SIMPLE INTRODUCTION TO TAIJI BOXING (TAIJI QUAN

QIAN SHUO)
Posted on August 29, 2014by Paul Brennan

SIMPLE INTRODUCTION TO TAIJI BOXING

by Xu Zhiyi
[published Sep, 1927]
[translation by Paul Brennan, Aug, 2014]
-

Simple Introduction to Taiji Boxing

- calligraphy by Zhuang Yunkuan

FOREWORD BY GU XIEGUANG OF KUAIJI

Great is Taiji Boxing, tracing back to Wudang.

It can defeat movement with stillness, hardness with softness.
It was created by Zhang Sanfeng, then clarified by Wang Zongyue and Yang
Luchan.
The internal arts excel at timing and position, and are peerless for cultivating
health.
Once you know the source of flow, your courage will follow it everywhere.
My friend Xu Zhiyi is a brilliant talent of our nation.
Having gone through a concentrated study, he has produced an outstanding
book.
He has contemplated the concepts endlessly and drilled the techniques over
and over.
He is constantly improving himself and sincerely retains what he learns.
He began his training in the north, then earnestly progressed in the south.
A wise man tries to appear ignorant, but his deeper knowledge is hard to
hide.
In writing a book to enlighten students, Xu gives them the steps that lead to
mastery.
He is quick as an arrow leaving a bow, sharp as a pickpocket sneaking a
wallet.
He is a tireless teacher, fully committed.
Its beauty beyond compare, this martial art will spread throughout the
nation.
Its subtleties achieve perfection. It will keep you robust as you grow old.
We will soon hear of weaklings standing proud. So close to the Way, this art
will flourish.
-


Wu Jianquan
-


The author, Xu Zhiyi

MAJOR POSTURES IN TAIJI BOXING SOLO PRACTICE

SITTING:


CROSSED STANCE:

RAISED LEG:


STOOPING:

ONE-LEGGED STANCE:


DIAGONAL FLYING POSTURE:

CROUCHING:


SITTING TIGER POSTURE:

MAJOR POSTURES IN TAIJI BOXING PARTNER PRACTICE

WARDING OFF:


ROLLING BACK:

PRESSING:


PUSHING:

PLUCKING:

RENDING:


ELBOWING:

BUMPING:


AUTHORS PREFACE

For years I practiced external boxing arts, but I found that it was not right for
my physique, so I instead learned the Taiji boxing art from Wu Jianquan, which
I have now practiced for ten years. With the help of fellow students such as Lu
Yinfu and Zhao Shoucun, with whom I have studied daily, I have obtained no
small benefit.
This spring, Lu received a letter from Wu describing in great detail the
popularity of Taiji Boxing in the south and requesting that I explain what he has
gained through experience for the benefit of beginners. I have long been a
devoted advocate of physical education, but due to my crude level of
understanding and my haste to complete the task, this book is sure to be
inadequate in many ways and I fear it will not live up to the expectations of my
venerable colleagues.
sincerely written by Xu Zhiyi, early summer, 1927
[GENERAL COMMENTS]

- The purpose of this book is popularization, therefore it conveys concepts only

in language that is easy to understand, and this is why it is called a simple
introduction.
- Although this book is devoted to explaining theory, it does not engage in any
obscure and impractical discussion.

- For photographs of Taiji Boxing postures or commentary to the Taiji Classics,

there are already many volumes in bookshops. This book therefore does not
seek to imitate them.

- Taiji Boxing postures are different from those of external boxing arts, a point
which is crucial to understand. As the eight techniques within pushing hands
must also be understood by practitioners, this text includes some photos of

them for demonstration.

- Since my knowledge is limited, errors are inevitable. If the nations experts

would give me corrections, I would feel blessed indeed.

(also by the author)

PREFACE BY HU WEIDE

Now that Xu Zhiyi has completed this book and is about to send it to the
publishers, he has asked me, as I have also practiced Taiji Boxing, to find some
words to introduce it. So I will steal a line I have read in the Book of
Poems [poem 198]: They are without fists, without courage. And another from
the Books of Later Han, Bio of Huang Fusong [actually fromRomance of the
Later Han, chapter 61]: Even a boy can devote himself to boxing. Such quotes
as these were the harbingers of the boxing arts. In the Bibliographical Records
of the Books of Han, there is listed six chapters on barehand fighting. From
traditions of military skill, we have inherited the boxing arts, but unfortunately
there is a lack of books on the subject. In recent times, foreigners have written a
huge number of physical education books concerning boxing studies, and our
own nations boxing arts should not go without analysis.
Xu Zhiyi has practiced Taiji Boxing for more than ten years, his skill is very
deep, and he has amassed a great deal of knowledge with which he has
personally taught many students. Apart from texts such as Wang Zongyues Taiji
Boxing Classic and Huang Baijias Boxing Methods of the Internal School, there
are very few authors, and so it is not easy for students to delve into it. Because of
this, Xu has very generously decided to make a book to provide for students.
Students who have already received personal instruction from noteworthy
teachers can then also use the book as a teacher and thus get twice the result for
half the effort, which I can attest to. That being the case, Xus benefitting of

students in this way could never be considered something insignificant.

Xu is a top student of Wu Jianquan. Among the students in the north, there
is maybe not even one who can be considered his superior. [Mengzi, chapter
3a, talking of the scholar Chen Liang]. Now that he has come to the south, I
know he will be great here as well. I am therefore delighted to write this preface.
written by Hu Weide of Wuxing, second month of summer, 1927

PREFACE BY ZHOU YICHUN

Taiji Boxing is one of our nations ancient boxing arts. My colleague Xu Zhiyi
has devoted himself to it for already ten years. This summer, he has put his
studies into this book of instruction for students, a very worthy undertaking.
When the manuscript was completed, he invited me to write a preface. I have
not yet had guidance in this art, so how can I dare to say anything about it?
Watching friends who practice it often, I see that in every movement, there is
a pure naturalness, supple and effortless, intention in harmony with the changes
of the postures. By maintaining mental focus in it over a long period of time, no
matter how weak and feeble ones body, everyone gains health and strength. It
cultivates calm and restrains the temperament. It prevents illness and prolongs
life. Obviously it can do anything.
I am sure this book will become popular, that everyone will grab a copy, and
that it will be an aid to physical education experts everywhere.
written by Zhou Yichun, June, 1927

PREFACE BY HUANG ZHONGHUI

Taiji Boxing is a skill that approaches the Way. It uses stillness to defeat
movement, softness to defeat hardness. With neither showing off nor loss of
temper, it is dignified, elegant, and effortless. And when an opponent is defeated
by it, he has no comprehension of what was done.
Furthermore, if this art is obtained by the old and weak, or by women and
children, it can also maintain health as well as defend the self, instead of being
an additional harmful habit. It should be practiced daily and thereby it will
swiftly push forth to become the best of our national skills. Long ago at the
battle of Hongyang, thirty-nine of our people committed suicide in one day, for
no other reason than that they could not bear to be executed in disgrace. Those
with no fight or courage in themselves are unable to endure through troubled
times. Truly this is a great pity.
Forty years ago [1887], there was a close friendship between experts in the
north such as Single Saber Wang Wu [Big Saber Wang Wu Wang Zhengyi],
Big Saber Li San [Double Saber Li Fenggang], and Li Ruidong, a master of the
soft arts whose skill was extremely refined. Our nations martial arts styles are
rather numerous, but Taiji is both the most unassuming and the most authentic,
in the same way that clothes and food can sustain you throughout your life but
cannot be done without for even a short time.
Xu Zhiyi obtained his art from a famous teacher, but was then able to go
beyond preconceived notions and draw from modern sciences, such as
mechanics, geometry, psychology, and so on. Studying them, he found patterns.
Contemplating them, he over time amassed a thorough knowledge, and he has
now produced a number of writings. Giving instruction also to the weak and the
women of our nation, he is unrivaled among his hundreds of fellow students. As
my comrade seeks to spread this material widely in order to rescue the meek
and weak of our nation, I am very pleased to write a preface for him.
written by Huang Zhonghui, June 14, 1927

PREFACE BY LU HONGJI

Once I had been taught to read in my boyhood, I took special delight in martial
arts novels. I constantly read the tales of the swordswomen Hong Xian and Nie
the Hermitess, which thrilled me till I was enraptured. When I heard my elders
talking about experts like Gan Fengchi and Bai Taiguan, I was so captivated I
decided to pack up some provisions and go out into the world hoping to meet
such people. Unfortunately I was a weak-bodied boy and the mood in our region
(area of southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang) was that literary studies were
superior to martial studies. Unable to find a good teacher to instruct me, I
almost quit in disappointment.
But before I had given up all hope, a little time had passed and Western
influence had gradually spread to the East. Various schools were now
competitively pushing physical education, offering many extra courses of
exercise for young students, such as soccer and other sports. Schools also
seasonally held games to promote it further. By that time I was old enough to
attend our prefectures school of commerce, and all my comrades and I formed a
sports study society on the south side of the city, where we each day practiced all

sorts of skills.
In the last year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu [1908], I was studying
abroad in Japan, examining their nations famous historical relics, and I found
that their countrymen take physical education seriously. Within the schools,
Japanese classmates practice judo, kendo, and kyudo, and strive to their utmost
in these studies. I then knew that if that nations flourishing physical education
came west to us, then beyond methods of training the body, we would also
deeply grasp the essence of our Eastern martial arts.
I often contemplated how noble and mighty our nations martial arts are, how
they would be peerless throughout the world if not for the physical education
experts of Europe and America, who although they do not emphasize bold
courage, they cultivate and consider both the psychological and physiological
aspects. They also think our nation to be inferior and do not see how there could
be anyone here who can use scientific methods and have new ways of thinking.
The study of our martial arts principles and theories will grow and become
glorious, and a new era will begin for our nations physical education
community. This has unexpectedly brought forth my colleague, Xu Zhiyi.
Xu is from Zhejiang and grew up in Shanghai, going to Chengzhong
Elementary School. Excelling in sports, he went from high school into a
technical college where his classmates all encouraged him to be an athletic
contestant. The college won every soccer game against other schools, and
because of this, his fame grew as an outstanding athlete. Every time the schools
met for sports events high jump, shot put, running, and so forth Xu never
failed to get the prize. After graduating from Beijing Legal University, he went to
take a position in a Jiangsu accounting firm, where we worked together. At that
time, the staff of the railway administration often held soccer games, inviting Xu
to participate, and his playing was always extraordinarily agile.
After 1916, he accepted a transfer to the Academy of Accounting, where we
were again colleagues, and in our spare time we always talked about martial
arts. Then a martial arts instructor recommended by a friend came from Beijing
to live in my house. He taught us various boxing techniques, as well as saber and
staff arts. Xu keenly progressed ahead of the rest of us, while I found it harder to
progress due to the deprived education of my youth. I considered the age I had
already reached, and I feared that no matter how much heart I put into the
training, I would never for the rest of my life be able to reach a very deep level at
it. Because of this, I decided to switch to practicing internal boxing arts, which
conform to the aims of cultivating health.
Fortunately, the Physical Education Research Society had been established

within the city, and the eminent Taiji Boxing authority Wu Jianquan was
engaged to give a seminar.
Xu and I went together to seek him out and present him with gifts to become his
pupils. Wu looked upon us with respectful sincerity and has carefully instructed
us for the last ten years. We have arduously trained, never taking a break
regardless of winter cold or summer heat. Xu, his most brilliant disciple, and I
return each day to further verify what we have learned through our training. Xu,
being extraordinarily gifted, within three or four years had already achieved the
knack of it, and whenever he has a bout with someone, he always succeeds with
ease. I am too inferior even to be compared to him. Wus other students can
rarely contend with him.
This year, because he is annoyed this art has not been spread throughout the
world,
Xu has given his spare time to writing this Simple Introduction, presenting
psychology, physiology, and physics, making connections between body and
mind, all accompanied by evidence and written in language that is easy to
understand, putting forth ideas with clarity. By way of scientific methods and
new ways of thinking, I think research of martial arts principles and theories
will gravitate toward the practice of this art. If students do not cherish its
secrets, they will not be able to demonstrate its traditional training methods to
other people, and therefore Xu has not composed this work in the impenetrably
mysterious jargon encountered within martial circles. Because beginners have
difficulty knowing what direction to go, he has been urged to get this booked
published and distributed in order to provide for those who may come to the art.
When the manuscript was completed, Xu asked me to write a preface, so I have
sincerely made this introduction to inform all of our comrades everywhere.
written by Lu Hongji of Yinfu in the Xindou Apartments, during the full
moon, June, 1927

CONTENTS

Chapter One: Foreword

Chapter Two: A Brief Look at the Origin & Development of Taiji Boxing

Chapter Three: The Merits of Taiji Boxing

Chapter Four: Taiji Boxing in Relation to the Study of Psychology

Chapter Five: Taiji Boxing in Relation to the Study of Physiology

Chapter Six: Taiji Boxing in Relation to the Study of Mechanics

Chapter Seven: Taiji Boxings Practice Methods

Chapter Eight: Further Thoughts

Chapter Nine: Appendices

SIMPLE INTRODUCTION TO TAIJI BOXING

CHAPTER ONE: FOREWORD

Our nations boxing arts began a very long time ago. People in the past trained
body and mind with the purpose of preventing illness and prolonging life. Their
methods were generally simple and easy to do, and everyone could learn them.
Now that martial arts are fashionable and have spread everywhere, people are
with every posture contending to be more impressive than each other, always
taking the most difficult movements to be the most praiseworthy, until
gradually they have lost the real intention of physical education. Because new
generations like to do new things, they have naturally come up with new styles,

with the result that systems of boxing arts have become increasingly complex
and exhibit a broader range of abilities. Consequently, beginners have no idea
which to choose. The weaker ones strive to do what is too difficult and then sigh
that they are doing twice the work for half the result. I constantly find this to be
regrettable.
Taiji Boxing is one of the internal boxing arts. Its methods are simple and
easy, and all of its postures are natural. Regardless of man or woman, young or
old, all can practice it for their whole life without harm. It is actually the ancient
limbering arts that have given it all of its martial skills, and because it operates
entirely by way of mind and energy, it is never separate from the cultivation
arts. Such is not the case with external boxing arts, which are devoted to
winning through strength. When Taiji practitioners talk of the transformations
of emptiness and fullness, they are drawing from the principles in theBook of
Changes, and when they talk of the skill of using mind and energy, they are
drawing from Mengzis discussion of cultivating ones energy [Mengzi, chapter
2b]. It conforms to the various rules of physiology and physics, and thus with
modern scientific principles, one after another. For these several reasons, can it
not be said that the art is based in the Way?
I delight in martial arts. I began by practicing external styles and took great
pleasure in them, but ten years ago I began to focus more on training in the Taiji
boxing art. I firmly believe that every kind of boxing art, despite their distinct
characteristics, has basically simple methods and will produce great results. But
for the purposes of spreading physical education, it is this art that is the most
suitable. Therefore, disregarding my low abilities and my ignorance, I have
compiled what I have gained through experience into this Simple
Introduction in order that those who have aspirations toward good health will
know what to ask for guidance in.

CHAPTER TWO: A BRIEF LOOK AT THE ORIGIN & DEVELOPMENT OF

TAIJI BOXING

Although the various schools of boxing arts have different postures with specific
names, the major distinction is to categorize them into the two schools of
internal and external. The internal school emphasizes softness energy is
inwardly concealed. The external school emphasizes hardness energy is
outwardly revealed. The distinction between the two is precisely this. The
external school is replete with styles of Shaolin, which has long been held in
esteem throughout the nation. The internal school comes from Zhang Sanfeng,
although in which era he lived is not reported consistently.
According to the Bio of Zhang Songxi from the Records of Ningbo Prefecture,
Zhang Sanfeng was a Wudang elixirist of the Song Dynasty. This much seems
believable, but then it says his boxing art was received through divine means,
which rather strains credulity. After Zhang, the authentic teaching was obtained
during the reign of Kublai Khan, starting up again with Wang Zongyue of
Shanxi, who was famous for expressing the inherited theories of Zhang Sanfeng,
writing the Taiji Boxing Classic and the essay Understanding How to Practice
(both included below in Chapter Nine). These texts explain the principles
exquisitely, in language that is simple and concise. What has been passed down
to us truly descends from his explanations.
Huang Baijias Boxing Methods of the Internal School (also included below in
Chapter Nine), says: Zhang Sanfeng was a Shaolin expert, but he turned the art
on its head and thereby created the internal school. It appears the internal
school came from the external school. Huang records boxing principles and the
names of many techniques which would be categorized as belonging to the
external school, but then we read words such as these: Skill will only be
achieved through practice. It is not necessary to seek for someone to copy, only

to respond to opponents with whatever works. It is noticeable how they

conform to Wang Zongyues Taiji boxing theory. Usually it is the case in boxing
arts that the training goes from the simple to the complex then back to the
simple, but Taiji Boxing is entirely based in emptiness and stillness, and so
makes a constant distinction between generalities and details. Going by Huang
Baijias descriptions, it is the same kind of material that was passed down to
Wang Zhengnan, whose art was surely descended from that of Zhang Songxi.
According to the Bio of Zhang Songxi (which is also included below in
Chapter Nine), Zhang had a fight with Shaolin monks. Examining the account,
what Zhang was using was clearly the Taiji skill. Also of note is that it records
that Zhang at the age of seventy could still chop barehanded through huge
stones. This shows that Zhang was not winning only by way of softness, but then
it has been said that softness at its extreme will naturally manifest as hardness
[paraphrasing from How to Practice]. Consider Mengzis discussion of
cultivating energy [Mengzi, chapter 2a] and this will cease to be an
impenetrable concept. [Mengzi describes his noble energy as having extreme
hardness but is produced by allowing it to grow rather than forcing it.] Though
it is unclear why Huangs Boxing Methods does not touch upon this. Although
Wang Zongyues Understanding How to Practice mentions hardness of energy,
it does not seem to specify it as distinct from stiffness. It is very unfortunate that
this similarity or difference cannot be fully verified.
Zhang Songzis lineage became the southern branch. The northern branch
comes from Wang Zongyue teaching Jiang Fa of Henan. Jiang taught Chen
Changxing of Huaiqing. Chens top disciple, Yang Luchan, obtained the
authentic teachings and brought them to Beijing. Beyond his own sons, Yang
also taught Wan Ling, Ling Shan, Quan You, and many others. Quan Yous son,
Wu Jianquan, is who I myself have learned from. Xu Yusheng of Guyan
described the branching styles in great detail in his book on Taiji Boxing
postures [1921], which you may consult. This volume on the other hand is of a
more limited length and only presents a general picture of these things.

CHAPTER THREE: THE MERITS OF TAIJI BOXING


All boxing arts have their merits, their strengths and weaknesses, their focuses,
their inevitable prejudices, and their special characteristics. Those who
nowadays like to discuss which systems are good or bad end up praising the one
they are already practicing. Though they will probably not be very accurate in
their assessment, they will nevertheless fight to the very best of their ability.
Although it is natural to be biased, the issue is actually that people are not clear
about the special characteristics of their own art.
Taiji Boxing uses emptiness and stillness as its main principle. Every
movement is serious about softness and dismissive of hardness. Those who fall
in love with the external posture always get into trouble, for supreme
achievement of this art is the cultivation of spirit. Its fighting method is not a
matter of winning through strength, and thereby other styles pale by
comparison. You now adequately know the special characteristics of this art. All
of these arts have their special characteristics, though none of them in the
beginning will seem different from any other.
The merits of this particular art are described below:

A. ITS HEALTH ASPECTS

1. It cultivates both body and mind.

In the practice of external boxing arts, the aim is to develop the body. They are
imbued with a strong sense that the health of the spirit depends on the health of
the body.
In the practice of meditation, the aim is the cultivation of spirit. It is
considered that when the spirit is sufficiently strengthened, the body will be
transformed.
Looking at them separately, it is apparent that each has its own truth. But
looking at them together, it becomes clear that each simply has its own
emphasis. Damo long ago passed down to us the Sinew Changing Classic and
the Marrow Washing Classic, in which the internal boxing arts happen to be
emphasizing body first, then mind. All of this shows that the methods of
building health actually value cultivating body and mind simultaneously. Once

you begin in Taiji Boxing, both body and mind are progressing together,
therefore it cultivates both. The details of this concept are to be found in How to
Practice.

2. The movements are mild.

Although strenuous exercise will show fast results, it will also cause unbearable
problems. Every movement in Taiji Boxing should be soft, slow, compliant, and
gentle. It noticeably stretches out the muscles and joints, and invisibly regulates
the energy and blood. This means that while it cultivates the spirit, it also
conforms entirely to the principles of physical education.

3. The postures are smooth and harmonious.

The posture is upright and comfortable (from How to Practice) and the
energetic movement is a matter of neither going too far nor not far enough
(from the Classic). These are each important basic principles. Therefore every
posture is completely natural, meaning that it is smooth and harmonious.
Strenuous boxing arts seek to be as risky and dramatic as possible, entirely
different.

4. Development is natural.

Every part of the human body develops, according to physiology, in a proper

sequence.
Strenuous exercise does not conform to the proper physiological sequence and
very easily gives rise to bad habits. When practicing Taiji Boxing, if one part
moves, every part moves, and if one part is still, every part is still (from How to
Practice). There is no particular area of the body that has any extra stress upon
it. Therefore it accords with physiological function, being a beneficial practice

rather than an obstructive abuse. The character of this art is to do what is

natural.

5. It is particularly effective at treating illness.

Boxing arts have the effect of treating illness, as everyone knows. However,
strenuous exercise consumes too much of ones bodily strength, which weaker
people will not easily replenish. This is counterproductive. One of the principles
of Taiji Boxing is to adapt to physiological changes. It boosts energy and blood
by focusing entirely on mildness, and so it does not cause breathing or pulse to
become the slightest bit irregular. Therefore even if you have lung disease, you
can practice it, and you will achieve extraordinary results. (Although at the
onset of an illness, you should of course convalesce.) As for other ways it can
treat illness, you will learn through personal experience.

6. It sculpts your temperament.

Everyones temperament is different, but ones temperament always has an

influence over ones outward character, therefore ones consciousness can
transform ones character. Those with even a smattering of psychological
understanding can all agree with this. Taiji Boxing emphasizes methods of
softness, emptiness and stillness being the main principle. If you have bad
habits such as rashness or bluntness, these are things to be pushed aside. By
practicing this art over a long period, you will be unconsciously cultivating a
habit of grace, which will help you learn to take criticism. If you have a
tyrannical attitude toward others, this kind of training will have noticeable
results upon you.

B. ITS MARTIAL ASPECTS

1. It uses stillness to overcome movement.

The Art of War [chapter 6] talks a great deal about empty versus full. Boxing
arts do likewise, but emptiness and fullness in boxing arts have more to do with
energy rather than posture. I am already aware of my own state of emptiness
and fullness, but if the opponent is storing energy and has not yet expressed it, I
have no way of knowing the condition of his emptiness and fullness. It is
therefore the worst moment for me to attack. I should be allowed extra room to
maneuver, and then if I gently advance, I will turn the tables on him and take
advantage of the situation. Such is the way in Taiji Boxing.
I must allow the opponent to be the first to issue energy, awaiting his
approach. Using his moment of coarseness, I respond with smoothness, the
technique being that of receiving, drawing him into my trap and thereby gaining
control over him. (From Playing Hands Song: Guiding him in to land on
nothing, I then close on him and send him away.) Always and with ease he will
made to fall away. As the saying goes: [Art of War, chapter 3] Knowing both
self and opponent, in a hundred battles you will have a hundred victories. The
secret to all this is to use stillness to overcome movement.

2. It uses softness to overcome hardness.

When we begin to discuss energies in boxing arts, we typically try to explain

their true meanings. Therefore the distinction between hardness and softness
gets explained via the passive and active aspects. But the meaning of those two
terms is so broad, indeed utterly general, that beginners rarely have no
confusion over their vagueness.
Basically, any kind of energy that has an element of resistance will pay no

attention to how large or small the opponents energy is, and this should always
be considered hard energy. On the other hand, any kind of energy that is able to
follow the opponents energy flexibly contains no element of resistance, and this
should always be considered soft energy.
The key to soft energy is elasticity. If you are without this quality when you
encounter an opponent, you will have no hope of recovering your position. Such
an energy can be called lifeless. Hard energy tries to win through strength, and
so when it encounters strength, it inevitably breaks down. Although the source
of its failure is different from that of lifeless energy, the result is the same. It can
be seen that using softness to meet hardness would be comparable to a contest
of lively energy [elastic softness] versus lifeless energy [inelastic softness].
In determining victory and defeat, there should be no predicting between
them. In Taiji Boxing, the magic lies in making adjustments based on being
receptive to the opponent (from the Thirteen Dynamics Song). It basically
comes down to this principle, but for those who do not practice this art, such
words may seem mystical.

3. It uses the smaller to defeat the larger.

When Taiji Boxing is used to defeat opponents, it always uses a smaller force to
defeat a larger force. The skill it applies (Technique is shown outwardly. Energy
is stored inwardly. When technique and energy can be combined, this is called
skill.) lies in formlessness and is always rooted in the science of mechanics.
When issuing, either first make the opponent lose control of his balance or make
use of the principle of net force and then seize the opportunity to attack.
Therefore you will not need a large force and the opponent will automatically
topple away. The subtlety of these things is something that can only be dreamt
of by those who try to win by using hardness in striking and advancing.

4. It uses smoothness to avoid harm.


In Taiji Boxing, there are two ways of applying energy: yielding and sticking.
(From the Classic: He is hard while I am soft this is yielding. My energy is
smooth while his energy is coarse this is sticking.) Yielding is for neutralizing
the opponent, then sticking is for controlling him. As they both make use of each
other, they are able to alternate without limit. Every kind of movement in Taiji
Boxing makes a rounded shape. Within one of its curves are infinite occasions
for yielding and sticking. Act according to the situation, relying entirely on
sensation. The most important principle is to never depart from the concept of
smoothness.
When dealing with an opponent, if you are not being soft, then you are being
hard. If you are being hard, then you will be acting with coarseness against the
opponents energy rather than using smoothness to go along with it. If your
energy is not smooth, you will have no way to yield. If you do not yield, you will
have no way to neutralize. If you do not neutralize, you will have no way to stick.
If you do not stick, you will have no way to sense the opponents changes. If you
carelessly advance, you are not examining the status of the opponent and are
liable to be deflected away or suddenly crushed by a large force, and those who
have not happened to be injured through such circumstances often do not quite
grasp that it is by use of smooth energy that harm is prevented.

C. ITS OTHER ASPECTS

1. Everyone can practice it.

The reasons Taiji Boxing can be practiced by everyone are outlined below:

i. All of its postures are natural, balanced, simple, and do not require any effort.
Therefore it can be practiced even by women and children, or by the old and
weak.

ii. Its martial applications focus entirely on suppleness and yielding, never
seeking to win through strength. Therefore it can be practiced even by those
who have a martial ambition but are embarrassed by an inadequate physical
strength.

iii. It is particularly effective at treating illness. Therefore it can be practiced

even by the physically weak, chronically ill, and those who are worried they have
a disease that may be incurable.

iv. As it emphasizes intention rather than what it looks like, it can be practice
alongside other boxing arts without creating any hindrance. Therefore it can be
practiced even by those who also love practicing external styles, although the
order of practice during a session has to be: external arts first, followed by Taiji.

v. It emphasizes gradual progress. To practice it each morning and evening is

really not very time-consuming. (If your ambition is self-cultivation, you only
need to go through the solo set once each morning and evening, and the set only
takes about ten minutes. If you are training for fighting, doing pushing hands
for thirty minutes every day will give you no small benefit.) Therefore it can be
practiced even by those who do not have much free time.

vi. As its movements are very quiet, it will not disturb other people when
practiced, and it also does not use very much space. Therefore it can be
practiced even while traveling.

2. It is easier to practice.

Typically when practicing martial arts, what is most emphasized is drilling the
techniques. Training in other boxing arts involves two people being unyielding
with each other. This very easily gives rise to dangerous situations in which the
more timid person can no longer stand it and falls down in pain. This kind of
thing is not what we want. Taiji Boxing has its pushing hands methods for
drilling how to deal with an opponent. These methods focus on training
awareness and emphasize neutralizing rather than attacking. Since the
movements are not rash actions and the power is not ferocious, it assuredly
lacks the risk of becoming dangerous. And therefore it is the easiest to practice.


3. It is highly enjoyable.

Since every kind of movement in Taiji Boxing makes a rounded shape, there is
everywhere within one of its curves a switching between emptiness and fullness.
In the beginning of the training, you will not comprehend these transformations
and will naturally be without any sense of emptiness or fullness. But after you
have practiced over a long period, your alternating between emptiness and
fullness will naturally be able to fit every situation. (Taiji Boxings other name of
Long Boxing describes this switching between emptiness and fullness: It is like
a long river flowing into the wide ocean, on and on ceaselessly [Treatise])
Whether solo practice or partner practice, it is like playing chess, so unusually
enjoyable. Your mind must perform alternations nimbly, and then you will
have the delight of being rounded and lively (How to Practice) points to this
idea.

CHAPTER FOUR: TAIJI BOXING IN RELATION TO THE STUDY OF

PSYCHOLOGY

Taiji Boxing emphasizes the cultivation of both body and mind. When
practicing, you must use mind to move the energy, and use energy to move
your body (How to Practice) to then be able to achieve the full extent of its
wonders. This kind of practice method is entirely grounded upon psychological
function, yet its effects are indeed true and trustworthy.
The power of our minds is huge and able to take complete control over our
physiological functions. An extreme example is the sincere belief of those
religious people who can walk barefoot over fire without fear of being burned or
who can dance along sharp blades without feeling pain. A lighter example is
when people gather at a social event and notice they are surrounded by
delicacies, and this then increases their appetite for food. Such phenomena are
enough to demonstrate that psychological function has influence over
physiological function.
It has to be understood that because the function of our nerves is arranged
physiologically, there are nerve centers and nerve endings. Thus when we
receive external stimulation, there will be a distinction between the sensation of
it and the perception of it.
Sensation means the nerve endings receive an external stimulation and
generate a simple effect based on it. In the first instant there is no ability for
consciously recognizing external objects. When a sound is sensed by your ear, a

color is sensed by your eye, a scent is sensed by your nose, or a taste is sensed by
your tongue, these are all physiological sense organs responding directly to
sensations. This instant of sensation can only be truly felt in that instant and
cannot really be imagined afterward. An instant later, sensation has prompted
imagination, and then it becomes a matter of perceiving rather than sensing.
Perception is when the fluctuations of sensation pass along the nerve fibers to
the nerve centers, producing an effect upon the imagination. Perception is thus
the source of our various ideas about what we are sensing. There is an intimate
connection between thought and the motor centers. For instance, if you have the
notion of grabbing an object, your hand automatically moves, or if you see a
delicious fruit, your mouth starts salivating. These are both cases of our
thoughts prompting our motor centers, producing physiological phenomena. In
modern times, hypnotism and mentalism utilize these kinds of psychological
functions to create incredible effects. Those with even some slight knowledge of
psychology are able to discuss this.
The various postures in Taiji Boxing are quite unremarkable. When
practicing, you must not use effort. (Those who have not previously practiced
boxing arts usually put forth an effort that is sheer brute force, which in boxing
arts is called stiff energy.) Not understanding the significance of this,
beginners will often become easily exhausted, never realizing that it is a matter
of taking advantage of psychological function. The first phrase of How to
Practice, use mind to move energy, reveals the key secret.
Unfortunately, beginners tend to think the way of boxing arts is that unless
the teacher is actively filling the student with techniques, it will be very difficult
for the student to obtain the art. This is actually an enormous
misunderstanding. They do not grasp that the responsibility the teacher bears is
nothing more than being able to demonstrate the proper methods to the
student. As to whether the art is obtained or not, this is up to the students
approach to the methods the teacher has demonstrated and is dependent
entirely on whether or not he is faithfully practicing. To use mind to move
energy was originally one of the proper methods, but students usually pay no
attention it, and so if they want to take some unremarkable postures and just
copy them mechanically, and then expect to enter the ranks of master, they will
be deservingly incapable of achieving any skill.
What then is the right way to study the art? The most common expression
that applies to it is take it for granted. By this I mean that in every movement
we should firmly believe the results will occur and then apply our imaginations
to them [i.e. taking for granted actively rather than passively]. If you wish to

move energy, then you should have the thought of moving energy. If you wish to
sink heavily, then you should have the thought of sinking heavily. If you wish to
sink energy, then you should have the thought of sinking energy to your elixir
field. Strive in every technique to perform it as you imagine it should be done.
This kind of method will bring you to a breakthrough. It is extremely simple,
but to get the desired results, you cannot just give it one nudge and expect the
effect to carry over through several movements. In every movement, very
deliberately control it by the use of intention, for once you achieve that, it will all
be effortless (Thirteen Dynamics Song) expresses the idea. Therefore if you
want to see results, you have to be the practicing type, and when practicing, not
have to wonder what the results will be. You should constantly perform it the
way you are thinking it, without the slightest discontinuity between thought and
action.
Over the course of time, this will gradually go from deliberate to natural, and
then the power of each thought will be able to control physiological function,
and whatever is in your will to do, it will automatically come true. By absorbing
through experience and by constantly contemplating, gradually you will reach
the point that you can do whatever you want (Classic) conforms to this idea. Be
sure not to regard it as a bunch of empty words, for it is very important.
When I began practicing Taiji Boxing, I was deeply convinced of a strong
relationship between this art and psychology. I last year gained a female student
who after training for only a short while had produced extraordinary results. I at
first thought this to be unique, but then I learned she had practiced mentalism,
and this increased my feeling that my opinion was not unfounded.
Unfortunately my own investigation into psychological studies has not yet been
very thorough. Therefore I can here only express general ideas and I am not
even sure of the validity of what I have been saying. I deeply hope that
knowledgeable people throughout the nation will come forward and instruct me
so that this art may increasingly show development, and not just for my own
personal improvement.

CHAPTER FIVE: TAIJI BOXING IN RELATION TO THE STUDY OF

PHYSIOLOGY

All boxing arts have postural standards, distinctions between what makes the

posture good or bad that are related to human physiological functions. Taiji
Boxing is always so posturally unremarkable that some suspect it may be of
meager effectiveness, and they do not understand that the various aspects of
posture all conform to physiological principles.
I am not clever, so please pick out what is relevant to you from the
explanations that follow:

1. FORCELESSLY PRESSING UP YOUR HEADTOP

In the head lies the brain. The cerebral cortex has a great variety of nerve
centers, divided into departments for directing all of the bodys organs. The
importance of this need not even be stated. The heads appearance is upright, as
it is in every school of boxing arts. But the means of making it upright is never a
matter of using effort to do so. If you use effort, the muscles will contract and
your neck will stand stiff as a board. The bad habits this will create will not only
obstruct smooth bloodflow and smooth breathing, but in the area where your
cerebral cortex (where every nerve center is located) contacts your spinal cord
you will also imperceptibly develop a hindering and harmful effect.
In Taiji Boxing, the posture as regards the head is called forcelessly press up
your headtop, also called headtop suspended. To press up your headtop is
like there is energy coursing through straight to your headtop. To do so
forcelessly is the idea of using mere imagination (meaning not using effort) to
guide it to your headtop. The meaning of headtop suspended is that your
headtop seems to be suspended in midair, in other words that the appearance of
your head has to be upright and that it also has to have the subtlety of being
effortless and natural in order for it to be correct. Your whole body will be
aware and your headtop will be pulled up as if suspended (Thirteen Dynamics
Song) and if you can raise your spirit, then you will be without worry of being
slow or weighed down (How to Practice) are both statements that have to do

with forcelessly pressing up your headtop, a principle that has to be understood,

for it is the most important quality of the heads posture.
There are also three related points that must be paid attention at the same
time, explained below:

A. Do not glare.

When practicing Taiji Boxing, you should have a serene bearing, not a look akin
to having a drawn sword or a loaded crossbow. Spirit should be collected
within (Treatise) as well as spirit comfortable, body calm and outwardly
show ease (How to Practice) each express this idea. Glaring with angry eyes will
keep your eyes from following along with the movements of your intention, will
cause your spirit to be outwardly revealed, and will produce the error of lifting
up your energy. As for the physiological aspect, your eye muscles should not be
overworked and should instead be used moderately and naturally. Glaring with
angry eyes is contrary to this practice and should be avoided.

B. Your mouth should be closed, but do not gnash your teeth.

A persons breathing, according to physiology, ought to be through the nose,

resulting in the mouth being closed. This will cultivate a good habit. But closing
your mouth tightly will violate the principle of naturalness and will cause your
teeth to be worn down, a physiological hindrance that you must be mindful of.

C. Your tongue is to be touching your upper palate.

This will cause your salivary glands to constantly secrete saliva and moisten
your throat. In the beginning of the training, once there is any movement, blood
circulation will gradually quicken, which will easily dry out your throat,
hindering your breath. This principle is therefore concerned with the regulating

of the breath, and by practicing with it in mind, you will avoid such problems. It
also can aid digestive function, and so it is worth giving attention.

2. CONTAINING YOUR CHEST & PLUCKING UP YOUR BACK

As for the physiological aspect of this, the extent of the bodys strength and the
extent of the muscular movements power are always in direct proportion to
each other. Calisthenics and martial arts can therefore make a person strong
and healthy because they enhance muscular power. The muscles of the body
divide into voluntary muscles and involuntary muscles. Voluntary muscles are
moved consciously. Involuntary muscles move automatically and unconsciously.
Therefore if you wish to enhance the strength of the involuntary muscles, but
are not yet a practitioner of deep skill able to take advantage of psychological
functions, merely a beginner, then you will only be successful if you concentrate
on getting the posture right.
Regarding the torso section, the most important Taiji Boxing principle is
contain your chest and pluck up your back. Containing your chest means
getting your solar plexus to slightly cave in, which folds your diaphragm inward,
causing your chest wall to press inward and naturally downward, thereby aiding
the sinking of energy. Plucking up your back means getting your back to slightly

resemble the curve of a bow, so that the vertebrae of your spine (here meaning
the thoracic vertebrae, between the cervical vertebrae and lumbar vertebrae.
This part of the back often curves forward due to the supporting of weight.) can
be trained to curve back instead of curving forward, enabling all of your
vertebrae to have movement forward and back. [What is being described is the
two ends of the thoracic section, especially the lower end where it meets the
lumbar section, curving forward to produce a lordosis swayback effect. The
intention is not to counterbalance this by bulging the back into a kyphosis
hunchback effect. Both such extremes are to be avoided. The meaning here is
that the two ends of the thoracic section are to be drawn back and thus
straighten the spine from pelvis to skull. This effect would perhaps be expressed
less confusingly by instruction to simply tuck in the tailbone and draw back the
chin rather than to pluck up the back.] Then imperceptibly your spine will be
induced to return to the more straightened appearance it had when you were an
infant.
The function of pluck up the back lies in the martial aspect of the art, for
which it is extremely important. If your spine is sticking out forward, energy will
get stuck in your chest and make you top-heavy and easily knocked down.
Furthermore, if your spine is slightly curving forward, the power of your legs (As
the Treatise says: Starting from your foot, issue through your leg. This means
that the issuing of power begins in your legs.) traveling through the middle of
your spine to go directly into your arms will not reach its destination smoothly,
and this will be a particular hindrance to your issuing of energy. Power comes
from your spine and energy sticks to your spine (How to Practice) both have
to do with this kind of skill.
Although contain your chest and pluck up your back resembles the position
of the spine in the three folded posture of seated meditation, Taiji is stillness
within the context of movement whereas meditation is movement within the
context of stillness. They are not done in entirely the same way. For the version
of containing the chest and plucking up the back in Taiji Boxing, you must not
commit the error of interpreting the principle as a frozen state of posture, but
must instead allow it to adjust with the changes of the movements. You will then
be able to directly enhance the strength of your intercostal muscles and
diaphragm, and indirectly enhance the strength of your organs and involuntary
muscles, thereby greatly improving the physiological functions of respiration,
circulation, digestion, and excretion. The significance of this principle thus
needs no more words.

There are also three related points important to pay attention to, explained
briefly below:

A. Loosen your waist.

Loosening your waist is the opposite of hoisting up your waist, which would
cause the problem of lifting up your energy and should thus be avoided.
Loosening your waist will cause energy to sink down and can increase the
strength of your legs and stability of your stance. If you have not achieved
efficient switching of emptiness and fullness between your upper and lower
limbs, the remedy for this depends entirely on the appropriate turning of your
waist. Loosening your waist will stretch out the muscles, which can make your
waist feel more nimble and turn more easily, and this will have a significant
effect upon your fighting ability.
As for the physiological aspect, loosening your waist can increase the capacity
of your abdominal breathing, what boxing experts call the sinking energy skill.
Furthermore, when your waist is often given proper exercise, it will have a good
influence on your kidneys and intestines. The problem must be in your waist
and legs, so look for it there (Treatise) as well as their command coming from
your lower back and if there is complete relaxation within your belly, energy is
primed (Thirteen Dynamics Song) are all statements pointing to loosening your
waist. This principle has to be understood.

B. Center your tailbone.

Your tailbone is the bone at the bottom of your sacrum, at the very end of your
spine. If this area is not centered, the straightness of your spinal column will be
the first thing to be affected, which will then make it difficult for energy to be

transmitted upward. Your tailbone is centered and spirit penetrates to your

headtop (Thirteen Dynamics Song) is exactly this idea. When a beginner puts
his weight onto one leg (While practicing Taiji Boxing, the legs will have to
constantly switch roles of empty and full, an important basic principle.), he
typically moves his body sideways more than is necessary, which easily causes
his skeleton to slip into an unnatural position, a great physiological hindrance.
And so you should give extra attention to the principle of centering your
tailbone.

C. Hang your buttocks down.

When squatting your body, your buttocks should be hanging down for the
posture to be correct. When beginners even slightly squat, they instead end up
sticking their butts out, causing unnatural pressure between the vertebrae,
which at the very least would hinder the loosening of the waist and the plucking
up of the back. Attention should therefore be given to this point.

3. SINKING YOUR SHOULDERS & DROPPING YOUR ELBOWS

The movement of the limbs follows the movement of the intention, and so
whether the movement is done right or wrong derives from how refined or
crude the intention is. However, bad habits can cause the mind to lose its
effectiveness. In the beginning of the training, although the movement follows
the intention, it will not work unless you have corresponding attention.
Regarding the upper body, the most important Taiji Boxing principle is sink
your shoulders and drop your elbows.
Sunk shoulders are the opposite of shivering shoulders, as when a person
lifts his shoulders up out of fear of the cold. This kind of posture will at the very
least hinder the ability of the shoulder belt (meaning the muscles connecting

the shoulder bone and collar bone) to flatten out and will have a bad influence
on the rib cage that would be in opposition to its physiological function. The
effect of sinking the shoulders is to cause them to loosen and hang down, aiding
in the sinking of energy, and also to keep the arms from becoming weary when
issuing. Lifting your shoulders is contrary to what will be effective, and so
boxing experts tend to warn against it.
Dropping your elbows is related to sinking your shoulders. If your elbows
come up like wings, not only will this ruin the sinking of your shoulders, it will
also keep you from closely guarding your ribs, and so it must also be
understood.
There are additionally a couple of related features of the hands, which are
explained below:

A. Extend your fingers.

The idea here is that your fingers must be extending rather than curling into
fists, but they should also not be stiffly straight. Likewise when making a fist, it
should be loose rather than tight, conforming to the naturalness of your whole
body. You need to understand that the posture of your fingers during practice
should be regarded as guiding your bodys movements and should never just
have an appearance of attacking opponents. Expressing it at your fingers
(Treatise) is exactly this idea.

B. Stick out your palms.

This describes the palm in the position of a forward push, in which you must
give the palm an intention of slightly protruding in order to aid the drawing in
and extending of internal power. As for the physiological effect, this stretches
out the tendons of the arm and wrist, and thus must not be overlooked.
However, you also must not make the mistake of issuing with too much
exertion, which will cause stiffness and brittleness. With stiffness, the energy
will be sluggish. With brittleness, the energy will be interrupted. Neither of

these conform to Taiji Boxings way of moving energy and so you will have to be
mindful of them.

4. THE THREE-LINE STANCE

Taiji Boxings stance is called the three-line stance. Your feet stand with one in
front, the other behind, the toes of both feet pointing forward. The feet are
placed at two points [with an imaginary third line running between them],
for instance:
|R
L|
or:
L|
|R
They are on a diagonal to the front and back, separated to the left and right. The
standard of distance between your feet depends on your own bodys height. You
must not squat down too far, for excessive effort is not physiologically sound,
and it would also lead to quickening of the breath. As it would be a huge
obstruction to the sinking of energy and the regulating of breath, going overly
low must be paid attention to.
There is a fixed pattern to the emptiness and fullness of the feet, which is
explained generally below:

A. The empty foot:

The feet are constantly switching the roles of empty and full, causing your
bodys weight to be supported by each leg in turn, which can regulate fatigue as
well as give equal exercise to the joints. These are the physiological advantages
of Taiji Boxings three-line stance.
The most important feature of the empty foot is that it is able to rise and
lower in accordance with the intention. Whether the leg is straight or bent is not
so strict as with external boxing arts, nor the distinction of touching down with
the toes or heel, which instead conforms to whatever is more natural, neither
being frowned upon. From foot through leg through waist, it must be a fully
continuous process as well as other phrases (Treatise) are generally indicating
both of the legs, yet you must never overlook the empty one.

B. The Full Foot:

The full foot is the opposite of the empty foot. The most important feature of it
is that the leg is bent and must not be straight. If straight, then the weight of
your body will be braced by your skeleton in a posture that will not only be
unstable, but will make moving into other postures awkward and harmful.
Furthermore, the legs muscles will receive a workout so diminished as to be
physiologically inappropriate.

The various points above have to do only with major elements that are described
briefly and generally, and so gaps of information are unavoidable. This chapter
not being an exhaustive study means the style of writing in it is very easygoing.
In chapters Seven and Eight, I have placed related sections that analyze some of
these things further. Pardon me for not placing that material within this
chapter.

CHAPTER SIX: TAIJI BOXING IN RELATION TO THE STUDY OF

MECHANICS

From a martial aspect, mechanics [the Chinese term more literally meaning the
science of forces] and boxing arts are intimately related. Taiji Boxing always

uses a small force to defeat a large one, and so it especially conforms to the
principles of mechanics. The important points of this are analyzed below:

1. CONFORMING TO NEWTONS LAWS OF MOTION

When issuing power, you must sink and relax, concentrating it in one
direction and issue power like loosing an arrow (How to Practice) both
describe the force with which you are attacking an opponent. The intention
should be like an arrow going straight to a target, then the method will be
correct. If you act with strength or urgency, you will inevitably miss by an inch,
lose by a mile [as mentioned in the Classic]. It is necessary to understand the
inherent nature of force, that if it does not receive an outside force, it will not
change direction, what Newtons first law of motion means by the path of
motion will be straight. [As a small point of interest: though the transliterating
of Newtons name has by now become standardized in Chinese as
Niudun, Xu in 1927 renders it as Naiduan.]
In the practice of external boxing arts, issuing energy can cause the opponent
to be injured, yet will not necessarily topple him with ease. This is always
because the force issued is intended for injuring him, and will therefore finish
upon reaching his body. Moreover, it would perhaps as a result become
controlled by the opponent, who would usually then return a strike, and this is
due to your forward force being already prevented from reaching his body [i.e.
deflected away in the direction of his blocking] (as in the case of Newtons
second law of motion). But if your issued force did reach his body, there would
then be an opposing force (as in the case of Newtons third law of motion),
consequently dispelling the forward quality of your force.
When Taiji Boxing issues energy, it can throw an opponent more than thirty
feet away. Although this is the skill of riding along with the opponents own
momentum [during a moment in which his forward energy has reversed] to
attack him with it, it also comes from your own issuing of energy and can thus

comply with the nature of force to continue forward in a straight line [since your
issued energy is added to (producing acceleration) and in the same direction as
his retreating momentum] instead of the situation of ceasing upon reaching the
opponents body.
Included here for reference are Newtons laws of motion:

Newtons First Law of Motion:

[Since Newton originally wrote these laws in Latin (published 1687), it is
appropriate for the Latin text to be included: Corpus omne perseverare in statu
suo quiescendi vel movendi uniformiter in directum, nisi quatenus a viribus
impressis cogitur statum illum mutare.
The 1729 translation by Andrew Motte is probably the closest to the Latin
original: Every body perseveres in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a
right line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed
thereon.]

It is always the case that unless influenced by an outside force, an object at rest
will not move by itself and an object in motion will not come to rest by itself.
The path of motion will be straight and the speed will be consistent.

Newtons Second Law of Motion:

[Newton: Mutationem motus proportionalem esse vi motrici impressae, et fieri
secundum lineam rectam qua vis illa imprimitur.
Motte: The alteration of motion is ever proportional to the motive force
impressd; and is made in the direction of the right line in which that force is
impressd.]

Changes of motion that contrast the main force with an outside force will
change the straight line of the motion toward the same direction as that of the
outside force. Put another way [now drawing from Newtons elaborating upon
the second law: Si vis aliqua motum quemvis generet, dupla duplum, tripla
triplum generabit, sive simul et semel, sive gradatim et successive impressa
suerit. (Motte: If a force generates a motion, a double force will generate
double the motion, a triple force triple the motion, whether that force be
impressed altogether and at once, or gradually and successively.)], whenever
an outside force is added to an object, one degree of force will have the effect of

one degree of force, whereas many degrees of force will have the effect of many
degrees of forces.

Newtons Third Law of Motion:

[Newton: Actioni contrariam semper et qualem esse reactionem: sive
corporum duorum actiones in se mutuo semper esse quales et in partes
contrarias dirigi.
Motte: To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction: or the mutual
actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary
parts.]

When a main force and an opposing force are equal, then the motion of an
object will be entirely reversed.

2. CONFORMING TO THE PRINCIPLE OF NET FORCE

When using Taiji Boxing to deal with an opponent, it is crucial to avoid going
against the direction of his issued energy and resisting it. You should instead
yield to the direction of his energy, drawing in his force to land on nothing and
thereby causing him to fall into a dangerous position. It will then be the correct
method, and the force in this kind of method is called neutralizing energy. It
conforms to the principle of net force, demonstrated in figures 1-3 below.
figure 1:

figure 2:

figure 3:

The three lines of A1B1, A2B2, and A3B3 all show the extent of the
opponents force and its direction. The line of B1C1 demonstrates the typical
boxing technique of deflecting aside the opponents energy by imposing an
outside force upon it, and the extent and direction of this force. Lines B2C2
and B3C3 demonstrate Taiji Boxings neutralizing energy, and the extent and
direction of this force. The three lines of A1C1, A2C2, and A3C3 show the
outside force (the three forces of B1C1, B2C2, or B3C3) added to the
opponents force (the three forces of A1B1, A2B2, or A3B3), producing
the extent and direction of the net force. The scenarios in these three figures are
compared below:

i. Comparison of figures 1 and 2:


A1B1 = A2B2

B1C1 = B2C2

A2C2 A1C1 = D2C2

>
Therefore: A2C2 > A1C1

ii. Comparison of figures 1 and 3:

A1B1 = A3B3

A1C1 = A3C3

B1C1 B3C3 = D1C1

<
Therefore: B3C3 < D[B]1C1

Explanation i shows that the force of A2C2 is greater than A1C1. This proves
that Taiji Boxings neutralizing energy can use equal force and yet achieve a
greater result (and thereby causing the opponents force to land on nothing and
getting him to fall into an even more dangerous position). Explanation ii shows
that the force of B3C3 is less than B1C1. This proves that Taiji Boxings
neutralizing energy can use less force and yet achieve an equal result. These
results are clear from the diagrams and need no further explanation.

3. CONFORMING TO THE PRINCIPLE OF OPPOSITE FORCE

When attacking an opponent with Taiji Boxing you can utilize opposing force,
especially in relation to net force. If object A adds force to object B, then object B
also adds force to object A, the two forces being always equivalent, as per
Newtons third law, a simple matter of fact. If you push on a wall, the wall is
putting the same amount of force into your hands. Or if you pull an object at the
nd of a rope, the object is at the same time pulling on you. Or when a ball is shot
from a cannon, there is sure to be a recoil that rolls that cannon backward. All of
these examples are sufficient to prove the principle of opposite forces. When an
object receives force that moves it from its original position, there is then a
greater-than or less-than between the two forces. It is certain that one force is
larger than the other, consequently producing a net force. In accordance with
the principles of mechanics, let us place two forces along a straight line and
calculate the net force. If they go in the same direction, they are to be added
together. If they go in different directions, one is to be subtracted from the
other. See figures 4 and 5 below.
figure 4:

In figure 4 above, AB shows the extent of the initial force, amounting to two
notches along the calculating bar. AC shows the extent of the second force,
bringing it up to four notches. As the two forces are in the same direction, AD
thus shows the net force of both added together: six notches. Taking advantage
of a momentum to attack an opponent is something that in every school of
boxing arts is to be valued, as proven in figure 4. But it therefore has no bearing
on the subject at hand, being insufficient to show the unique qualities of Taiji
Boxing.
figure 5:

In figure 5 above, AB shows the main force, amounting to four notches along
the calculating bar. AC shows the resisting force, amounting to two notches.
As the two forces are in opposite directions, AD thus shows the net force of
both when the smaller amount is subtracted from the larger: two notches.
Practitioners of external arts use a huge force to strike opponents, and so they

always and unavoidably receive the impact of an opposite force, which is not an
economical way to fight, as proven in figure 5.
In Taiji Boxing, when attacking an opponent, the effect of your first force is
not intended to immediately defeat him, but to first of all search for and know
his opposing force or how much resistance he will add to your force. Once you
know the degree of this, you can put out a second force to shift the direction of
his opposing force or resistance, causing him to fall into an unstable position.
You may then put out a third force to attack him, and thus he will always and
easily fall away.
Therefore Taiji Boxings first force is always an empty technique, the second
force is the neutralizing energy, and the third force is the beginning of the
issuing energy. However, if the second force fails to shift the direction of the
opponents force, then the third force should still be used to neutralize, and the
push will happen with the fourth or fifth force. It should always be done like
this, and then it will conform to the Taiji Boxing intention of first neutralize,
then attack. The relationship between neutralizing and opposite force is shown
in figures 6 and 7 below.
figure 6:

In figure 6 above, AB and CB are equal forces in opposite directions. This

demonstrates the situation of a main force and a resisting force being equivalent
to each other. Point 1 is where the two forces counterbalance. The net force is
zero. Therefore at this moment, Taiji Boxing can use the force of BD (i.e.
neutralize), causing the opponents opposing force to veer off from the direction
of CB to the direction of CD, making his body go from a posture of standing
erect to one of backing off, and he will be noticeably unstable. The lifting in the
Classics like when you reach down to lift up an object is exactly this idea.

figure 7:

In figure 7 above, EC demonstrates the opponent adding resistance. The net

force of EC and CB compared to the force of AB (a single force), is
greater. Therefore Taiji Boxing does not resist against it, but instead uses the
force of BD (neutralizing), taking advantage of the momentum and shifting
the direction of it, causing the direction of EB to veer off to the direction of
ED, which also increases the extent of his forward inclination, making his
body go from a posture of standing erect to one of leaning forward, the danger
of which goes without saying. Taiji Boxing can use a small force to defeat a large
force. This is one of the explanations why, and you have to understand it.

4. CONFORMING TO THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUAL FORCE

When two forces of equal size move along parallel lines but in different
directions, there is a net force of zero, and they are thus called equal forces. See
figure 8:

Equal forces cause objects to rotate. Therefore in Taiji Boxing, whenever an

opponent uses his right hand to attack my left side, or uses his left hand to
attack my right side, I turn my body sideways to evade it while at the same time
using my right hand to issue energy to his left side, or using my left hand to
issue energy to his right side. The force does not need to be great, and yet it can
make him spin away. In figure 8 above, A and B represent the opponents
shoulders, while 1 and 2 represent opposite directions of force. The result is that
his shoulders are moved from their original position. Once he feels unstable, he
will immediately withdraw his issued energy, and this will be more than enough
to make him retreat from the energy he is attacked by. This changes the
situation from one of equal forces to one of net force, as in figure 9:

In figure 9 above [with A and B still representing his shoulders], 1 is the

opponents initial force, which I have already received and dispelled, 2 is the
direction in which my energy issues, which goes straight forward, 3 is his second
energy reversing from his first, also straight ahead, and 4 is the net force of 2
and 3. This demonstrates that my small amount of force (2) has the effect of
harvesting a great amount.

5. CONFORMING TO THE PRINCIPLE OF CENTER OF GRAVITY

Every object has a center of gravity, sometimes inside an object, sometimes

outside an object, depending on variations of structure. It may be in a position
of stability, instability, or neutrality (meaning neither stable nor unstable).
These three distinctions are shown in figures 10a-10c below.
figure 10a:


Cone A above demonstrates stability. This is because the vertical line of the
center of gravity will not easily shift beyond the base.
figure 10b:

Cone B above demonstrates instability. This is because if the vertical line of the
center of gravity shifts at all, it will go beyond the base.
figure 10c:

Cone C above demonstrates neutrality. This is because however the vertical line
of the center of gravity shifts, it will still remain within the base once the object
is at rest.

Therefore if you wish to maintain the stability of an object, you must either
broaden its base or lower its center of gravity, and then you will have achieved
the principle of unchanging stability.
A persons center of gravity lies in the lower abdomen. Without utilizing some
object or outside force, one would certainly be without the ability to lower
extremely or externally. For instance, a tightrope walker always relies on a long
pole (i.e. the weight at both of its ends) for assistance, which is exactly this
principle. If you have not trained at sinking energy, your energy will often float
up, and your center of gravity will follow it by rising upward. If force is then
added to your upper body, you will become even more top-heavy, the vertical
line of your center of gravity will be very easy to shift beyond your base (as in
the case of cone B), and you would always be in danger of leaning.
However, while the skill of sinking energy can cause your center of gravity to
lower so that your body can obtain a more stable posture, the base that your feet

occupy will be either wide to the front and back while narrow to the left and
right or will be wide to the left and right while narrow to the front and back. If
you are attacked at the narrow section, then the vertical line of your center of
gravity will again easily go beyond your base. It is clear from this that matters of
fighting only depend on the center of gravity lowering and not on methods of
total stabilization.
When Taiji Boxing responds to opponents, one aspect of it is to make use of
the opponents opposing force to sway his center of gravity and put him in an
urgent situation. (The effectiveness of neutralizing lies in this scenario, as
explained earlier.) Another aspect of it has to do with your own center of gravity,
whereby you will frequently use methods of adjustment to stabilize yourself
rather than trying to stubbornly sink your energy, this being the only reasonable
course to take.
You need to understand that the situation in Taiji Boxing is to shift the weight
of your body onto one foot. This is a key principle. It means that the vertical line
of your center of gravity is over only one foot, and thus obviously your base
involves only one foot. Compared to a base involving both feet, this is actually
even narrower, as well as harder to conceal. Commonsense dictates that this
kind of condition would work against you and put you more often at risk of
leaning. Nevertheless, you are able with Taiji Boxing to keep from losing
stability, and the reason for this, put succinctly, is that the feet have the ability
to alternate between states of empty and full.
Alternating means that when one foot is unstable, the weight is immediately
switched over to the other foot, causing a return from instability to stability. In
other words, the position of your base is constantly adapting to the changes of
your center of gravity, so that the vertical line of your center of gravity can be at
another position inside your base once you are settled (as in the case of cone C)
and is not limited only to the original placement. The example above of walking
a tightrope can also be achieved without need of a long pole. This at first would
never seem to be the case, but actually once this kind of skill becomes perfected,
the result will be the same [due to subtly alternating states of empty and full
throughout the rest of the body]. All of these things deeply conform to the
principles of mechanics and are not the slightest bit mystical.

The various examples above are for those interested in fighting, but they will not
be easily grasped without a more comprehensive study. As this book has limited

space, I can only give a general idea and I must deeply apologize for its
sketchiness. If there are parts that are difficult for you to understand, you can
review them with a partner and work together according to the diagrams, and
then it should make perfect sense. Or you can use your imagination until you get
it.

CHAPTER SEVEN: TAIJI BOXINGS PRACTICE METHODS

It was mentioned earlier [in Chapter Three] that every kind of boxing art has its
own special characteristics. They each therefore will of course have different
training methods. If you do not obtain the methods of your art, it will require
twice the effort to get half the result, which I can attest to from experience.
Where Taiji Boxings training methods have to do with psychology and
physiology, these aspects were already touched upon in chapters Four and Five,
and since they can be easily referred to, the content of those chapters will not be
repeated here. This chapter merely describes various related points that ought
to be given attention, as well as filling in for some of the gaps in those chapters.
Taiji Boxings practice methods divide into solo practice methods and partner
practice methods, and the general ideas for each are described below:

1. SOLO PRACTICE METHODS


Solo practice means going through the solo set. The Taiji Boxing solo set from
beginning to end has more than seventy postures, but half of them are repeats,
and so it has only a little over thirty distinct postures. In the beginning of the
training, if you select and learn one of these thirty plus postures each day, you
will have them all in about a month. Spend the next month linking them up into
their original sequence and practicing them in order. By the end of that month,
you should definitely be able to make the postures look skillful. Over the course
of a third month, you should know something of the methods of moving by way
of intention and can get your internal spirit and external posture to gradually
unite. You will then have made the first step in learning the fundamentals.
After this, if you have no interest in training in pushing hands, you can
practice with the goal of self-cultivation. But while you will be learning some
things and ignoring others, you should still frequently seek explanation from
instructors and older students in order to avoid going astray, and then you will
at least know that aspect of the art.
As for the practice method, although the first posture is merely a posture of
preparation, it nevertheless must not be neglected. When standing in it, you
must focus your attention, ridding yourself of distracting thoughts, and wait
until you feel your mind has achieved a state of calm, then you may begin
moving into the second posture, at which time you are going from stillness to
movement. Then every movement from that point on is entirely controlled by
intention rather than rash effort this is the most important principle. In all of
these cases, the problem is a matter of your intent (Treatise) as well as in
every movement, very deliberately control it by the use of intention and mind
is sovereign and body is subject (Thirteen Dynamics Song) and also use mind
to move the energy and first in the mind, then in the body (How to Practice)
all clearly express this concept. It is not a difficult concept to explain, but
beginners will often understand the idea in their minds yet have no way of
realizing it in their practice. This is a commonly unavoidable flaw, and the
reason for this is not because they are unable to use intention, but that they are
not aware of the stages of progress toward using intention, nor the methods.
The three stages are explained below:

A. AWARENESS & ALERTNESS

Since the first sentence of the Treatise mentions aware and alert, awareness
and alertness can be considered the first stage of skill. The most important thing
in seeking awareness and alertness is slowness. If you go through the techniques
quickly, you will easily end up floating through them, something you must be
wary of.
For example, if you raise a hand, when taking it from its lowest point to its
highest point, by no means simply lift it into place. If you do that, the
effectiveness of your consciousness will only go as far as distinguishing
movement and stillness. But throughout the grey area between movement and
stillness, you will then be unable to have a constantly involved consciousness,
and you will encourage your movements to become all about merely getting to
the next movement. In other words, if your consciousness is ignoring the
transition from one movement to another, you will not be able to transition
from the original movement into the next movement and have it be driven by
consciousness.
Therefore when your mind wants to raise your hand, the hand only needs to
be moved very slightly, and then each increment of the raising beyond that will
not progress any further unless the movement is continued consciously. This
can then be called authentic awareness. To raise the hand to its highest point, it
has to go through countless increments of deliberate raising, constantly having
the subtlety of following your intention. And this can then be called authentic
alertness. Step like a cat and move energy as if drawing silk (How to Practice)
points to this concept.

B. CONNECTION

There is connection throughout a posture and connection from one posture to

another. Connection within the postures can be divided into these two types:

i. Upper body and lower are to coordinate with each other.

This has to do with the outward appearance of the movements. When your
hands move, your waist, legs, and feet should be moving along with them. One
part should never be guiding other parts. And although your eyes need not be
moving excessively, they have to constantly be involved. Starting from your
foot, (Treatise) and if one part moves, every part moves (How to Practice)
both point to this idea.

ii. Inside and out are to join with each other.

This has to do with the work of regulating the breath. Ones breathing is very
related to ones movement. Actions of opening and closing have to be closely
linked to inhaling and exhaling in order to be correct. What is called breathing
does not only have to do with the lungs, but also has to include the abdomen in
order to then have the best effect. Rousing the energy in the elixir field is the
trick to cultivating spirit. Furthermore, the shifting of weight is also closely
connected to the breath, something that surely is especially understood by
martial arts experts. Energy should be roused (Treatise) and use energy to
move your body (How to Practice) both point to this principle.

Complex connectedness occurs when changing from one posture to another.

The transitional movements must flow through and cannot come to a halt. This
will ensure that the gap between postures will be the string in a string of pearls,
and it will then be correct. In Taiji Boxing, every movement is rounded, and it is
from this roundness that you will obtain this flow. But unless you have a
foundation of connectedness within single postures, it will certainly be difficult
to transition as roundly as you would wish.
I hope you will not skip steps to try and get ahead. It is crucial to go through
these stages in order. This is the second stage of skill.

C. EMPTINESS & STILLNESS

This is the third stage of skill, when Taiji Boxing is at its most profound level. If
you have no foundation at all, it will be too difficult to understand. In the two
stages described above, the stage of awareness and alertness, then the stage of
connectedness, both can still use techniques that have shape, but this level is
purely a matter of the skill of using intention rather than exertion and is to be
found within shapelessness.
Emptiness and stillness means that you are to be seeking emptiness within
fullness and seeking stillness within movement.
In the beginning of the training, every movement should be controlled by the
use of intention, and that level of practice is a matter of fullness. Now as you
come into this level, the element of shape will disappear, hence seeking
emptiness within fullness.
In the opening posture of the solo set, you go from stillness to movement. In
the closing posture, you go from movement to stillness. But at this level, there
should within every posture always be a feeling of going from movement to
stillness. Seek in every movement to have the notion that movement is stillness
and stillness is movement, hence seeking stillness within movement.
This kind of practice method is most related to psychological function, as
presented in Chapter Four for your reference.

2. PARTNER PRACTICE METHODS

The partner practice methods are the pushing hands methods, also called
playing hands. The Playing Hands Song, included below in Chapter Nine,
encapsulates the special instructions which should be known when engaging in

pushing hands. Pushing hands is a method of training for fighting, but one who
has built a foundation through practicing the solo set will succeed even better at
doing pushing hands. Taiji Boxings fighting skill furthermore takes the wielding
of intention to be the major principle.
Pushing hands has eight basic techniques, which in the terminology of the art
are called ward-off, rollback, press, push, pluck, rend, elbow, and bump. (Wardoff is mainly an upward carrying. Push is mainly a downward pressure. Rollback
is mainly a retreating neutralization. Press is mainly an advancing stickiness.
Pluck is mainly an opportunistic seizing. Rend is mainly a diagonal pushing.
Elbowing and bumping are for when the hand techniques are insufficient. These
are just the general ideas for these techniques. See the photos included at the
beginning of the book.)
When Taiji Boxing is used to deal with an opponent, the greatest of its
wonders lies in defeating him by way of emptiness and stillness, meaning that
Taiji Boxings method is actually a matter of being without method at all. The
eight techniques are just explanations for beginners. Once you have learned the
eight techniques, be sure not to then claim you are identifying energies. If you
do not understand this, you will seem to be undiscerning. This is but a process
leading toward the training of identifying energies. Selected essentials of this
process are presented below:

A. Do not crash in.

Not crashing in means not even slightly resisting. Regardless of whether the
opponents force is large or small, it should always be yielded to and neutralized.
Beginners will only yield to a large force because there is still some resistance in
their minds. If this error is not eliminated, it will be difficult to train ones
sensitivity to a high level. A feather cannot be added (Classic) indicates a keen
sensitivity, and this is always achieved from a habit of not crashing in.
Training this principle primarily lies in using your waist. When your waist is
not enough, you can compensate by stepping. But if you are overly willing to
step, the effectiveness of your waist will instead become reduced, which in turn
will have a large and unfortunate impact on the movement of your whole body.


B. Do not come away.

Not coming away means not disconnecting. Taiji Boxings sticking and yielding
(not crashing in being the same as yielding) are equally important. If you
disconnect when you yield, not only will you have no way of sensing the
opponents energy, you will also be unable to make use of sticking, the effect of
my energy is smooth while his energy is coarse [Classic]. The method of not
coming away is not really concentrated in the use of your hands. You must use
your whole body, any part being able to stick to the opponents energy, for it to
then be correct. When practicing, you must pay attention to this principle.

C. Strive at first to open up.

It is said that in the beginning of practicing the postures, you should start with
the lesser skill of making the movements long and large, stretching the limits of
neither coming away nor crashing in. You must wait for your skill to gradually
deepen, then you can strive to close up. The solo set should be done in this
way, training to go by way of the large to attain the small, for although small, it
would actually be large, much like the substance of a crystal [i.e. consistent
precision of microscopic structure amounting to greater overall strength of
macroscopic structure].

D. Do not be the first to express power.

It is said that the first to move will be in the stronger position and that speed
will then bring victory. Taiji Boxing reverses this concept: it is the one who

responds to action that will be in charge of the situation. Therefore wait for the
opponents energy and take advantage of it. This is the skill of awaiting
movement with stillness.
Beginners often feel unaccustomed to this. They get impatient and find it
hard not to take the initiative themselves, and they do not consider how risky
such a method of practice is. It is necessary to be devoted to the principle of
neither coming away nor crashing in. By neither coming away nor crashing in, I
can then know all of the opponents weak spots. But even though I know them, I
do not need to attack them. If his actions do not give me reason to attack them, I
am not being skillful if I do.
After practicing in this way over a long period, it will naturally become a
habit. The way of applying power is explained by the power seems to be relaxed
but not relaxed, about to express but not yet expressing (Playing Hands Song).
With this concept, you will then be able to apply power without falling into
confusion and can attack the opponent in whatever way you wish without ever
making a mistake. The usefulness of it is quite beyond the descriptive capacity
of words.

E. Know how to adapt.

This has to do with the pushing hands training. Begin by practicing the push
technique until you are skillful at it, but then you must not become stubborn
about the way it is to be performed. Practice being pushed as much as pushing,
and then you will eventually have the complete skill. When moving energy, it
should suddenly hide and suddenly appear [Classic], and the maneuverings of
your hands should be sometimes empty, sometimes full. When practicing the
pushing hands skill, you have to understand how to adapt. You can also pay
attention to this idea while going through the solo set, but it is not required.

F. Power finishes, but the intent of it continues.

In Taiji Boxing, the use of intention rather than exertion is a main principle, as
already described above. These words [from the Playing Hands Song] depict a

moment when the opponents energy is not easy to stick to and follow, and
instructs that you must not discontinue your own energy just because of it, nor
entirely disconnect from him. You must secretly connect to him by way of
intention, thus disconnect but stay connected [How to Practice].
This kind of skill can be described as neither coming away nor crashing in
invisibly. It is also the skill of merging energy within the sword method.
Practicing this principle entirely lies with using imagination, then after a long
time you will naturally grasp it, the work being the same process as for the skill
of emptiness and stillness.

The various practice methods above have to do with the physiological aspect.
For example, awareness and alertness can prevent harm to your muscles and
bones. Connectedness will maintain a more balanced development. Emptiness
and stillness will have the subtle effect of cultivating your spirit, and will
enhance the flow of energy and blood. Enlarging your movements will have the
effect of improving your flexibility. By neither coming away nor crashing in, this
will help keep your skin from being injured. Such things that were not
mentioned in Chapter Five have been specially included in this chapter to
supplement your studies.

CHAPTER EIGHT: FURTHER THOUGHTS

[1] Someone asked me: Why the Taiji in Taiji Boxing?

I said: A taiji [grand pivot] is the condition before dividing into the dual
polarities of passive and active. When there is movement, it splits into passive
and active. When there is stillness, they merge to become a taiji again. In terms
of Taiji Boxings cultivation aspect, you must train to go from movement toward
stillness. This is like passive and active merging to become a taiji. In terms of its
defense aspect, its alternations between emptiness and fullness are concealed
inwardly rather than revealed outwardly. This is like the taiji not yet splitting
into passive and active. And hence the name Taiji.


[2] Someone asked me: If you practice Taiji Boxing when youre tired, you not
only cease to be tired, but you forget you even were tired. Why is this so?

I said: Usually when a person is tired, it is because there is fatigue in the body
which is kept in rather than dispelled. Rest has the effect of dispelling fatigue, as
of course everyone knows. When practicing Taiji Boxing, you do not need to
exert yourself, and so it does not add to your fatigue. Furthermore, its method of
self-cultivation in fact does the reverse: it emphasizes energizing, relaxation,
and quietude. Truly it has the same function as rest, in that the result is the
forgetting of your weariness, and this is the reason why. [Since Taiji apparently
has the same effect as rest, it is therefore an EXERCISE that doubles as REST,
an excellent example of the passive and active aspects in harmony.]

[3] Someone asked me: Its said that one who has profound skill can, while
practicing Taiji Boxing in the summer heat, pleasantly cool his body down.
Whats the theory behind this?

I said: This has to do with the energy and body being relaxed and calm. The
skin, blood vessels, and muscles of your whole body will thus be extremely
comfortable, which will cause your sweat glands to secrete, thereby increasing a
sense of smooth well-being. This regulating function is the bodys most efficient
way of lowering temperature. The internal actions of respiration and circulation
can also have the effect of rousing your elixir field in order to increase your
ability to then evaporate the sweat away, which really is the proper physiological
phenomenon. [In other words, relaxed calmness will get you to sweat just
enough to cool you down and keep you from sweating so much that you become
uncomfortably soaked.] Therefore there is a pleasantly cool feeling all over the
body.

[4] Someone asked me: Taiji Boxing emphasizes using consciousness. So why is
it that when one has deep skill, the opponent is often already falling away and
one does not know why?

I said: This is a function of the nervous systems reflex centers. For instance,
scratching an itch while asleep, or closing ones eyes when seeing a flash of light,
or the way skin and blood vessels contract when encountering cold
temperatures these are all examples of reflex actions. When your sensory
nerves receive stimulation, the information does not immediately go to your
cerebral cortex and is instead shunted to your reflex centers, which send
commands to the motor neurons, generating reflex action. As the saying goes,
skill comes from practice, and this is the reason why.

[5] Someone asked me: Taiji Boxing emphasizes softness, so why does
Understanding How to Practice contain the phrase wield power like tempered
steel?

I said: Tempering steel makes it soft in that it gives it a springy quality. If it was
made hard, then it would break. How to Practice also contains the phrase
extreme softness begets extreme hardness. This implies the message of being
soft yet having that springy quality, and can be considered a piece of supporting
evidence for this.

[6] Someone asked me: Boxing arts can be reduced from a detailed knowledge
down to five terms: focused, sticky, expedient, potent, precise. [See Boxing
Methods of the Internal School in Chapter Nine.] Does Taiji Boxing also have a
secret?

I said: The secret of Taiji Boxing lies in that word precise, and that word has
two key aspects: timing and target. When you cannot catch the timing, do not
attack. When you cannot reach the target, also do not attack. Once timing and
target are combined into one, you can begin to say it is right. If so, those other
four terms are then fulfilled as well. Therefore I say the secret of Taiji Boxing
lies entirely in the word precise.

[7] Someone asked me: Sitting meditation emphasizes sinking your energy. If
youre not careful when practicing, its easy to give yourself a hernia. Taiji
Boxing also emphasizes sinking your energy, so shouldnt you worry about
hurting yourself?

I said: Sinking your energy should be done very gently then it is right. If it is
too forceful, it is inappropriate. Taiji Boxing always emphasizes what is
appropriate and natural. The Treatise says that the energy should be roused,
but this does not permit the forceful pressing of the elixir field. If you can
maintain this intention, how could you hurt yourself?

[8] Someone asked me: The movements in Taiji Boxing are all circular. When
encountering an opponent, if you emphasize a circular motion when issuing
power, wouldnt it be slower than a straight motion?

I said: Circular movements always apply to neutralizing, not issuing. Taiji

Boxing emphasizes not being the first to issue power. When the opponent
attacks, first neutralize it, wait for him to be off balance, then attack by issuing
power. In Understanding How to Practice, it says: When issuing power, you
must sink and relax, concentrating it in one direction. You can see from this
that issuing power actually cannot be done with a circular motion.

[9] Someone asked me about the meaning of neutralizing energy.

I said: Not crashing in thats yielding. Not running away thats sticking.
Yielding and sticking combined thats neutralizing. Yielding emphasizes
retreat and is passive. Sticking emphasizes advance and is active. In the Classic,
it says: The passive and active exchange roles. Once you have this
understanding, you will be identifying energies. These words depict
neutralizing.


[10] Someone asked me: How do you know whether or not the opponent is off
balance?

I said: Whether you are receiving an attack or giving one, if there is no reversal
of force to stop him from leaning, then the vertical line of his center of gravity
must go beyond his base of stability, and so the outcome will be inevitable. Taiji
Boxings use of yielding energy means not giving him the slightest bit with
which to reverse his force, thus causing him to go off balance, and then using
sticking energy means to prevent his instability from returning to stability. Once
you understand this, you will know whether or not the opponent is off balance.
There, isnt that clear?

CHAPTER NINE: APPENDICES

1. THE TAIJI BOXING TREATISE

Once there is any movement, your entire body must be aware and alert. There
especially needs to be connection from movement to movement. Energy should
be roused and spirit should be collected within. Do not allow there to be cracks
or gaps anywhere, pits or protrusions anywhere, breaks in the flow anywhere.
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, and whether advancing or retreating, you will then
catch the opportunity and gain the upper hand. If not and your body easily falls
into disorder, the problem must be in your waist and legs, so look for it there.
This is always so, regardless of the direction of the movement, be it up, down,
forward, back, left, right. And in all of these cases, the problem is a matter of

your intent and does not lie outside of you.

With an upward comes a downward, with a forward comes a backward, and
with a left comes a right. If your intention wants to go upward, then harbor a
downward intention, like when you reach down to lift up an object. You thereby
add a setback to the opponents own intention, thus he cuts his own root and is
defeated quickly and certainly. Empty and full must be distinguished clearly. In
each part there is a part that is empty and a part that is full. Everywhere it is
always like this, an emptiness and a fullness. Throughout your body, as the
movement goes from one section to another there has to be connection. Do not
allow the slightest break in the connection.

Long Boxing: it is like a long river flowing into the wide ocean, on and on
ceaselessly
The thirteen dynamics are: warding off, rolling back, pressing, pushing,
plucking, rending, elbowing, and bumping which relate to the eight trigrams:

and advancing, retreating, stepping to the left, stepping to the right, and staying
in the center which relate to metal, wood, water, fire, and earth: the five
elements. These combined [8+5] are called the Thirteen Dynamics.
Warding off, rolling back, pressing, and pushing correspond to , , , and
in the four principle compass directions [meaning simply that these are the
primary techniques]. Plucking, rending, elbowing, and bumping correspond to
, , , and in the four corner directions [i.e. are the secondary
techniques].
Advancing, retreating, stepping to the left, stepping to the right, and staying
in the center correspond to the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and
earth.
(An original note says: This relates to the theory left to us from Zhang
Sanfeng of Mt. Wudang. He wanted all the heroes in the world to live long and
not merely gain martial skill.)

2. THE TAIJI BOXING CLASSIC (by Wang Zongyue of Shanxi)

Taiji [grand polarity] is born of wuji [nonpolarity]. It is the manifestation of

movement and stillness, and the mother of yin and yang [the passive and active
aspects]. When there is movement, passive and active become distinct from
each other. When there is stillness, they return to being indistinguishable.
Neither going too far nor not far enough, comply and bend then engage and
extend. He is hard while I am soft this is yielding. My energy is smooth while
his energy is coarse this is sticking. If he moves fast, I quickly respond, and if
his movement is slow, I leisurely follow. Although there is an endless variety of
possible scenarios, there is only this single principle [of yielding and sticking]
throughout. Once you have engrained these techniques, you will gradually come
to identify energies, and then from there you will gradually progress toward
something miraculous. But unless you practice a lot over a long time, you will
never have a breakthrough.
Forcelessly press up your headtop. Energy sinks to your elixir field. Neither
lean nor slant. Suddenly hide and suddenly appear. When there is pressure on
the left, the left empties. When there is pressure on the right, the right
disappears. When looking up, it is still higher. When looking down, it is still
lower. When advancing, it is even farther. When retreating, it is even nearer. A
feather cannot be added and a fly cannot land. The opponent does not
understand me, only I understand him. A hero is one who encounters no
opposition, and it is through this kind of method that such a condition is
achieved.
There are many other schools of boxing arts besides this one. Although the
postures are different between them, they never 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.
Stand like a scale. Move like a wheel. If you drop one side, you can move. If
you have equal pressure on both sides, you will be stuck. We often see one who
has practiced hard for many years yet is unable to perform any neutralizations,
always under the opponents control, and the issue here is that this error of
double pressure has not yet been understood. If you want to avoid this error,
you must understand passive and active. In sticking there is yielding and in
yielding there is sticking. The active does not depart from the passive and the
passive does not depart from the active, for the passive and active exchange
roles. Once you have this understanding, you will be identifying energies. Once
you are identifying energies, then the more you practice, the more efficient your
skill will be, and by absorbing through experience and by constantly
contemplating, gradually you will reach the point that you can do whatever you
want.
The basic of basics is to forget about your plans and simply respond to the
opponent. We often make the mistake of ignoring what is right in front of us in
favor of something that has nothing to do with our immediate circumstances.
For such situations it is said: Miss by an inch, lose by a mile. You must
understand all this clearly.

3. THIRTEEN DYNAMICS SONG

Do not neglect any of the thirteen dynamics,

their command coming from your lower back.
You must pay attention to the alternation of empty and full,
then energy will flow through your whole body without getting stuck
anywhere.
In stillness, movement stirs, and then in moving, seem yet to be in stillness,
for the magic lies in making adjustments based on being receptive to the

opponent.
In every movement, very deliberately control it by the use of intention,
for once you achieve that, it will all be effortless.
At every moment, pay attention to your waist,
for if there is complete relaxation within your belly, energy is primed.
Your tailbone is centered and spirit penetrates to your headtop,
thus your whole body will be aware and your headtop will be pulled up as if
suspended.
Pay careful attention in your practice that you are letting bending and
extending, contracting and expanding, happen as the situation requires.
Beginning the training requires personal instruction,
but mastering the art depends on your own unceasing effort.
Whether we are discussing in terms of theory or function, what is the
constant?
It is that mind is sovereign and body is subject.
If you think about it, what is emphasizing the use of intention going to lead
you to?
To a longer life and a longer youth.
Repeatedly recite the words above,
all of which speak clearly and hence their ideas come through without
confusion.
If you pay no heed to those ideas, you will go astray in your training,
and you will find you have wasted your time and be left with only sighs of
regret.

4. UNDERSTANDING HOW TO PRACTICE THE THIRTEEN DYNAMICS

Use mind to move the energy. You must get the energy to sink. It is then able to
collect in the bones. Use energy to move your body. You must get the energy to
be smooth. Your body can then easily obey your mind.
If you can raise your spirit, then you will be without worry of being slow or

weighed down. Thus it is said [in the Thirteen Dynamics Song]: Your whole
body will be aware and your headtop will be pulled up as if suspended. Your
mind must perform alternations nimbly, and then you will have the delight of
being rounded and lively. Thus it is said [also in the Song]: Pay attention to the
alternation of empty and full.
When issuing power, you must sink and relax, concentrating it in one
direction. Your posture must be upright and comfortable, bracing in all
directions.
Move energy as though through a winding-path pearl, penetrating even the
smallest nook (meaning that the energy is everywhere in the body). Wield power
like tempered steel, so strong there is nothing tough enough to stand up against
it.
The shape is like a falcon capturing a rabbit. The spirit is like a cat pouncing
on a mouse.
In stillness, be like a mountain, and in movement, be like a river.
Store power like drawing a bow. Issue power like loosing an arrow.
Within curving, seek to be straightening. Store and then issue.
Power comes from your spine. Step according to your bodys adjustments.
To gather is to release. Disconnect but stay connected.
In the back and forth [of the arms], there must be folding. In the advance and
retreat [of the feet], there must be variation.
Extreme softness begets extreme hardness. Your ability to be lively lies in
your ability to breathe.
By nurturing energy with integrity, it will not be corrupted. By storing power
in crooked parts, it will be in abundant supply.
The mind makes the command, the energy is its flag, and the waist is its
banner.
First strive to open up, then strive to close up, and from there you will be able
to attain a refined subtlety.

It is also said:
First in the mind, then in the body.
With your abdomen relaxed, energy gathers in your marrow. Spirit
comfortable, body calm at every moment be mindful of this.
Always remember: if one part moves, every part moves, and if one part is

still, every part is still.

As the movement leads back and forth, energy sticks to and gathers in your
spine.
Inwardly bolster spirit and outwardly show ease.
Step like a cat and move energy as if drawing silk.
The whole of your mind should be on the spirit rather than on the energy, for
if you are fixated on the energy, your movement will become sluggish. Whenever
your mind is on the energy, there will be no power, whereas if you ignore the
energy and let it take care of itself, there will be pure strength.
The energy is like a wheel and the waist is like an axle.

5. PLAYING HANDS SONG

Ward-off, rollback, press, and push must be taken seriously.

With coordination between above and below, the opponent will hardly find a
way in.
I will let him attack me with as much power as he likes,
for I will tug with four ounces of force to move his of a thousand pounds.
Guiding him in to land on nothing, I then close on him and send him away.
I stick to him and go along with his movement instead of coming away or
crashing in.

It is also said:
If he takes no action, I take no action, but once he takes even the slightest
action, I have already acted.
The power seems to be relaxed but not relaxed, about to express but not yet
expressing. Although the power finishes, the intent of it continues.

6. TAIJI BOXING POSTURE NAMES & THEIR SEQUENCE

[1] TAIJI BEGINNING POSTURE

[2] CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL

[3] SINGLE WHIP

[4] RAISE THE HANDS

[5] WHITE CRANE SHOWS ITS WINGS

[6] BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE

[7] PLAY THE LUTE

[8] ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH

[9] SEALING SHUT

[10] CAPTURE THE TIGER AND SEND ITS BACK TO ITS MOUNTAIN

[11] CROSSED HANDS

[12] BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE

[13] CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL

[14] DIAGONAL SINGLE WHIP

[15] GUARDING PUNCH UNDER THE ELBOW

[16] RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY

[17] DIAGONAL FLYING POSTURE

[18] RAISE THE HANDS

[19] WHITE CRANE SHOWS ITS WINGS

[20] BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE

[21] NEEDLE UNDER THE SEA

[22] FAN THROUGH THE BACK

[23] TURN AROUND, TORSO-FLUNG PUNCH

[24] WITHDRAWING STEP, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH

[25] STEP FORWARD, CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL

[26] SINGLE WHIP

[27] CLOUDING HANDS

[28] LEFT RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE

[29] KICK TO THE RIGHT SIDE

[30] RIGHT RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE

[31] KICK TO THE LEFT SIDE

[32] TURN AROUND, PRESSING KICK

[33] BRUSH KNEE, ADVANCE, PLANTING PUNCH

[34] TURN AROUND, TORSO-FLUNG PUNCH

[35] STEP FORWARD, RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE

[36] KICK TO THE RIGHT SIDE

[37] RETREAT, FIGHTING TIGER POSTURE

[38] DRAPING THE BODY, KICK

[39] DOUBLE PEAKS THROUGH THE EARS

[40] KICK TO THE LEFT SIDE

[41] TURN AROUND, PRESSING KICK

[42] TORSO-FLUNG PUNCH

[43] STEP FORWARD, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH

[44] SEALING SHUT

[45] CAPTURE THE TIGER AND SEND IT BACK TO ITS MOUNTAIN

[46] CROSSED HANDS

[47] BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE

[48] CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL

[49] DIAGONAL SINGLE WHIP

[50] WILD HORSE VEERS ITS MANE

[51] MAIDEN WORKS THE SHUTTLE

[52] CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL

[53] SINGLE WHIP

[54] CLOUDING HANDS

[55] LOW POSTURE

[56] GOLDEN ROOSTER STANDS ON ONE LEG

[57] RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY

[58] DIAGONAL FLYING POSTURE

[59] RAISE THE HANDS

[60] WHITE CRANE SHOWS ITS WINGS

[61] BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE

[62] NEEDLE UNDER THE SEA

[63] FAN THROUGH THE BACK

[64] TURN AROUND, TORSO-FLUNG PUNCH

[65] STEP FORWARD, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH

[66] STEP FORWARD, CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL

[67] SINGLE WHIP

[68] CLOUDING HANDS

[69] RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE

[70] PALM STRIKE TO THE FACE

[71] CROSSED-BODY SWINGING LOTUS KICK

[72] BRUSH KNEE, PUNCH TO THE CROTCH

[73] STEP FORWARD, CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL

[74] SINGLE WHIP

[75] LOW POSTURE

[76] STEP FORWARD WITH THE BIG DIPPER

[77] RETREAT TO SITTING TIGER POSTURE

[78] TURN AROUND, PALM STRIKE TO THE FACE

[79] TURN AROUND, SWINGING LOTUS KICK

[80] BEND THE BOW TO SHOOT THE TIGER

[81] STEP FORWARD, RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE

[82] PALM STRIKE TO THE FACE

[83] TURN AROUND, TORSO-FLUNG PUNCH

[84] STEP FORWARD, RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE

[85] STEP FORWARD, CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL

[86] SINGLE WHIP

[87] CLOSING TAIJI

7. BOXING METHODS OF THE INTERNAL SCHOOL OF ZHANG SANFENG

(by Huang Baijia of Yuyao)

Shaolin is the peak of refinement for the external arts. Zhang Sanfeng was a
Shaolin expert, but he turned the art on its head and thereby created the
internal school. Obtaining just a little bit of it is enough to defeat Shaolin. Wang
Zhengnan learned it from Dan Sinan and was the only one of his students to
obtain the entire curriculum.
When I was young, I did not train at all for the civil service exams, for I

preferred doing things that were a little more extreme. Once I had heard about
Wangs fame, I bundled up some provisions and went to the village of
Baozhuang to learn from him. Wang was extremely proprietorial toward his art
and very picky about accepting students, but he was happy to take me in and
teach me. (There were five kinds of people who he would never teach: those who
are devious, those who love to fight, those who are addicted to booze, those who
gossip, and those who are klutzy.) There was not enough space in his house, so
he trained me instead at the neighboring Iron Buddha Temple.
His art has many colorfully named combat techniques (such as: Reaching
Punch and Rolling Chop, Punch Across the Center to Each Side, Swinging an
Elbow to Force the Door, Waving an Iron Fan Against the Wind, Letting Go of
One Object to Fling Another Forward, Pushing an Elbow into the Crotch, Caving
in with Your Chest to Pound His Ribs, Emperor Shun is Thrown into the Well,
Cutting with Your Wrist to Attack His Joints, Sun Breaking Through Dawn
Clouds, Dark Clouds Hiding the Moon, Ape Offers Fruit, Coil an Elbow in to
Curl Up and Bump, Immortal Shows a Palm, Drawing a Bow in a Long Stance,
Share an Embrace with the Moon, Left & Right Lifting a Rod, Sealing the Door
with an Iron Bar, Hanging a Fish on a Branch, Filling the Stomach with Agony,
Successive Arrows, Lifting Up a Gold Piece, Holding up a Writing Brush with
Both Hands, Arhat Tumbles on the Ground, Pushing Open a Window with Both
Hands, Leading a Sheep, Untangling a Rope, Swallow Tilts Up a Cheeks, Tiger
Hides its Head, Wrapping All the Way Around His Waist, and so on).
There are also many acupoint targets (such as: points which cause death,
muteness, fainting, coughing, as well as the bladder, the croaking toad, the
jumping ape, or Qu Chi [outer part of the bend at the elbow], Suo Hou [spot
on the throat between the collar bones], Jie Yi [side of the jaw], He Gu [pit
between thumb and forefinger], Nei Guan [inside of forearm near wrist], San Li
[outside of forearm near elbow], among others), and many prohibitions against
bad habits (do not be lazy, sluggish, or slouching, do not raise your shoulders,
step like an old man, stick out your chest, stand too upright, pamper your legs,
lift your elbows, sprain your fists, stick your butt out, bend at the waist, attack
unguarded, or put out both hands with the same reach). But the key principle is
practice. Skill will only be achieved through practice. It is not necessary to seek
for someone to copy, only to respond to opponents with whatever works, up or
down, left or right, forward or back, and to notice the correct moment to engage.
There are furthermore thirty-five hand techniques to practice (chop, erase,
shake, knock, bump, wrap, urge, wipe, hack, beat, wave, swing, deflect, slash,
clap, cover, meet, cut, spread, carry, entwine, thrust, hook, pull, dazzle, replace,

switch, contract, lift, overturn, crush, shoot, insert, peel, and dangle) as well as
eighteen stepping techniques (cushion step, rear cushion step, grinding step,
racing step, scattering stance, crouching stance, stomping step, withdrawing
step, horse-riding stance, high horse-riding stance, alignment stance,
immortals stance, sideways-body step, turning-body step, chasing step, urgent
step, diagonal step, and twisting-vine step).
These elements are all used within the Six Lines and the Ten Sections of
Brocade, each recorded in verse:
The Six Lines:
DIPPER POSTURE reaches out and locks up, turning you into a hero.
The THROUGH-THE-ARM punching posture of guardian gods is the highest
skill.
IMMORTAL STANDS POINTING TO THE SKY.
Deflect aside and EMBRACE THE MOON, leaving none of it for others.
LIFTING A ROD makes it difficult for surrounding opponents to reach you.
CRUEL HAMMERING, THRUST & WRAP, then SWING BOTH WINGS.
The Ten Sections of Brocade:
BEGINNING POSTURE, TIGER SITS ON ITS MOUNTAIN.
TURN AROUND, THREE QUICK CHASING STEPS.
PROP UP TWO SABERS, WITHDRAWING STEPS.
ROLLING CHOPS WITH THREE ADVANCES AND RETREATS.
PUNCH ACROSS THE BODY TO EACH SIDE, TRIPLE PUNCHES.
PROP UP A SABER AND CHOP, RETURN TO BARRACKS.
KNOTTED FISTS, GRINDING STEP, RESUME ORIGINAL POSTURE.
ROLLING CHOP, RETREAT TO FACE ORIGINAL DIRECTION.
ENTERING STEP, ADVANCING LIKE SLIPPING INTO A SHEATH.
ROLLING CHOP, JUMP BACK TO STARTING POINT.
GOLDEN ROOSTER STANDS ON ONE LEG, PULL THE BOWSTRING TAUT.
LEVEL HORSE-RIDING STANCE, LOOK TO BOTH SIDES.
Considering that these poems are obscure and brief, and therefore hard to
hold in the mind, I have added detailed explanations for each of them so as to
preserve the material for posterity. (This section of the text has not been
included.) [See the complete text ofBoxing Methods.]
Wang looked at what I had so far recorded, then smiled and told me: Ive
practiced this stuff my whole life, but I often still seem to have trouble
remembering it all. Howve you made it is as clear as this? I dont think your
skill in the art will ever be able to live up to this record youve made of it.
The thing Wang gave special attention to, was most triumphant about, and

what puts his art above the rest, is his twisting chop. (Boxing experts all agree
the technique of chopping is extremely important. There are four kinds of chop:
rolling chop, willow leaf chop, crossed-body chop, and Lei Gong [the Chinese
god of thunder] chop, to which Wang has added the twisting chop as a way to
use a chop to defeat a chop.) This technique came from Wangs many years of
experience. With much thought came realization and then an original creation.
My training at the temple was as precise as making glass and as demanding
as constructing a building. After a practice, Wang and I would share some cups
of wine, then walk in the moonlight once it had risen over the hills on the
horizon, and I heard the brook gently babbling while he talked of old ways and
new.
Because he was so generous with me, he trained me at the same time in the
methods of spear, saber, sword, and axe. Once you have learned the boxing
sets, the rest of this curriculum is no trouble. Some of the boxing techniques will
be just like techniques for the spear, others like techniques for the sword or the
axe. Teaching me even about how to march squads of soldiers or plan for the
encampment of an army, he poured out everything he knew to the last drop. I
have no disciples, so I will do my utmost to teach the art to you.
I was in those days breathing fire out of my nose and jumping all over the
place. I admired men like Bo Ji of Suiyang, who thought that the world must not
be run by narrow-minded pedants, but instead by those who are able to mount a
horse and go kill the enemy and then dismount to seize their king. Only then
could one stand tall in the world. But also in those days, peace had been brought
to the southwest. Peace had been brought to the southeast. Peace had been
brought to the whole nation. It was indeed a time when dragging two stones into
place [i.e. building a fortress] was seen as inferior to hammering in a single nail
[i.e. building a house].
My parents considered me to be rebellious and out of control, worried that I
would turn into a young libertine, so they decided to send me away to study for
the civil service examinations. I had myself already become aware that the
household was in financial trouble. Under these circumstances, what use would
there be in completing my training? I found myself regretting that I had spent
my time on it, so I suppressed my feelings and quelled those ambitions, putting
my mind instead to the task of mastering the classics. With my bamboo hat and
case of books, I set out on the road accompanying Chen Kuixian, Chen Jiemei,
Fan Guowen, Wan Jiye, and Zhang Xinyou. All the young gentlemen were then
congregated in Ningbos eastern quarter.
Wang came to town and went to my dorm. He talked to me about martial arts

with still the same tireless sincerity: Boxing arts are matter of quality, not
quantity. Once practiced to the point of skill, there will be no limit to the
applicability of the Six Lines set. The techniques within it divide into passive
ones and active ones, and altogether make a mere eighteen, the variations of
each bringing them up to forty-nine
He continued: A technique such as Punch in Twisting-Vine Step can be
performed in any direction left, right, center, forward, back and so you must
not think of it as being done in only one way
He further continued: Also, boxing arts go from complexity to simplicity.
From the seventy-two throwing techniques (such as Reaching Punch and
Rolling Chop, Punch Across the Center to Each Side, and other colorfully named
combat techniques), there are then the thirty-five hand techniques (chop, erase,
shake, knock, bump, and so on), and then the eighteen techniques (contained in
the Six Lines set). This reduces from eighteen to twelve (overturn, switch, twist,
shift, roll, shed, lead, entwine, kneel, sit, drum, grab), and then reducing from
twelve, always remember the five words (focused, sticky, expedient, potent,
precise). Observe boxing experts, the way they really only think about a few
terms
I was at the time focused on preparing for the civil service exams, and despite
making myself listen, I could not feel as inspired as I used to. Wang himself was
destitute, ill, under stress, weary is his heart, sallow in his complexion, worn
out
It is now a mere seven years since Wang died [1669], and our area of the
countryside has since become infested with criminals. They wander the roads
and litter the fields with the bones of those they prey upon. We now need a hero
like Sang Yi who can get rid of them all, but all we have are some candidates for
the civil service exams who spend their days snug behind city walls reciting
prose and verse. The authorities have made a few proclamations of protection
and aid, naively thinking this will somehow administer a pacification of such
evil men. The exam candidates for their part have come up with a few slogans
about soldiers and farmers joining forces, naively thinking this would somehow
have the capacity to manage the situation.
It says in the Record of the Warrior of Shaanxi in Great Philosophical
Discourses [by Song Lian]: If Deng Bi was still here, things would surely look
different. [Not many years after the mighty Deng had died, the realm was in
chaos.] When I read these words, I cannot help but think about how much we
are to miss you, Wang, buried there three feet under the artemisia.
Unfortunately he cannot help us now.

I think so fondly about those days of learning from him, but I would not
presume to proclaim that such training represents a meaningful scheme for
assisting the ruler in pacifying warlords. However, for safeguarding the walls of
a single city, like men such as Fan Changsheng or Fan Ya did in protecting their
own communities, it does seem to me to be a reasonable course of action. And
while it seems impossible that so much trouble has spread throughout the
nation, and under our bamboo hats we gaze all around watching the dust rise
and have nowhere to flee to, such is the present reality facing us!
There was a time when I regretted that I was learning from Wang, but now I
deeply regret that I ever regretted it. I alone was taught his art, but I abandoned
his learning. As a result, this art has since become buried away in a big tomb.
This is unbearable to me, and so I have devoted myself to writing down as much
of these details as I can in order that future generations of enthusiasts can
obtain something of the art. But then again, Zhuge Liang wrote in detail the
dimensions for his trojan-horse ox thousands of years ago, but who has made
any use of it yet?

8. BIO OF ZHANG SONGXI FROM THE RECORDS OF NINGBO

PREFECTURE [Book 31: Those With Skills]

A native of Yin county, Zhejiang, Zhang Songxi was a superb fighter. His teacher
was Sun Shisan, who said that his art started in the Song Dynasty with Zhang
Sanfeng, an elixirist of the Wudang mountains. Emperor Huizong summoned
Zhang Sanfeng, but his route was blocked and he could not get through. That
night in a dream, the first Song Emperor gave him the boxing method, and the
next day he single-handedly killed more than a hundred bandits. Thereafter his
unique skill became famous everywhere.
After Zhang Sanfengs time, his art went on, and during the reign of Emperor
Jiajing [1521-1567], it reached Siming, where Zhang Songxi became the top
master of it. Zhang Songxi was as courteous as a Confucian scholar, respectful to
everyone he met, seeming to be deferential even to his own clothes. When
someone sought his art, he declined them with modesty and evaded the subject.
The Shaolin monks were at this time famous fighters throughout the nation,
and during the period of Wokou piracy, they had been called upon to fend off
the pirates. A mob of seventy of the monks, having heard of Zhang Songxis
fame, went to his native Yin county to seek him out. Zhang stayed in and hid
himself away, but the young monks taunted him to come try his luck. Meeting
them all in the upper level of a restaurant while they were comparing their skills
with each other, he suddenly started laughing at them. They knew he was Zhang
Songxi and then sought to test him. Zhang said, If you insist upon it, you must
talk to the headman of the village to see whether or not death would be
permitted. Then slipping his hands into his sleeves, he took a seat. One of the
monks then attacked him with a jumping kick, and Zhang turned his body
slightly sideways, lifting his hand to send him away, and the monk flew off like a
shooting star, falling heavily to the lower level and almost died. The rest of the
monks were astonished and dispersed.
Once when he was entering a city among some youths, they sealed him off
within the arched gateway. They surrounded him and saluted, and he was told,
Now that you cant go forward or back, we trust you will grant us a bout.
Zhang had no choice, so he had the youths pile up some round stones of
hundreds of pounds. Wearily he said, Im a seventy year old man with no use at
all but to see if I can make you gentlemen laugh. He raised his left hand, leaned
in, and brought it down with a chop. And the three stones were split in two. His
skill was something rare.
[Of Zhangs few disciples, the best was Ye Jinquan. Ye Jinquan taught Wu
Kunshan, Zhou Yunquan, Dan Sinan, Chen Zhenshi, and Sun Jicha, each of
which had students. Wu Kunshan taught Li Tianmu and Xu Daiyue. Li Tianmu
taught Yu Bozhong, Chen Maohong and Wu Qilang. Zhou Yunquan taught Lu

Shaoqi. Chen Zhenshi taught Xia Zhixi and Dong Fuyu. Sun Jicha taught Chai
Yuanming, Yao Shimen, the monk Er, and the monk Wei. Dan Sinan taught
Wang Zhengnan. Wang Zhengnan, called Laixian, was a man who valued honor.
His behavior was friendly and he cultivated caution, never showing off his
abilities.
The skills of fighters are divided into two schools: external and internal. As to
the external school, Shaolin is the most well-known style. Its method focuses on
offense. Hopping and leaping around, ones structure sometimes gets
compromised, and thus an opponent is often given something to take advantage
of. As to the internal school, Zhang Songxis teachings are the most authentic
version. Its method focuses on defense. If an opponent is not in a bad position,
one does not issue power, and so when one does issue power, it is sure to blow
the opponent away. Giving the opponent nothing to take advantage of, the art of
the internal school is therefore the better one.
When fighting people, those of the internal school always make use of
acupoints, acupoints which caused fainting, muteness, or death, and when
targeting these acupoints, whether striking them lightly or heavily, they never
miss at all. The major key to their art lies in a five-word formula: focused,
sticky, expedient, potent, precise. Unless one was a direct disciple, one was not
taught this. These five terms do not depict techniques, only a way of upgrading
technique, in the same manner as these words from Sunzi: Generals must be
humane, sincere, smart, bold, and strict.]
-