13 Pendekar Kungfu Yang Berkontribusi Besar Di Dunia Kungfu

(copas)

Kung fu adalah ilmu bela diri dari Tiongkok. Akan tetapi, arti kata kung fu yang sebenarnya memiliki makna luas, yakni sesuatu yang didapat dalam waktu yang lama dan dengan ketekunan yang sungguh-sungguh.

 

Kungfu mempunyai sejarah dan tradisi ilmu bela diri yang sangat panjang, ketat, teruji dan efektif sejak 5000 tahun yang lalu bersamaan dengan munculnya aliran kepercayaan Dao (Taoisme) yang kelak akan berkembang menjadi agama khusus.

 

Pada tahun 2500-an, mulai bermunculan berbagai aliran Kungfu yang melegenda hingga kini, dimulai dari Kuil Shaolin (Siaw Liem Sie), Wudang (Butong), Omei (Emei-Gobi), Kun Lun, Huasan, Thian San, Khongtong dan lain-lain. Secara umum, terdapat 100 lebih aliran Kungfu dan ribuan jurus serta berbagai jenis ilmu yang unik dan aneh, mulai dari yang paling keras dan ganas (external arts) hingga ilmu yang paling lembut dan ringan seperti kapas (internal arts).

 

Para Pendekar Kungfu masa lalu yang terkenal memberikan kontribusinya dalam Dunia Kungfu antara lain :

 

1)Bodhidharma (Da Mo/Tat Mo atau Daruma dalam bahasa Jepang).

Beliau adalah Pendeta spiritual Zen Budha dari India yang bertapa 9 tahun di Kuil Shaolin dan Pencipta berbagai jenis ilmu legendaris seperti : Ilmu Perubahan Urat & Otot (Yi Jin Jing/I Chin Ching), 9 Matahari (Kiu Yang Cin Keng), 5 Jurus Hewan, Jari Zen, dll. Namun sayangnya, beberapa diantara ilmu tersebut sudah lenyap. Konon pada saat menyebrang lautan hingga ke Tiongkok, Beliau hanya berdiri diatas sebatang dahan kecil dan gua tempat pertapaan Bodhidharma meninggalkan bayangan lekuk tubuhnya pada saat bermeditasi di tembok gua hingga kini. Selama bermeditasi 9 tahun di gua tersebut, Bodhidharma mampu mendengar pembicaraan berbagai jenis mahluk hidup seperti semut misalnya.

 

2. Thio Sam Hong

Di masa mudanya, Thio Sam Hong adalah murid yang sangat berbakat di Kuil Shaolin. Karena diberlakukan semena-mena oleh para senior, Beliau keluar dari Kuil Shaolin dan belajar mengembangkan Kungfu sendiri dengan memperhatikan berbagai fenomena alam seperti terpaan angin keras terhadap pohon bambu, pertarungan bangau dan ular, kokohnya pertahanan belalang sembah dari terpaan angin dan lain-lain. Setelah mengerti & memahami Intisari Alam Semesta, Thio Sam Hong muda menyepi di gunung Hua San untuk menyempurnakan ilmu-ilmunya. Pada saat Beliau turun gunung, Beliau menjelajahi seluruh Tiongkok dan mengadu ilmunya dengan para Ahli Bela Diri dan/atau Pendekar semua aliran. Berdasarkan literatur kuno, tercatat 2 pertarungan yang sangat terkenal, yakni pertama adalah pertarungan antara Thio Sam Hong dengan Pegulat Nomor 1 (Satu) Mongol yang sangat besar, kuat dan agresif. Belakangan diketahui pula bahwa Pegulat tersebut juga sangat ahli dalam berbagai aliran Kungfu Tiongkok. Pegulat Mongol tersebut konon mengalahkan banyak petarung Kuil Shaolin dan sejumlah Pendekar aliran keras lainnya. Pertarungan antara Thio Sam Hong dengan Pegulat Mongol tersebut dimenangkan oleh Thio Sam Hong dengan ilmu barunya, Tai Chi! Pertarungan kedua adalah seorang diri Thio Sam Hong mengalahkan lebih dari 100 orang gangster di sarang penyamun hanya dengan tangan kosong! Semenjak itu, Thio Sam Hong diakui oleh seluruh kalangan persilatan menjadi Pendekar Tanpa Tanding pada saat itu. Setelah merasa cukup dalam perantauanya, Beliau naik ke gunung Wudang (Butong) dan mendirikan Perguruan Wudang dengan basis utama pengajaran : Taoisme. Thio Sam Hong sendiri diyakini merupakan Pencipta Ilmu Tai Chi pertama dan sangat Ahli dalam Ilmu Tao Yin (Nei Kung). Konon Thio Sam Hong hidup di 3 (tiga) jaman (Immortal Taoist)dinasti,yakni Dinasti Sung, Dinasti Yuan (Monggol) dan Dinasti Ming (Han).

 

3. Yue Fei

Beliau adalah Jenderal Patriot yang terkenal dari Dinasti Sung (960-1279) dan hingga akhir hayatnya tetap setia membela negara walaupun difitnah dan dihukum mati oleh penguasa lalim. Jenderal Yue Fei adalah pencipta Kungfu Internal dan eksternal, yakni : Hsing – I (Xing Yi) dan Eng Jiaw (Cakar Elang). Selain ahli dalam pertarungan tangan kosong, Jenderal Yue Fei juga ahli dalam 18 senjata Shaolin khususnya tombak tunggal. Konon ilmu tombaknya setara dengan ilmu tombak Keluarga Yang (Ilmu tombak Keluarga Yang merupakan ilmu silat keluarga turun temurun yang sangat khas dan tinggi serta hanya sedikit Ahli/Pendekar yang mampu menandingi ilmu mereka pada jamannya. Berdasarkan catatan kuno, diketahui bahwa ilmu tombak tingkat tinggi Keluarga Yang mempunyai sejumlah keistimewaan, yakni : Ilmu Tombak Melekat/Berpilin dan Ilmu Tombak (Toya) Naga Perkasa yang mampu melumpuhkan/membunuh lawan tanpa menyentuh fisik. Catatan : Keluarga Yang merupakan patriot sejati Dinasti Sung yang tetap setia hingga akhir kejatuhan Dinasti Sung oleh Monggol). Kungfu Hsing I sendiri sempat lenyap dari dunia persilatan pasca meninggalnya Jenderal Yue Fei hingga sampai ditemukan kembali Kitab Kungfu Hsing I peninggalan Jenderal Yue Fei menjelang akhir Dinasti Ming oleh Ji Long Feng (Ji Jike). Kemudian Ji Long Feng menurunkan Kungfu Hsing I ke Keluarga Ma, Cao Ji Wu dan lain-lain hingga akhirnya muncul Kuo Yun Shen dan Sun Lutang sebagai ahli-ahli Kungfu Hsing I yang luar biasa.

 

4. Lima Leluhur Shaolin

Pasca pembakaran Kuil Shaolin dalam pertempuran kedua antara para Pendeta Kuil Shaolin dengan 50.000 Tentara Qing bersenjata lengkap dan modern yang dibantu para Lhama Tibet dan Praktisi Pak Mei (White Eyebrow). Kelima leluhur tersebut adalah : a) Choi Tak-Chung (蔡德忠) b) Fong Tai-Hung (方大洪) c) Ma Chiu-Hing (馬超興) d) Wu Tak-Tai (胡德帝) e) Lee Sik-Hoi (李式開) Berdasarkan literatur lama, disebutkan bahwa Kuil Shaolin hancur total dan terbakar selama 40 hari 40 malam dalam serangan tersebut. Seluruh catatan kuno ribuan tahun termasuk sejumlah ilmu Kungfu legendaris dan senjata pusaka hilang atau habis terbakar. Dari ribuan Biksu dan non Biksu Shaolin, hanya 5 orang yang lolos dari serangan tersebut dan kemudian mereka menyebar keseluruh Tiongkok sembari menyebarkan Shaolin Kungfu serta perlawanan anti Dinasti Qing. Kehancuran Kuil Shaolin diakibatkan oleh adanya pengkhianatan oknum Shaolin yang ternyata adalah antek-antek Dinasti Qing yang menyusup dan menabur racun diberbagai titik sumber air dan makanan para Bhiksu. Pada saat serangan kedua tersebut, kondisi fisik yang keracunan telah menyebabkan hilangnya kemampuan bertarung para Bhiksu dan Non Bhiksu Shaolin. Dalam pertarungan pertama, para Petarung Kuil Shaolin berhasil mengusir puluhan ribuan tentara Dinasti Qing yang bersenjata lengkap. Kegagalan dalam serangan pertama tersebut, membuat Kaisar Qing di puncak kemarahan. Sang Kaisar mengumpulkan tentara-tentara terbaik dari setiap legiun dan merekrut seluruh ahli bela diri Kungfu (termasuk para Lhama Tibet dan Praktisi Pak Mei) yang loyal kepada Dinasti Qing untuk bersama-sama menyerbu Kuil Shaolin serta menpersiapkan strategi penyusupan/perusakan dari dalam Kuil Shaolin. Dikemudian hari, 5 Leluhur Shaolin ini identik pula dengan 5 Tokoh Utama yang terkenal, yakni : a) Hung Hei-Koon 洪熙官 Hóng Xīguān/Hung Hei Gun, Pencipta Kungfu Hung Gar Hung Hei Koon adalah murid utama dari Bhiksu Gee Sin Sim See. Beliau terkenal sebagai Ahli Gung Gee Fok Fu Kuen (Siu Lum Fook Fu Kuen)dan Cakar Harimau Sejati. Jurus cakar harimaunya terkenal sangat ganas dan bertenaga. Kebanyakan korban keganasan jurus Hung Hei Koon adalah para tentara Qing dan antek-antek Manchu. b) Lau Sam-Ngan 劉三眼 Liú Sānyǎn/Lau Sam Ngan. Pencipta Kungfu Lau Gar Beliau dikenal dengan julukan “Lau si 3 Mata” c) Choi Kau-Yee 蔡九儀 Cài Jiǔyí/Choy Gau Yi, Pencipta Kungfu Choi Gar d) Lee Yau-San 李友山 Lǐ Yǒushān/Li Yau San, Pencipta Kungfu Lei Gar. Beliau adalah Guru dari Chan Heung, Pencipta Kungfu Choi Lei Fut e) Mok Ching-Kiu 莫清矯 Mò Qīngjiǎo/Mok Ching Giu, Pencipta Kungfu Mok Gar

 

5. Wong Fei Hung

Beliau adalah Ahli Kungfu, Pendiri Rumah Obat Pho Chi Lam dan sekaligus Shinshe Akunpuntur yang sangat terkenal dengan berbagai jenis ilmu Kungfu seperti : Ilmu Pasangan Harimau dan Bangau, Tendangan Tanpa Bayangan, Toan Ta, Toya 8 Diagram dan lain-lain. Murid-murid Beliau yang sangat terkenal antara lain : Lam Sai Wing, Leung Fong, Tang Fung dan Lin Wan Gai. Wong Fei Hung merupakan anak dari Wong Kei Ying, salah satu Pesilat terkenal dari “10 Harimau Kanton”. Pada masa hidupnya, Wong Fei Hung terkenal dengan berbagai pertarungan baik dengan para pesilat lokal maupun petarung asing demi mempertahankan “China’s Pride” yang pada saat itu jatuh hingga ke titik terendah. 2 (Dua) pertarungan yang sangat terkenal adalah pada saat Wong menjatuhkan lebih dari 50 orang pesilat gangster/bajak laut di pelabuhan hanya dengan sebatang toya dan pertarungan kedua adalah pada saat Beliau bersama dengan Liu Yong Fu berperang langsung dengan tentara Jepang di Taiwan. Beliau sendiri merupakan murid langsung dari Pengemis Sakti So (Beggar So), Lam Fuk Sing dan ayahnya sendiri yang notabene adalah anak dari Wong Tai, murid langsung Luk Ah Choi, Ahli Kungfu Hung Gar dan sekaligus murid langsung dari Biksu Shaolin terkenal : Gee Sin Sim See, Li Bak Fu & Hung Hei Koon.

 

6. Hua Yan Jia (Fok Yuen Gap)

Beliau adalah Pendiri Chin Woo Athletic Association yang hingga kini telah tersebar lebih dari 50 cabang di USA, Kanada, Argentina, Peru, Makau, Hongkong, China, Jepang, Wales, Selandia Baru, Srilanka, Vietnam, Australia, Singapura, Thailand, Malaysia dan lain-lain. Beliau merupakan Pendekar Kungfu yang terkenal sangat nasionalis dan juga lahir dari keluarga pesilat aliran Huo. Pada masa hidupnya, baik Beliau maupun muridnya Liu Zhensheng terkenal sebagai Pendekar Kungfu yang banyak mengalahkan berbagai praktisi aliran beladiri dari berbagai negara seperti pegulat, petinju, Pejudo dan Karateka dari Rusia, Inggris dan Jepang. Huo Yan Jia meninggal pada umur 42 pada tahun 1910 dan berdasarkan hasil otopsi Tianjin Municipality Police Laboratory, ditemukan racun arsenik dalam tubuh Huo. Para petinggi Chin Woo dan Dokter pemeriksa menduga bahwa racun tersebut terkait dengan hasil pertarungan terakhir dengan Japanesse Judo Association (“JJA”) yang berakibat banyaknya anggota JJA yang menderita kekalahan atau luka fatal di matras pertarungan

7)Keluarga Chen, Chen Fa Ke

salah satu penerus Tai Chi aliran Chen yang sangat terkenal pada masa hidupnya karena tidak ada satupun lawan yang dapat mengalahkannya. Banyak Ahli Bela Diri baik aliran keras maupun lembut serta berbagai aliran Bela Diri lain yang mengakui bahwa Chen Fa Ke adalah Pesilat Tak Terkalahkan pada jamannya.

 

8)Keluarga Yang, Yang Lu Chan (Yang Fu Kui).

Beliau adalah Pendiri Tai Chi aliran Yang. Pada masa hidupnya, Beliau juga terkenal sebagai Pendekar dengan julukan “Yang Wu Di = Yang Tak Terkalahkan”. Keturunan Beliau dan penerusnya yang sangat terkenal antara lain : Yang Chien Hou, Yang Shao Hao, Yang Cheng Fu & Chen Man Ching. Ilmu Tai Chi Yang Lu Chan sendiri terkenal dengan sejumlah julukan, yakni Mien Quan (Cotton Fist)dan Hua Quan (Neutralising Fist).

 

9) Kuo Yun Shen (Guo Yun Shen/Yu Sheng)

Terkenal dengan ilmu silatnya dan Nei Kung yang sangat tinggi. Beliau adalah ahli Kungfu Hsing – I (Xing Yi). Kuo Yun Shen dijuluki “Ban Bu Peng Kuo” karena terkenal dengan penguasaan ilmu Peng Quan (“Crushing Fist”) yang sempurna, salah satu ilmu dari 5 Elemen Hsing I). Konon Ilmu Tapak Kapasnya mampu merontokkan tubuh lawan cukup hanya dengan menyentuhnya. Kuo Yun Shen pernah menepuk 10 batubata dengan lembut dan semuanya hancur terburai. Beliau sendiri adalah murid terbaik dari Master Li Luoneng dan tidak pernah terkalahkan oleh siapapun pada jamannya. Hanya satu orang yang dapat mengimbangi Master Kuo Yun Shen, yakni Tung Hai Chuan dalam pertarungan sengit selama 3 hari 3 malam yang berakhir seri dan akhirnya mereka menjadi sahabat baik yang saling bertukar ilmu Kungfu.

 

10)Sun Lutang (Sun Fu Quan)

Beliau adalah Pencipta Tai Chi aliran Sun dan terkenal sebagai Ahli Hsing I dan Bagua. Beliau merupakan murid dari berbagai Ahli Kungfu seperti Bhiksu Wu, Kuo Yun Shen, Li Kui Yuan, Cheng Ting Hua (Ahli Baguazhang), Hao Wei Chen (Ahli Wu Yu Xiang Tai Chi) dan lain-lain. Julukan Beliau adalah : “Pendekar Kepala Harimau” dan “Lebih Pintar daripada Monyet Aktif”.

 

11) Tung Hai Chuan (Dong Haichuan)

adalah pencipta ilmu Baguazhang (Zhuanzhang)dan terkenal tidak terkalahkan pada jamannya. Salah satu pertarungan terkenalnya adalah pertarungan 3 hari 3 malam dengan Master Kuo Yun Shen yang berakhir seri. Selain ahli Baguazhang, Beliau juga ahli dalam ilmu Bafanshan, Hongquan, Xingmengquan, Jinggangquan, Erlangquan dan Lohanquan.

 

12. Yip Man (Ip Man)

Yip Man (Ip Man) merupakan salah satu ahli Kungfu Wing Chun ternama dan terkenal sebagai Pesilat yang tak terkalahkan namun sangat “low profile”. Beliau merupakan murid langsung dari Chan Wah Sun, Ng Chung Sok & Leung Bik (anak dari Leung Jan). Selama di Foshan, Tiongkok, Beliau mempunyai beberapa murid yang terkenal antara lain : Lok Yiu, Chow Kwong Yue,Kwok Fu, Lun Kai,Chan Chi Sun dan Lui Ying. Pada saat di Hongkong, sejumlah murid Beliau yang terkenal adalah Leung Sheung, Lok Yiu, Chu Song Tin, Wong Shun Leung, Lo Man Kam dan Li Siau Lung (Bruce Lee).

 

13. Bruce Lee (Lee Jun Fan/Lee Siau Lung).

Praktisi Wing Chun dan Pendiri Jeet Kune Do (Intercepting Fist). Beliau adalah aktor sekaligus seniman bela diri yang berangkat dari hobi perkelahian jalanan bahkan dengan anggota2 geng mafia. Pada masa hidupnya, Beliau terkenal dengan sejumlah pertarungan nyata dengan berbagai praktisi bela diri baik pada masa syuting film maupun hari-hari yang telah ditentukan. Berikut adalah daftar sejumlah pertarungan Bruce Lee yang tercatat : a) Pada tahun 1958, Bruce Lee mengalahkan Juara Boxer Inggris 3x, Gary Elms di ronde ketiga dengan KO dalam kejuaran Hongkong Inter School Amateur Boxing Championship b) Sebelum berhadapan dengan Gary Elms, Bruce Lee mengalahkan Shen Yuen, Lieh Lo dan Yang Huang semuanya di ronde pertama dengan KO c) Bruce Lee mengalahkan Pu Chung, Ahli Kungfu Choy Li Fut dengan KO di ronde pertama dalam pertarungan Full Contact Body. Sponsor pertarungan tersebut adalah Wong Sheung Leung d) Selama tahun 1959-1960, Bruce Lee terlibat banyak pertarungan di jalanan dan rata-rata korbannya KO atau cacat, sehingga pihak Kepolisian menjadi sibuk akibat hobi Beliau e) Pada tahun 1962, Bruce Lee mengalahkan Uechi juara Karate Sabuk Hitam dengan KO 11 detik di Seattle. Taki Kimura justru menghitung KO tersebut dalam waktu 10 detik! f) Pada saat syting film The Big Boss di Thailand, Bruce menjawab tantangan dari para Muai Thay dengan meng-KO wakil mereka hanya dalam hitungan detik g) Pada saat syuting film Enter The Dragon, Bruce juga menjawab tantangan seorang Karateka Ban Hitam dengan meng-KOnya dalam hitungan detik h) Dalam beberapa kesempatan, Bruce menjawab tantangan dari berbagai ahli bela diri baik dengan menggunakan tangan kosong maupun senjata, namun semua lawannya rata-rata mengalami nasib KO atau tidak dapat melanjutkan pertarungan. Pada umumnya pertarungan tersebut disaksikan banyak orang atau ahli-ahli bela diri lainnya i) Pertarungan yang terlama dan cukup menguras energi Bruce Lee adalah pada saat Beliau berhadapan dengan Wong Jack Man, ahli Xing Yi, Kungfu Shaolin Selatan dan Tai Chi. Konon Wong Jack Man adalah petarung Kungfu dari Chin Woo School. Pertarungan selesai dalam waktu 20-25 menit dengan kemenangan Bruce Lee. Di lain kesempatan, Wong Jack Man mengajukan tantangan kembali namun Bruce Lee tidak pernah menanggapi. Belajar dari pertarungan tersebut, Bruce mengintegrasikan seluruh kemampuan dan ilmu bela dirinya dan akhirnya menciptakan aliran bela diri baru, yakni : Jeet Kune Do.

CMC 37 FORM

First Section 1-17
1 Preparation N12 Yu Pei Shih
2 Beginning N12 Chi Shih
3-7 Grasp The Sparrow’s Tail Lan Chueh Wei
3 Ward Off, Left N12 Tso Peng
4 Ward Off, Right E3 Yu Peng
5 Roll Back E3 Lu
6 Press E3 Chi
7 Push E3 An
8 Single Whip W9 Tan Pien
9 Raise Hands N12 Playing the Lute Ti Shou
10 Shoulder Stroke N12 Kao
11 White Crane Spread Its Wings W9 Pai Hao Liang Chih
12 Brush Left Knee W9 Tso Lou Shih Yao Pu
13 Play The Guitar W9 Shou Hui Pi Pa
Brush Left Knee W9 Tso Lou Shih Yao Pu
14-16 Step, Deflect, Intercept, Punch Chin Pu, Pan Lan Chui
14 Step Up and Block (Deflect) W9
15 Intercept and Punch W9
16 Withdraw and Push W9 Ju Feng Szu Pi
17 Cross Hand N12 Shih Tzu Shou
Second Section 18-37
18 Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain Pao Hu Kuei Shan
Brush Right Knee SE4
Roll Back SE4
Press SE4
Push SE4
Diagonal Single Whip NW10 Sheih Tan Pien
19 Fist Under Elbow W9 Chou Ti Kan Chui
20-21 Step Back and Repulse Monkey
20 Step Back and Repulse Monkey, Right W9 Tao Nien Hou Yu
21 Step Back and Repulse Monkey, Left W9 Tao Nien Hou Tso
Step Back and Repulse Monkey, Right W9 Tao Nien Hou Yu
Step Back and Repulse Monkey, Left W9 Tao Nien Hou Tso
Step Back and Repulse Monkey, Right W9 Tao Nien Hou Yu
22 Diagonal Slant Flying NE2 Hsieh Fei Shih
23-24 Wave Hands Like Clouds
23 Wave Hands Like Clouds, Right N12 Yu Yun Shou
24 Wave Hands Like Clouds, Left N12 Tso Yun Shou
Wave Hands Like Clouds, Right N12 Yu Yun Shou
Wave Hands Like Clouds, Left N12 Tso Yun Shou
25 Snake Creeps Down Left Leg W9 Tan Pien Hsia Shih
26 Golden Rooster Stands on Left Leg W9 Chin Chi Tu Li Shih
27 Golden Rooster Stands on Right Leg W9
28 Separate Hands, Kick With Right Foot NW1011 Yu Fen Chio
29 Separate Hands, Kick With Left Foot SW7
30 Turn Body and Kick With Left Heel E3
Brush Left Knee E3
Brush Right Knee E3
31 Step Forward and Punch Down E3 Chin Pu Tsau Chui
Grasping The Sparrow’s Tail E3
Ward Off, Right E3
Roll Back E3
Press Chi E3
Push An E3
Single Whip W9
32-33 Fair Lady Weaves (Works) at Suttles
32 Fair Lady Weaves (Works) at Suttles, Left NE2 Yu Nu Ch’uan Suo
33 Fair Lady Weaves (Works) at Suttles, Right NW10
Fair Lady Weaves (Works) at Suttles, Left SW7
Fair Lady Weaves (Works) at Suttles, Right SE4
Grasping The Sparrow’s Tail
Ward Off, Left N12
Ward Off, Right E3
Roll Back E3
Press Chi E3
Push An E3
Single Whip W9
Snake Creeps Down Left Leg W9
34 Step Up to Seven Stars W9 Shang Pu Chi Hsing
35 Retreat to Ride the Tiger W9 Tui Pu Kua Hu
36 Turn Body and Sweeping Left Leg Lotus Kick W9 Chuan Shen Pai Lien Tui
37 Bend the Bow to Shoot the Tiger W9 Wan Kung She Hu
Step, Block, Intercept, Punch
Step up and Block W9
Intercept and Punch W9
Withdraw and Push W9
Cross Hand N12 Shih Tzu Shou
Return to Wuji Conclusion N12 Ho Tai Chi

Treatise on Tai Chi The Principles of T’ai Chi Ch’uan

(copas)

1A.  With every movement string all the parts together, keeping the entire body light and nimble.

1B.   In any action, the whole body should be light and agile, or Ching and Lin. One should feel that all of the body’s joints are connected with full linkage.

1C.  Once in motion, every part of the body is light and agile and must be threaded together.

1D.  Whenever one moves, the entire body must be light and lively, and must above all be connected throughout.

1E.  Once you begin to move, the entire body must be light and limber.  Each part of your body should be connected to every other part.

1F.  In motion all parts of the body must be light, nimble, and strung together.

1G.  Move in an agile, balanced, and coordinated manner. Once you decide to move, The parts of the body should act together:
Feeling connected and coordinated,
As balanced as two feathers on a scale,
Strung together like pearls in a necklace,
Agile like a cat,
Lighter than moonbeams,
Mobile as a young monkey.

Master Chang San-Feng’s Treatise on T’ai Chi Ch’uan, circa 1300 CE, Part 1

 

2A.  Calmly stimulate the ch’i, with the Spirit of Vitality concentrated internally.

2B.  Chi should be stirred.  The spirit of vitality, or Shen, should be concentrated          inwards.

2C.  Qi should be full and stimulated, Shen (Spirit) should be retained internally.

2D.  The qi should be excited; the spirit should be gathered within.

2E.  The internal energy should be extended, vibrated like the beat of a drum. The spirit should be condensed in toward the center of your body.

2F.  The ch’i (breath) should be excited, the shen (spirit) should be internally gathered.

2G.  Energize the body and quiet the gathered spirit. Raise up awareness to draw Chi to every nerve, Fill up the body with the strength of the excited Force, Stir and stimulate the Chi from head to toe, Playing the Great Drum of Inner Powers.
Keep the spirit calm within,
Vital forces tamed and quiet,
Riding the Tigress to the Temple,
Gently leading the Great Ox past the Gate;
Condensing the Elixir of Spirit in the Inner Chamber.

Master Chang San-Feng’s Treatise on T’ai Chi Ch’uan, circa 1300 CE, Part 2

 

3A.  Avoid deficiency and excess; avoid projections and hollows; avoid severance and splice.

3B.  Do not show any deficiency, neither concavity nor convexity in movement. Do not show disconnected movement.

3C.  No part should be defective, no part should be deficient or excessive, no part should be disconnected.

3D.  Let there be no hollows or projections; let there be no stops and starts.

3E.  When performing T’ai Chi, it should be perfect; allow no defect.  The form should be smooth with no unevenness, and continuous, allowing no interruptions.

3F.  Let the postures be without breaks or holes, hollows or projections, or discontinuities and continuities of form.

3G.  Move in a continuous, even and smooth manner.
Do not overextend the limbs or sully the forms.
Flow like the Great River
Filling all the holes and hallows,
Unbroken, gathered, full, unstoppable;
Seeking the True Level, finding the Golden Mean,
Neither excessive nor deficient in Yin or Yang;
Holding postures as perfect as the Blue Lotus,
Moving steadily between forms like the White Tiger,
Uniting body and will in the Jade Furnace,
Transcending inner and outer, starting and stopping.

Master Chang San- Feng’s Treatise on T’ai Chi Ch’uan, circa 1300 CE, Part 3

 

4A.  The energy is rooted in the feet, issued through the legs, directed by the waist, and appears in the hands and fingers.  The feet, legs, and waist must act as one unit, so that whether Advancing or Withdrawing you will be able to obtain a superior position and create a good opportunity.

4B.  The Chin is rooted in the feet, bursts out in the legs, is controlled by the waist and functions through the fingers.  From the feet to the legs, legs to the waist, all should be moved as a unit.  By moving as a unit, one can advance or retreat with precise timing and the most advantageous position.

4C.  The root is at the feet, (Jin is) generated from the legs, controlled by the waist and expressed by the fingers.  From the feet to the legs to the waist must be integrated, and one unified Qi.  When moving forward or backward, you can catch the opportunity and gain the superior position.

4D.  Its root is in the feet, it issuing from the legs, its control from the yao, and its shaping in the fingers.  From the feet, to the legs, and then the yao; there must always be completely one qi.  Only then, in moving forward and backward, can the opportunity and position be gained.

4E.  The internal energy, ch’i, roots at the feet, then transfers through the legs and is controlled from the waist, moving eventually through the back to the arms and fingertips. When transferring the ch’i from your feet to your waist, your body must operate as if all the parts were one; this allows you to move forward and backward freely with control of balance and position.

4F.  The motion should be rooted in the feet, released through the legs, controlled by the      waist, and manifested through the fingers.  The feet, legs and waist must act together simultaneously, so that while stepping forward or back the timing and position are correct.

4G.

5A.   Failure to obtain a superior position and create a good opportunity results from the body being in a state of disorder and confusion.  To correct this disorder, adjust the waist and legs.

5B.  If precise timing and good position are not achieved and the body does not move       as a unit, then the waist and legs need more development.  They may not be strong or flexible enough.

5C.  If you fail to catch the opportunity and gain the superior position, your mind is scattered and your body is disordered.  To solve this problem, you must look to the waist and legs.

5D.  Where the opportunity and position have not been gained, the body is scattered and disordered.  This error must be sought in the yao and the legs.

5E.  Failure to do this causes loss of control of the entire body system.  The only cure for such a problem is an examination of the stance.

5F.  If the timing and position are not correct, the body becomes disordered, and the defect must be sought in the legs and waist.

5G.

6A.   Likewise, upward and downward, forward and backward, leftward and rightward – all these are to be directed by the Mind-Intent and are not to be expressed externally.

6B.  This often shows when moving up or down, backwards or forwards, left or right.  Use internal consciousness, not external forms.

6C.  Up and down, forward and backward, left and right, it’s all the same. All of this is done with the Yi (Mind), not externally.

6D.  Upward, downward, forward, backward, left and right are all thus.  In all of these cases, it is yi, and not from extremities.

6E.  Application of these principles promotes the flowing T’ai Chi movement in any direction; forward, backward, right side, and left side.  In all of this, you must emphasize the use of the mind in controlling your movements, rather than the mere use of external muscles.

6F.  Up or down, front or back, left or right, are all the same.  These are all i (mind) and not external.

6G.

7A.   If there is above, there must be below.  If there is Advancing, there must be Withdrawing.  If there is left, there must be right. If the initial intent is upward, you must first have downward intent.  If you want to lift something upward, you must first have the intent of pushing downward. Then the root will be severed, it will be immediately and certainly toppled.

7B.  Where there is something up, there must be something down.  Where there is something forwards, there must be something backwards.  Where there is something left, there must be something right.  If one intends to move up, one must simultaneously show a contrary tendency (downwards), just as one who wishes to pull a tree up pushes downwards first to loosen the roots, so that it can be easily uprooted.

7C.  If there is a top, there is a bottom; if there is a front, there is a back; if there is a left, here is a right.  If Yi (mind) wants to go upward, this implies considering downward.  (This means) if (you) want to lift and defeat an opponent, you must first consider his root.  When the opponent’s root is broken, he will inevitably be
defeated quickly and certainly.

7D.  There is up, and therefore there is down, there is forward, and therefore there is backward; there is left, and therefore there is right.  If one intends to move upward, the send the yi downward.  If one wants to lift something up, then a ‘break’ must be added.  In this way, the opponent will sever his own root, ruining him quickly; no doubt about it.

7E.  You should also follow the T’ai Chi principle of opposites: when you move upward, the mind must be aware of down; when moving forward, the mind also thinks
of moving back; when shifting to the left side, the mind should simultaneously notice the right side – so that if the mind is going up, it is also going down.  Such principles relate to T’ai Chi movement in the same way that uprooting an object, and thereby destroying its foundation, will make the object fall sooner.

7F.  If there is up, there is down; if there is forward, then there is backward; if there is        left, then there is right.  If the i wants to move up, it contains at the same time the downward idea.  By alternating the force of pulling and pushing, the root is severed and the object is quickly toppled, without a doubt.

7G.

8A.   Clearly discriminate the Substantial and Insubstantial.  There is an aspect of Substantial and Insubstantial in every part of the body.  Considered in their entirety all things have this nature.

8B.  One must distinguish substantiality from insubstantiality. Where there is substantiality, there must be insubstantiality.  In all ways, one has to distinguish one from the other.

8C.  Substantial and insubstantial must be clearly distinguished.  Every part (of the body) has a substantial and insubstantial aspect.  The entire body and all the joints should be threaded together without the slightest break.

8D.  Empty and full should be divided clearly.  Each point (in your body) in this way has empty and full.  Every point always is empty and full.  The whole body, in every joint, is strung together; do not let it be even the slightest bit broken.

8E.  Besides clearly separating the positive and negative from one another, you should also clearly locate the substantial and insubstantial.  When the entire body is integrated with all parts connected together, it becomes a vast connection of positive and negative energy units.  Each positive and negative unit of energy should be connected to every other unit and permit no interruption among them.

8F.  Insubstantial and substantial should be clearly differentiated. One place has insubstantiality and substantiality; every place has the same insubstantiality and substantiality. All part of the body are strung together without the slightest break.

8G.

9A.  Chang Ch’uan (Long Boxing) is like a long river or great ocean rolling on without interruption.

9B.  Long Chuan, like a great river, flows unceasingly.

9C.  What is Long Fist?  (It is) like a long river and a large ocean, rolling ceaselessly.

9D.  Long Boxing is like the Long River and the Great Sea, an unceasing torrent.

9E.  In Long Forms your body should move like the rhythmic flow of water on a river or like the rolling waves of the ocean.

9F.  Ch’ang Ch’uan (T’ai Chi Ch’uan) is like a great river rolling on unceasingly.

9G

Tai Chi And The Five Integrities

(copas)

by Kenneth van Sickle

The body uses several energies, pneumatic (breath), hydraulic (circulatory), mechanical (muscle & bone), and electromagnetic (nervous system).

Tai Chi, uses these energies in dynamic and subtle ways..
Tai Chi is energy management. Energy needs a channel, if the channel is blocked, the energy will not flow.

The beginning Tai Chi student runs into tensions that stop energy flow, the master watches them do the form and notices these tensions, points them out to the student and suggests ways to slowly get rid of them.

The first priority of the form is to relax, to get rid of tension.

First the gross energy blocks are handled , shoulder tension blocks energy to the arms, hip tension blocks energy to the knee, knee tension to the feet, stomach tension shallows the breath, these and other energy blocks short circuit the system, like an electrical short, or a kink in a hose.

Once a block goes away the energy flows through until it hits the nest one to be worked on.

When all blocks are gone the energy (“Chi” in Chinese) flow freely through the body and then can be managed to produce extra normal energy, to heal or to use as self-defense.

As the student progresses in the form, many things are being addressed simultaneously, alignment, centering, rooting, sensitivity,internal massage and martial awareness all come after the relaxation process has started, they are dependent on relaxation.

The body is gradually ease, pushed by the consideration and will of the student, to align, to find it’s natural position again, to become a functional piece of architecture.

If, for example, the ankle is pronated (caved in toward the other foot) the knee and the hop will also be out of line. This might all manifest as lower back trouble. When the ankle is corrected the whole system will realign and that back trouble will be relieved. The Tai Chi form allows for this kind of healing.

The constant repetition of the form achieves many things. It gets the motor running. The form must be done twice daily, this is the “sine quo non” of Tai Chi. The motor must be kept running once it has started. It is like a generator, once it stops it takes a while for it to start again.

This generator develops “intrinsic energy”. This is a combination of energies and its generation must not be interrupted just as we must keep breathing.

Internal exercise systems keep gaining energy, and can be continued into advanced age. Tai Chi and Yoga masters do not necessarily live longer than other people, but they are almost always fit and vital up until their last hours.

Tai Chi forms have a very precise choreography. The Yang form as taught by Cheng M’an-Ching, has 36 postures. Each follows in the same order every time the form is done, one move flows into the next at the same speed, without interruption.

The form can be done slowly 7-10 minutes. Many do their daily routines at this speed, or very slowly, 20-60 minutes, for advanced energizing or to heal the body.

Each Tai Chi posture has multiple purposes. One move might be for aligning the ankle (ones own); avoiding a kick (someone else’s); and massaging the spleen. Most moves have more than one martial application.

All the moves are always concerned with centering, alignment and balance.

Centering has to do with one’s place in space, being there securely and at ease with the body, knowing where the center is and where the edges are. Being aware of the essential you, and therefore of what surrounds you.

Alignment is simply about good architecture, to be built or rebuilt correctly. All animals including man are born with the same probability of physical perfection and most animals achieve it.

When we are children we get frustrated, ignored, threatened and physically punished….these acts make us tense up, either temporarily or permanently.

Tensions wear us down, harden our bones and decrease our vitality.

“Lao Tsu” said that we “stiffen and harden” where as in youth we are “tender and pliable”. Tai Chi is a way to replace that hardness with pliability.

The perfect balance of animals is only achieved by man when it is studied, as in athletes or circus performers. Consider what any seal, cat, goat or dog can do without thinking.

When we tense up, from fear or whatever the cause, it puts pressure on the bone, not the normal off and on pressure of exercise or work but a constant unrelenting pressure. This kind of pressure fatigues and hardens the bones and muscles, making them stiff and unpliable, weak and insensitive.

In the process of learning Tai Chi, these tensions are relaxed.
In a relaxed state, the blood flows fully and appropriately through the veins and arteries nourishing the body and pulsing oxygen into the brain.

The breathing is slow and even and in the stomach. When we exert ourselves we begin to breathe in the chest area (also when we panic).

The muscles are alive and relaxed and only tense when they are doing something. The nervous system is quietly sending messages that are appropriate to the reality of the external stimuli. And all is well.

When we become tense all these processes speed up and change their character and load ( they have evolved to be able to do that without any damage to the system).

As we know, adrenaline is issued to help the body handle trouble. It makes us breathe harder to get the oxygen around. It prepares the blood to clot quicker, it even makes our hairs stand up as a skin protection, even though we don’t have enough hair left to make a difference anymore.

Studies with Baboons have shown that another substance is issued under stress. These “Stress Hormones”, act with the adrenaline to prepare for danger, the whole body is readied for a physical confrontation.

In order to do that, many other body functions are put on 2nd priority. As soon as the danger is over, the systems switch back to normal. But, what happens if the Baboon/person considers itself in danger all the time? All the body’s systems are functioning at an inappropriate rate, we are prepared for a danger that doesn’t exist. In this state, normal life becomes difficult to handle.

In addition, it seems that the Stress hormones inhibit the Immune System. The Baboons that are low in the hierarchy are invariably sick animals.

As far as I know, these studies do not take into consideration the lack of positive input. The Baboon that is constantly being chased or intimidated, doesn’t get many hugs or loving glances.

People that actually are under stress all the time, don’t have time for love and good feelings, and people who consider themselves to be under stress, and are therefore always tense, are less lovable, more difficult to be comfortable with.

“MORAL”: Since Baboons can’t afford Tai Chi lessons, you will have to take them!

In the Western world, and most of the Eastern one also, we are more and more into immediate gratification, “I WANT IT NOW”, “WHERE CAN I BUY IT”, “LIFE, MADE EASY”. Tai chi doesn’t lend itself to that attitude. Tai Chi is slow, gradual and thoughtful, precisely because that, is what relaxes and vitalizes.

Tai Chi doesn’t “DO IT” for you, you do Tai Chi, and the more you do it, the more you benefit.

Once you do the form, in the morning, just after arising and, just before retiring, you are doing Tai Chi, you are generating health and vitality. If you miss doing the form even just 3 or 4 times a week, you are merely playing and perhaps maintaining a status quo.

After 5 or 10 or 20 years, (as long as it takes), when you have truly relaxed and your chi is flowing perfectly, you may no longer need to do the form as often because every move you make, follows the principles of Tai Chi, and the generator is always working.

Cheng M’an Ch’ing shortened the form from 105 moves to 36 moves. He was both lauded and criticized for doing this. He told us that the form was too long. If people must do a 20-30 minutes form twice a day, they are a lot less likely to do it than a 5-10 minute form.

For those who need or want more of a workout, the “Short Form” can be repeated 2 or 3 times and one will get the same benefit that you do from the long form.

Professor Cheng left out only 9 or 10 moves, most of the shortening came from leaving out repetitions.

The moves that he did leave out were mainly martial and since he was a doctor and his highest priority for Tai Chi was health, he wouldn’t have left out any moves that had any health benefits that other moves didn’t cover.

Some masters say “NO PAIN, NO GAIN” in order to inspire their students to do the form every day. I really think that most of the pain comes from the thought of doing the form, let’s say at 1 A.M., when you are tired and sore. As soon as you start to do the form you begin to relax and feel better, so that by the time you hit the bed you will sleep sooner and deeper.

The form cannot be done simply mechanically, like let’s say painting walls. It must be done with sensitivity and depth, like painting a portrait, then it will develop deeply and permeate the rest of your life.
After completing the form, it takes 6 months to a year and a half to learn the form so that one does not have to think about the choreography, the student is ready to begin “PUSH-HANDS”. Having learned to relax while doing the movements and under no stress other than the rigors of remembering, one advances into the next stage and introduced to “CONTROLLED STRESS”

Push hands is a physical dialogue wherein the two“partners” take turns trying to break down the very things the student has worked on all that time.

Student#1 “YANG” tries, (softly and slowly) to misalign, to unbalance, to find the center and to uproot student #2 “YIN”, who without using muscular strength, tries to neutralize the “PROBE” of “YANG”. Once the probe has been neutralized (yielded to), the students automatically change roles. “YANG” becomes “YIN” and the one who neutralized, now “PROBES” (pushes) toward the one who before was the aggressive one.

This continuous changing of roles is something like 2 man sawing. It gives both the “PLAYERS”, a chance to experience both sides of the game, active “YANG” and passive “YIN”.

Push hands works in several ways, if you are pushed 1000 times the same way, and you try to neutralize it correctly each time, you will probably succeed,….if your pushed over and over by a more advance player, she/he will point out the possible neutralizations, and you can practice them.

Tai Chi is Taoist in nature, it doesn’t clash, it yields, it follows the natural path, it “Rides the horse in the direction its going”. It gently leads the strength that seeks to topple it, off balance, off center, so that it topples itself.

“Man, born tender and yielding
Stiffens and hardens in death
All living growth is pliant until death transfixes it.
Thus men who have hardened are “KIN OF DEATH”
And men who stay gentle are “KIN OF LIFE”
A hard hearted army is doomed to lose
A tree hard fleshed is cut down
Down goes the tough and big
Up jumps the tender sprig.”

“Lao Tzu” #76 (Trans. Witter Bynner)  600 B.C.

In push hands you learn that the principles you learned while doing the form do work. All you need to do is keep relaxed, aligned, centered, balanced, rooted and aware of the space you’re working in.

After you have gotten the basics of Push hands down, and you no longer need to think about the moves, you begin to notice that you automatically/spontaneously do moves from the form. You “discover” the self defense application on your own. In this way you really get the idea—then practice.

Most find that any psychological/social problems show up as soon as they start Push hands, and that it is a compact safe condition in which to work them out.

As you advance farther into Push hands you begin to develop more and more sensitivity t the other person’s energy (Listening to energy), to the point that you can tell just how someone is going to move any part of their body by being in contact with one small point on their body, (Interpreting energy).

This sensitivity transmits itself to your occupation, sports and your social life.

Axioms And Principles

—Tai Chi is process, the point of it, is the evolution of
the practitioner, not the acquisition of the art.

—Have no holes or breaks, no hollows or projection.
All moves are appropriate, no excesses or deficiencies.

—Don’t let your knee go farther forward than your toe,
in 70%—30% position, don’t sit all the way back onto your heel.

—Push the “opponent” from within your space, if they
enter into your space (all things equal) they are yours.

—The push is in a straight line, as when you try to find
the center of a Ping Pong ball and push it down into the water, the neutralization is circular, as when the Ping Pong ball slips away.

—Neither puff up nor collapse, do not brace
or run away from.

—It is not good to balance by gripping the floor with
the foot, or by shifting the weight, left and right side, like a tight rope walker. Balance in a vertical line like a plumb line, through the ground on the bottom, and through the top of the head to the sky.

—Excess of hardness (yang) brings softness (yin), just as
excess of sorrow brings joy, and excess of joy brings sorrow.

—“Appear like a hawk after a rabbit”, seek a perfectly
straight line of attack towards your quarry’s center…“With the spirit of a cat after a rat”,. When a push is neutralized, immediately realign on the opponent’s center.

—Be cohesive in the center and expansive on the outside.
—Discern the full from the empty,..Root in one leg at a time
while the torso revolves like a vertical cylinder on top of it.

—Feel the air around you so that it becomes heavy and begin to
notice its ebbs and flows.

—The body is rooted a the bottom, and light and flexible
on top like a tree.

—Don’t use force against force, borrow the imposing force
and return it

—Where there is tension, the life force (chi) is suppressed, when
tension leaves, chi returns

— The bull is a great strong beast, and can be handled by one
small person if they apply a small amount of energy to the right place (the ring in the nose).

—The head is held up as if a string is attached to the sky, like
a marionette,…the coccyx is held down as if there is a weight on it….the spine is stretched between the two.

—The arms do not move independently, they move with the body.

Tai Chi Ditch Digging

“Tai Chi” used in this way, to describe a way of doing something, means to use the principles of Tai Chi to accomplish something in the most efficient (ultimate) way.

One principle is to use the most economical, least energy draining energy available.

As applied to digging with a shovel, most of us who use a shovel, push and stomp on it to get it into the ground, then bend and shove it down to break the earth, use the strength of our backs to lift it and the muscles of our arms to throw it. This of course, makes it back breaking work.

If you use the principles of Tai Chi, it works like this: You place the shovel’s edge on the ground, step on it using your whole body weight on the handle (creating a lever), and break the earth out. You then reach down with the other hand and using your thighs (the largest muscle) lift straight up. Now take a step in the direction the shovel is pointing, the arms, if relaxed, will swing in that direction, then stop the shovel and the dirt will continue to it’s destination (momentum/inertia).

Here we have used gravity, leverage, inertia, momentum and the least amount of our muscular energy as possible.

Many people who dig a great deal, will end up doing it this way eventually through trial and error. We can save a great deal of time and energy if we apply the principles of Tai Chi to all of our activities, physical, social, professional, etc.

The Ping Pong Ball

It is much harder to submerge a floating Ping Pong ball with the tip of one finger than it is to push a person. However, some parallels do exist.

Its buoyancy is due to the fact that it contains air, (Chi). The sphere contains more, relative to its surface, than any other shape.

Its ability to move quickly is due to its lightness (relaxation), and its ability to seek the surface so directly is due to its roundness (alignment).

The pushing finger must go in a straight line towards the ball’s center, as with the Tai Chi push, and the ball rotates towards the direction of least resistance like a good neutralization.

The Cup Returns

If you have ever tried to blow the dust out of a cup, you will recall that you were unpleasantly surprised to find that the dust blew right back in your face.

The cup borrowed your energy and returned it to you.

If you blew into the right side of the cup, the air went to the bottom, picked up the dust and returned from the left side. If you blew into the top, it returned from the lower side, etc. If you were advanced enough to blow into the very center of the cup, the cup would become as advanced and return t you from all sides at once.

—“The flywheel turns, but the mind does not turn” In defense, the waist turns to neutralize the push of the opponent, but the mind stays still and continues to address the opponent, center to center.

The feeling you get when you push someone, and they neutralize it with a simultaneous return, would be as if you threw a medicine ball, and the instant it left your fingers, it hit you in the back.

“Differentiate between the substantial and the insubstantial”. Feel the root, the support, in the full leg along with the opposite hand,…and feel the emptiness, the relaxation in the empty leg along with the opposite hand.

The Five Integrities

Relating to efficiency and reality in doing Tai Chi form and Push hands, personally, physically, morally, martially, and spiritually.

Integrity n 1:State or quality of being complete, undivided or unbroken, unimpaired, unmarred, sound, pure.
2: Free from corrupting influence, strict in the fulfillment of contracts, soundness, honesty.

Personal Integrity

On a personal level, you must be true to yourself, in the beginning, when learning the form, do not compare yourself to others. Many students worry about not getting it fast enough, or appearing clumsy. These concerns show up as tension in the mind and the body.

Others, who learn choreography easily, think that they are progressing faster than the others and begin to form an attitude. So, if you compare, you will seem to be inferior or superior, neither of which have anything to do with reality, and only serve to create tension and divert the student from real progress.

You are as you are, you have your own assets and liabilities and you must work with and from them.

People will start out with much different abilities in memory, suppleness, tension and spatial awareness. All these seem to equalize themselves, and in the long run, it turns out that positive thinking,perseverance, and thoughtfulness, produce the best results.

Give yourself a break, learn at your speed, enjoy the experience, lighten up.

Physical Integrity

Be heavy and rooted on the bottom, light and supple on top. Don’t move the arms separately form the body, move as one unit, flowing and uninterrupted….No hollows or protrusions, weight down form the coccyx and up from the top of the head. Stretching the spine…tongue touching the roof of the mouth near the top teeth. Relax, relax, breathe, breathe, breathe….

How many times have we heard these and other principles of Tai Chi? How many times do we hear people saying: Why doesn’t Tai Chi work? Or, why aren’t I improving?

Tai Chi isn’t ballroom dancing or flying airplanes. If you forget a few basics of dancing you may look a little clumsy, or at worst step on a few toes. If you forget a few basics of aeronautics you might crash. Tai Chi falls somewhere in the middle. When you forget a few in Tai Chi, you are not doing Tai Chi. You’re sailing in the mud, surfing in the soup, and if you try to use Tai Chi to fight with, without adhering to the principles, you are jogging in a minefield.

Do it right, do it completely, it’s easy, because there’s no rush, there’s no due date.

The classics, the principles, the axioms, in short, the rules of Tai Chi, are readily available in many translations. And there are many, increasingly, good instructors around who will be willing to advise you.

Link each movement to the next without pausing. Link each movement to the next without hesitation or change of speed.

Martial Integrity

Each move in the form has multiple martial functions. As you are doing the moves, make sure that these principles are kept in mind along with the others.

If you are following the basic principles of Tai Chi, you are practicing the martial aspect correctly, and at a certain point in your studies, you can begin to address this aspect more directly.

If you are working on the martial aspect, certain elements need particular attention paid to them.

Imagine an opponent in front of you and begin to focus and issue energy to the center of that opponent. Broaden your awareness of the space around you, and other energy sources.

Pay particular attention to the substantial and to the insubstantial in relation to the issue of energy, and to the neutralization of force.

Don’t get caught up in the dance. Keep your spontaneity and flexibility at all times. Don’t anticipate or plan moves ahead of time, unless practicing a particular point.

Don’t sacrifice the integrity of your position, alignment or balance to achieve some “GOAL”. This is particularly applicable to people who brace to be able to push someone. If you brace, you are double weighted for a moment, and even though you are doing Push hands, you must stay aware that in that position you can be kicked easily where you would least enjoy it.

If you lean in with your head, you can be butted by the opponent’s forehead. If you lose consciousness of the shifting of weight, the opponent may kick you

Always remain aware and sensitive, spontaneous and flexible.

Moral Integrity

It is possible to study Tai Chi for a while, learn many techniques, use many or most of the principles and use strength to become very good at Pushing hands.

Usually, people who do this, have winning as their highest priority. Two things, at least, result from this condition: One is that the practitioner never reaches the highest level. And the other is that this person’s relative success tends to impress others and invalidate the true principles of Tai Chi.

It takes a lot of faith to continue to lose day after day to people you know you can beat if you use your strength.

—If you believe that softness overcomes hardness
—If you believe the yielding wins over clashing
—If you believe that rooting stands above bracing, then faith is exactly what we are talking about.

If you really do not believe these axioms, you should change your martial art. Because, believe me, any Sumo wrestler will be able to push you, when you use muscle strength to push with.

Many of the female Tai Chi players I have talked to, have expressed a fear to really try and push the males. They say that when they occasionally get a push in, the men get upset and push them back very hard. Sometimes hurting them.

This is male ego in one of its nastier manifestations. You would think that every Tai Chi player would be happy to see a validation of the principle of the weak overcoming the strong. Yet, when it happens, most of the strong men become children.

We must take care of our partners in Push hands. Its purpose is to learn, teach, practice; not win, the winning is in the learning.

It is a pleasure to see two people working together in Push hands, going over and over a move to again an understanding of it. Just as it is a drag to watch two people grappling, wrestling and shoving.

Don’t play over the head of your partner and discourage them. And don’t allow others to do it to you.

You learned from others, it’s your turn to teach others.

Never use your abilities in Tai chi as a threat to anyone. And certainly never use it to actually fight until you have exhausted talking, bluffing, threatening and running first. Move and then do as little damage as possible.

Don’t put down other styles, masters or forms that you are not familiar with, and even if you are.

If you are doing very well pushing because of double weighting, bracing the legs, this will not translate into fighting. Tai Chi doesn’t work in the horse stance. At close quarters it leaves one vulnerable.

You can push someone if that’s all you want to do. By abandoning all your defensive integrity to get the push, you will not reach the highest level that way.

If the player who gets pushed over and over, by others who use their strength, continues to practice using the principles of yielding and returning, she/he will sooner of later pass the “strong” one in ability.

It goes without saying that when one uses muscle strength in Tai Chi, one doesn’t get the health/relaxation benefits. (If you use external force you will get external benefits. If you use internal energy, you will get internal benefits).

The tactic agreement in Push hands is that you will both do fixed step, choreographed, (Push, Roll back, Press, Grasp Sparrow’s Tail, etc.) slow movements. If you want to accelerate or upgrade the action, introduce the idea slowly, or tell the other player. Don’t just suddenly kick or jab someone in the throat.

Any level can be played if it is agreed on.

Spiritual Integrity

At some point, you may want to explore meditation in movement. You cannot meditate while you are thinking of the moves or what you are going to do later.

Simplify, think of a light bulb, your “Tan Tien”, your spirit or preferably of nothing.

If you can get through the form without knowing you are doing it, you are on the way to your goal.

It helps to do the form slowly. It may seem too difficult to take an hour to do your form, so just start by doing the form at a speed that would take an hour if you did it all. Stop when you must, but that way you will begin to get the feeling, and perhaps you’ll find yourself going farther than you thought.

Listen to your breath.

Watch yourself do the form from above.

Some like to listen to music when they do the form. Either meditation music, space music or any slow mellow music that soothes the mind.

Some Logic

A freely falling body doesn’t feel the effect of gravity. A standing body feels the effect of gravity as it resists it. A force can only be received if it is resisted.

Inertia is a form of resistance

The lighter /smaller/ less attached a body is, the less effect a force moving against it will have..(Silk and water, get out of the way of a moving force)

The heavier /more attached/ larger a body is, the more effect a force moving against it will have.

Therefore, if a fist crashes into a hand, the hand will jump away undamaged.

If a fist crashes into a large /heavy. static body, (the inertia of that body causing it to tend to stay still), it will tend to cause damage, since the fist hits a small area of the body, focusing all of its force there.

A body that is tense, is attached and static. A body that is relaxed, is unattached and flexible.

When a fist meets a small part of a large body that is unattached, resilient and flexible (meets no resistance), it causes no damage.
Ken Van Sickle

Salah Satu Teknik Pernafasan

(copas)

Kalo pengen coba tolong hati-hati yah… (he3x), kalo salah tanggung sendiri…

Hampir kebanyakan orang yang belajar beladiri atau tenaga dalam ( oriental) berusaha untuk membuka 2 saluran utama di tubuh ( saluran depan dan saluran belakang ). Saluran hawa murni ini adalah 2 sungai besar yang mengairi 12 oragan tubuh hingga sampai ke permukaan kulit.
Sedikit teori untuk penjelasan ini. Saluran depan dan belakang itu ibarat selang yang saling berhubungan dan tempat pengisian air melalui titik di bawa pusar ( saya sebut tantien )
Kalau titik dibawa pusar kita isi hawa murni maka dia kan seperti air yang dipompa terus sehingga akan memenuhi sampai ubun2. Itulah teori sederhananya.

 

Mungkin alurnya begini : Dari Tantien –> selangkangan–> Tulang ekor–> MIngmen ( Titik ginjal)—>Tulang leher( ta chui)–> Bantalan giok ( dibawah tulang kepala )–> puncak kepala ( ba hui )
Memang ada yang cukup membingungkan kalau di China mulai dari tantien, tapi dari yoga selalu menitik beratkan di tulang ekor. Saya sampai sekarang masih mencari benang merah antara penjelasan yoga dan dari china.

Waktu kita kecil saluran belakang dan depan itu masih terbuka. Begitu kita mulai beranjak dewasa karena pengaruh makanan, emosi, dll maka saluran belakang menjadi tertutup ( pengertiannya itu dia menjadi tidak bersih banyak sumbatan2 dan ini mempengaruhi organ2 tubuh). Kalau saluran belakang tertutup maka energi ini hanya berputar di saluran depan tubuh

Untuk mendapatkan tubuh yang sehat dan juga ujung2nya meningkatkan hawa murni maka banyak pesilat atau pebela diri mencoba membuka kembali saluran belakang ( alur mikrokosmik ).
Kadang membuka alur belakang walaupun dilakukan selama 10 tahun lamanya tidak ada hasilnya, hanya tembus sampai selangkangan.
Untuk bisa menembus jalur ini dengan meditasi setiap hari dengan rata-rata waktu hanya 30 menit, dibutuhkan waktu yang sangat lama.
Karena setiap hari kita beraktifitas apalagi kalau sudah berkeluarga itu pada saat berhubungan menguras hawa murni sehingga hawa murni yang sudah kita kumpulkan selalu tidak cukup untuk menembus saluran ini.

Ada cara radikal, selama latihan ditunda dulu hubungan suami istri dan meditasinya minimal 3 jam tapi bisa dilakukan awal setiap 1 jam istirahat 5 menit dan dilanjut lagi. Apabila lancar maka hanya dibutuhkan bisa 3 hari sudah tembus atau secara standard bisa sampai 14 hari.
Memang ada resiko kalau caranya salah maka akan menaikan tekanan darah, namun kalau betul tekanan darah tidak ada masalah.

 

Ok ya, ini metoda latihan chen chi Yun Xing untuk pembukaan merdian Ren Dan Tu.
Posisi meditasi adalah duduk di kursi dimana pantat menempel dan punggung tegak serta tidak sandaran.
Hal yang utama dalam latihan meditasi ini adalah pada saat menghembuskan napas.

1.  Konsentrasi rasa di daerah uluhati. Pada saat menghirup napas adalah biasa ketika menghembuskan napas seolah olah napas tersebut ke uluhati. Lakukan meditasi ini sampai uluhati terasa panas atau menggelitik. Untuk tahap awal dilakukan selama satu jam setelah itu tingkatkan sampai 3 jam.

2.  Apabila sudah bisa merasakan panas atau menggelitik maka selanjutnya chi yang sudah terkumpul di uluhati dibawa turun ke pusar. Caranya adalah waktu menghembuskan napas maka seolah olah ada energi turun dari hati ke pusar. Lakukan ini terus sampai pusar terasa panas atau menggelitik atau juga seperti kesetrum.

3.  Apa bila sudah terasa panas di pusar maka chi sudah sampai di pusar.
Untuk selanjutnya konsentrasi hanya dilakukan di pusar.

4. Apabila latihan meningkat maka selanjutnya akan terasa berdenyut di daerah selangkangan atau bisa juga terasa seperti menduduki bola.

5. Latihan tetap dilakukan dengan konsentrasi di darah pusar. Apabila chi sudah cukup kuat maka dia akan menembusi tulang ekor. Bagian ini adalah paling sulit.

6. Latihan terus dilakukan dengan konsentrasi di pusar dan chi akan naik keatas menembusi meng mien.

7. Kalau lancar maka chi akan menembusi belakang kepala ( bagian ini sulit juga karena disini adalah tempurung kepala). Apabila bisa menembusi ini maka dia kana terus menembusi puncak kepala atau pai hui.

Jadi ketika chi sudah sampai dipusar maka cukup konsentrasi di pusar, kerjanya seperti pompa. Kalau sudah penuh maka chi akan naik terus sampai puncak kepala.
Apabila dalam melakukan latihan terasa panas atau dingin itu merupakan hal yang biasa. Apabila terasa sakit maka kemungkinan daerah tersebut masih terblockir. Sakit akan hilang bila chi bisa menembusi blockir tersebut.
Dalam latihan disini tidak ada visualisasi. Jadi betul2 merasakan ketika chi menembusi darah tersebut.

Pada hari pertama latihan kita bisa merasakan hawa panas dan dingin yang bergantian mulai dari pusar turun sampai selangkangan, dan biasanya libidonya akan naik ( ini yang bikin pusing..ha..ha..). tapi harus tahan kalau mau berhasil.

Hari kedua hawa murni ini sudah sampai di tulang ekor dan kalau meditasinya duduk maka yang kita rasakan waktu itu seperti duduk diatas balon ( membal2). Sebab memang sulit untuk menembus titik di tulang ekor karena salurannya kecil. Malam setelah meditasi hampir 2 jam kita mulai merasakan dingin di ujung tulang ekor seperti direndam air es dan lama kelamaan rasa dingin itu mulai menyebar di tulang ekor dan berganti dengan panas dan lama kelamaan rasa itu mulai hilang, memang kalau energi sudah menembus tulang ekor rasanya biasanya sangat dingin.
Selain dingin rasa disekitar selangkangan dan tulang2 pinggul sangat ngilu sampai2 kita hampir nggak tahan. Ini terjadi kalau kita punya banyak masalah dengan pinggang.
Pada hari yang ketiga pada saat kita meditasi awalnya kita akan merasakan pegal2 dipundak tapi lama kelamaan hilang . Pada saat hampir 3 jam meditasi kita akan merasakan mulut seperti dipenuhi listrik dan pada saat itu kita akan merasakan kedamaian yang luar biasa dan bisa membuat kita tidak mau berhenti bermeditasi, rasa ini hanya bisa dirasakan sekali seumur hidup.

SELUK BELUK OCTANE DAN MESIN NGELITIK

(copas)

A. RON, MON, PON/AKI/RdON

Kondisi pengendaraan kendaraan bermotor dapat dibedakan menjadi dua keadaan:
1. Keadaan Tanpa Beban (IDLE)
2. Keadaan Dengan Beban (UNDER LOAD)

Ada kendaraan yang NGELITIK pada saat IDLE (walaupun jarang), dan ada kemungkinan waktu idle smooth, tapi sewaktu berjalan ngelitik. Kejadian ngelitik pada saat kendaraan berjalan dapat terjadi pada berbagai macam kondisi, Full Throttle Acceleration, High Constant Speed misalnya. Ngelitik akan mempercepat proses keausan dan kerusakan pada mesin, inilah yang harus dihindarkan.

Tanpa mengulas lebih dalam, secara fisik ada keterkaitan erat antara CR (Compression Ratio) dengan kwalitas BBM. Maka perlu dibuat Rating berupa angka pada BBM. Lalu bagaimana memberikan angka pada BBM dan apa sebutannya.

Bahwa minyak bumi yang diproses (refinery) menjadi bermacam-macam hydrocarbon masih banyak mengandung kotoran (impurity). Kandungan dan jenis impurity ini berbeda dari tempat ke tempat dimana minyak mentah (crude oil) diambil. Antara yang diambil dari Aceh dan Balikpapan berbeda. Pemberian nilai oktan sebagai standard reference, mestilah kepada BBM yang murni.

Ringkas cerita, pada tahun 1927 Graham Edgar mengusulkan untuk menggunakan dua macam hydrocarbon yang dapat dibuat semurni mungkin dan dalam kwantitas (jumlah) yang banyak. Kedua hydrocarbon itu adalah n-Heptane (normal-Heptane) sebuah “OCTANE”, hasil sintesa dari 2,2,4-trimethyl pentane, yang sekarang kita kenal dengan “ISO-OCTANE”. Octane mempunyai nilai anti knock yang tinggi, yang mana Graham Edgar mengusulkan menggunakan campuran kedua hydrocarbon itu sebagai “REFERENCE (ACUAN)”.

Alasan penggunaan n-Heptane dan Iso-Octane sebagai acuan adalah karena kedua-duanya mempunyai sifat-sifat yang serupa (volatility dan boiling point), dalam arti kata perubahan komposisi pencampuran 0:100 sampai 100:0 tidak akan berpengaruh besar pada volatility, sehingga tidak akan berpengaruh kepada pengujian rating.

Untuk memudahkan perhitungan, karena komposisi kandungan dalam BBM dinyataakan “persentase”, maka nilai Octane dari Iso-Octane diberi angka “100” dan n-Heptane diberi angka “0”, keduanya sebagai “Reference (Acuan)”. Dari sinilah munculnya Bilangan/Nilai Octane (Octane Number). Campuran 90% Iso-Octane dan 10% n-Heptane mempunyai octane rating = 90.

BBM komersial (yang dijual SPBU) mengandung bermacam-macam hydrocarbon yang masing-masingnya mempunyai octane rating yang berbeda-beda. Kandungan BBM yang bermacam-macam ini akan memberikan perilaku (Behavior) dan RESPONS yang berbeda pada saat IDLE (Unloaded) dan pada saat dikendarai (Under Loading), maka perlu dilakukan dua jenis pengujian Octane Rating.

Pengujian Octane Rating pada kondisi IDLE disebut dengan Research Octane Rating (RON), sedang pengujian pada kondisi terbebani (under loading) disebut dengan Motor Octane Number (MON). Perilaku dan respons BBM yang berbeda pada kedua kondisi tersebut akan memberikan nilai yang berbeda. Berdasarkan statistik data pengujian nilai RON selalu lebih tinggi dari MON.

Perbedaan nilai antara RON dan MON disebut dengan SENSITIVITY (RON-MON). Sebagai indikasi nilai sensitivty BBM adalah 6 s/d 10. Perbedaan angka itu tidaklah mutlak (absolute), karena tergantung dari campuran dalam BBM. Ada kemungkinan nilai perbedaan ini lebih dari 10. Hanya pada umumya diambil gampangnya saja S = 10.

Semakin Kecil nilai sensitivity, maka perilaku dan respons baik pada pengendaraan tak terbebani dengan pengendaraan terbebani akan kecil. Semakin besar nilai sensitivity, maka semakin besar jurang perbedaan perilaku dan respons saat Idle dan Under-loaded.

Disini pentingnya kedua-dua RON dan MON diketahui melalui pengujian. Untuk marketing strategy, kebanyakan SPBU menggunakan angka RON, karena akan memberikan dampak psikologis, makin besar Octane Rating akan semakin bertenaga. Bagi yang Jujur maka akan memasang nilai MON karena lebih representative (persentase underloading akan lebih besar ketimbang idle), tapi dampak marketing nya nggak menolong. Maka dibuatlah kompromi dan muncullah definisi (RON+MON)/2 = AKI = PON = RdON. Nilai AKI atau PON atau RdON ini tidak berdasarkan pengujian, yang diuji RON dan MON. Bagaimana kita dapat AKI atau PON atau RdON kalau hanya yang diuji RON saja.

Ada salah satu dukungan perlunya dilakukan test RON dan MON. Pada akhir tahun 1960, pabrik mobil di jerman menemukan mesin mereka hancur sewaktu meluncur di autobahn, walaupun menggunakan BBM dengan RON sesuai spesifikasi. Ternyata BBM yang digunakan setelah diuji ulang dengan metode test MON, nilai sensitivity-nya besar. Walhasil perlu ditest juga MON untuk menentukan nilai Sensitivity, yang selanjutnya dimasukkan dalam spesifikasi mobil buatan mereka. Tetap bahwa Eropa (termasuk UK), melakukan Test RON dan MON. Hanya untuk marketing tool mereka gunakan RON pada Petrol Station sebagai salah satu strategi pemasaran (alasan psikologis – makin besar Octane makin Bertenaga). Jadi bukan persoalan kiblat-kiblatan, Shell & Petronas berkiblat ke Eropa sedang Pertamina berkiblat ke USA. USA lebih fair dengan menggunakan (RON+MON)/2 pada Petrol Station mereka. Semua terserah pada masing-masing pembuat BBM, mau makai RON silahkan, makai MON silahkan, makai PON/RdON/AKI juga silahkan.

Memang harga peralatan pengujian cukup mahal, yang paling sederhana berharga US$ 400,000.00. Maka dibuatlah “Alat Ukur” (Octane Analyzer) dengan memasukkan data base harga RON dan MON berbagai Hydrocarbon yang telah menjalani Test RON dan MON, tentunya dengan harga relative murah.

Dengan Alat Ukur yang dipunyai Raden Pertamina, si Raden bisa meracik BBM dan mengukur Octane Ratingnya dengan alat ukur octane. Katakanlah bahwa alat ukur itu dapat mengukur RON dan MON bahkan sekaligus AK/PON/RdON nya. Maka yang akan di klaim oleh Raden Pertamina adalah bacaan RON, katakan RON 99.9, tapi MON nya rendah hingga S nya besar.

Katakanlah Formulasi BBM RON-95 Petronas dan Shell mempunyai nilai sensitivity 6, jadi MON nya adalah 89, sehingga memberikan AKI / PON / RdON = 92. Sedang formulasi BBM-nya Pertamina yang RON 99.9, mungkin mempunyai nilai sensitivity 18 (Who Knows ? lihat kasus Autobahn di atas), sehingga AKI / PON / RdON nya hanya 90.9. Ini berarti perilaku dan respons tarikannya (underloading) RON-99.9 Pertamina KALAH dengan Shell dan Petronas RON-95 (ini baru salah satu parameter), belum lagi melibatkan parameter yang lain, seperti Flame Speed dan Distribusi Octane dalam Ruang Bakar.

Standard Test RON dan MON diawali dengan standard ASTM, kemudian diadopsi oleh Eropa menjadi EN Standard. Di Inggris jadi BS-EN, di Prancis AFNOR-EN dan lain lain, yang jelas, tetap mengacu pada EN Standard yang mengadopsi ASTM Standard.

Karena Standard testingnya sama, maka RON Eropa akan sama dengan RON USA. MON Eropa sama dengan MON USA. Yang dipaparkan di UK adalah angka RON, sedang di USA (RON+MON)/2, tentu saja USA lebih rendah. Bukan dengan cara Analogi Imperial Gallon (Gallon UK) lebih besar dari pada Gallon USA.

 

B. Octane Number Requirement (ONR)

Octane Number Requirement (ONR), ditentukan dengan menggunakan serangkaian BBM standar. Biasanya digunakan BBM acuan (reference) : yaitu Iso-Octane yang diberi bilangan oktan 100 dan n-Heptane yang diberi bilangan oktan 0. Campuran dari keduanya akan memberikan gambaran berapa nilai oktan. Misalnya sebuah campuran 90% Iso-Octane dengan 10% n-Heptane akan mempunyai nilai oktan 90. Nilai octane lebih dari 100 diperoleh dengan menggunakan metoda extrapolasi berdasarkan rantai ikatan unsure-unsur Carbon dan Hydrogen. Toluene yang dapat dibuat semurni mungkin nilai RON nya sama dengan 120.

Contoh serial bahan BBM yang digunakan untuk test ONR adalah :

1.Bilangan Oktan 100 – Murni Iso-Octane
2.Bilangan Oktan 98 – Campuran 98% Iso-Octane dan 2% n-Heptane
3.Bilangan Oktan 96 – Campuran 96% Iso-Octane dan 4% n-Heptane
4.Bilangan Oktan 94 – Campuran 94% Iso-Octane dan 6% n-Heptane
5.Bilangan Oktan 92 – Campuran 92% Iso-Octane dan 8% n-Heptane
6.Bilangan Oktan 90 – Campuran 90% Iso-Octane dan 10% n-Heptane
7.Bilangan Oktan 88 – Campuran 88% Iso-Octane dan 12% n-Heptane
8.Bilangan Oktan 86 – Campuran 86% Iso-Octane dan 14% n-Heptane
9.Bilangan Oktan 84 – Campuran 84% Iso-Octane dan 16% n-Heptane
10.Bilangan Oktan 82 – Campuran 82% Iso-Octane dan 18% n-Heptane
11.Bilangan Oktan 80 – Campuran 80% Iso-Octane dan 20% n-Heptane

Kendaraan kemudian diuji pada berbagai kondisi dan beban, dengan menggunakan serangkaian BBM yang sudah disiapkan, satu-persatu mulai dari BBM yang ber-oktan tinggi (100) kemudian menurun sampai dideteksi adanya Knock (ngelitik).

Berbagai macam kondisi-kondisi untuk menentukan Maksimum Nilai Oktan umumnya tidak konsisten. Dari sekian banyak kondisi ekstrim yang mungkin, kondisi yang paling sering dilakukan dalam testing untuk menentukan Maksimum Nilai ONR adalah :

1. Full Throttle Acceleration dari kecepatan rendah dengan menggunakan GEAR Tertinggi. Atau
2. Full Throttle pada kecepatan Konstan.

EMS akan mengatur ignition timing sesuai dengan nilai oktan formulasi BBM uji diatas. Perlu diperhatikan bahwa hasil pengujian yang didapat adalah MON, karena full scale test dilakukan pada kondisi under loading, bahkan pada kondisi ekstrim seperti diatas. Makisum ONR memanglah menarik untuk dijadikan sebagai “Recommended Fuel Rating”. Biasanya ONR ini yang notabene MON diubah terlebih dahulu kedalam RON dengan asumsi nilai sensitivity adalah 10.

Namun demikian, konsumen jarang melakukan pengendaraan seperti pada kondisi ekstrim pengujian tersebut yang hanya dilakukan oleh para Test Driver, maka para pembuat kendaraan bermotor akan menurunkan dan mematok ONR disesuaikan dengan ketersediaan Octane Rating BBM yang ada di pasaran. Walaupun dengan CR yang tinggi, yang semestinya bisa menggunakan ONR yang lebih tinggi, kalau nggak ada di pasaran juga nggak ada artinya. Dengan mematok ONR (Maximum dan Minimum) pada harga CR mesin yang akan dibuat, barulah mereka akan memprogram ECU.

 

C. PENGARUH GEOMETRIC COMPRESSION RATIO (CR)

Sudah menjadi pengetahuan para motorist, bahwa untuk engine design yang sama, peningkatan Geometric Compression Ratio (CR) akan memerlukan nilai Oktan BBM yang lebih tinggi. Secara teori Thermodinamika, bahwa peningkatan CR akan meningkatkan Effisiensi Teoritis. Dikatakan Teoritis karena campuran BBM dan udara dalam ruang bakar dianggap Gas Sempurna – Ideal Gas, yang memenuhi persamaan :

Efficiency = 1 – (1/CR)^(gamma-1)

dimana gamma adalah perbandingan Kapasitas Panas pada Tekanan dan Volume yang tetap (Cp/Cv). Ada indikasi-indikasi bahwa Effisiensi Panas mencapai harga maksimum pada CR sebesar 17 : 1 pada SI Engine. Namun pada kebanyakan mobil dengan CR tinggi hanya berkisar 10:1 ke 11:1. Ada juga yang mendisain sampai 12:1 (yang ini bisa dihitung dengan jari).

Gain Effisiensi yang paling baik adalah apabila mesin dekat dengan kondisi Ngelitik (tapi kayak ngelitik). Disinilah perlunya Knock Sensor. Mesin dengan CR rendah adalah kurang effisien karena tidak bisa memberikan tenaga pembakaran sebanyak mungkin relatif terhadap tenaga pembakaran sempurna.

Dari pembahasan A dan B diatas (dengan asumsi nggak pakai EMS), di dapatlah tabel berikut (ONR sudah dikonversi ke dalam RON dengan asumsi Sensitivity S=10)

Compression Ratio – 5:1 Octane Requirement 72 RON, Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), pada Full Throttle : 21%
Compression Ratio – 6:1 Octane Requirement 81 RON, Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), pada Full Throttle : 25%
Compression Ratio – 7:1 Octane Requirement 87 RON, Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), pada Full Throttle : 28%
Compression Ratio – 8:1 Octane Requirement 92 RON, Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), pada Full Throttle : 30%
Compression Ratio – 9:1 Octane Requirement 96 RON, Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), pada Full Throttle : 32%
Compression Ratio – 10:1 Octane Requirement 100 RON, Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), pada Full Throttle : 33%
Compression Ratio – 11:1 Octane Requirement 104 RON, Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), pada Full Throttle : 34%
Compression Ratio – 12:1 Octane Requirement 108 RON, Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), pada Full Throttle : 35%

 

D. PARAMETER YANG MEMPENGARUHI PERSYARATAN/PERMINTAAN NILAI OKTAN

1. Ukuran Diameter Silinder … Semakin besar ukuran Diameter Silinder, maka akan memerlukan Oktane yang lebih besar/tinggi. Seperti halnya ukuran diameter silinder untuk pesawat terbang yang menggunakan mesin piston … diameternya besar (diperlukan untuk cruising) … maka akan memerluka oktan yang besar … umumnya untuk pesawat nilai Oktan-nya adalah RON100.
Biasanya diberikan spek mesin BORE x STROKE … supaya bisa minum Oktan yang rendah … cari BORE yang KECIL sewaktu membandingkan antara satu boil dengan boil yang lain.

2. Kepala Silinder (Cylinder Head) yang menggunakan bahan BESI COR akan memerlukan Oktan yang lebih tinggi ketimbang menggunakan Bahan ALUMINIUM.
Kebanyakan sekarang Toyota banyak menggunakan Cylinder Head yang bahan-nya ALUMINIUM … hal ini bertujuan agar bisa mendapatkan CR yang tinggi dengan nilai OKTAN BBM yang lebih rendah.

3. Campuran Udara BBM (AFR) yang LEAN/KURUS akan memerlukan Nilai Oktan yang lebih besar.

4. Engine Coolant Temperature ECT, semakin tinggi temperaturenya maka akan memerlukan Oktan yang lebih tinggi. Umumnya yang paling IDEAL adalah 73 oC … namun kebanyakan mobil menggunakan Thermostat dengan rating temperature di atas 80 oC.

5. Timing Pengapian yang dimajukan (Advanced Timing), juga akan memerlukan Oktane yang lebih tinggi. Jika menggunakan Bensin dengan Oktan yang lebih rendah … maka ECU akan mengundurkan Timing Pengapian.

6. Intake Air Temperature (Suhu Udara Masuk), semakin tinggi maka memerlukan oktan yang lebih tinggi.
Kanaikan temperature udara luar sebanyak 5.6 oC … akan menaikkan permintaan MON sebanyak 0.44 s/d 0.54.

7. Kelembaban (Humidity) ….. Udara yang Kering (kelembabannya rendah) akan memerlukan nilai oktane yang lebih tinggi.
Setiap kenaikan kelembaban absolut sebesar 1.0 g water/kg permintaan nilai oktan berkurang 0.25 – 0.32 MON.

8. Tekanan Barometer Udara, … semakin tinggi tekanan barometer Udara … diperlukan oktan yang lebih tinggi.

9. Ketinggian Tempat … Jika tempatnya adalah dekat dengan laut (sea Level) maka akan memerlukan oktan yang lebih tinggi. Semakin tinggi tempatnya maka semakin kuranglah persyaratan nilai oktannya.
Kenaikan ketinggian tempat, umumnya berubah secara NON-LINEAR. Setiap kenaikan ketinggian tempat 300 meter, maka ada penurunan permmintaan nilai oktan sebanyak 1.4 RON sampai pada ketinggian 1800 meter. Ketinggian tempat antara 1800 meter s/d 3600 meter, permintaan penurunan nilai oktan sebesar 2.5RON/300m. Mesin-mesin boil yang canggih udah bisa meng-akomodir perubahan ini … dan pukul rata permintaan nilai Oktan TURUN 0.2 s/d 0.5 MON setiap kenaikan ketinggian 300 meter.
Contohnya saja … sebuah boil perlu MON 82 pada ketinggian permukaan laut … kalau berada di Dieng yang ketinggiannya 2100 meter … maka Oktan BBM yang bisa digunakan MON 78.5 s/d 80.6 …. Gamblangnya jika tinggal di Jakarta BBM yang diperlukan misal … PERTAMAX … sekiranya pulang lebaran ke dieng … maka sewaktu beroperasi di Dieng cukup menggunakan PREMIUM.

The Power of Yielding: Getting it Done By Not Doing It.

(copas)

by Fred Lehrman

“By non-action, all things are accomplished… Without leaving his house, the Sage knows everything in the world
…My words are easy to understand.”

—Lao-tze
Dao Te Ching

Easy to understand? I suppose so, if you understand them. Lao-tze refused to compromise his readers by telling them that which could not be told. In this way he transmitted intact his insight, his “crazy wisdom ,” across 2500 years and into the lives of people who, for the time, find themselves on a planet where power games threaten the scene of the game itself.

I want to introduce Daoism as a “Way” of proceeding from here in extricating ourselves from our own clutches. Taijiquan is the best known form in which to take the medicine.

Taiji is a physical practice based on the observations of nature brought forth in the writing of Lao-tze, whose own thought was shaped by his study of the I Ching, or Book of Change, and of the Nei Ching, the classic treatise of Chinese medicine. Taiji has suddenly begun to have a wide popularity in the West; there is even a nationwide television series which surprises and puzzles innocent channel-browsers. But, what is it really about? And how can the study of Taiji assist you in achieving your intentions, whether they be changing a personal situation, setting up a new community where life works better for everyone, or facing the whole problem on a global level? The clue is in the paradox of non action; and the way I would like to formulate the challenge for now is thus: “Obviously, I simply am: yet it seems that I must always try to be.”

When you find yourself at the beginning of your first Taiji class, you will soon realize this is unlike anything else you have ever tried to learn. This is because it appears at first not even to be like itself. You are asked to stand quietly, with you feet-heels together, toes naturally apart – flat and relaxed directly under you (“Where else could they be?” your mind asks.) Then you are asked to stand there, right where you’re standing, nowhere else, not anywhere you were earlier or might be tomorrow. At this point some interesting things are starting to go on in your body, you notice that you really are there more, that you are denser, more compact, and more aware.

What has happened is that the Qi, the vital, live energy of your body and mind, has begun to sense itself. Continuing, degree by degree, aspect by aspect, to learn to just stand there (which your already doing), prepares a new body, a body of Qi rather than muscle and bone, with which you are going to move through the slow, evenly evolving attitudes of the Taijiquan (literally, “Extreme Ultimate Discipline”; quan also means “Fist” or Boxing”). And the paradox begins: you start by lifting a foot, stepping out, slowly shifting your weight, and then very, very slowly letting your wrists fall away from you, out and up until they hang loose-heavy in from of you at shoulder height, then down to your sides again, until in this way your whole body is moving, expanding, contracting, turning, stepping, floating yet anchored, back and forth across the room, washed by invisible waves of air; yet you are still standing still, centered, right where you are, right there.

When I had my first lesson with Professor Cheng Man-ch’ing in New York eight years ago, I didn’t understand it, I thought “This is strange; usually I can get some sense of what things are about, I really can’t see what this Taiji is for, so I’ll stick with it until I do. Then I’ll quit.” I do understand it pretty well now, but I haven’t quit, at least not in the sense that I originally meant. Actually, I have quit, and now I’m, beginning to be able to do T’ai Chi.

Last year, just before he left for Taiwan, Professor Cheng called me over the his desk at Shr-Jung Center in New York (shr-jung, a term coined by Confucius, means “right timing”). He said to me that my practice had reached a significant point and that it was important for me to give it special attention during this period. I thanked him and said that I had been practicing more and thinking a great deal about it, but that there were still some obstinate habits and tensions that I couldn’t seem to cut through. He smiled at me sadly, then shook his head: “The Dao is not something you can try to do.” These words enabled me to move on.

Everyone who studies Taijiquan encounters such frustrations, which comprise the environment for progress. One continuing frustration is the realization of how inappropriately we use our own bodies. Unlike most creatures and things under the sun, adult humans seem to have lost an awareness of what the parts of their bodies are for, and insist on using one end of the beast to do the job best performed by the other end. Pianos, rocks, trees, wild animals, and young children are generally not plagued by this confusion; but at some point in growing up, people start to get funny ideas about how to get their bodies around in the world. In Taiji class you will begin to notice that you have confused your shoulders with your legs; that it’s your legs which get you across the room and that your shoulders might as well relax and enjoy the ride. Also, you will observe that when you raise your hand slowly to a position in front of your chest, arm gently rounded and palm facing in, that your hand looks and feels as if it’s holding onto something. But there’s nothing in your hand, so drop it! And then you might begin to notice you’re still holding onto your hand itself, as if it might go somewhere without you. Let go of it! It ain’t going nowhere.

These are the little ways in which we cheat ourselves of power, which is the use of our energy. As you work in Taiji continues, the realization of what you can let go of reaches increasingly profound levels. Progress is slow, because an unknown fear, the fear of power, keeps the body fighting itself long beyond the time when the mind has seen that there is no reason to fight. Professor Cheng calls this stage of practice “drinking” the cup of bitterness. You become painfully aware that you are, for the most part, manufacturing your actions, and only rarely, for moments, are you being your action. Try as you might, at some point you still resist, and at that point your power is no longer at your command. You are at the effect of your own strength. True power, when experienced, has nothing of effort or strength in it.

Let’s return to Lao-tze and non-action. If you were a blade of grass on a hillside, and the wind began to blow, how would you practice non-action? If you didn’t move, you would be resisting the wind, and that’s doing something. If you lay down flat in order to create no resistance, you would be “doing” passivity. But if you simply remained what you are, a blade of grass, which is intrinsically yielding, yet firm, continuous, and coherent, you would move as the wind moves, back and forth, sometimes more inclined and sometimes less. To an observer, there would be motion. Yet nothing would be being done. A blade of grass, not having the same type of consciousness that we have, spontaneously practices non-action. Through Taijiquan we can recover that sense of being a blade of grass on a hillside, in the wind, in the world, and to find that sense in any situation. Lao-tze observed, “That which yields, endures, that which resists is destroyed.” And that which is destroyed has no more power.

The strangest part (and hardest thing to accept) about studying Taijiquan is the slow realization, through observation, that non-action actually works. Somehow, by adhering to the principle, you find that you can handle and repel someone whose strength is much greater than your own, with no effort. This realization is on the level of physical mechanics. It is appropriate in that it supports and is in harmony with a realization on the inner plane, which is that you don’t have to do it anymore, because you’re already doing it.

As you read this article, you don’t have to try to read it; you’ve already done that. In fact, you never had to try to do anything, except that you preferred the redundancy of effort. Discover the on-going energy of the Universe, which you’ve been using since before you were born to put your body together and to get you here. That’s your power source, and it’s free and unlimited.

Lao-tze said that the Dao which could be talked about was not the Dao he was talking about. So words lie, even though we need them. Taiji is first of all empty, basically useless; and that makes it the most useful thing in the world. Knowing the useless enables you to find the emptiness in everything: if the wheel did not have an empty space at the hub through which to run an axle, it would itself be useless. So your Yoga, your carpentry, your piano playing, your thinking, your writing, your being with people—all expand as your practice of Taiji teaches you to do less and less and less.

That which you control, controls you. Grab something, right now, say the leg of a chair, and hold onto it tight enough to keep me from pulling it away from you. Now try to move around the room with this thing that you’re controlling. See? That’s what control costs in terms of power. However, he who controls emptiness, who controls space, has power. He can move freely, act appropriately, and let go instantly when it’s no longer appropriate to be involved. His actions are a function of shr-jung, right timing.

Since the principle of the Dao is not to be in conflict with anything, Taiji is not incompatible with other ways. Yoga, Zazen, Alexander technique, the various therapies – all are facilitated by the element of awareness which Taiji takes as its prime focus. If this were not so, it would not be the “Extreme Ultimate Discipline.” And if it is to contain everything, it must itself be perfectly empty. Taiji is not really a training in self-defense, or health, or philosophy; the benefits in these areas are side effects of the practice.

Taiji does not teach you how to do something. It teaches you how to do. It teaches you how. It teaches you.

The editorial questions behind this issue of the New Age Journal is: “Who rules the world?” In order to answer that, we have to consider some discouraging possibilities. All power games take place in limited fields, with boundaries and goal posts. If ” the world” is a limited field, we are in trouble.

I remember sitting one morning several years ago with Professor Cheng and several students in the Asian Library at Columbia University. The Club of Rome Report had just been released by MIT, and one of the students had bought in a clipping from the New York Times outlining the hopelessness of solving the compounded problems posed by overpopulation, food shortage, energy resource depletion, atmospheric pollution, radioactive waste, etc. The student was quite upset, and asked professor Cheng what he thought of the situation, and how we could get out of it. The Taiji master turned the question around and asked the questioner what his ideas were. The student gave his answer, and sat expectantly, awaiting correction from the Sage. Instead, Professor Cheng turned to another student at the table, and asked, “What do you think about what he said?” This continued until each student had commented on the others ideas, and it was clear that the subject had been exhausted. There was really no way to solve the problem. Professor Cheng went back to reading his book.

After a pause, the first student, more upset than ever, asked again for some word from the teacher. Professor Cheng leaned forward, and put his book down next to the cup of hot tea which had just been refilled for him. “What will happen to the world? I don’t know. Look at this vapor; it comes from the tea, it goes into the air, and right about here” – he pointed in the air – “you don’t see it anymore. Where does it go?” He sat quietly for a moment while we pondered the empty space left after the world had destroyed itself. “Don’t worry about it, “he said , “Nothing gets lost.”

There are many lessons in this story. Primarily, we made the problems, because we are unable still to clear them up. The problems are in us, and not in the world. No one rules the world, because no one rules himself. Until that changes, the world rules us. Because Professor Cheng at first did nothing, we were able to see that; or rather, to experience it. And from this experience comes the natural response, without effort.

The lesson of the tea might appear superficially to mean that we ought to just sip merrily as we are being snuffed out. But Professor Cheng’s actions in the world don’t give the impression that that’s what he’s doing. The world gets better when he’s around, Thus, the other side of Taiji begins to become apparent. Professor Cheng’s teaching is this: in relation to yourself, internally, follow the Dao of Lao-tze—yield, yield, yield, invest in loss; in relation to the world, externally, follow Confucious—be responsible, act appropriately to the situation, and always, right timing, right timing, right timing.

Because he has let go, because he knows the abyss, the man of Dao has power.

In the Tui-shou, or “push hands” part of the Taiji practice, the students work in this paradox for hours on end. And as he learns to not resist, to let things have their way, he begins to find that they start to turn out his way just by virtue of his intention, with no strength applied. This is difficult to believe and harder to figure out. Through practice it becomes part of your body’s knowledge.

My point is this: go ahead and change the world. To the extent that you resist the Universe, the Universe will resist you. Make the way things are part of your plan, and everything will cooperate to get you there.

© 1998 Fredrick Lehrman

NOTE: Louis Swaim found the article on the Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine. CMC/s Webmaster contacted the Jung Tao School’s Webmaster and requested permission to post the article on our site. They responded by way of e-mail and later Dr. Sean Marshall, the school’s founder, called us and granted permission to reprint it.

Fred Lehrman was a senior student of the late Professor Cheng Man-ching for 9 years. He was one of Dr. Marshall’s primary teachers.

Ranking Dan Pemilihan Oli Mesin

(copas)

Saya coba kumpulkan hasil-hasil test ASTM untuk beberapa merek oli. Nggak semua merek bisa didapat, hanya ada 11 yaitu :
1. AMSOIL ATM
2. Mobil 1 Extended Performance
3. Quaker State Advanced Full Synthetic
4. Pennzoil Platinum
5. Trop Artic Synthetic Blend
6. Motorcraft Synthetic Blend
7. Castrol GTX
8. Chevron Supreme
9. Havoline
10. Formula Shell
11. Pennzoil
Saya nggak masuk detail pengetesan, dan yang saya tuliskan adalah ranking nya saja – dari atas ke bawah mulai dari yang baik ke yang kurang baik.

A. THIN FILM OXYGEN UPTAKE TEST (ASTM D-4742) – Objective : Memperpanjang Umur Oli.
1. AMSOIL ATM
2. Mobil 1 Extended Performance
3. Trop Artic Synthetic Blend
4. Chevron Supreme
5. Havoline
6. Penzoil
7. Formula Shell
8. Motorcraft Synthetic Blend
9. Catrol GTX
10. Penzoil Platinum
11. Quaker State Advanced Full Synthetic

B. High Temperature/High Shear Test (ASTM D-4683) – Objective : Melindungi Engine Yang Panas – Kekentalan Oli Terpelihara.
1. AMSOIL ATM
2. Mobil 1 Extended Performance
3. Castrol GTX
4. Formula Shell
5. Trop Artic Synthetic Blend
6. Chevron Supreme
7. Penzoil
8. Havoline
9. Penzoil Platinum
10. Motorcraft Synthetic Blend
11. Quaker State Advanced Full Synthetic

C. NOACK Volatility Test (ASTM D-5800) – Objective : Memaksimumkan Penghematan BBM, Mengurangi Konsumsi Oli dan Emisi.
1. AMSOIL ATM
2. Penzoil Platinum
3. Castrol GTX
4. Quaker State Advanced Full Synthetic
5. Mobil 1 Extended Performance
6. Motorcraft Synthetic Blend
7. Chevron Supreme
8. Havoline
9. Formula Shell
10. Penzoil
11. Trop Artic Synthetic Blend

D. Pour Point Test (ASTM D-97) – Objective : Memudahkan menghidupkan mesin untuk kondisi musim dingin.
1. AMSOIL ATM
2. Mobil 1 Extended Performance
3. Quaker State Advanced Full Synthetic
4. Penzoil Platinum
5. Castrol GTX
6. Penzoil
7. Chevron Supreme
8. Havoline
9. Trop Artic Synthetic Blend
10. Formula Shell
11. Motorcraft Synthetic Blend

E. Total Base Number Test (ASTM D-2896) – Objective : Menekan Pembentukan Asam Supaya kontaminasi berkurang.
1. AMSOIL ATM
2. Mobil 1 Extended Performance
3. Quaker State Advanced Full Synthetic
4. Trop Artic Synthetic Blend
5. Castrol GTX
6. Penzoil Platinum
7. Motorcraft Synthetic Blend
8. Formula Shell
9. Havoline
10. Chevron Supreme
11. Penzoil

F. Cold Cranking Simulator Test (ASTM D-5293) – Objective : Memudahkan Mesin untuk Dihidupkan.
1. Penzoil Platinum
2. AMSOIL ATM
3. Motorcraft Synthetic Blend
4. Mobil 1 Extended Performance
5. Formula Shell
6. Penzoil
7. Castrol GTX
8. Havoline
9. Chevron Supreme
10. Quaker State Advanced Full Synthetic
11. Trop Artic Synthetic Blend

G. Four-Ball Wear Test (ASTM D-4172) – Objective : Menekan Keausan Komponen Mesin.
1. AMSOIL ATM
2. Mobil 1 Extended Performance
3. Penzoil Platinum
4. Quaker State Advanced Full Synthetic
5. Castrol GTX
6. Trop Artic Synthetic Blend
7. Formula Shell
8. Motorcraft Synthetic Blend
9. Havoline
10. Chevron Supreme
11. Penzoil

Sebenarnya oli dimanapun dijual, apapun kemasannya, apapun marketing gimmik yang dilakukan oleh para penjual, jangan hiraukan. Yang paling penting adalah SPECIFICATION and APPROVAL. As you mentioned above
… API Service SJ/CF, energy conserving. ILSAC GF-2. ACEA A1-96, B1-96 (sesuai dengan ACEA A3-96, B3-96 Performa Mesin) … INILAH YANG PALING PENTING karena standard testing akan semakin ketat dari kurun waktu ke kurun waktu yang lain.

STANDARD API :
Untuk Mesin bensin didahului dengan huruf “S”, bisa dibaca Service category atau Spark-Ignition, kemudian diikuti dengan huruf C, D, E, F, G, H, J, L, M akan menjadi :
SC = diperkenalkan tahun 1967 untuk mobil2 tahun 1967 kebawah
SD = diperkenalkan tahun 1971 untuk mobil2 tahun 1971 kebawah
SE = diperkenalkan tahun 1979 untuk mobil2 tahun 1979 kebawah
SF = diperkenalkan tahun 1983 untuk mobil2 tahun 1983 kebawah
SG = diperkenalkan tahun 1993 untuk mobil2 tahun 1993 kebawah
SH = diperkenalkan tahun 1996 untuk mobil2 tahun 1996 kebawah
SJ = diperkenalkan tahun 1996 untuk dipakai mobil2 yang sekarang ada
SL = diperkenalkan tahun 1998 untuk menggantikan SJ, walaupun SJ masih bisa dipakai
SM = diperkenalkan tahun 2004 untuk menggantikan SJ dan SL, walaupun SJ dan SL masih bisa dipakai.
Untuk mobil-mobil baru mendingan pakai yang SM.

Untuk mesin Diesel diawali dengan code huruf “C”, yang bisa dibaca Commercial category atau Compression-Ignition Engine, kemudian diikuti dengan kode huruf menjadi :
CC = Untuk mobil diesel tahun 1955 kebawah
CD = Untuk mobil diesel tahun 1961 kebawah
CD-II = Untuk mesin 2 Tax (Two Stroke), tahun 1987
CE = Untuk mobil diesel tahun 1987, menggantikan CC dan CD
CF = Diperkenalkan tahun 1994 untuk off-road, indirect-injected dan mobil diesel lainnya. Dapat digunakan menggantikan CD.
CF-2 = Diperkenalkan tahun 1994 untuk kondisi extrim, mesin motor 2 Tax (two Stroke) dan dapat digunakan untuk mengganti CD-II.
CF-4 = Diperkenalkan tahun 1990 N/A atau Turbo Diesel (High Speed), dan dapat digunakan untuk menggantikan CD dan CE.
CG-4 = Diperkenalkan tahun 1995, dapat digunakan untuk menggantikan CD, CE and CF-4.
CH-4 = Diperkenalkan Tahun 1998, ini yang paling mutakhir untuk mesin diesel.
Sekarang bisa dipahami SJ/CF, bisa digunakan untuk mesin bensin dan mesin diesel.

Secara teknis untuk kode SG dan SJ tidak direkomendasikan untuk digunakan, nggak berarti nggak bisa dipakai, bisa saja dipakai. Standard ini hanya mengurangi jumlah Phosphor ketimbang standard yang terdahulu (SA, SB, SC, dsb) yang bertujuan untuk mengurangi emisi yang nggak ramah lingkungan. Tentang dampaknya, jika pergantian oli dilakukan secara teratur untuk jarak tempuh yang nggak begitu tinggi … oke2 aja.
Standard SL, mengurangi jumlah ZDDP dan Phosphor dalam kandungan oli mesin yang ada pada standard SG dan SJ. Sedang Standard SM (yang paling baru – sejak 2004), disamping mengurangkan jumlah kandungan ZDDP dan Phosphor, ada tambahan untuk meningkatkan additive “Anti-Foaming” dan juga menaikkan “Detergent Level”.
Walaupun tidak dipakai dalam mesin, oli mempunyai waktu kadaluwarsa (shelf-life). Untuk Dino Oil masa kadaluwarsanya antara 1 ke 2 tahun, sedangkan fully-synthetic oil masa kadaluwarsanya antara 2 sampai 3 tahun.
Dikhawatirkan oli yang dijual dengan standard SG dan SJ adalah oli stok lama. Ini bukanlah satu kepastian, hanya was-was saja. Ketimbang ada rasa was-was, adalah lebih baik menggunakan standard yang baru (SM).

 

Ada satu ketidak sesuaian antara TESTING dengan REKOMENDASI Penggunaan oli. Testing oli berdasarkan JAM TERBANG yaitu sekitar 200 jam (atau tepatnya 212 jam), yang mana fungsi oli sudah mengalami degradasi. Sedang pemakaian oli direkomendasikan dalam JARAK TEMPUH (5000 km, 10000 km atau bahkan ada yang lebih sampai 20000 km).
Oleh karena kondisi berkendaraan adalah bermacam-macam (Start, jalan pelan, macet si jalan, ngebut, nunggu di traffic Light, nunggu keluar belanja dari mall dsb…dsb), maka dibuatlah satu Standard kondisi “NORMAL DRIVING” yang didasarkan pada “Kecepatan Konstan/Tetap pada kelajuan 45 MPH (70 km/jam)”. Maka dengan kondisi kecepatan konstan 70 km/jam dan lama perjalanan adalah 200 jam, diatas kertas umur oli adalah = 200 jam x 70 km/jam = 14 000 km.
Kondisi riil berkendara tidaklah sama dengan kondisi test laboratorium, atau kondisi yang diasumsi oleh para pembuat mobil. Untuk patokan memperpanjang umur mesin maka pergantian oli dilakukan secara teratur :
1.Dino oil : antara 2000 km s/d 3000 km
2.Synthetic Based Oil (Semi Synthetic) : antara 3000 km s/d 5000 km
3.Fully-Synthetic Oil : antara 5000 km s/d 7000 km

Penggunaan oli lebih dari yang diatas tidaklah dilarang, dan menjadi tanggung jawab diri masing-masing. Rekomendasi pembuat oli akan berlindung dibalik pembuat mobil (sering dikatakan “See your Owner Manual for Engine Oil Change Interval”). Sedang pembuat mobil sendiri juga nggak mau kalau mobilnya bertahan lama sekali, sehingga pada umumnya jika menggunakan DINO OIL (sebutan dari Mineral Oil), pembuat mobil akan menuliskan dalam manualnya pada interval 5000 km (apa dasarnya ? hanya asumsi mereka pada kebanyakan cara berkendara konsumen, diasumsikan rata rata 25 km/jam).

Untuk mobil-mobil generasi terbaru, nggak ada kerisauan tentang pergantian oli, karena ada computer yang akan memberikan peringatan “CHANGE OIL”. Komputer ini bekerja dengan inputan :
1. Jumlah Stop and Go (Start dan Jalan)
2. Lama kelajuan dibawah kecepatan 70 km/jam
3. Lama kelajuan antara 70 s/d 110 km/jam
4. Lama kelajuan diatas 110 km/jam
5. Kemacetan di jalan dan di traffic Light.
6. Dsb … dsb …

Dari semua inputan itu komputer akan menghitung waktu penggunaan oli, sehingga pada 200 jam penggunaan oli, computer akan display “CHANGE OIL” di screen dashboard mobil. Jadi nggak lagi ada rekomendasi dalam berapa km penggunaan oli, karena memang nggak sesuai. Test-nya dalam Jam Terbang, pemakaian dalam Jarak Tempuh.
Coba dipikirkan, dalam kondisi kemacetan di Jakarta, katakan bahwa kecepatan rata-rata yang dapat dilakukan adalah 15 km/jam selama 200 jam pengendaraan (hasil rata-rata dari pemanasan mesin, jalan, macet, nunggu di traffic light, masuk tempat parkir, mobil dimatiin, …. Demikian seterusnya hingga kalau dijumlahkan akan menjadi 200 jam), maka umur oli kalau mengikuti standard test adalah = 15 km/jam x 200 jam = 3000 km – kagak sampai 14,000 km jek !
– Pemanasan mesin (idle) : 0 km/jam
– Kemacetan Traffic Light : 0 km/jam
– Kemacetan lalu lintas : 0 km/jam s/d 20 km/jam
– Nunggu Bapak/Ibu belanja di mall (mesin hidup ber AC) : 0 km/jam
– Dst … dst …

Kalau dipaksakan sampai 10,000 km, dikhawatirklan sudah banyak penumpukan Sludge pada komponen dalam mesin, viskositas sudah mengalami degradasi, oli sudah banyak oksidasi, sudah banyak kotoran (soot), sudah banyak terbentuk asam – oli mesin jadi terkontaminasi, yang tentunya nggak bisa kita lihat dengan mata kasat (visual). Jika ini terus berlangsung, pemakaian BBM akan boros, saluran pelumasan dalam mesin lambat laun akan tersumbat, aliran oli jadi nggak lancar, cepat atau lambat mesin mobil akan rusak. Yang bertepuk tangan adalah Pembuat Mobil, karena model barunya akan segera laku … hehehehehe …
Walaupun pembuat oli merekomendasikan penggunaan oli sampai dengan 10,000 km atau lebih, yang perlu diperhatikan mereka TIDAK MEMBERIKAN JAMINAN. Resiko tanggung sendiri.
Yang paling bagus adalah jika ada timer (macam Lexus RX300 atau Toyota Harrier). Timer hanya sebatas lamanya mesin bunyi sampai mati … bunyi …. mati … itu saja, dan kita sendiri yang mesti ngejumlahin, kalau udah 200 jam, mesti ganti oli … km kagak dilihat lagi.

 

Jika masih dalam jangka waktu garansi, mau nggak mau mesti diikuti, kalau nggak bisa-bisa “Void Warranty”.
Inilah problem yang dihadepin konsumen. Ada beberpa jenis engine/mesin yang sensitive terhadap “sludge”, kebanyakan mesin toyota/lexus (nggak semua sih) sensitive terhadap sludge, diikuti dengan VW, BMW, SAAB.
Kalau oli yang digunakan udah diganti dengan Fully Synthetic, nggak terlalu khawatir sampai 10000 km (mesin baru), tentunya pergantian ke synthetic ini setelah Break-In Period 1000 km makai Dino oil.
Lexus RX300 pun di USA banyak yang kena sludge dalam masa garansi, jadi ada yang digenti ada yang kagak. Jika udah diluar masa garansi (udah habis), dinasehatkan ganti oli lebih sering. Hal yang sama pada oli transmisi otomatis Lexus RX300, dalam manual dikatakan nggak perlu diganti. Masalahnya pada 40000km, oli transmisi (ATF) udah banyak yang terbakar, sehingga perpindahan gear jadi nggak mulus. Ketimbang transmisi otomatisnya jebol, gue ganti ATF tiap 20,000 km (FLushing), Alhamdulillah, sampai sekarang mulus terus, kagak ada trouble dan oli mesin ganti tiap 200 jam. Kadang 2500 km udah ganti, kadang sampai 6000 km – tergantung travel, karena yang jadi patokan gue adalah JAM TERBANG seperti yang ada pada testing, bukannya Jarak Tempuh, lebih aman untuk menghindari sludge.
Kalau segan atau resek ngitung jam terbang, patokan diatas bisa dijadikan guideline.

 

Kita ini masih gelap dengan apa yang mereka claimed : ALMASOL, MONOLEC, QUINPLEX dan PYROSHIELD. Mereka nggak mau “disclose”. Walaupun mereka claimed bahwa produk mereka digunakan oleh NASA untuk pesawat ruang angkasa pada komponen yang bersuhu tinggi, tapi yang jelas kondisi lingkungan ruang angkasa dengan di bumi adalah lain. Kita tahu bahwa di bumi ada kelembaban air (uap air), jika bercampur dengan UHC (Unburn HydroCarbon) dan juga “BLOWBY” akan membentuk asam yang berbahaya pada komponen dalam mesin, termasuk di dalamnya pembentukan sludge.
Sejauh mana efektifitas dari additive yang bernama Almasol, Monolec, Quinplex dan Pyroshield, kita nggak tahu. Hanya tahu dari gaya bahasa marketing mereka.
Sama halnya dulu, BBM bertimbal berbahaya (TEL – Tetra Ethyl Lead), mesti diganti dengan yang Tak Bertimbal (MTBE – Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether). Setelah 20 tahun baru ketahuan berbahaya, dulu penyokong kuat penggunaan MTBE, sekarang mati-matian melarang penggunaan MTBE.

Bahaya MTBE adalah jika bereaksi dengan ADDITIVE OLI MESIN (dalam ruang bakar tentunya) yang bernama ZDDP (Zinc Phosphate) akan menghasilkan gas beracun yang disebut dengan “NERVE GAS”.
Sebagai indikasi, ALMASOL ini adalah sejenis serbuk atau bubuk atau talk yang memang slippery. Dulu orang menggunakan PTFE (TEFLON), kemudian GRAPHITE, kemudian MOLYBDENUM. Saya pernah pakai oli mesin yang ada kandungannya Molybdenum (merek ENEOS dari Jepang). Sekali saja, karena suara mesin jadi kasar. Ganti yang normal-normal aja, malah lebih halus suaranya.

Kunci utamanya adalah EFISIENSI MESIN dalam arti kata PEMBAKARAN BBM haruslah sempurna untuk mengurangi sekecil mungkin ke-AUS-an pada komponen dalam mesin – terutama Ring Piston Atas dan Dinding Silinder. Jika pembakaran berlangsung tidak sempurna, apapun jenisnya minyak pelumas akan larut dalam BBM yang tidak terbakar (dalam ruang bakar) sehingga menyebabkan ring piston atas dan dinding silinder akan kering, hingga ke-aus-an akan berlangsung lebih cepat. Ini ditandai dengan berkurangnya performance mesin.
Memang ada janji-janji “extended interval change”. Jika tanpa menitik beratkan pada pembakaran sempurna BBM dalam ruang bakar, hasilnya, menurut saya proses kausan bagian atas mesin akan tetap relatif masih cepat (proses ke-aus-an nya seperti apa yang diharapkan oleh para pembuat mobil dan perusahaan minyak).
Secara business, pabrik mobil akan lebih suka kalau mesinnya (relatif) cepat aus dan perusahaan minyak akan lebih suka kalau mobil itu NGGAK IRIT BBM. Yang jadi permasalahan, begitu mesin nggak irit BBM, maka akan cepat aus.
Semakin irit BBM, mesin akan semakin efisien. Semakin efisien mesin maka mesin akan bertahan lama (ke-aus-an nya minimal).

Secara pribadi, saya lebih suka menggunakan DINO OIL dengan jarak pergantian oli relatif pendek (tergantung pada “daily travel distance”) dan menitik beratkan pada bagaimana cara supaya pembakaran dalam ruang bakar jadi sempurna.

Standard pabrikan untuk pertama kalinya isi oli mesin adalah mesti DINO oil, karena hanya dino oli ini yang digunakan untuk break-in. Synthetic nggak bisa digunakan untuk break-in.
Kalau volvo, mereka pakai CASTROL untuk break-in.
Untuk synthetic, cari yang viscosity band-nya nggak terlalu jauh (15W40 atau 20W50 misalnya). Kalau 0W40 terlalu banyak polimernya, polimer ini yang cepat mengalami degradasi, walaupun oli syntheticnya masih ok.

 

Tergantung dari Daily Travel Distance.
Standard pengujiannya adalah 210 Jam … pada kecepatan 70 km/jam … kalau boil jalan terus pada kecepatan 70 km/jam … teorinya bisa nyampe ke 210 jam x 70 km/jam = 14.700 km ~ 15.000 km … itu semua disebut dengan Normal (light) Driving Conditions.
Kalau udah Severe Driving Conditions … seperti Stop and Go … Short Travel Distances … umumnya orang yang tahu gak berani ampe 8.000 km … kecuali kalau dokatnya udah tipis ….. hehehehehehe.

 

Yang perlu dipahami itu :
1. Semi-Synthetic Oil : 15% Synthetic and Additive + 85% Mineral Oil
2. Fully-Synthetic Oil : 85% Synthetic + 15% Mineral Oil and Additive
Profit Margin Penjual Semi-Synthetic sangat besar sekali …. He3 …

Nilai awalnya nggak jadi masalah untuk negara yang iklimnya panas mulu … tapi diusahakan jangan terlalu jauh dari nilai belakang.
1. Untuk yang __W40 … bila tersedia 10W40 atau 15W40 atau 20W40, maka pilih yang 20W40.
2. Sama halnya dengan yang __W50 … jika tersedia 10W50 atau 15W50 atau 20W50 … maka ambil yang 20W50.
Perbedaan antara angka belakang dan angka depan menunjukkan banyaknya jumlah POLIMER (Plastik) yang terdapat di dalam kandungan oli. POLIMER ini yang akan mengalami rusak (breakdown) … semakin banyak jumlah polimer maka semakin cepat kerusakan oli … walaupun molekul oli itu sendiri gak RUSAK … buktinya ada orang yang ngambil OLI BEKAS … kemudian disaring lagi … lantas dijual lagi.

Teknik Pembagian Tenaga untuk Membubarkan Teknik Bacaan n Menghilangkan Rasa

(copas)

Teknik bacaan adalah membaca probabilita gerakan lawan dari posisi badannya jadi kita bisa melakukan antisipasi yang tepat. Sementara rasa adalah teknik mengerti arah energi lawan ketika ia melakukan serangan ataupun dalam keadaan yang terlihat diam.
Teknik bacaan dan rasa gak cuma untuk defensif..tapi juga untuk ofensif.. Efek serangan dengan gerakan dan pembagian tenaga, lawan jadi gak bereaksi karena rasanya hilang dan teknik bacaannya bubar..

Pembagian tenaga bisa dilakukan tapi tetap tidak akan dapat menghilangkan rasa,  istilahnya yang ada adalah “kapalingan Rasa” (rasanya dicuri) yang terjadi akibat belum kenalnya atau masih asingnya rasa yang dimiliki oleh lawan kita. Sehingga kita tidak bisa mendeteksi arah gerak dan tenaga lawan.
semakin tinggi rasa seseorang maka akan semakin mudah untuk memanipulasi rasa lawan, jadi rasa tidak semata mata tergantung pada teknik. Gambarannya reaksi pembalap di jalan yang dia sudah hafal benar tracknya dengan pembalap yang baru pertama kali track balap tersebut. Disini pasti reaksi reflek dan instingnya berbeda. Jalan yang sudah kita hafal disini adalah gambaran rasa yang sudah tinggi (yang timbul karena faktor latihan dan jam terbang), semakin banyak jalan yang dilalui maka akan semakin mahir kita menguasai medan balapan.
Kembali ke pembagian tenaga, atau dikenal dalam permainan maenpo adalah misahkeun tanaga (memisahkan tenaga). Pada prakteknya dilakukan dengan banyak sekali cara, umumnya untuk dapat memanipulasi rasa maka tenaga harus bisa di pisah pisahkan sesuai dengan penggunaannya.
Yang paling sering di gunakan adalah pemisahan tenaga yang melibatkan seluruh anggota tubuh atau hanya sebagian anggota tubuh. Sebagai contoh pemisahan “tanaga leungeun jeung tanaga Awak” (pemisahan tenaga tangan dan tenaga badan). Teknik ini banyak di gunakan oleh ahli Usik (permainan gerak) yang di implementasikan dalam teknik tempelan/antel. Gambarannya kita bisa mematikan rasa lawan dengan memberikan tenaga madi sedangkan bagian tubuh lainnya melakukan tenaga kari.
Sebagai contoh kemampuan pada saat tangan kita membendung tangan lawan namun dengan leluasa kita masih bisa menendang lutut lawan tanpa lawan dapat merasakan gerakan kaki kita karena konsentrasinya pada tangan kita (rasanya terfokus pada tangan kita).
Tehnik pembagian tenaga adalah pelaksanaan gerak dengan penitik beratan beban pada suatu kondisi serangan dan pertahanan(dalam kondisi menempel lebih mudah dipahami)dalam keadaan sadar untuk menipu musuh yang sedang membaca gerakan kita melalui rasa.
Contoh : ketika kita menyerang dengan tangan kanan/pukulan semua tenaga dibebankan di kaki kanan supaya musuh mengira semua kekuatan kita hanya di kanan dan kiri kita kosong, padahal kita memang merencanakan itu…jadi ketika musuh berkelit dan langsung menyerang kaki kiri kita, kita bisa langsung memindahkan sebagian atau seluruh berat dan mengimbangi serta mengalahkan musuh, karena kita memang membiarkan untuk di baca dan dirasakan!
suatu tehnik tingkat tinggi!

Misal badan yang memiliki bobot 120 kg tinggi diatas 2 meter berhadapan dengan orang yang kurus kering, secara kejiwaan begitu kita lihat dia marah maka setidaknya akan sedikit banyak “membuyarkan” konsentrasi terhadapnya baik untuk bertahan maupun untuk menyerang. Atau kita berhadapan dengan orang yang kita kenal sebagai master dari anu dengan pengalaman sekian puluh tahun sementara kita hanya sebulan dua bulan dan bersilat “kuliner”, tentunya rasa yang dimiliki akan banyak mempengaruhi pancaran mata (orang sunda mah bilang sima)
Bagaimana dengan pembagian tenaga?? tenaga hanya akan terjadi dan diketahui saat kita “nempel”. akan sangat sulit mempergunakan pembagian tenaga jika lawannya masih berada diluar jangkauan. Sekalipun menggunakan “pukulan jarak jauh” tetap saja akan terasa bila bersentuhan antara “tenaga” yang dilepaskan dengan tubuh.

 

Digerak rasa dicikalongan, ada teknik gebrakan adalah pancingan, ketika pukulan kita diambil dan dibeset lawan, maka lawan berarti udah masuk nyerang, disitu siap2 aja lawan patah leher,  tangan dan kakinya.karena pukulan berubah jd sikutan, sikutan jd patahan, patahan jd cekekan.
tidak benar serangan itu kudu dengan tenaga all out.
Dalam gerak rasa sanalika atau saka, serangan justru cepat dan halus, kenapa, sebab kalo pukulan biasanya baru berimpact kalo kenceng. tapi, kalo cekekan dan colokan dan cokokan “jeroan” yang penting udah nempel,
Makanya kalo maen ama gerak cikalongan atau ama gerak saka, jangan sampai nempel, kalo udah nempel maka semua teknik dan bacaan serangan lawan bisa teredam karena ga berfungsi.
Ingat kalo serangan masuk alus ga pake tenaga tapi dgn kecepatan dan rasa, itu susah dipatahin, dan jgn coba tangkep tuh serangan, kalo coba nangkep, tinggal nyari dukun patah tulang buat ngurut.
Dan yg namanya pukulan itu kan momentumnya buth ayunan bahu dan dan pinggul, itu sih ngebacanya gampang.
Dulu pernah kejadian yang basicnya kungfu muslim, pas maen sama sesepuh gerak dirawabelong. kagak bs masukin totokan ama pukulan sama sekali, alias buyar.
Pertama pas mo nyerang ditahan bahu kanannya, ga bs apa2, dipaksain pake power dong, iyakan, pas masukin pukulan kanan kemuka, didorong ayun tuh bahu kiri, ya momentum ilang, kelempar jauh ketembok, itu bagus kaga dicolok idungnya.
Nyerang lagi eh dia masuk nempel merunduk, sambil  alus nyubit leher ame jeroan, itu dicubit, sakit, bagaimana di beset.
Sekali waktu pas mukul kenceng, yah enteng, ditangkis aja, pas mo masuk ternyata tangan yg buat nangkis udah ketarik ampe jari-jarinya diengkek, ternyata tuh pukulan kenceng   bs serangan bs pancingan.
Bagusannya,  tuh org juga punya gerak rasa aliran kampung pejuangan kebon jeruk.
jd punya jurus gerak rasa yg unik juga, yaitu: gerak Rasa: kalo di Rasa menang ya lawanin, kalo diRasa bonyok ya kabuuur…..

“Teknik Bacaan n Menghilangkan Rasa ” ini sebenarnya masuk kaidah “ulah numpangkeun rasa” atau ada yang bilang  “ulah bereuhkeun rasana ka lawan “.
Atau intinya kalau mau lakukan sesuatu harus hati-hati atau  jangan kelihatan rasa kita mau menyerang, bertahan atau sebagainya.
Kalau mungkin dari penggabungan diatas yang dimaksud adalah “permainan tenaga”  agar lawan bingung apakah ini keras, kosong atau diantara keduanya..
Maksudnya mungkin “ulah me’re’ rasa ka lawan” bukan “bereuhkeun”. Biasanya dimulai saat membendung tenaga baik mendahului atau bertahan dengan menggunakan kaidah “Madi” (Cikalong) sehingga kehendak atau keinginan kedua dari sebelumnya tidak terjadi. Seseorang yang berniat memukul setelah pasang, akan buyar kosentrasi dan keinginannya untuk memukul atau menyerang karena terbendung tenaganya dan ter”sempit”nya ruang gerak dengan kata lain akan terjadi kebingungan.

Cara menghilangkan rasa lawan ada tiga :
– pertama tutup rasa dan kemauan lawan dengan berbagai teknik silat atau permainan tenaga yang anda miliki.
– jangan terjadi kontak baik sentuhan atau terbaca di panca indera
– kedua dengan teknik paeh / mati
(ayam aja dimatiin gak bisa ngerasain enaknya gabah !! huahuhahahhaha  )

Kalo rasa berbeda, maka implementasi beda juga kan???!!! Kenapa musti sama…..
Tenaga lawan terasa besar kalau kita “undang”. Beberapa bela diri Tatar Pasundan yang mendalami rasa biasanya mempelajari cara “tidak mengundang” tenaga lawan. Kebiasaan kita adalah mau disuruh melakukan sesuatu untuk mengetahui sesuatu.  Jika anda disuruh “mitesin” jari, berarti telah dipersiapkan tenaga untuk melawannya (meski saya tidak mengetahui level tenaganya) dengan kata lain anda memang mengundang tenaganya. Yang jadi pertanyaan seberapa jauh “membaca” anda terhadap kondisi diri dan lingkungan. Jika kita gelap sama sekali maka yang kita lakukan adalah “bergerak tanpa tujuan dan arah jelas” karena tidak didukung oleh kemampuan membaca kita.
Seberapa besarpun orang tenaganya, akan terasa besar jika kita “undang”. Bisakah orang kecil mendorong jatuh “badak”? mungkin saja bisa bila kaidah “tidak mengundang” dipenuhi. (bila mau tunggu sang badak sampai mengantuk berat atau tunggu sampai sang badak “ningkring” dengan satu kaki baru didorong).
“Teknik pembagian tenaga untuk membubarkan (mungkin membuyarkan) teknik bacaan dan menghilangkan rasa” yang dimaksud antara lain (mungkin…) adalah : cara “nutup” pada Cikalong. Meski seperti hal yang sederhana namun beberapa kaidah yang harus dilengkapi dan dapat melakukannya, kaidah tersebut adalah:
1. bisa “rata” dalam membagi tenaga
2. Konsep “Madi” sebagi teknik bendung minimal harus mengerti dan bisa
3. “Robahan” (Konsep Sabandar) juga harus mengerti dan bisa
4. memiliki tujuan atau arah penyelesaian yang telah direncanakan (finishing)
5. Kaidah “kandel tipis”, tebal tipis dalam bersentuhan
6. mengerti jarak jangkauan

Pernah lihat orang lagi sujud gak bisa digulingin kalau didorong dari salah satu sisinya? Pernah liat orang didorong tapi samping kanan atau kiri tapi tubuh dan kakinya gak bergerak, seperti dipantek dibumi.
….tabek..
1. Tenaga dorong yang digunakan antara tangan kiri dan kanan “seimbang”, pengerahan tenaga full alias penuh, otot tangan mengeras sehingga bagian sikut mengunci atau nge-lock, kuda-kuda yang digunakan kuda-kuda jauh.
2. Yang sujud mempersiapkan diri dengan membagi tenaga pada seluruh titik yang menempel sehingga seperti “membumi” atau menempel kuat .
3. Karena demo, ini kerjasama yang apik kedua belah pihak.
Ini bisa gugur dengan mengubah keadaannya :
1. Yang mendorong, mempergunakan tenaga variatif, jika kiri penuh maka kanan setengah atau kosong. Kuda-kuda tidak terlampau jauh sehingga tenaga tidak “habis” karena terlalu jauh jarak kaki. Tidak mengunci bagian siku, tapi melakukan dengan relaks dan menahan siku ke bagian tubuh. Karena yang dipersiapkan adalah menahan dorongan maka kalau cuma ingin membuat jatuh atau terguling lakukan hal sebaliknya terlebih dulu yakni dengan menariknya saat terjadi kehilangan moment menahan barulah lakukan dorongan.
2. Atau pecah konsentrasi dengan dibuat geli ataupun sakit baru lakukan dorongan, misalnya injak dulu bagian ujung jari tangannya baru didorong…insya Allah bisa…
Dalam banyak bela diri sebenarnya ada pembagian tenaga, hanya ada yang memfokuskan ada yang tidak. Ada yang memiliki rumusan dan penamaan ada yang tidak. Jika share atau berbagi hanya dengan sudut pandang silat sunda saja, ada baiknya memberikan kesempatan seluas-luasnya pada yang lain.
Kalau yang dimaksud “sieun ka sim kuring / ka diri, sieun ka lingkungan, sieun ka Gusti” adalah nasehat orang tua dan guru penca sejak jaman dulu, maksudnya adalah membahas rasa takut, dan ini bisa diimplementasikan dalam kaidah silat :
1. Sieun ka sim kuring (lebih tepatnya sieun ka diri) takut ke pada diri sendiri, dimaksudkan setiap perbuatan yang akan dilakukan tentunya membawa akibat bagi diri. Dalam silat jika melakukan sesuatu gerak atau teknik tanpa maksud dan tujuan alias sembarangan maka akan membuat fatal diri sendiri. Maka “membaca” keadaan diri sendiri adalah hal yang mutlak. Penanaman paham rasa takut akan membuat seorang pesilat menjadi jauh lebih berhati-hati dengan tindakan yang akan dilakukan. Dengan mengantisipasi dan dapat mengendalikannya, maka teknik yang keluar adalah hal-hal yang tepat guna.
2. Sieun ka lingkungan, takut pada lingkungan. Adalah pesan untuk selalu berhati-hati terhadap situasi dan kodisi lapangan yang dihadapi. dalam silat, medan pertempuran atau perkelahian adalah salah satu faktor pendukung kemenangan. jika seorang pesilat tidak dapat membaca keadaan sekelilingnya maka dapat dipastikan akan dapat dikalahkan oleh lawan yang memanfaatkan kodisi lingkungan yang ada. Misalkan seorang pesilat yang tak pernah bertanding di pasir dan tidak peduli dengan kondisi ataupun tak dapat memanfaatkan keadaan tentunya akan bisa dikalahkan oleh yang dapat memanfaatkan keadaan sekelilingnya. Mungkin berawal karena hal sepele seperti dilemparkan pasir ke arah mata….
3. Sieun ka Gusti, adalah takut pada Allah. tentu saja sebagai manusia kita wajib takut pada-Nya. Dalam silat, nasehat ini maksudnya bahwa sekalipun seorang pesilat mumpuni dan banyak mengalahkan lawannya, namun jalan kekerasan yang diambil tetaplah akan mendapatkan balasan atas apa yang dilakukannya kelak. Nasehat ini adalah bagian akhir dari pencaharian seorang pesilat dimana pemahaman sebab akibat yang dilakukan tetap memiliki implikasi pada kehidupan baik sekarang maupun nantinya. Intinya adalah nasehat ini “mempersilahkan” pesilat untuk beribadah dan mengerjakan amal kebajikan, bukan menjadikan ilmu yang dimilikinya malah menjadikannya mengurangi nilai ibadah yang telah dikerjakannya…..

Zhan Zhuang – foundation of Internal Martial Arts

Zhan Zhuang – foundation of Internal Martial Arts

by Karel Koskuba

Most Internal Martial Arts use some form of standing practice as foundation training (and Taijiquan is no exception in this regard). These standing exercises are usually called Zhan Zhuang (pole standing); sometimes they are called ‘standing Qigong’. I think it’s fair to say that most students are baffled by them. They are supposed to be good for you but most students find them difficult to understand, boring and painful. Yet they are supposed to relax you and help you to ‘accumulate Qi‘.

In this article I shall try to outline my theory that should explain, from western perspective, why these exercises are so important both for Internal Martial Arts and Qigong, how this western view correlates with the traditional Qi view and give training advice on how to practice them. In writing this article I have drawn upon my experience from Taijiquan, Yiquan and information from medical postural rehabilitation research and sports science.

Before I start, I would like to establish some facts about how we use our body that I will use in my explanation.

Posture, Movement and Balance

We generally think of posture and movement as being separate – we are either still or we move. Movement and posture place different demands on our muscles and so it is not surprising that our muscles reflect this. For example, those muscles used mainly for posture have a high content of slow-twitch fibres whereas the muscles used mainly for movement have a high content of fast twitch fibres. But not only are muscles different from each other, one muscle can be quite different in different functions. For example a muscle when used in a postural (stabilising or tonic) function will act differently from the same muscle when used for movement (mobilising or phasic function). So for ease of explanation, let me pretend that each muscle is really two muscles – a postural one and a phasic one (sometimes called stabilisers and mobilisers). As a further simplification, when I say a muscle, what I will mean is the muscle with all the various sensors associated with it plus its controlling mechanism within the Central Nervous System. So please keep it in mind when I talk about muscles ‘feeling this’ or ‘doing that’.

What is important about postural muscles from our perspective is the fact that they react against the force of gravity and that they act outside of our volition – we cannot normally control postural muscles directly, only indirectly – through intent. For example when we ride a bicycle, we keep our balance by the use of postural muscles. Our intent is not to fall down but we do not consciously control their operation in the way we can control voluntary movement. Conscious control would be too slow – before we could react, we would fall down. This is in fact what happens when we start learning to ride a bicycle – we start by using phasic muscles and through trial and error the postural muscles take over and we ‘find our balance’.

Our postural muscles are not only used in holding a posture or in balancing as was mentioned above, but during movement, too. If we think of movement as a transition between postures, we can see that postural muscles are active all the time. But what is the relevance of postural muscles to Taijiquan?

Effortless and Natural

If someone pushes against you and you do not want to be pushed off balance, the chances are that you will resist using strength. If this happens, you are using phasic muscles. But it will be different if someone pushes down on your shoulders. In this situation you do not push back up – you just absorb the push effortlessly into your posture. So in the first example if, instead of phasic muscles, you were to use postural muscles to absorb the push into your posture, you would use far less effort. You could then also use the ‘balancing’ ability of postural muscles to effortlessly counteract any sudden change of direction. In other words, as the Taiji Classics say: “when he doesn’t move, you don’t move; when he moves, you’ve already moved“. So using postural muscles in this way would make Pushing Hands a far more enjoyable experience!

 

Where the Mind Goes, the Qi Follows

The parallels between Qi and the use of postural muscles should be becoming a bit clearer now. When I use intent (Yi) to guide my postural muscles to lift my arms, I do not feel any effort – it is as if my arms are being lifted by invisible threads. When I use postural muscles to absorb or neutralise a push, I don’t feel any effort and my body reacts automatically to produce a balanced outcome for me. And when you start using postural muscles, you develop a feedback through subtle sensations such as heat, ache, flow and others. All these are properties of Qi. If we describe (human) Qi as ‘those processes of the body/mind that are outside conscious control’ than we would cover most aspects.

 

Qi originates in the Dantian

When you make any movement, before the movement begins there is a short delay during which the body prepares by stabilising your lumbar spine using deep abdominal postural muscles. Normally you will not feel this ‘preparation’, but it is there and as your awareness increases you can feel it. As we said in the above paragraph, usage of postural muscles equates to usage of Qi. Thus any movement is preceded by activation of your Qi in your Dantian (think of it loosely as the lower abdomen).

Your body will not move till it is properly stabilised. This is important for fast moves, especially explosive fa-jin. The delay produced by stabilisation of your lumbar spine makes you slower. This does not matter very much for slow movements. But when you want to move fast, you do want to move fast! There is a way to eliminate or at least minimise this delay by holding your body in a posture where your postural muscles are already engaged.

Song

The posture just described is what is called Song (loose, relaxed) in Taiji Classics. What is important in this posture is that everything that can be supported by postural muscles, is indeed so supported. Your body feels light (you can’t feel postural muscles) and poised for action, perfectly balanced. You could even say that (quoting Taiji Classics again) “a feather cannot be added to the body nor a fly alight without setting you in motion”.

Whole Body Movement

If you stand on one leg and observe for a time what you do to keep upright, you may notice that the adjustment to your posture can happen anywhere from your ankles all the way to your head. That’s because postural muscles co-ordinate across the whole body. When you use postural muscles, rather than phasic muscles, you will naturally produce whole body movement.

Postural Dysfunctions

From what you’ve read so far, you can see that training postural muscles is quite important. But there are still other reasons to be concerned about them. Due to our fairly recent transition (in evolutionary timescale) into upright posture, the postural function related to this upright posture is not yet securely embedded into our neuro-muscular system and can be easily disrupted. It seems the ‘new’ postural muscles need the input that they get from functioning as postural muscles (i.e. balancing against gravity) to remind them that they are postural muscles. For example if they are held in a fixed position for a long time, they may start to forget their proper role. Our lifestyle unfortunately encourages this (school, office, computers,…). And there are still other ways for things to go wrong. Sometimes phasic muscles can take over the postural role because we did not ‘let go’ of them at the end of a move and so they may start holding part of our posture. As the posture muscles weaken through inactivity, the phasic muscles’ postural role will be strengthened. Or we may strengthen a phasic muscle too much during training and it may start taking over the postural function within its domain.

All this has implications for our strength. When pushing something whilst standing on a slippery surface, we cannot generate much strength. In order to use force effectively, we need a stable base. This applies within our body, too. If our postural muscles are weak or not working properly, our phasic muscles will not develop their maximum strength. This means that often we can use only a fraction of our potential strength.

It affects our speed, too. If we can’t produce enough strength due to weak postural muscles, our speed will suffer. If we use phasic muscles to act as postural muscles, they will not be very effective when we try to use them for movement.

As a result of all this, the majority of us do not use our core postural muscles properly. More than 95% of all musculo-skeletal problems can be attributed to the imbalance between postural and phasic muscles. And it’s not only musculo-skeletal problems. As the research in this area is still fairly new, I’m sure the importance of postural re-education will grow steadily.

Having, I hope, established the case for postural training, let’s have a look at it in detail. I will present Yiquan’s approach to Zhan Zhuang training. Yiquan (pronounced yee-chuan) is an internal martial art with main principles and stages of training quite similar to those of Taijiquan and, with the exception of Zhan Zhuang, quite a lot simpler. Zhan Zhuang in Yiquan, on the other hand, is more detailed and it is the main training tool all the way from beginner to the most advanced level. I will describe several health postures and one combat posture but there are sitting postures, lying down postures (very popular with students!), one-legged postures, slanted postures, etc. However, the ones I describe here are sufficient for the purpose of illustrating the method of practice.

Standing – Zhan Zhuang

General Points

Any worry or anxiety impedes our learning progress. So the first task is to create a calm and happy mental state and it is important to keep it throughout all training. This is a skill, like any other and will improve with training. So create some image that will make your mind tranquil and happy. In doing so, engage as many senses as possible. For example, imagine yourself in a beautiful garden. You can see pretty flowers and trees all around you. You can smell the flowers’ scent on a soft breeze. You can feel the soft breeze on your skin. You can hear birds singing in the trees. There are few white clouds in the blue sky. Or you may prefer to picture a scene by the sea, with the white surf breaking on the beach. Any image that will make you as peaceful and happy as possible. Try to express the tranquil feeling in your face and body.

The next step is to relax the whole body. We shall use mental images again, this time directed towards relaxing specific areas of the body. Try to create kinaesthetic images (sensations in the body) rather than visual images.

Health Postures

Stand with your feet about the width of your shoulders apart, feet parallel or toes pointing slightly out, whichever is more comfortable. Bend your knees slightly so that you can relax the lower back. Feel the whole body soft and balanced. Feel that your head is held as if suspended from above by a string attached to the crown of the head. The neck will then be relaxed and free from any tension. The spine, and especially the coccyx, should hang down – an image of reaching down with your bottom, as if about to sit on a high stool, can help with this. Eyes can be either open or closed, mouth nearly open (but not quite), breathing softly and quietly, preferably through the nose. Feeling calm and happy.

After a period of settling down, start observing how your body keeps the balance. Gradually you will become aware of small movements of your body. At the beginning, you are likely to feel the whole body sway a little and get automatically corrected into a balanced position. Try not to control these movements but imagine standing in (warm) water and feel your body swaying as if moved by slow waves. Feel the whole body swaying as one unit – do not move your arms independently of the body. Some people, because they think their body should be still in standing postures, try to keep the body motionless. That is a mistake – the body should be as soft and relaxed as possible.

The emphasis should be on relaxing all (phasic) muscles and feeling how the body balances against gravity. Slow, very subtle movements can be felt and these are used and controlled, first in a passive manner, later actively, using kinaesthetic visualisation.

The role of the Health Postures is to relax the body and develop whole-body connection. This means that a movement in any part of the body can be felt to propagate through the whole body in a natural fashion. The process is characterised by gradually becoming aware of the internal structure of the body and then gaining some measure of control over it.

Empty Posture (Wu Ji Zhuang)

Master Chen Xiaowang correcting Wuji posture of Kathy Webb

Observe the General Points and then the description in Health Postures above. Let your arms hang by the sides.

Embracing Posture (Ping Bu Cheng Bao Zhuang)

Karel Koskuba in Cheng Bao Zhuang

Start in the Empty Posture as described above. When you have sttled down and feel calm, lift your arms slowly in front of you in a shape of embracing a big balloon in front of your chest. The hands should be in front of your shoulders, with the palms facing you and the fingers of both hands pointing at each other. Keep your fingers open and imagine small cotton pads placed between fingers, supporting them in their open position. Your hands are soft and slightly curved. Feel your elbows resting on soft pillows. With practice, you will be able to achieve a very relaxed feeling. When that happens, you can move on to the next step, creating kinaesthetic images. Up to now, your elbows were as if resting on soft pillows, keeping your shoulders relaxed. Now imagine that your elbows are touching balloons floating on water. Your task is to keep the balloons under your elbows. If you lift your elbows, the balloons will be free to float away. If you press a little more, they will be pressed into the water and pop out to float away again. Imagine that the big balloon you are embracing is very fragile and filled with helium – if you press a little more, it will burst, if you press a little less, it will float away. The feeling created is that of sticking very lightly to the balloon but making sure not to let it slip from your embrace. The purpose of these types of images is not to become skilful in creating them but in exploring how the body feeling changes and gradually becoming aware of the inside body structure and body’s unity. You can start slowly swaying forward and back. Keep your body balanced and experience the movement as a passive movement; for example as if standing in a slowly flowing river that keeps changing its direction. As you get better in experiencing the ‘inner flow’ within your body, you can discard the images.

Covering Posture (Ping Bu Fu An Zhuang)
From the Embracing Posture, keeping your elbows still, slowly lower your forearms and turn your hands palms down. The arms should be horizontal, with fingers of each hand pointing inwards at around 45 degrees angle. Feel as if your arms and hands are resting on a plank of wood that is floating on water. Feel the plank floating on water away from you and follow that motion with your body. There should not be any change of your arms in relation to your body. Then feel the plank floating towards you and again follow the motion. All other points remain the same.

Combat Postures

Practice of Combat Postures is the first step in acquiring Internal Power. Their role is to make the Combat Stance (see immediately below) seem as natural as possible, strengthen legs and create a connection between them, and start using the whole-body connection to ‘sense strength’ in the body (see ‘Almost-Movement’ below).

Combat Stance

Stand with your heels about fist-width apart, toes pointing slightly out. Transfer your weight onto your right leg and shift the left foot forward, in the direction the foot is pointing and lift the front heel off the ground. Put about a quarter to a third of your weight onto the front foot. Keep a slight push from the front foot into the back one and vice versa. Each of your knees should point in the same direction as the respective foot. Feel as if there is an elastic band between the front toes and your forehead and between the front knee and the opposite hip. At all times feel that you are holding these elastic bands slightly stretched. The body should be held as described for the Health Postures. Eyes should be open, looking into distance.

Almost-Movement

Observe closely what happens in your body just before you move. Say you get ready to move but you ‘abort’ the move just before it actually happens. If you try it few times, you are quite likely to notice a certain type of feeling in the part of the body that you were going to move. At the beginning, it is probably easier to feel it in your hands or arms, so if you have difficulty with it, choose a hand movement. Eventually you will be able to feel a sort of ‘inner’ activity in your body. What happens is that as you form an intention to move and as you get ready to move, there will be some muscular activity associated with stabilising your body in such a way so as to enable the movement to take place. Normally this muscular activity is not noticed as it gets subsumed in the sensations of the actual move that normally takes place. We can’t call it a movement, as there is nothing actually moving yet it is more than ‘not moving’ – that’s why I call it almost-movement. This is the basis of ‘sensing strength’. In the following Zhan Zhuang exercise we practise moving or sensing (Moli – sensing strength) in forward-back direction.

‘Primordial Void’ Posture (Hun Yuan Zhuang)

Master Yao Chengguang in Hun Yuan Zhuang

Stand in a Combat Stance and as in the Health Postures above, create some image in your mind that will make you calm and happy; keep it in your mind and your body throughout the training. Slowly lift your arms in front of you as in the Embracing Posture described above but this time the left hand (assuming the left foot is in front) is slightly more forward and up than the right hand. Apart from the position of your arms and legs, the rest should be the same as in the Embracing Posture (including creation of a calm and peaceful feeling).

Sensing Strength in a Forward-Back Direction (Qian-Hou Moli)
Keep a very soft and relaxed body structure and create a kinaesthetic image of exerting a great deal of strength. For example, imagine that you are embracing a tree and try to uproot it by pushing with your body forwards. At the same time, imagine that you are inside another, hollow, tree with your arms and the back in contact with the tree and you try to uproot that one by pushing with the back of your arms. Alternate this effort with ‘moving’ in the opposite direction – pulling the inside tree with your arms and pushing the outside tree with the back of your body. Always use the whole body. Do not imagine that you are actually succeeding in any of these tasks – the trees are too big and just won’t budge. During your practice, you stay relaxed and nearly still with perhaps just very small movement. Little by little you will get a feeling of almost-movement.

After a period of practice (say several weeks), slowly work the following six points into your posture:

• lift your foot arches and feel as if your feet are grasping the ground
• feel your pelvis horizontal and from there a slight lifting of your perineum
• feel your diaphragm horizontal by relaxing down the front bottom edge of your ribcage which should fill-out your lower back (“relax your chest and raise the back”)
• feel the top of the chest/bottom of your neck horizontal
• feel the bottom of your mouth relaxed and horizontal
• feel the top of your head horizontal

These are all important points for re-inforcing the work of your main postural muscles throughout your body.

Tips for Zhan Zhuang practice

Establish a regular routine

The best way to achieve that is to start with very little but every day. What is ‘very little’? Say 10 seconds – and I do not mean it as a joke! If you start with 10 seconds, you’ll eventually be able to go to hours with no problem (if you wish).

In Zhan Zhuang you are training your Mind

The best way to train your mind is to practice only when you concentrate. That’s why 10 seconds is probably a good starting point. As you keep practising, you naturally start to concentrate for longer and so you practise longer. Even when you can stand for a long time, if one day you can’t concentrate, stop practising. If you force yourself to stand for a set period, you learn not to concentrate, the practice becomes boring and soon you would give up. When you concentrate, it’s enjoyable and you progress faster.

Pain is not necessary

Pain is distracting. Remember, you are training your mind – if the pain in your legs or arms distracts you, you can’t concentrate, so stop practising or change to another posture. If you have pain in any of your joints, stop practising – you should never feel pain in your joints. Muscle pain could be OK, but best to check with someone who would know (for example your teacher).

Get someone to correct your posture

It’s a good idea not to worry about your posture at the very beginning. First you need to relax and settle into the practice. But fairly soon you should get someone to check your posture, preferably several times and then from time to time till you can feel yourself whether it’s correct or not. It can save you a lot of time!

Further Training

Zhan Zhuang is the first step in Yiquan training. For completeness, I show the whole syllabus with both ‘modern’ and ‘traditional’ explanations.

Yiquan Training – modern (and traditional) explanation

Zhan Zhuang (Pole Standing)	– the Health Stances are primarily for relaxing and retraining the body to use postural muscles (accumulating Qi). The Combat Stances are for learning how to control the postural muscles using intent (how to use Yi to lead Qi).
Shi Li (Testing of Strength)	– learning how to move upper body using postural muscles (how to use Qi to lead body or strength) and patterning the body for subsequent Fa Li training.
Mo Ca Bu (Friction Step) –	same as Shi Li but for legs.
Fa Li (Release of Power) –	learning how to ‘release’ power by using phasic muscles supported by postural muscles (learning how to produce Jin by combining Qi with physical strength) along the lines practised at the Shi Li stage and later based on advanced Zhan Zhuang training.
Tui Shou (Pushing Hands) –	this stage is similar to Taijiquan’s Pushing Hands. Sometimes called Shi Li with a partner though later fa-jin is also used.
Shi Sheng (Testing of Voice) –	learning to augment power and integrate the centre of the body in a more natural way using breathing musculature.
Ji Ji Fa (Combat Practice) –	fixed and free sparring drills and sparring.

If you miss out the Combat Stances, instead of the ‘Shi Li’ and ‘Mo Ca Bu’ stages substitute practice of the Taijiquan Forms(s) and add weapons training after the ‘Tui Shou’ stage, you get a Taijiquan syllabus.

Yiquan for health

Zhan Zhuang training of Yiquan is ideally suited for correcting all kinds of problems stemming from the imbalance between phasic muscles and postural muscles, some of which were mentioned under the ‘Postural Dysfunctions’ heading above but there are other benefits that result from Yiquan training. The emphasis on tranquillity is very beneficial in any stress-related problems; the training method of slow and careful movements improves dramatically co-ordination and balance. It is an excellent method of regulating one’s metabolism and sleep pattern. The list could go on but the space is limited!

Conclusion and Summary

Zhan Zhuang is the first step in acquiring Internal Power. The emphasis should be on relaxing all muscles and feeling how the body balances against gravity. Gradually the use of phasic muscles is eliminated from the postural function of the body. Slow, very subtle movements can be felt under the guide of kinaesthetic visualisation (movement in stillness). Later on, when learning to move using ‘intent’, the body’s structure should always be supported by postural muscles only, producing the feeling of standing at any point in the movement (stillness in movement).

This article first appeared in the German Tai Chi and Qigong magazine, autumn 2003.