The Stability Of The Yin Fu Ba Gua Stance

This video uses Happeh Theory to discuss the stability of the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance. The material in this video is not part of any actual Yin Fu Ba Gua teaching.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cD_RNtykoY]

A web page duplicate of this video is also available for those who prefer to read, and for more leisurely study.

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This video is titled The stability of the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance

The creation of this video was motivated by a viewer comment. The viewer said the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance demonstrated in this picture was no good,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-StanceProfileView

because the stance looked unstable.

This video is going to use The Single Cylinder View of the Human Body, to provide a simple way to visualize, why the stance shown in this picture is stable.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-StanceProfileView

According to The Single Cylinder View of the Human Body, the human body can be treated as a large cylinder located as shown in this picture.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-SingleCylinderFrontView

The cylinder is centered on the body,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-SingleCylinderCenterline

and covers the entire body from side to side,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-CylinderCoversSideToSide

and front to back.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-CylinderCoversFrontToBack

This picture provides an overhead view of the relationship between the cylinder and the human body.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-SingleCylinderOverheadView

According to Happeh Theory, the diameter of the cylinder can be treated as if it is determined, by the location and size of the pelvic bones and the shoulder blades.

This picture shows an overhead view of the pelvic bones.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-PelvicBonesOverheadView

The pelvic bones have a generally semicircular shape as emphasized by the curved line in this picture.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-PelvicBonesSemicircularShape

Extending the natural curve drawn on the pelvic bones

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ExtendingPelvicBoneCurve

creates a circle as shown in this picture.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-PelvicBonesCircle

For the purposes of this video, the front edge of the cylinder will be treated as if it’s position,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-HighlightCylinderFront

is determined by the location of the front of the circle created by the pelvic bones.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-PelvicBoneCircleFront

This picture shows an overhead view of the shoulder blades.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ShoulderBladesOverheadView

The shoulder blades also have a semicircular shape as highlighted by the semicircle in this picture.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ShoulderBladesSemicircularShape

Extending the natural curve drawn on the shoulder blades,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ExtendingShouldersCurve

creates the circle shown in this picture.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ShouldersCircle

For the purposes of this video, the rear boundary or rear edge of the cylinder will be treated as if it’s position,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-HighlightCylinderRear

is determined by the rear of the circle formed by the shoulder blades.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ShoulderCircleRear 

Tai Ji is the name of a physical exercise developed in China. The practice of Tai Ji consists of a series of connected body movements, collectively called “The Tai Ji Form”. The first movement of the Tai Ji form is to assume the ready position.

This picture shows a human skeleton in an erect posture

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-SkeletonFrontView

that will be used for the following demonstrations.

This animation shows the skeleton moving into the Tai Ji ready position.

The human skeleton in the Tai Chi ready posture,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-SkeletonTaiJiStanceProfile

looks different from the human skeleton standing erect.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-SkeletonNormalPostureProfile

The differences that are pertinent to this video, include the shoulder blades in the Tai Chi posture being further to the rear of the body,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-TaiJiShoulderBlades

than the shoulder blades of the body in an erect posture.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-NormalPostureShoulderBlades

The pelvic bones in the Tai Chi posture are slanted,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-TaiJiPelvicBonesSlanted

compared to the pelvic bones in the erect posture,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-NormalPosturePelvicBones

and the pelvic bones in the Tai Chi posture are in front of,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-TaiJiPelvisInFront

the location of the pelvic bones in the erect posture.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-NormalPosturePelvisFurtherRear

It was stated earlier, that the size and location of the shoulder blades and the pelvic bones, determined the size and location of the cylinder, from The Single Cylinder View of the Human Body.

If the shoulder blades are moved to the rear of their normal position,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-IfShoulderBladesMoveRear

and the pelvic bones are moved forward of their normal position,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-IfPelvisMovesForwards

when the human body assumes the Tai Ji ready posture,

then the distance between the shoulder blades and the pelvic bones has become larger.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ShoulderPelvisDistanceLarger

That means the diameter of the cylinder of The Single Cylinder View of the Human Body, must also be larger.

That concept will be demonstrated next.

This picture shows two discs,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-HighlightTwoDiscs

representing the circles that determine the size and location of the cylinder.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-DiscsShoulderPelvisCircles

The disc at shoulder level is aligned with the rear edge of the cylinder,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ShoulderDiscAlignedCylinderRear

while the disc at the level of the pelvic bones is aligned with the front edge of the cylinder.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-PelvicDiscAlignedCylinderFront

This animation shows the skeleton moving into the Tai Ji ready posture.

In the Tai Ji ready posture,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ErectTaiJiPostureDiscs

the shoulder blades have moved a small amount behind their normal location in the erect posture.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-TaiJiShouldersMoved

The front of the pelvic bones in the Tai Ji ready posture,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-TaiJiPelvisFront

have moved a large distance in front their location in the erect posture.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-TaiJiPelvisFarForward

Because the shoulder blades and pelvic bones have moved,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-BecauseShouldersPelvisMoved

both discs need to be properly re-aligned on the shoulder blades and pelvic bones.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-TaiJiDiscsNeedRealignment

This animation shows both discs moving back to their proper alignment on the shoulder blades and the pelvic bones.

Now the cylinder is too small.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-NowCyilnderTooSmall

The front of the cylinder is supposed to line up with the front of the pelvic bones,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-CylinderPelvisFrontsMisaligned

and the rear of the cylinder is supposed to line up on the shoulder blades.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-CylinderShoulderRearMisaligned

The cylinder needs to be re-sized,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-CylinderNeedsResizing

so it is aligned on the pelvic bones and the shoulder blades in their new location.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-CylinderShouldersPelvisBoundaries

This animation shows the cylinder growing larger until the edges are again aligned on the shoulder blades and the pelvic bones.

The purpose of this video, is to discuss the stability of the human body. If the human body can really be treated as a cylinder, then the stability of the human body, can be equated to the stability of a cylinder.

The stability of a vertically standing cylinder, depends on the diameter of the cylinder. A small diameter vertically standing cylinder,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-SmallDiameterVerticalCylinder

will be less stable than a larger diameter vertically standing cylinder.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-LargeDiameterVerticalCylinder

In this comparison picture of the cylinder on the erect skeleton and the Tai Ji ready posture skeleton,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-TaiJiErectCylindersProfile

the diameter of the cylinder on the Tai Ji ready posture skeleton,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-TaiJiCylinderLargerDiameter

is obviously much bigger than the diameter of the cylinder on the erect skeleton.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ErectCylinderSmallerDiameter

That means a human body in the Tai Ji ready posture,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-SkeletonTaiJiStanceProfile

is more stable than a human body in an erect posture,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-SkeletonNormalPostureProfile

because the cylinder associated with the Tai Ji ready posture has a larger diameter base,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-TaiJiCylinderBiggerBase

than the cylinder associated with an erect posture.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ErectCylinderSmallerBase

The viewer comment that motivated this video was, “The Yin Fu Ba Gua stance does not look stable”. The method just demonstrated on the Tai Ji and erect stances, will now be used to investigate the stability of the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance.

This picture shows the skeleton in an erect stance.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ErectSkeletonProfileView

This animation shows the skeleton lowering into the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance.

The legs are bent to lower the body towards the ground.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-BaGuaLegsBent

The arms are pulled up by the side of the chest.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-BaGuaArmsAlongChest

The pelvic bones have been rotated to the rear.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-BaGuaPelvisRotatedRear

The skeleton is not finished moving into the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance. The movement of the skeleton into the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance has been split into two sections to help emphasize what the skeleton is doing.

This animation shows the skeleton completing the movement into the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance.

The body has dropped lower to the ground,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-BodyDroppedLower

while the pelvic bones have moved even further to the rear.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-PelvisFurtherRear

The rib cage has moved farther forwards.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-RibcageFurtherForward

The diameter of the cylinder in the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance cannot be determined using the method that was used on the Ta Ji and erect stances. The diameter of the cylinder in both of those stances, was said to be the distance between the shoulder blades,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-TaiJiErectCylindersRear

and the front of a circle created by extending the natural curve of the pelvic bones.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-TaiJiErectCyilndersFront

That method cannot work for the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance, because the shoulder blades,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ShoulderBladesInFront

are in front of the pelvic bones.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-PelvisBehindShoulderBlades

For the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance, the boundaries of the cylinder of The Single Cylinder View of the Human body, need to be redefined.

The front boundary of the cylinder in the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance is treated as if it located wherever the front of the rib cage is.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-RibCageFrontBoundary

The rear boundary of the cylinder is treated as if it is located wherever the rear of the pelvic bones are located.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-PelvisRearRearBoundary

This picture compares the cylinder on the erect stance,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-HighlightErectBaGuaCylinder

to the cylinder on the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ErectHighlightBaGuaCylinder

The cylinder on the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance has a larger diameter,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-BaGuaDiameterLarger

than the diameter of the cylinder on the erect stance.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ErectDiameterSmaller

Because the stability of a vertically oriented cylinder, is related to the diameter of it’s base, the cylinder on the Yin Fu Ba Gu stance,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-BaGuaMoreStable

would be more stable than the cylinder on the erect stance.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ErectCylinderLessStable

This picture compares all three stances.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-AllThreeStances

The cylinder on the erect skeleton has the smallest diameter,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ErectCylinderSmallestDiameter

so the erect stance is the least stable of the three stances.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-ErectCylinderLeastStable

The Tai Ji skeleton has a larger diameter cylinder on it,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-TaiJiCylinderDiameterLarger

which means the Tai Ji stance is more stable than the erect stance.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-TaiJiCylinderMoreStable

The cylinder on the Yin Fu Ba Gua skeleton,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-BaGuaCylinderLargestDiameter

has the largest diameter cylinder of all three stances.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-BaGuaCylinderMostStable

That means the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance, must be the most stable of all three stances.

This video has demonstrated why the viewer statement that, “the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance is not stable”, is not a true statement. This video used The Single Cylinder View of the Human Body to clearly show,

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-SingleCylinderFrontView

that the Yin Fu Ba Gua stance is extremely stable.

Stability_Ba_Gua_Stance-BaGuaMostStableStance