To 'get' the ch'i you must separate the bones and flesh.

There are two aspects of the body which we need to separate : the bones, and the muscles, or flesh.

The bones are the support structure of the body and, the spaces between the bones, or joints, are drawn out away from each other. This is achieved with an expansion out in every direction using the mind intent. It is important not to use the muscles directly with some kind of physical effort but to open into the feeling of expansion. It is a mistake to allow the body to collapse into itself closing the spaces between the bones.

The bones are aligned from the feet and create a connection through the body so that you can feel a mechanical connection to the hand or wherever you wish to exert force.

The muscles are relaxed and loose as far as possible. The ch'i passes between the muscle layers and unifies the feeling of the body as a whole. With a coordinated and unified feeling in the body it is possible to generate various different forces. The simplest and easiest force to generate is like a wave ripple that begins at the foot and passes through the body to the hand. It is created with the mind intent. In the early stages of development and refinement there can be some movement of the bone structure but without losing the alignment and coordinated function.

The separation of bone and flesh is important for health because the pathways of ch'i are opened and activated more strongly when applying this principle.

The muscles structure gradually changes and the body looks increasingly like that of a child as the muscles appear to puff outwards with a rounded contour. The muscles are relaxed and fill out with ch'i.

Bristol 18.06.09