Classic writings on tai chi tell us to relax and move from the waist. But most people don't interpret "the waist" properly from the Chinese. This will mess up your tai chi! The tai chi waist, or "yao" refers to a very large area of the body - the lower transverse...
Tai Chi Principles and Power
Wearing Glasses or Bifocals Can Mess Up Your Tai Chi – Here’s How to Turn it Around and Make Progress Instead!
Think that a good pair of eyeglasses helps you learn tai chi better? Guess again! You may be surprised to know that simple things - like wearing bifocals or trifocals - can train your body and energy to cause more harm than good! Find out how you may actually improve...
How to Add More Whole-Body Power to Your Tai Chi Opening Posture – Yang Tai Chi Example
Your tai chi is like garden soil - the more balanced nutrients it contains, the more nourishing will be your harvest. So learn ways to "power up" your tai chi so that you can get all the good health, wisdom, qi and self-defense (both physical and "psychic") training...
In Tai Chi, Avoid the Misapplication of “Relax” (w/ video)
A typical tai chi class: the instructor admonishes his students, “Relax!” They go ahead and do what they think is “relax.” And here's where the trouble begins. Ask a roomful of people what the opposite of tension is and you’ll get the unanimous reply,...
What are the “5 Elements in the Feet” of Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan)?
The Tai Chi Classics mention that their are “Five Elements in the feet,” and are referred to as the “Five Steps.” What does that mean? Let’s first examine the Taoist five elements, and then we’ll discuss how they are used to symbolize the five steps, or...
What are the Eight Gates of Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan), and How Are They Used?
Every posture of tai chi chuan has at least one of the eight gates (or, bamen) dominating the movement. This is how tai chi was originally constructed, as stated in the Tai Chi Classics. Each of the 8 gates has a certain martial "energy." Each of these martial...
What is the Silk Reeling Energy of Tai Chi (Taijiquan), or Chan Si Jing?
The traditional schools of tai chi chuan (taijiquan), along with the other Chinese internal arts, emphasize the development of "silk reeling energy," or "chansijing," in Chinese. The oldest documented and codified style of tai chi chuan known to man is Chen style....
“Kua Turning” – Protect & Heal Your Knees in Tai Chi, While Strengthening Your Tai Chi Moves
Your tai chi moves are only as good as you can direct your internal energy (qi) and vector the energy of gravity. The secret to healing and protecting your knees (which also empowers the martial applications of tai chi) requires that you learn to move from your...
How to Do Dantian Compression/Expansions for Strengthening Internal Organs, Qi and Vitality
In Master Jou Tsung Hwa's last edition of "The Dao of Taijiquan" he emphasized special use of the dantian for tai chi (taijiquan), qigong, and Taoist meditation. But most people have trouble with it and do it wrong. Doing it wrong will deviate the qi instead of...
No Time to Practice Tai Chi? No Problem! Here’s 5 Things You Can Do Instead:
I try to remind my students that real tai chi chuan (taijiquan) practice is not about fixating on memorizing the form. A lot of people will never understand this. But the ones that do, soar like eagles. My teacher, Master Jou Tsung Hwa, always emphasized that the...
Master Jou on: “All Tai Chi Chuan (taijiquan) is a Torso Method Art”
What is meant by the phrase, "All tai chi chuan (taijiquan) is to be done as a Torso Method?" The old masters of the traditional Chinese internal arts - such as tai chi chuan (taijiquan, baguazhang, xingyiquan, etc) mentioned the crucial skill of using the body as a...
How to Structure Your Ribs and Energy in Tai Chi (taijiquan)
Few practitioners nowadays abide by the Tai Chi Classics - the founding principles of the art of tai chi chuan (taijiquan). One such principle is the first of WuYuXiang's "13 Torso Methods" of traditional taijiquan. It is the principle of "han xiong."...