial Artist instead. You can't go wrong if it's done safely and with proper discipline. I only know this because I had to know it. Most people who aren't a former Football Player like myself don't know because they were never taught properly...which is actually a shame.
Great video.
Haha I totally agree! I would love to have “big beautiful muscles” and I do admire people with the discipline and dedication to themselves who achieve that! Many of the early masters of Tai Chi are very big and muscular so it is without a doubt both compatible and beneficial. I appreciate your comment pointing out something that I neglected to point out!! 😃🙌
But don't think I won't take your advice. I could see using this more for total Body Lifts like Power Clean and Press for sure. Great lesson. Thanks.
First!
🏅🙌😃
Can you show how you handle something which is your bodyweight? Raising 1-2kg dumbbell is not really a strength training. Or may be show at least 10-15 kg weight work as it is the weight of 3yo child or heavy grocery bag and thus applicable to real life.
Sure! I can put up a quick demo soon. Because this video is an instructional, teaching someone starting out how to exert force without tensioning and deforming their fascia is the primary goal more than me showing off anything ha ha. And starting out, one's fascia can only support a few kg before the fascia starts deforming. I should have specified that if the weight does not feel lighter after relaxing into Song and inflating into the motion, that the weight is indeed deforming the fascia or the Song expansion is not correctly performed, and if that happens to try even lighter weight until you get the feel of the method.
I would totally agree with you that the weigh of a 3yo child is extremely applicable to real life, that is exactly what I most frequently carry ha ha. Beyond that, when the Fascia strengthens and is able to support more weight, that is what allows your Song to support more force and to move quicker without deforming. Any demonstration you see me do, in which I deliver force into another person, whether hitting them or sending them falling back, are all real life applications of this quality. Another major one in Tai Chi is of course swinging a sword that weighs a few pounds while maintaining relaxation and delivering force. Does that make sense?
I'll make a short of some heavier weight demonstrations and update this comment with a link when it's up! Thanks for the suggestion! 😃🙏
@@phoenixmountaintaichi Thank you Shifu
Lin for this very interesting video, which covers a topic that few Taiji “masters” seem willing or able to address. I have always adhered to the traditional notion that the internal and external must be developed together, and it’s helpful to see you highlight fascia as the linchpin for this process. I too would be very interested in seeing your next video on lifting heavier weights using Taiji principles.
@@wilindroccayou’re totally right! Thank you for the comment and I’ll update you when the heavier weight demonstration is up. 😃