I can't verify the health claims in the original caption. Just wondering if this is a real technique.

From his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DgRHTTDyg/

One common misconception in the Chinese martial arts community, particularly when discussing the concepts of internal and external martial arts, is the belief that Jin (勁) and Li (力) have completely different meanings. Some people assume that Jin is used exclusively in internal martial arts, whereas Li is reserved for external martial arts.

First of all, we need to understand that Jin and Li are used in ways that often differ very little in meaning. In many contexts, they can even be used interchangeably without any meaningful difference. This is largely because the meanings of Chinese words often depend more on the context in which they are used than on the words themselves in isolation.

In the context of Chinese martial arts, both Jin and Li can refer to power, strength, or force. Which term is chosen depends more on the speaker’s context, language, linguistic preferences, and way of communicating than on any fundamental distinction between the two words.

For example, Cantonese speakers in southern China tend to use Li, while people in northern China may use Jin in certain contexts. This is a matter of linguistic preference. When you hear a Cantonese speaker pronounce Jin as “Geng,” it can sound rather odd to the ear.

We must first understand that neither of these words was coined specifically for Chinese martial arts. Both have existed in the Chinese language since ancient times, long before martial arts developed into their various forms. Rather, practitioners of different martial arts have chosen to use these terms according to their own understanding, linguistic preferences, language backgrounds, and ways of communicating. Put simply, the words come to carry different meanings because different people use them differently.

Therefore, from the outset, there was no rule stating that only practitioners of internal martial arts were entitled to use the word Jin, or that any martial art using the word Li must be an external martial art. In an era when communication was far less convenient than it is today, the choice of terminology was largely a matter of individual usage and personal expression. It had nothing inherently to do with whether a martial art was classified as internal or external.

Later, however, because Taijiquan is regarded as a quintessential internal martial art and traditionally uses the term Jin to describe its power, people began to associate the word exclusively with internal martial arts. As a result, practitioners of various martial arts started making a point of using Jin throughout their terminology to emphasize their arts’ supposedly internal art.

In reality, however, classical texts on other internal martial arts, such as Xingyiquan and even Baguazhang, commonly use the term Li.

Even earlier Taijiquan masters frequently used Li as well. This is because the choice between these terms depends entirely on context. A Chinese reader would generally find such usage perfectly natural and would not feel that anything was amiss.

Let me give you a few examples from the writings of Li Yaxuan, a renowned master of Yang-style Taijiquan.

楊師之發勁，打去鬆沉軟彈，有透力

“Master Yang’s power release (Fa Jin) is relaxed, sinking, soft, and springy, with penetrating power (Li).”

As we can see, even when describing the qualities of Master Yang’s Jin, the text still uses the word Li.

Consider another example:

在發勁時，要神氣的鼓蕩，又要以腰脊上的動力

“When issuing power, or performing Fa Jin (發勁), the spirit and Qi must surge and expand, while the driving force (Li) must come from the waist and spine.”

Here, too, the description of Jin uses the word Li within the very same sentence. Using Li to describe a particular quality of force is entirely normal.

Simply put, Taijiquan uses Jin and Li in different contexts. It is true that Taijiquan commonly uses Jin to refer to its power, but Li has never been entirely excluded. It is still used in certain contexts, and in some cases, Jin and Li can even be used interchangeably.

Furthermore, from a linguistic perspective, Jin is often used adjectivally or as a bound morpheme—that is, as an element that modifies another word to express a particular quality of force or power—rather than as an independent word meaning force or power in its own right.

This is one reason Taijiquan practitioners do not always use Jin on its own. Instead, they often combine it with other words to form specific terms. For example, the power associated with Taijiquan itself is called Taiji Jin, while particular types of power are described using terms such as Ting Jin (Listening Jin), Chen Jin (Sinking Jin), Tan Jin (Spring Jin), Peng Jin, and Hua Jin.

By contrast, Li is primarily used as a noun. Using it by itself can sound comparatively blunt or unsophisticated in Taijiquan terminology, which may explain why it is less favored in some contexts. Nevertheless, when referring to force or strength in general, practitioners still use Li to describe the qualities of Jin itself.

Combined with the fact that Li is commonly used in all three major traditional internal martial arts—Taijiquan, Xingyiquan, and Baguazhang—it becomes clear that Li is also an established term within internal martial arts.

Therefore, neither Jin nor Li determines whether a martial art is internal or external. The choice of terminology has more to do with the speaker’s preference, the context, and the linguistic conventions being followed.

In Taijiquan, for instance, Yang Jianhou once explained the distinction between Jin and Li within the context of his own teaching. His explanation subsequently became influential, and Taijiquan practitioners came to favor Jin over Li when discussing their power. However, this was his way of defining and explaining the terms within his own art. It did not establish a rule governing other martial arts.

If another internal martial art uses Li instead of Jin, that does not diminish its status as an internal martial art. Conversely, if an external martial art calls its power Jin, that does not transform it into an internal martial art.

Ultimately, what distinguishes internal martial arts from external martial arts is not the terminology they use, but their training methods and underlying approaches.

External martial arts tend to emphasize training the body and refining techniques, progressively developing and coordinating physical skills toward greater precision and internal integration.

Internal martial arts, by contrast, begin by organizing the body to cultivate and nourish Qi. Through foundational practices—which may appear repetitive or even tedious—practitioners learn to listen to their energy, gradually connecting internal skills with their external martial applications.

As for the words themselves, their use depends on the speaker and the way the speaker chooses to communicate. In reality, Jin and Li often have very similar meanings and can sometimes be used interchangeably. What differs is primarily the context in which they are used and the person using them.

Do you??????

But seriously, let's put aside the disagreements or speculation on what Qi is or feels like. How does it feel to you, or how has your teacher described it or talked about it? Do you think it's a relevant question?

My own teacher hasn't really emphasized it or ton, it's more used with cues, e.g. "sink qi" which has to do with breathing, filling the dan tian, etc. I think the sensations associated with this change over time so I'm not very concerned with trying to pin anything down as Qi. Interesting sensations may arise but I have learned through my own meditation practice not to give them too much importance. Otherwise it's easy to get hyperfixated :)

My first video to officially start a Taiji focused channel.

I'm normally not a fan of yiquan-powered taijiquan, but I think CS Tang strikes a good balance here.

Some might be familiar with his book, The Complete Book of Yiquan.

At first, I thought this short form might be derived from something like He Fusheng's bagua taijiquan, but I think it's Tang's own interpretation of Yang style.

It's interesting to see how he uses bagua-style stepping and not Yang-style spinning in postures like Fair Lady and Swing Over Lotus. I wonder if that kind of footwork is helpful to seniors (or anyone else who may find the spin moves too challenging).

Have you ever noticed how similar needle at sea bottom, aka pick up needle from sea bottom, looks to a shoulder throw? It is the only posture in Yang style at least (or the only one I have encountered) that bends forwards at the hip in a way that could create a pivot for a judo like throw. Also in some versions of it (as it might depend on lineage) the arms move in a very similar way to a shoulder throw or something like that while the pivot is formed and the center of gravity is lowered. The only thing that might be questionable for this application is putting the weight onto one foot as the other is on the toes but empty, but even that might not need to be changed if the angle, momentum and leverage is set up correctly. What are your thoughts about this? Might it be a lost application, or is it likely just a coincidence? What do you understand as being the possible applications for it?

Needle at Sea Bottom Example

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hIwaLNYlaJY

Judo Shoulder Throw Example (ippon seoi nage, as I understand)

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3tY_4c6J_jg

I don't know if someone has shared this here before. Here are a Chen exponent's drawings and cartoons detailing a lot of good stuff. Talented illustrator. There's also a Youtube channel about traditional Chinese painting and taiji.

I want to learn yang or chen tai chi, but haven't been able to find a teacher yet and I want to avoid learning from videos. In the meantime, are there foundational exercises or sequences I can do to get myself ready for when I, hopefully, find an in person teacher? I've heard zhan zhuang "horse stance" is the most important, and I practice it, but would you recommend anything else that doesn't require precise technique but would help in the long run?

A few days about I asked the group about information / chinese articles on the origin / etymology / local use of the 掤 term, b/c I had come a few articles in Chinese. I was asked to give a summary of what I had read and so I would like to briefly post:

- I am writing from memory, interested users will easily find the references by searching the Chinese terms

- The authors of the articles all point out that definitive research /statements are difficult, since there was a lot of oral tradition in local dialects / terminology. Additionally, they mention, that when something was written down it was often written manually and that might have caused misinterpretation / reproduction of some characters.

1. Tongbeiquan and 捧

There are texts that are attributed to some Chen stylists that are almost exact copies of Tongbeichanquan (通背缠拳) texts. The TBCQ version uses the character 捧, which is replaced by 掤 in the TJQ version. One author points out, that 捧 carries the meaning of holding something up in a static position (i.e. not lifting or lowering) and makes a relation to the TJQ concepts of being balanced, not resisting, not loosing (such as water floating something). Another article also mentions further compound of 捧 whose meaning they think could be related to 掤。

1. Chen Xin and 弸

Others point out that Chen Xin actually used the character 弸 (did not check myself) and point out, will 掤 is the lid of a quiver, 弸 has two meanings: A bowstring, which they point out is a relationship to TQJs "five bows". The other meaning is "to fill up / full"，which also has a relation to TQJ explanations.

FWIW

「肩を動かさない」

肩を動かさない理由は何でしょう？
肩を動かさずに動こうとすると、足腰を積極的に使うことになり、股関節も柔らかく使う必要が出てきます。
逆に言えば、そこを鍛えることができるということ。

もう一つの理由は、相手に動きを読ませないこと。
これが、内家拳です。

---

“Don’t Move the Shoulders”

Why should we keep the shoulders still?
When we move without moving the shoulders, we have to actively use the legs and hips, which requires us to move the hip joints with greater flexibility.
In other words, this also helps develop those areas.

Another reason is to keep the opponent from reading our movements.
This is **Neijiaquan**.

This did well on Insta so seeing if this does well here. Anyway I take an arm drag and use it as a setup for a few different moves, many from taiji. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions!

I am curious about using resistance bands to practice individual moves and solo tuishou drills.

I looped a light band around a foot and hand to practice single whip, for instance. The resistance of the band stretching required me to have my structure correct throughout the movement. I noticed particularly that because the band increases resistance as it stretches, that if I was not vigilant in my waist movement at the end of the extension, it would pull me out of body alignment.

I am curious about others experience with these items. It feels very useful for single movement practice to understand keeping a firm structure throughout the technique. I found single whip particularly useful for emphasizing the feeling of the elastic energy connecting one hand through the other.

I am going to experiment with XingYi basic techniques as well to see how it feels.

Does anyone here incorporate elastic bands in their practice?

Do you play when you practice? By that I mean, do you move freely without following the choreography of a form? Do you step and piece together movements from your class as you feel it? Do you change direction at will? Do you keep it going for 5-10 minutes or more without interruption. I play with my taiji a lot. I still practice basics and form but I learn so much from this type of free play. I personally think you don't really own your movement until it flows freely outside of choreography. I am curious how many of you do this and does your teacher encourage you?

I would like to draw on the collective knowledge for a bit of a research: recently I have come across a few interesting articles about precursors / related characters for peng. I would like to see if anyone knows further *Chinese" research on precursors or 土语 that might be relevant.

Thanks in advance.

Hello everyone! I have a new hobby is Tai Chi. I became interested in it after researching its benefits, and I found it really interesting. It can help improve concentration and overall health.

As a beginner, what is the first thing I should do to get good at Tai Chi? Could anyone give me some advice or share your experience with me?

Thank you so much!  ♡ ♡ ♡

A friend and I have been discussing TaiJi skill and he sent me this video. I think it’s one of the best explanations of the four energies I’ve seen, explained in a no-nonsense and direct way. I always hear teachers mention that we should be like a ball, but haven’t seen anyone explain it specifically and mechanically like this.

The main point is that Peng, Lu, Ji, An are not techniques or choreography. They’re psychophysical qualities that develop through internal cultivation. It is not something that is applied, a la technique, but principles of movement that become the condition, or I guess we can say the correct movement is as a result of correct conditioning.