Master Tai Chi Today

In Yang-22 the use of force goes hand-in-hand with the appropriate technique. This is because a technique lacking in internal strength is just a nice looking technique. The use of internal strength in a technique is not always obvious. For example, Peng (Ward-Off) is frequently characterized and applied as a forward, uplifting motion of the hand. However, this is misleading. As it is said in…

In Yang-22 our open palm typically either holds a Small Chi Sphere, holding a Chi Ring (Shoulder Ring or Kua Ring), or momentarily is not holding anything. To ensure a smooth learning of the 22-form an exercise we do is to practice forming a fist from an open palm and vice versa. To begin the exercise you can have your open palm facing down, gently holding a Small Chi Sphere. Now imagine that…

If you look at videos of Grandmaster Wei Shuren performing the same technique in the 22-form and the 108-form you would notice that there are slight differences. An example is the transition at the beginning of Brush Knee, Twist Step. The 108-form video of GM Wei shows him doing this transition differently from his video of the 22-form. The 22-form transition is easier for a beginner to learn,…

Any insights lately?  This is a question commonly asked by masters of their students. The reason for asking is to check if the student has been practicing. A student who has been practicing regularly and has put in the hours will have questions and insights. The questions and insights indicate to the teacher whether the practice is in the right direction and how far along it has progressed.…

The 22-form can be mastered by anybody willing to have a real go at it. Here’s some brief guidelines on how to go about it successfully :- 1) You have to learn it from someone willing to teach, explain clearly and help you to keep refining your movements and understanding as you move forward in your journey. 2) You have to be willing to practice, like really practice every day, for at least 2…

In the first post I talked about opening the chest. To reiterate :- The first thing you do is to touch your neck to the collar. Once the collar thing is done, you next imagine a stone sitting at the top of your chest. The weight of the stone causes the swing doors supporting it to open downwards. As the swing doors open, your shoulders will relax and open up sidewards. This also causes your…

In Yang-22 we do not concave the chest, convex the back i.e. slightly sink in the chest while raising the back. Instead, we open the chest. You might think that this is the same as sinking the chest, raise the back, however, it is not. Opening the chest is the second step after touching the back of the neck to the collar. Opening the chest allows the internal energy to flow freely. If you open…

When we play the 22-form the movement of the arms must be coordinated with the movement of the body. You do this by imagining that the elbow is dropping downwards to connect to the Waist Chi Ring. Then when you move, whether by moving the elbow first or the Waist Chi Ring first the movement of the arm will be coordinated with that of the waist, and hence the entire body. This applies whether…

In Yang-22 we relax the shoulders and sink the elbows. However, we need to be aware of over-sinking the elbows and end up looking like a Southern Shaolin practitioner. Similarly, we want to avoid under-sinking the elbows and end up with stiff, resisting arms as a result of opening the elbows too widely. This can cause us to have a propensity to resist. To achieve the correct elbow placement we…

In Yang-22 we train our eyes to see without seeing. This is achieved through the practice of looking inward even as you are seeing the outside. As you do so, you relax your eyes by practicing Song, San. In practice this means that the bottom part of your eyes look out even as the top part looks inward. At the same time both sides of the eye relaxes sideways. In the beginning the practice of…

Related to the principles of Elongated Wrist, Small Chi Sphere and Opening-Closing is that of Strength Source. In Yang-22 there are two Strength Source which I shall term as Strength Source (Back) and Strength Source (Palm). Beginners learn to use the Strength Source (Back) until such time when their proficiency in the control of the Small Chi Sphere enables them to use the Strength Source…

The 9 Bend Pearls is a principle that is taught after one is able to perform the other principles that come before it. In particular, the practitioner must have achieved the requirements of Song, San, Tong, Kong. These four keys are taught on the first day so one must assiduously cultivate them over the years until a breakthrough is achieved. At this stage you will then have a physical…

In Yang-22 our hand holds a Small Chi Sphere. To add to the difficulty of practice, we also must cradle a Chinese scepter (aka ruyi) in our arm. We learn to carry the scepter in the 2nd technique of the 22-form, Wild Horse Parts Mane. Even though this is the only technique where this principle is taught, we carry over this practice to the other techniques as well. Carrying a scepter is…

Place a long hose on the ground. The hose is curled. Next, connect the long hose to a tap. Now turn on the tap a little. The water comes out through the hose which is still curled. If you turn on the tap to the maximum, the water will surge out strongly, straightening the hose. This is basically what the training of the Elongated Wrist does. It turns on the energy from your body out through the…

In Yang-22 we use three hand shapes namely the open palm, fist and hook. What the three hand shapes have in common is the Small Chi Sphere. This is an imaginary nebulous sphere conjured by our intent. At the most basic level, we use the Small Chi Sphere to help form the shape of the open palm, fist and hook. For example, when our hand is opened up it is as if we are holding an imaginary sphere…

On the surface, the Elongated Wrist resembles the well known Fair Maiden’s Hand of the Cheng Man Ching Tai Chi style. However, our Elongated Wrist has a lot more within its practice than the Fair Maiden’s Hand. I had learned the Cheng Man Ching style more than a decade before I started with Yang-22. I do not remember my teacher ever teaching anything more to the Fair Maiden’s Hand. On the other…