
Wang Zongyue’s “Taijiquan Theory” says: “When the opponent is hard and I am soft, it is called walking; when the opponent turns his back and I follow, it is called sticking.” Sticking and walking are the general principles of boxing, not just Taijiquan. Those who are good at walking are invisible and formless, and can stand invincible; those who are good at sticking are like shadows and shapes. They can control others without being noticed. The principle of boxing is that. The invincible is walking and changing. When the opponent is hard and I am soft, my spirit is round and my body is flexible, and my qi covers all four directions. Whatever I touch will run, and whatever I stick to will change; the victorious is sticking and sticking. When the opponent turns his back and I follow, I take advantage of the situation and defeat the enemy, responding to nature.
Chen Qingping told Wu Yuxiang these 14 words (When the opponent is hard and I am soft, it is called walking; when the opponent turns his back and I follow, it is called sticking). It represents the most advanced boxing techniques of that era, and many people will never understand it in their lifetime. Sticking and walking are yin and yang. Wang Zongyue, the founder of Zhaobao Taiji, said: “To avoid this disease, you must know Yin and Yang: sticking is moving, and moving is sticking. Yang is inseparable from Yin, and Yin is inseparable from Yang; only when Yin and Yang complement each other can you understand strength. “There is Yang in Yin, and Yin in Yang. Yin and Yang are not separated from Yin and Yang, and they are called Taiji. There is moving in sticking, and there is sticking in moving. Its form is called boxing. Therefore, it is called Taijiquan.
The key to sticking and moving is to know yourself and the enemy. The opening and closing of Yin and Yang, the reality and weakness, the hardness and softness of people are all clear in my mind. Therefore, I can weigh the initiative and stick and move freely. I am dull and empty, and there is no sign of movement or stillness. It is like the void, without form and appearance, and people don’t know why. Wang Zongyue’s “Taijiquan Sutra” said: “People don’t know me, I alone know people, heroes are invincible, all because of this.” This is really not an empty statement.
Sticking and moving include physical sticking, force sticking, qi sticking, and spirit sticking. The key is to follow and be empty. I follow the enemy’s strength, momentum, intention and heart, so I can empty my strength, momentum, intention and heart.
The sticking method is well known in the world, such as the Tai Chi push-hand method. Two people put their hands together, the other moves forward and I move, the other moves forward and I stick, and the cycle is endless. There are eight methods: embrace, stroke, squeeze, press, pick, eight, elbow and lean, and five steps: advance, retreat, look back, look forward and fix, which are collectively called the thirteen postures of Tai Chi. At first, the steps are fixed, then the steps are flexible, and finally there are no fixed rules. The eight methods and five steps are also invisible, giving up oneself and following others, bending and stretching, without excess or deficiency. The ancients have discussed it in detail, but the magic in it cannot be obtained without personal practice. Practice to perfection, know yourself and the other, the whole body is transparent, smooth and unobstructed, and the spirit is mixed. No matter how the opponent moves, no matter how hard or soft he is, he can stand invincible. The whole body can be transformed. The inside and outside are in harmony, and when the mind is not moving, there is no thought or worry. People cannot know my depth: once the mind moves, the mind, spirit, form and strength are all there, and the achievement is completed. The method of sticking hands and feeling the strength is not the same as Taijiquan. Xingyiquan Manual says: “The secret of sticking strength is that the internal strength must be full, and the external strength must be solid. The hand strength is nothing more than internal strength, nothing more than sticking strength, nothing more than sticking strength in internal strength. If you have sticking strength, you must understand strength. If you can understand the enemy’s strength, you can naturally get the real strength. In the real strength, you can use pressing strength. You can also use exhaling strength. The three strengths of sticking, pressing and exhaling are the deep internal strength and the agile internal strength.” Those who practice martial arts in the world, those who have obtained the three samadhis, can understand the heart and the hands, and can understand the ultimate truth of boxing.
Those who stick with form stick with hands: those who stick with momentum stick with the body. Those who stick with form. When you touch hands to probe the opponent’s strength, the key is to stick to the opponent with your hands. When you stick to the opponent with your body, the key is to stick to the opponent with your body. This is the method of fighting with free-hand fighting.
When you stick to the opponent with free-hand fighting, advance and retreat are the first priority. When you face the enemy in battle, victory or defeat is just half a step away. The method of letting and following is like a shadow following the body. You can know the enemy’s enemy without touching hands. When you let, you avoid the opponent’s attack point and run away. It seems to be there but it is not there. The closer you are, the longer it will be. When you press, you hit the opponent after passing the opponent’s defense point. It seems to be there but it is not there. The more you retreat, the shorter it will be. The opponent’s strength is round and powerful, so you should dodge and move. Don’t fight with him. He can’t do anything to me. When the opponent turns his back and I follow him, I will take advantage of his momentum and hit his weakness directly. There is no one who can’t win.
Among the martial artists in the world, those who are good at pushing hands and sticking are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. There are very few who are proficient in fighting. Many people are invincible in pushing hands, but are at a loss and lose their souls in battle. This is because they do not know how to stick to others with their bodies and take advantage of others with their momentum. Practicing boxing and walking forms is a way to know yourself: if you want to be invincible, you must practice the method of knowing others.
The method of knowing others can be practiced alone or in pairs. For solo practice, there is the method of mind and intention; for pairs practice, there are five elements pairing of Xingyi, An Shen Pao pairing, and lightning sticking of Tai Chi, etc. The key is to understand the three fronts, the three joints, the four ends, and the five elements. With deeper practice, you can know the rhythm of advance and retreat, life and death, and dodge and move freely. The mystery is that it is difficult to express it in words.
When facing the enemy in free-hand fighting, at first, you should judge the enemy’s position and fight with fists: with more and more skills, you don’t need to attack or block, but just one move, the fist is not the fist, the intention is not the intention, and the person falls without being aware of it inside and outside. After a long time of sticking to the power, the skill will be divine. You can’t see it, hear it, fight it, you can’t see its head when you meet it, and you can’t see its tail when you follow it. When you are in battle, you should meet it with your spirit instead of your eyes. The body knows to stop but the spirit wants to move. Follow the principles of nature, criticize Da Shao, guide Da Qi, and follow the natural way. Take advantage of the power, step on the void and take advantage of the opportunity, and strike out of thin air, which is the best.
Mr. Sun Lutang said in “Taijiquan”: “If you get the key points of Wang Zongyue’s boxing classics, you can use it in parallel with Xingyiquan and Baguaquan. If you can use them in parallel without contradiction, you can combine the three schools and use them together. You can lose without losing, and push without pushing.” It can be said that you have achieved the samadhi. Sticking to others with the power method, although the form has the loss and push, the power is continuous, so you can lose without losing, and push without pushing.
To stick to others with push hands, it depends on the six combinations of inside and outside. Once the mind moves, the power is released and the success is achieved. Sticking to others with body posture depends on body method. Once the mind moves, the mind, body and power are all there. If the mind is there but the body is not, or the body is there but the strength is not, then neither can control the person. If you use momentum to stick to the person, you can know the person’s momentum of advance and retreat, and the opportunity of movement and stillness.
If you use Qi to stick to the person, not only that, even if the form is not connected, you can also know the yin and yang, emptiness and reality, hardness and softness of the person’s strength, which is the same as the power of listening to the strength in pushing hands. The whole body is full of Qi, and when the person touches the Qi, it is like the person touching his hand in pushing hands. His strength can be known by me, and can be transformed by me. His strength, form and momentum can be stuck by my Qi. The Qi is invisible, formless and substanceless. It is named Qi, which is borrowed. It will move when it touches it, and will be transformed when it sticks to it. It is attached to the whole body and exists at all times, so it is called Qi. The ancients said: “If you can know the strength of a person in mid-air, you can attack him in mid-air; if you cannot know the strength of a person in mid-air, you cannot attack him in mid-air.” You can stick to a person with Qi, and you can control him from a distance without moving your body. The key to moving with Qi is to nourish the Qi. This Qi is extremely empty and non-existent. It is harmless to nourish it directly. When the Qi cultivation skill is deep, it penetrates the inside and outside, and enters and exits. It is extremely large and strong. It is everywhere and at all times. It is used in a broad and subtle way. When it is released, it fills the six directions, and when it is rolled up, it retreats and hides in the secret. The ancient sages said: Strengthening the spiritual root and calming the mind is called practicing Taoism. Nurturing the spiritual root and moving the mind is called martial arts. Ge Hong’s “Baopuzi Neipian. Zhili” said: “Entering the mountains and forests where there are many streams and poisonous snakes, ordinary people who pass by for a while will be hurt. But those who are good at restraining them can restrain them with Qi, and can clear the area of dozens of miles, and all companions will not be harmed. They can also restrain tigers, leopards, snakes and bees, and make them all lie down and unable to get up.” All of these are the effects of Gangqi. Qi is the innate nothingness of Qi.
The method of using Qi to stick to people is divided into two forms: the civil form emphasizes sticking, sticking, connecting and following, which is the same as other Tai Chi styles; the martial form emphasizes separation, sticking and following. The separation and sticking method can break the sticking and the sticking can break the separation. They are yin and yang to each other. Only when you can stick and separate freely can you understand the power. The separation method emphasizes sticking to people at a distance, sticking to the opponent with the body without using the limbs, and listening to the power with the mind. This is the best boxing method of Tai Chi. When the skill is at the highest level, you can not use the limbs and send people in the air. The same principle applies.
If you want to stick to people with Qi, you must be proficient in the skill of pushing hands and the ability to stick and transform in advance and retreat. In daily practice, push hands, stick and transform, abandon your body, be in a trance, go back and forth with the spirit, the fist is not the fist, the mind is not the mind, and you reach the state of emptiness and nothingness. At this point in the skill, it is natural, there is no law but the method, and you can get the true meaning of it.
You can see the original spirit and stick to people with the spirit. It is not about sticking to his strength, but to stick to his spirit. Because my spirit can communicate with his spirit, there is no him and no me. Let a person who has not practiced martial arts stick his hands together like pushing hands, sticking and following, everything goes well. If the hands fight each other, open and close, everything goes well, even if the hands are skilled. Why? Their spirits are one, so their bodies are not hurt. The art of sticking to the spirit in boxing is also like this.
The method of sticking to the spirit, the mind also has this saying, called the spirit fight. The boxing manual says: “To intercept the hand, intercept it before the opponent moves. To intercept the body, intercept it before the opponent moves. To intercept the cross section, intercept it when the opponent’s face shows his color. To intercept the heart, the opponent’s eyebrows and eyes smile, and the words are sweet and respectful. I guard against his intention and seize the opportunity to intercept it.” It is better to intercept the root than to intercept the tip, and it is better to intercept the heart than to intercept the body. When the mind is empty and clear, shining like a mirror, the opponent’s heart seems to move but not move, and I can intercept it.
The key to boxing is to stick and move first. The ultimate of action is to reach the state of no action, to follow the natural way, to reach the spiritual and to achieve transformation. Sticking is the first strength of Tai Chi. In a sense, sticking is the magic of Tai Chi. Just like playing basketball, you can achieve something if you can catch the ball. If you can’t catch it, it’s not because your kung fu is not good enough, but because your opponent is too tall.