Taijiquan/ Yang Tai Chi Chuan

Yang Style Tai Chi Homepage

http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Philosophy/Taichi/yang.html

Yang Cheng-fu practicing Tai Chi.

Known as ‘Yang the Invincible’ he had four sons; the eldest Yang Chen-
Ming (also known as Yang Shou-chung); the second Yang Chen- chi; the
third Yang Chen-tuo; and the fourth Yang Chen- kuo. He also had a
number of outstanding students including Wu Hui-chuan, Chang Yin-lin,
Tung Ying-chih, Hu Yuen-chou and

Over time there have evolved a variety of styles or schools of Tai Chi Chuan.
These reflect both a growth and devlopment of the form in general, as well as
differences of style and emphasis between different techers. Elements of other
martial arts forms have made themselves felt in Tai Chi, and this has changed
its character as well.

Most of the different schools or styles of Tai Chi have been given the
surnames of their founders. The following are the principal schools of Tai Chi
that are in existance today.

International Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan Association List of affiliated
groups, description of ranking system, seminars, Seattle, Washington class
schedule, discussion board and photographs. www.yangfamilytaichi.com/ – 2k –
Cached – Similar pages

Yang Lu chan, Yang
Shaohou and Yang Chengfu are said to have demonstrated some fast taiji solo
form. Can you tell us about the fast Yang taiji and the two person sparring
set?

Originally Yang family members engaged in
paired practice on individual moves only; they did not have a continuous
two-man form per se. A student of Yang Chengfu named Chen2 yan4 ling2
created a two-man form by connecting up some of the single move elements
that Yang Chengfu showed. The same thing with the fast form. The Yangs
themselves did not have a fast form; some of Yang Chengfu’s students created
these fast forms.

 

 

The Ten Essentials of
Tai Chi Chuan, part 2 (6-10)

Orally transmitted by Yang Chengfu, recorded by Chen Weiming

6. Use Intent Rather than Force:

The taiji classics say,
“this is completely a matter of using intent rather than force’.
When you practice taijiquan, let the entire body relax and
extend. Don’t employ even the tiniest amount of coarse strength
which would cause musculo-skeletal 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,
circulating every day throughout the entire body, never
stagnating – after a lot of practice, you will get true internal
strength. That’s what the taiji classics mean by “Only by being
extremely soft are you able to achieve extreme hardness.”
Somebody who is really adept at taiji 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 deflect, hence it is not of much
value.

7. Synchronize Upper and
Lower Body

In the taiji 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.” * When hands move, the waist moves and legs move, and
the gaze moves along with them. Only then can we say upper and
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 taiji 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 aquired, 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 taiji, 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
taiji classics mean by “Like the Yangtse 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 stopping as skill,
and they do this till breath (chi) and strength are exhausted,
so that after practicing they are all out of breath. In taiji 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 cinnabar field (dan1 tian2) and naturally
there is no deleterious constriction or enlargement of the blood
vessels. If the student tries carefully he may be able to
comprehend the meaning behind these words. 

* Literally “one chi”. This could also be rendered as “one
breath”. 

Translated by Jerry Karin

 

Translation Copyright © 2001 International Yang Style Tai Chi
Chuan Association.  All rights reserved.

 

The Ten Essentials of Tai
Chi Chuan

Orally transmitted by Yang Chengfu, recorded by Chen Weiming

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 do so 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 an
intention which is empty, lively, pushing up and energetic, you
won’t be able to raise your spirit.

2. Hold in the chest and pull up the back

The phrase ‘hold in the chest’ means the chest is slightly reserved
inward, which causes the chi to sink to the cinnabar field (dan1
tian2). 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
lower body light, and it will become easy for the heels to float
upward. ‘Pulling up 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
pull up the back. If you can pull up the back, then you will be able
to emit a 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 be 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.’ ** Whenever there
is a lack of strength in your form, you must look for it in 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 droop 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. Drooping 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 off’ energy of external martial arts. ***

Notes:

* 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.

** In Chinese thought the waist tends to be regarded as the space
between two vertebrae, rather than a circle girdling the middle of
the body.

*** External martial arts such as Shaolin are thought to use energy
from parts or sections of the body, as opposed to the ‘whole-body’
energy of tai chi.

Translated by Jerry Karin

 

Translation Copyright © 2000 International Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan
Association.  All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

Traditional Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan 103 Movement Hand Form

 

 

 

A Talk
on Practice           by Yang Chengfu

  Although there are rather a lot of different styles
of Chinese martial arts, they are all alike in that successive generations
have striven all their lives and with all their might to explain the
principles and theory contained in these techniques, but these efforts have
never been totally successful.  Nevertheless, if  a student will expend the
effort of one day of practice, he will receive the achievements of a day of
work.  Over days and months this accumulates till everything falls into
place naturally.

Tai Chi Chuan is the art of letting hardness dwell
within softness and hiding a needle within cotton; from the point of view of
techniques, physiology, and physics, there is considerable philosophy
contained within it.  Hence those who would research it need to undergo a
definite process of development over a considerable period of time.  Though
one may have the instruction of a fine teacher and the criticism of good
friends, the one thing which is most important and which one cannot do
without is daily personal training.  Without it one can discuss and analyze
all day, think and ponder for years, but when one day you encounter an
opponent you are like a hole with nothing in it – you are still quite
inexpert, lacking the skills (kung fu) borne of daily practice.  This is
what the ancients meant by “thinking forever is useless, better to
practice”.  If morning and evening there is never a gap, hot or cold never
an exception, so that the moment you think of it you proceed to do your
training, then  young or old, man or woman, you will alike be rewarded with
success. 

These days from north to south, from the Yellow River
regions to the Yangtze River regions, more and more comrades are learning
Tai Chi Chuan, which is heartening for the future of martial arts.  However,
among these comrades,  there is no shortage of those who concentrate and
practice hard,  study sincerely, and whose future ought to be limitless, yet
typically they fail to avoid two kinds of pitfall: in the first case they
are very talented, still young and strong, able to apply one criticism to
many places, their understanding surpasses that of most people;  alas once
they make some slight achievement, they are satisfied too quickly, stop in
the middle and never really get it.  In the second instance, the person is
anxious to make rapid progress, throwing it together sloppily, so that
before a year is through, they have gone completely through barehand, sword,
knife and spear.  Although they can ‘paint a gourd by following a template’,
they really haven’t achieved the enlightenment in this.  The moment you
scrutinize their direction and movement, upper and lower body, internal and
external, none of it turns out to be standard.  In order to correct them,
you have to correct every move, and corrections given in the morning are
forgotten by evening.  That’s why you often hear people say: “it’s easy to
learn tai chi, but hard to correct it”.  The reason for this saying is
people trying to learn too fast.  Such a group takes their mistakes and
transmits them to the next generation, necessarily fooling both themselves
and others, and this is the most discouraging thing for the future of the
art.

In Tai Chi Chuan, we first learn the form or frame. 
That is to say, according to each posture name from the manual, we are
taught the postures by a teacher, one at a time. The student does his best
to calm his mind, and silently attentive, pondering, trying, he performs the
moves: that is called ‘practicing the form’.  At this time the student
focuses on ‘inner’, ‘outer’, ‘upper’ and ‘lower’.  ‘Inner’ means ‘using
intent rather than force’.  ‘Lower’ means ‘the chi is sunk to the
cinnabar field (dantian)’.  ‘Upper’ means ‘Empty, lively, pushing up and 
energetic (xu1 ling2 ding3 jing4 – refers to requirements for the head).  
‘Outer’ means:  the entire body is light and nimble, all the joints are
connected as a whole, (movement proceeds) from foot to leg to waist, sink
the shoulders and keep elbows bent (low).  Those beginning their study
should first take the above several instructions and perfect them, pondering
and trying morning and evening.  Move by move, you must always carefully
seek these.  When you practice a move, strive for correctness, and only when
you have practiced it till it is right go on to the next move.  Proceed in
this way until you have gradually completed all the postures.  This way
there is nothing to correct and you do not tend over time towards violating
the principles.

In practice as you are moving, the bones and joints
of the entire body must all relax and extend and be natural.  The mouth and
abdomen must not block breathing.  The four limbs, the waist and the legs
must not use strong force.  Something like these last two sentences is
always said by people learning internal arts but once they start to move,
once they turn the body or kick the legs or twist the waist, their breath
becomes labored and their body sways; these defects are all due to stopping
the breath and using strong force.

1.     When you practice, the head must not incline to
either side or tilt forward or backward.  There is a phrase  ‘you must
suspend the tip of the head’.  This is as though something were placed on
the top of the head.  Avoid at all cost a stiff straightness!  That’s what
is meant by ‘suspend’.  Although the gaze should be directed levelly ahead,
sometimes it must turn in accordance with the position of the body.  Even
though the line of the gaze is empty, it plays an important role in
transformations and supplements what is left wanting by the body and hand
positions.  The mouth seems open but it’s not, seems closed but not quite.
Nose and mouth inhale and exhale:  do what is natural.  If some saliva
accumulates below the tongue, swallow it; don’t spit it out.

2.     The torso should be centered and not leaning.  The
line of the entire spine should  hang straight and not be bent to one side. 
But when you encounter transformations between open and closed you should
have the flexibility of waist turn which comes of sunk chest, pulled-up back
and lowered shoulders. This is something you need to attend to in the
beginning stages of learning.  Otherwise, as time goes on it will become
hard to change and will turn into stiffness, so that although you have put
in a lot of practice, it will be hard to improve your applications.

3.     The bones and joints of the two arms all need to
be relaxed open.  The shoulders should hang down and the elbows should bend
downward.  The palms should be slightly extended and the fingers slightly
bent.  Use intent to move the arms and chi to suffuse the fingers. 
As the days and months of practice accumulate, the internal energy connects
and becomes nimble, and mysterious ability grows of itself.

4.     In the two legs you must distinguish ‘empty’ and
‘full’.  Picking up and dropping (of the feet) should be like way a cat
moves.  When your body weight shifts to the left, then left is ‘full’ and
the right is termed ‘empty’.  If you shift to the right, then right is
‘full’ and the left is termed ‘empty’.  What is termed ‘empty’ is not really
empty, the position still hasn’t been abandoned, but rather there is the
intent of (possible) expanding or shrinking left there.  What is termed
‘full’ is just weighted and that’s all, it is not using too much force or
fierce strength.  So when the leg bends it should go until it is straight up
and down, further than that is called excessive force.  The torso will tip
forward and then you will have lost the centered posture and the opponent
gets an opportunity to attack.

5.     In the kicks we must distinguish between the two
types: toe kicks (in the manual left and right separate leg, also called
left and right flap legs)  and heel kicks.  In toe kicks, pay attention to
the tip of the foot, whereas in heel kicks pay attention to the entire sole
of the foot.  When the intent arrives then the chi arrives and when
the chi arrives then energy arrives by itself.   But your bones and
joints must relax open and you must stably kick out the foot.  This is the
easiest time to give rise to strong force.  If the body is slightly bent
then you will be unstable and the kicking foot will not deliver much force.

 

In the process of learning Tai Chi, we first
learn barehand form (a solo exercise), such as Tai Chi Chuan, or Tai Chi
Long Fist; after that comes single-handed push hands, fixed step push hands,
moving step push hands, big rollback (da4lu3), sparring (san4shou3);
and finally comes the weapons such as Tai Chi sword, Tai Chi knife, Tai
Chi spear (13 spear).

As to practice times, every day after getting up
practice the form twice.  If you don’t have time in the morning, then twice
before bed.  You should practice seven or eight times a day, but at very
least once in the morning and once at night.  If you have been drinking
heavily or have eaten a lot, avoid practice.

For places to practice, a courtyard or large room
with good air circulation and lots of light are suitable.  But avoid places
directly exposed to strong wind or places that are shady and damp or have
poor air quality.  Because once the body starts exercising, the breath
naturally becomes deeper so strong wind or poor quality air, because they
would go deep into the belly and harm the lungs, might easily cause
illness.  As for practice clothes, loose Chinese clothing or short clothing
along with wide-toed cloth shoes are suitable.  When you practice, if you
happen to perspire a lot don’t remove all your clothing or rinse with cold
water; otherwise you might get sick. 

Translated by Jerry Karin

Translation
Copyright © 2000 International Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan Association.  All
rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

Palm Methods (zhang fa)
 

The palm methods are a sub-category of the hand methods. The palm
methods can be broadly divided into two classes, comprising approximately
nine types.

 

The first class, “seated wrist upright palm” (zuo wan li zhang
xing) contains five types of palm methods:

• standing palm (li zhang)
• square palm (zheng zhang)
• downward palm (fu zhang)
• outward turned palm (fan zhang)
• level palm (ping zhang)

 

The second class, “straight extended” (zhi shen xing),
contains four types of palm methods:

1. upward palm (yang zhang)
2. inclined palm (ce zhang)
3. downward hanging palm (chui zhang)
4. straight palm (zhi zhang)

One: The special characteristics of “seated wrist upright palm” are
that when the palm extends forth it must always have the wrist seated and
the palm upright. As for its technique, above all, the wrist of the hand
must sit solidly. Then, allow the palm of the hand to stand up; that is,
lift it upwards, and gradually let the fingers point up and the heart of the
palm face forward. When the standing up of the palm reaches a certain
degree, it will then produce a kind of internal sensation (nei zai de
ziwo ganjue). This type of sensation is called “energy sensation” (jin
gan). If the practitioner’s physical training has a firm foundation,
this type of “energy sensation” can immediately thread throughout the entire
body. Beginning students, however, may manifest a local sensation of
stiffness (the hands and arms ache or become numb).

The above two categories of sensation are entirely different. In light of
this, beginning students should above all avoid raising the palm
insufficiently, with the production of weak, hollow, and nebulous
sensations. However, a stiffness or dullness produced by an excessive
lifting upward is also not the goal of our pursuit. If you can only feel the
sensation of energy, then if it is not right, you can correct it. But if you
can’t sense it then it will be empty, and cannot be self-adjusted. This palm
method controls, in a clearly established order, the containing of energy (jin),
the expression of vital spirit (jingshen de biaoda), and the
achievement of hardness [within] softness, with the result that it will
penetrate [or ‘thread’] from joint to joint (jie jie guan chuan), and
the entire body will be coordinated. In order to train well in Yang Style
Taijiquan, you must seek this “energy sensation” in the upright palm.

The following are a few methods of the “seated wrist upright palm”.

1. Standing palm (li zhang) When the fingers point up, or incline
   upward, and the palm does not face squarely forward, but in another
   direction, this is called standing palm. An example is the upper palm in
   Brush Knee Twist Step, and Step Back Repulse Monkey; the lower palm of
   Jade Maiden Threads the Shuttles, etc.
2. Square palm (zheng zhang) When the fingers point up, and the
   palm faces forward squarely, this is called square palm. Examples are the
   Push (An) in Grasp Swallow’s Tail, and in Like Sealing As if
   Closing, etc.
3. Downward palm (fu zhang) When the heart of the palm faces down,
   or obliquely downward, no matter what direction the fingers point to, this
   is called downward palm. Examples are the lower palm in Brush Knee Twist
   Step, Wild Horse Parts its Mane, White Crane Displays Wings; the left palm
   in Punch Downward, and Punch to Groin, etc.
4. Outward turned palm (fan zhang) When the fingertips point to
   the side, or obliquely to the side, and the palm faces outward, this is
   called outward turned palm. Examples are the upper palm in Jade Maiden
   Threads the Shuttles, White Crane Displays Wings; and the palm as it turns
   from Ward Off (Peng) to Pluck (Cai) in Cloud Hands.
5. Level palm (ping zhang) Regardless of the direction the fingers
   point, the palm faces down or circles levelly to the left or right.
   Examples are the transitions to Single Whip, or Observe Fist Under Elbow.

The above palm methods are all based on the seated wrist and upright palm
form. If, when performing these postures, one does not seat the wrists and
make the palm upright, there will appear in the body a looseness and
softness, a nebulous emptiness. Experiment with this, then you will be able
to make an appraisal.

Two: The special characteristics of “straight extended” and its
techniques are: You only need to have the palm extended straight (not
rigidly stiff) — let it be level, let it be expanded and drawn out, then
you will have it. This does not require that the wrist be seated and the
palm upright, but it also has the self-sensation of internal energy (nei
jin de ziwo ganjue), and a penetration throughout the entire body.
Although there are differences with the seated wrist upright palm in the
expression in shape and form, as well as in methodology, the action and
results produced are the same. The two are interdependent and work in mutual
coordination. One should regard them equally.

The following are a few methods of the “straight extended” palm:

1. Upward palm (yang zhang) In cases where the heart of the palm
   is up, or obliquely upward, and the fingers point forward or incline
   forward, this is upward palm. Examples are the lower palm in Step Back
   Dispatch Monkey, and High Pat on Horse; or the upper palm in Oblique
   Flying, or Piercing Palm [of High Pat on Horse with Piercing Palm].
2. Inclined palm (ce zhang) When the palm is toward the inside or
   inclined to the inside, regardless of what direction the fingers point,
   this is called inclined palm. Examples are Left and Right Ward Off in
   Grasp Swallow’s Tail, and Ward Off in Cloud Hands, etc.
3. Downward hanging palm (chui zhang) When the palm is facing in
   or inclined toward the inside, and the fingertips point down or incline
   downward, this is called downward hanging palm. Examples are the two arms
   hanging down in the Preparation Posture, or when the arms orbit down in
   rounded arcs, etc.
4. Straight palm (zhi zhang) When the palms are down or inclined
   downward, regardless of the direction the fingers point, this is called
   straight palm. Examples are the turning transition from Push (an)
   to Single Whip, the two arms rising upwards in the Beginning Posture, etc.

When the Taijiquan postures are in the process of circling, there emerges a
reciprocal alternating and advancing of the various palm methods. For
example, in transitioning from White Crane Displays Wings to Brush Knee
Twist Step, the right arm circles down from above to in front of the thigh (kua).
The palm is up, the fingers toward the front, forming an upward palm.
Continuing down in a circular arc, the palm turns toward the outside, the
fingers pointing down, forming a downward hanging palm. Now again the arm
bends upward, turning the fingers to point up, the palm facing obliquely
outward, forming a standing palm.

Regarding whether in the above discussion there is a relationship between
the palm methods (zhang fa) and the proper hand shape (shou xing),
they both have an indivisible relationship. As to hand shape, it has already
been explained in the “Ten Essential of the Art of Taijiquan”: “The palm
should slightly extend (zhang yi wei shen), the fingers should
slightly bend (zhi yi wei qu)”.* However, in actual practice, there
is still another requirement: “The spaces between the fingers should be
slightly open “. This is also important, and requires that the fingers not
be gathered together, and also that they not stretch wide apart. In this way
the outer shape and appearance of the palm of the hand will increasingly
tend toward perfection, there will be hardness contained within, and it will
still have a pliable outward appearance, natural — refined and elegant —
one could say that form and spirit are complete and prepared (xing shen
ju bei). It is hoped that students will memorize (mo shi),
comprehend (ti wu), and ponder (chuai mo).

One’s ability to accomplish each of the palm methods rests entirely on
the foundation of “fang song” (relaxing, loosening). If you are able
to properly understand the significance of “fang song“, and your
practice is correct, there is sure to be a good result. Because of this, one
must have proper guidance in one’s training — only then will you be able to
utilize each type of palm method correctly, and gain the result of one palm
representing the entire body.

~~~~~~

*Translator’s Note: I looked for this sentence in Yang Chengfu’s “Ten
Essentials of the Art of Taijiquan” (Taijiquan Shu Shi Yao), but it
does not appear there. It does appear in Yang’s “A Discussion of Taijiquan
Practice” (Taijiquan zhi Lianxi Tan).

 Fang Song

 

 

Traditional Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan 103 Movement Hand Form

 

 

  Bow Steps:
Two Important Points

In Yang Zhenduo’s book,
Zhongguo Yang Shih Taiji, 1997, for each move there is a section
called “Important Points”.  The important points are combined for
left and right ward off.  Points three and four of this group are
particularly eloquent, and we include a translation of them here.

3.
When you make a bow step, as the weight shifts from one foot to the
other, you should pay attention to the symmetrical arrangement of
the two opposing forces – one leg pushing and the other pushing back
or resisting. Whether the front leg is pushing backward and the back
leg resisting, or the back leg is pushing forward and the front leg
resisting,
the forces must be coordinated, so as to avoid pushing out too hard
or resisting too hard, or pushing out emptily without any
compensating resistance. The waist, if firmly in command, can propel
the four limbs, cause the upper and lower body to work in concert,
and better complete every move and posture. But if you fail to
control the lower limbs and they do not match what is going on in
the rest of the body, although the waist has the capability of
commanding the four limbs, it’s no use. So in the Tai Chi world when
we particularly emphasize utilizing a whole-body movement, that is
actually this matching of opposed forces, the mutually restricting
coordination of the entire body. As people often say, ‘Tai Chi is a
whole body exercise’ and is different from activities which involve
moving sections or parts of the body only. I hope you will work hard
to incorporate this point in your form. 

4.
Here’s how to step into the bow step: Whenever the foot which is
stepping out descends to the floor, first touch the heel to the
floor, next the toes grab the floor, and then finally, the knee
bends and moves forward. During the entire process, as the weighted
leg pushes forward and the empty leg resists, one sending and one
receiving force, (especially in the case of of the resisting, empty
leg) you must never stop pushing or resisting but you must also not
push or resist too forcefully. If you stop one of the opposing
forces then you will lose your balance and if you use too much force
then you’ll be stiff; neither of these is good. If you can achieve
just the right balance in this, it will create favorable conditions
for upper and lower body to work in concert during transitional
moves. When extending the weighted (back) leg to its ultimate
position in a bow step, just as in the extension of an arm, extend
until it is almost fully extended but not quite. If you over-extend
then it becomes forced and looks stiff. If the back leg is bent too
much, the pushing force cannot come out, and it will seem as if you
have a lot of power but can’t use it. The resistance of the empty
leg goes through a process of gradual engagement. First touch the
floor with the heel, continue by allowing the flat of the foot to
touch, then the toes grab the floor, and then let the knee bend
forward, letting the bending knee and shin slightly incline forward
and increasing the resistance from the front leg so as not to allow
the knee to pass the toe. This way, with one leg pushing and one leg
resisting, neither force subsiding or becoming too strong, the lower
body will become a great deal stronger and more stable. Note that if
the knee and shin of the forward leg are standing perpendicular to
the ground then it is hard to utilize the resisting force and the
back leg won’t be able to develop power in its push forward. If the
knee goes past the toe, you’ll lose your balance and the back leg
again won’t be able to develop much power. Only when you make the
knee and shin slightly incline forward, with the knee not going past
the toe, can you thoroughly get the full strength of the two forces,
pushing out and resisting, to come into play. 



Translation Copyright © 2000 Yang Zhenduo.  All rights reserved.

 

 

 

Translator’s Comments

 

This week we published a short essay by Yang Zhenduo with his

commentary on the Twenty-Character Motto.
I think this is a very good tip for Tai Chi players – it really works! For
those who have not heard this explained by Yang Zhenduo himself at one of
the seminars, I thought I would add a few remarks of my own to help clarify
(I hope) the meaning.

When Yang Zhenduo explains this at a seminar, he usually does a move such
as right ward off. He then takes his left index finger and points it at the
inside of his right elbow. The finger points in the same direction as the
right elbow. He then mimes using the finger to push the elbow outward, and
seminar participants can actually observe the elbow moving outward and
downward, maybe an inch or so (it’s hard to quantify this but you can
definitely see the elbow move outward). You can see the right shoulder relax
downward too as the elbow goes outward. He sometimes turns and points to
show that the same movement has opened up a space under the armpit. It seems
to me that the movement outward is a combination of relaxing the shoulder
downward and opening up the shoulder and elbow joints, so that the upper arm
seems to grow in length. In any case, it’s just that easy. Anyone who
practices tai chi can try it. When you do it correctly, there should be an
immediate, noticeable sensation, which Yang Zhenduo describes in the essay.
Try it!

 

Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan
Twenty-Character Motto
– Excerpt from Yang Zhenduo, Yang Shih Taiji, 1997

(Requirement for upper limbs)
Translated by Jerry Karin; copyright Yang Zhenduo, 2000

 

“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.”

 

The Twenty-Character Motto is very brief, yet its meaning is very
profound and worth pursuing. 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 ‘pulling up the back’, leading to ‘relaxation of waist and hips’ and
ultimately bringing about ‘(movement proceeds) from feet to legs to waist’,
so ‘all the joints are working interconnectedly 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 (jing4 gan3) 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 taiji. From this we can see that the Twenty-Character
motto separately relates to every individual posture of taiji 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 ‘extend’,’hollow’,’pull down’, and ‘connect’. This
will aid your overall level of training as well as the practice of
connecting the internal and external.