{'Folding the waist and chest' (xiong yao zhedie) is one of the most important points of Chen style TJQ's practice. The important thing is that everything depends upon the Dantian to be the hub of all movement of the body, and everything else around it is moved by/ because of it...
Translation about Xiong Yao Zhedie:
陈式太极拳之---胸腰折叠训练方法
胸腰折叠，是陈式太极拳锻炼要领之一。其要旨，在于强调以丹田为枢纽的躯干部位的松柔、灵活而有力的运化功能。古拳论云：打拳“紧要处全在胸中腰间运化。”而胸腰运化的特征，即表现在胸腰折叠。
折叠一词系借用其一往一复、一开一合的含义。胸腰折叠的实质就是指胸腰的开合、屈伸、鹦放、旋转。《太极拳表解》云：叠，有转换。”折叠者，无非是借 用折扇、叠被、折叠衣物之比喻，而表述胸腰运动中的一开一合、一屈一伸、一左一右、一收一放、顺逆螺旋之变化。故拳论有云：“往复须有折叠。”反映在技击 上，这种折叠劲则用于“声东击西，就左先右，造势借力”的战术之中。陈照奎老师把这种折叠劲称之谓“蛹动劲。”他常以蚕蛹，蛇、毛毛虫之类的虫蛇躯体节节 贯串进退之状，来形容太极拳运动中人体胸腰运化之貌，而谓之曰“犹尤似蛇”。
陈照奎老师还常说：胸腰者，人体之“大本营”也。他又比喻：胸腰部位，如同棋盘上的老将、老帅，不能轻易随便移动。根据陈式太极拳宗师陈长兴公(号称 “牌位)真传拳架的规矩，胸腰这一躯干部位，必须保持端正，不允许左歪右斜，前俯后仰、摇头晃肩、来回摇晃，同时，另一方面又要求它松柔、灵活，屈伸自 由，旋转自如，有开有合，能吞能吐。一句话，既要中正，又要灵活。回忆我刚跟先师学拳之时，常常受到的批评是：虽然上身比较端正，胸腰却铁板一块；可是， 另一方面他又常批评他的一位侄子是“水蛇腰”、“扭屁股吊腰”，胸腰活得过火了。由此可见，如何无过而又无不及地把握太极拳的胸腰运化问题确是值得我们研 究的一个重要课题。
一、胸腰运化的生理机制
要弄明白胸腰运化的规律，首先要弄清人体胸腰部位的结构及其生理机制。
人体的胸部和腰部，是由起支柱作用的脊柱贯串其间的。脊柱构**体的中轴，成年人脊柱共26节，劲椎7节、胸椎12节、腰椎15节、一个骶骨和一个尾骨，借助椎间盘、韧带连结而成。脊柱上端托着头颅，其胸段、腰段和骶尾段，分别构成胸腔、腹腔和盆腔臂的一部分。
{Chen style taijiquan - the method of 'Folding the waist and chest' (xiong yao zhedie)
{'Folding the waist and chest' (xiong yao zhedie) is one of the most important points of Chen style TJQ's practice. The important thing is that everything depends upon the Dantian to be the hub of all movement of the body, and everything else around it is moved by/ because of it. Flexible yet strong, capable of determined movement or transforming to the situation. Old martial texts say: "To fight, it is critical that every movement is controlled by the center of the chest and waist, moving or transforming aka attacking or defending." [There is a double meaning where the whole of your body is under control by your mind, but the mind is sunk down to the dantian, or your dantian is the mind in a fight.] Even though the chest and waist moving and transforming is distinctive it may not be manifesting 'Folding (Zhedie)'.
'Folding (Zhedie)' is a single term that connects a whole sequence of movements and other more complex terminology into one single, simple word. The one word means - to open (kai) and close (he) and is implied when it's used.'Folding (Zhedie)' means to open and close, to bend and extend, to capture and release, to revolve and turn.
{Taijiquan practitioners of old say "Folding is linked with 'Turning-changing' (Zhuanhuan). Zhedie is compared to a folding chinese paper or silk fan (Zheshan). The fabric is folded into pleats, and the spine and front of the chest is likened to the perfect opening and closing of a fan. Bending and stretching. Being put away or whipped open. Moving with (shun) or moving against (Ni). Spiraling (Luoxuan). It changes. [Basically Zhedie movement has opening and closing but the Zhuanhuan movement also has it's own opening and closing. A movement within another movement.]
{Boxers of old say: "To go out and comeback there must be 'Zhedie'". So before one obtains skills of striking, this Zhedie Jin (Folding Power) must be understood and able to be used. "Threaten to the east, attack to the west, or attack the left, but strike with the right, or promote power borrow strength." is a common tactical concept [but...]. Teacher Chen Zhaokui said that 'Zhedie Jin' is another way to say "Yong Dong Jin" (Chrysalis/pupa Moving Power). He often said it's like a Silkworm Pupa (Canyong), snake, or caterpillar, and such, worm-like bodies that move an inch at a time, connected end to end simultaneously advancing and retreating. In TJQ the middle of the person's body can move in the same manner, and it's said that the person has the ability to move like a snake. Chen Zhaokui often said the chest and waist of the human body are the headquarters/ base camp [from which the martial military is directed.]
{He [Chen Zhaokui] also compares the chest and small of the back to being like the King moving on the chessboard and you can't just move it rashly or randomly, the movements have to be precise. According to Chen TJQ grandmaster Chen Changxing the traditional teachings say the chest and waist are together within the torso, and the torso should not crooked to the right or left, not rocking back and forth, not shaking the head or wiggling the shoulders, on the other hand it requires that the torso is relaxed and supple, nimble and agile, freely able to bend and stretch, smoothly rotate and turn, able to open and able to close, the ability to suck-in (Tun) and the ability to blow-out (Tu). The middle of the body must be both solid and strong and flexible and agile. I remember a time when teacher would criticize me for having a torso that was like a stiff iron plate, yet at the same time criticize another student for having a torso too supple and loose like a women waving and wiggling her ass. So the key is to have the chest and waist be lively but not too much. So what is important is that without practice and guidance it is hard to understand how the chest and waist are used to power movement and transform, so it's important to have experienced people work together to solve this major problem.
{1. Understanding the movement of the chest and waist as a physiological mechanism.
It is important to figure out how the movement functions according to strict rules. It demands that one knows how the chest and small of the back function structurally and the physiological mechanisms of their movement. The solar plexus, ribs, chest and small of the back must work together and coordinate as they're the backbone for the movement of the spinal column being connected end to end. The spinal column is the central axis. The adult spinal column has 26 palpable nodes/ ridges - the cervical spine has 7, thoracic spine has 12 ridges, and the lumbar has 7, then the sacrum and tailbone. It moves via discs between vertebrae and ligaments and joints. The top of the spine supports the head, the thoracic section is the 'Chest' (Xiong) and the rest (lumbar, sacrum, and tailbone) is the 'waist' (yao) section. The Chest is the whole thoracic cavity, while the Waist is the whole abdominal cavity and the pelvic cavity.} [end of translation]
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Think of the folds and pleats (Zhedie) in the bellows of an accordion turned on it's side, which is similar to the 'Silk Fan' analogy, and is another way to look at how the tailbone, sacrum and lumbar spine work to emit power. This movement of the Dantian has the ability to suck-in (Tun aka Fanlangjin) and the ability to blow-out (Tu aka Bolangjin). see ~ Bolangjin and Fanlangjin
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