I often hear people asking what tai chi styles is the best and how many tai chi movements is ideal. The truth is all tai chi styles are the best and if one understand tai chi principle, even no movement is ideal movement. Tai chi chuan is not about style. It is also not about how many movements. Taoist sage Chang San Feng said tai chi chuan is 13 postures (internal force). They are peng (ward off), lu (roll back), ji (press), an (push), chai (pluck), lieh (stroke), zhou (elbow), kau (shoulder), move left, move right, advance, retreat and center. All these 13 forces arise from one fundamental force and it is the peng jin (ward-off force).
Don’t be mistaken that peng jin is the ward-off movement. The ward-off movement or posture is just one of the movements that physically demonstrates peng jin in a more obvious manner. The truth is peng jin is the mother of all the other forces. If a movement is without peng jin, it fall short of tai chi’s requirement. Yang Cheng Fu once said tai chi movement without peng jin is not tai chi.
Tai chi classics tell us that tai chi chuan movements must be smooth, continuous and unbroken. Unbroken means every inch of the movement must have peng jin. Even the starting standing posture must be filled with pengjin. Now, how you get peng jin?
The answer is with Yang Cheng Fu’s tai chi 10 essentials. You must be loose (song) and body must be in proper alignment as described in tai chi classics. You will be able to notice your peng jin when you are loosed, in proper body alignment and aware. How many movements are unimportant once you know what is peng jin.
Next time before you start your tai chi movements, spend time knowing yourself in the standing posture and find your peng jin. If you can find it and know it, you don’t even have to move much. Once you know what is peng jin, you will know the rest of the other jins.
Movements are mere manifestation of internal force in tai chi, remember that and focus internal. Once you can feel the internal movements, you are doing right tai chi chuan.
Don’t be mistaken that peng jin is the ward-off movement. The ward-off movement or posture is just one of the movements that physically demonstrates peng jin in a more obvious manner. The truth is peng jin is the mother of all the other forces. If a movement is without peng jin, it fall short of tai chi’s requirement. Yang Cheng Fu once said tai chi movement without peng jin is not tai chi.
Tai chi classics tell us that tai chi chuan movements must be smooth, continuous and unbroken. Unbroken means every inch of the movement must have peng jin. Even the starting standing posture must be filled with pengjin. Now, how you get peng jin?
The answer is with Yang Cheng Fu’s tai chi 10 essentials. You must be loose (song) and body must be in proper alignment as described in tai chi classics. You will be able to notice your peng jin when you are loosed, in proper body alignment and aware. How many movements are unimportant once you know what is peng jin.
Next time before you start your tai chi movements, spend time knowing yourself in the standing posture and find your peng jin. If you can find it and know it, you don’t even have to move much. Once you know what is peng jin, you will know the rest of the other jins.
Movements are mere manifestation of internal force in tai chi, remember that and focus internal. Once you can feel the internal movements, you are doing right tai chi chuan.
