One day, Chángdí said to Lǎo Dàoshi, “Daye, I have been studying Taiji Quan for a while now and I have some questions.”
“What questions do you have?” inquired Lǎo Dàoshi.
Chángdí pondered for a moment, wondering whether his uncle could answer his questions since they were questions about Taiji Quan. Finally, he said, “When I practice the form, it feels good most of the time.”
“Wonderful,” replied his uncle.
“But sometimes it feels even better; almost ecstatic.”
“Ahh…I see.”
“How can I make the form feel its best more frequently?” asked Chángdí.
“A wise question,” stated the Old Daoist. “Do you have any ideas why it feels better sometimes?”
After a brief pause, “No, nothing that I can put into words.”
It was his uncle’s turn to pause. Finally, Lǎo Dàoshi asked, “Do you feel ecstatic more often recently compared to a year or two years ago?”
“Yes, I think I do. But still, it does not seem to happen very often.”
“I have watched you practicing several times,” said Lǎo Dàoshi. “Your form has improved. It is more balanced. The transition from one posture to the next is smoother. But recognize that I cannot tell what you feel by observing your form. Much of Taiji Quan is experiential, meaning you must experience these aspects of Taiji before they truly make sense. They are even difficult to put into words. And it takes time for them to reveal themselves.” [Note: See my post titled, Taiji Quan Practice Recommendations]
They both sat quietly for a while. Then, Chángdí said, “How can I optimize my form so that it feels ecstatic more often?”
“An astute question, nephew. Although it was many years ago now, I remember having similar questions. Here is what my teacher suggested: Simply follow the principles of Taiji Quan.” Lǎo Dàoshi smiled slightly at Chángdí when he said this.
“What are the Principles of Taiji?
“They are all revealed in the classic Taiji Quan writings. You should read the classics. [Note: See (Scheele, 2020) below] However, a famous Taiji master, named Yang Cheng Fu, developed a ten-point list of the most important principles. Yang Cheng Fu orally transmitted these to his students:
1 Hold your head upright, without effort [Empty, Lively, Pushing Up and Energetic]
hold your head upright and straight without using strength to force it up. The apex of the head is the Bai Hui point, not the flat of the top of the head. Tuck your chin slightly, do not force it, nor tuck it in excessively. The chin does not touch the neck or upper chest.
2 Draw in the Chest and Slightly Round the Back
Drawing in the chest means it is slightly drawn inward, which causes the back to slightly round outward. One way to achieve rounding of the back, is to focus on horizontally separating the shoulder blades slightly. Do not draw in the chest/round the back excessively; it is very gentle. [ Hote: According to the Yang Tai Chi website, “If you can slightly round the back, then you will be able to emit strength from the spine, which others cannot oppose.” (Admin, 2019)]
3 Relax the Waist
The Taiji classics state that the energy flow starts with the feet, is directed by the waist, and expressed in the hands. To accomplish this, you will need to relax the waist. A relaxed waist will also let you recognize the alternation of empty and full in your legs.
4 Separate Empty and Full
In the art of Tai Chi Chuan, separating full and empty is fundamental to Taiji Quan. Once you are able to distinguish full and empty, your turning movements be light, nimble and almost without effort. If you can’t distinguish between empty and full, your steps will be heavy and sluggish (i.e., double weighted).
- Sink the Shoulders and Lower the Elbows
5 Sink the Shoulders and Lower the Elbows
Sinking the shoulders results in them being relaxed, open, and hanging 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.” (Admin, 2019) Many people carry tension in their shoulders – pay attention to this! Lowering the elbows means the elbows are relaxed downward. Let the elbows sink as if a weight is hanging from them. If the elbows are elevated then the shoulders are unable to sink.
6 Use Intent Rather than Force
The Taiji Classics stress the use of intention rather than muscular force. Practice Taiji Quan, using minimal muscular effort. Let the entire body relax and let the joints loosen and extend. Use of muscular strength results in blockage of chi flow. “Only then [when using intention] will you be able to lightly and nimbly change and transform, circling naturally.” (Admin, 2019) Adept practitioners of Taiji have arms, which seem like iron wrapped in cotton; soft but immovable.
7 Coordinate Upper and Lower Body
In the Tai Chi Classics use of a coordinated (or integrated) body is expressed as: the energy is “rooted in the feet, generated from the legs, controlled by the waist, and expressed through the fingers.” (Scheele, 2020) Integrating (coordinating) the body means that when the hands move, the waist moves, and the legs move. The gaze moves along with them. Think of keeping the shoulders above the hips and imagine the torso as a plank that cannot twist; turn and rotate at the hips.
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.” (Admin, 2019)
What does this mean? The simplest way to state it, is that you should be in harmony with nature. Your internal spirit (a.k.a. ‘shen’) is not separate from your external actions; they are one. This is accomplished with a calm mind and a relaxed (sung) body. As stated in the Tai Chi classics, “The Form is like that of a falcon about to seize a rabbit, and the shen is like that of a cat about to catch a rat.” (Scheele, 2020)
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 off, 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. [Note that in Tai Chi, the intent and chi are continuously flowing; this does not (necessarily) mean the body is continually moving.]
10 Seek Quiescence [Stillness] 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 [stillness] to overcome movement, and even in movement, still have quiescence [stillness]. 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 dantian, 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.
When Lǎo Dàoshi finished, Chángdí said, “I do not understand everything you recited.”
“I didn’t expect that you would,” replied the Old Daoist. “Much of the knowledge and wisdom of these words requires the student to physically experience the principles. Intellectual knowledge alone is inadequate. For this reason, the meaning of each principle is revealed slowly and the student’s understanding changes and deepens over time. Indeed, in this sense, everyone, including even grandmasters, are students of Taiji. Taiji Quan is a bottomless pool in which one can always dive deeper and arrive at a new understanding, regardless of how much one currently knows.”
Works Cited
Admin. (2019, August 28). The Ten Essntials of Tai Chi Chuan. Retrieved 2023, from Yang Family Tai Chi: https://yangfamilytaichi.com/2019/08/28/the-ten-essentials-of-tai-chi-chuan/
Scheele, L. N. (2020). T’aiChi Ch’uan Classics. Retrieved from LEE SCHEELE’S ONLINE T’AI CHI CH’UAN NOTEBOOK: http://www.scheele.org/lee/classics.html