Greetings all,
I also had heard, with sadness, that Feng had passed away. I believe he is featured in the recent issue of Tai Chi Magazine.
Further to the discussion about the Huan Yuan Posture at the end of our form, it is interesting to note that neither the name nor the picture of the posture is listed in Yang Chengfu's
Application Methods of Taijiquan that Louis kindly just linked to on the Book forum. It is also interesting to see that the form is listed as having only 94 postures.
As for the concept of "whole body force," I think that most martial arts refer to it, but that Taijiquan has its own unique view if it. On this site in
one part of the "About Tai Chi" section, we say:
In the taiji classics 'Synchronize Upper and Lower Body is expressed as: "With its root in the foot, emitting from the leg, governed by the waist, manifesting in the hands and fingers - from feet to legs to waist - complete everything in one impulse."
The individual parts and the one impulse constitute a Taiji unity. This is external. Storing the Qi in the Dantian and letting the Mind Intent lead it at will throughout the body is also a Taiji unity and the internal part. The external and internal again form a Taiji unity.
Think of a metal coil as opposed to one made of stone or as opposed to a straight metal wire. The metal coil gets its properties both from its material and it's shape. You can float a needle in a bowl of water, if you know what to do, but not because needles ordinarily float. It works because the individual water molecules together exhibit
surface tension, a property only latent in a single molecule and not even very obvious when large amounts of water are present. According to my understanding, our "whole-body" power is a Taiji unity containing Yin and Yang parts that each have their own Yin and Yang. If you focus too much only one one part, you will miss or misunderstand the unity.
I think all this theory is implicit in the Ten Essentials, but it is hard to fully understand or absorb without good teaching, good study, effective practice, and a healthy dose of experimentation. Even the gross external part seems simple and straightforward, but really is not, since internal and external cannot be separated and just combining any old internal practice with it does not respect the Taiji unity. Putting the back of a nickel together with the front of a quarter does not yield a coin worth either 30 cents or 15 cents, nor can you use it to pay for a cup of coffee.
Take care,
Audi