The Correct Biomechanical Use of the Feet & Knees | Part 4: Weight Distribution

Weight distribution

If you have followed my reasoning this far, and have experimented with a posture with a vertical front shin it might have occurred to you that your weight distribution in the stance is not the recommended 70% in the front leg and 30% in the back leg but is now 50% in each leg.

I remember almost 20 years ago when I started studying with Li Shaoqiang being surprised at her instructions to beginners to maintain a 50/50 weight distribution in all forward stances. This conflicted with all my previous taijiquan and other martial art experience. When I finally plucked up the courage to question this (traditional martial arts teachers do not appreciate being questioned on specific instructions by beginners) she explained that to talk about a stance in the context of the continuous movement of a taijiquan routine is nonsense. However, in order to teach it, it had to be broken down into postures . If one assumed a posture in a relaxed manner, the weight distribution would be 50/50 and double weighted, but in the context of the continuous movement of the form the natural force (or jin) in the legs would be 70/30 distribution of force! Understanding dawned! There was no conflict after all. What the classics had meant all along was that the 70/30 distribution referred to dynamic force and not passive weight. In other words at the point that force arrives at the hands (or forearms, shoulder or body depending on the application of the posture), the distribution of force in the legs should be 70/30 or thereabouts.

Cheng Man-Ching says this very clearly in his advanced form Instruction in his Thirteen Chapters and New Methods of Self Study. (Wile 1985). He says, in instructions for Grasp the Sparrow's Tail, Ward off Left; The front leg is 70 percent full and perpendicular to the ground. The rear leg has 30 percent active power and pushes forward.

Front Knee Alignment in Stepping Forward

If you were to use a knee outer front toe posture and tried to move forward in order to turn the front foot out you would have to move your weight back before you transfer your weight to the front foot. Since in most taijiquan postures the completion of the application of force happens in the transitions between postures, withdrawing your weight to the back foot would neutralise your own technique. Wu Ta-Yeh says of this form of shifting weight, Such interruption of the continuous energy is the cause of indentation and protrusion which is strongly objected to in the taijiquan classics. It also creates a gap in self-defense (Wu Ta-Yeh 1993).

Chen Xin said, The front leg is to brake, the rear leg is to push. (Wu Ta-Yeh 1993). Braking means using your front leg to stop your forward force. In other words, if you push with your back leg powerfully and brake with your front leg the power travels up your body to your arms. This is only possible if your front shin is vertical. In order to move forward all you have to do is raise the toes and ball of front foot to transfer the braking strength to the front heel, turn the front foot and sustain the pushing action of the back leg until your weight has arrived on the front leg. As long as the front shin is maintained vertically during the action of pivoting on the front heel, there will be no loss of power in the technique. The transition will be beautifully smooth, and the energy will be continuous.

Conclusion

There are many difficulties in writing an article of this nature. Chief among them is the difficulty of discussing the technical aspects of such a complex and dynamic movement system in static terms. This is not unlike trying to evaluate a motion picture by the technical analysis of a few stills. Therefore, I would urge you to appreciate the difficulties of description and keep the essence of what I am saying in the forefront of your mind. Be willing to critically analyse your own form and discuss these ideas with teachers and colleagues, but above all remember that the object of the exercise is to develop more stable more powerful taijiquan whether your aims are better health, greater skill or martial ability. To my mind Yang Chengfu s greatness was not so much in his martial ability but rather in his ability to change and develop and to constantly work at improving his forms.

Finally let me leave you with the thought that your taijiquan is only as good as its foundations, i.e. your feet, knees and legs and your qi will only develop if the mechanical use of the body is correct.

References

Tseng Ju-Pai (1976) Primordial Pugilism (Tai chi chuan), Paul H Crompton Ltd, London.

Walther, David S (1988) Applied Kinesiology Systems D.C. Colorado.

Wile, Douglas (1983) Tai-Chi Touchstones Yang Family Secret Transmissions, Sweet Chi Press, New York.

Wile, Douglas (1985) Cheng Man-Ching's Advanced Tai-Chi Forms Instructions, Sweet Chi Press, New York.

Wu Ta-Yeh (1993) Yang Chengfu’s Earlier and Latest Taijiquan, Tai Chi Magazine, Volume 17, No 2 Wayfarer Publications, Los Angeles.