Author: Dan Pasek

There are many mental factors that should be considered when practicing Taijiquan (太極拳), and the way that people naturally react mentally can become traps, especially when interacting with a partner or opponent. Addressing the mind is more familiar to many from the Zen mind approach in Japanese martial arts (especially swordsmanship), but Taijiquan also addresses the mind in many ways, although less formally than in Japanese arts.

We can start with the tendency of humans to let our egos affect us. For example, people with limited experience tend to think that they are better or more skilled (have higher confidence) in activities than they really are. This phenomenon is called the Dunning-Kruger effect:

https://understandinginnovation.blog/2015/07/03/the-dunning-kruger-effect-in-innovation/

This effect can be described as proceeding from the novice thinking “What?” to “I once was blind and now I see” [“Peak of Mt. Stupid”] to “Hm-m-m, there’s more to this than I thought” [“Program Termination Zone”] to “Oh man, I’m never going to understand it” [“Valley of Despair”] to “OK, it’s starting to make sense” [“Slope of Enlightenment”] and then to “Trust me, it’s complicated” [“Plateau of Sustainability”] as one approaches mastery.

In Taijiquan, novices are often taught to feel their qi (氣energy) flow, or to use intent (用意yongyi), and other concepts that are susceptible to self-delusion (and the Dunning-Kruger effect; the slope up “Mt. Stupid”), especially in the early stages of Taijiquan study. During solo forms practice, there is little feedback available for one to know if they are understanding, and using, the concepts properly. But at higher levels of skill these same concepts (of qi, intent, etc.), once understood, can be very useful.

The effects of ego can often be seen in fights where, after one combatant succeeds in landing a blow, their opponent tries a similar attack back. This is merely one’s ego trying to show that “if you can do something, then so can I.” We should strive to act with what is appropriate to the specific situation, rather than playing “revenge” or “one-upmanship” games.

A similar situation of attempting to show superiority occurs when one side issues force and the other tries to respond with greater force. This leads to force vs. force situations that are contrary to Taijiquan philosophy. Instead, we want to change the situation to our advantage rather than trying to beat the opponent at their own game (where whoever is stronger/bigger is more likely to win). When one lacks the flexibility to change, one often resorts to using more force instead.

Since we were toddlers, we have trained ourselves to lean into, or brace, against force. When first trying to push something, toddlers push themselves away instead, ending in them seated on their diapers. Leaning into the object allows toddlers to use whatever weight they have against the object that they try to push. Our minds have therefore become accustomed to replying to force by applying more force, and to lean or brace when doing so.

But Taijiquan teaches the opposite; to avoid using force against force! We train to issue force from the ground – from our feet, developed by our legs, directed from our waist, expressed in the arms. In push-hands (推手tui shou), interacting like a “butting cow” (顶牛ding niu) is considered to be an error indicative of poor quality Taijiquan. Butting against a partner or opponent reflects our lifetime habit (since we were toddlers) of leaning and bracing, and resisting force with force.

We instead want to “receive” force into our “root” (into the ground). We want to remain comfortable and aligned, and if we conduct incoming forces downward (e.g., by bending our back leg) rather than bracing backwards (e.g., straightening the rear leg), then the incoming force is more aligned with gravity, which healthy human bodies are comfortable with due to naturally “resisting” gravity every time that we stand.

We have habitual mental images of responding horizontally, pushing forward and pulling backwards, instead of pushing/projecting up from, and pulling/absorbing down into, our feet. The horizontal tendency is what produces the “butting cow” posture during push-hands practice. The “butting cow” loses the resiliency of the rear leg which stiffens instead. One would then lose the quality of “loading the spring” (compressing into one’s root – the ground) that is more appropriate for Taijiquan.

When one’s joints stiffen or lock in response to force (either incoming from an opponent, or outgoing from one’s own issuing of force), the body loses its changeability. We may appear stronger (at least in the one direction that the force/resistance is directed towards), but we also become less adaptable. Taijiquan seeks to maintain changeability/adaptability even when under pressure; we want to maintain the openness of our joints, like they are well oiled and free to move, rather than locking/tightening them in place.

Many people when they want to bend lower or raise their leg higher for example, try to use force or momentum to do so rather than trying to relax more. This “try harder” or “do more” approach seems to be what humans have learned to do rather than relaxing (doing less). Unless someone is taught stretching or yoga, or something similar, the tendency is to bounce harder and harder in order to force a greater range of motion.

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Jazz music has varying degrees of improvisation in its ensemble (and solo) playing. There is a structure, with melody, tempo, key signature, chord progression, and other characteristics for each song, although these can be modified. But there is also improvisation, with players rarely, if ever, trying to play a song exactly the same way each time. This is in contrast to, for example, classical music where practically every aspect of the song is notated and fixed by the musical score. In classical music, the musicians attempt to play the way that is indicated in the score, and therefore the same way each time the song is played.

Many Taijiquan (太極拳) practitioners practice their solo forms and partner drills as if they are trying to follow a fixed score. They try to be exactly like their teacher, and attempt to repeat the same way each time they do the form or drill. When first learning, this approach is correct, but every experienced practitioner likely has their own flavor in their art, especially once they learn how to learn from themselves.

There’s a story that goes something like this: A Taijiquan student from the West was able to spend significant time studying with a master in Asia, but he did not know if he would be able to return in the future for additional study and corrections due to the master’s advanced age. Since he did not know how long she would be around and able to teach, he was very diligent in his studies, trying to faithfully imitate every detail of the master’s movements. After returning home, his friend was very interested in seeing what he had learned, so the student performed for him. When he was done, his friend asked him: “Why were you moving like an old woman?”

Variety is implied in various sayings, and one states that from one example a practitioner should extrapolate to a thousand different applications of a technique. So, the one way that a technique is performed in the solo form is merely one way of many. For those who only desire to do solo forms, only having one way is perhaps not detrimental, but when interacting with an opponent, we know that there are an infinite number of variations. Applying a technique requires adjustments to account for the infinite variations of the interactions with another person.

We need the ability to be spontaneous, while adhering to Taijiquan principles, during free play or fighting with a partner or an opponent. We cannot adhere strictly to one fixed way of moving like we may do when strictly following a choreographed form. In these spontaneous situations, we need the ability to appropriately answer the situations presented, and cannot rely on the sequences in the form, or one’s teacher’s movements; we need to have a confident inner resource to act appropriately in spontaneous situations.

Even when practicing a fixed and repetitive two-person drill, there are subtle variations in each repetition, and practitioners will benefit from being aware of as many subtle differences as they can sense. I believe that each repetition of a drill will be unique, especially when interacting with someone else. Even when we are trying to replicate one pattern over and over, we should also try to notice the inevitable differences.

There are different styles of Taijiquan (陳 Chen, 楊 Yang, 吳 Wu, 武/郝 Wu/Hao, 孫 Sun, etc.), and these different styles came from skilled individuals varying the forms that they were taught. Yes, one needs to have skill and understanding prior to making changes, but the individual preferences of those masters went into the creation of their styles. From my perspective, all of these recognized styles, despite having differing characteristics, emphases, and flavors, all use the underlying principles of Taijiquan, and all are correct practice; one style is not right and another wrong.

Even within a particular style (or even within one school) students can also often learn differences in principles between how weapons work is done and how one does things without weapons. For example, sword (劍 jian) can allow a further forward shift into the front leg than would be advisable for weaponless forms and interactions. This is because practitioners do not need to be overly concerned with the possibility that an opponent will grab the sharp weapon and pull, and the length of the weapon means that you are typically too far away from an opponent for them to be able to grab your arm when you are thrusting the sword at them. Shifting farther forward may give the swordsman a few extra centimeters of reach.

Similarly, a long shafted weapon without sharp edges, like a staff (棍 gun), may require practitioners to maintain more weight on the rear leg due to the leverage that an opponent would have when grabbing the weapon’s shaft and pulling. Other weapons, like the saber (刀 dao), have different emphases than weaponless interactions, and here evasive footwork may be more important, rather than emphasizing from-contact skills (e.g., stick and adhere, connect and follow, zhan nian lian sui 粘黏連隨, or rooting, etc.) – one may not even contact the opponent or their weapon.

Differences in how one’s body is used in relation to a weapon also illustrate possible variations in one’s approach to Taijiquan. For example, a spear (鎗 qiang) is light enough that practitioners can spin it around their body, like during the flower movements that vertically spin the spear from one side of the body to the other side. On the other hand, a historically heavy weapon like a Guandao/Spring and Autumn Falchion/Reclining Moon Knife (偃月刀 yanyuedao) could require practitioners to move their body around the weapon once it is given the momentum during similar vertical spinning movements.

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“The Taiji Boxing Treatise of Wang Zongyue of Shanxi” (山右王宗岳太極拳論) as presented in Li Yiyu’s (李亦畬) 1881 manual (as translated by Paul Brennan) states:

“There are many other schools of martial arts besides this one. Although the postures are different between them, they generally do not go beyond the strong bullying the weak and the slow yielding to the fast. The strong beating the weak and the slow submitting to the fast are both a matter of inherent natural ability and bear no relation to skill that is learned. Examine the phrase ‘four ounces moves a thousand pounds’, which is clearly not a victory obtained through strength. Or consider the sight of an old man repelling a group, which could not come from an aggressive speed.”

From this, we can infer that strength, speed, youth, etc. are matters of “natural” abilities that are different than what is developed through the practice of Taijiquan (太極拳). “External” styles of martial arts seek to increase these “natural” abilities, becoming stronger, quicker, and with increased endurance, for example. My understanding is that “internal” martial arts like Taijiquan tend to focus instead on fundamentally altering “natural” attributes until the altered principles become natural to the practitioner.

Some school traditions talk about Taijiquan as using “natural” principles. But Wang’s treatise further states (Brennan translation) that “Although there is an endless variety of possible scenarios, there is only this single principle [of yielding and sticking] throughout.” So, if this is what distinguishes Taijiquan, is this principle of yielding and sticking throughout a natural quality?

I do not think that it is. What is natural for humans is the fight-or-flight response. We tend to either resist (fight) pressure, or retreat (flee) away from it. Taijiquan instead works on something in between these two – we seek to stick-adhere-connect-follow (zhan nian lian sui 粘黏連隨), which is controlling a partner/opponent through contact without resisting (fighting) and without collapsing (fleeing).

Part of the reason that it is so difficult for practitioners to accomplish this skill (of yielding and sticking throughout) is that it goes counter to our natural instincts. In order to accomplish it, we need a calm awareness that allows us to avoid anger (fight) or fear (flight). We need to have a neutral, ego-less mentality; we want to avoid likes (seeking, or going towards, what we desire) and dislikes (going away from or avoiding what bothers us). We need a body that is capable of fluid and controlled movements without the tensions or the slackness that would inhibit the ability to fluidly change in order to match another person’s movements. We should not resist (fight), but also should not separate (flee).

While having a calm mind during conflict is not unique to Taijiquan, it is also not natural; people typically freeze, flinch, tense (e.g., instinctively locking our joints in order to become “stronger” when under pressure), panic, or get angry, for example. It takes training and familiarity being in conflicts to overcome our natural tendencies. Taijiquan may be somewhat different than many other martial arts in that aggression is not cultivated; we train to remain calm and to use an opponent’s aggression against them.

Even solo practice reveals that Taijiquan often does not follow “natural” movements. For example, normal walking is more of a controlled fall, where our forward momentum has us falling forward, at least until our rear leg moves in front of us to catch us and prevent us from actually falling down. Taijiquan practices maintaining balance as the foot moves forward. Unlike natural walking, Taijiquan walking can be done quite slowly since we never lose our balance (we never begin falling forward).

An untrained (or unaware) person might “naturally” tend to bend over at the waist to pick something up from the ground. We need reminders to use the legs (to squat) when picking up heavy items in order to avoid injuring our back. In Taijiquan, we also need reminders to remain upright in our training, especially when engaging in push-hands (tui shou 推手) play or sparring. Wang (Brennan translation) states: “With your head-top pressing up naturally and energy sinking down to your elixir field, there will be no leaning in any direction.”

There is a tendency for humans to lead with their head, since our major senses (especially eyesight) are located here. For some people this may lead to a forward lean of the torso, in other people it may result in the chin jutting forward. These “natural” actions would be considered as errors in Taijiquan because it is often easiest to influence someone to go in the direction that their head is leaning. This is because the weight of the head is, on average, about 8% of the mass of one’s body, and this weight is located on the body’s uppermost tip and can therefore lead one’s entire body.

Because our sense of touch is so dominant in our hands, we “naturally” reach out with the hand without thinking about connecting it, or driving it, with our body. Often we try to open doors or pick up objects, etc. just by using our hand and arm. Only if the object ends up being heavier, or more difficult to handle than we expect, do we try again with better support and better full body coordination. This can be expected because of the way that we receive information from our environment, which is reflected in the “cortical homunculus” or neurological map as discussed in the following Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortical_homunculus.

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Most Taijiquan(太極拳)practitioners are familiar with Wu Yuxiang’s (武禹襄) writing stating (as translated by Paul Brennan) “Starting from your foot, issue through your leg, directing it at your waist, and expressing it at your fingers. From foot through leg through waist, it must be a fully continuous process…” This indicates that the body leads the hands (or from one’s root in the feet, to the point of application).

This is what we strive for in our solo practice. In a sense, it also applies to partner/opponent interactions because we typically power our applications in a unified manner beginning with our contact with the ground. But when interacting with another person, it is the conditions at the point of contact that determines how we act. Therefore, one could say that when interacting with someone else, it is the hands (or more accurately, the points of contact with an opponent) that lead the body.

As the classic attributed to Wang Zongyue (王宗岳) states (as translated by Paul Brennan), “The basic of basics is to forget about your plans and simply respond to your opponent.” Therefore, if one is responding to the opponent, then their movements, as transmitted through the point(s) of contact with them, dictate our actions. The point(s) of contact moves first, with our body “chasing” the hand in order to support the movements at the point(s) of contact.

Chen Ziming (陳子明) states (as translated by Paul Brennan) that “This art [Taijiquan] is entirely a matter of using your mind to move your hand, using your hand to guide your elbow, using your elbow to guide your shoulder, and using your shoulder to guide your body. In the case of practicing the solo set: the body leads the hand. In the case of partner practice: the hand leads the body.”

Solo forms (where the hand movements should be generated by the body) allow us to practice continuously connecting the segments of our body (from the feet to the hands) during movement. We also practice being relaxed, but not collapsed, in order to avoid having places where the power transmission may be impeded by stiffness or by breaks due to slackness. We try to emphasize “whole-body” in order to increase our effective mass, but we also emphasize “relaxation” because we do not want to be slowed down or inhibited due to tensions.

Some martial art styles practice tensing their bodies briefly at the instant of contact when striking, thus making the body “connected” (or one mass, like a single block) at that instant of contact, and then relaxing the tension immediately afterwards in order to regain their changeability. But it is different in Taijiquan as I understand it. We want to remain relaxed throughout, such that our changeability is maintained, but emphasize alignment in our practice in order to have “whole-body” power, but without the instant of tension that those other styles practice.

The first part of the following video (from the martial art of I Liq Chuan) dramatically shows punching without tensing the hand, since he is holding a raw egg while breaking the boards. It uses proper alignment of the loose body, rather than an instant of tension on impact, to transmit force from the ground, through the body, and into the fist.

An analogy of round beads on a string can illustrate different approaches to the transmission of aligned force. If the beads centers are aligned while touching each other, then one can transmit force from the bead on one end to the last bead on the other end. While this can be done without tension on the string, the beads need to be aligned in order to do so. If the string was tied tightly in order to hold the beads tightly together, then force could also be transmitted from one end to the other; this would be like making connections by using tension.

Without tension, the beads on the string would be free to move in other ways if desired, but if the string holds them tightly together, then the possible movements are greatly restricted. In either case, though, one is able to transmit force from either end. If aligned, then it does not matter if the movement starts from the feet or from the hands, the force can still be transmitted. It is our alignment that allows all parts of our body to move (like all of the beads on the string) when one part moves.

Proper alignment for transmitting force from one segment to the final segment (without the need for tensing everything in order to lock them together at the instant of impact) can also be illustrated by the “Newton’s cradle” toy, or by using billiard balls that are lined up and touching each other, and then striking the first ball with the cue ball, and watching the last ball in the contacting/connected line be sent away. Both of these, like the beads on a string, use aligned but loose balls (not fastened together, or not “tensed”) to transmit the force. This illustrates “whole body” force transmission without requiring tension upon impact.

The body needs to have the proper structure to connect the hands to the feet upon impact/application, for increased power when issuing energy, or to respond to the attacks of one’s partner or opponent when receiving energy. Structural alignment allows for the transmission of force. If the hand starts, then the hand guides the elbow, the elbow guides the shoulder, and the shoulder guides the body, all the way to our feet touching the ground.

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The “unbendable arm” demonstration is commonly used in Aikido (合気道) schools, but it is also used in some Taijiquan (太極拳) schools as shown in the following video:

There is a quality that is somewhere between resisting and collapsing that we strive for in Taijiquan. This is reflected in the admonition to avoid butting against (or resisting) as well as avoiding collapsing (ding bian dui kang 顶匾丢抗). The “unbendable arm” exercise can illustrate this middle approach.

In brief, the “unbendable arm” exercise can be performed as follows (although variations are common):
1) Place the wrist of your extended arm on a partner’s shoulder with the palm up.
2) Have the partner place one or both hands on top of the elbow joint and gradually increase the downward force applied to it, seeking to bend the arm.

There are at least five different ways one can respond to the attempt to bend the arm.

1) Resisting the downward pressure by trying to raise the elbow up. This produces an upward force to counter the partner’s downward force. This raising of the elbow is primarily using the extensor muscles (the triceps) to extend the arm, but since the arm (elbow joint) angle is too poor for this action to be strong, it is very difficult to resist the bending of the arm.

2) Resisting by tensing the arm (isometric tension which tightens both the flexor and extensor muscles) in an attempt to lock the arm in position. This is sometimes accentuated with an accompanying clenching of the fist. The arm angle is again too poor to allow the muscles to produce sufficient force, and this resistance is unlikely to succeed unless one’s strength is significantly greater than that of the partner trying to bend the elbow. This approach is also vulnerable to fairly rapid fatigue.

3) Relax! This approach attempts to avoid tensing any arm muscles. This usually results in collapse and cannot resist the bending of the arm (except when done as in #5 below), although one has little fatigue doing this.

4) Activate the flexor muscles (biceps). This just bends one’s own arm and adds to the bending produced by the partner, and cannot succeed in keeping the arm straight.

5) Visualize qi (氣 energy flow; ki in Japanese) rushing through the arm and shooting out of the fingertips. Some methods accompany this visualization with an extension of the finger(s), but this is not necessary. Even the reference to qi is not necessary since many people without any knowledge or cultivation of qi can successfully do the exercise by visualizing the arm as being like a hose with water surging through it. This method allows one to remain feeling relaxed while being able to maintain the straight arm, preventing the partner from bending it!

The effortlessness of the “unbendable arm” illustrates that we are capable of maintaining our structure without fighting against the incoming force, as well as without collapsing! But how is this done? The following is my examination of this phenomenon, and how it relates to the practice of Taijiquan.

I am unaware of any rigorous scientific studies that explain this exercise, so what follows is merely speculation. An article was published in the Journal of International Society of Life Information Science in 2001 (titled “The Physiological Study of Ki in Ki Aikido (2)” by Machi, et al) that attempted to address this issue, but it only had a sample size of ONE experienced practitioner, and thus was not very rigorous and no valid conclusions can be made, although they did make scientific measurements of various physiological variables.

Several web sources attempt to explain the “unbendable arm”, but often use statements that conflict with others. Note that my explanation is also likely to have errors, although I provide information for practitioners to think about. An explanation that includes an examination the above article is given in the following link:
http://umlud.blogspot.com/2013/08/no-ki-energy-does-not-explain.html

What the “unbendable arm” shows us is that there is some mechanism for maintaining structure that does not rely on tensing (or relaxing) the flexor and/or extensor muscles of the body. There are several things that various people invoke to explain this quality (of not resisting but also not collapsing) that is desired in Taijiquan and other martial arts. The most common explanation is probably qi energy, but others include using tendons and/or ligaments rather than muscles, or using “intent” (用意 yongyi) rather than force or, increasingly popular these days, the properties of the fascia, or the stretch reflex.

I’ll start by examining qi as a possible explanation. The classical belief of qi included nearly everything, but specific understandings were contextual. So, while sunlight, which nourishes and vitalizes plants, would be considered as being qi, this would have nothing to do with the “unbendable arm”.

There are many aspects associated with qi that do concern the human body, like the vitality that we obtain from the air we breath and the food we eat, the energy we get from our parents at conception and our constitutions which protect us from diseases, etc., but these are also unlikely to be what allows the “unbendable arm” to work (except for Popeye when he eats his spinach).

Most explanations using qi are probably thinking that it is a physical substance that is coursing through our acupuncture meridians, and that this movement of an energetic substance through our arm is what prevents it from bending. In the broad sense that we need our living vitality to be able to succeed with the “unbendable arm”, then the qi explanation is correct. If our arm is anesthetized or if we are asleep, then we cannot prevent the arm from bending.

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Taijiquan (太極拳) practitioners sometimes think of the body as a cylinder, or as a single sphere with the center located at the lower dantien (丹田elixir field; the lower abdomen, the area centered in the waist), but there are numerous spheres that are important to understand. For example, the major joints in the body (i.e., the “nine pearl bends” [九曲珠 jiu qu zhu]) can be considered as spheres with their own centers.

In the accompanying illustration from Chen Xin’s (陳鑫) book, notice how the qi (氣energy) reeling paths wrap around the wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles. Depending on one’s interpretation of the nine pearl bends, these joints can represent six of the pearls (the other three could be viewed as the lumbar, thoracic and cervical curves in the spine).

Practitioners should maintain stable centers in each of these joints, and the qi reeling paths around them can be seen as reflecting the ancient version of the Taijitu (太極圖) shown below.Yin (阴)and yang (阳)energies would cycle around the stabile center circle of the diagram. These individual spheres (pearls/joints) are all contained within the large sphere that is often viewed as having its center located at the dantien and encompassing the entire body.

It may help in understanding the concept of the energy cycling around the joints, rather than through the centers of them, if one considers that the muscles that flex or extend the joints go around, rather than through, the joints. In addition to flexion and extension, combinations of muscles allow for rotation, especially in the wrists, ankles, shoulders and hips. Elbows and knees have less mobility and function more like hinges, but the ball joints at the roots of the limbs (the hips and shoulders) do allow for some limited rotation even in the middle of the limbs.

The lumbar, thoracic and cervical curves/pearls align in an axis that helps establish ones verticality (corresponding to the central dotted lines in Chen’s illustration). It is like three balls, the abdomen, the chest and the head, all stacked on top of each other. This aligns the central axis that would form the center of a cylinder. While the cylinder analogy can be useful when examining one side of the body retreating while the other side advances, it also has limitations.

If someone pushes on both sides of a cylinder at the same time (crossing the centerline), then the cylinder can be prevented from rotating and the cylinder will be pushed back. Because of this, each point of contact should instead be considered as being a separate sphere, capable of rotating relatively independently of each other (like the two arms each being capable of relatively independent actions even though each is limited by its attachment to the torso).

There should not be just one body ball/cylinder; there should be multiple spheres (with different centers). A cylinder can be prevented from rotating with two points of contact if they cross the centerline, but a sphere needs three points of contact spread around the center to prevent it from rotating.

While the whole body does make one sphere, there should be an infinite number of possible additional spheres (sometimes referred to as being made up of ball bearings) inside of it. There should be yin and yang on each side of every point of contact (i.e. separate spheres for each point of contact). This takes us into the realm of imaginary spheres, rather than the spheres associated with physical body parts as described for the pearls/joints.

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According to Swedish psychologist K. Anders Erickson, sometimes referred to as the “expert on experts,” those who are the best at what they do are attentive to feedback. Without feedback, how do we know how and when we improve? Many sports have measurable criteria for detecting improvements (e.g., times and distances that are objectively measured), and these can be used as one form of feedback that can help athletes improve. But how do we get the feedback to improve in more personal, and less measurable, endeavors like Taijiquan (太極拳)?

By maximizing opportunities to gain feedback, elite performers in their fields increase their chances to learn from that feedback. Taijiquan practice begins with relying on the instructions of one’s teacher(s), but the goal is to gain awareness of our bodies such that one’s body becomes a teacher, one’s own body provides feedback. Self-awareness is one reason why Taijiquan is called an “internal” martial art, and the following are examples of levels of awareness.

NOVICES:

Novice practitioners frequently begin learning in a way that is similar to dancers, by learning a choreographed sequence of postures. Some schools require students to meditate prior to the forms instruction in order to clear the students’ minds and reduce their mental distractions. This increases the potential for paying attention to what their bodies are indicating during their physical practice.

Many schools use the concept of feeling qi (氣) or energy flow in the body. This is something that is difficult to visually detect in the teacher, and something that must be felt in oneself. While this practice does direct students to pay attention to their bodies, unfortunately, there are potential pitfalls to sensing qi, especially for novices.

Our minds have a tendency to deceive us, allowing us to sense what we expect or desire to feel. It is difficult to differentiate between what is real and what merely exists due to expectation or desire. Numerous examples of this problem can be found in scientific studies in psychology, where it is extremely difficult to design rigorous and relevant controls.

One example of this phenomenon can be seen in a study that tested if meditation helps reduce stress. The researchers (Creswell et al., 2014, Psychoneuroendocrinology, 4: pp.1-12) compared stress levels of subjects who, after their meditation, took a standard task assessment (the Trier Stress Protocol), designed to be difficult enough to induce high stress. These were compared to similar subjects who took the same test but without the pre-test meditation.

The study design was superior to most similar research in that selection bias was controlled for, as well as having the controls undertaking similar learning processes to the group being taught meditation, except without the meditation component. They also had an objective control for the typical subjective questionnaire, by drawing a blood sample and measuring cortisol levels (a hormone that is elevated in stressful situations).

The results were surprising. The subjective questionnaire results showed that the meditating subjects had a perception of significantly reduced levels of stress after the stressful task that followed meditation, when compared to the control participants, as was expected. But their cortisol levels were actually significantly higher than in the controls! While the mediators FELT that they were less stressed, their levels of stress were actually higher!

Until a practitioner can distinguish actual sensations of qi circulation from imaginary ones, relying on subjective feelings of qi is probably not useful. However, once a practitioner can reliably perceive their qi, then increases or decreases would provide feedback into the quality of their practice.

BEGINNERS:

While self-assessments of qi levels are unreliable, there are numerous physical principles that are easy to observe and can be used for feedback. Correct understanding and application of physical principles will aid in increasing the feelings of qi circulation; but since the physical principles are easier to detect, they may be better for feedback in beginners than the potentially unreliable feelings of qi.

Various physical and postural principles are taught while students are learning solo forms, and physical corrections to postures are common long after students complete a form. The feedback from a teacher is valuable, but if students learn and understand the principles, then they can self-correct many errors by checking themselves in a mirror. These physical/postural principles are typically noticeable to students, if they know what to look for.

UNDERSTANDING ONESELF:

The individual physical principles that are learned in Taijiquan cannot all be focused on simultaneously. At best we can focus on one or two at a time (see my earlier article on multitasking), switching from one to another during different practice periods.

Knowing Without feedback, how do we know how and when we improve? Many sports have measurable criteria for detecting improvements , and these can be used as one form of feedback that can help athletes improve. oneself involves synthesizing the various individual components into one whole. It is like the difference between a spider making individual threads of a web, and the completed web where the spider can sit in the center and be able to sense the entire web simultaneously. Understanding ourselves is the stage where we achieve wholeness or oneness, rather than having to think about individual pieces.

At this stage, physical corrections may become too subtle to detect visually, so another method of receiving feedback becomes necessary. For those who can now reliably sense their qi flow, this can be used for feedback. Like an undisturbed spider web, one should feel correct and be comfortably aligned. When the “web” is disturbed by errors, then ones attention should be directed to the problem area.

Since this stage relies on self-evaluation, one’s ego can interfere with making objective evaluations of one’s abilities. It is human nature to think we are better than we really are. Often, postural habits feel comfortable, but these could contain errors that one may not be aware of. “Comfortable” does not necessarily mean correct, and one must be objective in evaluating whether or not one is actually incorporating proper Taijiquan postural and energetic principles. Care should be taken since incorrect habits can often feel more comfortable than correct practice.

To obtain more objective feedback, one can focus on interactive work, where a training partner or opponent provides challenges to ones posture and movement.

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There are several ways that peripheral visual awareness is trained in Taijiquan (太極拳). For example, during push-hands (推手 tui shou) and fighting practice, schools often teach a “soft focus” on the partner or opponent’s chest. Some schools practice keeping their nose vertically above their navel, avoiding turning their heads during solo forms practice, but keeping awareness of the movements of their hands and feet; other schools turn their heads while having their eyes softly follow the direction of their lead hand. Some direct their gaze to the horizon.

In both solo and interactive practices, we want to train to have a “wide-angle” vision such that we have awareness of the whole body, from the hands to the feet.  The “binocular” vision of humans is good for focusing both eyes on an object, enabling accurate depth perception, but sacrifices peripheral awareness. Our eyes are not as wide set as in prey species, like rabbits, where safety requires a wide visual awareness so that predators do not sneak up on them.

While humans are not capable of seeing behind us (rabbits can see almost 360° horizontally), we should be able to have visual awareness of about 180-200° horizontally and 125-135° vertically. About 60-70° of the horizontal visual field does not have binocular vision since only one eye can see those parts of the field. Our field of view narrows considerably when we focus intently on a single object, the so called “tunnel vision.”

A 1996 article by Steve Gallop, O.D. (J. Behavioral Optometry, 7(6):151-155) presents a case for the importance of human peripheral visual awareness, and I will extensively use information from it for this article. He gives the following definition: “Peripheral visual awareness will be considered as the ability to be cognizant of, though not distracted by, a significant amount of space/time volume relative to the particular setting and task at hand.”

More simply, peripheral vision is what we can see “at a glance,” or everything we see that we are not looking at directly. It can be viewed as being like a spider in the center of its web, sensing the entire web without focusing directly on any specific place until something touches the web.

The ability to have a wide field of visual awareness, without becoming distracted, is something that needs practice. We want to avoid tunnel vision or being overly focused on a primary detail. If we are paying too much attention to a partner/opponent’s hands, for example, we may miss knowing when they threaten us with a kick, or noticing when they are preparing to take a step.

Gallop states that “…it is the nature of our culture that emphasis is placed on the small details, not the big picture; on outcome, not process; on stasis, not change. Central/foveal vision is about static details and outcomes. Peripheral vision is about movement and process, and it is involved with detecting and understanding the big picture – the context and changes in our environment. It represents the bulk of what our world demands that we process visually.” This information on peripheral vision fits well with Taijiquan’s emphasis on change and movement.

Central vision and hard focus are more about reaching out for information, whereas peripheral vision and soft focus are more about receiving information, letting information come to us. This receptiveness should be accompanied by alert awareness since we do not want to reach the stage where we lose interest (“zone out”); we should be aware of when we stop letting new information in.

When we practice from-contact interactions in Taijiquan, we lessen the need for vision to be the dominant information gatherer; we now get much of our information from the sense of touch (e.g., mechanoreceptors and proprioceptors) which often becomes primary. This allows us to relax and soften the eyes, and allow our peripheral vision to increase in importance. Rather than focusing on one or two things, soft focus allows us to take in more information.

Gallop states “It is well accepted that 20% of the fibers that make up the optic nerve go directly to the so-called lower (postural) centers in the brain rather than to visual centers, as do the other 80%. However, those 20% represent up to 80% of the area of the retina – the peripheral retina. Apparently a large amount of visual information has little to do with ‘seeing’ per se, but very much to do with being.”

Peripheral vision helps aid balance; those who have tried performing their solo forms while keeping their eyes closed will realize this. While the inner ear’s vestibular system is more critical for our sense of balance, vision does play a part. Peripheral vision is what places us into the context of our surroundings, a sense of orientation and our relationship with gravity, and this may be why balance can be affected when we move with closed eyes, although the inner ear will quickly compensate with practice.

While wide angle awareness may have evolutionary importance in protecting us from danger, modern society has trained many people to limit our visual capabilities. Gallop states: “We are typically taught early in school that we must block out all distractions and concentrate entirely on the task at hand. We quickly learn to narrow our focus to a small volume of space/time in order to carry out our required duties. This type of behavior is not innate and, in fact, requires considerable effort to achieve. Nonetheless, with repetition this becomes an automatic behavior, one that is likely to manifest any time we are engaged in some demanding task…”

As martial artists, we need to practice to overcome this behavior that has become automatic for many of us. We need to practice having a soft focus, a wide angle vision. As an optometrist, Gallop found that “While it is not at all a simple matter to maintain optimal peripheral awareness at all times, it is surprisingly easy to enhance this function enough to make a meaningful difference in overall visual performance.

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Taijiquan (太極拳) strives to train fighting skills that don’t rely on “inherent natural abilities” like strength and speed, as indicated in the classic attributed to Yang Banhou (楊班侯) [translated by Paul Brennan]:

“There are many other schools of martial arts besides this one. Although the postures are different between them, they generally do not go beyond the strong bullying the weak and the slow yielding to the fast. The strong beating the weak and the slow submitting to the fast are both a matter of inherent natural ability and bear no relation to skill that is learned. Examine the phrase ‘four ounces moves a thousand pounds’, which is clearly not a victory obtained through strength. Or consider the sight of an old man repelling a group, which could not come from an aggressive speed.”

The concept of “four ounces moves a thousand pounds” indicates that size differences should not matter for someone skilled in the art of Taijiquan. Zheng Manqing/Cheng Manching (郑曼青) explains this principle using the analogy of leading a cow by using a cord passing through its nose: http://www.rockymountaintaichi.com/zmq-13-13-12

Although we don’t interact with training partners and opponents using body parts analogous to a cow’s sensitive nose, the analogy does emphasize the quality of leading a large or powerful partner/opponent without using much effort. But how do we translate this principle into practice?

What skills do we learn that would allow us to control someone larger and heavier (more massive) than us? Since F=ma (Newton’s second law of motion), it is clear that mass (“m”) does increase force (“F”), as does speed (or acceleration “a”). Even though a larger (or faster) person may generate greater force, how do we minimize the effectiveness or impact of that force when used against our training?

The analogy of leading (牽 qian) the cow requires the rope to connect the person with the nose of the cow. Without that connection, the cow is free to act independently from the person. In order to lead a large force, we need to maintain our connection to that force. One also does not bang into the cow’s nose, nor does one suddenly jerk on the rope; to lead the force of a partner/opponent, one cannot crash into nor separate from them.

We train to control a partner/opponent through contact. This is an important difference from most striking arts. Striking arts often bounce into and out of range, trying to keep a safe distance except when closing to strike. In Taijiquan it is important to stick and adhere, connect and follow (粘黏連隨 zhan nian lian sui) and to avoid crashing against or separating from them (顶匾丢抗 ding bian dui kang).

Ideally, we want to be able to strike, throw, lock, etc. from contact, which can require power to be expressed with very little or no windup and in a very short distance. This power generation is different than is typically seen in striking arts, which commonly use windups and longer distances to generate the acceleration that increases the strike’s power.

Our typical strategy is to gain control of the partner/opponent, through our contact with them, prior to striking them. If their stability is compromised, then it is difficult for them to defend against our attacks, or to counterattack. Furthermore, the power that can be released by an unstable partner/opponent is typically significantly lessened compared to when they are stable.

Striking arts commonly use avoidance, bobbing and weaving, covering, or retreating out of range, sometimes entering a clinch to get inside the opponent’s ideal striking range, etc. Taijiquan includes a different strategy that is closer to the idea of rolling with the punches; but instead of it being merely defensive in intent, we try to use this contact for controlling the partner/opponent and setting up counterattacks.

Rolling with the punches can be like a matador leading a powerful bull off target. One leads the partner/opponent to exert their power where they think a target is, but the “target” being insubstantial, like the matador’s cape. This is referred to as leading into emptiness (空 kong). One can also lead into emptiness by moving offline of the attack, or by guiding (leading) the attack off-target. If an attack fails to impact a target, then it does not matter how big its force is. When missing, their momentum makes them susceptible to counterattacks.

The acceleration used for typical strikes produces momentum, the direction of which is often difficult to change freely, smoothly or quickly. It is the partner/opponent’s momentum that we can train to take advantage of. If they commit energy in a particular direction, then we may be able to use their intent to lead them astray and to set up counterattacks.

When making the partner/opponent’s power miss, it is best to use the minimal amount of force that is sufficient to succeed (i.e, “four ounces” [四兩 si liang]). As Zheng Manqing points out in his article, using too much force when leading (being excessively heavy) often results in the partner/opponent feeling that force, and changing in response. If their change stops their momentum, then it is more difficult to take advantage of their movements.

In order to make a partner/opponent’s technique miss, we need to sense (聽勁 tingjin, listening energy) and understand (懂勁 dongjin) their energy and intent. We can learn more about a partner/opponent when in contact with them than we can just from looking at them. If we remain resilient and avoid stiffening up when we contact them, we can use our mechanoreceptors (sensors that respond to pressure) and proprioceptors (sensors that provide information about joint angle, muscle length, and muscle tension) to sense changes at the point of contact. With training, this information can be understood and used to control the partner/opponent.

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Many martial art styles, as well as sports, primarily use speed to generate force (“F”), and therefore emphasize the “a” (acceleration) component of the F=ma equation (Newton’s second law of motion). While acceleration is also used in Taijiquan (太極拳), there is an emphasis on using a unified (whole-body) structure, therefore emphasizing the “m” (mass) component in F=ma.

Our goal should be to maximize the effective mass by recruiting the entire body into our techniques. This unified body is reflected in the saying from the Taijiquan classics that “if one part moves, every part moves, and if one part is still, every part is still.”

While someone can be very strong or very fast, if they are using primarily their arm to generate their force then they are mainly using the mass of their arm rather than the mass of their entire body. Training allows one to increase the effective mass (and the corresponding force that is produced) by recruiting more of the body into the techniques.

In martial arts, force primarily from acceleration can be illustrated by the spinning back fist, which combines spinning the body with whipping the arm. Force primarily from structure/mass can be illustrated by the “one-inch punch” (寸勁 cun jin) which combines the mass of various body parts (whole-body power) to generate the force with minimal body movement.

Taijiquan primarily practices to control training partners or opponents from mid-range contact, rather than attacking from non-contact like striking arts typically do. When not in contact, many things can be done to help generate acceleration (therefore increasing the force of ones strike) that cannot be done against resistance as is often encountered during contact. As long as one has good alignment upon contact, weak alignments while accelerating may not be problematic.

One could say that Taijiquan practices to be properly aligned against resistance even while moving and even when the direction(s) of the resistance changes. This results in a unified structure that is ready to maximize ones mass at all times. Acceleration is primarily generated by moving the unified structure (mass) by shifting ones weight (or stepping), and/or by rotating to advance one side of the body, without compromising (or breaking) the unified structure.

Acceleration used to generate force can be illustrated by sports like baseball and American football where movements of the legs and body are added to the motion of the arm (a “kinetic chain”), which is then transmitted to the ball, generating the ball’s speed when released. Here the weight of the ball produces only a slight resistance to the thrower’s arm.

A heavier ball is difficult to throw in the same manner, which is why the mechanics of a shot put throw are different from throwing a baseball. Shot put uses acceleration generated by spinning the entire body around while holding the shot at a fixed location at the athlete’s neck, and finishing with pushing the ball away.

Whereas a baseball player’s throwing motion can go behind the torso due to the relative lightness of the ball, a shot is too heavy to allow this same arm motion, which would likely strain or injure the thrower, and the shot would travel a shorter distance, than one thrown conventionally.

Each joint has a peak angle where it is strongest, and the shoulder is not strong when the arm is behind the torso. But the minimal weight of a baseball allows one to swing the arm through the weak angles in order to increase the distance that the arm accelerates through, and allows greater acceleration to be transmitted to the ball. The following article includes information on peak joint angles, optimal muscle fiber length, etc.:
https://www.strengthandconditioningresearch.com/perspectives/stronger-joint-angles/

Resistance from a partner/opponent’s contact can often easily disrupt acceleration, especially when joint angles are weak. For example, if a quarterback’s arm is touched during the throwing motion, the arm’s motion is easily disrupted and the throw is easily affected. This is what can happen to potential martial attacks that rely on acceleration to generate force; when one is in contact with a partner/opponent the attack can be “jammed” or “jostled” which prevents the power/force from being able to build or to be effectively released.

When in contact with an opponent, Taijiquan can use techniques like covering (敷 fu), blanketing (盖 gai) and intercepting (對 dui) to disrupt the opponent’s ability to accelerate, and therefore inhibit their ability to generate force.

Another potential problem with generating force by relying on acceleration is that the resulting momentum is often difficult to change. After force using momentum is issued, it can be countered by “swallowing” (吞 tun), a type of “leading (牽 qian) into emptiness (空 kong).” With Taijiquan we want to maintain our changeability even when attacking, and therefore we try to generate power in a manner that reduces continuing momentum.

The four terms above (fu, gai, dui and tun) are the “Four Word Secret Formula” (四字秘訣 Si Zi Mi Jue) given by Wu Yuxiang (武禹襄). Zhang Yun (张云) gives a translation with explanations and examples of the four words in the following article:
http://www.ycgf.org/Articles/Qi-In_TJQ/Qi-in-TJQ1.html

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