To thoroughly explain the principles of Tai Chi, I use simple logic to verify the ancient theories of Tai Chi. What I talk about is spirals, levers, and tangents. Their principles are very simple. If you tell someone "internal power," they won't understand. If you talk about "yin and yang," they still won't get it. Talking about yin and yang, or Bagua, starting from Laozi's Tao Te Ching: The way is not the ordinary way, the name is not the ordinary name. No matter what, he won't understand all these things about yin-yang balance. If you mention levers, a pivot point, and a force arm, he will fully understand. If you say tangent, he gets it. First, it has a subtle essence. The theory of Tai Chi is based on China's Yi Jing (Book of Changes). It emphasizes yin-yang balance, harmony between hardness and softness, the opposition and unity of contradictions. Second, it uses the Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) as its health foundation for unblocking meridians. There's a TV advertisement about unblocking meridians that says "pain means blockage, no pain means free flow." This makes perfect sense. Based on fitness, Tai Chi has significant health benefits, which is very important. Third, it uses Qi Jiguang's new method of training soldiers as its combat foundation. Qi Jiguang was a national hero who developed a 32-style martial arts form to resist Japanese pirates. Chen Wangting borrowed 29 styles, nine-tenths of which were incorporated into his own system.
The principles of Tai Chi can play roles in various aspects. This unique Eastern exercise has caused a sensation worldwide. Tai Chi belongs to China but also to the world. With its lightness and heaviness, I believe that no other martial art or sports project in the world can compare with Tai Chi. Tai Chi is the Bible of the East, living sculpture, flowing landscapes, lyrical music, extremely beautiful, and full of royal dignity. Some apply the principles of Tai Chi to business management, Tai Chi aids in action, Tai Chi and calligraphy, Tai Chi used in family matters, etc., all utilizing Tai Chi art. Imagine two couples practicing Tai Chi together. When one becomes soft, the other should be hard; when one is hard, the other must soften. If both are hard, it’s over. Long-term coexistence requires harmonizing hardness and softness. If relations deteriorate between partners, it's because their Tai Chi isn't good enough. You couldn’t resolve conflicts, leading to issues. Once Tai Chi improves, understanding follows, and problems vanish.
In all aspects of society, everything revolves around Tai Chi. So, what is the true content of Tai Chi? It's your spiritual perception. For example, when you worship at a temple before Buddha, what does Shakyamuni represent in your heart? It's respect and admiration. If you don't believe in him, he means nothing. If he descends from the altar, you'd be astonished, even terrified. In your mind, if you think he's a Buddha, then he is. Thus, Tai Chi resides within every practitioner's heart. Serious practice brings benefits. One doesn't necessarily need to knock others down, write books, or become a master. Simply adjusting oneself signifies success.
Tai Chi’s scientific nature, practicality, and constructiveness involve mastering the method of using the tips of limbs to lead force. Receiving opponents isn't too difficult, though not easy either. Knowing advanced methods still requires practice. Tai Chi is a form of body language expressed through movement. To achieve this, focus on leading force through the tips while ensuring intermediate positioning, like elbow and knee alignment, with root relaxation. Previous teachings include: "First move involves the hand, moving the hand necessarily expands the elbow, adding support strength forward and leaving space under the armpit."
Practicing Tai Chi isn't solely for exercise. As humans strive for progress, many seek Tai Chi's combat techniques. Combat is the core of Tai Chi. The original creator aimed for combat, not health or meditation. Later martial artists discovered its fitness, self-cultivation, and mental tranquility benefits. However, without combat skills, Tai Chi loses value. To learn combat, follow scientific methods: lead force through the tips, curl ends, emphasize upper limb movements. A standard method checks shoulder tension, dislocation, and elevation during practice. Combat effectiveness depends on following these rules.
How to relax well involves several stages from a natural person to a Tai Chi expert. Methods in Chen-style Tai Chi first require seeking expansion and eliminating stiffness. Without expansion, it's not Tai Chi. Start by focusing on leading force through the tips while practicing spiral energy. Yang-style focuses on extracting silk energy. Differences between spiral and extraction aren't detailed here but fundamentally involve rotational "spiraling" akin to winding yarn, expanding continuously. Expansion forms the basis of future support energy. Avoid single-direction brute force; instead, use rotational spiral energy through practice to develop "support strength."
To achieve ultimate mastery, one must transform weakness into strength, small into great, developing Tai Chi's neutralizing energy. Through personal expression, showcase Tai Chi's characteristics as an artistic experience.
Teachers rarely stress coordinating breathing with movements but advocate natural breathing, emphasizing internal dantian rotation, where the intangible guides the tangible. Understanding this principle is profound.
Not emphasizing breath coordination doesn't mean it's unimportant; rather, it should naturally integrate into practice. Over time, correct habits form without conscious effort. Check whether inhaling occurs during storage and exhaling during release. If so, it becomes habitual, requiring no emphasis.
During practice, ensure all necessary movements occur, including jumps and leaps. If lacking, discussing internal dantian rotation may be premature. However, if taught, embrace it without doubt.
Chen-style emphasizes spiral energy, termed "twisting thread energy," though potentially misleading. More accurately described by Chen Fakuo as "twisting rope energy." Every movement incorporates twisting, even straight punches. True twisting involves axial rotation throughout the body, akin to a twisted rope. This axial rotational motion is unique to Chen-style boxing, emphasizing coordinated whole-body twisting.
Taking the concealed hand punch as an example, from double leg twists, waist rotation, and inner arm twists, the entire body works together for a standard concealed hand punch. Chen-style maintains the most authentic representation of Tai Chi.
For instance, pushing in Chen-style applies force at the palm base, not the back of the hand. Yang-style pushes with the back of the hand, deviating from the original eight fundamental forces.
Following teacher instructions ensures basic standards. Though experiencing dantian internal rotation may take time, achieving spiral energy and relaxed elasticity is possible. Fully grasping concepts like qi originating from the dantian or grand circulations might require more practice.
Chen Xin stated, "Tai Chi involves spiral methods; understanding spirals is essential to Tai Chi." Emphasizing visible movements must incorporate spirals, guiding internal energy through form.
Regarding the eight gate forces, they represent eight applications of support strength without specific emphasis on force points. Tai Chi generates power from the waist and legs, not just the extremities. At the hands, distinctions between palm and back fade. An elder emphasized practicing Tai Chi internally, not externally. For instance, relying force applies equally through shoulders and backs without needing fists.
Spiral energy isn't merely felt but actively performed. During practice, producing spiral energy leads to genuine spiral actions, generating dantian friction and internal energy. Spiral energy encompasses the entire body, centered on the dantian. Masters leave circular footprints after practice due to comprehensive root-based coordination.
During practice, avoid focusing on "qi." The boxing classics state, "Focus on spirit, not qi; focusing on qi causes stagnation." Practice as if blindfolded, perceiving surroundings through heightened senses. Direct attention outward rather than inwardly tracking qi flow, which could distract. Tai Chi emphasizes unconscious natural application of qi.
A teacher once said, "Understanding Tai Chi means realizing ignorance. Realizing ignorance marks the beginning of knowledge. True understanding reveals much remains unknown." Tai Chi cultivates mental and physical discipline. Comparing oneself to others distracts from personal growth. Mastery involves continuous development.
Chen-style Tai Chi includes three frameworks: 1. Martial framework - large, low postures for slow integration of yin-yang, empty-full transitions, Tai Chi guidance, and breathing exercises. 2. Health framework - higher stances with controlled speed, emphasizing intention and natural breathing. 3. Fast framework - practiced after familiarity with rules, enhancing speed and flexibility closer to real combat.
Tai Chi's soul lies in practical application. Regardless of height, speed, or style, training develops necessary combat skills. Forms alone cannot replicate combat conditions.
Tai Chi embodies life's simplest truths. Losing more Tai Chi principles often yields greater insight, achieving clarity, calmness, and simplicity. Failing to embody these qualities prevents reaching deeper levels. Balancing softness and hardness naturally emerges.
Relaxation without strain enables further relaxation; seeking hardness without forcing achieves hardness. Effortless yet purposeful energy flows naturally. Mastery transcends defined paths, embracing innate instincts. Opponent advances yield retreats; attacking mirrors counter-attacks. Enlightened individuals understand inherently; others remain perpetually confused.
Natural movement inherently incorporates spirals. Avoid forced spiraling; let natural movement guide.
Practitioners don't necessarily excel due to skill level or depth of practice. Important is clarity. For example, understanding Chen-style's seventy-three percent weight distribution or non-straight kicks clarifies broader principles. Mastering one technique illuminates others. Practicing principles ensures progress even outside formal practice, like walking or sleeping.
Tai Chi's sole principle is yin-yang transformation. Its method is naturalness. Its mechanism is lever twisting. Its goal is relaxation. Understanding relaxation equates to softness, softness leads to hardness, and applying intent directs force. Highest attainment aligns with innate instincts. Opponent advances yield retreats; attacks mirror counter-attacks. Those who understand naturally comprehend; others remain forever ignorant.
Avoid forced spiraling; natural movement inherently incorporates spirals.
Practicing doesn't guarantee mastery or expertise. Important is clarity. For instance, Chen-style's weight distribution or kick mechanics must be understood. Grasping one technique clarifies others. Practice principles ensure progress even outside formal practice, like walking or sleeping.
Tai Chi principles are straightforward yet complex. From simplicity arises complexity, eventually returning to simplicity. Pursue foundational principles rather than countless variations. Achieving personal insight opens the door to Tai Chi.
Boxing theory mentions practicing the body, not the hands. Why practice the body instead of the hands or legs? Because power originates from leg thrusts, guided by the waist and dantian, manifesting through fingertips. Practicing legs neglects the body; practicing the body neglects the hands; practicing the hands neglects the mind. Power transmission allows intentional control.
Tai Chi progression: relaxing leads to softness, softness leads to hardness, intent directs force. Relaxation without strain enables further relaxation; seeking hardness without forcing achieves hardness. Effortless yet purposeful energy flows naturally. Mastery transcends defined paths, embracing innate instincts. Opponent advances yield retreats; attacking mirrors counter-attacks. Enlightened individuals understand inherently; others remain perpetually confused.
Strict adherence to principles—spiral movements, force originating from the feet, sequential transmission, unified body—reveals internal and external spirals in every movement. Ultimately, Tai Chi aims to defeat opponents. Whether dynamic or static, the ultimate test is breaking an opponent's foot bones with a single strike. Other aspects are secondary.
Tai Chi is one style among Chinese martial arts, a martial art, not qigong or metaphysics. Push hands isn't for competition but for feeding energy. Competitive push hands risks bias, offering little benefit for actual combat. Push hands serve as auxiliary training; key remains practical application.
Tai Chi is martial art, not qigong. Discussing internal energy isn't denial but clarification to prevent confusion or misguidance. Internal dantian friction enables abdominal practice, achieved through correct posture and full-body spirals. Everyone can reach this stage with proper practice. Incomplete spirals prevent achievement. Once spirals connect, natural dantian friction occurs, gradually controllable by intent. Like 1+1=2, why complicate?
Regardless of correctness, effective striking defines success. Relaxed readiness enhances effectiveness. Tai Chi seeks tightness within looseness, hardness within softness, defense within offense, and conversion between yin and yang. Slow practice leads to fast execution. Essential is bone-on-bone impact, exploiting weaknesses in opponents' structures.
Human bodies function like flexible steel whips. Bones connected by tendons act as handles and tips. Force transmitted through the body resembles whipping. Though soft, the whip tip delivers the blow, not the cord. Similarly, using hands involves treating them as whip tips, arms as cords, and the body as the handle. Any part of the body can function as the whip tip.
Strict adherence to principles—spiral movements, force originating from the feet, sequential transmission, unified body—reveals internal and external spirals in every movement. Ultimately, Tai Chi aims to defeat opponents. Whether dynamic or static, the ultimate test is breaking an opponent's foot bones with a single strike. Other aspects are secondary.
Tai Chi is one style among Chinese martial arts, a martial art, not qigong or metaphysics. Push hands isn't for competition but for feeding energy. Competitive push hands risks bias, offering little benefit for actual combat. Push hands serve as auxiliary training; key remains practical application.
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