At the 2017 Gymnastics Festival in Berlin, participants and visitors were able to get to know the trend sport Taiji Bailong Ball (TBB) – Roliball. The president of the TBBA (Taiji Bailong Ball Association e. V.), Xiaofei Sui, provided information and presented this ball sport, which is well established in Europe. The fun and joie de vivre of any ball game are combined with the suppleness and energy of Taiji. TBB inspires children, young people and adults of all ages, regardless of their physical constitution.The development of the Sport
Taiji Bailong Ball is a ball sport developed in the present day with a Taiji character.
The inventor of TBB, Prof. Bai Rong, studied sports science at Shanxi University, has coached numerous top athletes for many years and is a professor of sports science. The working group founded by Prof. Bai Rong established the official name of the sport as Taiji Rouliqiu (Taiji with elastic force). Later, for better international acceptance, the new ball sport was initially given the name Taiji Bailong Ball, but the name Roliball has since become established internationally.
After several years of research, Rong developed the necessary equipment, a catcher (racket) and a ball. In most ball sports, the ball is propelled linearly towards the opponent using a racket or a hand technique. The ball is hit at specific points. TBB is fundamentally different. If the ball is to be moved, this is done by a whole-body movement resulting from the inner Taiji force. In multiplay, you catch the passed ball with the catcher using a circular movement and elastic hand techniques and at the end of the circular movement the ball leaves the catcher (due to centrifugal force) – it is played.
The specific thing about this sport is that the catcher accompanies the ball for a long time. It seems as if the catcher is attracting the ball. In solo play or freestyle, for example, you perform elementary Taiji movements with the catcher and move the ball around you in a circle or spiral.
The Equipment
In TBB, you use a special catcher covered with a rubber surface and play a ball filled with a little sand. The weight of the racket depends on the material of the frame. Depending on the stringing hardness of the frame, there are different levels of difficulty in mastering the TBB sport. The ball weighs approx. 55 g and has a diameter of 65 mm. It is available as a felt, leather or rubber ball.
Philosophy
The scientific research institute of the Chinese Ministry of Sports commented on the new sport as follows: TBB reveals the Taiji principles through its type of movement and can therefore contribute to bring Chinese traditional and cultural values to life in modern society. The harmonious movements in TBB always unfold from the inside out. Therefore, every external movement begins in the center (dantien) and can be perceived from the outside as a physiological movement. The inner movement is that of the spirit and the Qi (life energy).
The TBB player can thus subtly grasp that energy and matter are two sides of the same coin (energy is both a wave and a particle).
TBB movements are a way of working directly with Qi and thus practicing active life care and personal development. This makes TBB an excellent way to prevent health problems. The outward form is comparable to tennis, for example, but the idea behind the new ball sport is the Taiji principle (let go/relax; build up/strengthen; align/integrate), which is why it can be described as a fusion of Western style and Eastern philosophy. Interested readers can find specific information in Xiaofei Sui’s book Strength and relaxation with the trend sport from China.
Game variations
Single player variant (solo play, freestyle):
In the basic course, the TBB player learns to guide and control the ball. They do not need a playing partner, because the repertoire of movements is so varied that playing alone also leads to the goal of regulating and harmonizing the body, mind and spirit or improving health problems.
As a single player, you can practise TBB with music as a special form of gymnastics. The skillful movements can be variably choreographed as a dance form or exercise sequence.
Multiplayer version (Multi – Play):
In pairs: Whether on court or simply on a green field – playing with a partner initiates a dynamic relationship process that demands attention and concentration. Playing flexibly together, whether in competition or as an entertaining game between two individual players with a shared ball, trains creativity, among other things.
Doubles:
TBB is also a team sport. Two players on each side of the pitch play according to set rules. The ball can also be passed to the team partner, which makes the game variants even more varied. letting off steam, letting off steam, releasing excess energy, winning – this is also possible with Taiji Bailong Ball. Only the way to a sporting high differs from other sports.
Free play: The game possibilities are virtually inexhaustible. Several players can pass one or more balls to each other in any formation, such as a circle, etc. – according to their own rules, at any location. In this way, you can achieve a unique experience of harmony and a sporting activity that involves the whole body.
Theoretical aspects of TBB
As participants in the 1st international Taiji Bailong ball trainer curriculum led by Prof. Bai Rong in May 2005 at the Laoshan Center in China, we were able to experience that fitness and relaxed, natural, generous and aesthetic movements are not contradictory. Harmony and balance are the result of dual processes on which every dynamic/movement depends. In TBB, such polarities (Yin – Yang principle) are explosive: relaxation/tension; slow/fast; deceleration/acceleration; left/right; relief/load; counter-swing/directional swing.
Such bipolarities exist in the phenomena of nature and in almost all manifestations of life (in humans, animals, plants).
Bipolarities are the central principle of rhythmic spiral kinetics. The structure of our body is characterized by spiral structures. For example, the shape of our heart is the resonance of the inner pulsation of the blood, its fibres wind in spiral structures from the top down to the tip of the heart. Rotating vortices characterize the structure of the heart.
The spine-leg axis also has a spiral structure and its flexion, extension and rotation movements correspond to the principle of a spring spiral. The spine-leg axis alternates between compression and expansion, between tension and relaxation.
The movement sequences along the axis of the spine and leg correspond to the principles of the three-dimensional, aligned spiral spring: energy is stored in each front, compressed landing phase (touch down) and then released via the unfolded spring (push off) and converted into movement. Potential positional energy is thus converted into kinetic energy, phases of tension and relaxation alternate in the sense of bipolarities – this also applies to the muscles surrounding the bones. Tension and relaxation provide the „muscluar engine“ with the necessary energy, which is a prerequisite for movement in all its manifestations.
When opposing levels of vibration are congruent in their time-space expansion, the spiral is in balance. Even the smallest irritations cause imbalances in the central axis of the spiral. Balance and inner equilibrium are guaranteed if the necessary time and space are available for each vibration level. If the body structure is in balance, jin (elastic force) can arise as a result of the effect of force (gravity and force from the other player).
In TBB, the interaction of functional units is important, e.g. how the pelvis is straightened and how it sends the forces into the foot or arm; how the foot stands or the arm is held and absorbs or returns the forces.
This is where the interplay between structure and energy are revealed.
The Kua – a functional unit whose material component consists of bones, joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments, while its energetic component consists of the meridians that run through the area and the lower dantien – plays a central role in TBB. The kua includes: the lower lumbar vertebrae, sacrum, pelvic blades and hip joints, thigh bones, lumbar iliac muscles, muscles of the pelvic floor and the adductor muscles.
Nothing in the body is isolated. The lumbar iliac muscles, for example, connect the lumbar vertebrae to the pelvis and the thigh bones, just as the adductor muscles connect the pelvis to the thigh bones. The forefoot forms a bipolarity with the head of the femur: the internal spiral of the forefoot causes an internal rotation of the lower leg which, together with the external rotation of the femur caused by the straightening of the pelvis, results in a spiral screw connection in the leg – this creates the internal dynamic force.
TBB athletes consciously use spiral movements, e.g. by rotating the hips with a shift in balance from one side to the other. It is important that the body’s center of gravity neither rises nor sinks during the weight change. The lumbar spine is always erect. Hips, knees and ankles are aligned. The weight is shifted evenly and rhythmically as a flowing movement.
The iliac crest is parallel to the floor, avoiding rocking up and down. Prof. Bai Rong repeatedly emphasizes the importance of yao power (rotational movement of the hips). With every movement, the unity of the torso and spine is maintained. The force comes from the yao, is directed via the spine into the arms and transferred to the catcher. The catcher is an extension of the arm.
In the TBB game, the movement principle of changing from empty to full and from full to empty is realized. Whether in the warm-up form or the standard forms – the shoulders must always be relaxed (never pulled up) and the elbow joints must be stretched and open as far as possible. Regardless of the type of game you choose, there are numerous preparatory exercises to complete.
Advantages of TBB
- Health-promoting and therapeutic effect according to traditional Chinese medicine
- Holistic and even physical training from head to toe
- Movements that are gentle on and care for the joints
- Playful weight loss
- Educational effect and enrichment of the thinking structure
- Physical and mental relaxation
- Strengthening your own body awareness and body sensation
- Suitable for everybody regardles of physical conditions
- Quality of play at all ages regardless of ability
- Skill, concentration, elegance
- Philosophically based sport with forms of movement from Taiji
- Give free rein to your own creativity and improvisation
- Competitive and competitiveness
- Cost-effective and low space and material requirements
- Can be played indoors and outdoors
Effect of TBB
- Stress management
- Reduction of high blood pressure and heart rate (lowering the risk of heart attack)
- Strengthening or enlarging the heart muscle and improving cardiac output
- Optimization of the oxygen transport capacity of the blood
- Increase in the musculature
- Relief of the musculoskeletal system by reducing body weight
- Improvement in bone density with reduced risk of osteoporosis
- Stimulation of the immune system
Conclusion
The fact that TBB is suitable for popular, recreational and health sports, has to be integrated into the further education and training courses for sports teachers at all types of schools and gymnastics teachers as well as into the training curriculum for rehabilitation trainers and is also an enrichment for every Qi Gong or Tai Chi teacher or physiotherapist and occupational therapist, can be seen from the characteristics and advantages of this very popular sport in China. It is to be hoped that the German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) and the LTV, in conjunction with the DTB Academy, will turn their attention to TBB and Roliball, especially for the specialist area of children’s gymnastics.
The integration of TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) into dance medicine can contribute significantly to the optimization and adaptation of learning processes in a changing dance culture, be it in classical, modern or contemporary dance. It would be an important contribution to the connection between practice and theory, which is being discussed in the context of dancer training.
The author
Dr. Edeltraud Richter (born 1944) completed her training as a TBB trainer in 2005 with Prof. Bai Rong in China. As a psychological psychotherapist and alternative practitioner, she runs the Chi Health Centre in Suhl. She integrates her more than twenty years of experience as a Qi Gong and yoga teacher into the therapy system of traditional Chinese medicine. Further information: www.gesundheitscenter-chi.de on the website www.taijiball.com(*) you will find current information including lists of trainers and assistants who have already been trained and certified for eight countries.
(*) Note: the site has moved to www.bailongball.com
