Why Is Fajin The Secret Weapon Of Taijiquan?

Diǎnxué (點穴, sometimes called Dianmai or even Dim Mak) is known as pressing or sealing the cavity and it is one of the most misunderstood techniques of Chinese martial arts.… Read more

Four Common Pushing Hands Training Mistakes

If you train Tàijíquán (太極拳) as a martial art, you will, at some point, come across Tui Shou (推手). Also known as Pushing Hands, (Pushands, Push Hands), this type of… Read more

The Scissors, Rock, Paper Of Chinese Martial Arts

One of the most interesting concepts in Chinese martial arts is the theory of tī dǎ shuāi ná (踢打摔拿). Tàijíquán (太極拳) teachers often overlook this and many times it is… Read more

Memorizing Those Annoying Basics Is The Road To Mastery

In one of his continuing education seminars, Bob Flaws (acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist, author, and expert in Traditional Chinese Medicine) said, “Mastery of anything is simply mastery of the basics.” It… Read more

Jou Tsung Hwa’s Chen 1

I intend to continue in this article to present the Tai Chi Farm exercises which have been explained in a series format in my previous articles. While writing about the… Read more

Letter from South America

On November 20th 2011, when Master Yang finished his first seminar in Mendoza, Argentina, he told us, “Tai Chi is like a thread that brings us together”. Beyond time and… Read more

About the Written Tradition of Taijiquan

Taijiquan is practiced both as a self-cultivation and health technique, as well as a martial art. Quite often this results in the discussion of its purpose. Read more

Opening Our Hearts to China

Going to China was a dream come true for me. We always use that expression to say that something really great has happened. But I’m not using it that way.… Read more

The Five Principles of Tai Chi Chuan

He was an amazing man to say the least. With a calming presence had always started the class by reminding us of the 5 principles that should be remembered. Read more

The Eight Gates – Techniques Or Principles? An Attempt For An Explanation

The eight gates (bamen) are peng, lü, ji, an, cai, lie, zhou and kao. Dealing with them in theory and practice quickly brings up the following question: Are they techniques… Read more