Five Steps of Tai Chi

by langrentoh1 on 2012-02-10 15:49:12

The Five Steps of Tai Chi are five types of footwork within the Thirteen Postures of Tai Chi, which refer to advancing, retreating, looking back, gazing forward, and being centered. These five types of footwork correspond to certain acupoints related to the meridians and organs in the human body and also align with the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Below is a detailed explanation of their corresponding relationships:

(1) Advancing: In the five elements, it belongs to water, positioned in the north. The corresponding acupoint in the human body is the Huiyin point, which belongs to the kidney meridian. The source of power for this movement is the Huiyin point. To advance, simply focus your intention on the Huiyin point, look forward and upward, and the body will naturally move forward. From the outside, this force is only manifested in the footwork. Internally, it is the sticky force. Sticky force mainly drives advancement. It is active, using your hands, wrists, and arms to stick to the opponent's hands, wrists, and arms, lifting them up so that they fall into an empty position, achieving the goal of moving four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds. This is one of the most important basic internal forces in push hands practice. Sticky force requires lightness and agility, complete relaxation of the whole body, and absolutely no force in the hands. Sticky force is like fishing; the body is like a fishing rod, especially the spine part, which should be upright and comfortable. The arm is like the flexible line on the fishing rod, and the hand and wrist can be compared to the fishhook. To use sticky force to lift the opponent, this force must be initiated from its source, the Huiyin point, transmitted through the arm to the hand or wrist. The arm must be loose and without strength, and the hand and wrist must be agile. Whether actively sticking or passively sticking to the opponent, ideal results can be achieved. Otherwise, if the arm has strength and becomes stiff, it is like using a stick to fish, where any movement of the stick will scare the fish away.

(2) Retreating: In the five elements, it belongs to fire. Fire can transform all things, positioned in the south. The corresponding acupoint in the human body is the Yintang point, which belongs to the heart meridian. The source of power for this movement is the Yintang point. To retreat, simply focus your intention on the Yintang point, look downward, and the body will naturally move backward. From the outside, it is only manifested in the footwork. Internally, it is the connecting force. Connecting force means continuous connection, without interruption, silent and seamless. Tai Chi push hands combine hardness and softness, requiring both advancement and retreatment, transformation and release. If retreating seems advantageous, then releasing follows naturally. The upper body may appear to retreat, but the spirit and energy have already surged forward, which is the method of using retreat as an advance. Advancement requires stickiness, and retreatment requires connectivity. Truly understanding connectivity allows one to master the subtleties of flexibility, stillness, opening, closing, rising, and falling. Seeing advancement leads to retreatment, encountering release leads to combination, seeing coming leads to yielding, and going leads to rising. Achieving this level means reaching the realm of understanding force. Conversely, beginners who lack connectivity when the opponent forcefully pushes them often end up retreating chaotically, leading to falls due to not understanding connectivity. After truly understanding connectivity, one can grasp the subtleties of bending, stretching, movement, stillness, opening, closing, rising, and falling.

(3) Looking Back (Left): In the five elements, it belongs to wood, characterized by straightness, positioned in the east. The corresponding acupoint in the human body is the Jiaji point, which belongs to the liver meridian. The source of power for this movement is the Jiaji point. To side-turn and advance, simply focus your intention on the Jiaji point, dropping it onto the Yongquan point of the supporting foot, and the body will naturally rotate and advance. From the outside, it is manifested in the footwork. Internally, it is the adhering force. Adhering force is like sticking or attaching, neither losing nor resisting. When the opponent advances, you retreat; when they retreat, you advance. When they float, you follow; when they sink, you relax. You do not let go or separate. Adhering force in Tai Chi push hands can resolve offensive techniques such as warding off, squeezing, and pressing. When the opponent attacks, your entire body should relax, especially your hands and arms, avoiding resistance against incoming force. Otherwise, if you resist with force, you expose your waist’s source of power, making your resisting hand or arm become the endpoint of your force, easily allowing the opponent to hit your source through this endpoint. Before the opponent's force contacts your body, immediately relax your entire body, focusing your intention on the Jiaji point, lightly adhering to the point of contact and moving sideways, causing the opponent's force to miss its mark. Note that before the opponent's force causes them to fall, you must not leave the adhering position.

(4) Gazing Forward (Right): In the five elements, it belongs to metal, positioned in the west. The corresponding acupoint in the human body is the Zhongshan point, which belongs to the lung meridian. The source of power for this movement is the Zhongshan point. To side-turn and retreat, simply raise your right hand to the level of your breast (i.e., align your thumb with the Zhongshan point), while raising your left hand between your navel and heart, with both palms facing down. Imagine the Zhongshan point slightly contracting, look downward along your left index finger, and the body will naturally rotate and retreat. The above describes the case of left being empty and right being solid; conversely, it is the same. From the outside, it is manifested in the footwork. Internally, it is the following force. Following force means compliance and adherence, adjusting according to the opponent's movements, neither too close nor too far, maintaining harmony in both advancement and retreatment. Letting go of oneself and following the opponent, when the opponent moves, you follow accordingly. This is what is referred to as step-by-step compliance. Tai Chi emphasizes the art of letting go of oneself and following the opponent. Wherever the opponent touches your body, that area should comply flexibly. For example, if they touch your hand, your hand should remain relaxed and flexible; if they touch your elbow, your elbow should remain relaxed and flexible; if they touch your chest, your chest should remain relaxed and flexible. The entire body should be like this. However, note that when touched, focus your intention on the source of power at the Zhongshan point, aligning it gently with the point of contact, and follow their movements accordingly. Focusing solely on the point of contact creates dual intentions. Note that you must neither lose contact nor resist; if the opponent advances a foot, you retreat nine inches, leaving one inch unretreated would be resisting; if the opponent advances a foot, you retreat a foot and one-tenth of an inch more would be losing contact. Only by neither losing contact nor resisting can you lead them to fall into an empty position and borrow their force to release them.

(5) Being Centered: In the five elements, it belongs to earth, positioned in the center. The corresponding acupoint in the human body is the Dantian point, which belongs to the spleen meridian. The source of power is the Dantian. To stabilize your center of gravity, simply focus your intention on the Mingmen and navel points, and your body will become stable as a mountain. Therefore, the five steps correspond to the five elements, and the five elements in the human body correspond to the five acupoints. From the outside, it is manifested in the footwork. Internally, it is the force of neither losing contact nor resisting. This force must be practiced internally and expressed externally; only when inside and outside are combined can it function effectively. Being centered does not mean losing position; keep your chest relaxed and your waist loose. The opponent's approach may be high or low, horizontal or vertical, left or right, long or short, uncertain. Initially, you may need to step and transform their force. When transforming the opponent's force, focus your intention on the Dantian. For forces coming from the front, imagine your navel touching the Mingmen; for forces coming from behind, imagine the Mingmen touching the navel. Do not resist; after relaxing their force, reversing the source of power becomes releasing, causing the opponent to bounce and fall. As soon as your hand or arm feels force, immediately relax and make it insubstantial. If you encounter imbalance, relax it; if you encounter double weight, lower it. Follow the direction of the opponent's force, dissipating it without resistance, making them fall into an empty position everywhere, feeling powerless. This is what is referred to as being substantial on the left when the left is heavy and insubstantial on the right when the right is heavy. Focus your intention on the Dantian, changing between the navel and Mingmen. Keep your entire body relaxed and calm, maintaining control over the opponent. If you can reach this realm, even if the opponent has a thousand pounds of force, they will be unable to apply it. Subtle and mysterious, this technique can achieve the effect of moving four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds.

Sticky, connecting, adhering, and following are the forces of neither losing contact nor resisting. They primarily drive advancement and retreatment and are the most essential basic internal forces in Tai Chi push hands. Warding off, rolling back, squeezing, pressing, plucking, splitting, using the elbow, and leaning are methods that can be expressed through postures and can be considered Yang forces. Sticky, connecting, adhering, and following do not have fixed postures and can be considered Yin forces. These forces come from push hands practice. Initially, when practicing, the hands may feel numb, like wooden sticks. Gradually, sensation develops from the hands to the arms, chest, back, and eventually throughout the entire body's skin. Having sensation enables sticking and adhering, and having sticking and adhering allows you to absorb and control the opponent. This type of sticking and adhering requires guidance from a skilled teacher. It is like charging a battery; the teacher is the generator, and the learner is the battery. The teacher teaching the student is like charging the battery. Once the power is accumulated, like the generator has charged the battery, the battery can independently generate electricity, commonly known as feeding force. After practicing this force to a certain degree, there is a sensation on the skin akin to clouds or mist, like lacquer or glue. Once in contact with an opponent, there is neither loss of contact nor separation. Not only are the hands like this, but the entire body is as well. The higher the skill, the thicker the Qi, and the larger the area. However, this Qi cannot be seen but can be felt. Skilled practitioners can determine the opponent's level upon initial contact during push hands based on the size of the mutual sticking circle. This force is the most important in Tai Chi push hands and must be practiced initially. Otherwise, studying other forces will be impossible. Beginners must pay attention to this.