HOW MANY HOURS OF ZHANG ZHUANG DAILY?
These series of post are mainly
my own LIMITED thoughts and experience from practicing Yiquan and should be
taken with a HUGE DOSE OF SALT.
After practicing Zhan Zhuang
for some time now, I believe I am in a position to give my own opinion on an
apparently simple, yet surprisingly difficult question. Namely, how long should
I stand in a given ‘Zhan Zhuang’ position. Given the fact that I was asking
this question when I first started, I think it’s fair to try and answer this.
“IT DEPENDS!”
Obviously this is not the sort
of answer one wants to hear when one is starting the practice of Zhan Zhuang.
This answer or a variation thereof is not very helpful especially one is
starting, isn’t it? So why give such a nebulous answer? There are many reasons
for this but I shall list the most pertinent:
Quantity
A beginner often times is
focused on the quantity of the practice. Their indirect question is perhaps, “Given
my busy schedule, what’s the least amount of time I need to spend on Zhan
Zhuang, whilst getting the most benefit out of it?” Seen from this angle, the
attitude towards the practice is already somewhat problematic. Further, the
quantity or amount of time spent in the practice really a function of some of
the factors below. In other words, after considering all the factors below (and
others), you can decide how much time you should spend practicing.
Quality
Often time, the number of hours
spent in practicing Zhan Zhuang depends on the quality of one’s existing
practice. If your posture is in perfect alignment, you are able to relax and
stretch the ligaments and tendons simultaneously, your mind and intention is
focused ~ perhaps as little as 15-30 minutes a day should suffice. To achieve that
sort of quality in one’s Zhan Zhuang practice, requires perhaps many hours of practice
daily for several years. So, yes… very little time is required for a Zhan
Zhuang practice once you get there. But in order to get there, you need many hours…
Ability
Ability refers to physical,
mental and financial ability. Firstly, if your physique is not at the level
required, it will take time for you to achieve this. There must be a proper
foundation at a physical level. You need to be physically flexible enough to
stretch the tendons and ligaments. If you are not, some preparatory exercises
are required. Secondly, mentally is your life simple enough without too many
distractions? Are you mentally alert and able to summon your intention and
concentration during the practice without being sidetracked by mental
defilements during Zhan Zhuang? Thirdly, financially are you able to devote
enough time to the practice of Zhan Zhuang. Devoting an hour daily may seem simple
enough, but what’s required is an hour of absolute silence, ignoring family
obligations, work commitments and other distractions. And not only that, in
that one hour, you must be fresh and alert. There’s no point in practicing Zhan
Zhuang if you’re tired, exhausted or haven’t enough time to sleep!
Desirability
What is your target? To what
levels of achievement do you want to achieve in your Zhan Zhuang practice? To
merely correct your posture and for general health? Or to achieve a form of
Integrity in the body for use in actual combat? The greater the level of achievement
that you wish to attain, the greater the sacrifice you need.
Remedy
Often, the number of hours in
the practice is not as important as ensuring what you’re doing is correct. It
doesn’t matter how much time you spend, if you’re doing the exercise wrong. You
need to make sure you obtain proper feedback to correct your practice. It’s a
given that there will be many areas that needs to be continually remedied over
time. So again, depending on how bad your postural habits are, more time may
need to be spent to rectify these bad habits in order to progress in your
practice.
So, the number of hours to
practice in Zhan Zhuang will vary. A beginner may need to practice for up to an
hour daily as he will need to build up his endurance especially his slow twitch
muscles. He needs time to get accustomed to the practice and get used to the
postures. An intermediate practitioner may need about half an hour daily. The
other half
hour might need to
be used for some other aspects of practice related to Yiquan.