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Taijiquan Guide

Your guide to Taijiquan

How to Draw the Shen Inwards – Tai Chi Rule #3

By Ben Sterling

The Shén (spirit) should be drawn inwards.
神宜內斂,

What is Shén?

Shén translates as spirit and opinions vary on how this concept is applied in Tai Chi.

Like Qi, Shén is a sensation that can be felt and manipulated. However, Qi is something beginners can feel and use.

Shén is more advanced and takes longer to understand in a tangible way.

Fortunately, a beginner can still put rule #3 into practice by understanding some basic theory.

How does Shen work?

Shén is influenced by our yì (意) and our xīn (心). Yì is our intention or thought and xīn is our emotion.

If you are stressed or agitated your shen will be disturbed. If your mind is constantly responding to your senses, jumping around to analyze what you are seeing, hearing, smelling, etc. then your shen will follow.

How to concentrate the Shen Internally

Be calm & relaxed so that your emotions don’t disrupt the shén.

Bring your attention and focus inwards to gather the spirit.

Here is a simple breathing exercise that can help you relax and calm your mind.

1. Breath in, relax and feel the body fill and expand.
2. Breath out and relax. Let any tension or stress leave with the breath.
3. Breath in, tense and feel the body fill and expand.
4. Breath out and relax letting go of tension and stress.
5. Repeat

You can use any warm up exercise that calms you and brings your focus inside the body.

Experiment and use whatever methods work best for you.

Filed Under: Tai Chi Classics Tagged With: shen, Taijiquan, xin, yi

How to Stimulate the Qi – Tai Chi Rule #2

By Ben Sterling

The Qi should be stimulated.

氣宜鼓盪, – The Theory of Taijiquan by Zhang Sanfeng

Tai Chi Rule 2 - Stimulate the Qi
Stimulate the Qi.

tl;dr – Click here to skip to a simple exercise

What is Qi?

Qi means different things to different people.

It is typically translated as internal energy and there are three types of explanation.

1. It is an energy beyond western science – This can lead to training that doesn’t actually work against most people.
2. It is made up bullshit – This can lead to disregarding rewarding areas of study and limits your skill.
3. It is explained by making analogies to the nervous system, fascia, bio electricity, quantum mechanics, etc.

Unfortunately, these types of analogies don’t hold up under close scrutiny. They end up being variations on the first type of explanation cloaked in scientific or medical jargon.

So what is Qi?

It is a feeling.

When we use the mind and body in specific ways there is a physical sensation in the body. We are going to call that sensation Qi.

Much of Taijiquan training is about using the mind to make subtle yet powerful changes inside the body.

To do this we need to feel inside the body and we need to label these feelings. This gives us an internal reference point as we work on improving our skill. It also gives us a language we can use to impart these skills to others.

Once someone can feel and reproduce this sensation, we can simply say “expand, contract, sink or spiral the Qi” and they instantly know how to work on any number of important Taiji skills. And they know what it feels like when those skills are done correctly.

In Taijiquan we are going to talk about energy a lot, along with many other similar concepts. We are going to talk about them as if they are physical things interacting with the body because that’s how it should feel.

It is important to remember that this language is describing what it feels like to connect the body and mind and use them in specific ways. It is not describing the actual physiological processes that are taking place.

So what does Qi feel like?

Unfortunately it’s not a simple “Qi feels like X.” Otherwise we could simple use that word instead.

Warmth, slight pressure, a tingle like electricity or vibration. It may have a magnetic push or pull to it.

These sensations will be very slight and subtle at first.

Most beginning qigong exercises should begin to help you get a feeling for Qi. If you don’t have some already you can use the one below.

tl;dr – Qi is a physical sensation that lets you know if you’re doing it right.

What does it mean to stimulate the Qi?

This passage has been translated as: excited, stirred, full & stimulated, extended and vibrated like a drum. The characters in question also have connotations of: to move, to beat, to shake, to agitate, rouse.

There is some ambiguity here and different schools of Taijiquan will have slightly different versions of this quality.

You know the qi is stimulated when it feels full and flowing throughout the entire body.

The flushed energized feeling you get after a vigorous physical warm up is a version of this.

How to Stimulate the Qi

The light and agile drills will help stimulate the qi.

A quick and crude method is to slap and shake the body the way athletes do before vigorous competition.

In fact any warm up exercise that gets the blood flowing and makes you relaxed and energized will do as long as you remain calm and focused. We’ll cover why you must be calm in Rule #3.

Once you achieve this feeling make sure to maintain it during your Tai Chi practice session.

Once you get good at stimulating the Qi, work on reducing the amount of time it takes you to achieve this state. Your goal is to produce this state almost instantly using mental focus more than physical activity.

Filed Under: Tai Chi Classics Tagged With: Qi, Tai Chi Classics, Tai Chi Rules, Taijiquan

How to be Light, Agile & Connected – Tai Chi Rule 1

By Ben Sterling

The whole body should be light and agile when you move. The entire body should be fully connected.

一舉動,周身俱要輕靈,尤須貫串。 – The Theory of Taijiquan by Zhang Sanfeng

Tai Chi Rule 1 - Be light agile and connected

Light & Agile Drill #1 – Solo Practice

Wiggle, wave, twist & turn every millimeter of your body from your toenails to your fingertips.

Do it slowly.

Do it while walking, standing, sitting. Do it with any Tai Chi forms and postures you know.

Look for any stiff or awkward spots. These indicate errors.

Relax and adjust your posture until these errors disappear.

Light & Agile Drill #2 – Partner Practice

Have a partner push and pull you from all angles and directions.

Do it slowly.

Do it while walking, standing, sitting. Do it with any Tai Chi forms and postures you know.

Let your partner make contact. Move softly in response.

If your partner feels resistance to their pulls or pushes then your movement is not yet light and agile enough.

Relax more, adjust your posture & SLOW DOWN (you and your partner) until the errors disappear.

Increase the speed and difficulty as you gain skill.

What does Connected mean in Tai Chi?

Connection in Taijiquan means your entire body is working together.

For example, if you push, your entire body should be aiding the push.

Legs, toes, waist, etc.

If your toes are not adding power then you have a connection error.

If any of the power generated by your toes is lost at the knee, waist or shoulder then you have a connection error.

Connection errors limit mobility, reduce power & increase risk of injury.

How to be connected:

Poor posture and tension are the most common causes of a break in connection.

Focus on deeper relaxation.

When any part of your body moves the rest of your body should move with it.

Do this with the light and agile drills. Any stiffness you find is causing connection errors as well as limiting your ability to be light and agile.

Filed Under: Tai Chi Classics Tagged With: Tai Chi Classics, Tai Chi Rules, Taijiquan

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