Reading this article will help you “uncover the essence of Tai Chi and gain the essence of Tai Chi”

Tai Chi

The essence of Tai Chi is Chinese martial arts, one of the three traditional internal martial arts.

The traditional Tai Chi Yin-Yang theory believes that: Wuji gives birth to Taiji, and Taiji gives birth to Liangyi (Yin and Yang).

The Book of Changes says “Yi has Taiji, which gives birth to Liangyi”. Laozi says “All things carry Yin and embrace Yang”.

The occurrence, development and change of all things in the universe are the result of the mutual interaction between Yin and Yang. Tai Chi is the unity of Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang are two opposite and unified aspects of Tai Chi itself. In short, Wuji means nothing to the extreme. All things in the universe are gathered into a point that is so small that it cannot be smaller. It is so small that there is no inside, and everything outside this point is a vacuum state. Once this point explodes and expands, the entire universe is immediately formed, so big that it is boundless and has no outside. This is Tai Chi, which is huge to the extreme. Nothing can give rise to something, and something can also return to nothing. Of course, this only exists in an ideal state. Both existence and nothingness are relative, and absolute existence and nothingness do not exist.

Wuji and Taiji themselves constitute the relationship between Yin and Yang. The opposition of Yin and Yang, the mutual roots of Yin and Yang, the rise and fall of Yin and Yang, and the transformation of Yin and Yang constitute the basic content of the Taiji Yin and Yang theory. There is also a relationship of mutual inclusion and infinite divisibility between Yin and Yang. It is through these relationships between Yin and Yang that Yin and Yang go from a stable state to an unstable state and finally reach a new stable state.

Taijiquan is gradually formed with these basic theoretical foundations as the guidance. In the process of practicing Taijiquan, we must first destroy rigidity and seek softness, and find the loose (empty) Wuji state. Then use intention to guide and find the feeling of expansion (peng), that is, to find the Taiji state. On the basis of the “Wuji state”, practicing boxing with this “Taiji state” is Taijiquan. “Loose” and “peng” are the Wuji and Taiji in Taijiquan.

This Yin and Yang is not only reflected in boxing practice, but also in pushing hands. When the two sides touch each other, the strength penetrates each other and becomes a whole, forming a complete Tai Chi. The two opposing people are Yin and Yang. “Soft, weak, and slow” is “Yin” and “hard, strong, and fast” is Yang. Yang can defeat Yin, and Yin can also defeat Yang through the mutual growth and decline and transformation of Yin and Yang. Therefore, the virtual and real transformation of Yin and Yang is the most fundamental reason and theoretical basis for why Tai Chi can achieve the combat effect of using softness to overcome hardness, using weakness to overcome strength, and using slowness to control speed.

Of course, Tai Chi focuses on the virtual and real changes of Yin and Yang, but it also follows the development of Tai Chi Yin and Yang theory. The derived five elements and eight trigrams correspond to “five steps and eight methods” respectively.

In fact, the five steps are more important for the five elements to correspond to the five push-hands principles of “sticking, sticking, connecting, following, not losing and not resisting”.

The eight methods are a further subdivision and application of Yin and Yang.

Wuji            Taiji         Yin Yang          Five Elements  Eight Trigrams
Songkong            Pengjin         Empty and Real          Five Steps  Eight Methods

Features of Taijiquan’s boxing posture

1, Emphasis on intention rather than strength, and use consciousness to guide movements

    “Mind is the order, Qi is the flag, spirit is the commander, and body is the driver” and “use intention to guide movement, do not use clumsy force” all require that the movement and force be guided by consciousness. Under the condition of the same strength, different methods of using force will produce different effects. Taijiquan is guided by the theory of Taiji Yin and Yang to maximize the effect of force. As a martial art, Taijiquan does not emphasize muscle strength training, but pays more attention to the cultivation of inner intention. Therefore, “emphasis on intention rather than strength, and use consciousness to guide movement” is the inherent characteristic of Taijiquan’s boxing posture.

    2, Gentle and flexible


    “When you move, your whole body should be light and flexible.” Light means that the movement is “gentle” and does not use clumsy force. Agile means that the movement is “flexible”.

    3, Coordination and continuity

      “It is especially necessary to connect” “The whole body is connected… without any discontinuity”. “Connect”: to understand thoroughly. For Tai Chi movements, it is mainly manifested in “coordination and continuity” without “discontinuity”.

      4, Clear virtuality and reality

        “Standing like a scale… the double-double disease is not realized”. “The virtuality and reality should be clearly distinguished, one place has a virtuality and reality, and the virtuality and reality are the same everywhere”. The emphasis is on explaining that “double-double disease” is one of the main obstacles to practicing Tai Chi. Only by “clear virtuality and reality” can we avoid double-double disease and “understand strength”.

        5, Steady and slow

          At present, Tai Chi of various schools is mainly practiced slowly, and there are also fast practices, and there are also fast and slow practices, but compared with external boxing, the overall practice is still slow; there are also jumping and leaping movements, but for the whole routine, the center of gravity is still relatively stable. Therefore, Tai Chi boxing also includes the characteristics of “(center of gravity) stable (movement) slow”.

          Fighting characteristics of Tai Chi

          1, Sacrifice yourself and follow others, know yourself and know the enemy

            “From familiarity, you gradually understand and understand the power… It is from this that you can reach it.” “After understanding the power… it is originally to sacrifice yourself and follow others, but many people make the mistake of giving up the near and seeking the far.” The practice process of Tai Chi is “familiarity, understanding the power, and reaching the divine stage.” Through correct and repeated practice of Tai Chi, you can master the “understanding power” skill of “a feather cannot be added, flies and insects cannot fall. People do not know me, but I know people”, and then reach the “divine” stage of “heroes are invincible”. It can be seen that “understanding the power” plays a vital role in the practice of Tai Chi. “Understanding the power” is “the ability to perceive the size, direction, and speed of the enemy and us during the contact between the two sides”, that is, the ability to “know yourself and know the enemy”. “After understanding the power… it is originally to sacrifice yourself and follow others”, this sentence shows that the key to “understanding the power” is “sacrifice yourself and follow others”.

            2, Use the force to fight the force, four ounces to move a thousand pounds

              The “divine” stage of Tai Chi is fighting. The fighting process of Tai Chi can be divided into several steps: “listening, transforming, grabbing, and releasing”. “Listening” in Tai Chi means “using the nerves and sensory organs of the skin to feel the strength of both sides of the enemy”. “Listening to the strength and understanding it” means “understanding the strength”. “Transforming, grabbing, and releasing” means counterattacking after “understanding the strength”. However, the most fundamental principle of applying these basic moves is “borrowing force to defeat force, and using a little force to move a thousand pounds”. “Borrowing force to defeat force” means “taking advantage of unfavorable factors (the opponent’s strong strength)” and “using a little force to move a thousand pounds” means “transforming unfavorable factors”. “Borrowing force to defeat force, and using a little force to move a thousand pounds” means “the ability to utilize and transform unfavorable factors”.

              3, Use softness to overcome hardness, use weakness to overcome strength, and use stillness to overcome movement

                “There are many side doors to this skill… what can speed do”. Most boxing techniques are “the strong bully the weak, and the slow give way to the fast”. However, Tai Chi fighting is to first set “I” as “soft, weak, slow”, and “enemy” as “hard, strong, fast”, so if “I” want to win, I must adopt certain methods and skills to achieve “using softness to overcome hardness, using weakness to overcome strength, and using stillness to overcome movement (using slowness to overcome speed)”. Tai Chi can achieve this goal through “yin and yang transformation and growth and decline”. This is the effect of Tai Chi winning when “I” is unfavorable, and it is also a further explanation of the characteristics of Tai Chi fighting techniques. Of course, if “I” is stronger than “enemy”, it is another matter. The fighting process of Tai Chi is also guided by Tai Chi Yin and Yang theory everywhere.

                Uncovering the essence of Tai Chi and obtaining the essence of Tai Chi are the premise and foundation for our continuous pursuit and improvement of Tai Chi technology and art.