TAI CHI BALI Healing Arts Centre Sel ected Articl es on Tai Chi...

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TAI CHI BALI Healing Arts Centre

Sel ected Articl es on Tai Chi Chuan Compiled by www.taichibali.com

Page Article 2 WHAT IS TAIJIQUAN? 4 TAOISM AND TAI CHI CHUAN 7 SHAOLIN THE ROOT OF TAIJIQUAN 10 HISTORY OF YANG STYLE TAIJIQUAN 13 THE MEANING OF TAIJI 14 WUJI THE STATE OF EMPTINESS 15 YIN YANG 16 MARTIAL MORALITY 19 THE FIVE PILLARS OF TAI CHI CHUAN 21 TRAINING PRINCIPLES OF TAI CHI CHUAN 22 YANG STYLE BASIC TRAINING METHODS 26 TEN ESSENTIAL POINTS OF YANG CHENGFU 28 TEN ESSENTIAL POINTS EXPLAINED 31 STEPS IN LEARNING TAIJIQUAN 34 HOW DO YOU LEARN TAIJIQUAN? 36 YANG TAI CHI FOR BEGINNERS 38 GETTING STARTED 40 HOW TO PRACTICE A TAIJIQUAN SEQUENCE 42 STANDING PRACTICE 43 BREATHING AND CHI FLOW 44 HOW TO INTERCONNECT THE JOINTS TO WORK AS A WHOLE 45 DEVELOPING TAI CHI CHUAN GONGFU 49 LOOSENING AND SINKING, OPENING AND EXTENDING 51 TRAINING A SEQUENCE EFFICIENTLY 53 HOW TO PRACTICE TAI CHI FOR SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS 57 SUCCESS IN TAI CHI 59 WHAT IS QIGONG? 60 BREATHING EXERCISES 64 TAIJI QIGONG 66 IMPROVING QUALITY OF QI'S MANIFESTATION 68 JIN GENERATING MARTIAL POWER 71 PUSHING HANDS 75 SELFDEFENCE 78 BEYOND YOUR BAREHAND TAIJI FORM 80 XIN AND YI: TWO MINDS 81 TAIJIQUAN THEORY OF REACHING ENLIGHTENMENT 82 OPENING THE HEART WITH TAI CHI 83 RECYCLING AND TRANSFORMING NEGATIVE ENERGY 84 HANDLING STRESS WITH TAI CHI 86 THE TRUE QUALITY OF TAI CHI


WHAT IS TAIJIQUAN? By Dr. Yang, JwingMing

Let us see what is Taijiquan, as it was written down in the past. First, we must define what we mean by “taiji.” It is stated in Wang, Zong‐yue’s Taijiquan Classic: “What is taiji? It is generated from wuji and is a pivotal function of movement and stillness. It is the mother of yin and yang. When it moves, it divides. At rest it reunites.” According to Chinese Daoist scripture, the universe was initially without life. The world had just cooled down from its fiery creation and all was foggy and blurry, without differentiation or separation, with no extremities or ends. This state was called “wuji” that literally means no extremity, no dividing, or no discrimination. Later, the existing natural energy divided into two extremities, known as yin and yang. This polarity, or tendency to divide, is called taiji, which means grand ultimate or grand extremity, and also means very ultimate or very extreme. It is this initial separation that allows and causes all other separations and changes. From the above, you can see that taiji, which is derived from wuji, is not yin and yang but is instead the mother of yin and yang. How then do we interpret and define “grand ultimate” as the characters for which taiji is usually translated? And how can we apply this concept to taijiquan practice? Let us turn to the beginning movement of the taijiquan form for an illustration that reveals the answers to these questions. TAIJIQUAN IS ART OF THE MIND When you stand still, before you start the sequence, you are in a state of wuji, that is, a state of formlessness. Your mind should be calm, quiet, peaceful, and centered. Your mind, and hence your qi, should focus at your energetic and physical center, i.e., your lower dan tian or center of gravity. Your body is relaxed, with no intention. Your weight is evenly distributed on both legs. However, once you generate the intention to start the sequence and you begin to move, you are in a state of taiji (i.e., yin and yang start to be differentiated to perception). As the form continues, you shift from side to side, from foot to foot, and each part of your body becomes at times alternately substantial and insubstantial. The taiji in the taijiquan form is thus actually the intention or the motivation generated from the mind that causes the yin and yang to be discriminated. It is this mind that shapes reality. It is this mind that guides us to a deeper and more profound understanding. And it is this living and active mind that continues to achieve further perceptions of yin and yang. From this, you can see why taiji is called “grand ultimate,” and why the mind is the Dao in taijiquan practice. Therefore, taijiquan is primarily an art of the mind. Through the mind’s action, the entire art becomes alive. Once you start a motion it is possible to modify or redirect it, but this modification is possible only after the motion has been started. If one change is made, others can be made, and each change opens up other possibilities for variation. Each factor in the situation introduces other factors as possible influences. The initial motion made all other motions possible, and in a sense “created” the other motions. The Chinese express this by saying that taiji is the mother of yin and yang: “Taiji begets two poles, two poles produce four phases, four phases generate eight trigrams (gates), and eight trigrams initiate sixty‐four hexagrams” YIN AND YANG THEORY The yin and yang theory is used to classify everything, whether ideas, spirit, strategy, or force. For example, female is yin and male is yang, night is yin and day is yang, weak is yin and strong is yang. It is from the interaction of all the yin and yang that life was created and grew. Taijiquan is based on this theory and applies it to form, motion, force, and fighting strategy. In the thousands of years since the taiji theory was first stated, many taiji symbols have been designed. The best one for both theory and application is a circle that contains yin and yang. In this figure, the circle and the curved dividing line between yin and yang imply that both yin and yang are generated and contained in roundness. The smooth dividing line between yin and yang means that they interact smoothly and efficiently. Extreme yang weakens and evolves into yin, first weak and then extreme yin. Extreme yin, in turn, evolves into yang. One evolves into the other and back again, continuously and without stopping. The diagram also shows a small dot of yin in the center of the greatest concentration of yang, and a little


bit of yang inside the greatest concentration of yin. This means that there is no absolute yin or yang. Yang always reserves some yin and vice versa. This also implies that there is a seed or source of yin in yang and of yang in yin. Taijiquan is based on this theory, and therefore it is smooth, continuous, and round. When it is necessary to be soft, the art is soft, and when it is necessary to be hard, the art can be hard enough to defeat any opponent. Yin‐yang theory also determines taiji fighting strategy and has led to thirteen concepts which guide practice and fighting. Thus, taijiquan is also called “thirteen postures.” Zhang, San‐feng’s Taijiquan Treatise states: What are the thirteen postures? peng (wardoff), lu (rollback), ji (press or squeeze), an (press down, forward, upward), cai (pluck or grab), lie (split or rend), zhou (elbow), kao (bump), these are the eight trigrams. Jin bu (step forward), tui bu (step backward), zuo gu (beware of the left), you pan (look to the right), zhong ding (central equilibrium), these are the five elements. Wardoff, rollback, press, and push are qian (heaven), kun (earth), kan (water), and li (fire), the four main sides. Pluck, split, elbow, and bump are xun (wind), zhen (thunder), dui (lake), and gen (mountain), the four diagonal corners. Step forward, step backward, beware of the left, look to the right, and central equilibrium are jin (metal), mu (wood), shui (water), huo (fire), and tu (earth). All together they are the thirteen postures. The eight postures are the eight basic fighting jin patterns of the art and can be assigned directions according to where the opponent’s force is moved. Peng (wardoff) rebounds the opponent back in the direction he came from. Lu (rollback) leads him further than he intended to go in the direction he was attacking. Lie (split) and kao (bump) lead him forward and deflect him slightly sideward. Cai (pluck) and zhou (el‐bow) can be done so as to catch the opponent just as he is starting forward, and strike or unbalance him diagonally to his rear. Ji (press or squeeze) and an (press down, forward, and upward) deflect the opponent and attack at right angles to his motion. The five directions refer to stance, footwork, and fighting strategy. They concern the way you move around in response to the opponent’s attack, and how you set up your own attacks. Since ancient times, many taiji masters have tried to explain the deeper aspect of these thirteen postures by using the eight trigrams and the five elements. In order to find a satisfactory explanation, various correspondences between the eight basic techniques and the eight trigrams, and also between the five directions and the five elements have been devised. Unfortunately, none of the explanations are completely reasonable and without discrepancy. In addition to the thirteen postures, taijiquan is also commonly called soft sequence (mian quan). This is because when taiji is practiced, the forms are soft and smooth, the mind is calm, the qi is round, and jin is fluid. Taijiquan is also called Long Sequence (Chang Quan or Changquan). Zhang, San‐feng’s Taijiquan Treatise states: What is Long Fist [i.e., Long Sequence]? [It is] like a long river and a large ocean, rolling ceaselessly. Originally, the name “Changquan” came from the Shaolin Temple. Changquan means Long Fist. It can also be translated as Long Range or Long Sequence. Ancient documents suggest that the meaning of Changquan in Taijiquan means the Long Sequence like a long river that acts as a conduit to the open ocean, which also means that when taiji is practiced, the forms flow smoothly and continuously. The qi flow is smooth and continuous, and the jin is unbroken. There is another martial style also called Chang Quan. However, this Shaolin style should be translated as Long Fist because it specializes in long‐range fighting.


TAOISM AND TAI CHI CHUAN By James Leporati

Lao Tzu, the legendary founder of Taoism, was an older contemporary of Confucius. Anecdotal stories tell of at least one meeting between the two philosophical giants with Confucius coming away perplexed and somewhat in awe of his elder, comparing Lao Tzu to a "Dragon who flies among the clouds." Not much is known of Lao Tzu concretely, but there are many legends and stories concerning him. It is said that at age 160, he decided to resign his position as keeper of the archives for the court of Chou at Loyang and retire to peace, solitude and contemplation. As he departed, a gatekeeper implored the sage to please compose a book coalescing his teachings so that they would not perish when Lao Tzu withdrew from the world. It was then that Lao Tzu wrote the 5000 character classic and central treatise of Taoism, the Tao Te Ching. A short, highly mystical work, it consists of only 81 verses. The teachings of Lao Tzu are based on a great underlying principle, the Tao or "Way," which is the source of all being. Through the understanding of this principle, all the contradictions, divisions and distinctions of our existence are ultimately resolved. This principle can only be understood intuitively. Grasping the Tao intellectually or through some rationally derived procedure is pointless. The ancient texts tell us that the Tao is and must always remain essentially beyond the human ability to describe it, and can only be fully understood through a kind of mystical and internal transformation. This intuitive transformation simply removes the obstacles clouding our consciousness and connects us once again to our original insight which allows us to see clearly and understand the workings and wonders of the cosmos. Taoism then, does not seek to advance man to some new state of being, merely to return him to his original and natural consciousness. The way of life which one achieves after union with the Tao is often hallmarked by a kind of yielding passivity, an absence of strife and coercion and a manner of acting which is completely effortless, free of artifice and spontaneous. Like Lao Tzu, many of the greatest contributors to the development of Tai Chi Chuan were simple men, not necessarily well‐versed in the various philosophical schools and literature of their times. Perhaps they even lacked the requisite literacy to read the salient texts of Taoism and the voluminous commentaries on them. Yet, Tai Chi Chuan has perhaps the greatest literary tradition associated with any martial practice to date. This paradox is resolved by the eventual adoption of the art by more scholarly figures as time progressed. It is known that Tai Chi Chuan was held in high esteem at the royal court (perhaps due to the efforts of the Yang family Tai Chi patriarch Yang Lu‐chan). It is reasonable to assume that the Chinese literati were both entranced and impressed by the art's effortless perfection. These more scholarly practitioners might have easily concluded that the principles underlying Tai Chi were in perfect accord with the Tao Te Ching. Examples are numerous. The Tao Te Ching seems to reflect philosophically the physical movements and skills which underscore the art of Tai Chi. It almost seems a primer in itself as one reads through the text:

Verse 22 Therefore the ancients say, "Yield and overcome." Is that an empty saying? Verse 43 The softest thing in the universe Overcomes the hardest thing in the universe. Verse 76 The hard and strong will fall The soft and weak will overcome them. Verse 78 The weak can overcome the strong; The supple can overcome the stiff.


Under heaven everyone knows this, Yet no one puts it into practice.

These verses illustrate the central principle of Tai Chi: yielding to the opponent's force.

Verse 26 The heavy is the root of the light; The still is the master of unrest. To be light is to lose one's root. To be restless is to lose one's control.

A warning concerning root and balance as well as a strategy, this is sound advice for the Tai Chi Chuan adept. These concepts find their mirror in the Song of the 13 Postures:

Being still, when attacked by the opponent Be tranquil and move in stillness My changes caused by the opponent fill him with wonder Verse 36 That which shrinks must first expand. That which fails must first be strong. That which is cast down must first be raised

Wu Yu‐hsiang's ‘Expositions of Insights into the Practice of the Thirteen Postures’ relates:

First seek extension, then contraction; then it (the movements) can be fine and subtle.

The reference to the use of excessive, hard muscular strength (li) equating with failure of one's technique are also common in Tai Chi literature. The Tao Te Ching illustrates this concept with:

Verses 30 Force is followed by loss of strength Verses 55 If too much energy is used, exhaustion follows.

Obviously these are references to hard and inflexible force the use of which does not equate with the dexterous and lively chi energies cultivated by the Tai Chi Chuan practitioner. In regard to strategy, the Taoist axiom "That which is cast down must first be raised," equates with the lifting up or severing of the opponent's root before discharging energy against him during applications.

Verse 15 Who can remain still until the moment of action?

This causes Wu Yu‐hsiang to reflect in Expositions: "It is said, 'If others don't move, I don't move. If others move slightly, I move first.'" How should one's footwork be structured during combat? Verse 41 of the Tao suggests: "Going forward seems like retreat," while Master Cheng explains in The Song of Form and Function: "When the foot wants to advance/First shift it backwards." In its application as an attacking gesture, the posture "Step Back and Repulse Monkey" epitomizes this "advancing while apparently retreating" method of footwork.


What about the highest level of the art of Tai Chi Chuan?

Verse 41 The greatest form has no shape.

For the Tai Chi practitioner this could be said to be the ultimate goal: a state in which the underlying principles are so deeply ingrained that form itself becomes unimportant. Where the mind leads, the energy will naturally manifest itself in a spontaneous and proper way. In the Tai Chi Chuan Ching by Chang San‐Feng he says simply:

Up or down Front or back Left or right, one all the same.

A more contemporary master, Cheng Man‐ching in his Song of Form and Function offers us:

Not neutralizing, it naturally neutralizes, Not yielding, it naturally yields… In push hands…/The whole body is a hand And the hand is not a hand. But the mind must stay In the place it should be.

Tai Chi Chuan and Taoism are inexorably linked together. Tai Chi is a physical representation of Taoist ideals, the ungraspable made graspable through physical principles whose very movement reflects the motion of the Tao itself.


SHAOLIN THE ROOT OF TAIJIQUAN By Dr. Yang, JwingMing

After Bodhidharma (Da Mo) passed down his qigong (chi kung) theory at Shaolin Temple around A.D. 550 the Shaolin monks trained the cultivation of Qi, and realized that from this cultivation, muscular power could be enhanced to a tremendous level, which could make martial techniques more powerful and effective. This was the beginning of internal cultivation in the martial arts. According to ancient records, it was only about 50 years later that internal martial art styles based on Da Mo’s internal Qi cultivation were created. SMALL NINE HEAVEN AND POSTHEAVEN TECHNIQUES Two of the best known of these styles are “Small Nine Heaven” (Xiao Jiu Tian) and “Post‐Heaven Techniques” (Hou Tian Fa). All of these early Chinese martial art styles were created based on the same Taiji (tai chi) theories and principles known today. These theories and principles are: 1. Qi should be first cultivated and developed internally. This Qi is slowly manifested as power through the physical body and finally applied into techniques. 2. In order to allow the Qi to circulate smoothly and freely in the body, the physical body must first be relaxed, and the movements must be soft. 3. The Yin and Yang theory and concepts are the foundations and root of Qi development. The roots of Taijiquan (tai chi chuan) have existed for at least 1400 years. During this time, thousands of techniques were discovered and hundreds of styles were created. The very theoretical underpinnings of Taijiquan have been studied and researched continuously. From the accumulation of thought, its theories have reached a very deep and profound level even as its contents have expanded into an ever wider range. TAIJIQUAN ORIGINALLY CHANGQUAN (LONG FIST) The implications of these two styles were probably the progenitors of Taijiquan. It is believed that Taijiquan was not actually named “Taijiquan” until the Chinese Song dynasty (circa A.D. 1101). Zhang, San‐Feng is widely credited as the creator of Taijiquan. Taijiquan in ancient times was also called “Changquan” (Long Fist). It is said: What is Long Fist? (It is) like a long river and a large ocean, rolling ceaselessly. Originally, the name “Changquan” came from the Shaolin Temple. “Changquan” means “Long Fist.” It can also be translated as “Long Range” or “Long Sequence.” Ancient documents suggest that the meaning of “Changquan” in Taijiquan means the “Long Sequence” like a long river that acts as a conduit to the open ocean. The Qi circulating in the body is rolling continuously, flowing, and ebbing in natural cycles. SHAOLIN TEMPLE TO CHEN VILLAGE From surviving fragments of documents, it can be surmised that the Shaolin temple was the major influence on the development of Qi cultivation in martial arts society. It is valid to infer that substantial Taijiquan theory originated at the temple. Looking at contemporary Chen Style Taijiquan, similarities emerge between it and certain external Shaolin styles. For example, both the first and second routines—“Changquan” and “Pao Chui” (Cannon Fist)—originated at the Shaolin temple, yet they also exist in Chen Style. Even the names were kept the same as those in the temple. Although the Shaolin Changquan and Pao Chui have been modified and revised in Chen Style Taijiquan, it can still be traced back to the root and origin of every movement in today’s Chen Style Taijiquan. This holds true for many of the Taijiquan weapons routines. YANG STYLE ROOTS It is well known that Yang Style originated from Chen Style and that they still share the same Taiji root and essence. Wu and Sun Styles originated from Yang Styles. Taijiquan and Shaolin martial arts also share the same root. It is no wonder that many Taijiquan masters who have also learned Shaolin martial arts are more expert and proficient in the martial roots and applications of Taijiquan. The


reason for this is simply because the “Dao” of Chinese martial arts remains the same in all Chinese styles. Different styles are only different variations and derivations like branches and flowers coming from the same root. When you learn different styles, you will have different angles from which to view the same “Dao.” Naturally, your mind will be clearer and your understanding will be will be more profound. TAIJIQUAN MEANS GRAND ULTIMATE FIST As written down in the past, “Taijiquan” originally was written as “Taiji”. It is said: “What is Taiji? It is generated from Wuji. It is the mother of Yin and Yang. When it moves, it divides. At rest it reunites.” Taiji can be translated as “Grand Ultimate” or “Grand Extremity,” which refers to the most essential movements, or the very origin of motivation or force. Wuji means “No Extremity,” and means “No Dividing” or “No Discrimination.” Wuji is a state of formlessness, of staying in the center: calm, quiet, and peaceful. Once you have generated a mind, or have formed the mental shape with which you will influence physical reality, the motivation of dividing or discriminating starts. When this dividing happens, Wuji will be derived into Yin and Yang. From this, you learn what Taiji is—it is the motivation of distinguishment. When you have this motivation, the Qi will then be led, and Yin and Yang can be distinguished. Once this motivation (i.e., Taiji) stops, the motivator of division stops, and the Yin and Yang will once again reunite and return back to Wuji. Taiji is actually the motive force generated from the mind (Yi). From this force, the Qi is led and circulates throughout the body. Summing up, Taijiquan is the martial style which trains the practitioner to use the mind to lead the Qi, circulating it in the body, and generating the Yin and Yang states, either for health, fighting, or otherwise. THIRTEEN JIN PATTERNS AND STRATEGIES Taijiquan is also called “Shi San Shi” (Thirteen Postures). It is said: “What are the Thirteen Postures? Peng, Lu, Ji, An, Cai, Lie, Zhou, Kou; these are the eight trigrams. Jin Bu, Tui Bu, Zuo Gu, You Pan, Zhong Ding; these are the five elements. Peng, Lu, Ji, An are Qian (heaven), Kun (earth), Kan (water), Li (fire); the four main sides. Cai, Lie, Zhou, Kou are Xun (wind), Zhen (thunder), Dui (lake), and Gen (mountain); the four diagonal corners. Jin Bu, Tui Bu, Zuo Gu, You Pan, and Zhong Ding are Jin (metal) Mu (wood), Shui (water), Fo (fire), and Tu (earth). All together they are the Thirteen Postures.” Taijiquan includes eight basic moving or Jin (martial power) patterns which are considered the eight corners of the Eight Trigrams. Peng, Lu, Ji, and An are considered the four sides of the Eight Trigrams, while Cai, Lie, Zhou, and Kao are regarded as the four diagonal corners. Taijiquan also contains five basic strategic movements or steppings: Jin Bu (forward), Tui Bu (backward), Zuo Gu (see the left), You Pan (look to the right), and Zhong Ding (firm the center). The Thirteen Postures is a foundation of Taijiquan where hundreds of techniques and strategic movements can be generated. For example, a waltz has only three steps in the basic movement, but the variations can number in the hundreds. In order to understand the Qin Na (chin na) applications of Taijiquan, you must first become familiar with the Qin Na hidden in the Thirteen Postures and know that Qin Na can be used against these Thirteen Postures. 37 POSTURES TO HUNDREDS OF APPLICATIONS Taijiquan has also been called San Shi Qi Shi, which means “Thirty‐Seven Postures.” If you count the technique movements or postures of Yang Style Taijiquan, you will find that they number only thirty‐seven. It is from these thirty‐seven postures that more than 250 martial applications are derived. These thirty‐seven postures are also built upon the foundation of the “Thirteen Postures” or “Thirteen Jin Patterns and Strategies.” Many of these thirty‐seven postures are constructed from two or more of the original thirteen Jin patterns. For example, “Wave Hands in the Clouds” and “Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail” are the combinations of “Peng Jin” and “Lie Jin.” The original thirteen patterns first derive into


thirty‐seven basic postures or movements and these thirty‐seven basic postures can be derived into hundreds of techniques and variations. TAI CHI IN THE WEST Taijiquan was first introduced to the West by Master Cheng, Man‐Ching during the 1960's. The original focus of his effort was to teach a method of health and relaxation. It was only after several years that the art's effectiveness in reducing stress and maintaining health became widely known. Since president Nixon visited mainland China in 1973 and opened the gates of China's conservative and long‐sealed society, Asian culture, especially Chinese culture, has attracted more and more Western people. Moreover, due to an exuberant cultural exchange, many Chinese internal and external martial arts masters have arrived in the West and shared their knowledge. Since then, Western Taijiquan society has itself opened to the realization that, in addition to Cheng, Man‐Ching's Taijiquan, there are many other Taijiquan styles, all of them created and developed using the same theoretical foundation. However, most Western Taijiquan practitioners, even today, still consider Taijiquan good for only health and relaxation. They do not recognize that Taijiquan was created as a martial art in the Daoist monastery at Wudang mountain, Hubei province, in China. Taiji theory can be traced back nearly four thousand years, to when Yi Jing (The Book of Changes) was first made available. Since then, the concept of Taiji has been adopted by the Chinese people and has become one of the roots or foundations of Chinese thinking and belief. Based on this root, Taijiquan martial arts (Taijiquan or "Taiji Fist") was created. Its theory and philosophy are very profound and deep. If one only pays attention to the relaxation aspect of the movements, then one will not comprehend and feel this profound philosophic root. Yang, Chen‐Fu has been credited with having made Yang style Taijiquan popular since 1928. ORAL TRADITION Through many hundreds of years gone past, countless Chinese people have practiced Taijiquan. Many of them have reached a profound level of this feeling art. Some of them have written down their understanding and findings, and have passed them down generation by generation. Generally, only those good and correct writings, after historical filtering, will survive in Taijiquan society. Even just a couple of decades ago, these documents were considered to be the secrets of their styles. It was not until recently that they have been revealed to lay society. Many practitioners, after comprehending these documents, have re‐directed themselves into the correct path of practice and in so doing have reached a deeper feeling of the art. I am very fortunate that I could obtain these documents and study them during my thirty‐nine years of Taijiquan practice. It is from these documents that I have been able to keep my practice on the correct path. It was also these documents which have caused me to ponder and ponder all the time. Many of these documents must be read a few hundred times before it is possible to comprehend the theory and feeling. Yang style Taijiquan was created by Yang, Lu‐Shan in 1799, and had become very well‐known and popular by the beginning of the twentieth century. The secrets hidden in this family style were not revealed to the public until the 1990's. Although most of these documents were authored by Yang, Ban‐Hou, a member of the second generation of Yang style Taijiquan practitioners, they are the representative writings of the style. Yang, Ban‐Hou has been well known for his profound understanding of the arts and also the capability of manifesting his Taiji Jin (i.e., Taiji power) to its most efficient level. In the last seven centuries, many songs and poems have been composed about Taijiquan. These have played a major role in preserving the knowledge and wisdom of the masters, although in many cases the identity of the authors and the dates of origin have been lost. Since most Chinese of previous centuries were illiterate, the key points of the art were put into poems and songs, which are easier to remember than prose, and passed down orally from teacher to student. The poems were regarded as secret and were only revealed to the general public in the twentieth century.


HISTORY OF YANG STYLE TAIJIQUAN By Dr. Yang, JwingMing

Dr. Yang, Jwing‐Ming has a long history in Chinese Wushu going back over fifty years. During his youth, he spent thirteen years learning Taijiquan, Shaolin White Crane (Bai He), and Shaolin Long Fist (Changquan). He continues to research, study, learn, and practice to this day. Below is an excerpt of Dr. Yang's revised edition of the book Tai Chi Chuan ‐ Classical Yang Style. This book has the same content, but a new easy‐to follow layout. Each movement is presented in a series of photographs, with clear, same‐page instructions for each Taiji posture. HISTORY OF YANG STYLE TAIJIQUAN Yang Style history starts with Yang, Lu‐chan (A.D. 1799‐1872), also known as Fu‐kuai or Lu‐chan . He was born at Yong Nian Xian, Guang Ping County, Hebei Province . When he was young he went to Chen Jia Gou in Henan province to learn taijiquan from Chen, Chang‐xing. When Chen, Chang‐xing stood he was centered and upright with no leaning or tilting, like a wooden signpost, and so people called him Mr. Tablet. At that time, there were very few students outside of the Chen family who learned from Chen, Chang‐xing. Because Yang was an outside student, he was treated unfairly, but still he stayed and persevered in his practice. One night, he was awakened by the sounds of "Hen" and "Ha" in the distance. He got up and traced the sound to an old building. Peeking through the broken wall, he saw his master Chen, Chang‐xing teaching the techniques of grasp, control, and emitting jin in coordination with the sounds “Hen” and “Ha.” He was amazed by the techniques and from that time on, unknown to master Chen, he continued to watch this secret practice session every night. He would then return to his room to ponder and study. Because of this, his martial ability advanced rapidly. One day, Chen ordered him to spar with the other disciples. To his surprise, none of the other students could defeat him. Chen realized that Yang had great potential and after that taught him the secrets sincerely. After Yang, Lu‐chan finished his study, he returned to his hometown and taught taijiquan for a while. People called his style Yang Style (Yang Quan), Soft Style (Mian Quan), or Neutralizing Style, (Hua Quan) because his motions were soft and able to neutralize the opponent's power. He later went to Beijing and taught a number of Qing officers. He used to carry a spear and a small bag and travel around the country, challenging well‐known martial artists. Although he had many fights, he never hurt anybody. Because his art was so high, nobody could defeat him. Therefore, he was called "Yang Wu Di" which means "Unbeatable Yang." He had three sons, Yang Qi, Yang Yu also called Ban‐hou, and Yang Jian also called Jian‐hou. Yang Qi died when he was young. Therefore, only the last two sons succeeded their father in the art. YANG STYLE FAMILY TRADITIONS Yang's second son, Yang, Yu (A.D. 1837‐1890), was also named Ban‐hou. People used to call him "Mr. The Second." He learned taijiquan from his father even as a child. Even though he practiced very hard and continuously, he was still scolded and whipped by his father. He was good at free fighting. One day he was challenged by a strong martial artist. When the challenger grasped his wrist and would not let him escape, Yang, Ban‐hou used his jin to bounce the challenger away and defeat him. He was so proud that he went home and told his father. Instead of praise, his father laughed at him because his sleeve was torn. After that, he trained harder and harder, and finally became a superlative taijiquan artist. Unfortunately, and perhaps not surprisingly, he didn't like to teach very much and had few students, so his art did not spread far after he died. One of his students called Wu, Quan‐you later taught his son Wu, Jian‐quan, whose art became the Wu Style Taijiquan. Yang, Ban‐hou also had a son, called Zhao‐peng, who passed on the art. The third son of Yang, Lu‐chan was Yang Jian (A.D. 1842‐1917), also named Jian‐hou and nicknamed Jing‐hu. People used to call him "Mr. The Third." He also learned taijiquan from his father since he was young. His personality was softer and gentler than his brother's, and he had many followers. He taught three –postures—large, medium, and –small—although he specialized in the medium posture. He was also expert in using and coordinating both hard and soft power. He used to spar with his disciples who


were good at sword and saber, while using only a dust brush. Every time his brush touched the student's wrist, the student could not counter, but would be bounced away. He was also good at using the staff and spear. When his long weapon touched an opponent's weapon, the opponent could not approach him, but instead was bounced away. When he emitted jin, it happened at the instant of laughing the "ha" sound. He could also throw small metal balls called "bullets." With these balls in his hand, he could shoot three or four birds at the same time. The most impressive demonstration he performed was to put a sparrow on his hand. The bird would not be able to fly away because, when a bird takes off, it must push down first and use the reaction force to lift itself. Yang, Jian‐hou could sense the bird's power and neutralize this slight push, leaving the bird unable to take off. From this demonstration, one can understand that his listening jin and neutralizing jin must have been superb. He had three sons: Zhao‐xiong, Zhao‐yuan, and Zhao‐qing. The second son, Zhao‐yuan died at an early age. Yang, Jian‐hou's first son, Yang, Zhao‐xiong (A.D. 1862‐1929), was also named Meng‐xiang and later called Shao‐hou. People used to call him "Mr. Oldest." He practiced taijiquan since he was six years old. He had a strong and persevering personality. He was expert in free fighting and very good at using various jins like his uncle Yang, Ban‐hou. He reached the highest level of taijiquan gongfu. Specializing in small postures, his movements were fast and sunken. Because of his personality, he didn't have too many followers. He had a son called Yang, Zhen‐sheng. Yang, Jian‐hou's third son was Yang, Zhao‐qing (A.D. 1883‐1935), also named Cheng‐fu. People called him "Mr. The Third." His personality was mild and gentle. When he was young, he did not care for martial arts. It was not until his teens that he started studying taijiquan with his father. While his father was still alive Yang, Cheng‐fu did not really understand the key secrets of taijiquan. It was not until his father died in 1917 that he started to practice hard. His father had helped him to build a good foundation, and after several years of practice and research, he was finally able to approach the level of his father and grandfather. Because of his experiences, he modified his father's taijiquan and specialized in large postures. This emphasis was completely reversed from that of his father and brother. He was the first taijiquan master willing to share the family secrets with the public, and because of his gentle nature he had countless students. When Nanking Central Guoshu Institute was founded in 1928, he was invited to be the head taijiquan teacher, and his name became known throughout the country. He had four sons, Zhen‐ming, Zhen‐ji, Zhen‐duo, and Zhen‐guo. THREE POSTURES OF TAIJIQUAN Yang Style Taijiquan can be classified into three major postures: large, medium, and small. It is also divided into three stances: high, medium, and low. Large postures were emphasized by Yang, Cheng‐fu. He taught that the stances can be high, medium, or low, but the postures are extended, opened, and relaxed. Large postures are especially suitable for improving health. The medium posture style requires that all the forms be neither too extended nor too restricted and the internal jin neither totally emitted nor too conserved. Therefore, the form and jin are smoother and more continuous than the other two styles. The medium posture style was taught by Yang, Jian‐hou. The small posture style—in which the forms are more compact and the movements light, agile, and quick—was passed down by Yang, Shao‐hou. This style specializes in the martial application of the art. In conclusion, for martial application the small postures are generally the best, although they are the most difficult, and the large posture style is best for health purposes. SUMMARY OF TAIJIQUAN HISTORY Chen Style Taijiquan was derived from Jiang Style . Before Jiang, the history is vague and unclear. Chen Style Taijiquan was divided into two styles: old and new. Chen, Chang‐xing learned old style and later passed it down to Yang, Lu‐chan. New style was created by Chen, You‐ben. Yang Style Taijiquan was derived from Chen Style Taijiquan fourteen generations after the Chen family learned from Jiang. Chen, You‐ben passed his art to Chen, Qing‐ping who created Zhao Bao Style. Wuu, Yu‐rang obtained the new style from Chen, Qing‐ping and the old style from Yang, Lu‐chan and created Wuu Style Taijiquan. Li, Yi‐yu learned Wuu Style Taijiquan and created Li Style Taijiquan.


Hao, Wei‐zhen obtained his art from Li Style Taijiquan and started Hao Style Taijiquan. Sun, Lu‐tang learned from Hao Style Taijiquan and began Sun Style Taijiquan. Wu Style Taijiquan was started by Wu, Quan‐you who learned from Yang, Lu‐chan's second son Yang, Ban‐hou. Yang Style Taijiquan has been famous since its creation by Yang, Lu‐chan in the early part of the 20th century. Yang, Cheng‐fu's taijiquan is not the same as his father's, uncle's, or brother's. He modified it and emphasized large postures and improving health. You should now understand why there are so many variations within the art, even within a style such as the Yang Style. After so many years and so many generations, countless students have learned the style and have made many modifications in light of their own experiences and research. It is understandable that a student today might learn taijiquan and find that his or her style is different from another claiming to be from the same source. No one can really tell which one is the original style, or which is more effective than the others. Observations from nature and contemplation of the Dao can help you to determine a style's –emphasis—either for healing or self‐defense—but it is purely a subjective, human determination whether one is in fact "better" than any other. This is a deeply profound area of the art. Self‐defense and good health are indeed closely related concepts, separated only by a philosophical frame of mind. Ultimately, such comparisons of techniques are meaningless. It is the time, consistency, and quality of your practice that matters. If you can understand this, even as you strive for deeper mastery of your chosen art, then you have already reached a profound understanding of Dao.


THE MEANING OF TAIJI By Dr. Yang, JwingMing

Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) is an internal style of martial arts that was created in the Daoist monastery of the Wudang mountain, Hubei Province. Taijiquan’s creation was based on the philosophies of Taiji and Yin‐Yang. It is believed that from understanding the theory of Taiji and Yin‐Yang, we will be able to trace back the origin of our lives. Also, through this understanding, we will be able to train our bodies correctly, to maintain our health and the strength of our physical and energetic bodies, and gain longevity. Since Daoists are monks, the final goal of their spiritual cultivation is to reunite with the natural spirit, the state of Wuji. In order to reach this goal, they must cultivate their human nature and nourish it (discipline their temperament). Wang, Zong‐Yue said: “What is Taiji? It is generated from Wuji, and is a pivotal function of movement and stillness. It is the mother of Yin and Yang. When it moves it divides. At rest it reunites.” From this, it is known that Taiji is not Wuji, and is also not Yin and Yang. Instead an inclination of the natural pivotal function which makes the Wuji derive into Yin and Yang also makes the Yin and Yang reunite into the state of Wuji. This natural pivotal function of movement and stillness is called the ‘Dao’ or the ‘rule’ of great nature. Taiji can be translated as “Grand Ultimate,” or “Grand Extremity,” and Wuji is translated as “Without Ultimate,” or “No Extremity.” Wuji can also mean “No Opposition.” This means Wuji is uniform and undifferentiated, a point in space or at the center of your physical and energetic bodies. For example, at the beginning of the universe, there was no differentiation, and this state was called Wuji. Then it began its separation into complimentary opposites, called Yin and Yang. From the interaction of Yin and Yang, all things are created and grow. You should understand that even though the theory of Taiji originated from the Yi Jing (The Book of Changes) and has been studied and practiced for more than 4,000 years in China, its applications in martial arts were probably not started until several thousand years later. When Taiji theory was adopted into the applications of martial arts and became a style, it was called Taijiquan, The Fist of Taiji. Therefore, if we wish to understand the real meaning of Taijiquan, the first task is to comprehend the meaning of Taiji. It is clear that Taiji is neither Wuji nor Yin‐Yang, but is between them. It is the pivotal force or energy which makes the Wuji state divide into the Yin and Yang polarities, and also causes the Yin‐Yang to reunite to the state of Wuji. Yin and Yang, two polarities, originate from Wuji through Taiji’s action or function. From these two polarities, again through Taiji’s action, four phases are derived. With the same theory, the variations continue until there are unlimited changes in the universe. From this, you can see that all life and all things are produced from the mutual interaction of Yin and Yang through the mediating function of Taiji. Therefore, if you are interested in learning Taijiquan, you must understand Yin and Yang, and their relationship with Taiji. Without knowing the theory and the Dao, your Taijiquan practice will be limited to the external forms and movements. In this case, you will have lost the real meaning of practicing Taijiquan. Before the action of Taijiquan movement, the Xin (emotional mind) is peaceful and the Qi is harmonious, the Xin and Yi (wisdom mind) are at the Dan Tian and the Qi stays in its residence. This is the state of extreme calmness and is the state of Wuji. However, when the Xin and Yi begin to act, the Qi’s circulation begins, the physical body’s movement is thus initiated, and the Yin and Yang accordingly divides. From this we can see that Xin and Yi are what is called Taiji in Taijiquan. We can conclude from this that Taijiquan is actually a martial art of the mind. The wisdom mind is calm and peaceful. From this calmness, it can be highly concentrated and its storage can be profound. When this Yi is deep and profound, the feeling will be accurate and refined. You should always remember that feeling is the language of the mind and the body’s means of communication. Deep and accurate feeling allows you to manifest the mind’s decision precisely and quickly. Though our physical bodies are restricted by our three‐dimensional reality, our minds are free to travel and reach anywhere in the universe, unrestricted by time. The mind is the Grand Ultimate. All human creations, from shovels to airplanes, arose first in our imaginations. From our thoughts, new ideas are created. It is the same for Taijiquan. From practicing the active, living, and creative art of Taijiquan, we are able to further comprehend the meaning of human life and the


WUJI THE STATE OF EMPTINESS By Dr. Yang, JwingMing

Wuji is a state of emptiness or simply a single point in space. There is no discrimination and there are no polarities (or poles). One possible example is the state of the universe before the big bang, a point of singularity. According to Yi Jing (i.e., Book of Change), originally the universe was in a Wuji state. Later, due to the pivotal action of Taiji, Two Polarities (Liang Yi) (i.e., Yin and Yang) were discriminated. However, we should understand that Yin and Yang are not definite (or absolute) but relative according to specifically defined rules. From these rules, Four Phases (Si Xiang) are again derived. From different perspectives, the Yin‐Yang two polarities can again be divided into Yin and Yang. For example, if you use your right hand to follow the Yin and Yang pattern, the clockwise cycling belongs to Yang while the counterclockwise cycling belongs to Yin. Generally speaking, your right hand action is classified as Yang and your left hand action is classified as Yin. From this rule, the Yin‐Yang cycling will be completely reversed if you use your left hand. These general rules are applied in Taijiquan and also in other internal styles such as Baguazhang. The above saying is talking about the Yin‐Yang’s derivation in two dimensions. When this Yin‐Yang derivation is manifested in three dimensions, then right spiral to advance forward is classified as Yang while left spiral to withdraw is classified as Yin. Similarly, the manifestation of the left hand is reversed. From this, we can see that (if we are) able to comprehend the theory of great nature's Yin‐Yang spiral derivation, then (we) will be able to comprehend the function of the Dao and use this Dao to understand the theory of ceaseless recycling of millions of lives in nature, furthermore, to trace back the origin of our human and physical life. The purpose of learning Taijiquan is to aim for the comprehension of Taiji and Yin‐Yang so (we) are able to reach the Dao, therefore, (allows us) to protect (our body), strengthen (our body), and enjoy longevity. Furthermore, by nourishing and cultivating (our) human nature, (we are) able to reach the final goal of unification of heaven and human spirit. From the above discussion, you can see that there are some specific rules that apply when you manifest the Yin‐Yang polarities into two dimensions. However, we exist in a universe of at least three dimensions. Therefore, the concept of two polarities should be adapted to three dimensions so we can comprehend the natural Dao thoroughly. Once you add the third dimension to the Yin and Yang symbols, you can see that the energy patterns and derivation are spiral actions. When the nature loses its balance, the energy manifests in spirals and millions of lives are influenced, or even are created. All of these manifestations can be seen from galaxies in space, to tornados and other storms, to the formation of sea shells, and even the tiny, twisted strands of our DNA. From the above discussion, you can see that when Yin‐Yang is manifested in two dimensions in Taijiquan, it is an action of coiling, and when it is acting in three dimensions, it is a spiraling maneuver. If you use your right hand to generate this spiral motion, then the clockwise and forward motion is classified as Yang while the counterclockwise and backward motion is classified as Yin. If you use your left hand, since the left is classified as Yin, all directions are reversed. This is a method to practice the basic skills in Taijiquan for changing from insubstantial to substantial and back again. All action in Taijiquan originates from the Real Dan Tian (a point, center of gravity), where the Wuji is located. From this Wuji center, through Taiji (i.e., mind) the Qi is led, Yin and Yang spiraling actions are initiated, and Taijiquan movements are derived.


YIN YANG By Dr. Yang, JwingMing

Yin and Yang are opposite (i.e., relative) to each other instead of absolute. That is Yin can become Yang and Yang can change into Yin. Yin and Yang can be exchanged mutually depending on the observer’s Xin and Yi. Xin and Yi are the Dao in Taijiquan. Lao Zi, Chapter 36 said: ‘Wish to close it, must first open it; wish to weaken it, must first strengthen it; wish to abolish it, must first raise it; wish to take it, must first offer it.’ It is also said in Taijiquan classic: ‘withdrawing is releasing and releasing is withdrawing.’ It means: ‘Yin is Yang and Yang is Yin.’ Though they are opposite, they are the two faces of the same object which cannot be separated from each other or exist alone. If it can exist alone, then it is a Wuji state and not the natural rule of Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang are opposite to each other but not absolute. How Yin or Yang are defined depends on the perspective of the viewer. Often, what is considered Yang by one person can be Yin to another. Moreover, Yin and Yang are exchangeable and this exchange also depends on how you change your viewpoint. You should also remember that the mind is what is called Taiji or Dao in Taijiquan. When Yin and Yang concepts are applied in Taijiquan, Yin can be Yang and Yang can be Yin. Yin can also be Yin and Yang can also be Yang. All of these alternative concepts all depend on your mind and consequently, different strategies are derived. That means an insubstantial action can be a setup for a substantial action and vice versa. If you do not have the options of Yin and Yang exchange, then your strategy will be stagnant and be easily defeated by your opponent. Generally speaking, Taijiquan’s Yin and Yang can be: closing and opening; defensive and offensive; bending and extending; inhaling and exhaling; retreating and advancing; insubstantial and substantial; small and big; neutralizing and emitting; refined and coarse; leading and attacking; soft and hard; internal and external; Yi and Xin; raising and falling; looking up and looking down; coming and going; enter and exit; withdrawing and releasing; etc. However, (you) should not be fixed in the rules without knowing the mutual exchangeable theory of Yin and Yang. For example, during combat between the opponent and me, bending can be Yang as offensive, and extending can be Yin as defensive. Raising can be Yang as a substantial action and falling can be Yin as an insubstantial movement. Coming can be Yang as emitting and going can be Yin as storing. This paragraph lists many examples of the Yin and Yang aspects of Taijiquan actions. However, you should always remember that Yin and Yang are mutually exchangeable. That means substantial can be insubstantial and insubstantial can be substantial. If (you) are able to understand the theory of Yin and Yang and knows their applications, then (your) comprehension is deep and (Taiji) knowledge is profound. Insubstantial and substantial are exchangeable and are mutually Yin and Yang. This will make the opponent lose track of catching the (Jin’s) coming and going. Then this is the beginning of understanding Jin. The theory of Yin and Yang is hard to change; however, the applications of Yin and Yang are exchangeable. Therefore, (Taijiquan) practitioners should be always researching and pondering the theory of Yin and Yang and searching for the applications of Yin and Yang’s mutual exchanges. If (you) are able to catch this knack and apply it skillfully, then (you are) surely a proficient Taijiquan talent. You should know that Taiji’s Yin‐Yang theory is the foundation and the root of the entire Taijiquan’s creation and development, you should always ponder the theory and its applications. Theory is the scholarship of the art while the actions are the applications of the theory. Only then can you catch the crucial key to Taijiquan’s substantial and insubstantial. Once you are able to apply this Yin‐Yang theory into the Taijiquan martial art, you will be able to know the opponent but the opponent will not know you. When you have reached this stage, you have surely understood the applications of Understanding Jin.


MARTIAL MORALITY By Dr. Yang, JwingMing

All Tai Chi schools and students must understand, demonstrate, and promote Martial Morality, and work to reestablish it as a integral aspect of Tai Chi Chuan training. Martial morality has always been a required discipline in Chinese martial arts society. Teachers have long considered martial morality to be the most important criterion for judging students, and they have made it the most important part of the training in the traditional Chinese martial arts. It includes two aspects: the morality of deed and the morality of mind. MORALITY OF DEED Humility Respect Righteousness Trust Loyalty

MORALITY OF MIND Will Endurance Perseverance Patience Courage

Traditionally, only those students who had cultivated these standards of morality were considered to be worthy of teaching. Of the two aspects of morality, the morality of deed is more important, because it concerns the student’s relationship with master and classmates, other martial artists, and the general public. Students who are not moral in their actions are not worthy of being taught, since they cannot be trusted or even respected. Furthermore, without morality of deed, they may abuse the art and use their fighting ability to harm innocent people. Therefore, masters will normally watch their students carefully for a long time until they are sure that the students have matched their standards of morality of deed before letting them start serious training. Morality of mind is for the self‐cultivation which is required to reach the final goal. The Chinese consider that we have two minds, an “Emotional mind” (Xin) and a “Wisdom mind” (Yi). Usually, when a person fails in something it is because the emotional mind has dominated their thinking. The five elements in the morality of mind are the keys to training, and they lead the student to the stage where the wisdom mind can dominate. This self‐cultivation and discipline should be the goal of any martial arts training philosophy. MORALITY OF DEED Humility Humility comes from controlling your feelings of pride. In China it is said: “Satisfaction (pride) loses, humility earns benefits.” When you are satisfied with yourself, you will not think deeply, and you will not be willing to learn. However, if you remain humble, you will always be looking for ways to better yourself, and you will keep on learning. Remember, there is no limit to knowledge. It does not matter how deep you have reached, there is always a deeper level. Confucius said, “If three people walk by, there must be one of them who can be my teacher.” There is always someone who is more talented or more knowledgeable than you in some field. The Chinese say: “There is always a man beyond the man, there is a sky above the sky.” Since this is so, how can you be proud of yourself? Respect Respect is the foundation of your relationship with your parents, teachers, your fellow students, other martial artists, and all other people in society. Respect makes a harmonious relationship possible. However, the most important type of respect is self‐respect. If you can’t respect yourself, how can you respect others or expect them to respect you? Respect must be earned, you cannot request or demand it. In China, it is said: “Those who respect themselves and others will also be respected.” For example, if you despise yourself and become a villain in this society, then you have lost your self‐respect. Since you have abused your personality and humility as a human, why should other people respect you?


Only when you have demonstrated that you are deserving of respect will respect come to you automatically and naturally. Righteousness Righteousness is a way of life. Righteousness means that if there is something you should do, you don’t hesitate to take care of it, and if there is something that you should not do, you don’t get involved with it. Your wisdom mind should be the leader, not your emotional mind. If you can do this, then you will feel clear spiritually, and avoid being plagued by feelings of guilt. If you can demonstrate this kind of personality you will be able to avoid evil influences, and you will earn the trust of others. Trust includes being trustworthy, and also trusting yourself. You must develop a personality which other people can trust. For example, you should not make promises lightly, but if you have made a promise, you should fulfill it. Trust is the key to friendship, and the best way of earning respect. The trust of a friend is hard to gain, but easy to lose. Self‐trust is the root of confidence. You must learn to build up your confidence and demonstrate it externally. Only then can you earn the trust and respect of others. Loyalty Loyalty is the root of trust. You should be loyal to your teacher and to your friends, and they should also be loyal to you. Loyalty lets mutual trust grow. In the Chinese martial arts, it is especially crucial that there be loyalty between you and your master. This loyalty is built upon a foundation of obedience to your master. Obedience is the prerequisite for learning. If you sincerely desire to learn, you should rid yourself of false dignity. You must bow to your teacher both mentally and spiritually. Only this will open the gates of trust. A teacher will not teach someone who is always concerned about his own dignity. Remember, in front of your teacher, you do not have dignity. MORALITY OF MIND Will It usually takes a while to demonstrate a strong will. This is because of the struggle between the emotional mind and the wisdom mind. If your wisdom mind governs your entire being you will be able to suppress the disturbances that come from the emotional mind, and your will can last. A strong will depends upon the sincerity with which you commit yourself to your goal. This has to come from deep within you, and can’t be just a casual, vague desire. Oftentimes, the students who show the greatest eagerness to learn in the beginning, quit the soonest, while those who hide their eagerness deep inside their hearts stay the longest. Endurance, Perseverance, and Patience Endurance, perseverance, and patience are the manifestations of a strong will. People who are successful are not always the smartest ones, but they are always the ones who are patient and who persevere. People who are really wise do not use wisdom only to guide their thinking, they also use it to govern their personalities. Through cultivating these three elements you will gradually build up a profound mind, which is the key to the deepest essence of learning. If you know how to use your mind to ponder as you train, it can lead you to a deeper stage of understanding. If you can manifest this understanding in your actions you will be able to surpass others. Courage Courage is often confused with bravery. Courage originates with the understanding that comes from the wisdom mind. Bravery is the external manifestation of courage, and can be considered to be the child of the wisdom and the emotional minds. For example, if you have the courage to accept a challenge, that means your mind has understood the situation and made a decision. Next, you must be brave enough to face the challenge. Without courage, the bravery cannot last long. Without the profound comprehension of courage, bravery can be blind and stupid. Daring to face a challenge that you think needs to be faced is courage. But successfully manifesting courage requires more than just a decision from your wisdom mind. You also need a certain amount of psychological preparation so that


you can be emotionally balanced; this will give your bravery a firm root so that it can endure. Frequently you do not have enough time to think and make a decision. A wise person always prepares, considering the possible situations that might arise, so that when something happens he will be ready and can demonstrate bravery.


THE FIVE PILLARS OF TAI CHI CHUAN By Cheng Tin Hung and Dan Docherty

Tai Chi is based on the ancient Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang, combined with the theories of Chinese medicine and martial art movements into one. In the past it was more widely used on the battlefield, but nowadays it is almost exclusively practised for keeping fit, evolving into different styles including the ones shown in this book. Even though the many styles and forms are different, the basic philosophy always remains the same. On the path of the peaceful warrior, it is always important to follow the guidelines in this book, enabling the body’s circulation system to flourish, and to avoid, as well as treat, illness. The study and practice of the philosophy of Tai Chi can improve your mental health, and keep the mind balanced. As mental health always influences physical health, and vice versa, Tai Chi cultivates both mental and physical health. You will find that with the regular practice of these exercises, many complicated problems will be healed, longevity will be increased and so too you moral standards. Tai Chi’s history as a martial art emphasizes the importance of centering yourself firmly and keeping stable at all times. Any reaction depends on the direction, angle, and speed of an attack. Good balance lets you control your own natural movements, giving you the opportunity to stretch, or deflect an attack and retaliate into your opponents empty, weak point. This is the central theory of Tai Chi Chuan as a martial art: the body should never lean away from your centre, and always be able to push out with force in any direction. All the actions of the Solo Forms are designed as responses to an enemy’s attack from the front, side, or back. Whatever the movement or new situation, always keep the Dan Tien – the central pivoting point in the middle of your body – at the centre of your movements, linking all other body movements together by ‘gathering thousands of ways into one.’ This also applies to any conflict, or difficult situation with a work colleague, spouse, or friend. It is not just a matter of doing a Tai Chi move to physically defend yourself, but using Tai Chi psychologically to steer yourself through the stormy seas of life, maintaining balance and harmony, wisdom and love in all thoughts, speech and actions. The Peaceful Warrior must have a clear understanding of the aims and theory of Tai Chi. Only then will you be able to improve step by step until you reach the highest state. METHOD OF PRACTICE In order to derive maximum benefit from the practice of Tai Chi, we must first learn the correct method of practicing. The execution of each movement requires patient concentration. Before beginning we must relax and think of nothing else. Our movements should be slow and we should breath naturally. We must avoid tension. If we can do this our every action will become smooth and easy, our waist will turn freely and we will feel relaxed and comfortable. Tai Chi is an exercise which aims at producing harmony of body and mind. To achieve this and to avoid the application of brute force, we must let our thoughts guide our actions. Constant practice can make this a habit with us. It is not enough to concentrate on the correct slow execution of individual movements such as raising or lowering our hands. Both our concentration and our movements must continue in harmony throughout the form. This will make our breathing deeper and help strengthen our body. At first it is difficult for a beginner to judge whether the styles and individual movements he performs are correct or not. In some cases beginners will find styles which are particularly tricky for them to master. However, there are some general principles to be understood and adopted which will help produce correct styles and movements: Throughout the movements our head should remain in line with our spinal column and not move up and down. If we can do this our neck muscles will become more relaxed. We should not hunch our shoulders or fully straighten our arms when we extend them. When we retract our arms, the elbows should be kept close to the body and not be allowed to jut out at all angles. We must keep our arms and shoulders relaxed in order to move smoothly. If we fail to do so our movements will be stiff and awkward. We must relax our whole body and avoid stiffening the chest. If we can do this our breathing will become deep and natural and our movements alert.


If our waist is stiff and tense we will find it difficult to move in any direction and our coordination will be affected as we will be unable to transmit power from the waist to the actions of our arms and hands. If the waist is stiff, our behind will jut out, making our balance unstable and preventing our movements from being graceful. Relaxation of the waist is essential. With certain exceptions, most postures in the Hand Form require us to rest most of our weight on one leg, making it easy to move the other leg to change posture, and to shift the weight from one leg to the other as we practice. The photographs of the form should be studied carefully so that we get this balance right and are able to move freely. THE FIVE PILLARS OF TAIJIQUAN The practical side of the art of Tai Chi Chuan consists of five basic components which are very much interrelated. 1. Hand Form The Hand Form, also known as the Solo Form, is the most basic, as well as the best known, of the five component parts of Tai Chi Chuan, but knowledge of this alone is insufficient for self‐defense purposes. There are two stages in learning the Hand Form. At first we learn the movements in a simplified, step by step, way known as the Square Form. This can be compared to teaching a child to write, in that he will be taught first to form block letters. Only when we have mastered this simple method of doing the form can we move on to learn the more intricate Round Form, which consists of the same techniques as the Square Form, but which is performed in a free and flowing manner. The Round Form is to the Square Form as cursive script is to block letters. The movements of the Hand Form come in a set sequence, and all have a self‐defense application. Slow and gentle practice of the Hand Form by concentrating on the movements will result in tranquility of mind, help relax the body and improve respiration. 2. Internal Strength Internal Strength can be described as meditation combined with exercise. Though we are concentrating on maintaining a tranquil state of mind, we are at the same time holding set postures or repeating set movements which are designed to increase our health and strength, and to give us a well‐coordinated body that is full of energy. 3. Pushing Hands The purpose of Pushing Hands is to train us in methods of applying techniques to disrupt our opponent's center of gravity. Such training will also increase our sensitivity and improve our reactions. Pushing Hands is the key to learning the Self‐Defense techniques. 4. Selfdefence Once we have reached a certain standard in the Pushing Hands, we can then move on to learn the Self‐Defense techniques. These are modified techniques taken from the Hand Form. Practice with a partner is necessary to develop our ability in using these techniques to defend ourselves and to counter‐attack our opponent. We must make these techniques second nature to us, so that in a real situation we will react instinctively and decisively. 5. Weapons Weapons are also a Solo Form. The three weapons used in Tai Chi Chuan are the straight sword, saber and spear. Some instructors teach the Fan which is also included under weapons. They are usually taught after a certain degree of proficiency has been achieved in the Hand Form and the techniques of Pushing Hands and Self‐Defense. The techniques of the Weapon Forms can be adapted for combat purposes in the same way as the techniques of the Hand Form.


TRAINING PRINCIPLES OF TAI CHI By Chen Zhenglei

In Chen’s Taichi, the basic training principles are: apply the theory not the strength; focus on foundation not the presentation; train the body not the techniques. APPLY THE THEORY NOT THE STRENGTH “Theory” explains the very basic principles of Taichi. Practicing Taichi is to work on the ultimate general Dao – that is the basic theory of how yin emerges from yang and how yang emerges from yin in the process of change. During practice, it requires to have softness imbedded in hardness and hardness implied in softness with softness and hardness inter dependent and supportive to each other. When hollowness reduces to its extreme, solidness forms; and when solidness grows to its extreme, hollowness appears. This is how hollowness and solidness morph from one another. With high level of concentration, the mind guides the qi and the qi move the body. Practice while focusing on getting the qi and movements to follow the mind. When in motions, every part moves, the whole body follows and the internal and external coordinate. Control the postures and mover according to the requirements and follow the natural motions of the body. Progress patiently. “Strength” training refers to the training for physical strength. Such training will increase the power in certain specific body parts. However, in most cases, this type of training will lead to clumsy strength and stiff strength. It’s lack of flexibility and control. Therefore, it is not preferred my achieved Taichi practitioners. FOCUS ON THE FOUNDATION NOT THE PRESENTATION “Foundation” refers to the root and base, i.e. the kidney qi and lower body kungfu. The kidneys hold the fundamental yin and yang. It is the prenatal base and the source for vital qi. When the kidney qi is strong, all organs are well nourished. The heart, liver, spleen, lung and the kidney will function properly. As a result, the person is good spirits, quick in response and coordinated in motion. Internal qi is one of the important aspects of good foundation. The other aspect of good foundation is the kungfu of the lower body. Under the condition when whole body is relaxed and, the qi settles in dantian and charges to yongquan, the body can be rooted solidly on the feet so as to achieve the state of livened upper section, flexible middle section and rooted lower section. “Presentation” refers to the shown intension, strength and hardness of certain specific parts of the body. Training methods focusing only on the presentation do not agree with Taichi principles. Taichi is an internal system. It training both the internal qi and external skills with the main focus on solidify the internal foundation. Hence there are sayings like: “Nourish the root and enrich the source”, “Nourish the roots and the branches and leaves will flourish; enrich the source and the stream will flow afar.” TRAIN THE BODY NOT THE TECHNIQUES Train the “body” means to train the capability of the body as a whole. Train the “techniques” means to work on special defensive and offensive techniques of an application. At the beginning stage, most people are interested in understanding the applications of each move. However, such training in focusing on explaining and understanding of the applications of Taichi defensive and offensive techniques will not lead one to the essence of Taichi. The correct process of learning Taichi must involve learning the forms and routines, correct postures and moves, reduce stiffness, achieve softness so as to reach the level when the whole body is coordinated, the internal and external are coordinated and the internal qi is full and solid. Let the skill be part of the body. Taichi training is for the complete ability of the body. According to specific situations in application, Taichi principle is to lose the self to follow the opponent and adapt when situation changes. It never resorts to the specific application of specific techniques. When the internal qi is full and solid, the body is like a well inflated balloon. It responds to any sensation of external impact. It enables the Taichi practitioner to strike with the part wherever is being attacked, such as described in On Boxing: “When achieved, one can counterattack according to the attack without thinking. The application will come naturally and automatically.”


YANG STYLE TAIJIQUAN BASIC TRAINING METHODS

By Yang Jun

In order to make progress in the art of Taijiquan and grasp its deeper meaning, we also need to understand some of the basic theories. Taijiquan training is normally based on five different points or methods. These points are: the footwork, the body shape, the hand techniques, methods, and the spirit. These points are very helpful in learning Taijiquan, as well as correcting the movements over time. In order to make progress in the art of Taijiquan and grasp its deeper meaning, we also need to understand some of the basic theories. The two pillars that form the foundation of Yang Family Taijiquan are: Yin Yang theory and Yang Chengfu’s Ten Essentials. YIN AND YANG The first basic theory is the theory of yin and yang. Everything that we do in Taijiquan can be connected to yin and yang. The idea of yin and yang can seem abstract, but in Taijiquan, the concept is used in a very practical way. It means that we are comparing opposite things. A classic example yin and yang is to imagine the sun shining on the side of a hill. One side of the hill will be in the shadow and the other side of the hill will be in the light. In yin/yang theory, the shadow side is yin and the bright side is yang. Taijiquan practice is full of opposites that can be seen through the lens of yin and yang. For instance: postures have movements that go up or go down. They can also take us forward or backward and right and left. Many taiji postures also have movements that open and close. Up/down, forward/backward, right/left, and opening/ closing can all be seen as different expressions of yin and yang. The idea of yin and yang can also be applied to different kinds of taiji practice. For instance, sometimes we train in a yin way, when we practice standing still (zhan zhuang). Practice that is more still, or quiet (Jìng) can be considered more yin. Moving practice is more yang. Quiet practice is also translated into English as “quiescent” practice. In Yang Family Taijiquan, quiescent practice can take three forms: sitting, standing, and lying down practice. Generally, we consider yin movements to be soft, neutralizing, and empty; while yang movements are hard, energy‐delivering, and full. For each technique there is a yin phase, which is focused on storing energy, and then a yang phase, which is focused on delivering the stored energy to an opponent. In movement, the idea of yin and yang can also be applied to weight, which is sometimes referred to as “empty” and “full.” Step by step, we first learn to recognize the yin/yang relationship within ourselves throughout the forms, postures, and sequences. In the next stage of training, push‐hands, we use similar ideas and methods, but expand the concept of yin and yang to include another person. In solo forms training, the center of focus is in our own self. In push‐hands, the focus should be about being in balance with the other person. In Taijiquan, there are three main ways to understand the concept of yin and yang: The first is unity/interdependence. This means that yin cannot exist without yang, and vice versa. An example of this is that without energy storage, energy cannot be sent out to the opponent. In the forms, it can be generally seen that yin energy‐storing motions precede yang energy‐delivering strikes. This is the interdependent and unified nature of yin and yang. The second way to understand the yin/yang concept, is the dynamic of conflict and opposition. In this case, yin and yang can be seen as arguing. When yin and yang clash, this causes tension. Because yang changes to yin, tension changes to relaxation. This can occur in push‐hands. Conflict becomes balance. This is an example of yin and yang as balance and conflict. The third aspect of the yin/yang relationship in Taijiquan is the process of transmutation. When something becomes extremely yang, it will then turn to yin. For instance, if you shift the weight all the way back, you must then move forward. When you go all the way to the left, you must go right, and when you go completely to the right, you must then go left. When something is extremely yin, it will soon turn to yang. Yin and yang are inseparable. They are mutually beneficial.


When yin and yang clash, this causes tension. Because yang changes to yin, tension changes to relaxation. This can occur in push‐hands. Conflict becomes balance. THE TEN ESSENTIALS OF YANG CHENGFU In our family, the Ten Essential Principles are very important for learning Taijiquan. These principles have been taught from the very beginning of Taijiquan. They were organized and published by Yang Chengfu. They are a constant guide for the Taijiquan practitioner. Whether we are just learning the forms, or working on progressing deeper into the art many years later, the Ten Essentials are an indispensable resource for our practice. There are three ways to interpret each of the Ten Essentials. These are: body shape, methods, and mind/spirit. For example, take the third principle: “Relax the waist”. When seen from the category of “body shape”, it means that we need to avoid sticking out the lower back in order to have the correct posture to relax while practicing. This principle can also be seen from the “methods” point of view. Without a relaxed waist, it will be difficult to deal with an opponent’s energy and remain rooted. From the “mind/spirit” perspective, relaxing the waist allows one to sink the qi, which helps to calm and clear the mind during practice. WAIST METHODS The waist methods are an important part of Taijiquan practice. In general, the waist should be flexible so that it can coordinate the energy between the legs and the upper body. There are three basic waist‐circling methods: horizontal, vertical, and figure eight circling. Horizontal circling moves right and left. Vertical waist‐circling moves up and down, and figure eight circling combines vertical and horizontal together. The energy comes from the root, develops in the legs, and is then transferred by the waist to the upper body. The waist can be used to lead the arms and the legs. In order to use the waist, the three parts of the body need to be coordinated. The lower part (the legs) should be heavy, the middle part (the waist) should be flexible, and the upper part of the body should be relaxed and extended. The waist coordinates and controls the movements of the body so that they are unified and precise while delivering energy. This means that the waist moves the arms, and also controls their positions and rotation. UPPER BODY METHODS The upper body moves in four ways. 1. Circling: the horizontal waist movement leads the arms. 2. Swinging: the horizontal waist movement makes the arms swing forward and backward like a whip. 3. Rotating: the arms rotate with the turning of the waist. This can be compared to interlocking gears. 4. Rotating and circling are combined. There are several methods to exercise the waist‐arm connection. 1. Swinging the arms. There are two different methods for swinging. a. Synchronized swinging: Turn the waist and swing the arms together so that the waist and the arms start together and end together at the same time. b. Non‐synchronized swinging: The waist slightly leads the arms when starting, and also when stopping. After the waist stops, the arms continue on a little bit more before stopping. 2. Turning the waist and wrists together. The waist and wrists turn together in a synchronized movement. 3. Rotate the waist and wrists while swinging the arms. The waist controls the delivery of energy. This can be synchronized or not. In these exercises, the movements are physically controlled by the waist, but led by the mind. The waist leads the arm into the correct position and also delivers the energy. FOOTWORK TECHNIQUES In Yang Family Taijiquan, our footwork generally follows the pattern of one foot facing straight and the other to the corner. This is traditionally called Dīng Bā Bù or “an eight and a nail step” because a nail is straight and the character for eight in Chinese faces diagonally. The weight should be on the “bubbling well” point, which is close to the middle of the ball of the foot. The inner thighs should feel slightly rounded outward, and the knees should align with the directions of the toes. We use two basic steps: the bow stance and the empty stance. There are also a few other types of steps that are used


less frequently, such as the low stance in “Press Down”, the crab‐like sideways step in “Cloud Hands”, and the single leg step in “Golden Rooster”. There are three basic points for stepping in Yang Family Taijiquan: 1. The first point is that you should step like a cat. A cat steps quietly and carefully in a coordinated manner. To step like a cat in a bow‐stance, touch the heel first, then touch the bubbling well point, and finally the toes touch the ground. After the toes touch the ground, start to bend the knee evenly. 2. The second point is that you should step as if you are walking on ice. Step carefully so that you will not break the ice. Do not put your feet down in an abrupt manner. 3. The third point is similar. Walk as if you were stepping in mud. Step carefully so that you do not splash the mud upwards. Each step is low, even and smooth. STAYING ROOTED How can we keep a rooted feeling in Taijiquan? Sink your qi down. Also, there is a method to coordinate both legs so that the energy can be rooted. This is called Dēng/Chēng. Dēng/ Chēng means to push and support. In a bow stance, the rear leg pushes and the front leg supports. Both legs should feel rooted with the weight on the bubbling well points. BODY SHAPE Although Yang Family Taijiquan has many different movements, they all share a similar method for the correct body shape. For example, in each movement, we need to have the same feeling in the back: that it is open in four directions. This means that the back should feel slightly extended up and down, which comes from lifting the top of the head and sinking the waist. The back should also feel extended to the right and left, which is the result of extending the arms and slightly pulling the shoulders. The main principles for body shape are: 1. Relax the waist. 2. Bring the shoulders and elbows down. 3. Open the back in four directions. It is necessary to understand the methods and also to check the feeling. This helps to know whether you are in the correct position. The body position, like everything that we do, follows yin and yang. If you have something going up, you need something going down to have balance. If something is going left, there should be something going right also. The tailbone (coccyx) must be balanced in the center. The center is not the same as the middle. The center is the balance point: Zhōng. FOOTWORK There are five types of steps, or footwork in Yang Family Taijiquan. 1. Step forward ‐ Jìn bù 2. Step backward ‐ Tuì bù 3. Look left. ‐ Zuǒ gù: Pay attention/activate peripheral awareness. 4. Gaze right ‐ Yòu pàn: Be aware/activate peripheral attention. 5. Centered and balanced ‐ Zhōng dìng: Stable. HAND TECHNIQUES The three main hand techniques in Yang Family Taijiquan are: 1. Palm: The palm fingers should be slightly extended, with a little space between them. The fingers are slightly curved. 2. Punch: The fist should be square and full. The thumb is folded over the index and middle finger. The face of the fist is level and facing forward. The palm of the fist faces to the side so that the fist stands. The fist can also be used for the back‐fist punch, and the knuckle can also be used, as in “Twin Fists Strike the Ears”. 3. Hook Hand: The fingertips all touch together. The hook curves in. The hook can be used to strike, to deflect, and also control. A different style of hook hand is used in the right hand in “Needle at the Sea Bottom”.


ENERGY AND TECHNIQUE From the martial arts perspective, there are two main points: energy and technique. The energy that we use in Taijiquan is based on yin and yang. This can also be called hard and soft. Taijiquan energy must contain yin and yang together to be complete. In Taijiquan, strong energy comes through unifying the whole body. In order to unify the whole body, we need to be Sōng. We need to be relaxed and extended. To have hard energy, we first need to have soft energy. To be soft, we must relax. How can you relax correctly? Relaxation can be difficult to define, but we can more easily point out what not to do: don’t be stiff, and also don’t be limp. Taijiquan has specific methods to achieve Sōng. We really don’t want to make our muscles stiff, but we also don’t want to have an empty, limp posture either. The way to properly relax is to slightly extend the tendons so that the body feels like a flexible spring. What is the correct amount of extension? It depends on how fast you are moving. In the hand form, the motions are slow, so less extension in the tendons will be necessary. In faster training methods, the amount of extension needs to be increased to keep the body unified. In push‐hands, the extension process also depends on what the opponent gives to you. One helpful exercise to determine the right amount of extension involves a partner. Stand in the Zhàn Zhuāng posture with the legs in a horse‐stance, the arms rounded, and the palms facing in. Have your partner push on your wrist. Your arms must be flexible. Each time you feel the push, let your arms move like a spring without resisting the push. As the push goes back, your arms should return to where they were. Your partner can vary the speed and frequency of the push to test your relaxation and extension. Let your arms move lightly without resisting the movement, but always return to the original extended position. Your partner can also push down on the wrist and up on the elbow. This method can help to train the correct method of Sōng (combining extension and relaxation) in Taijiquan. GOALS DURING PRACTICE When practicing Taijiquan, there are two main goals to keep in mind. The first is that we need to be rooted, balanced, and stable, both in mind and body. The second is that we need unified, whole body energy. How can we be stable, and also have a unified body energy? By following the method of sinking the body center. Relax the upper body and sink the qi to the dantian. The upper body becomes light, the waist becomes flexible, and the lower part of the body becomes heavy and stable. We need to be soft and relaxed. Do not resist an opponent. Resistance causes loss of balance. Neutralize the opponent and stay rooted. Sink the qi to the dantian and keep the breathing deep and relaxed. The kind of relaxation that is used in Taijiquan is called “Sōng”. This means that we loosen and extend the joints in order to connect the body together. Dynamic relaxation is the most important point in Taijiquan, so it should be considered carefully. Everything in Taijiquan goes back to this method.


TEN ESSENTIAL POINTS OF YANG CHENGFU By Yang Chengfu

1. EMPTY, LIVELY, PUSHING UP AND ENERGETIC ‘Pushing up and energetic’ means the posture of the head is upright and straight and the spirit is infused into its apex. You may not use strength. To use strength makes the back of the neck stiff, whereupon the chi and blood cannot circulate freely. You must have an intention, which is empty, lively (or free) and natural. Without intention, that is empty, lively, pushing up and energetic, you won’t be able to raise your spirit. Note: This four‐ character phrase is probably the most difficult one in all of Tai Chi literature to translate. I have chosen to regard each of the four words as filling the function of a predicate or verb‐phrase. Another fairly obvious approach would be to take the first two as adverbial and the last two as subject‐ predicate: “Empty and lively, the apex is energetic.” Many other interpretations are possible. 2. HOLD IN THE CHEST AND SLIGHTLY ROUND THE BACK The phrase ‘hold in the chest’ means the chest is slightly reserved inward, which causes the chi to sink to the dantien. The chest must not be puffed out; if you do so then the chi is blocked in the chest region. The upper body becomes heavy and the lower body light, and it will become easy for the heels to float upward. ‘Slightly round the back’ makes the chi stick to the back. If you are able to hold in the chest then you will naturally be able to slightly round the back. If you can slightly round the back, then you will be able to emit strength from the spine, which others cannot oppose. 3. RELAX THE WAIST The waist is the commander of the whole body. Only after you are able to relax the waist will the two legs have strength and the lower body is stable. The alternation of empty and full all derive from the turning of the waist. Hence the saying: ‘The wellspring of destiny lies in the tiny interstice of the waist. In Chinese thought, the waist tends to be regarded as the lower back rather than a circle girdling the middle of the body. Whenever there is a lack of strength in your form, you must look for it in the waist and legs. 4. SEPARATE EMPTY AND FULL In the art of Tai Chi Chuan, separating full and empty is the number one rule. If the whole body sits on the right leg, then the right leg is deemed ‘full’ and the left leg ‘empty.’ If the whole body sits on the left leg, then the left leg is deemed ‘full’ and the right leg ‘empty.’ Only after you are able to distinguish full and empty will turning movements be light, nimble and almost without effort; if you can’t distinguish them, then your steps will be heavy and sluggish. You won’t be able to stand stably, and it will be easy for an opponent to control you. 5. SINK THE SHOULDERS AND DROP THE ELBOWS Sinking the shoulders means the shoulders relax, open, and hang downward. If you can’t relax them downward, the shoulders pop up and then the chi follows and goes upward, causing the whole body to lack strength. Dropping the elbows means the elbows are relaxed downward. If the elbows are elevated then the shoulders are unable to sink. When you use this to push someone they won’t go far. It’s like the ‘cut of’ energy of external martial arts. External martial arts are thought to use energy from parts or sections of the body, as opposed to the ‘whole‐body’ energy of Tai Chi. 6. USE INTENT RATHER THAN FORCE The Tai Chi Classics say, “this is completely a matter of using intent rather than force.” When you practice Tai Chi Chuan, let the entire body relax and extend. Don’t employ even the tiniest amount of coarse strength, which would cause musculoskeletal or circulatory blockage with the result that you restrain or inhibit yourself. Only then will you be able to lightly and nimbly change and transform, circling naturally. Some wonder: if I don’t use force, how can I generate force? The net of acupuncture meridians and channels throughout the body are like the waterways on top of the earth. If the


waterways are not blocked, the water circulates; if the meridians are not impeded the chi circulates. If you move the body about with stiff force, you swamp the meridians. Chi and blood are impeded, movements are not nimble; all someone has to do is begin to guide you and your whole body is moved. If you use intent rather than force, wherever the intent goes, so goes the chi. In this way, because the chi and blood are flowing and circulating every day throughout the entire body and never stagnating, you will get true internal strength after a lot of practice. That’s what the Tai Chi Classics mean by “Only by being extremely soft are you able to achieve extreme hardness.”Somebody who is really adept at Tai Chi has arms, which seem like silk wrapped around iron, immensely heavy. Someone who practices external martial arts, when he is using his force, seems very strong. But when not using force, he is very light and floating. By this we can see that his force is actually external, or superficial strength. The force used by external martial artists is especially easy to lead or defect; hence it is not of much value. 7. SYNCHRONIZE UPPER AND LOWER BODY In the Tai Chi Classics ‘‘synchronize upper and lower body” is expressed as: “With its root in the foot, emitting from the leg, governed by the waist, manifesting in the hands and fingers – from feet to legs to waist – complete everything in one impulse.” Literally “one chi.” This could also be rendered as “one breath.” When hands move, the waist moves and legs move, and the gaze moves along with them. Only then can we say the upper and the lower body are synchronized. If one part doesn’t move then it is not coordinated with the rest. 8. MATCH UP INNER AND OUTER What we are practicing in Tai Chi depends on the spirit, hence the saying: “The spirit is the general, the body his troops.” If you can raise your spirit, your movements will naturally be light and nimble, the form nothing more than empty and full, open and closed. When we say ‘open,’ we don’t just mean open the arms or legs; the mental intent must open along with the limbs. When we say ‘close,’ we don’t just mean close the arms or legs; the mental intent must close along with the limbs. If you can combine inner and outer into a single impulse, then they become a seamless whole. 9. PRACTICE CONTINUOUSLY AND WITHOUT INTERRUPTION Strength in external martial arts is a kind of acquired, brute force, so it has a beginning and an end, times when it continues and times when it is cut of, such that when the old force is used up and new force hasn’t yet arisen. There is a moment when it is extremely easy for the person to be constrained by an opponent. In Tai Chi, we use intent rather than force, and from beginning to end, smoothly and ceaselessly, complete a cycle and return to the beginning, circulating endlessly. That is what the Tai Chi Classics mean by “Like the Yangtze or Yellow River, endlessly flowing.” And again: “Moving strength is like unreeling silk threads.”These both refer to unifying into a single impulse. 10. SEEK QUIESCENCE WITHIN MOVEMENT External martial artists prize leaping and stomping, and they do this until breath (chi) and strength are exhausted, so that after practicing they are all out of breath. In Tai Chi Chuan we use quiescence to overcome movement, and even in movement, still have quiescence. So when you practice the form, the slower the better! When you do it slowly your breath becomes deep and long, the chi sinks to the dantien, and naturally there is no harmful constriction or enlargement of the blood vessels. If the student tries carefully they may be able to comprehend the meaning behind these words.


TEN ESSENTIAL POINTS EXPLAINED By Dave Barrett

Professor Cheng Man Ching, disciple of Yang Chengfu, states that Yang Chengfu constantly emphasized the Ten Essential Principles. Each time Yang Chengfu spoke of them, he exhorted us saying, “If I do not mention this, then even if you study for three lifetimes it will be difficult for you to learn.” Yang Chengfu’s son, Yang Zhenduo said: “In China we have a proverb, ‘If you don’t go according to the rules, you will not fnd the squareness and roundness of the form.” Follow these rules if you want to practice the entire form well, you must start from the root, start from the basics. You must do this if you are to receive the benefits of the good fundamentals and receive the benefits of practice. Also it is easier to raise the level of technical proficiency. In this process, you focus and ask yourself: Have I done all the fundamentals in each movement? Have I done the basic refinements? Only you know in your heart. The Ten Essential Principles provide a framework for a lifetime of comprehensive study. In many ways they are like a formula or recipe for correct practice. Rather than a series of abstract concepts, the Ten Essential Principles are the summation of generations of inquiry into the nature of mind, body, and motion. Each principle is dynamically linked to a practical result, and when all the points are accurately represented, the outcome is the marvelous expression of grace, power and balance present in Traditional Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan. This article will focus on providing a framework for the Tai Chi student to organize and work on the Ten Essential Principles. Each principle results in a practical refinement that gives a special quality to the performance. Rather than explaining the meaning of each point, these refinements in posture, motion and mental activity will be examined. What is of importance is that the principles enter one’s practice and affect the performance of the forms. The main point for practitioners is to follow the basic principles in a way that they are dynamically expressed in the whole body. They cannot remain disembodied ideas. Without these principles you will not succeed. Especially for the beginning student, this can seem a daunting task. Turning theories into practical experiences can take years of practice. Patience, perseverance, and an organized study plan can help with the complexity of Tai Chi’s many theoretical requirements. Yang Chengfu’s important points can be grouped into three main topics: ARRANGING THE BODY FRAME COORDINATING THE MOTIONS HARMONIZING THE MIND All students can use this framework to evaluate their progress and improve their skill level. In the beginning, normally, the student just imitates and moves from frame to frame. In the second stage, after having learned the principles, the student tries to make the movements and the principles become one. In the first stage, you just put the hands out but in the second stage you should know how and why the hands are put out. Once you understand this it takes a long time to go through it. In the third stage, the principles and applications are combined into one and that becomes the essence. It means that the movements have intent and are no longer empty. ARRANGING THE BODY FRAME 1. Empty, lively, pushing up and energetic. 2. Relax the waist. 3. Hold in the chest and slightly round the back. 4. Sink the shoulders and drop the elbows. These four requirements establish important guidelines for the torso, arms and hands. As with all the principles, they work together to promote the optimal patterns for energy to flow freely through the body. Balance pushing up the top of the head with relaxing the waist, the spine is elongated and a


strong feeling of central equilibrium is established. The upwards energy and sinking center of gravity will align the back, which forms a center point for rotating the entire body frame. By keeping the waist relaxed the frame rotates flexibly and freely with a minimum of applied energy. Holding in the chest, slightly rounding the back, sinking the shoulders, and dropping the elbows create a sense of relaxed extension through the upper back all the way to the fingertips. Allow the ligaments and tendons to extend and the big muscles of the chest and shoulders to loosen. This is done by sinking the sternum slightly inwards and causing the back to become gently rounded. This rounding of the back is carried through to the fingertips by dropping the elbows, sinking the shoulders, seating the wrists and extending the fingertips. In this way the large, open postures are anchored in the spine and the intrinsic energy issues freely from the back to the extremities. The practical result is a frame that is open and relaxed, yet connected and rooted to the motion of the lower back and waist. As soon as you have the elbow pull the shoulder, your chest will naturally sink. As soon as the elbow pulls the shoulder, your chest becomes concave. As soon as your chest is sunk, your back becomes naturally rounded and arched. And as soon as your back is rounded and arched, your waist and hips become relaxed and this is all interrelated from one point to the other. If you do not have the sinking elbow, and wrist and fingers extended, you do not give the opportunity for the sunken chest, rounded and arched back, and relaxed waist. Although your waist can control your whole body, if your arms do not give it the opportunity by following the basic requirements, then the waist will not have the power and the ability to control the body. There will be no way you can bring the energy out. Therefore we say only when you follow the principles will your waist then be used correctly. We require everyone who practices Tai Chi Chuan to emphasize these points over and over again. COORDINATING THE MOTIONS 5. Separate empty and full. 6. Synchronize upper and lower body. 7. Practice continuously and without interruption. These points present a formula for the waist, legs and footwork. The ability to distinguish the amount and direction of body weight supported through the legs is a fundamental skill in Tai Chi. Cleanly separating empty and full in shifting the body weight promotes agile stepping and increased balance control. Blending empty and full by balancing the pushing and receiving energies in the stance work stabilizes the frame and roots the entire body structure. In the Ten Essential Principles it says you have to coordinate the upper and lower body. In reality many people are not doing that because they bend the knee so fast that they don’t have a chance to put the energy into the knee, and thus the upper body has no force. If you bend your knee too quickly, the whole body is not used and the waist movement is empty. There is not a unified force. The refinement of synchronizing the upper and lower parts of the body means that the waist acts as the pivot and the following coordination ensue: the hips move with the shoulders, the elbows move with the knees, and the energy arrives at the palms and feet simultaneously. The body has an expansive feeling that manifests in an end position that is fully realized from the feet, through the legs, controlled by the lower back and expressed through the limbs and the fingertips. A total body motion. As long as your movement starts with the waist and all the other conditions correctly create the condition for the waist to move in this way, then the waist has the ability of being the body’s central pivotal force. If you don’t coordinate the upper and lower limbs through the waist, and the lower legs are empty, then the waist is not moving. If the structure is lifeless, then the waist doesn’t have anything to do. If however, you practice with the hand in a position where it has intrinsic force and the legs have strength and the waist is used correctly, then they can be coordinated. Then these movements are all part of the waist movement. Normally, people just locally move their arms. They are not using the waist to move their arms. Continuity without interruption provides a crucial element in blending stillness with activity: linking the forms together, yet clearly distinguishing between end positions and transitional motions. Yang Zhenduo has said that the most important phase in continuing the form occurs when the motion


changes direction from forward to back or from up to down: to be specific, at the precise instant when the kinetic potentials reverse. Consider the motion of a child’s swing on the playground: as the swing reaches its highest point before it plummets backwards there is a slight pause, a brief instant when the weight and forward motion suspend. Yang Zhenduo points to this instant as the most crucial time to pay close attention to the motion changing. Link the large circles together by creating this sense of paused suspension, when a very slight motion of the lower back leads to an elliptical transition expressed arc‐wise through the body. If the truth were told, the shape of these slight elliptical links is the familiar fish shape that occupies half of the yin‐yang symbol. These slight transitional moves lead into the next larger motion without breaking the thread of the performance. HARMONIZING THE MIND 8. Use intent rather than force. 9. Match up inner and outer. 10. Seek quiescence within movement. This category illuminates the inner life of the Tai Chi Chuan system. The points offer a key to the transcendent nature of the exercise, leading the student beyond the boundaries of mechanical imitation of motions into a realm of freely expressed energy and spirit. The primary refinement in harmonizing the mind is to focus on matching the specific technique with the actual application of force. This creates an inner sense of engagement and participation in the offensive and defensive character of the motions. Linking the slow motions to the actual applications of technique is a very delicate process. Great care should be exercised not to get carried away by the pursuit of strength and power. Every motion has its purpose and the purpose should be coordinated with your thoughts, your mind, and finally, your spirit. What you think in your mind and what you do with the body should be very naturally coordinated… If you practice and follow the principles and don’t consciously think about power, then you will have the energy and the power. But if you concentrate only on the energy and the power then your mind will be limited. The last of Yang Chengfu’s Ten Essential Principles is the natural result of the combined points. Quiescence or tranquility is the key quality that distinguishes this art form from mere martial exercise. In following the Tai Chi Chuan paradigm there needs to be a balance between tranquility and activity. There are many ways to calm the mind. In the Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan system the Ten Essential Principles provide the method: If you concentrate on the main principles, then you are not thinking about anything else. There is no room to think of anything else. But if you don’t understand the concept of where you move and how you should concentrate, and what the principles are, then you cannot control and focus your mind. You must remember, Ten Essential Principles and apply these important principles. You want to harmonize them with the specific technique. When you have something else on your mind, you can control your mind by directing it to implement the important principles in each movement. This is one of the methods to regulate your mind. This is a very different approach to regulating the mind than meditation or qigong. In some qigong methods they have meditation methods to get into a very quiescent state. This is not quite the same as the quietness in Tai Chi Chuan. In Tai Chi Chuan you want to be calm and collected, so you have focused attention on what the opponent is going to do to you. Within that quietness you are ready to spring. You are ready to move. So the quiescence and movement go hand in hand, working together. The paradox of effortless action should fascinate and mystify the student. This in turn may lead one to wonder why Yang Zhengduo motions possess an indefinable quality of excellence, an elusive brilliance that is easy to see yet seemingly impossible to achieve. Fortunately for us, the Yang family has shared their research in the hopes that everyone may benefit from this wonderful practice. Take your time, work principle by principle. Don’t just practice. Day by day, work on certain points. For example: one day focus on lifting the top of the head. The next day concentrate on the shoulder, elbow, wrist and palm requirements. Gradually the points will add up and your skill level will increase. The basic requirements and principles we have talked about are very important points. But it is like many things. You can know it but sometimes you cannot carry it out. You may not be able to do it. You may need a long time to train yourself, slowly, slowly accumulating experience.


STEPS IN LEARNING TAIJIQUAN By Dr. Yang, JwingMing

Every taijiquan master has his own sequence of training, emphasizing his methods and content. The following lists general training procedures according to my learning experience with three taijiquan masters and my teaching experience of more than forty years. This is a guide only to the bare‐hand training procedures of taijiquan. TRAINING SEQUENCE The general sequence of taijiquan training is as follows: 1. Understanding the fundamental theory of taijiquan 2. Relaxation, calmness, and concentration practice 3. Breath training 4. Experiencing and generating qi 5. Qi circulation and breathing 6. Still meditation 7. Fundamental stances 8. Breath coordination drills 9. Fundamental moving drills 10. Solo taijiquan 11. Analysis of the martial applications of the sequence 12. Beginning stationary taiji pushing hands 13. Fundamental forms of taiji jin training 14. Hen and ha sound training 15. Fast taijiquan 16. Advanced taiji pushing hands (both stationary and moving) 17. Advanced taiji jin training 18. Qi expansion and transportation training 19. Martial applications of taiji pushing hands 20. Free‐pushing hands (both stationary and moving) 21. Taiji fighting set 22. Taiji free fighting QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF Before the taijiquan beginner starts training, he should ask himself several questions: Why do I want to learn taijiquan? What benefits do I hope to gain? Am I likely to continue training for a long time? After you have answered these questions you should then ask: Does this taijiquan style offer what I want? Is this master qualified? Does this master have a training schedule? How long and how deep can this master teach me? Will this master teach me everything he knows or will he keep secrets when I approach a certain level? After I have studied for many years, will I be able to find an advanced master to continue my study? In order to answer these questions, you have to survey and investigate. You have to know the historical background of the style and the master's experience. Once you have answered the above questions, then you can begin your taijiquan study without any doubt or confusion. FUNDAMENTAL THEORY OF TAIJIQUAN The first step in learning taijiquan is to understand the fundamental theory and principles through discussion with your master, reading the available books, studying with classmates, and then pondering on your own. You should ask yourself: How does taijiquan benefit the body and improve health? How can taijiquan be used for martial purposes? What are the differences between taijiquan and other martial styles? Once you have answers to these questions, you should have a picture of the art and an idea of where you are going. The next question to arise should be: How do I train the


relaxation, calmness, and concentration which are the most basic and important aspects of taijiquan? This leads you to the second step of the training. Usually, if you have the right methods and concepts, you can train your mind to be calm and concentrated and can relax physically in a short time. Keeping this meditative attitude is very important for beginning training. The next step is to train your breathing. The breathing must be deep, natural, and long. If you are interested in health only, you can use Buddhist or normal abdominal breathing. However, if you want to advance to martial applications, you should train and master Daoist, or reverse abdominal breathing. You should be able to expand and withdraw the muscles of the abdomen area easily. After you have trained your breath correctly, you should then begin to sense the qi in your abdomen and dan tian. This will lead to the fourth –step—generating and experiencing qi. If you are interested in knowing more about taijiquan and breathing, please refer to the book: Tai Chi Qigong, published by YMAA. Usually, qi can be generated in two ways: externally and internally. To generate qi externally is called wai dan, and when it is generated internally it is called nei dan. Through training qi generation you will gradually realize what qi is and why smooth qi circulation benefits the body. You will also build up your sensitivity to the movement of qi. The more you train, the more sensitive you will become. After a time, you should then go to the next step—circulating qi. This is best practiced through still meditation, which will enhance your qi generation and circulation. Qi circulation is guided by the calm mind and made possible by a relaxed body. You must train your mind to guide the qi wherever you wish in coordination with correct breathing. First you should develop small circulation, which moves the qi up the spine and down the center of the front of the body (i.e., governing and conception vessels. Eventually you should develop grand circulation whereby qi is circulated to every part of your body. When you have completed the above six steps, you should have built a firm foundation for taijiquan practice. With correct instruction, it should take less than six months to complete the above training (except for grand circulation). STANCES AND BREATH COORDINATION DRILLS The above six steps are purely mental training. When you practice these, you can simultaneously practice the fundamental stances that build the root for the taijiquan forms. You should be familiar with all the stances and should practice them statically to strengthen your legs. Also, at this stage you can begin fundamental breath coordination drills. These drills are designed for the beginning student to train: Coordination of breathing and movement Coordination of qi circulation and the forms Smoothness and continuity Relaxation Calmness and concentration of the mind. These drills will help you experience qi circulation and the mood or atmosphere of taijiquan practice. After you have mastered the fundamental stances and fundamental drills, you should then go on to the fundamental moving drills. TAIJIQUAN SOLO SEQUENCE The taijiquan solo sequence is constructed with about thirty‐seven apparent techniques and more than two hundred hidden techniques. It is practiced to enhance qi circulation and improve health, and it is the foundation of all taijiquan martial techniques. It usually takes from six months to three years to learn this sequence, depending on the instructor, the length of the sequence, the student's talent, and most importantly, his or her commitment to practice. After a student has learned this sequence, it will usually take another three years to attain a degree of calmness and relaxation and to internalize the proper coordination of the breathing. When practicing, not only the whole of your attention, but also your feelings, emotions, and mood should be on the sequence. It is just like when musicians or dancers perform their –art— their emotions and total being must be melded into the art. If they hold anything back, then even if their skill is very great, their art will be dead. When you finish learning the solo sequence, you should then start discussing and investigating the martial applications of the postures. This is a necessary part of the training of a martial arts


practitioner, but it will also help the non‐martial artist to better understand the sequence and circulate qi. With the instruction of a qualified master, it will take at least two or three years to understand and master the techniques. While this stage of analysis is going on, you should begin to pick up fundamental (fixed step) pushing hands. PUSHING HANDS Pushing hands trains you to listen to and to feel the opponent's jin, understand it, neutralize it, and then counterattack. There are two aspects of pushing hands training. The first emphasizes feeling the opponent's jin and then neutralizing it, and the second emphasizes understanding the emitting of jin and its applications. Therefore, when you start the fundamental pushing hands, you should also start fundamental jin training that is usually difficult to practice and understand. For this, a qualified master is extremely important. While training jin, the coordination of the sounds “hen” and “ha” become very important. Uttering “hen” and “ha” can enable you to emit or withdraw your jin to the maximum and coordinate the qi with it, and can also help to raise your spirit of vitality. When you finish your analysis of the sequence, you have established the martial foundation of taijiquan. You should then start to train speeding up the solo sequence, training jin in every movement. In fast taiji training, practice emitting jin in pulses with a firm root, proper waist control, and qi support. In addition, develop the feeling of having an enemy in front of you while you are doing the form. This will help you learn to apply the techniques naturally and to react automatically. After practicing this for a few years, you should have grasped the basics of jin and should start advanced pushing hands and jin training. Advanced (moving step) pushing hands will train you to step smoothly and correctly in coordination with your techniques and fighting strategy. This training builds the foundation of free‐pushing hands and free fighting. Advanced jin training enables you to understand the higher level of jin application and covers the entire range of jin. During these two steps of training, you should continue your qi enhancement, expansion, and transportation training to strengthen the qi support of your jin. The martial applications of pushing hands should be analyzed and discussed. This is the bridge that connects the techniques learned in the sequence to the real applications. When you understand all the techniques thoroughly, you should then get involved in free‐pushing hands and learn the two‐person fighting set. The Taiji Fighting Set was designed to train the use of techniques in a way that resembles real fighting. Proper footwork is very important. Once you are moving and interacting fluidly, you can begin to use jin. The final step in training is free fighting with different partners. The more partners you practice with, the more experience you will gain. The more time and energy you spend, the more skillful you will become. The most important thing in all this training is your attitude. Remember to study widely, question humbly, investigate, discriminate, and work perseveringly. This is the way to success.


HOW DO YOU LEARN TAIJIQUAN? By Dr. Yang, JwingMing

Whether or not a person learns something depends upon his attitude and seriousness. First he must make a firm decision to learn it, and then he must have a strong will to fulfill his intention. He needs perseverance and patience to last to the end. Even if a person has all these virtues, his achievement might still be different from that of another person’s who has the same qualities and personality. The difference is due to his manner of learning. If a person practices and then ponders every new thing he has learned and keeps going back to research and master it, he will naturally be better than the person who never explores what he has learned. Taijiquan theory is deep and profound. It takes many years of learning, research, pondering, and practice to gradually grasp the key to the art and "enter into the temple." However, the more you learn, the less you are likely to feel you understand. It is just like a bottomless well or a ceaselessly flowing river. There is an ancient list of five mental keys the student of taijiquan needs in order to reach the higher levels of the art. It is said: 1. Study wide and deep 2. Investigate 3. Ponder carefully 4. Clearly discriminate 5. Work perseveringly If you follow this procedure you can learn anything, even how to become a wise and knowledgeable person. In addition to the above learning attitude, a good master is also an important key to learning the high art of taijiquan. In China, there is a saying: "A disciple inquires and searches for a master for three years, and a master will test the disciple for three years." It also says: "A disciple would rather spend three years looking for a good master than learn three years from an unqualified one." LEARN FROM A GOOD TAIJIQUAN MASTER A good master who comprehends the art and teaches it to his students is the key to changing a rock into a piece of gold. It is the teacher who can guide you to the doorway by the shortest path possible and help you avoid wasting your time and energy. It is said: "To enter the door and be led along the way, one needs oral instruction; practice without ceasing, the way is through self‐practice." It is also said: "Famous masters create great disciples." On the other hand, a good master will also judge if a disciple is worth his spending the time and energy to teach. A student can be intelligent and practice hard in the beginning, and change his attitude later on. A student who practices, ponders, humbly asks, and researches on his own will naturally be a good successor to the style. Usually a master needs three years to see through a student's personality and know whether he is likely to persevere in his studies and maintain a good moral character. In the last seventy years since taijiquan has been popularized, many good taijiquan books and documents have been published. A sincere taiji practitioner should collect and read them. Books are the recording of many years of learning, study, and research. If you do not know how to use this literature to your advantage, you will surely waste more time and energy wandering in confusion. However, you should not completely believe what any book says. What is written is only the author's opinions and personal experience. You should read widely, investigate, and then clearly discriminate between the worthwhile and the not so worthwhile. If you do this well you can minimize confusion and avoid straying too far from the right path. In addition, you should take advantage of seminars, summer camps, and other ways to get in touch with experienced masters. In this way you can catch many key points and gain a feeling for many things which you may have only read about. But remember, you must research on your own in great detail in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the art. Thus it is said: "You don't ever want to give up your throat; question every talented person in heaven and earth. If [you are] asked: how can


one attain this great achievement, [the answer is] outside and inside, fine and coarse, nothing must not be touched upon." TAIJIQUAN LEARNING PROCEDURE When you learn an internal art such as qigong or taijiquan, you should always follow the training procedures. In the beginning, you should pay attention to the movements and try to be as accurate as possible. These movements were created and experienced by many wise pioneers of taijiquan. Only after you have mastered these movements skillfully will you be on the right path for learning taijiquan. Moreover, you must also learn how to relax physically to a profound level, keeping yourself centered and rooted both physically and mentally. This process is called regulating the body (tiao shen. Only after you have reached the stage of regulating without regulating, should you proceed to the next stage. While you are training at this level, you will not have to constantly regulate the body consciously, since you will have already made it into a habit and can perform your physical forms naturally. This is what is meant by "regulating without regulating." BREATHING The next step is learning how to coordinate your breathing with the movements. With correct breath coordination, you can relax more deeply, which allows you to bring your mind to a more sagacious state. This is the step of regulating the breathing (tiao xi). You should practice until you can regulate without the use of your conscious mind, the aforementioned regulating without regulating. Your breathing must become natural, smooth, deep, slender and calm. Once you have reached this stage, you will have provided a good environment for your wisdom mind to regulate the emotional mind (tiao xi). If you practice taijiquan simply for relaxation and health when you regulate your mind, then you will learn how to lead the qi to the centers of the palms and the soles of the feet. This is called four gate breathing (si xin hu xi). You can also lead the qi to the skin and beyond, to enhance your guardian qi. This will strengthen your immune system and raise your spirit. However, if you practice taijiquan for martial arts, then you must learn to use your mind to lead the qi to the arms for performing techniques, and to the legs for rooting. In order to manifest power efficiently, you must build a sense of enemy. To do this, you imagine that you are in a combat situation, using each of your performed techniques to defend yourself against an enemy. You must have a sense of controlled urgency because in such a combat situation, you must be alert but not in a state of panic. Only by training all of your techniques with this sense of enemy will you build up your skills to a level that will be useful to you in a real emergency. You must know the martial applications of each movement without having to stop and think. These martial applications are the essence and the root of taijiquan. This leading of the qi is called regulating the qi (tiao qi). Finally, your ultimate goal in taijiquan practice is to harmonize your energy with the energy of the natural universe. In order to achieve this goal, you must regulate your spirit (tiao shen) to a firm, strong, peaceful and enlightened state. Only then may you reach the final cultivation of the Dao: the unification of heaven (i.e., universe) and humanity (tian ren he yi). When you reach this stage, you will find that even your purpose in studying taijiquan, the very ego that holds the desire to learn and improve, will itself dissolve into the patterns of taiji. Taijiquan is only the way or path to understanding life and comprehending the universe. As you near your goal, you will find that your motivation to learn martial arts is sublimated, and the health of your body, mind, and spirit can be unified and maintained without conscious effort.


YANG TAI CHI FOR BEGINNERS By David Silver

Yang‐style Tai Chi is the most popular form in the world, with millions of practitioners. Since the Yang family popularized Tai Chi during the 1800s, the form has been passed down from teacher to student in an oral tradition, resulting in a wide variety in the way the form is practiced. No matter which version of the form you practice, the essential principles and structure within the movements are basically the same. The form practiced by Dr. Yang, Jwing‐Ming and YMAA students can be traced back to the Yang family through Grandmaster Kao, Tao, and his teacher Yue, Huanzhi, an indoor disciple of Yang, Chengfu. LEARNING THE SEQUENCE The Yang Tai Chi form can be easy to memorize, but it can always be refined and practiced with a deeper feeling. It is comprised of 37‐postures, or movement patterns, which are repeated to the left or right to create the 108‐movement sequence. It is recommended that a student focus on learning just a few movements at a time until they are very natural and comfortable. The form is typically taught in three sections. The next step is to learn and practice only the first part of the sequence until the student can perform it smoothly with correct posture and relaxed muscles. The more relaxed your body and mind are, the more abundantly your energy can circulate. This is the first stage, known as Regulating the Body. Eventually, if a student is interested in following the traditional path, he/she will progress through the stages of Regulating the Breath, the Mind, the Qi, and the Spirit. Dr. Yang says, "The taijiquan solo sequence is constructed with about thirty‐seven apparent techniques and more than two hundred hidden techniques. It is practiced to enhance qi (energy) circulation and improve health, and it is the foundation of all taijiquan martial techniques. It usually takes from six months to three years to learn this sequence, depending on the instructor, the length of the sequence, the student's talent, and most importantly, his or her commitment to practice. After a student has learned this sequence, it will usually take another three years to attain a degree of calmness and relaxation and to internalize the proper coordination of the breathing. When practicing, not only the whole of your attention, but also your feelings, emotions, and mood should be on the sequence. It is just like when musicians or dancers perform their art; their emotions and total‐being must be melded into the art. If they hold anything back, then even if their skill is very great, their art will be dead." SENSE OF ENEMY Tai Chi Chuan, which is sometimes transliterated from Chinese as "Taijiquan", means "Grand Ultimate Fist". It was originally developed as an internal martial art, which emphasizes softness and roundness over using brute force. Whether you just want to learn Tai Chi for your health, or you intend to follow the traditional progression of the learning the sequence, pushing hands, sparring, and eventually weapons, it is important that you develop a sense of enemy in your practice. Watch a Tai Chi master perform a sequence, and you may see that it looks like he/she is having a slow motion battle against invisible opponents. By learning the originally‐intended purpose of a Tai Chi movement, which is known as its martial application, you will learn the finer points of exactly where your hands and feet should be. You develop a sense of enemy by visualizing that your Tai Chi movement is being used against an opponent. Dr Yang, "Even when you can do the form very well, it may still be dead. To make it come alive you must develop a sense of enemy. When practicing the solo sequence, you must imagine there is an enemy in front of you, and you must clearly feel his movements and his interaction with you. Your ability to visualize realistically will be greatly aided if you practice the techniques with a partner. There are times when you will not use visualizations, but every time you do the sequence your movement must be flavored with this knowledge of how you interact with an opponent. The more you practice with this imaginary enemy before you, the more realistic and useful your practice will be. If you practice with a very vivid sense of enemy, you will learn to apply your qi and jin (power) naturally, and your whole spirit will melt into the sequence. This is not unlike performing music. If


one musician just plays the music and the other plays it with his whole heart and mind, the two performances are as different as night and day. In one case the music is dead, while in the other it is alive and touches us." Not only does a sense of enemy develop correct posture and give life to your performance, but it is also important for your health. ENERGY When practiced slowly, Tai Chi is a form of Qigong (energy work). The Chinese word for energy is "Qi". It’s important to realize that when we discuss Qi within the body, we are not referring to some mystical Jedi Force, or to a metaphor of some kind. Qi is real. Without going into technical Western medical terminology, you must realize that life energy circulates throughout the 100 trillion cells that your body is comprised of. This energy in our bodies is derived from the food we eat and the fat we burn, combined with the air we breathe through the metabolic process. In addition, with every breath you are inhaling air, which is a gas, which is made of molecules, which are made of atoms, which are made of energy. You inhale positive or negative ions all day long. We also receive some percentage of our body's energy from the sun and moon, and our body's energy is influenced by the radiation of our surroundings, both natural and manmade. In fact, the human body is a living bioelectromagnetic field. When you want to move your body, your mind generates an electrical impulse through the spine to the muscles, and suddenly you are Grasping the Sparrow's Tail. Your intention to move first creates a brainwave ‐ this is an electrical frequency usually between 1 ‐ 20Hz. The impulse then transmits instantaneously throughout the body in a complex process that utilizes your body's energy to facilitate movement. A typical modern way of measuring your energy is with an EEG (Electroencephalogram), which distinguishes brainwaves by measuring the speed with which neurons (nerve cells) fire in cycles per second. Alpha brain waves range between 7 – 12 Hz, which relates to deep relaxation. The Alpha range is also the base frequency of the Schumann Resonance, which is the vibrational frequency of the earth's electromagnetic field. When you are deeply relaxed, your Alpha brainwaves resonate in sympathy with the earth's EMF, producing "constructive interference" which amplifies the vibration. Whether you view the body's energetic activity from a chemical, spiritual, or purely mechanical viewpoint, understand that this energy within the body is the Qi we are referring to; Qi is not some special "other" kind of energy. This subject has been widely misunderstood, sometimes because of the limited understanding by students of these concepts since Tai Chi came to the West, and largely due to cultural and language barriers. Don't keep searching for your energy when you practice. Realize that you are energy. You are not a human body experiencing a spirit. You are a spirit experiencing a human body. Thus, when you understand a Tai Chi posture clearly, your will mind generate the correct intention, and you will energize your body all the way to the fingers and toes more efficiently. This will gradually improve your circulation to the extremities, and help to permeate your body with healthy circulation of blood, energy, and nutrients. BEGIN TAI CHI Beginning to learn Tai Chi can be daunting, as you realize the traditional form can seem very long, and there are many details to be aware of. But like any classical art, such as violin or oil painting, you simply start at the start and allow yourself to learn at your own pace. Once you've learned the movements and can maintain a sense of enemy, you can enjoy Tai Chi as a kind of moving meditation which will lead you deeper into investigating the energetic aspect of being ‐ which actually is a mystical experience if you really think about it. Practice out in nature and get some fresh air, preferably near mountains, forests, or water for an increase of negative ions. Close your mouth loosely, and touch the tongue to the roof of the mouth gently. Breathe naturally. Don't worry about your breathing until later in your practice. Tai Chi is whole body exercise. Movement is initiated in the legs, directed by the waist, and manifested in the hands. Upper body is light, the middle body is flexible, and the lower body is solid and heavy. Energy follows consciousness, or as its put in qigong study, "The Yi Leads the Qi." Stay relaxed and don't frown from concentrating too hard. Tai Chi is fun!


GETTING STARTED By Holly SweeneyHillman

THE REASONS FOR AND THE STAGES OF WARMUP EXERCISES The primary goal of warm‐up exercises is to prevent injuries. The secondary goals, which support this primary goal, are: improved flexibility and increased muscle stamina. All of these goals are dependent upon methods that refine the student’s proprioceptive abilities: the ability to sense proper joint movement, use appropriate amount of force, and be sensitive to physical limitations. To train proprioception, it is important that all warm‐up exercises are done mindfully and are regarded as preparation for mind as well as body. Full understanding of the purpose for each warm‐up exercise will help students perform them more mindfully. The term “warm‐ups” could imply that all the exercises are done at the beginning of a class but this is not the case. We shall see that “warm‐ups” are more effective when applied at specific times during the span of the class period. Warm‐up exercises should be selected on the basis of when they will be most effective, at the beginning, middle, or end of the class period. BEGINNING WARMUPS These are exercises that will mildly increase body heat and blood flow. Slightly aerobic activities are ideal, which will increase heart rate up to 40% of maximum rate. Examples of this type of exercise are lightly jogging in place, gentle and continuous torso movements like circling a hula‐hoop, or slight bending and unbending of the legs while the arms are waving. The goal of these exercises is to increase body temperature and blood flow so that the body becomes a little looser overall. MIDDLE WARMUPS Frequently termed “training drills,” these are exercises that incorporate “dynamic stretching” which means stretching muscles while they are moving. In addition to dynamic stretching, these movements involve other elements like balance and coordination. Middle warm‐ups require more mental concentration than the beginning warm‐ups, as well as more muscle strength, and larger range of movement. (Examples of this type of exercise are kicking drills, hand walks (bending over until you can touch hands to floor then walk hands forward until back is almost fully extended, then keeping legs straight, walk feet toward hands; then walk hands forward again, etc., or repeating movements like “Left Brush Knee and Push” and “Right Brush Knee and Push” continuously across the room). The goal of these exercises is to activate all the muscles, connective tissue, and joints that will be used during a particular class. Middle warm‐ups are most effective when they are selected to target specific movement challenges that will be encountered in class, like kicking or squatting. ENDING WARMUPS The purpose of these exercises is to have an effect that carries over to the next class meeting, so they could be considered long term “warm ups.” These exercises focus on “plastic” tissues as opposed to muscles, which are “elastic” tissues. A plastic stretch results in a more permanent increase in tissue length by using low force loads over longer periods of time, termed “static stretching.” The optimal time to do this kind of stretching is at the completion of class when the body is warm and the muscles are going to be rested. Static stretches are counterproductive when done at the beginning of class because they temporarily make muscles less responsive. The value of static stretching is to condition ligaments and tendons NOT muscles. The technique requires slowly stretching the muscle‐tendon unit to mild discomfort and then holding this traction for 30‐40 seconds, then releasing it for 5 – 10 seconds, then applying the traction again, etc. This sequence should be repeated 3 times. It is extremely important that this technique be applied slowly and smoothly because bouncing or jerky movement can result in injury to the muscles. (Examples of this type of static stretching are familiar Achilles stretch, hamstring stretches, quad stretches, standing meditations, and holding postures). Benefits of static stretching applied gently at the end of every class will take about a month to be noticeable but the improvements gained in range of motion and lack of stiffness will be long‐term if the stretches are practiced on a regular basis.


A GUIDE FOR WARMUP AND STRETCHES No exercise is complete without a thorough warm‐up and stretching routine. Stretching increases flexibility and helps prevent injury. A proper warm‐up conditions the muscles to increased stress, allowing them to work more efficiently over a longer period of time. Inflexible muscles may develop relative flexibility, where the body will alter the way it performs postures in order to compensate for its lack of flexibility. Inflexible hamstrings can cause the pelvis to tilt out of alignment. Similarly, inflexibility in the shoulder region can cause the lumbar region of the spine to over‐extend. It is crucial that students warm‐up both before and after exercise. Numerous movements in Yang style Tai Chi Chuan demand good balance and flexibility. Postures such as “Needle to Sea Bottom,” “Snake Creeps Down” and “Single Whip” are often performed incorrectly because of limited flexibility and leg strength. This article lists stretching techniques that target the major muscles. They have been chosen to challenge the stability of the practitioner at any stage. It is important to start these techniques slowly because vigorous over‐training can cause injury. Due to restricted blood flow, the recovery time of strains and sprains of connective tissue is great. If a practitioner has a chronic condition or injury that may affect his or her ability to perform any of these stretch or warm‐up techniques, a physician should be consulted before performing them. NOTE: If any of these stretching techniques cause sharp pain, STOP IMMEDIATELY! Static Stretching With static stretching one holds a stretch at the point of tension for a minimum of 25 seconds. It is low in applied force but long in duration. This stretching is the most common form used today. Its active principle is to slowly inhibit the muscle’s urge to contract when stressed. This type of stretching is generally safe for all practitioners. Active Stretching In active stretching, muscle tension is caused by the primary (agonist) and secondary (synergist) ‐ 47 ‐ Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan Essentials muscles. This type of stretch is held for a maximum of 5 seconds, typically 1 or 2 seconds. Lower Leg Calf Stretch: Lean prone against a wall. Modified: one leg rests on other ankle. Ankle Lift: Lift ankle off floor using calves. Backward Walk: Practice balancing using footwork (such as “Step Back and Repulse the Monkey.”) Eat the Toe: Fundamental practice. Back foot at 45 degree, front leg straight, and toe up. Bend torso towards toe. Keep back straight! Upper Leg Quad Stretch: Supporting self against the wall, grab the ankle stretching the quadriceps. Hurdler’s Stretch: Sitting; one leg stretched and toe up. The other leg is bent in. Modified Snake Creeps Down: From bow step, pivot back foot to the back corner. Shift the weight back slightly. Drop the center down; front foot points toe up. Keep back leg knee and toe in alignment. Butterfly: Sitting with legs bent in; soles of feet touch. Push down on knees until a stretch is felt. Hamstrings: Bend knees sitting on haunches. Grab the ankles and extend the legs. Try to keep the chest against the upper legs as the legs extend straight. Bicep Femoris Stretch: Lying on the back, extend leg up and then bend at the knee to rest. Piriformis Stretch: Sitting as in a hurdler’s stretch, grab the knee of one leg and bring the bent leg across the body over the opposite leg. Active Abductor Stretch: This is a regression of the modified Snake Creeps Down stretch. From a large horse stance, extend one leg shifting the weight to one side. A stretch should be felt in the adductor region. Other Ways to Warm Up Isolating the elbows. Cloud Hands. Footwork. From empty stance, transition to standing on one leg. Turning waist around, circle upper torso with arms relaxed and extended, and hands hitting the kidney area. Joint warm‐ups via circling (neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, etc.) Push hands warm‐ups, empty‐hand form warm‐ups. Standing pose warm‐up with coordinated breathing.


HOW TO PRACTICE A TAIJIQUAN SEQUENCE By Dr. Yang, JwingMing

Normally, it takes at least three years to learn the taijiquan sequence and to circulate qi (energy) smoothly in coordination with the breathing and postures. You should then learn to transport qi and develop qi balance. Even after you have accomplished this, there is still more to learn before you can be considered a proficient taijiquan martial artist. You must learn to strengthen your qi through practice, you must develop a sense of having an enemy in front of you during the sequence, and lastly, you must learn how to train jin (emitting power) during the sequence. QI’S ROLE IN TAIJIQUAN In taijiquan, qi plays a major role in jin. When qi is strong and full, then the jin will also be strong. An important way to strengthen and extend your qi is to practice the sequence slower and slower. This is the yin aspect of taijiquan practice, which helps you to build both a strong, concentrated mind and internal qi. If it usually takes 20 minutes to finish the entire sequence, increase the time to 25 minutes, then 30 minutes, and so on. Do not add any more breaths. Everything is the same except that every breath that is used to lead the qi gets longer and longer. In order to do this you must be very calm and relaxed, and your qi must be full like a drum or balloon, first in your abdomen and later in your whole body. If you can extend a sequence that normally takes 20 minutes to one hour, your qi will be very full and fluid, your mind calm, and the postures very relaxed. When you do the sequence at this speed, your pulse and heartbeat will slow down, and you will be in a deep self‐hypnotic meditative state. You will hardly notice your physical body, but instead you will feel like a ball of energy. When this happens you feel you are transparent. Even when you can do the form very well, it may be dead. To make it come alive you must develop a sense of enemy. When practicing the solo sequence, you must imagine there is an enemy in front of you and you must clearly feel his movements and his interaction with you. Your ability to visualize realistically will be greatly aided if you practice the techniques with a partner. There are times when you will not use visualizations, but every time you do the sequence your movement must be flavored with this knowledge of how you interact with an opponent. The more you practice with this imaginary enemy before you, the more realistic and useful your practice will be. If you practice with a very vivid sense of enemy, you will learn to apply your qi and jin naturally, and your whole spirit will melt into the sequence. This is not unlike performing music. If one musician just plays the music and the other plays it with his whole heart and mind, the two performances are as different as night and day. In one case the music is dead, while in the other it is alive and touches us. If you don’t know how to incorporate jin into the forms, then even if you do the sequence for many years it will still be dead. In order for the sequence to be meaningful, jin and technique must be combined. An important way to do this is to practice fast taijiquan. Practicing fast taijiquan is part of the Yang aspect of taijiquan and it allows you to manifest your internal qi into external forms and power. Once you can do the sequence of movements automatically and can coordinate your breathing and qi circulation with the movements, you should practice doing the form faster and faster. Remember, if you ever get into a fight, things are likely to move pretty fast, so you have to be able to respond fast in order to defend yourself effectively. If you only practice slowly, then when you need to move fast your qi will be broken, your postures unstable, and your yi scattered. If any of this happens, you will not be able to use your jin to fight. Therefore, once you have developed your qi circulation you should practice the sequence faster until you can do it at fighting speed. Make sure you don’t go too fast too soon, or you will sacrifice the essentials such as yi concentration, qi balance, breath coordination, and the storage of jin in the postures. When doing fast taiji, do not move at a uniform speed. Incorporate the pulsing movement of jin so that you are responding appropriately to the actions of your imaginary enemy. It is difficult to develop the pulsing movement of jin solely by doing the sequence, so you should also do jin training either before or concurrently with the fast taijiquan.


If you are interested in knowing more about taijiquan jin development, you should refer to Tai Chi Theory and Martial Power, published by YMAA. POSTURES AND TAIJIQUAN Since taijiquan is an internal qigong martial style, correct posture is essential. Incorrect postures can cause many problems: a tight posture can stagnate the internal qi circulation, wrong postures may expose your vital points to attack, floating shoulders and elbows will break the jin and reduce the jin storage. Taijiquan students are generally taught to make the postures large at first. This helps the beginner to relax, makes it easier to see and feel the movements, and also helps him or her to sense the qi flow. Furthermore, because large postures are more expanded and relaxed, the qi flow can be smoother. Large posture taijiquan was emphasized by Yang, Cheng‐fu and has been popularly accepted as the best taijiquan practice for health since 1926. Large postures also make it easier to train jin. It is more difficult to learn jin with small postures because the moves are smaller and quicker, and they require more subtle sensing jins. Large postures build the defensive circle larger and longer than small postures, which allows you more time to sense the enemy’s jin and react. It is best to first master the large circles and only then to make the circles smaller and increase your speed. In addition, when you begin taijiquan, you should first train with low postures and then gradually get higher. When you first start training taijiquan, you will not understand how to build your root by leading your qi to the bubbling well cavity on the soles of your feet. Without this firm foundation, you will tend to float and your jin will be weak. To remedy this problem, you should first train with postures, which will give you a root even without qi and simultaneously develop your qi circulation. Only when you have accomplished grand circulation and the qi can reach the bubbling well can you use it to build the internal root. This is done by visualizing the qi flowing through your feet and extending into the ground like the roots of a tree. At this time you may start using higher postures and relaxing your leg muscles. This will facilitate the qi flow, which in turn will help you to relax even more. In the higher levels of taijiquan, muscle usage is reduced to the minimum, and all the muscles are soft and relaxed. When this stage is reached, qi is being used efficiently and is the predominant factor in the jin. Usually it takes more than thirty years of correct training to reach this level. Train according to your level of skill, starting with the larger and lower postures and only move to the smaller and higher postures as your skill increases. To summarize: build your qi both externally and internally, and circulate it through the entire body. After the internal qi can reach the limbs, use this qi to support your jin. Gradually de‐emphasize the use of the muscles, and rely more and more on using the mind to guide the qi. Train the postures from large to small, low to high, and slow to fast. First build the defensive circle large, and then make it smaller. For maximum jin, strengthen the root, develop power in the legs, balance your yi “mind” and qi, exercise control through the waist, and express your will through your hands. It is said in the Zhang, San‐feng classic: The root is at the feet, [jin is] generated from the legs, controlled by the waist, and expressed by the fingers. From the feet to the legs to the waist must be integrated and one unified qi. When moving forward or backward, you can then catch the opportunity and gain the superior position.


STANDING PRACTICE By Adam Batten

Standing practice (zhan zhuang) is also called “pole standing.” It is a traditional method that can help strengthen the legs, properly align the body, and generally contribute to a good foundation in Tai Chi Chuan. Because we are staying in one stance during standing practice, rather than moving and stepping as we do in the forms, it is possible to relax and extend the body with the correct posture. After the principles are applied to the standing posture and the body alignment is improved, it becomes easier to apply the same adjustments to the various movements of the hand form. The standing practice is also useful as a practice for energy cultivation. The basic stance for standing practice in Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan is the horse stance. In the horse stance, the feet are pointed straight ahead and the weight is evenly distributed between them. On both feet, the majority of the weight should rest on the bubbling well point at the ball of the foot, not on the heels. One difference from the hand form in the standing is that the feet should actually be slightly wider apart than shoulder width. The knees should be slightly bent. Bending the knees in the standing posture is important for developing leg strength, but a stance that is too deep (such as one that makes the thighs parallel to the floor), should be avoided, as it makes it too difficult to maintain the proper body alignment. The arms should be held out as if hugging a large tree. The arm shape should be large and rounded. The palms are turned in to face the chest, with the hands open and relaxed so that the fingertips point to the fingertips of the other hand. There should be a space of one fist between the two hands, and the height of the arms is at chest level. The arms pull slightly on the shoulders to make the upper back have a rounded feel. The same principles apply to the body as in the form: avoid leaning the upper body back, and instead lean slightly forward. Relax the shoulder, and sink the chest slightly inwards, and push the very top of the head up slightly without creating tension. As the top of the head pushes slightly up, the tailbone should relax naturally down, elongating the spine. It is helpful while doing the standing practice to imagine that there is a low chair behind you and gradually sink the waist as if you were to sit on the chair. It is important to relax the tailbone rather than forcefully tuck it in. If the waist is sinking naturally, it is also possible to feel that the lower back is very slightly rounded and pushing out. Pay special attention that the whole body feels relaxed. Continue to feel that the arms are expanded and rounded; the head is lifting, and the waist is sinking down. Check that the upper body is still slightly leaning forward by ensuring that the weight of the body rests on the bubbling wells of the feet. It is very easy to begin leaning back without realizing it. Breathing in the horse stance should be slow and even. When breathing in, feel the stomach gradually expand out, and when breathing out, the stomach goes back in. It is important to follow the natural pattern of your breathing rather than trying to force it. Do not try to hold your breath. The breathing will naturally become more deep and even over time. For most people it is good to start with about 2 minutes of standing practice and work up from there. After one week, try to increase the time to 5 minutes, then after another week to 10 minutes, and so on.


BREATHING AND CHI FLOW By Bruno Repetto

Breathing, as with any physical activity, is essential for effective use of the body’s mechanics in the hand forms, push hands and sparring. In Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan practice, understanding of breathing and chi flow is important, as it allows the students to improve their forms, and thus, to progress farther in their Tai Chi Chuan practice. For beginning practitioners, breathing should be natural and even. They should not think too much about coordinating breathing with the movements. All the student needs to do is breathe naturally and sink the chi to the dantian. All movement and breathing should be smooth, relaxed and natural. The basic breathing must be through the nose only, not the mouth. Commonly, people inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. The mouth must be closed (but not tightly), and the tip of the tongue must touch the roof of the palate just behind the two front teeth. With long movements, breathing must be continuous and smooth. All that needs to be remembered is that breathing must not be stopped or held in any way because the energy will stop flowing, the chi will stop, stiffness may take over, and balance will be in jeopardy. With short movements, breathing is coordinated simply: begin breathing in at the beginning of the movement, and finish breathing out at the end of the movement. During practice, the student must be aware that the flow of energy should be efficient and balanced. This means that the mechanics of the body must aid in the efficient delivery of energy to the opponent through a strike, a punch, or a kick; or to aid in the deflection of the opponent’s energy or in using the opponent’s energy against him or her. While practicing movements that require precise balance, particularly in those movements that involve standing on one leg to deliver a kick, or turning the body to deliver a sweeping kick, it is the flow of energy that helps the player to maintain balance and to deliver the striking energy blow in an efficient way. Two actions allow the student to maintain balance and to efficiently deliver the energy: breathing, and the flow of chi. Firstly, the student must breathe in a relaxed and smooth way, and secondly, the student must “sink the chi to the dantian,” i.e., the student must imagine that his or her center of gravity sinks to a level about one inch below their navel, and about three inches inside their belly by sinking the chest and extending the joints. For the more advanced student, there are two types of breathing: chest and stomach breathing or dantian breathing. Stomach breathing or dantian breathing is used in the hand form and when practicing push hands. Chest breathing is rarely used; one of its uses is in push hands, in combination with dantian breathing as a yield when the opponent strikes the chest area. In push hands, dantian breathing has two parts; the “charging” aspect which is the loading of the dantian with energy, initiated by sticking, adhering and following the opponent’s strike, and the explosion aspect of returning the attack. Breathing into the dantian with the adhering and following should feel like the charging of the dantian with energy when beginning standing practice. The exhaling of dantian breathing should feel like the wave generated from breathing during standing practice.


HOW TO INTERCONNECT THE JOINTS TO WORK AS A WHOLE

By Yang Zhenduo

“Extend the elbows outward; leave a hollow in the armpits. The elbows pull down the tops of the shoulders, Connect the wrists and carry along the fingers.” Twenty‐Character Motto

Although only the various parts of the upper limbs are mentioned, following this motto can set in motion a chain of causality in which changes here affect the other parts of the body. This connection is not just mental, but you can actually feel that precisely this movement of the upper limbs causes you to “hold the chest in,” which in turn induces “slightly round the back,” leading to “relaxation of waist and hips” and ultimately bringing about “movement that proceeds from feet to legs to waist,” so “all the joints are working inter‐connectedly as a whole.” You can get an internal sensation of the integration of all these principles and how they support each other. The sense of energy created by this, and the sensation of the whole‐body working together are things which every player must work toward and actually experience. This is crucial to successfully learning Tai Chi. From this we can see that the Twenty‐Character Motto separately relates to every individual posture of Tai Chi and as a whole determines the connected completion of the entire form. I hope that students will diligently seek to understand this, and experience the “sensation of energy” induced by this “extended,” “hollow,” “pull down,” and “connect.” This will aid your overall level of training as well as the practice of connecting the internal and external. In martial arts, we often hear the analogy made between ‘steel’ and ‘energy’ (jing). Likewise, ‘coarse strength’ (juo li) can be likened to ‘iron,’ because ‘steel’ comes from ‘iron’ and the source of ‘energy’ is also naturally from ‘coarse strength.’ Coarse strength is natural strength and is an inherent product of the human body. Coincidentally, the current graph used in Chinese for ‘energy’ (jing) includes ‘strength’ (li) with ‘work’ (gong) added to it. I am not sure if this was really the intent of those who designed this graph, but looking at this graph can surely help serve to explain the relationship of the two. ‘Adding work’ or refining, refers to the way in which, during the process of production, we use the method of high temperature forging; correspondingly for coarse strength we use the method of relaxation (fang song) to remove the stiffness of coarse strength. Both are means to an end. The process of refinement causes the two to manifest something which seems contradictory to its original nature. For example the water used for tempering steel and drinking water seem similar, yet there is a difference in the nature of the two. The water used to temper steel ‐ like the removal of the stiffness in coarse strength ‐ brings about a flexible resilience. Drinking water, on the other hand, is ‘limp’; it does not have this nature of bringing about flexible resilience. Therefore when we refer to coarse strength ‐ which has had its stiffness removed ‐ as soft but not limp, it is because ‘soft’ has this flexible resilience, which is to say it includes within it the ingredient for ‘energy.’ This is just what the late Yang Chengfu meant by “Tai Chi Chuan is the art of letting hardness dwell within softness and hiding a needle within cotton.” If the factor of ‘energy’ is not present, this is ‘limp.’ ‘Limp’ is not the same thing as ‘soft.’ After iron has been beaten thousands of times and refined hundreds of times, it changes its nature and becomes steel. Steel is firm internally and highly reflective externally. Iron by contrast is not only less flexible but its external appearance is rough. ‘Coarse strength,’ after undergoing persistent training for many days, months, and years can also be made to change its nature and become ‘energy’ (jing). When ‘energy’ (jing) is manifested it is soft, flexible and strong and able to embody the coordinated activity of the entire body. When ‘coarse strength’ is manifested the movements are stiff and the response is in a portion of the body only, rather than the whole body. The two are extremely different. Relaxation and training should both be conscious (or purposive). That is just what our predecessors meant by “consciously (purposely) relax and unconsciously (unintentionally) create hardness.” If one can really achieve relaxation (fang song), it will be transmitted into the combining of the body activity with the ten essentials, naturally creating the material conditions so that ‘energy’ (jing) will arise according to the requirements of the moves. If you try to create ‘energy’ (jing) directly, paradoxically you become limited by ‘energy’ (jing). When we say “use intent rather than strength,” the main idea is that you should not use ‘coarse strength’ but rather ‘energy’ (jing).


DEVELOPING TAI CHI CHUAN ‘GONGFU’ AN INTERVIEW WITH GRANDMASTER YANG ZHENDUO AND YANG JUN

By Jeremy Blogett Gongfu refers to the process of one’s training ‐ the strengthening of the body and the mind, the learning and the perfection of one’s skills ‐ rather than to what was being trained. It refers to excellence achieved through long practice in any endeavor.[5] This meaning can be traced to classical writings, especially those of Neo‐ Confucianism, which emphasize the importance of effort in education. This section is an interview conducted by Jeremy Blogett with Grandmasters Yang Zhenduo and Yang Jun on developing gongfu in Tai Chi Chuan. What was practice like for you when you were young? My family is an old and well‐known family. Several generations have taught Tai Chi Chuan as a profession and to make a living. After the liberation of China in 1949, the National Sports Ministry attached importance to the practice of Tai Chi Chuan. For Yang Jun and I, regarding this aspect, we feel very honored and feel a sense of responsibility. For many personal reasons, I had to develop gongfu. The development of gongfu is not an easy thing, it is very difficult to develop. One aspect is to practice, and another aspect is to improve in the understanding of theory. Objectively and subjectively both require hard work. Past generations of youth had a certain foundation. When we practiced Tai Chi Chuan, we got up before dawn, at 4 or 5 a.m. Not only did we practice Tai Chi Chuan, but we also taught. There was no free time the whole day, not until evening when we couldn’t move anymore. While we were practicing though, it was very comfortable. Doing the form one time commonly takes about 25 minutes now. In the past, we took 45 minutes to do the form, doing the form three times in a row each session. The transitional time between moves was longer, the postures were lower, and the moves were slower. It was very strenuous, even to the point that squatting on the toilet and climbing out of bed were not possible. We actually had to roll out of bed. It was very arduous. But now it is not like past generations and that era has passed. Objectively speaking, during that time they had more actual combat experience. There were push hands, two‐person free‐style fighting and individual practice, thus providing many practice and combat opportunities. For example in push hands, I and several students who would get up before dawn to go practice, really working at developing some gongfu. Now, the opportunities are relatively less. After all, now is different than the past era when the emphasis was placed on fighting. Many practitioners are interested in push hands, but do not realize that the staff is used to help develop in this area. Can you talk more about the how to practice with the staff, and what it accomplishes? Tai Chi uses a white wax wood staff to develop arm strength and whole body coordination. In the past the spear was used, but now the staff is substituted. In the whole series of Tai Chi Chuan practice, push hands is begun after one has learned the hand form. Push hands emphasizes pushing; it doesn’t emphasize striking. In the free form hand techniques of freestyle fighting, the stress is on striking. Push hands is more civilized. In push hands you must have a certain amount of arm strength. If you cannot push, then you are not able to use four ounces to deflect one thousand pounds, affecting the opponent and leading him into emptiness. Although it is not entirely that easy, the point is that your body does need to have some strength. Practicing with the special vibrating staff will be a big help later because it can increase arm strength and greatly benefit your whole body coordination. External martial arts work on the body from the outside in, while internal martial arts work on the body from the inside out. Both goals are the same. In Tai Chi Chuan, mutual consideration is given to both internal energy and the building of a robust and strong physique. The internal and external are both developed. To develop the limbs, one form of practice is drilling the individual postures. Another form of practice is to use the white wax wood staff, to help you become stronger. Fajin, the spontaneous emission of force, does not just concern the external. You also have to have the internal, coordinating the energy from the dantien with the energy from the limbs. The internal and external must be


combined. It shouldn’t be just strengthening the arms when practicing the staff. Otherwise, it is the same as external martial arts. You also need to have the internal aspects. The external shape of the limbs needs to be practiced, but you also need to pay attention to working on this idea of mutual development. What are some of the internal aspects of Tai Chi Chuan? The Sanya demonstration had expert commentary, which specifically talked about “disposition.” This is because the practice of martial arts refers not only to the external appearances, but also the internal aspects of jing, qi, and shen. Can the internal be outwardly expressed? Can the expression come out? If you only practice external martial arts some aspects are not enough. Generally speaking the jing is prenatal energy or vigor, qi is the vital energy connected with the blood, and shen is the mental and spiritual energy. These three all have a definite relationship. Because of this, performing the movements can be extremely beautiful and spirited. When practicing Tai Chi Chuan one should be glowing with health, graceful and natural. When I was working at the Mineral Bureau, I participated in an amateur opera group where I gained some experience singing Beijing Opera. Beijing Opera and martial arts are the same in that both must express the jing, qi, and shen to do them well. For practitioners who desire to begin teaching, what recommendations do you have? There is a Chinese saying that a teacher must serve as a role model of virtue and learning, thus being worthy of the title of teacher. First, the teacher must set an example. Then, the person must work on perfecting himself or herself. But the teacher must be genuine and treat students with sincerity. My sincerity allows me to receive others’ trust. This is most important. Regardless of whether you are from China or abroad, if I teach you I will teach you very conscientiously. What we are really talking about is the character of the teacher. We Chinese place particular emphasis on morals, and not only in the practice of martial arts. In your social conduct, you should present yourself as a model because not only do students study martial arts from you, but they also study your conduct. Be an honorable person and a fair‐minded person. In the study of Tai Chi Chuan you should be modest. Chairman Mao said, “Modesty lets people advance. You should be sincere with people and should unassumingly study from others.” In this way if you are to be a teacher, you must first be a role model. If you don’t have these qualities, then you are not a sincere teacher. When you demonstrated at the competition in Taiyuan this summer it was the first time for many people to see the new shortform. What led you to create this form? Many people want to practice Tai Chi Chuan but when they see how long the form is they feel it is too difficult. Han Hoong Wang, YCF Center Director of Troy, Michigan once told me that many of her students could not practice the form because it was too long and too difficult for them. In order to make it suitable for more people to practice Tai Chi, and to recruit more students, I created the Yang Family Thirteen Posture Tai Chi Chuan Form. Other Tai Chi styles had already created a thirteen posture form but this did not happen with Yang style Tai Chi because people had previously declined to create a short form. Consisting of just thirteen moves, it is very simple. In this thirteen posture form there are no standing‐on‐one‐leg moves, and no low stances. Thus it is simpler for the elderly. In addition, the form is very short; in one or two minutes it is finished. Therefore the form is quite convenient for even more people to participate in the practice of Tai Chi because it is more suitable and easier to accept for beginners, especially people of more advanced age. This is the sequence of the form: Opening, Cloud Hands, Single Whip, Fist Under Elbow, White Crane Spreads Its Wings, Brush Knee Push, Hands Strum the Lute, High Pat on Horse, Thrust Palm, Chop with Fist, Step Forward Parry Block and Punch, Grasp Bird’s Tail, and Cross Hands. Recently when I was in Beijing, the director of a Chinese martial arts magazine invited me to begin arranging another thirteen‐posture form for the sword. Many people like to practice with the sword, but because their age is too great and the form is too long they cannot remember it. When one begins to learn Tai Chi Chuan, what are the general stages of practice? Regarding the teaching of Tai Chi Chuan to a new student, we generally say that the training is divided into three steps. The first step is approximate practice. The second step is detailed practice. The third


step is refined practice. In the first step the student is to roughly get the form down with the main purpose being to just become familiar with the form. In the beginning, the student does not quite understand the principles. Later, with the passing of time, the student has a basic understanding and is clearer about the principles and can then connect the movements together. Then on this foundation, the student can enter the second step and go back and add again the Ten Essential Principles and practice to these higher standards. The final step is for the student to go back and refine everything. The foundation for a beginner is fairly weak and if the beginning requirements are too strict, the student cannot reach the goal. The development of gongfu requires a process of time. To practice Tai Chi well does not just require understanding. In this way the practice of Tai Chi is not quite the same as other things. It requires putting it into practice, doing it, and succeeding at doing it. But this “putting into practice” is different for each person. Some people are better at imitating, and receive the training faster with less time required. Some people are less good at imitating and require a correspondingly longer period of time. Because it varies with each individual, teachers must suit the instruction to each student. Generally speaking, one must follow the principles of the above three training steps. Training for beginning students are easier for those who have an opportunity to speak to a teacher or to more able students. For those that do not have this opportunity it is more difficult for these students. For example, if a student is corrected one time for a movement and do not have the follow‐up support of a teacher or more able student, that student might return to his or her incorrect way of practicing that movement. This is somewhat more troublesome. So in talking about the practice of Tai Chi, what really is required is an ability to understand. You mentioned that gongfu requires a process of time. What is the meaning of “gongfu”? The simplest explanation is that the practice of gongfu, or just “gongfu,” includes both strength and skill training. Through practice strength is increased. The other component of gongfu is skill. Just knowing something will not produce skill; you must put it into practice. Regardless of which martial art you practice, whether it is Long Fist for example or an internal martial art, you must have skill and you must have strength. Looking back at the past, a long time ago, the practice of gongfu was not the same as it is now. In the past emphasis was placed on rigorous training. Now, that kind of training is not very suitable for people’s physical health, as excessive fatigue can injure the body. In addition, some people practice hard in an inappropriate way, and then sometime later, or maybe not until old age, problems arise. So now, following the development of society, a more scientific approach to practice is advocated with emphasis placed on the practice technique. But, in looking at gongfu, you still do need to train hard. To just talk about it and not actually work hard won’t suffice. In general, practice can be for two types of goals. The first aim is to improve health and cure disease or illness. Practicing the form, especially when done to our standards, allows one to achieve the results of curing illness and improving health. However if you are interested, you might as well explore the next step and put some effort towards developing gongfu. Only if you are truly interested can you then have confidence in your practice. If you are forced to do something you will not do well at it. To develop gongfu you can’t be afraid of working hard and you must have many other elements as well. It requires the ability to recognize and distinguish, as well as good comprehension. Aside from these, one must also have agility and the movements must have strength. The presence of all of these conditions will allow the practitioner to develop gongfu. But everyone is different in his or her practice. Some are a little faster, requiring just a few years to establish a good foundation. Some require a little more time. It really varies with each individual. Given that Tai Chi was founded on the basis of Chinese culture, do you think that in general, non Chinese learn it more slowly? I think that this is not absolute. Because Chinese are raised in Eastern culture, their circumstances are a bit better when learning Tai Chi. An analogy can be made to Chinese studying modern science and technology: if Westerners are leaders in the field of science it does not necessarily mean that Chinese cannot be on the forefront as well. In general Asians, and especially Chinese, are able to “eat bitter” or endure hardships and work hard. The practice of gongfu is different than eating things but the comparison is useful. Flavorful, good‐smelling dishes are easy to accept. Practicing Tai Chi however is more concerned with “eating bitter.” At present, many people practice Tai Chi in order to strengthen


the body and improve health, and for these people it doesn’t really matter. But, if you look at the practice of gongfu, Chinese are better able to “eat bitter.” Besides the martial arts and health aspects of Tai Chi, what other benefits are there to practicing? Most people practice just to improve health and cure illness, but the practice of Tai Chi Chuan is a multi‐purpose activity and there are other benefits beside these. Because emphasis is placed on making it look good, it provides aesthetic enjoyment. It can also mold one’s character and serve as a cultural bridge between different peoples. It emphasizes sinking qi down to the dantian, and combining quiescence and movement. Tai Chi Chuan has evolved into a multi‐purpose activity and not just simply a martial art concerning attack and defense.


LOOSENING AND SINKING, OPENING AND EXTENDING FANG SONG AND FANG KAI THE TAI CHI PARADIGM

By Dave Barrett

This section will examine two key techniques of Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan; fang song, the action of loosening and sinking and fang kai, the action of opening and extending. At first glance these important elements of practice seem contradictory. How can one relax the body and at the same time elongate the postures? If one is too relaxed, the poses lack strength and if one is too extended the form become stiff and disconnected. Resolving these contradictions through the integration of opposite forces is the essential activity that makes Tai Chi Chuan a unique system of self‐enrichment and discovery. By concentrating on balancing and combining fang song and fang kai we can achieve the relaxed yet resilient feeling of strength and the expansive yet connected postures that characterize Traditional Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan. Consider this definition of Tai Chi: the dynamically balanced expression of oppositional energies. The familiar yin‐yang symbol is the graphic representation of this core concept. The theories of Tai Chi Chuan are complex and sometimes difficult to understand, but if we can keep this model clearly in mind it becomes easier to integrate practice and principle. FANG SONG Professor Cheng Man‐Ch’ing once remarked, “Every day Master Yang Chengfu instructed me saying song, song!” Or sometimes he would say, “You are not song; you are not song!” Emphasizing his point most strongly he would say, “You must be completely song.” He could not have repeated this fewer than several thousand times.” The importance of song is well documented and yet still remains a difficult concept to render into English. “In the English language there is no equivalent to the Chinese character, “song,” which means relaxed and not using brute force, and more importantly, stretching and loosening all the muscles and joints in the body.” If one relies on the word relax to interpret song, important elements of the technique are left out. Song is normally translated as, “to relax,” but in English the meaning of relax has too much of the idea of “collapse.” Song on the other hand implies a very high level of alertness, sensitivity, and nimbleness with an inordinate mindfulness for the conservation of energy. In practical terms how does one make use of such an elusive concept? Song requires the release of all the sinews in the body without the slightest tension. When we are able to completely song this is sinking. When the sinews release, then the body which they hold together is able to sink down. Yang Zhenduo describes the process as twofold: To talk about the word song, or to be loose, is important because there is a lot of misunderstanding about the word. When you talk about being loose, or song, there are two parts about which the person should think. One is mentally and one is physically. Mentally, it is to be totally relaxed and concentrate on your motions and your movements. By doing that, you get rid of all the other thoughts in your mind and then you become fully concentrated. That part, most people can do. The other part is the physical song, being physically loosened. Most people misunderstand this. When they talk about being loose, they think it is softness. If they do it as soft as they can, the muscles and everything become powerless. That is the biggest error a person can make in practicing Tai Chi Chuan. In practicing Tai Chi Chuan there is a contradiction: the outside looks soft but inside is strong and they are the opposite of each other. When talking about song physically, you should loosen your bones, joints and tendons and make them long and outwardly extended. Stretch them out. That type of looseness will create energy. On the outside the person appears to be very soft but on the inside the person is totally the opposite: hard as steel. That is the meaning of song in practice. Looking at people here in America but also looking at people around the world, the biggest mistake people make is not understanding song correctly. Fang song is a crucial element of Tai Chi practice but it should not become the sole preoccupation of the Tai Chi enthusiast.


To stay loose is one of the most important tools in the practice of Tai Chi Chuan. It is a technique but not the final goal. Some, who are not quite clear on this point, when they practice, become soft. The correct practice is to be soft with resilience. The softness is not the kind that collapses or becomes softness within softness. Fang song is resilient, the muscles become resilient. How does one avoid the mistakes of excessive looseness and softness within softness? By using the complementary technique of fang kai to extend within the relaxation process, to temper the elements of relaxing and sinking with those of elongating and opening. FANG KAI Several years ago at a seminar in San Antonio, Texas Yang Laoshi offered this fascinating metaphor for fang kai, the action of opening and extending. Say you have a length of chain lying in a jumble on the floor. You pick up one end and whip it up over your head. Here Yang Laoshi made a sweeping circular motion of his arm upwards. At a certain point all the links in the chain will become extended in a smooth curve, each separating and yet remaining a part of chain. If we apply this image to the action of opening and extending the body there are several important elements to describe. First the motion of the waist generates the action of opening centrifugally outwards. Rather than pushing the frame open using muscular strength, the postures are naturally pulled open. Secondly the correct sequence of extending should proceed in a circular pattern, using the curve of the form’s motion to establish an extended position. During his teaching Yang Laoshi illustrates this using the following sequence, “Feel the fingers pulling the palm, the palm pulling the wrist, the wrist pulling the forearm, the forearm pulling the elbows, the elbows pulling the shoulders, the shoulders dropping and rounding the back.” In this way the open and extended postures that characterize Traditional Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan remain connected together, not pushed apart. The challenge is to use kinetic force rather than muscular strength to arrive at the correct end position. In order to feel the opening of the joints, sinews and tendons one must use a refined type of force, characterized by a dynamically balanced integration of song and kai. COMBINING SONG AND KAI The phrase, “song kai” is used commonly in Chinese to describe an action that represents a relaxing or expanding situation. For example if you hold your fist very tightly and then open the palm, you could say “song kai.” If the sky was overcast and suddenly cleared to reveal the scenery or perhaps you were in the midst of performing White Crane Spreads Its Wings you could say to yourself “song kai.” The actions of the Tai Chi sequence can be understood as the continual cycling of loosening and extending and then loosening again over and over. When the end position of each form is expressed there is an exquisite moment when song kai comes into its complete fulfillment: a dynamically balanced expression of resilient, tensile body sensation that has just the right blend of relaxation and energetic extension. Consider song and kai as the oppositional elements of the Tai Chi symbol. Within each there is the small expression of the other. As you perform motions that open and extend, can you feel loose and relaxed? As you sink, can you feel expansive? In the end positions can you fully utilize each technique to balance and refine your posture? At the beginning it may be just the briefest moment that you feel the balance of song kai. My first teacher used to encourage us saying, “Catch the feeling!” Then gradually, day‐by‐day, the sensation of balance expands to other motions and postures until your whole practice becomes a marvelous expression of Tai Chi.


TRAINING A SEQUENCE EFFICIENTLY By Michael Vasicek

Recently I was asked to write an article. To be absolutely honest, my first thought was, what could I possibly write about that would interest anyone or that wouldn’t be self‐obvious to anyone who has trained martial arts for a few years. Another factor was the realization that the longer I train, the more I find that things I believed to be true or “the right way” earlier in my martial arts career turned out to be either completely false or at least not as true as I first thought. However having promised to write an article I had to write about something, and so I decided to write about something that may help people that are in the early stages of their martial arts training – sequence training. I know that there is a long and zealous discussion in the martial arts world about whether it is useful or important to train sequences, but since this is an article for YMAA and sequences are a large part of our Shaolin kung fu curriculum, it is a given that they are important to us. Over the years I have seen many people train many times a week on regular basis, yet make very little progress in their martial arts ability. They spend a lot of time practicing their sequences, yet after many months of practicing their sequences they have made very little progress. I believe that the problem is in how they approach sequence training. They look at it as if they have to train the sequences. There are usually several reasons why they feel that they have to do the sequence training and the reasons split the people into two categories. Ones that have some outside pressure forcing them to attend YMAA classes – be it parents for the children, or New Years/Exercise/Health resolutions for the adults. They practice their sequences because that is what is required of them by their teachers. These people will not make it far until they start wanting/needing to get better at kung fu, and so I will not discuss them any further. The other group is people who want to get better at kung fu, but see sequences as something by which they are measured ‐ be it by their peers or be it for obtaining their next stripe. They basically operate on the belief that if they do the sequences long enough, the sequences will start to look good. This then causes them to train the sequences essentially forever, since improvement will come very slowly. When I watch these people do their sequences they do put some effort into the sequence, but the effort is more akin to let me be finished with this, or their mind is on the next move. They never try to concentrate on the current move and try to do it full out ‐ meaning with speed and power. Speed and power are an important part of any fight. I have heard Master Yang say many times that in a fight Speed carries the most weight in terms of the outcome of the fight (if one is markedly faster then the opponent, then one can strike the opponent at will, without being struck himself). Power is next, and finally in third place comes technique (with technique one can make up for some deficiency in speed and power, but usually it takes a huge amount of skill and technique to make up for a fairly small amount of speed and power deficiency). The interesting part is that oftentimes these individuals when training basic punching and kicking, will put everything they have into their strikes and kicks, but when it comes to sequences, for some reason they strike and kick at about 80% of their capabilities. Most likely their mind is preoccupied with the sequence, or if they have done the sequence for a long time they just “space out” and wake up at the end. Both may be acceptable under some circumstances. The first will be true for some time after the sequence is learned, but during that time the sequence should also be actively trained in small pieces so that the student can concentrate on the individual moves without having to think about what comes next. That way one can start developing speed and power in the individual techniques contained in the sequence. The “space out” version is really only acceptable when demonstrating the sequence in front of others. At that point you are not trying to improve on it because in doing so you may make a mistake, but instead you are just showing what is in your muscle memory, which in turn shows how and how much you have practiced your sequence. Finally there are also people that just can’t wait to be finished with their sequence, so that they can check it off on their mental list of things that they should review that day. This is the worst way to practice, because not much is gained besides just remembering the sequence better, but by this point they know the sequence very well anyway. These people would be better served spending their time


practicing something else, since doing their sequences in this manner will gain them very little for a large amount of time invested. All of the above ways are wrong when training sequences for improvement of martial arts capability. I believe that one should approach sequence training as a way of training basic kicking and striking while moving. Basic kicking and striking are important for developing speed and power, but are not adequate by themselves since they do not train martial application. For fighting, having strikes with speed and power is useless unless they can be performed while advancing, retreating and dodging. Because a fight is never a static situation, one must learn to manifest speed and power in their strikes and kicks while moving in a situation dependant manner. The Long Fist sequences contain Long Fist fighting strategy, and if one wants to use this strategy in a fight, then one has to be able to perform the movements optimally. All of the sequences (that I know) simulate various fighting scenarios; usually one move defends and the following moves involve a counter attack. As you can imagine it would be very useful to be able to perform both with maximum speed and power in a real fight. In White Crane training many if not most sequences are used for jing pattern training, where essentially the sequence replaces basic static kicking and striking training. So if you want to make progress in your martial arts training you have to approach your sequence training not as if you were training a sequence, but rather as if you were training sets of moves over and over, making them a little bit better each time, in the same way as when training basic kicking and striking. It would probably not be wrong to say that if one knows enough sequences, one should be able to fully replace his or her basic kicking and striking training with sequence training. This would be better use of one’s time since one would not be spending time training just static kicking and striking and then spending more time training footwork and moving. However as I have said at the beginning of this article, my opinions about various aspects of the martial arts have been wrong before, so I will refrain from making any sweeping statements.


HOW TO PRACTICE TAI CHI FOR SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENTS

By Chen Zhenglei In recent years, on my tours in China and abroad, the question I was most asked by both Chinese and non‐Chinese students is: How to practice taichi for substantial improvements? I will share my understanding in the next few points. I sincerely hope for comments and correction from other taichi teachers. Like doing anything else, in order to understand how to practice taichi well, it is paramount to understand what taichi is. It is an important prerequisite to understand taichi from all aspects. Without a clear understanding, it is difficult to imagine that one can gain any substantial improvements. Taichi was created by Chen Wangting, a ninth generation descendant of the Chen’s Family in Wen County Henan Province. Based on the family style boxing systems and by absorbing essence from other boxing systems, combining techniques of ancient energy systems such as Daoyin (internal energy manipulation) and Tuna (breathing exercises) as well as adopting theories from Yijing (The Book of Change) and the meridian doctrine of Chinese medicine, he created a boxing system that focuses on both the internal and the external training. The postures and moves are designed and structured according to biological principles as well as to the laws of nature. The main characteristics are continuous motions without hitches; interlaced fast and slow motions; incorporated hard and soft strengths; and relaxed, flexible, elastic and sometimes jerking moves. Taichi as a training system is supported by a set of mature and proven theories throughout the complete training processes. We can also look at taichi as a huge engineering system and the training to achieve substantial high level is definitely no easy task. Based on teachings from the ancestors and what I’ve experience throughout years of training, I summarized the following training principles: THREE DO’S AND THREE DON’TS Do train for theory verification, don’t train for raw power Do train for fundamental roots, don’t train for external presentations; Do train for substantiated abilities, don’t train for application tricks. Do train for theory verification, don’t train for raw power “Theory” consists of philosophical foundations and basic principles about taichi. Practicing taichi is the process applying the ultimate Dao – the principles how Yang develops fully to generate Yin and Yin develops fully to generate Yang in the process of taichi yin and yang exchanges. Taichi practice requires the practitioner to imply hardness in softness and softness in hardness as well as to ensure inter‐supportiveness between hardness and softness. One also must understand the interchange between emptiness and solidness. Emptiness when developed fully will generate solidness; and solidness when developed fully will generate emptiness. Practicing with mental concentration using the mind to guide the qi and the qi to guide the body in total mind‐qi‐body unity, one should aim to achieve completeness in motion, wholeness in synchronization and high level internal and external coordination. Follow the requirements closely and aim to move naturally. Exercise great patience without haste. Training for raw power can result in great increase of power in isolated parts of the body. This type of power is often clumsy and stiff, lacking the necessary smoothness and flexibility. Taichi practitioners do not aim to acquire raw power. Do train for fundamental roots, don’t train for external presentations “Fundamental Roots” refer to the original core (the original qi of the kidneys) and the base of the body. The kidneys house the original yin and yang energy. It is the prenatal source of energy and the root for postnatal energy. If the kidneys are fully sustained with qi, all other organs will have a better chance to be well sustained as well. Consequently, the liver, heart, spleen, lungs and kidneys all function the way they should. The practitioner will then have high spirit, ample physical strength,


swift reactivity and better overall coordination. The abundance of internal qi is the first part of the fundamental roots. The second part of fundamental roots refers to the solid base of one’s postures. In taichi practice, on the basis of overall relaxation, accumulate the qi into Dantian and descend the qi further into Yongquan, so that the top portion is nimble, the middle section is agile and the base is solid like roots in soil. “External Presentations” refer to training mainly for power and toughness of isolated areas of the body. Taichi is an internal system with both the internal and external elements. The main focus should be on nurturing the internal energy – nourishing the roots and sustaining the source. “When the roots are nourished, branches and leaves flourish; when the source is sustained, the river runs long”. Do train for substantiated abilities, don’t train for application tricks. Substantiated abilities are overall martial skills acquired as general mental and physical abilities; while application tricks are offensive and defensive application techniques of individual moves. If the practitioner only focuses on application technique to explain and understand taichi, he/she will never get to the true essence of taichi. High level taichi training must include certain phases: gaining routine proficiency, correcting postures and moves and softening stiffness. As a result, the whole body is synchronized, the internal and external are coordinated, the internal qi is filled fully and substantiated abilities are gained on the body. Taichi as a martial arts training system focuses mainly on training the self overall abilities. It promotes skills to react to the opponent’s attacks and selflessly following the opponent’s moves according to ever changing situations instead of limiting to applications of individual moves. When the internal qi is full, the whole body is like a well inflated balloon. It reacts to wherever is in contact. Wherever is in contact, it can be used to attack. As the teaching goes: “When accomplished, one responds automatically to attacks; no need to ponder as the body reacts naturally”. ESTABLISH FIVE MINDSETS The five mindsets are: Respect Faith Determination Perseverance Patience Respect Cultivate high level ethics and morality. Respect your teachers. Renowned taichi master Chen Xin pointed out in his Illustrated Chen’s Taichi that: “Taichi cannot be learned without respect. Without respect, one would neglect his/her teachers and friends and as well as his/her own body. When the heart is not contained, how can one settle down to learn anything?” Faith Faith consists of two aspects. Firstly, it is confidence, believing that one can succeed in taichi practice. Confidence is the source of self motivation. Secondly, it is trust, believing in taichi and the teacher; so that one will settle down whole heartedly with determination. Without trust, one will end up switching from system to system and teacher to teacher on a daily basis just like the old saying goes: “serving Qin at dawn and Chu by dusk”. Determination Learning taichi requires determination. As Mencius said: the mind is the commander of internal energy. Only when one is determined, he/she will not be influenced by external interference. Only with determination, one can carry on to the final destination. Perseverance This means being persistent in taichi practice over a long period of time. It can be years or decades without slacking. Practicing by fits and starts or quitting with little achievements are bad habits to affect perseverance. Grand Master Chen Fake, 17th Chen’s family descendent, practiced his routines


thirty times a day for decades without slacking. His taichi achievement was paramount and he was considered the best at the time. That’s how perseverance at work. Patience When all the above four mindsets are set, you’ll also need patience to achieve high level in taichi practice. On the one hand, taichi practice requires the practitioner to relax in postures, soften the body and slow down the moves. Without the correct understanding and mental preparation, it is impossible to relax and be patiently at ease. When one becomes impatient in taichi practice, it’s like driving at high speed heading the opposite direction. On the other hand, taichi practicing is a long process for both the mind and the body and should not be rushed. Try overcome irritation and boredom. Keep a peaceful mind. Follow the rules and requirements. Nurture the grand and majestic qi in the process of routine practice to acquire graduate subtle change of the mind and body. When the water comes, it will naturally form an aqueduct. THREE ESSENTIAL FACTORS The three essential factors are: A Qualified Teacher Innate Talent Untiring Diligence A Qualified Teacher The most important factor to achieve high level taichi is a qualified teacher. As our ancestors said: A teacher is someone who passes on principles, teaches skills and clears up confusions. Be it for academics or martial arts, especially for taichi practice, the function of a teacher is the predetermining condition. So far, there is no precedent of an achieved taichi practitioner who has done it without a teacher. However, one can practice taichi without a teacher for recreation purposes. In order to achieve high level in taichi, one must find a wise teacher who has a high moral and ethical standard, technically skillful, learned in theories and knows how to teach. A wise teacher can lead the students onto the right path so as to avoid detours and achieve twice the effect with half the work. Without a wise teacher, one might never reach the temple of taichi once he/she is heading the wrong direction. Innate Talent Innate talent is the key factor for high level taichi achievements, especially for those who wish to be established. They must have the innate gift, great deductive reasoning and learning ability, quick mind as well as the ability to expand their understandings. Besides the guidance of a wise teacher, the subtlety of taichi must also be experience and pondered firsthand. It can only be taught intuitively, not because the teacher is holding back, but it is truly indescribable. It is only those who have the innate talent with great ability to comprehend who can truly understand the true essence of taichi and reach to higher level. For others, despite of a wise teacher and self diligence, will still have a hard time understanding the true essence and will only reach limited achievements. It is just as in academic studies, people have the same teachers and all try with similar efforts, but the result can be quite different. The difference is in the innate talent. Untiring Diligence Diligence is the deciding factor for taichi practicing. To be successful, one must also work with untiring diligence besides the innate talent and teaching of a wise teacher. As it was stated in the ancestors’ teaching: “Only understanding and knowing the right methods is still not enough. It requires daily untiring diligence. Keep moving forward without stopping day in and day out. That’s how one can reach the destination eventually.” Don’t expect miracles and there is no shortcut. The only path to high level taichi is untiring diligence. Kungfu is acquired through practice and only untiring diligent practice will ensure substantiated kungfu on the body. Under the guidance of a wise teacher and by following the rules and requirements, one must exercise persistent effort to accumulate and nurture the internal kungfu in order to realize qualitative change through graduate quantitative change. Real comprehension is built on hard work. Enlightenment is triggered after a


long process of accumulation. Instant enlightenment of the subtlety of taichi comes from persistent diligence. If one relies only on wits and cleverness and despises hard work, he/she will never understand the real essence of taichi and will always be wondering outside of temple of taichi. Of course nothing is absolute. What I mentioned about is not cast in stone. Those factors have changing effects on each other. One strong element can improve other elements. For example, with correct understanding of the nature of taichi, it helps one to establish the right mindset. Some people may lack innate talent, but hard work can be supplementary to talent. Persistent untiring diligence goes a long way in the pursuit of true taichi essence. I hope this article can provide some clarity in the minds of some taichi enthusiasts regarding taichi practice.


SUCCESS IN TAI CHI By Dave West

All religions, races and creeds may practise Tai Chi Chuan. It is not necessary to argue the folklore origins of these ancient Chinese techniques. Those who can comprehend the great Laws of the Universe know that Tai Chi is the perfection of philosophy in practice, and therefore takes its rightful place in the Divine Science of Life. God does not compel or induce us to practise Tai Chi Chuan. He exerts no effort on our behalf. We are free to practise Tai Chi, or not to practise Tai Chi, as we wish. Success depends entirely on our own efforts. Success in Tai Chi Chuan is purifying the mind and body, releasing vast resources of spiritual energy, being mindful of every thought, speech and action, and being in the present moment with love, wisdom and compassion. There will be success and joy in life, over‐flowing with positive thinking and humour, consciously making positive changes and virtuous choices in thought, speech, effort, livelihood and behaviour, and living a more meaningful and purposeful life. If you know Truth, you are at peace.

I cannot teach you, only help you to explore yourself. Nothing more. Bruce Lee, 1940‐1973

The purpose of Tai Chi Chuan is to gain personal experience of all stages of the path to enlightenment. You can share these insights in the way you live your life. Although it is far easier to be in harmony when you are sitting quietly alone, your meditation will be worthless if you do not put your experiences to practical use in daily activities. When you are mindful of all your thoughts, speech and action and can create love, wisdom and compassion in every second of every minute of every day, then you have not only succeeded in Tai Chi, but you have truly succeeded in life, in reaching your full potential as a human being. Tai Chi Chuan is an evolutionary process and like nature, if you study it long enough, you will come to understand that change is not a choice, it happens, and over time you are different. With patience, gentleness and determination Tai Chi can make this change a positive one. Tai Chi introduces us to ways of seeing that create opportunities for us to recognise ourselves better. Tai Chi helps each of us to attain what was previously unattainable. Therefore, practise Tai Chi every day with positive thinking and persistence under the guidance of a qualified Tai Chi instructor. Tai Chi is a journey of self‐realisation and self‐discovery that cannot be bought by the hour in a Tai Chi class. It must be earned through diligent self‐practice. It cannot be given in a book or DVD; you must experience it for yourself. JOURNEY OF SELFDISCOVERY The journey of self‐discovery through Tai Chi takes each of us in a different direction. As we go deeper and deeper into Tao philosophy, practice and meditation, we begin to discover our own truth, our own experience of the soul, life, creation and the cosmos, and eventually it will bring us to the ultimate truth and divinity of all things. And this is the happiness, freedom and enlightenment that we all seek. This book has offered limited explanation on the actual experience of Tai Chi. This is because everyone is different and will have different thought patterns and interpretations. This is the journey you must make yourself, your own discoveries, your own realisations, your own Truth. When we begin our journey on the path of the peaceful warrior it is important to re‐evaluate our lifestyle and the direction we are heading with our life. We should examine all activity as it happens, and how our mind observes and perceives its thoughts, speech and actions, how it responds, creates and reacts according to different outside or inside stimuli. It is important to slow down the mind and actually be in the present moment, focusing fully in the here and now. In the midst of everyday activities, the mind is kept continually distracted with details. People move from one thing to the next without a pause. Even at the end of the day when the mind could take some time to reflect, most people fill their leisure hours with structured activity. Daily tension and stress does not have any way to release or disperse. They continue to build and store up within us.


MEDITATION Stillness in meditation directly relaxes the mind, releases tension and stress, and awakens it to the potentials that are present in each and every person. In meditation we discover how thoroughly our life is shaped by our thoughts and the way we interpret what’s going on. Every thought, feeling and emotion manifests itself in one form or another in our body and in our life. We notice this with surprising clarity as we become more sensitive to the inner feeling of who we are. When we open our mind to meditation, change becomes possible. Problems dissolve and deeper wisdom emerges. Tao Meditation carries us directly to the depths, steering through the continuous flow of conscious thought, navigating into calm seas, and revealing reality in its crystal‐clear reflection. Tai Chi helps us to experience emptiness and undergo a profound transformation of our experience of the world. It is a firsthand method; nothing can substitute for the personal exploration of our own mind. By regularly practising we can delve into our own consciousness with meditative exploration and come to our own profound and meaningful understandings.

To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.

Isaac Newton, 1642‐1727 After the regular practice of Tai Chi considerable changes begin to take place in the mind, brain and nervous system. New nerve‐currents, new cells, new vibrations, new avenues and new channels are formed. The whole mind and nervous system become remodeled. We will have a new mind, a new heart, new sensations, new feelings, new mode of thinking and acting and a new view of the universe. Diligent practice and persistence with Tai Chi produces results that are permanent and abiding. The greatest minds in history, including Einstien, Gandhi, Isaac Newton, Lao Tzu, Confusius and the Buddha, have all emphasised that the journey of self‐discovery and spiritual evolution is man’s greatest adventure, and should be pursued as the ultimate supreme goal of human existence.


WHAT IS QIGONG? By The National Qigong Association

Qigong (Chi Kung) is one of the oldest exercises in Chinese history, dating back more than one thousand years. There are numerous types of Qigong. Generally speaking, Qigong is a variety of breathing, gymnastic, and meditative exercises. In Chinese, Qi means several things; the most common meaning of Qi is air. Here, Qi means the life energy inside a person. This life energy comes from the combination of three things: the air breathed in through the lungs, essential Qi from the kidney, and the Qi absorbed from food and water through the digestive system. Qi circulates throughout the body, performing many functions to maintain good health. The stronger Qi you have, the healthier and stronger you are. The word Gong means a method of exercise that requires a great deal of time in which to become proficient. Simply put, Qigong is a breathing exercise that requires regular practise, and is especially beneficial for health and mental relaxation. Qigong is an integrated part of Tai Chi. Qigong is an integration of physical postures, breathing techniques, and focused intentions. Qigong practices can be classified as martial, medical, or spiritual. All styles have three things in common: they all involve a posture, (whether moving or stationary), breathing techniques, and mental focus. Some practices increase the Qi; others circulate it, use it to cleanse and heal the body, store it, or emit Qi to help heal others. Practices vary from the soft internal styles such as Tai Chi; to the external, vigorous styles such as Kung Fu. However, the slow gentle movements of most Qigong forms can be easily adapted, even for the physically challenged and can be practiced by all age groups. Like any other system of health care, Qigong is not a panacea, but it is certainly a highly effective health care practice. Many health care professionals recommend Qigong as an important form of alternative complementary medicine. Qigong creates an awareness of and influences dimensions of our being that are not part of traditional exercise programs. Most exercises do not involve the meridian system used in acupuncture nor do they emphasize the importance of adding mind intent and breathing techniques to physical movements. When these dimensions are added, the benefits of exercise increase exponentially. The gentle, rhythmic movements of Qigong reduce stress, build stamina, increase vitality, and enhance the immune system. It has also been found to improve cardiovascular, respiratory, circulatory, lymphatic and digestive functions. Those who maintain a consistent practice of Qigong find that it helps one regain a youthful vitality, maintain health even into old age and helps speed recovery from illness. Western scientific research confirms that Qigong reduces hypertension and the incidence of falling in the aged population. One of the more important long‐term effects is that Qigong reestablishes the body/mind/soul connection. People do Qigong to maintain health, heal their bodies, calm their minds, and reconnect with their spirit. When these three aspects of our being are integrated, it encourages a positive outlook on life and helps eliminate harmful attitudes and behaviors. It also creates a balanced life style, which brings greater harmony, stability, and enjoyment. There are a wide variety of Qigong practices. They vary from the simple, internal forms to the more complex and challenging external styles. They can interest and benefit everyone, from the most physically challenged to the super athlete. There are Qigong classes for children, senior citizens, and every age group in between. Since Qigong can be practiced anywhere or at any time, there is no need to buy special clothing or to join a health club. Qigong's great appeal is that everyone can benefit, regardless of ability, age, belief system or life circumstances. Anyone can enrich their lives by adding Qigong to their daily routine. Children learning to channel their energy and develop increased concentration; office workers learning Qigong to reduce stress; seniors participating in gentle movements to enhance balance and their quality of life; caregivers embracing a practice to develop their ability to help others; prisons instituting Qigong programs to restore balance in inmates lives; midwives using Qigong techniques to ease child birth. When an individual or group assumes responsibility and takes action for their health and healing, we all benefit. It is best to get referrals from people whose judgment you have confidence in. Most important is to develop a consistent daily practice. It is recommended by experienced teachers to stay with a form for at least 100 days. A consistent practice is the most important asset you can develop. When beginners ask, "What is the most important aspect of practicing Qigong?" The answer is always..."just do it.


BREATHING EXERCISES FOR TAI CHI By Dr. Yang, JwingMing and David W. Grantham

REGULATING THE BREATH Regulating the breath means to regulate your breathing until it is calm, smooth, and peaceful. Only when you have reached this point will you be able to make the breathing deep, slender, long, and soft, which is required for successful qigong practice. Breathing is affected by your emotions. For example, when you are angry or excited you exhale more strongly than you inhale. When you are sad, you inhale more strongly than you exhale. When your mind is peaceful and calm, your inhalation and exhalation are relatively equal. In order to keep your breathing calm, peaceful, and steady, your mind and emotions must first be calm and neutral. Therefore, in order to regulate your breathing, you must first regulate your mind. The other side of the coin is that you can use your breathing to control your yi. When your breathing is uniform, it is as if you were hypnotizing your yi, which helps to calm it. You can see that yi and breathing are interdependent, and that they cooperate with each other. Deep and calm breathing relaxes you and keeps your mind clear. It fills your lungs with plenty of air so that your brain and entire body have an adequate supply of oxygen. In addition, deep and complete breathing enables the diaphragm to move up and down, which massages and stimulates the internal organs. For this reason, deep breathing exercises are also called "internal organ exercises." REGULATE BREATHING; KEEP LUNGS RELAXED Deep and complete breathing does not mean that you inhale and exhale to the maximum. This would cause the lungs and the surrounding muscles to tense up, which in turn would keep the air from circulating freely and hinder the absorption of oxygen. Without enough oxygen, your mind becomes scattered, and the rest of your body tenses up. In correct breathing, you inhale and exhale to about 70 or 80 percent of capacity so that your lungs stay relaxed. You can conduct an easy experiment. Inhale deeply so that your lungs are completely full, and time how long you can hold your breath. Then try inhaling to only about 70 percent of your capacity, and see how long you can hold your breath. You will find that with the latter method you can last much longer than the first one. This is simply because the lungs and the surrounding muscles are relaxed. When they are relaxed, the rest of your body and your mind can also relax, which significantly decreases your need for oxygen. Therefore, when you regulate your breathing, the first priority is to keep your lungs relaxed and calm. When training, your mind must first be calm so that your breathing can be regulated. When the breathing is regulated, your mind is able to reach a higher level of calmness. This calmness can again help you to regulate the breathing, until your mind is deep. After you have trained for a long time, your breathing will be full and slender, and your mind will be very clear. It is said: "xin xi xiang yi," (心息相依) which means "heart [mind] and breathing [are] mutually dependent." When you reach this meditative state, your heartbeat slows down, and your mind is very clear: you have entered the sphere of real meditation. COMMENTS ON BREATHING BY ANCIENT DAOISTS An Ancient Daoist named Li, Qing‐an said: "Regulating breathing means to regulate the real breathing until [you] stop." This means that correct regulating means regulating is no longer necessary. Real regulating is no longer a conscious process but has become so natural that it can be accomplished without conscious effort. In other words, although you start by consciously regulating your breath, you must get to the point where the regulating happens naturally, and you no longer have to think about it. When you breathe, if you concentrate your mind on your breathing, then it is not true regulating because the qi in your lungs will become stagnant. When you reach the level of true regulating, you don't have to pay attention to it, and you can use your mind efficiently to lead the qi. Remember, wherever the yi is, there is the qi. If the yi stops in one spot, the qi will be stagnant. It is the yi that leads the qi and makes it move. Therefore, when you are in a state of correct breath regulation,


your mind is free. There is no sound, stagnation, urgency, or hesitation, and you can finally be calm and peaceful. You can see that when the breath is regulated correctly, the qi will also be regulated. They are mutually related and cannot be separated. This idea is explained frequently in the Daoist literature. The Daoist Guang Cheng Zi said: "One exhale, the earth qi rises; one inhale, the heaven qi descends; real man's [meaning one who has attained the real Dao] repeated breathing at the navel, then my real qi is naturally connected." This says that when you breathe you should move your abdomen as if you were breathing from your navel. The earth qi is the negative (yin) energy from your kidneys, and the sky qi is the positive (yang) energy that comes from the food you eat and the air you breathe. When you breathe from the navel, these two qi's will connect and combine. Some people think that they know what qi is, but they really don't. Once you connect the two qi's, you will know what the "real" qi is, and you may become a "real" man, which means to attain the Dao. The Daoist book Sing [of the] Dao [with] Real Words (Chang Dao Zhen Yan) says: "One exhale one inhale to communicate qi's function, one movement one calmness is the same as [i.e., is the source of] creation and variation." The first part of this statement again implies that the functioning of qi is connected with the breathing. The second part of this sentence means that all creation and variation comes from the interaction of movement (yang) and calmness (yin). The Yellow Yard Classic (Huang Ting Ching) says: "Breathe original qi to seek immortality." In China, the traditional Daoists wore yellow robes, and they meditated in a "yard" or hall. This sentence means that in order to reach the goal of immortality, you must seek to find and understand the original qi that comes from the dan tian through correct breathing. Moreover, the Daoist Wu Zhen Ren said: "Use the post‐birth breathing to look for the real person's [i.e. the immortal's] breathing place." In this sentence it is clear that in order to locate the immortal breathing place (the dan tian), you must rely on and know how to regulate your post‐birth, or natural, breathing. Through regulating your post‐birth breathing you will gradually be able to locate the residence of the qi (the dan tian), and eventually you can use your dan tian to breathe like the immortal Daoists. Finally, in the Daoist song Ling Yuan Da Dao Ge (The Great Daoist Song of the Spirit's Origin) it is said: "The originals [original jing, qi, and shen] are internally transported peacefully, so that you can become real [immortal]; [if you] depend on [only] external breathing [you] will not reach the end [goal]." From this song, you can see the internal breathing (breathing at the dan tian) is the key to training your three treasures and finally reaching immortality. However, you must first know how to regulate your external breathing correctly. All of these emphasize the importance of breathing. There are eight key words for air breathing which a qigong practitioner should follow during his practice. Once you understand them you can substantially shorten the time needed to reach your qigong goals. These eight key words are: 1. Calm 2. Slender 3. Deep 4. Long 5. Continuous 6. Uniform 7. Slow 8. Soft These key words are self‐explanatory, and with a little thought you should be able to understand them. FUNDAMENTAL BREAHTING TECHNIQUES The following will highlight some fundamental techniques required for nei gong. Nei gong is also known as internal gongfu. Internal gong focuses on regulating the body, breathing, mind, qi, and spirit. It is impossible to cover all of this training here, so if you are interested, please refer to the books The Root of Chinese Qigong, The Essence of Taiji Qigong, and Qigong Meditation–Embryonic Breathing, by Dr. Yang, Jwing‐Ming, published by YMAA Publication Center. First, we will focus on exercises for regulating the breathing that allows you to build up the quantity of qi to an abundant level and subsequently circulate the accumulated qi. Practice these exercises in the


order that they are presented. Become comfortable and proficient in one technique before moving on to the next. NORMAL ABDOMINAL BREATHING Stand with both hands touching the lower dan tian lightly. (The dan tian is found slightly under and behind the navel.) This light touch can help you feel the movement of the abdominal muscles and thus increasing the communication level between your mind and the lower dan tian. The tip of your tongue should touch the palate of your month to connect the yin conception and yang governing vessels. Inhale deeply through the nose while gently pushing your abdominal muscles out and huiyin down. As you exhale, draw your abdomen inward and pull the huiyin cavity upward gently. (The huiyin cavity is located between the genitals and anus.) You should practice this method of breathing until your mind is able to control the abdominal muscles effectively and efficiently. Only then can this area remain relaxed and allow the qi to circulate freely. Allow a minimum of six months of training this type of breathing to allow the body to adjust to the conditioning; then proceed on to the next form of breathing exercises. REVERSE ABDOMINAL BREATHING Once again, stand with both hands touching the lower dan tian and the tongue touching the palate of the mouth. When you inhale, draw in your abdomen and pull up your huiyin cavity. When you exhale, push the abdomen out and huiyin cavity down gently. Practicing reverse abdominal breathing may cause some tension in the dan tian. If that happens, stop using this method of breathing and return to normal abdominal breathing. You may also gently massage the abdomen to relieve the tension. As long as abdominal area is relaxed, you should not have a problem. WUJI BREATHING This breathing is also called “Embryonic Breathing” (Tai Xi). In this practice, you keep your mind at the center of gravity that is also recognized as the real lower dan tian (zhen xia dan tian). When you practice, use reverse abdominal breathing. The only difference is when you inhale, you are also pulling the muscles on the lower back inward, and when you exhale, you are pushing them out. This will help you locate the center of gravity. This breathing helps you lead the qi to the real dan tian and store it to a higher level. If you wish to know more about Embryonic Breathing, please refer to the book Qigong Meditation–Embryonic Breathing, published by YMAA Publication Center. YONGQUAN BREATHING Yongquan breathing is also called “sole breathing” (zhong xi). It was described in the book, Zhuang Zi, around the fourth century b.c. It is called yongquan xi (yongquan breathing) in Daoist society. In this breathing exercise, stand with your legs open to about shoulder width apart. Again, the hands touch the abdominal area and the tongue touches the palate of mouth gently. First, inhale and lead the qi to the real lower dan tian. Next, exhale, squat down slightly and imagine you are pushing the feet downward. Through this image of pushing, you are using your mind to lead the qi down through the yongquan cavity. When you imagine pushing the feet downward, your mind should aim at least six inches under the feet so that qi does not get trapped. A variation of this exercise is to twist your torso to one side as you squat and exhale. On the next breath, twist your torso to the opposite side. This will increase the stretching of the tendons and ligaments in the ankles, knees, and hips resulting in a strengthening of the joints. If you practice this correctly, you may feel the hot or warm feeling caused by qi accumulation at the bottom of your feet in just a few minutes. To remove the qi accumulated, simply raise your heels and then your toes, alternately, a couple times after you have finished practicing. LAOGONG BREATHING In laogong breathing, use your mind to lead the qi to the laogong cavity located at the center of your palms. Again, stand with legs opened as wide as your shoulders. The hands touch the abdominal area and the tongue touches the palate of mouth gently. Use Embryonic Breathing. First, inhale and lead the qi to the real dan tian. Next, exhale and imagine you are pushing your hands downward without


moving your hands. Through this pushing image, you are using your mind to lead qi through the laogong cavities. When you imagine you are pushing your hands downward, your mind should aim at least six inches beyond the palms. If you practice correctly, in just a few minutes you may feel some sensations, a tingling or static feeling at the palms. FOUR GATES BREATHING This breathing is a combination of yongquan and laogong breathing. The posture remains the same as in the previous two exercises. As you inhale, use your mind to lead qi to the real dan tian. As you exhale, gently squat downward and imagine you are pushing both your hands and feet downward. MARTIAL GRAND CIRCULATION BREATHING In this breathing technique you are leading the qi into the governing vessel through the mingmen cavity (located between the second and third lumbar vertebrae) in addition to the normal qi circulation path, which passes from the real dan tian to the conception vessel through the abdomen‐yinjiao cavity (which resides about one and a half inches below the navel.) This will increase the supply of qi to the small circulation path and enhance the power of physical manifestation. When you practice, stand with your legs opened about a shoulders’ width apart. Allow both arms to relax along the sides of the body. When you inhale, lead the qi from the real dan tian, downward through yinjiao, pass the huiyin, and then lead the qi upward. When the qi reaches the mingmen cavity, gently push back the lower back to open the mingmen cavity and lead the qi out to combine with the qi from the front. This qi is then led upward to dazhui (located on the posterior midline in the depression below the spinous process of the seventh cervical vertebra.) When you exhale, lead the qi outward through the arms while also leading it from the real dan tian downward to the bottom of your feet. When you have reached a deeper level of taiji ball qigong training, use Martial Grand Circulation Breathing. TAIJI BALL BREATHING In this breathing, apply the Martial Grand Circulation Breathing into the taiji ball practice. In addition, hold both of your hands in front of your lower dan tian with palms facing each other. When you inhale, draw the abdomen inward, and the huiyin is moving upward (i.e., internal ball is condensing), while the palms spread apart (i.e., external ball is expanding.) Then exhale to expand the internal ball while pressing your both palms toward each other. After you have practiced for a few minutes, you may begin to feel an invisible qi ball forming between the palms. The longer you practice, the stronger the qi can be felt. This is a basic foundation of taiji ball internal gong training. Eventually, you will apply this kind of breathing through the entire taiji ball qigong practice.


TAIJI QIGONG By Dr. Yang, Jwing Ming

Taiji Qigong is specially designed for students who have learned a Taiji form and want to reach new levels of skills and ability. Taiji Qigong prepares the mind and body for the great Taiji practice by loosening your joints, warming your muscles, stimulating your Qi flow, and sharpening your concentration. In addition, regular Qigong accelerates the health benefits of Taiji and the discovery of internal power. Taji Qigong can help beginners feel their Qi. Beginners usually do not have a clear understanding of what Qi is. Taiji Qigong will gradually help them understand through feeling and experiencing their Qi. BEGINNER Beginners learn how to use their Yi to lead the Qi efficiently. Once you have regulated your body, breathing and mind you will then be able to use your concentrated mind to lead the Qi to circulate smoothly and effectively throughout your body. Beginners can learn how to circulate Qi in the twelve primary channels and also how to increase Qi in the two main vessels, the Yin, Conception Vessel and the Yang, Governing Vessel. INTERMEDIATE Taiji Qigong training teaches intermediate practitioners how to expand their Qi to the surface of the skin and to condense the Qi to the bone marrow. Once the body's Qi has been built up to a sufficient level, you then start learning how to lead Qi to the skin to increase the skin's sensitivity, and into the bones to nourish the marrow. Taiji Qigong teaches how to use Qi to energize their muscles for maximum Jin or power manifestation. When you are able to lead Qi to the skin and condense it into the marrow efficiently, you can use this Qi to energize the muscles for greater martial effectiveness. This is the secret of internal Jin which is the foundation and root of external Jin. ADVANCED Taiji Qigong training teaches advanced practitioner into the domain of spiritual cultivation. The ultimate goal of Taiji Qigong is to lead you into the domain of emptiness, where your whole being is in the Wuji (no extremities state). When you have reached this goal the Qi in your body and the Qi in nature will unite and become one, and all your human desires will gradually disappear. Taiji Qigong teaches beginners how to regulate their body, breathing and mind (Yi ‐ calm mind). Once you have grasped the idea of Qi, you then start to learn how to regulate your body. This includes how to relax your body from the skin to the internal organs and bone marrow. Through this relaxation you will be able to feel and sense your centre, balance and root. You must also learn how to regulate your breathing. Most important of all you must learn how to regulate your mind until it can be calm and concentrated without any disturbances. REGULATING THE BODY Regulating your body means to adjust it until it is relaxed, centered, balanced and rooted. When you have reached a level where you feel comfortable and natural and your body is relaxed, centered, balanced and rooted then the Qi circulating in your body will not be stagnant. REGULATING THE BREATHING In order to use your mind to lead the Qi efficiently you must learn how to regulate your breathing, which is the strategy of Taiji Qigong practice. If you breathe correctly your mind will be able to lead your Qi effortlessly. REGULATING THE MND In regulating the mind you first learn how to bring your mind in attention into your body. This is necessary for feeling the Qi circulation. You need to learn how to control your emotional mind so that


it is calm and peaceful and you can concentrate. Only then will you be able to use your Yi (wisdom mind) to lead your Qi. REGULATING THE QI Once you have learned how to use your Yi to lead your Qi effectively you can then start working towards several goals in regulating your Qi. First, you want to make the Qi circulate smoothly and strongly in your body. Second, you want to build the Qi up to a higher level in order to strengthen your body. Third, you want to lead the Qi to the skin and into the bone marrow. This will keep the skin fresh and young, and keep the blood factory in the marrow functioning at full capacity. Finally, you want to lead the Qi to your head in order to nourish your brain. Your brain is the centre of your whole being. If your brain is healthy you can raise your spirit of vitality which is the key to longevity. REGULATING THE SPIRIT Once you are able to lead the Qi and have it circulating smoothly in your body, you then lead your Qi to your brain to raise your spirit of vitality. Now you can start working to balance yin and yang and reach a state of Wuji. Once you have grasped this Wuji centre, you will be able to return your spirit to its origin. Your Qi will unite with the Qi of nature. Your spirit will unite with the spirit of nature and you will become one with nature. This is the final goal of enlightenment and Buddhahood.


IMPROVING QUALITY OF QI'S MANIFESTATION By Dr. Yang, JwingMing and David W. Grantham

Here we will discuss how the quality of qi's circulation or manifestation can be improved. First, we should recognize that from Chinese martial art history, it was not until the fifth century that Chinese internal styles were developed, recognized, and practiced. The most influential person in this practice was the Indian monk Da Mo. Da Mo, whose last name was Sardili and who was also known as Bodhidarma, was once the prince of a small tribe in southern India. He was of the Mahayana school of Buddhism and was considered by many to have been a bodhisattva, or an enlightened being, who had renounced nirvana in order to save others. From the fragments of historical records, it is believed that he was born about A.D. 483. Da Mo was invited to China to preach by the Liang Wu emperor. He arrived in Canton, China, in A.D. 527 during the reign of the Wei Xiao Ming emperor (A.D.16–528) or the Liang Wu emperor (A.D. 02–557). When the emperor decided he did not like Da Mo's Buddhist theory, the monk withdrew to the Shaolin Temple. When Da Mo arrived, he saw that the priests were weak and sickly, so he shut himself away to ponder the problem. When he emerged after nine years of seclusion, he wrote two classics: Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic (Yi Jin Jing,) and Marrow/Brain Washing Classic (Xi Sui Jing). The Yi Jin Jing taught the priests how to build their qi to an abundant level and use it to improve health and change their physical bodies from weak to strong. After the priests practiced the Yi Jin Jing exercises, they found that not only did they improve their health, but also they also greatly increased their strength. When this training was integrated into the martial arts forms, it increased the effectiveness of their martial techniques. This change marked one more step in the growth of the Chinese martial arts: martial arts qigong. STRENGTHEN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM The Xi Sui Jing taught the priests how to use qi to clean their bone marrow and strengthen their immune systems, as well as how to nourish and energize the brain, helping them to attain Buddhahood. The Xi Sui Jing was difficult to understand and practice because the training methods were passed down secretly to very few disciples in each generation. Da Mo died in the Shaolin Temple in A.D. 536 and was buried on Xiong Er Mountain. If you are interested in knowing more about Yi Jin Jing and Xi Sui Jing, please refer to the book, Qigong–The Secret of Youth, published by YMAA Publication Center. From Da Mo's muscle/tendon changing theory, it has been understood that in order to condition your physical body to a higher level, you must "use the mind to lead the qi and from qi's manifestation, the power and strength are initiated and conditioned." From this, you can see that in order to manifest your qi to a higher efficiency, you must know how to regulate your mind to a higher concentration. It has been experienced and understood that meditation is the way to reach this goal. This theory had divided Chinese martial training into two major fields. One was from internal to external (i.e., internal styles) and one was from external to internal (i.e., external styles). The internal stylists believed that in order to improve the efficiency of fighting power, they should begin with internal mind training. However, the external stylists believed that they must first learn defensive techniques to survive, and then gradually enter into internal mind conditioning. In Chinese martial arts society, there is a proverb: "Internal styles from internal to external, external styles from external to internal. Though the paths are different, both reach the same goal." Therefore, the quality of qi's manifestation depends on how the mind can be focused and also how deep the physical body can be relaxed. To know more about how to regulate your mind, please refer to the book Qigong Meditation–Embryonic Breathing. To learn how to relax your physical body, please refer to the book The Root of Chinese Qigong. Both are available from YMAA Publication Center. The result of this mind training is to make the mind more focused and this will result in the increased sensitivity. This means the entire body's awareness and alertness will be increased. This is the crucial key of surviving in a battle.


MARTIAL GRAND QI CIRCULATION To apply the taiji ball qigong into martial arts and health effectively, a practitioner should learn and understand martial grand qi circulation. If he does not apply this circulation technique into the taiji ball qigong practice, the qi led will be weak. Naturally, the manifestation of qi will not be as strong as well. This martial grand qi circulation training was commonly kept as top secret in all Chinese martial styles. If the opponent knew this secret, he would have the same advantage in manifesting his fighting power to its maximum. Grand qi circulation (da zhou tian) is an advanced qigong qi circulation practice. From this practice, a practitioner learns how to exchange the qi with surrounding objects. These objects can be common non‐living objects, such as the air, ground, or taiji ball. They can also be of things alive such as trees, grass, animals, or humans. Taiji ball qigong adopts martial grand qi circulation techniques. This is because taiji ball qigong was created and developed in martial arts society in which the original purpose of the training was to improve fighting capability. From taiji ball grand qi circulation training, a practitioner is able to communicate and exchange his qi with the ball and also with a partner through the ball. To understand martial grand circulation, you should understand the concepts of a human's two polarities connected by the thrusting vessel (chong mai) (i.e., spinal cord), and you should also know the body's seven pairs of corresponding gates (qi dui xue). SEVEN PAIRS OF CORRESPONDING QI GATES The human body has seven major pairs of corresponding qi gates from which its qi structure is constituted: 1. huiyin (Co‐1) and baihui (Gv‐20); 2. yintang (m‐hn‐3) and qiangjian (Gv‐17) [or naohu (Gv‐18)]; 3. renzhong (Gv‐26) and fengfu (Gv‐16); 4. tiantu (Co‐22) and dazhui (Gv‐14); 5. jiuwei (Co‐15) and lingtai (Gv‐10); 6. yinjiao (Co‐7) and mingmen (Gv‐4); and 7. longmen (m‐ca‐24) [or xiayin] and changqiang (Gv‐1) [or weilu]. Among these seven, the two pairs that are the most important are huiyin (yin) and baihui (yang), and yinjiao (yin) and mingmen (yang). Huiyin is connected to baihui through the thrusting vessel, which establishes the central balance of qi distribution in the body. Yinjiao is also connected to mingmen through the thrusting vessel and joins the conception vessel in the front and the governing vessel in the back, providing front and rear qi balance to the body. These four are the main qi gates. Tiantu controls vocal vibrations and generates the sounds of hen (yin) and ha (yang) for manifestation of qi. It is a gate of expression, and its energy is balanced with yintang, where the spirit resides. When spirit is high in yintang, the energy manifested is strong, and alertness and awareness are high. Jiuwei and lingtai connect to the heart (emotional mind) and offer a strong driving force to elevate the spirit. These four minor gates control manifestation of qi in the body. So the eight gates are defined.


JIN GENERATING MARTIAL POWER by Dr. Yang, JwingMing

Jin, or Martial Power, can generally be divided into three categories: Hard Jin, Soft‐Hard Jin and Soft Jin. Among these, Hard Jin uses the most muscular power, followed by Soft‐Hard Jin and finally Soft Jin. But no matter which Jin, in order to manifest maximum power you must have both the strength of the physical body (Yang) and a sufficient supply of smoothly circulating Qi (Yin). “Qi”, which is pronounced Ki in the Japanese arts, is the Chinese word for “energy”, and pertains to all forms of energy in the universe. In martial arts and qigong, it specifically refers to human Qi, the bioenergy or lifeforce within every cell of the human body. The external physical strength manifested in specific external movements is called “External Jin”; it is a Yang manifestation of Jin. The internal Qi’s build up and circulation is called “Internal Jin”; it is the Yin manifestation of Jin. When this internal and external coordinate and support each other harmoniously and efficiently, it is called “the unification of internal and external”. (The spelling of the word Jin is used to avoid confusion with another important concept in Chinese martial arts with the same pronunciation, "jing", which means "essence".) You should also understand that Jin can be again divided into Yang Jin (commonly called “Attacking Jin”) which is aggressive and used for an attack, and Yin Jin (commonly called “Defensive Jin”) which is defensive. There is another category of Jin, which is neither for attacking nor defending. No matter which category, when the Qi is manifested into a physical form, it is called “Emitting Jin” (Fa Jin). Let us define what Jin is and how different Jins are classified. Theoretically, in order to activate the muscles to generate force or power, the mind must lead the Qi to the area where the muscles should be energized. For example, when you push a car, you must first generate an idea, and from this mind, an electromotive force (EMF) is generated. From this EMF the Qi is led to the muscles for energization. Through the nervous system (a highly electrically conductive system) the muscles are stimulated and contract, thereby generating action. The Chinese dictionary gives two main meanings for “Jin.” The first is “strong, unyielding, muscular;” this is usually applied to powerful, inanimate objects. For example, “Jin Feng” means a strong wind. It can also be applied to more abstract feelings of strength, as in “Jin Di” which means a strong enemy. The second dictionary definition of Jin is “Qi‐Li” or “Li‐Qi”, which refers to muscles which are supported by Qi. Using only your muscles is considered Li. However, when you use your concentrated mind to lead the muscles to do something, Qi will flow to where you are concentrating and enliven the muscles. This is considered Jin. There are many types of Jin, but the one thing they all have in common is that they all deal with the flow of Qi. The most obvious type of Jin is “manifest Jin”, where you can see something happening, as when you push someone. Sensing another person’s motion or energy is also considered a type of Jin. In fact, in the highest levels of “sensing Jin”, you actually sense the Qi flow of your opponent and thereby know his intentions. These sensing Jins are enhanced by increasing the Qi flow to your skin. In general, the higher the level of Jin, the more Qi and the less muscular strength is used. In the martial arts, it is said that Jin is not muscular strength alone. This means that although you must use your muscles every time you move, Jin is more than just muscular strength and proper alignment. There are several different kinds of manifest Jin. When you rely primarily on muscular strength, but also use Qi and your concentrated mind, it is considered “Hard Jin”. This kind of Jin is usually easily visible as tensed muscles. When muscle usage is reduced and both Qi and muscles play equal roles in the Jin, it is called “Soft‐Hard Jin.” When muscle usage is reduced to a minimum and Qi plays the major role, it is called “Soft Jin.” Soft‐Hard Jin and especially Soft Jin, are usually expressed in a pulse. Soft Jin is often compared to a whip, which can express a great deal of force in a very short time, concentrated in a very small area. When you snap a whip, it stays loose as it transmits a wave or pulse of energy along its length to the tip. Similarly, when you use Soft Jin your muscles stay relatively relaxed as you transmit a pulse of energy through your body. This is done with the tendons and the ends of the muscles, supported by Qi. When a Soft Jin is manifested, the emission of Jin is a relatively short, smooth and relaxed pulse of energy, without any angular changes in direction. The pulse can be long or short, near the body or at a


distance. It can be a sudden contraction and expansion as you bounce the opponent away, or an even sharper “spasm” as you strike or break something. The "Depth of Jin" illustration may help you understand the difference between Jin and muscular strength (Li). The vertical coordinate represents the depth to which power can penetrate and the horizontal coordinate represents the elapsed time. The areas under the curves represent the power generated for each curve. We assume that the areas under the curves are the same, i.e., the power generated for each curve is equal. In curve 1, the power is generated, reaches its maximum, stays at the maximum for the time and then drops to zero. Without strong Qi support, this is a typical example of Li; muscular strength predominates and penetration is limited, as in the average punch. With Qi support, it would be considered “Hard Jin.” In curve 2, both muscles and Qi are involved and the power is at its maximum for the shorter time. Since the power generated is the same as with curve 1, the peak has to reach higher, which means there is greater penetration. In order to do this, the muscles must be relaxed to allow the Qi from either the local area or the Lower Dan Tian (elixir field) to flow smoothly to support them. The Lower Dan Tian is located in the center of your abdomen, and is known to be the center of the body’s energetic circulatory system. This is the general idea of “Soft‐Hard Jin.” In Soft‐Hard Jin, commonly the body is soft and relaxed so the Qi can be led to the area where the Jin will be manifested. Once the Qi arrives, a slight but sharp muscular tension is intentionally generated and the power is manifested. This is the Jin used predominantly for striking in soft‐hard martial styles, such as White Crane Kung Fu. In curve 3, the time in which the power is generated is even shorter. The muscles must be extremely relaxed to generate and express this sharply penetrating power. In order to reach a deep penetrating power, speed is a crucial key for successful Soft Jin manifestation. Naturally, Qi plays the predominant role in this “soft” Jin. Curve 3 is typical of the Jin used for striking in the internal arts, such as Taijiquan (tai chi). From the point of view of muscle usage, curve 1 is like a wooden staff, curve 2 is like a rattan staff and curve 3 is like a whip. The wooden staff is stiff like tensed muscles, the rattan is more flexible, and the whip is soft; its power sharp and focused. Even curve 3, which is a very high level of power, is still not the highest power in the martial arts. The highest level of the Qi manifestation into Jin can be represented by line 4. In this level, the muscular strength is reduced to minimum and the Qi plays the major role of the power manifestation. When a martial artist has reached this level, he can transport his Qi into his enemy’s body through the acupuncture cavities to shock organs and cause damage or death instantly. The time used is extremely short and the penetration is deeper than is possible with Jin or Li. This is known as the skill of “Pressing Cavity” (Dian Xue ) or “Pressing Primary Qi Channel” (Dian Mai/Dim Mak ). Detailed understanding of the body’s Qi circulatory system and which points are vital at which time of day is necessary for these techniques to be effective. (Editor's note: Dim Mak is controversial, and is considered mythical in modern times. Many people do not believe it to be possible, and in fact they do not believe that Qi or the body’s energetic circulatory system even exists. However, in traditional Chinese martial arts society, it is well known and understood. In addition, during World War 2, the Japanese performed extensive studies on the Qi circulatory system, using Dim Mak techniques on captured Chinese civilians from the Manchou territory (Northeast of China). By carefully recording the data resulting from these "experiments", torturing and killing many people in the process, they verified the accuracy of their knowledge of the body’s energetic circulatory system and the effectiveness of the Dim Mak techniques. This information has been published in other countries, and was made available for publication in America, but upon reading the details after translation into English by YMAA, it was decided to be unethical and dangerous to publish the information.) Li can be considered closer to Hard Jin in which muscular strength plays the major role in power manifestation. It is said that Li or Hard Jin is derived from the bones and muscles. The Qi is supported from the local area. Soft‐Hard Jin and Soft Jin originate from the tendons and are supported strongly by Qi, which is generated in the Lower Dan Tian. Since the tendons are emphasized in the Soft‐Hard Jin and Soft Jin, the muscle fibers can be relaxed, allowing the Qi to flow through them and support them. If your force is derived from the bones, there is a strong tendency for you to resist and meet your opponent’s force directly. When your force is derived from the tendons it is easier to be flexible and elusive, to disappear in front of the opponent’s attack and to appear at his weak spot.


In order to have stronger Qi, you need a meditative mind, which can generate a stronger EMF. Through this concentration, your spirit can be raised to a highly focused stage from which you can govern your entire being more efficiently. When this happens, you will be able to manifest your physical power to its maximum.


PUSHING HANDS By Dr. Yang, JwingMing and Jeffrey Pratt

There are a number of important principles you should always remember and follow when practicing pushing hands. Read the ancient poetry and songs of the Taiji Classics regularly throughout your training, because they can teach you both key principles and ideas for training. Theory and practice continually reinforce each other, so your ability and understanding will benefit from repeatedly reading and pondering these written records of the masters. Here are three selections from the Taiji Classics which are concerned specifically with pushing hands.

SONG OF EIGHT WORDS Wardoff (Peng), Rollback (Lu), Press (Ji), and Push (An) are rare in this world. Ten martial artists, ten don't know. If able to be light and agile, also strong and hard, (then you gain) Adhere‐Connect, Stick‐Follow with no doubt. Pluck (Cai), Split (Lie), Elbow‐Stroke (Zhou), and Shoulder‐Stroke (Kao) are even more remarkable. When used, no need to bother your mind. If you gain the secret of the words

Adhere‐Connect, Stick‐Follow, then you will be in the ring and not scattered.

SONG OF PUSHING HANDS Be conscientious about Wardoff (Peng), Rollback (Lu), Press (Ji), and Push (An). Up and down follow each other, (then) the opponent (will find it) difficult to enter. No matter (if) he uses enormous power to attack me, (I) use four ounces to lead (him aside), deflecting (his) one thousand pounds. Guide (his

power) to enter into emptiness, then immediately attack; Adhere‐Connect, Stick‐Follow, do not lose him.

THE SECRET OF WITHDRAW AND RELEASE

First Saying: Deflect and open opponent's body and borrow opponent's Li (strength). Second Saying: Lead (opponent's power) near (my) body, Jin thereby stored.

Third Saying: Relax and expand my Jin, without bends. Fourth Saying: When (I) release, the waist and the feet must be timed carefully and accurately.

PUSHING HANDS Almost every Chinese martial style, both external and internal, has its own hand‐matching training similar to Taiji's pushing hands. In southern external styles it is commonly called Bridge Hands or Coiling Hands, while in northern external styles it is called Folding Hands or Opposing Hands. Although the names are different, the purposes are the same. The techniques trained and emphasized by each style reflect the essence of that style, and are usually kept secret to prevent other styles from copying them or learning how to counter them. Once a student is accepted as a legitimate student and is taught these exercises, he has begun the serious study of his style. In Taijiquan, there are also many styles of pushing hands, since almost every different Taiji style has its own emphasis. Some styles are extremely soft, and therefore emphasize only the soft Jins (power emission). Other styles emphasize harder Jin training, which tends to be more easily accepted by beginners. Some styles stress high postures and a small defensive circle while others emphasize low postures and a large circle. Even in the same Taiji style, there are often differences from master to master, according to their emphasis and understanding. You may start pushing hands anytime after you finish learning the solo sequence, and it should be part of your training for as long as you practice Taiji. You learn to sense and follow your partner without resisting, so that you ultimately understand his strength and use it against him. Pushing hands also gives you a chance to practice the applications of the techniques, which increases your understanding of the sequence. Without such understanding, the sequence remains “dead”. Doing Taiji without pushing hands is like buying a car and not learning how to drive. Pushing hands teaches you how to drive in a parking lot. However, even if you can drive skillfully in this lot, it does not mean you are capable of driving on the freeway or in the city. In order to be able to "drive in real


traffic," you must also learn the two‐person fighting set and free fighting. The fighting set was designed to give fighting experience which resembles real fighting. This is like driving your car with an instructor's supervision. The last stage, free fighting, is your solo driving in traffic. In pushing hands, the first step is to build up your sensitivity in the sensing Jins ‐ Listening Jin and Understanding Jin. These two Jins are the foundation of all Taiji martial techniques, and are developed through the practice of Adhere‐Stick Jin. Until you can "hear" (through feeling) and understand the opponent's Jin, you will not be able to understand his intention and power, and will not be able to fight effectively. After you have grasped the tricks of Listening and Understanding Jins, the next step is to learn how to neutralize, lead, and control the opponent's Jin. Once this is learned, you will be able to react with the various offensive Jins as appropriate to the situation. Naturally, during all your practice you should not forget the fundamentals, such as keeping your body centered, comfortable, and steady, otherwise you will lose your balance. You must also remember to coordinate your Qi (energy) with your Jins. Utilizing the ‘Hen’ and ‘Ha’ sounds is very important in Taiji martial applications, and play a major role in raising the Spirit of Vitality and stimulating the Qi to reach further and increase in strength. Also, Taiji ball training is often used in the internal styles to train Listening and Understanding Jins It is also used to train adhering and sticking while doing the circular advancing and retreating motions which are required in the internal martial arts. At first, the student should learn the basic exercises which are the key to the door of the secret of pushing hands. They will help you to understand and develop your skill at Listening, Understanding, and especially Neutralizing and Leading Jins. Once you have mastered all of these basic exercises, you should practice the techniques corresponding to the eight directions, and learn how to coordinate them with your footwork according to the principles of the five elements and the eight trigrams. With this training you will be able to understand the principles and general rules of pushing hands, and lay a foundation which will enable you to research and study further. Finally, a student will train the martial applications of pushing hands techniques. These will build a foundation which will allow you to begin learning from the from the 88‐posture two person fighting matching set. DAOIST BREATHING IMPROVES PUSHING HANDS As an instructor at the YMAA School in Boston, Mass., my students often ask, “How can my pushing hands get better?” We all want to get better. Many people spend a lot of time looking for some facet of the art that they have missed or a trick to shorten their path. I think one of the best answers to the question is Daoist breathing. Daoist breathing, often called reversed abdominal breathing or embryonic breathing is breathing, which during inhalation the mind is kept focused on the Dan Tian, while the lower abdominal area, the Wei Yin cavity and anus are drawn in. When exhaling, these areas are gently allowed to expand and the mind stays focused on the Dan Tian. This is a very short explanation of embryonic breathing. I suggest that you review Dr. Yang Jwing‐Ming’s book, Qigong Meditation—Embryonic Breathing for a more complete explanation. For additional information, read an article in Fighting Arts magazine by Dr. Yang who states that “Embryonic Breathing is the required practice for those who wish to cultivate the Dao and train their Qi. It can and should be utilized by martial artists of all styles.” To my students, I pointed out that embryonic breathing was the key element in strengthening the central energy line and improving pushing hands. This in turn led to the following example to describe the effects of using a specific Qigong to help your pushing hands. STONE TABLET BODY VS. A CONCENTRATED CENTER When you first start pushing hands, neutralization is a difficult concept. Most of us tend to tighten up when we get pushed. It is a natural response and a difficult one to rewire. We spend a lot of time learning to relax the torso. This rigidity offers myriad connections to the Dan Tian so newbies are easily pushed off balance. A person will move as if their torso is a solid rock. Their entire torso will rotate to neutralize an attack. The spine and chest will appear frozen. Their movement will look much like a door swinging on its hinges. In a person the hinge is the hip of whichever leg is bearing most of the person’s weight, this is the “Stone Tablet Body.”


The next evolution for a practitioner is transforming the stone tablet to a line in the torso that the person moves around. This allows a bit more neutralization and the torso can be described as “softening,” but attacks against this line are very difficult for the individual to deal with and result in the person stiffening their body and actually making neutralization more difficult. The line is analogous with the person’s spine, but is far less flexible than the actual spine. However, this shift from tablet to line is definite improvement and should be encouraged. ROOTING THE BODY One level deeper in building neutralization capability requires that the “line” in the torso get shorter. This shrinking of the line is a nice way to describe the continued softening of the torso. The practitioner is learning to let the chest and spine flex and is developing his connection to the ground known as “root.” This is a fairly advanced level of development and many people spend a great deal of time here. The goal is to shrink that line and learn softness. The Qi in the body most flow smoothly and circulate throughout the whole body. Your body has to be uniform in its response to the attack and act as a whole, not a staggered group of individual pieces. Tension or rigidity in any part will be used against you, so relax. We generally think of this integration in terms of movement in the solo form and perhaps in offensive action. It is vital, however, to have this connected quality for defense as well. If you cannot link the entire body together for Yin (defense) and Yang (offense) then you don’t have Taijiquan. The softer and more connected you are; the more energy you can dissipate as well. The Taiji classics state “Power is generated in the legs, controlled by the waist and manifested in the hands.” It is just as correct to reverse the chain and say that attacking energy is received by the body, re‐directed by the waist and channeled into the ground by the legs. When we say shrink the line, we really mean soften the body. So the further we reduce that line the harder it is for an opponent to find our Dan Tian and the easier we can neutralize incoming attacks. ACHIEVING THE DAN TIAN The last level is the trickiest to achieve; the Dan Tian has been condensed to a single point in space. It is considered one dimensional. Now in the real world, we have little experience with such things; you couldn’t even pick up a one dimensional object. When this stage is reached the person will be supple as silk and hit like a tsunami. Anyone who has condensed the Dan Tian to a single point would be virtually impossible to attack effectively. You wouldn’t find a target to aim at; such a person would be truly formidable. Most likely you wouldn’t even notice such an individual as so accomplished a person would avoid conflict as a side effect of their being. The condensed Dan Tian results from great self‐discipline and spiritual growth. It is more than just having six pack abs and strong legs. Graphically below, I’ve tried to show the stages, which will explain the Dan Tian. IMPORTANCE OF EMBRYONIC BREATHING So now what do we do with that information; and how does it relate to embryonic breathing? Embryonic breathing is important in two particular ways: First, one effect of embryonic breathing is condensing the Qi into the Dan Tian. Secondly, it sets the stage for connecting the Dan Tian with the Third Eye. In Chinese Qigong and martial arts there are three Dan Tians: the upper, middle, and lower. The lower Dan Tian, also called the real Dan Tian, is where Qi is generated and stored in the body. It is also the physical center of mass in the body. The middle Dan Tian is located at heart level and corresponds to the thymus gland. The upper Dan Tian, in Western arcane lore referred to as the Third Eye, corresponds to the region of the head just above and behind the eyebrows. Anatomically it is paired with the pituitary gland. Embryonic breathing is part of the process used in linking the Third Eye/Upper Dan Tian to the real/lower Dan Tian through the Thrusting Vessel (Chong Mai). This linkage is referred to as the Water Path (Enlightenment Meditation—Xiao Dao Wu Zhen Jing Zuo). Importance of the Water Path


The purpose of following the Water Path is to gain spiritual enlightenment by leading Qi from the real Dan Tian through the Thrusting Vessel (Chong Mai, spinal column) to the upper Dan Tian to nourish the spirit. The side effects of the practice are a calm mind and a stronger relaxed body. (This is how the Qigong enables shrinking the Stone Tablet body to a single line.) The abundance of Qi needed for enlightenment provides extra energy for pushing hands and the stronger relaxed torso allows subtler and better neutralization. (Here the line starts to shrink.) Another benefit of this Qigong is focus—serious concentration is needed to travel the Water Path. This same focus can be put into Fa Jin practice and more to the point, as the Qi is sunk into the Dan Tian, the process of condensing the Dan Tian down to that single point. I think there is a lot to be gained from embryonic breathing. The topic is actually too big to cover here and frankly I would just be parroting what Dr. Yang has said in other places. I can say that my own practice of the Water Path has made my pushing hands better. I highly recommend it and embryonic breathing to anyone interested in improving their pushing hands.


SELFDEFENCE By Cheng Tin Hung and Dan Docherty

The roots of Tai Chi lay in the Tao philosophy of Yin and Yang, which teaches that hardness can overcome softness, and that softness can overcome hardness. It was originally used by Chinese martial artists as a form of self defence. Let us have a look at this theory in practice: A common occurrence in a fight would be where A attacks B with all his strength and B uses all his strength to block the attack. Here the parties are engaged in a battle of force against force and the stronger side will win. In another typical situation let us suppose that two men, one weak, the other strong, go to the same martial arts school and learn the same techniques for an equal length of time. In a fight between the two, the stronger will still defeat the weaker. Wang Chung‐yueh, a Tai Chi Chuan master, who lived during the Ming Dynasty, studied this type of situation. After many years of observing various hard styles of the Chinese martial arts, he came to the conclusion that, stylistic differences aside, when used in combat the end result was always the same; victory would go to the swiftest and strongest and not necessarily to those who had made an intensive study of their art. Chang San‐feng had studied the same situation, even before Wang did. Driven by a belief that victory need not inevitably go to the strong, but that brain could defeat brawn, he used his knowledge of Taoism to create a martial art based on the principles of Tai Chi ‐ the changes of Yin and Yang. He called it Tai Chi Chuan, the word Chuan meaning Fist and thus representing martial art. Correct application of Tai Chi Chuan techniques in combat will result in the situation where a slight application of force is sufficient to deflect, divert, or otherwise render harmless a force which is many times greater in magnitude. Thus the soft overcomes the hard and the weak need not fear to do battle with the strong. For the purposes of Tai Chi Chuan in combat, softness is the child of wisdom, and is not merely a weak force which can somehow magically defeat a stronger one. The two major principles of Tai Chi Chuan self‐defense strategy are using stillness to defeat motion, and using softness to defeat hardness. STILLNESS DEFEATS MOTION The practice of this principle requires a clear mind. We should wait for our opponent to begin making the first move then pre‐empt him by reacting decisively, before he can complete it. We do this because, when first facing our opponent we do not know his intentions, and so we do not know which part of our body he will attack. It is better, then, to wait until he commits himself to an attack so that we can divert it before it reaches its conclusion, and then we in turn can counter‐attack by striking his weak points. We must avoid taking this principle to the absurd conclusion of waiting for our opponent to hit us without moving a muscle in response. That is why in a classical text on the Thirteen Tactics it is written, “If the enemy does not move, we do not move, but as soon as he begins to move we move at once.” In using this principle, our mind must remain clear to enable us to detect our opponent’s slightest movements and to counteract any intended attack. The key to this principle is that once our opponent has committed himself to an attack it already too late for him to react to our counteraction. In the words of the military strategist Sun Tzu, “We must know ourselves and our opponent.” We can only do this by remaining calm and collected until we clearly detect an impending attack to which we then immediately respond. SOFTNESS OVERCOMES HARDNESS In the practice of this principle we must consciously avoid using brute force attempting to counteract the attacks of our opponent. Mind and body must work in harmony in the correct application of the techniques of defense and counter‐attack. The idea is to divert the attacks of our opponent in such a way as to turn his own force against him. This requires the use of one or more of the Eight Powers of Tai Chi Chuan, which are discussed below. Thus, if our opponent tries to punch us in the chest, the use of Lu, a slight diversion to the side, will be


enough divert even his strongest attack and pave the way for our counter‐attack. In the Song of Tai Chi Pushing Hands it is written, “A force of four ounces can overcome a force of a thousand pounds.” CONSTANT PRACTICE Constant practice with a partner over a period of years is necessary to develop, the ability to apply this sophisticated concept to self‐defense. Even then we still require tuition from a competent instructor. To put this in simple terms, most of are aware that an ox can be led with a length of string. Let us take the string represent the four ounces and the ox to represent a thousand pounds. If the string is tied to a ring on the end of the ox’s nose it can easily be led, but if it is tied to its hind leg a different result can be anticipated. The value then of a competent instructor is to teach the correct application of softness, or slight force. The use of hard force has certain clear‐cut disadvantages, even for the mighty among us. It requires a greater expenditure of energy, whether used in defense or attack. This affects our breathing and increases our heartbeat which in turn puts a strain on our central nervous system, thus indirectly slowing our actions and reflexes. All this is of course very much to the advantage of our opponent. The use of softness on the other hand requires the expenditure of very little energy; our muscles remain relaxed and supple making our actions swift and sure. It also serves to develop clarity of thought and sensitivity, and to reduce stress. The net result is that when using this softness in combat against a hard opponent, whether in hand or body contact with him, our body acts as a radar system feeding us information about our opponent’s intentions, which his own hardness or tension allows our softness or sensitivity to detect. The other disadvantage in relying on strength alone is that there is always someone stronger. It should also be recognized that even the strong get old some day. To further ram home the theory and its practice we have only to look at Western history for our vindication. Perhaps the best example of its use was in the war between Greece and Troy, where for years the Greeks laid siege to Troy and thousands of lives were lost on both sides in a bitter war of attrition. Finally, at the suggestion of Odysseus, the most cunning of their leaders, the Greeks pretended to sail away, leaving behind as a gift a huge wooden horse. The Trojans hauled this horse into their city in triumph, believing the war to be over. Late at night, a party of Greeks, who had hidden inside the horse, broke out, killed the guards and opened the gates for their comrades who had returned and were lying in wait. The Trojans, unprepared and unarmed after a night of celebration, were no match for the Greeks and Troy was put to the sword. This illustrates that the real meaning of softness lies in the use of intelligence rather than brute force. ADVANCED PUSH HANDS STRATEGY Before being able to master the martial art of Tai Chi Chuan in self defence, we must first understand the strategy which governs their use. In the Song of Pushing Hands it is written “a force of only four ounces can overcome a force of one thousand pounds”. This approach means that we must rely on skill and intellect rather than brute force; it also requires us to follow a set path of five principles: Adherence implies that we must maintain contact with our opponent, remaining sensitive to his every action. Thus we are able to detect his attacks and sense his weak points. Spontaneity implies that our reactions to any attack should follow the principle that as soon as our opponent moves (attacks)we move (counter) before he can complete his movement. Defense and counter‐attack are a series of smooth, unbroken movements . Softness implies that, when applying the principle of adherence, we should maintain only a soft or relaxed contact with our opponent. The sensitivity thus developed enables us to detect any in our opponent’s intentions. It is an early warning system. Our also makes it difficult for our opponent to detect our own intentions. Yielding implies that once we have detected the of our opponent’s force we must go with it, not against it. This is the key to the Tai Chi Chuan tactic of using “four ounces of force” to divert even the


fiercest attack to the void. While our opponent is using all his energy to attack us we are able to conserve. Rejection of Brute Force implies that arm contact with our opponent must be both soft and continuous. We must neither withdraw arm nor let it become tense. This constant soft contact enables us to detect change and to make a spontaneous response without unnecessarily wasting energy. By adopting this Tai Chi Strategy we are able to achieve the ideal of using the minimum effort necessary to produce the maximum effect. To sum up, we must intercept any attack in a relaxed manner, adhering to it while we use only the minimum force necessary to guide it gently away from its original target, and to the void. By doing this we can detect any changes that may occur in the attack and respond to them accordingly. This would be impossible if we used brute force to block the attack. Our actions must be harmonious and continuous. One of the special characteristics of Tai Chi Chuan is the emphasis placed on diverting attacks and using our opponent’s own force against him. This is why we follow the five principles of the Tai Chi Strategy. Adherence is useless without softness as we can only be sensitive to our opponent’s changes if we are relaxed. Yielding is useless without adherence as we can only monitor our opponent’s movements and know when to counter‐attack if we keep contact with him. Brute Force used against our opponent’s force will prevent us from detecting weaknesses and this runs against Tai Chi Chuan principles which demand that we know our opponent as well as we know ourselves. This then is the strategy we must follow when applying the Tai Chi Chuan for self defence. They are practiced when we do the Pushing Hands Exercise which is the first step towards developing our ability to apply, in a practical way, the self defence techniques of Tai Chi Chuan. As stated earlier, self defence and combat are beyond the scope of this book. They have been included here in an attempt to help you understand the origin and historical application of Tai Chi for internal strength and as a martial art. However, these techniques are not just for the quiet solitude of your practice space. They may also be applied with sensitivity to your daily life problems to help you avoid conflict, such as at work, business, relationships, family, and other negative energies that arise that can be transformed into positive ones using this Tai Chi strategy, Tao wisdom, morality, modesty and love.


BEYOND YOUR BAREHAND TAIJI FORM By Dr. Yang, JwingMing

Once you have learned a basic Taiji (Tai Chi) form, whether you study Yang, Chen, or another style, there is still a great deal that traditional Taijiquan (Tai chi Chuan) training can offer. Taiji Stationary Pushing Hands (Taiji Ding Bu Tui Shou) trains you to develop sensitive feeling, or “Listening Jin” (Ting Jin) to sense your opponent’s intention, understand their Jin (power), neutralize it, and then counterattack. Pushing Hands specializes in teaching the student how to emit power (Fa Jin) and also how to neutralize the coming power (Hua Jin). It includes solo and partner practice. The purpose of Taiji pushing hands training is the same as that of the fighting forms in the external styles. However, Taijiquan emphasizes sensitivity to touch, or listening (Ting), understanding (Dong), following (Sui), attaching (Zhan), and adhering (Nian). In stationary pushing hands you must learn many fundamental techniques, such as single pushing hands and double pushing hands. These incorporate the energies of wardoff (Pengrollback (Lupress/squeeze(Ji), push/press down (An), pluck (Cai), rend/split (Lieelbow (Zhou), and bump (Kao). In addition, other advanced pushing techniques, such as coiling (Chan), controlling (Na), borrowing (Jie), leading (Yin), and neutralizing (Hua, ) Jins are trained. In stationary pushing hands training, there are four basic neutralization patterns which a pushing hands beginner must learn. Next, he/she will begin double pushing hands training, which includes six different training patterns. Normally, these trainings are used to introduce four basic Taiji Jin patterns: Peng, Lu, Ji, and An. Next, a student must learn the other four basic Taiji Jin patterns, Cai, Lie, Zhou, and Kao. These routines are commonly called "Da Lu" (Da Lu"Lu‐Ji ", and simply "Cai, Lie, Zhou, and Kao." Silk Reeling Taiji Symbol Training (Taiji Quan Chan Shou Lian Xi) is the foundation of the Taiji Pushing Hands and Sparring. This training includes two portions: the Yang symbol and the Yin symbol. A student starts with Yang symbol, solo practice first, then with a partner. Begin with stationary practice, then move to forward and backward. After a student is able to move forward and backward with closed eyes, he or she then starts the parallel walking training. Finally, he or she will complete this symbol with the Bagua walking. When a student has mastered the Yang side, then he or she should learn the Yin side and follow the same training procedures. When these two Yin and Yang symbols are mastered, a student will be able to change his or her techniques smoothly and easily and apply them in the Pushing Hands or Sparring. The ancient art of Silk Reeling Jin in Chen style Taijiquan is also known as Taiji Yin/Yang Symbol Sticking Hands in Yang style Taiji. The main purpose of this soft and flowing training is to ‘connect’ the body, from head to toe, so that you may coordinate your movements effectively. From this Yang‐side and Yin‐side training, a practitioner will establish a firm foundation for understanding the martial aspects of Taijiquan practice. Taiji Moving Pushing Hands (Taiji Dong Bu Tui Shou) is the training before Taiji sparring, the final goal of instruction. In moving pushing hands, the student must use stepping strategy with the techniques learned in stationary pushing hands and the Taiji Fighting set. Students who have reached the level where the opponent cannot set them up, and can use their own techniques skillfully, have completed the basic training for sparring. The Taiji Fighting Set (Taiji San Shou Tui Lian) was designed so that two people could practice together in a situation resembling actual fighting. The main purpose of this training is to teach the student how to step and move his/her body into the most advantageous position in combat. Naturally, it also teaches the student how to avoid being channeled into a disadvantageous situation. The student needs to have practiced stationary pushing hands first, so that he/she can combine that experience with the fighting set to make the techniques come alive. Pushing Hands, Sticking Hands, and the Fighting Set can all be practiced for health purposes only, and they have many benefits for your general fitness, balance, and body awareness. However, the traditional purpose of Taijiquan is for fighting and self defense. Taiji Free Sparring (Taiji Zi You San Shou Dui Da) is the stage of training where the student uses the techniques learned over months and


years of training in actual hand to hand combat. Pads are worn are care is taken to not injure your training partner. As with most other Chinese martial arts, Taijiquan also includes weapons training, including the Saber, Staff, Spear, and Sword, as well as other lesser‐known traditional weapons. Each of these fascinating weapons can take many months and years of study and training to master, and this again has many benefits for your body and mind. The path of traditional Taijiquan is not easy, but the rewards it offers are endless.


XIN AND YI: TWO MINDS By Dr. Yang, JwingMing

If you are interested in learning Taijiquan, you must understand Yin and Yang, and their relationship with Taiji. Without knowing the theory and the Dao, your Taijiquan practice will be limited to the external forms and movements. In this case, you will have lost the real meaning of practicing Taijiquan. Before the action of Taijiquan movement, the Xin (emotional mind) is peaceful and the Qi is harmonious, the Xin and Yi (wisdom mind) are at the Real Dan Tian and the Qi stays in its residence. This is the state of extreme calmness and is the state of Wuji. However, when the Xin and Yi begin to act, the Qi circulation begins, the physical body’s movement is thus initiated, and the Yin and Yang accordingly divides. From this we can see that Xin and Yi are what is called Taiji in Taijiquan. That means the Dao of Taijiquan is the Dao of Xin and Yi, our two minds. The Wuji state exists inside each of us. It is the state from which all creative impulses grow. Taiji is generated out of Wuji and is the mother of Yin and Yang. Thus, Taiji is the cause of the Yin and Yang division, and is itself neither Wuji nor Yin and Yang, but the cause of the separation of Yin and Yang. In this sense it is a part of the divine aspect of the Dao. All things can be classified as either Yin or Yang. Taijiquan was created according to this theory. In the beginning posture of the Taijiquan sequence, the mind is calm and empty, and the weight is evenly distributed on both feet. This state is Wuji. When your mind starts to lead the body into the posture of Grasp Sparrow’s Tail , internal (Yin) and external (Yang) aspects of Taijiquan features start to be discriminated. Moreover, the hands and feet are differentiated into insubstantial (Yin) and substantial (Yang). This is the state of Two Polarities. Through interaction of substantial (Yang) and insubstantial (Yin), all of Taijiquan’s fighting strategies and techniques are generated. From this, you can see that the Taiji (i.e., the Dao) in Taijiquan is actually the mind. It is the mind that makes the body move and divides the Wuji state into Yin and Yang two polarities. We can conclude from this that Taijiquan is actually a martial art of the mind. Taiji means "grand ultimate". In the body, the mind is the grand ultimate that initiates movement, Qi circulation, and discrimination between yin and yang. Xin and Yi are able to reach anywhere in the universe without being restricted by time and space. From Xin and Yi, the Yin and Yang are initiated and continue to move into unlimited variations. This is the theory of millions of divisions and creations of Taiji. Therefore, those who practice Taijiquan must begin from the training of Xin and Yi. Though our physical bodies are restricted by our three‐dimensional reality, our minds are free to travel and reach anywhere in the universe, unrestricted by time, or even beyond this universe. All human creations, from shovels to airplanes, arose first in our imaginations. From our thoughts, new ideas are created. It is the same for Taijiquan. It was created from the mind, and its creation will continue without an end. Since it is an active, living, and creative art, Taijiquan is a product of spiritual enlightenment and an understanding of life. The emotional mind and wisdom mind are contained internally, which belongs to Yin. The movements (actions) of Taijiquan are manifested externally, which belongs to Yang. When the functions of Xin and Yi are applied to our spiritual feeling, they direct us into the correct Dao of cultivating our human nature, through efforts toward strengthening the mind, raise up the spirit, and comprehend the real meaning of human life, and from this, further to comprehend the meaning and relationship among humans, between humans and objects around us, and also to search for the truth of nature in heaven and earth. When the function of Xin and Yi is applied to our physical body, it is the great Dao of cultivating the physical life for self‐defense, nourishing the physical life, and strengthening the physical body. This is the foundation for extending our lives and establishing a firm root of health. When Xin and Yi are acting on internal spiritual feeling, it serves to cultivate our human temperaments and helps us to understand the meaning of our lives. When Xin and Yi are acting and manifested externally, it promotes physical health and self‐defense. Therefore, when we practice Taijiquan, we should cultivate both our spiritual beings (Yin) and train our physical bodies (Yang). Taijiquan originated from the Daoist family. Its ultimate goal is to reach enlightenment and so as to achieve the Dao of unification between heaven and human. Therefore, the final goal of practicing Taijiquan is to reach the unified harmonious Wuji state of heaven and human. From practicing Taijiquan, we are able to further comprehend the meaning of human life and the universe.


TAIJIQUAN THEORY OF REACHING ENLIGHTENMENT

By Dr. Yang, JwingMing

In the practice of Taijiquan pushing hands, Taiji circle sticking hands, and Taijiquan free fighting, etc., you must practice until you have reached a stage where there is no discrimination of the opponent. That means it is the stage where the opponent is you and you are the opponent, both are one. As a result, you know yourself and you also know your opponent. You are in an active position and the opponent’s action is driven by you. You are able to put the opponent in your palms. When there is an intention of moving, you know immediately. When this happens, you have reached the stage of fighting with enlightenment. At the beginning, the keys of training are in listening, following, attaching, and adhering ‐‐ four crucial words. If you are not able to use these four important keys skillfully, then you will not be able to communicate with the opponent and understand the situation. Afterward, the keys of training are on leading, neutralizing, coiling, and turning. If you cannot apply these four keys effectively, then the coming Jins will not be neutralized and dissolved by you and thus you will not be able to control your opponent in your palms. If you are able to reach the above (eight words), then the techniques such as Cai (pluck), Lie (split), Zhou (elbow), Kao (bump), Ti (kicking), Da (striking), Shuai (wrestling), and Na (Chin Na), etc. can be executed as you wish. When you practice Taijiquan skills to a high level and have reached a state of ‘fight of no fight’ (regulating without regulating), then every action is ultimately natural, comfortable, skillful, and effective. This is the stage of ‘fighting with enlightenment.’ In this stage, you are the one who controls the entire fighting situation. The keys to reaching this stage of training are in the eight crucial practices. At the beginning, you must practice listening (feeling), following, attaching, and adhering until you become proficient. If you can do so, you will be able to communicate with your opponent easily. Only then can you perform the skills of leading, neutralizing, coiling, and turning effectively. In fact, these eight key words are the crucial secrets of executing all of the Taijiquan fighting techniques successfully. In beginning of your training, the focus is on regulating the body, and then on regulating the breathing, regulating the Xin (emotional mind), regulating the Qi, and then regulating the spirit. Its final stage is to regulate the spirit until no regulating is necessary. This is the stage of regulating without regulating. If you really are able to reach this level, your enlightened spirit will be focused on it fully. This is the Dao of reaching enlightenment. In order to reach the final stage of enlightenment, you must regulate your body, and then your breathing, mind, Qi, and finally spirit. Once you are able to reach a stage at which your whole spirit is in the actions without any effort, then you have reached the stage of enlightenment. This is the level of action without action. Generally speaking, to reach enlightenment is to comprehend the meaning of physical life, to cherish all living things, to know the mandate of heaven, and to fulfill the will of heaven. That means, during the training process of killing and surviving in Taijiquan practice, to comprehend the reasons for human life, to cherish the value of millions of living things, to search for the rules of heaven Dao, and finally to achieve the great Dao of heaven and human’s unification. This is the original meaning of Taijiquan’s creation by the Daoist family in Wudang mountain. Taijiquan was created at the Daoist monasteries on Wudang mountain. The final goal of Daoist spiritual cultivation is to reunite the human spirit with the heaven’s (natural) spirit. To reach this goal, first we must comprehend the meaning of our lives, cherish all living things, search for the mandate of nature, and finally fulfill this mandate. From this, we can see that, though Taijiquan was created as a martial art, it does not mean to destroy or to kill life. On the contrary, it is the tool for us to understand life. From self‐understanding and discipline, we learn how to control ourselves and to appreciate life everywhere. Only then can we have a pure and kind heart to understand nature and its mandate. All of these are the required procedures for the unification of human and heaven’s spirit.


OPENING THE HEART WITH TAI CHI By Dave West

Opening the heart, cultivating love and kindness, and awakening the compassionate spirit inside our self is the key to inner peace and happiness, and the essence of spiritual progress. Love is a natural occurrence in the world, but bringing it to the forefront of our daily thought, speech and action involves cherishing others more than we cherish our self. This can be achieved through the regular practice of Loving Kindness Meditation and daily mindfulness in all thoughts, speech and actions. here we can control our ego, eliminate self‐importance and selfishness, and consider the happiness of others throughout our daily activities. We all need to heal our life, to understand our sickness, or to heal past traumatic experiences, for example ‐ family, romantic partners, teachers, and other important relationships. Meditation is the ideal place where we can examine these experiences and attitudes, and replace negative attitudes with more positive ones. When we experience truth, the madness of finding fault with others disappears. Self‐exploration though regular meditation allows us to recognise that the faults and failures in our daily life are not in the difficult situations that confront us, or in the people with whom we have to interact. The problems we face arise from within. Circumstances only act as a catalyst to bring them to the surface. This means that everything we feel, think, say, or do is coming up from deep within. Meditation gives us the chance to reflect on this, and apply the necessary changes to take place within us. By letting go of our ego’s reactions and practising forgiveness and acceptance we begin to experience pure and perfect love. We learn to gladly allow the energy of love to circulate and shine through, unobstructed by fear, pain and hatred. The deeper we explore, the more we come to realise a very simple truth: Loving thoughts feel good, and unloving thoughts feel bad. Unloving thoughts are like self‐inflicted poison darts, whereas loving thoughts are the natural response to reality when it is clearly perceived. This simple understanding will initiate a natural change of mind that will culminate in the most important theme of Tai Chi, Yoga and all healing arts: Learning to love and be loved. In this way we can begin to discover that suffering is our greatest teacher, and that the suffering in everyday life gives us many opportunities to live the ideal way. When we experience our own suffering it is a difficult time, and we tend to become overwhelmed with grief. But this is also a great opportunity to become stronger, adapt and evolve. In the depths of our suffering we can learn from the past, accept the difficult present and become stronger for the future. However, when we help others to feel less suffering, less distress from the inevitable negatives of life and the tragic losses and frustrations, the moment we do a positive thing for others without thought or concern for ourselves, in these moments suffering and enlightenment are one. This teaches us not to live apart from the world, but to live a real and active part of it. We discover that enlightenment is not some great cosmic peace trip for monks in caves; it is actually found right in the midst of our daily existence, and that the ultimate ideal of universal compassion can be approached in small ways, not just as all or nothing.


RECYCLING AND TRANSFORMING NEGATIVE ENERGY

By Mantak Chia

Everything is energy. When Tai Chi masters confront negative emotional energy, rather than seeking to hide it or to dump it out, they use techniques to transform negative, sick energy, into positive, loving, healing energy. The primary methods employed are The Inner Smile and the Six Healing Sounds. Negative emotions are stored in the body’s organs. Over time, the accumulation of the negativity erodes the organs health and effects the person’s disposition. The Six Healing Sounds work to transform the negative energy stored in the organs and to transform them into healing light. That works better than holding onto negativity or dumping it out onto someone, because such emotional venting only serves to pass an emotional virus onto another and, via the law of karma, eventually that same negativity will be revisited upon the person who sent it out in the first place. When negative emotional energy is transformed into positive energy, it can be circulated through the meridians, sending healing energy throughout the body. In the Taoist tradition, positive and negative emotions are associated with the internal organs. One of the keys to good health is to become aware of the emotional energies that reside in the organs, and to transform the negative emotional energies into positive virtues. Taoists believe that we are all born with the virtues of love, gentleness, kindness, respect, honesty, fairness, justice, and righteousness. Unfortunately, as we mature and encounter more stress in our daily lives, negative emotions such as fear, anger, cruelty, impatience, worry, sadness, and grief often predominate. The negative emotions have negative effects on the internal organs and glands, draining our life‐force and undermining our health. In the Tao, emotional intelligence is a process of recognizing emotions by their effects on the body, and employing exercises that transform the negative emotions into positive life force, or Chi. Two important exercises are the Inner Smile and the Six Healing Sounds techniques, as taught by Master Mantak Chia. Taoists learned the relationships between emotional energies and organ systems over many centuries of study and meditation. They developed these methods to transform negative to positive emotions from their practical and intuitive understanding of the human body. Many of the Taoist insights are supported by observations and evidence from modern psychology and medicine. The Inner Smile and Six Healing Sounds exercises focus on five organs or organ systems: the heart, the lungs, the kidneys, the liver/gall bladder, and the stomach/spleen. The Inner Smile and Six Healing Sound exercises direct our attentions to the body's organs and associated qualities. We successively visualize each organ, cleansing the organ and transforming negative emotional energies into positive virtues. In the Taoist tradition, each person assumes responsibility for the emotions that arise within, regardless of the external events that trigger the emotions. Taoist exercises take us into our bodies and transform emotions by transforming the associated physiological systems. The Inner Smile and Six Healing Sounds exercises help balance and integrate our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, promoting health, resilience, and vitality


HANDLING STRESS WITH TAI CHI By Milton Huang

The world seems to get more hectic and complex every day. We are being bombarded by a multitude of different ideas, different cultures and different conflicts. New technologies change our jobs and our relationships with instant messages, instant demands and instant expectations. Everything seems to keep accelerating, moving increasingly faster. These are the feelings that bring people to my door and keep me busy in my job as a psychiatrist. Everyone is stressed, even in "laid‐back" Santa Cruz. Part of my job is to help people find relief from that stress. Although some relief can be found through herbs, medications or other substances, I find that more lasting relief comes when people recognize patterns in themselves that contribute to their stress, then engage in a sustained effort to redirect those internal forces. This is not easy, and is sometimes even stressful in itself, but it is a lot healthier and allows greater flexibility in the long run. Stress is not a one‐way street that the outside world uses to make deliveries to our door. It is a dynamic response to the conditions of our lives. When we feel stressed, we often make it worse by worrying about it, blaming ourselves for not being "good enough," or simply tensing up and carrying the tension around in a defensive stance. I have learned this not only through talking to my patients, but also through my own experience. Stress, and specifically anxiety, is a visceral body reaction. Few other emotions remind us so directly that mind and body are inseparably connected. We feel our anxiety in our clenched guts and thumping hearts. We get physical aches and pains. Our hands get cold or sweaty. Yet, this connection between mind and body is generally automatic and unconscious. When we are able to look at ourselves and perceive how these body reactions are tied to our feelings about our lives, one is struck by the fact that mind and body are not only connected, but connected in a way we often cannot control. Anxiety reactions can seem to come out of nowhere or appear completely disproportionate to any rational assessment of the danger of a particular situation. Learning how to manage these reactions is difficult and sometimes counterintuitive. I find it a constant personal challenge, as well as a professional one. Although I have been trained in multiple therapeutic techniques and theories, I constantly look for ideas and approaches to better manage and resolve anxiety. In the last year‐and‐a‐half, I have explored one such approach in t'ai chi ch'uan, or tai chi. This ancient discipline can teach a broad range of self‐awareness and self‐connection skills that help a person understand and manage many physical and emotional issues. Those with a passing acquaintance immediately visualize a group of people moving in slow motion in a park in the early morning hours. My earlier impressions were primarily derived from such images, as well as various readings in Chinese philosophy. Yet, tai chi is not simply beautiful, slow movement. It is a highly refined and sophisticated martial art and self‐development discipline. My current understanding comes from regular training with a local teacher, Greg Brodsky. A martial artist since 1960, Brodsky studied with two of the most renowned tai chi masters in the United States, Cheng Man‐Ching and William C.C. Chen. Now in his 60s, Brodsky's emphasis is on practical body mechanics with exquisite awareness and practical cultivation of energy through the body. He always employs a characteristic gentle and humorous style, emphasizing the mental and emotional aspects in every lesson. One of these basic lessons is called "rooting." In this part of tai chi, one seeks to develop a solid grounding of self to the earth, keeping your feet on the ground, your feelings open and your mind clear and focused. Attention moves through the body from earth to foot to legs to center to hands. You begin to be aware of the constant relationship of how you physically support yourself, how different parts of your body are interconnected and how your efforts and intentions can hinder or enhance that support and connection. You also become more aware of the natural flow of motion and energy through the body and how these flow through our connection to the world around us. The physical background for such lessons is practice of the form ‐ a series of 60 movements that takes 10 to 15 minutes. As I move through these steps, I maintain awareness from moment to moment of where I am and how I am moving. Such attention has shown me how unconscious tensions are always present in different places in my body. Although being aware of how tense I am often makes me even more tense (since I


know that I "need to relax"), the process of being immersed in the flow of tai chi helps reduce the tendency to make those judgments and self‐criticisms. Brodsky and his wife and co‐teacher, Ching, work to create a training space where there are no "good" or "bad" moves, encouraging their students to just recognize their self‐generated stress patterns and cultivate new ones. These efforts have taught me that the main barriers to a comfortable inner state and competent tai chi practice are emotional. It is through learning your own emotional "root" and center that you can begin to recognize your own strengths and boundaries and feel a greater comfort in letting go and relaxing. This in turn allows us to release the energy we waste in defensive stances and to better connect with everything around us. This process creates an energized and dynamic relaxation that is not passive, but rather alive with a power that comes from our connection to the energy all around us. Although I am only a novice in learning these skills, I can understand what Greg means when he quotes his first teacher, Cheng Man‐Ching: "Stillness while in motion is true stillness." These lessons become even more clear in another part of tai chi that is not as widely known: Push Hands. Push Hands practice extends the body awareness and connection developed in solo practice to a situation in which one interacts with another person. In this exercise, two people face each other and, within safe boundaries, attempt to push each other off balance. As in form practice, one strives to maintain a constant grounding and balance, as well as a smooth and natural flow ‐ this time in coordination between two different individuals. To be successful, one must pay close attention to their partner's actions and intentions. You quickly learn that single‐minded pursuit of the idea of pushing with aggressive force makes you vulnerable because your force can be used against you. It is from knowing and blending with your partner's moves that you can learn how to recognize and redirect them in a natural and flowing way. Tai chi practitioners call this "listening." I find that, with Push Hands as with the tai chi form, anxious emotions create the greatest barrier to progress. I have become acutely aware of how I tense or overreact when I sense a push coming, thereby wasting energy or making myself more vulnerable. I also see how I inhibit my own pushes and reflexively become passive, failing to push when I should. These are the same emotional reflexes that I always carry with me, whether I'm playing with my kids or working with a patient. In the exercise of Push Hands, I have a dynamic arena where I can learn to recognize and change unconscious patterns of behavior ‐ an essential part of growing to be a better father and therapist. Personally, I have found my work in tai chi to be challenging, yet an important path that continues to provide me opportunities to grow emotionally. The emotional self is always difficult to change, as it resists with a legion of deceptive devices. Obvious symptoms such as stress activate us and draw us into looking for immediate relief, sometimes leading us to miss the larger patterns of how we become trapped in our lives. I always encourage people to look to the larger picture and not rely on the quick fixes that are becoming all too easily available in modern society. The healthiest ways to reduce stress are the ones that last. Stress is often a sign that we are challenged by the task of uniting our physical, intellectual and emotional selves. It is from discontinuities between these selves that we often create our personal lifelong traps that can repeatedly drain us. Recognizing these traps and resolving these discontinuities form an ongoing, lifetime work that is essential for health and for living fully. Each person is unique, with unique background, unique talents and a unique path to tread. Some find assistance in such a task through spiritual practice. Others through psychotherapy or disciplines like tai chi. If you seek new ways to find how to connect to your mind and body, you should consider finding a teacher or "sifu" and discover what this ancient practice can do for you.


THE TRUE QUALITY OF TAI CHI By Dr. Aihan Kuhn

WHAT IS TAI CHI? HOW DOES TAI CHI IMPROVE HEALTH? People ask me these questions all the time. Some ask because they see so many people doing these exercises in the park. Others ask because they can hardly believe there can be any benefits from such slow body movements. We, Americans, do things so fast. I often ask people when I give lectures “What is the life span of a dog? What is the life span of a turtle”? I guess you know now who preserves their energy better. Tai Chi is a very special, artistic, and yet gentle total‐body, internal energy workout, that provides great health benefits to our body, our mind, and our spirit. Tai Chi is a form of art, a motion art, similar to dancing; it is like “dancing in the clouds”. You can truly express yourself through these exercise movements. The beautiful flow of Tai Chi gives you a sense of wellbeing and comfort as you move the energy. Tai Chi is a type of meditation, a meditation through movement, which helps to calm brain activity and promote chemical balance in the brain. This makes you feel positive and peaceful by helping you to let go of all the junk in your mind and in your body. This is called “energy cleansing”. That is why many people use Tai Chi for stress reduction. The original movements of Tai Chi were taken from the martial arts. Therefore, Tai Chi is also a martial art, an internal martial art, which can be used for self defense. Practicing Tai Chi can be done in two different ways: the harmonious way and the martial way. Most people enjoy the harmonious way, for health, healing, and stress reduction. Younger people enjoy the martial way, to strengthen the body, the mind, and to develop fighting skills. Many martial art practitioners start to practice Tai Chi when they get older, not only for healing of their injuries, but also to strengthen their organ energy and to prevent aging. THE BENEFITS OF TAI CHI Tai Chi shares the same principles with Chinese medicine which are—to maintain optimum health and a strong immune system, to create wholeness and harmony in the body, and to enhance self healing ability. This is done through the practice of Tai Chi by enhancing the body energy systems and energy flow. This is called the “smooth flow of “qi”. This type of qi benefits our organ systems, such as the cardio‐vascular system, respiratory system, gastro‐intestinal system, muscular skeletal system, and neurological system. It also helps to increase stamina, daily energy levels, and immune function. Best of all, it balances the two sides of the brain, promotes better learning, enhances memory, and improves body functions; it is like an “Adult Brain GYM”. In people who have practiced Tai Chi for most of their lives, you will notice the sharpness and clarity of their minds. By practicing Tai Chi regularly intuition improves. The reason for this is that Tai Chi works with your internal energy. There is more awareness of surrounding energies, including the energy of people and the environment. Those that do energy healing work, body work, or other hands on therapy, may find that their healing work or therapeutic work is much more effective. From practicing many years of Chinese medicine, Qigong and Tai Chi, I have received so many positive and rewarding compliments from my patients. We have more family members as patients and numerous patients have switched from Western medicine to Eastern medicine looking for a more natural way for healing. They are very happy with the results that they have received from the treatments of Eastern medicine. Why? Because it works. And it is a very effective age‐old proven method of healing. LEARNING TAI CHI Tai Chi movements, which are slow and circular, coordinate with body motion. People have often told me that Tai Chi is difficult to learn. I respond, “yes” and “no.” If you learn it correctly; it is not difficult. One of the very important tips in Tai Chi practice is to relax and let go of everything in your mind and body. I often find that people are very tense during my teaching in classes and during instructor training workshops. As soon as they relax, they can see how much better they do. The theory is, if you


relax, you allow your energy to flow. If you tense up, you will cause energy blockages, which will make the learning much more difficult. Tai Chi is an advanced energy workout that needs a relaxed attitude and full concentration on the present you. Breathing is slow and deep and coordinated with each movement. For beginners, the breathing is not emphasized. Most practice is in walking motion, but for the new learner, some stationary practice on Tai Chi basics can be very helpful. This kind of practice, beginners may find easier. Before practicing Tai Chi, always do 10 to 15 minutes of warm‐up exercises or fast walking. After practice, do some stretching. There are five main styles or forms: Yang, Chen, Wu, Wu (Hao), and Sun. The most popular styles are Yang, Wu, Chen, in this order. More people study the Yang style, big frame style, which is easy to learn and easy to share with others. Wu style, small frame style, is also easy to learn, and the older population likes it. Chen style, I call martial style, very energetic and powerful, but more difficult to learn. All of them share the same principles and provide similar benefits. For those practicing the martial way, they should incorporate some Tai Chi Push Hands, to demonstrate and test the true understanding of Tai Chi. Although Tai Chi offers great health benefits; it is not for everyone. It is not practical for anyone with a severe illness. In contrast, Qigong can be used for any situation. If you have too much stress or a chemical imbalance, Tai Chi is a good tool to use every day. Once you decide to learn Tai Chi, you will need to have discipline, patience, and diligent practice, because learning Tai Chi takes time. It is more beneficial and much more fun, if you incorporate it with the practice of Push Hands. Tai Chi Push Hands, a form of partnership practice, can be used to gain the fundamental skills of focusing and directing energy. Use Tai Chi skills to defend the external force. Push hands share the same principles of Tai Chi. In order to avoid injury in Tai Chi practice, beginners should avoid low stance, and focus on relaxation, gradually increase the length of practice, alternate the station movements, and walking movements. Always warm up before practice. Tai Chi is a journey and it serves as a self discipline. It is a life style, a constant awareness of well being and good health. In our fast paced society, we need Tai Chi to balance our life, keep us up‐lifting, help us focus, keep us healthy, bring us fulfilled spirit, and happiness.

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