Tai Chi Chuan Principles

In learning a discipline as ancient and precise as T'ai Chi Chuan [Taijiquan] it is too easy to try to learn by rote, blindly imitating movements without investigating the reasons for them. Asking why the posture was designed in a certain way or practiced in a certain way can really help in learning it correctly. The T'ai Chi Chuan Classics provide us with the basic principles upon which all the postures are based. The daily practice and investigation of the form is the process whereby we reveal the underlying principals.

The first subheading of the Classics is "The Body as One Unit."The key to expressing this principle in movement is the body's center of gravity, the point two inches below the navel which the Chinese call tan-tien. For the body to be as one unit it must move as a whole, from the center, in continuous, circular motion. If the tan-tien is not moving continuously it's not T'ai Chi. The art is completely integrated inside and out, it takes into account all of the body's energies and potentials.

The Chinese describe the body as three basic types of energy; I or Yi [pronounced "ee"], the energy of the brain and nervous system, the ability to concentrate. Li, the body's muscular strength which is transferred through the bones; and Chi, the electromagnetic energy created in the internal organs and circulated through the acupuncture channels.

In the West especially we tend to overemphasize Li while denying Chi and improperly using I. The form is a method for reversing this process. Therefore the beginning T'ai Chi student is asked to relax totally and move slowly to reprogram the balance between these essential elements. Slow-motion exercise helps to release muscular tension so as not to inhibit internal energy flow. One is taught to accomplish this with "pure consciousness," the use of the full potential of the brain and nervous system.

The meditation of T'ai Chi Chuan is to focus your mind intent, or yi, on your tan-tien in the here and now. To do this you must quiet the "drunken monkey," the internal dialogue. This process of attunement harmonizes the internal and external aspects of the body. Now you are working with nonverbal experience, which is difficult to talk about. You have to feel it.

The movement of the center in continuous motion depends upon proper body mechanics. Physical centering, the process of applying the principles to the form, teaches us that there truly is no separation in any sense. The meditation is directly related to the body mechanics. The proper use of I is to direct the feeling throughout the body. This is only possible if the body postures abide by the basic principles as well.

T'ai-Chi postures teach postural alignment which allows us to harmonize with the laws of nature. Our ability to relax and sink the heavier elements of our bodies into the earth establishes our root and harmonizes us with gravity. When we relax and sink we must stand "plumb erect" so that we maintain our connection to heaven and the lighter, subtler energies. The physical center of our body is balanced between these basic energies and is the "sea of chi" [Tan t'ien] as the Chinese call it, the place where the life force abides.

The next section of the Classics is "Coordinating the Substantial and the Insubstantial."

As usual the Classics and the practices of the form are so interrelated as to be inseparable. To read the Classics without practicing the process is "of no use," while practicing the form robotically without reading the Classics and investigating the principles is equally fruitless.

What does Coordinating of the Substantial with the Insubstantial mean? According to Master Ni, Hua ching, yang energy is the "integralness of life" the Chi which animates all living things. Chi is here and now, to be experienced in the present moment. It can be felt radiating from all living things and so it is considered substantial.

Yin energy is the "dualistic function of mind." This is the brain's ability to separate itself from here and now with language. Language about the world is once removed from the actual experience.

Master Ni provides guidance saying, "in the science of cultivation, Chi belongs to the yang category and mind belongs to the yin category. All thoughts are digressions of one's essence, essence is that which enables one to maintain wholesomeness."[sic]

Coordinating the Substantial with the Insubstantial first entails quieting the internal dialogue, this leads to meditational absorption. By directing our attention to the cauldron, the center, we use I for its correct purpose, to lead the Chi through all the channels to every cell in the body. The mind leads and the chi follows. The correct practice of the T'ai-Chi postures allows this process to occur naturally.

Basic principles of Tai-Chi

"They have to eat before they talk about the flavor."

"If you are greedy for gain in the end you will suffer lose…Only if you are willing to suffer great loss will you have in the end great gain."

Swimming on dry land-dong dang [swing and return] the momentum from one movement is carried over into the next uninterrupted.

No shape, no form, all shape, all form.
The millstone turns, but the axle remains still.
No resistance and no letting go.

You must fearlessly take pain in the legs.
You must fearlessly suffer lose.
You must be fearless in the face of violence or ferocity.

Five principles:
Relax and sink
Hold your body as if suspended from above
Keep the waist flexible without twisting
Keep most of the weight in one leg at a time
Hold a straight, smooth wrist and the "fair maiden's hand" [cup the chi] 

Three levels-
Tai chi on a line
Tai chi on a circle
Tai chi on a point 

Three legs- solo form, push hands, weapons forms/practice
 

Three treasures-
Crown point- lift up and allow the chi to go up the spine
Tan tien-"Keep the chi and the hsin mutually guarding one another in the tan-tien."
Bubbling well- sink through this point into the floor.

"Yield chest, don't push back."

Three points in Push-hands-Control of the counterbalance- elbow to elbow empty out one side as the other fills up redirect the push like a revolving door. Triangulate the center point between their shoulder blades.
 

Three Levels of development-
Human- lightness, slowness, circularity, constant rate
Earth- agility, relax, three powers, changes
Heaven-sense emptiness and solidity, the void, stillness 

Human- chi circulates
     Chi goes from shoulders to fingers
     Chi goes from hip to sole of the foot
     Chi from sacrum to the top of the head 

Earth- chi penetrates the bones
     Chi collects at the tan tien
     Chi focuses at the bubbling well point in the foot
     Chi permeates the whole body. 

Heaven- interpreting strength
     Ting chin, hearing energy
     Understand energy, unconscious receiving
     The void 

Golden bell cover- chin chung chao, or Tong chin- higher level

Turning the Wheel of Law- Greater Kan and Li meditation formula that Yang style form is based on.

Ling Kung Chin- "shaman skill," explosive non-force  Wu ,Tu nan was famous for this.
Hua chin- dispersing or neutralizing energy- they float when barely touched or not even touched. See Huang, shengxian for a demonstration of this.

Body mechanics-
The short side of the triangle in the stance is called the weak point.
Lower the center or widen the base, these are the only two ways to increase stability.
Bending the knees or sinking the chi are the two ways to lower the center of gravity.
You must sink down a vertical line that drops within the supporting space of the legs.
Two types of strength- outside is the measure[4oz.] and inside is chin.
From lightness and agility, and from agility to changability, change leads to neutralization [hwa].
Broken strength is when you have a gap or separation from the opponents arm
Don't push- if you feel heaviness at the point of application

Do push when- you feel him release, or a feeling of lightness at the point of application, push immediately. Or if you stop feeling him resist,[his technique collapses] fill in. At the first ripple of resistance tee fong, t'i fang [catch and release or withdraw/ push.]

Entice him to advance and try his push, failing that he will fall into emptiness. If he doesn't initiate any movement you can expose a weakness and then counter. Do not focus on the contact point with the opponent's arm.

If you are being pushed look for the problem in the waist, do not twist, instead root.

Loosen the chest to relax the shoulders. If you loosen the chest you will be able to lift the spine naturally. Relax the shoulders, the hips, and the ankles. Soften the wrists so that the Yuan Chi can circulate unimpeded.

Get the geometry in the stance. Simplify the movement, soften the arms. Listen to the energy change to the left hand as the weight goes into the right leg and visa versa. Then work with the energy going around the microcosmic orbit coordinated with the weight change and the breath. Use the prenatal breath.

Practice "sinking the chi and making them float" on beginners first. Pretend you can do it. They will visibly float and you can learn to catch the subtle feeling. More advanced partners will not visibly float so you will have to listen to catch the signal. The appropriate time to push is "sooner than you think."

Accepting the push depends on "the timing of the center." You have to work with the body mechanics and establish a root through taking pain in the legs over a period of years. There are different levels of skill that involve using the body mechanics. The front leg holds 70% of your weight while the back leg is used to put the partner's push into the ground. The legs do not push on or off of the floor, they must become neutral. The upper body must turn in two directions to neutralize the push. Do not catch your weight or the opponent's force in your knees or thighs; send it straight into the ground instead.

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