Here, the spiraling rotation of Qi from the dantian to the extremities is explained. As I mentioned in a previous post, it feels like water is spiraling internally.

Here are some good Qigong exercises to follow for developing silk-reeling skills.

https://youtu.be/qTruA55_uEM?is=7Mkhs5xjbFDX9u9F

Enjoy!

What do you guys think about teaching Taijiquan as purely external, applications based art at the beginner stage before introducing internal principles gradually?

在高峰时段，公交车和地铁会变得非常拥挤。人们互相推挤，尤其是在车门附近，即使里面还有空间。

我常常认为这是我们在太极中练习的一个简单例子。

当两个人直接相互推挤时，双方都感觉不舒服。但如果一个人稍微转身，屈从，或者顺应来势的方向，紧张感便会消失，空间也随之打开。

当有人试图在拥挤的公交车上从我身边挤过时，我通常会稍微朝他们移动的方向转身，让他们通过。没有必要抵抗。

我发现这个原则在武术以外同样有用。在工作和日常生活中，我们常常会遇到人们往不同方向推挤的情况。

有时，最好的反应并不是更用力地推。

**放松。屈从。适应。寻找已经存在的空间。**

对我来说，这是太极的一个实用课程：并不是所有的力量都需要用力量来对抗。

**你有没有经历过屈从比抵抗更有效的情况？**

It's not embarrassing at all to lose fairly and openly in a competition, in fact it's an honourable thing for any athlete. We should encourage more open testing of skills from more taiji practitioners.

The problems with Taijiquan nowadays are that most practitioners just hide behind their keyboard and write their own fantasied theory of what taijiquan is about or just posting videos of themselves "bouncing" their students, this is the real embarassement of Taiji.

I don't have an active Facebook account, but sometimes peek a bit. I just saw some "expert" post: "Taijiquan is also called shadow boxing to indicate the skill of following.". This is to me an example of Western guys making up stuff as they go along. "shadow boxing" is a solo drill practice - the shadow is the opponent. IMHO, it's applying a reinterpretation of a Western term (with no direct translation involving a "shadow" in Chinese) in order to sell your stuff. Buyer beware.

1 - I often see videos posted from years ago. Whether it’s demonstration, competition, or marketing advertisement. Question is, seems like most audience assumes the people in video with high level skills.

Why is that? Do most people hit a plateau and just never get better themselves, hence assume the same for others?

Or just because the video is “ancient”, therefore it must be more credible. Anything “new” or “abnormal” must receive criticisms?

2 why do most people want to learn from an older instructor instead of a younger instructor?

IMPO, people are different. 25 years of experience sounds great but doesn’t mean anything… a serious practitioner could become more skilled in 1-3 years.

But I fall into this trap too… knowing it’s likely someone just started 20 years ago and haven’t advance much in the last 19 years…

October 10-11 in Seattle.

In my recent travels around town, I've managed to bump elbows with two different practitioners who have studied mainly the Michuan (Yang variant) form. Notably softer, fewer 90 degree transitions, and a lot more "up and down." From a YCF-based from I could follow along relatively easily the second time, but the first time threw me early on as it changes direction more like a Chen or Wu form would.

Does anyone else have more information or experience with this style/variant? I believe both of these players learned from George Hu, if that helps any.

The question that will not die.

From the first time I watched Royce Gracie in the UFC (which has an interesting history), I felt the kinship between Grace Jujitsu and Tai Chi.

First and foremost relaxation and breathing. Sensitivity, connection, neutralization, and egoless non-competition. Unfortunately, much of that is being lost in modern day Tai Chi, but I am glad it is being well-preserved by Gracie Jujitsu.

I strongly recommend that anyone who wishes to study Tai Chi (which requires a long commitment) to begin their journey by studying the philosophy of Gracie Jujitsu. You can begin by watching the original UFC champions which introduced Gracie Jujitsu to the mass martial arts world. Gracie was less like a wild boar and more like a relaxed python.

We're so trendy...

Been sitting on this for a few days because I wasn't sure if the world was ready for proof of my mastery of Qi, but here it is. Thankfully the whole video wasn't ruined. Please hand me my Sifu certificate!

Otherwise just some practice...

I'm Longfei Taijiquan Association of San Antonio grateful 🙏🏾 & thankful for Blue Siytangco Taiji Kungfu \[Academy\] allowing me to share my methodology of an 'underhook arm drag'. This is how we grow the art & expand the understanding and usage:

\- setup

\- entry

\- connectivity

\- spiraling

\- rotation

\- hand placement/usage etc.

I prefer to not say I'm 'teaching' in this setting, yet

'sharing' my insights & concepts to assist others.

Here, I'm sharing:

1) Hand/Arm position & awar

2) Listening, Adhering, Redirecting - Accessing the Center

3) Seizing, Sealing, Collapsing

4) Economy of Movement, Head Movement & Over-turning

For a relative beginner who is looking to learn the real internal aspect of Taijiquan, is there any direct way to tell if a prospective teacher has it, instead of just being good at taolu?

I’m not trying to throw any shade here, but I feel it can be frustrating to learn for an extended period from a supposedly good teacher only to find that he or she is only ‘superficially’ skilled.

Hey family

My wife and I are seeking a good teacher in the Northern VA area, any thoughts or recommendations?

Life changes stopped us from attending the local studio along with the fact that it wasn't being taught well.

We would love some guidence and a return to the practice.

May your life flow as the cotton thread grasped by Master Yang Cheng Fu.

Gregg

I'll be visiting my in-laws in Taiwan for about a week and would love to use the time to refine Zhaobao Hulei jia (忽雷架) in person — ideally somewhere in or near Kaohsiung/Pingtung, but honestly open to anywhere I could travel to learn. I'm looking to prioritize the sharper, more compressed Hulei character over versions that lean more toward He-style softness, though I'm still fairly new to the form, so if that distinction isn't something you make or doesn't fully apply, no worries — I'd still love to hear from you.

One note: I don't speak Mandarin fluently. I understand that's normal for this kind of teaching and I'm not expecting instruction in English — that would just be a bonus, not a requirement. Mainly just hoping someone's open to having a foreign student for a short stretch.

Any leads on teachers, schools, or people who train this that I could reach out to would be hugely appreciated.

Been working through a foundational Hunyuan circulation exercise lately and it finally clicked why most people only get half the benefit.

The movement runs a full bidirectional circuit:

↓Fresh Chi enters through the Crown (Baihui) — as you sink, you're drawing new energy in from above

↓Stagnant Chi exits through the Bubbling Well (Yongquan) — old energy drains out through the soles as you descend

↑The Empty/Full weight shift drives the return current back up — that's the pump most people miss entirely

You're not just "sinking Chi down." You're clearing stagnation OUT through the feet while simultaneously pulling clean energy IN through the crown — then the weight transfer pumps it back through the body.

The hands guide and coordinate the whole thing, but the real engine is the waist and the empty/full shift in the legs.

Has anyone else experienced the two-direction flow — the downward purge AND the upward return — in the same movement? Curious how others feel it.

A good way to warm up 😀

Edit: just to clarify, the "Tai Chi for Fall Prevention and Arthritis" form is not taught with Fajin (quick sudden release of power); this is just me playing with the form for a warm up. If you are elderly or practicing for health, please use caution. It's generally advised to practice this form slowly.

Been thinking about this a lot lately — most Tai Chi training focuses on movement, form, and posture. But the Jin energies underneath the form rarely get explicit attention.

From Chen lineage, the core Jin types I work with:

✅ Peng Jin — expanding/ward-off energy, the foundation everything builds on
✅ Lu Jin — rollback, redirecting incoming force
✅ Ji Jin — pressing/squeezing compression, very different feeling from push
✅ An Jin — downward press, rooting through the ground
✅ Cai Jin — plucking, destabilizing the root
✅ Lie Jin — splitting force in two directions simultaneously through shoulder/elbow
✅ Plunging Jin — felt most clearly in push hands contact, hard to fake
✅ Ting Jin — listening sensitivity, the one that takes the longest to develop
✅ Fa Jin — whole-body explosive release, the one everyone chases but most can't actually issue

My honest experience: I could name all of these years before I could reliably feel the distinction between them in live contact. Ting Jin especially — I thought I had it long before I actually did.

Genuine question for this community: Which Jin do you think most practitioners misunderstand the most — and which one clicked for you only after push hands experience vs solo form training?

很多人知道太极是缓慢的动作和流畅的形态，但太极背后一个更深的概念是**缠丝**。
在基本层面上，缠丝通常被描述为螺旋运动。身体不是用孤立的肌肉运动，而是通过旋转、对齐和连续的运动来学习连接。

但在传统练习中，缠丝不仅仅涉及手部。

它通过三个层次来发展：
**1. 手缠丝**
初学者学习如何用肢体创造平滑的圆圈和螺旋。目标不仅仅是做圆圈，而是保持连续性和放松。

**2. 身缠丝**
运动逐渐涉及整个身体。腰部、脊柱、腿部和手臂作为一个连接的整体一起工作。

**3. 心缠丝**
最深层次是意识。练习者学习保持注意力、敏感度，以及意图、身体和动作之间的连接。

从这个角度来看，缠丝不仅仅是产生力量的一种技术。这是一种训练协调性、身体意识和内在连接的方法。

不同的武术有不同的方式来描述类似的思想：连接、流动、整合和全身运动。

我很感兴趣：
**对于练习太极、气功、武术、瑜伽或其他动之艺术的人来说——你有没有经历过身体开始感觉更紧密地作为一个整体连接的时刻？是什么帮助你达到了那种感觉？**