武式太極拳始創人武禹襄的拳論說：「勁起腳跟，發於腿，主宰於腰，形之於手。」是太極拳發勁的心法。這幾句拳論，寫得清楚，也沒錯，卻誤導了不少太極拳練家在發勁時將腳用力往地上撐。我們看拳譜不能單從字面上去理解，要將拳論與太極拳大方向一同思考才能找出作者的言下之意。太極拳大方向是不用力，所以武禹襄一定不是提倡用力往地上撐，用腿撐地的方法人人皆懂，也不用寫在拳論裡。
Wu Yuxiang, the originator of Wu style Taijiquan, said in the Taijiquan manuals; “Jin originates from the heel, permeates through the leg, is commanded by the waist and manifests itself in the hand”, such being the internal methodology of jin emission in Taijiquan. While these few sentences are concisely written and accurate in description, they unfortunately have misled a fair number of Taijiquan practitioners in that they tend to press their legs against the ground with brute force. We should not simply look at the written text in our attempt to understand the classic manuals. It is only when taking into consideration the general approach of never using brute force in Taijiquan internal practice that the underlying meaning of the author can be truly revealed. It is unlikely that Wu Yuxiang would popularize the concept of using brute force to press the leg against the ground, which is something that most people can do anyway without the need to refer to any classic manual for directions.
我個人體會武氏所指的是內勁所走的路線，首先身體要鬆得開，由腳經腰背至手指之間建立了一條通道才可以嘗試練習這發勁心法。用意先將身體重量放到地上，接收反彈力，再從上述的通路引放出去。放重量時全身皆要放鬆，重量由大椎注入腰間經腿傳到地上。重量反彈時丹田放大引導能量蓄於肩胛骨以內，這是「蓄」。發勁時，全身皆放鬆，人是如一件物件放在地上，全交給地心吸力，雙腿不可撐地，手不能用力，反彈上來的能量要如箭離弦的放出去，否則通道便會被堵著，勁便不能暢通的發放，這是「放」。
According to my personal understanding, Master Wu was trying to describe the routing of jin, which is, one must firstly loosen up the whole body so that there is a pathway created along the legs, through the waist, reaching through to the fingers. Not until this is achieved can one attempt to practise this methodology in fajin. Yi (wisdom mind) is used to lower and “place” the body weight on the ground. Be mindful in capturing the rebounding force thus generated, which should then be released along this channel. Take care to relax the whole body in the process of weight lowering, such weight to travel through the dazhui heading for the waist and coursing through the legs onto the ground. When the weight is rebounded, the dantien should expand so as to direct the generated energy towards shoulder blade, ie, this is the stage of chu (storage). During fajin, the whole body relaxes and rests on the ground as an object, its weight totally borne by the gravitational pull. Beware that neither leg should press hard against the ground, nor should the hands manifest any brute force. The energy generated as a result of the rebounding force should be released like the shooting of an arrow from a bow. Countering this principle, the passageway will close up preventing fang, i.e, the smooth and unimpeded “release” of jin.
云云武術中只有太極拳主張不用力，因此練功方法是與別不同的，從學者要有太極思維才能進得太極拳的大門，否則只是少林拳慢練罷了。
Amongst the numerous styles of wushu, only Taijiquan adheres to the rule of not using brute force, hence its unique training methodology. Those who are keen to learn must have a Taijiquan mindset before they can properly get through the doorway into the world of Taijiquan. Otherwise, they are merely practising a slow-motion form of shaolinquan.
Written by Patrick SW Chan
Translated by Vicky Wong
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