The techniques and principles of Tai Chi Chuan

Tai Chi is a martial art. "Wu" represents strength and "shu" refers to tactics. Tai Chi has the inner strength of the dantian in the internal school, and its offensive and defensive techniques and tactics in actual combat are extremely sophisticated. For instance, in swordsmanship, "dusting against the wind", the round half represents defense and the round half represents offense. First, stick to the opponent's sword, follow the momentum of their attack, and rotate your body's axis to completely eliminate the threat of attack from the opponent. Then, the sword was slashed back in a circular motion against the trend. The direction and range of the attack were completely beyond the opponent's defense. This is precisely the essence of Tai Chi, which involves sacrificing oneself for others, borrowing strength from others, and using strength to counter force. Every move and posture in Tai Chi carries the significance of offense and defense. All of them conform to the principle and rule of sacrificing oneself for others, going with the flow, borrowing strength from others, and leveraging strength to exert force. When it comes to the force of attack, Tai Chi never confronts them head-on. Instead, it sacrifices itself and follows others, allowing the enemy to continue attacking in their original direction, Angle and route. When it loses the process of movement and the distance reaches the finish line, it loses its attacking power. Attacks that deviate from the center or the center line, as well as the power of the attack, are all in vain. At this point, it is necessary to withdraw in order to launch a second attack. This turning point is precisely where the power of the external martial arts is cut off. Therefore, external martial arts must be fast, using speed to make up for this flaw. When the first attack fails to work and the second attack fails to connect, it is precisely the opponent's weakness or flaw. Therefore, the iron palm, which is as sharp as a knife or an axe and weighs as much as a thousand jin, does no harm to Tai Chi at all. This is precisely the principle of "four ounces can move a thousand jin". Tai Chi is a form of mobile warfare, not a rigid positional battle. It involves sacrificing oneself to follow others, going with the flow, following the direction and route of the opponent's attack, not contending or resisting, retreating, making detours, and maintaining a low position without contention. The advance and retreat, as well as the footwork for changing movements in Tai Chi, are extremely flexible and ingenious. The turn was already 180 degrees, a round Angle. With just a slight transfer or change, it was completely out of the opponent's attacking range. The weaknesses on the opponent's side and back were all within the attacking range. When the enemy advances, we retreat; when they stay, we disturb; when they are tired, we attack; when we retreat, we chase; we avoid their sharp edge and strike at their lazy return. Flanking, encircling, attacking when they are unprepared, attacking when they are sure to be rescued. These are all tactical principles in Sun Tzu's Art of War. In the attack and defense of Tai Chi, it is a rather brilliant interpretation and manifestation. The Art of War by Sun Tzu also originated from the Dao, and its significance is in line with that of Tai Chi. The attack in Tai Chi is not a series of forceful assaults on the target one move at a time. Instead, it is a counterattack after the opponent strikes back, and the initiative of the attack is merely to elicit a response from the enemy. When the opponent shows their strength, if the enemy does not move, I will not move. If the enemy moves slightly, I will move first. I will attack the opponent's weak points, force points, and leverage their strength to strike. Fast, accurate, and powerful, this is the invincible winning method of Tai Chi. The circle in Tai Chi is a three-dimensional circle, constantly rotating, changing and moving. Very nimbly, without the enemy knowing, he changed his point of strength and center of gravity. We changed the direction, Angle and route of the opponent's attack, making them unable to advance or retreat, unable to respond left or right. The enemy was unaware of our center of gravity and force point. Even if we had a thousand pounds of force, we had no place to exert it and no place to show it. Every move of the other party is under my control. I can't escape even if I want to. I'll stick to them, leaving them in vain and unable to break free. It is precisely because when others do not know me, I only know them. A hero is invincible wherever he goes, subduing others without fighting. The invinciousness of Tai Chi lies first in listening to the force path, knowing both oneself and the opponent. With just a little contact, one can already grasp the opponent's force path, center of gravity, force point and intention. This first and foremost involves relaxation, letting go, and having no attachments. Only by not competing with others, not giving up and not opposing can one listen. This is first and foremost a change in one's mindset and intention. To listen to the strength, one must first listen to one's own strength. Listen clearly to the force path and how the qi flows within the body. Only in this way can you know the force path and qi of others. Only by knowing yourself can you know your enemy. To exert force, one must hear the double pressure and make the opponent double before attacking. Double, making the opponent's waist and legs fixed and unable to move flexibly. Apply further pressure to enhance the opponent's energy and resistance, and then put on a stubborn fight and resistance. When the main road comes, it becomes easier to fight. Just like when a balloon is fully inflated, the larger it is lifted, the more it responds, and the farther it flies. When double pressure is placed at the center, a person jumps like a spring in place. When pushed back, the person will fly up completely. Tai Chi is a defense-oriented, immobile offensive style. Let the opponent take the initiative to attack. Only in this way can we leverage the force. The greater the force the opponent uses to attack, the greater the force we can counterattack. That was just his own doing and had nothing to do with others. Similarly, if one does not actively hurt others, one will not be hurt oneself either. The more aggressive the attack, the greater the suffering will naturally be. This is the principle of reaping what one sows. To defend, the key lies in conserving strength. It is essential to sacrifice oneself for others. Any attack by the opponent will be in vain, and one will naturally retreat in the face of difficulties. The skill of transforming force lies in the length of the tendons and the force they bear. The frame of Tai Chi is used to stretch the tendons, making them thicker and longer. When the tendons are thick, strength naturally increases. When the tendons grow longer, the range they can withstand attacks also increases. The opponent's offensive power has reached its limit and they are still within their effective defensive circle. Naturally, they do not play a role in attacking or causing damage. In Tai Chi, the waist rotation is always at a 90-degree Angle, with the center of gravity placed on one leg. So, retreating, turning the waist and advancing, it is very easy to dissolve the attacking force. This is the depth of basic skills. The ingenuity of using force to strike in Tai Chi also lies in the fact that when attacking, one can only use the contact point where the force is heard as the point of application. So, it's ready to go. It can knock someone away as soon as it comes into contact. By making use of a single point of contact, one can listen to the force and then exert it with great composure and grace. This is something that external martial arts cannot do. Because of this, a circle can be formed. This circle already embodies the integration of offense and defense. Listening to the force, transforming the force and releasing the force all lie at this point, on this circle. This is the brilliance of Tai Chi. The force application and attack in Tai Chi are as powerful as a bamboo, like a flying stone plunging off a cliff, like an eagle pouncing on a rabbit, or like a stone hitting an egg. Each strike stops immediately without any dragging or unnecessary entanglement or delay. A pool of water is gathered in a thousand-foot stream, and a round stone is formed on a thousand-foot mountain. This is precisely the principle of responding to battles in military strategy. The strategy of Tai Chi is to focus on defense and remain invincible. Never taking the initiative to attack, relying on strength to win, it is precisely because he does not contend that the world does not contend with him. However, when there was no alternative, they had no choice but to take action and fight, merely resorting to stopping the war as a form of martial prowess and responding to the battle with the attitude of mourning the soldiers. The main purpose is to make the enemy retreat in the face of difficulties and subdue them without fighting. Learning Tai Chi is to understand the core ideas of Sun Tzu's Art of War. A benevolent person is invincible. They do not fight but subdue others; winning over people's hearts is the top priority. If one truly comprehends Sun Tzu's Art of War, they can also draw inferences about Tai Chi by analogy. Tai Chi Chuan and Sun Tzu's Art of War are both interpretations of Taoist thought that are inherited from the Tao Te Ching and in line with the Tao. Because I have the absolute power to intimidate and overwhelm. Invincible and unbeatable strength. To make the enemy retreat in the face of difficulties, not to launch an attack that is bound to lead to defeat and useless, and not to have the thought of attacking, is precisely to win the heart and subdue the enemy without fighting. The idea of Tai Chi Chuan is the Taoist idea of non-action and naturalness. Kindness and non-contention, precisely because they do not contend, the world does not contend with them. This is precisely why the benevolent are invincible. The strategic and tactical Settings, the training of internal strength and the techniques of attack and defense in Tai Chi are all very perfect and sophisticated. Therefore, Tai Chi can truly become invincible in the world because it is in line with the Dao. Therefore, those who have achieved enlightenment through the practice of Tai Chi and have truly accomplished something in their martial arts are also quite successful in terms of their character and personality, because this is in line with the Dao. Therefore, those who have achieved enlightenment through the practice of Tai Chi and have truly accomplished something in their martial arts are also quite successful in terms of their character and personality, because this is in line with the Dao. External martial arts are fought off the hands. They only take effect and function when they hit the body. Just like knives and spears, they are of no use if they are not on the body. But in Tai Chi, one only needs to apply force at the contact points. Just like shaking a big club, first use a false force to press the opponent's club down. This is a heavy force. If you don't resist, keep pushing the other party down. The opponent is bound to counterattack upwards and push forward. Once this force is exerted, it's just the right time to take advantage of the situation. When the enemy makes a slight move, we have already moved. We have come from behind but arrived first. Quickly shake a circle, and the big club turns under the opponent's club. Taking advantage of the opponent's upward push and adding a bit of a lifting force, the opponent, along with the pole, flew onto the roof. This is the principle of borrowing force to strike. Different moves are just different in the direction and Angle of the strike. Every posture and every move in Tai Chi is designed with the intention of leveraging force to strike back. Borrowing and hitting are corresponding. Thinking that having borrowed the opponent's strength, it would be easier to fight. However, what was thrown out was precisely the force borrowed by the opponent, which instead allowed the opponent to use the force to strike back. This is a matter of the depth of one's skills. This "borrowing" means to outsmart the opponent rather than to confront them forcefully. Only by giving up oneself can one borrow. Only when others don't know me can I borrow from them. Tai Chi is not about hitting people with hands but with feet. The strength of the feet is naturally greater than that of the hands. To enhance the strength of the feet, the hands must be relaxed. Lowering the shoulders and elbows, closing the chest and pulling out the back, and using the spirit of the head to push the force are all in line with this requirement of generating force. Therefore, in Tai Chi, the fists are hollow, the palms are curled up into slightly round shapes, and the body is full of circles everywhere, with one circle enclosing another and one circle enclosing another, never ceasing. Only a circle can be alive, can move, and can draw up the strength of the feet. Looking at the construction principle of machinery, only circular ones can move. Transportation and lifting are all circular machinery and machines. So all of these are scientific principles. The wisdom of the ancients was higher than that of modern people. Tai Chi is not about using moves to strike people. The movements of the moves merely vary in the direction, Angle, route, way and method of borrowing force. All these movements conform to a circular cycle. According to the movement law of a circle, the entire set of boxing, the movements of the hands, and the movements of the whole body are all circular, not the straight lines of the Wai Zi boxing. When you make circular movements with your hands, your whole body will naturally and inevitably follow suit. Borrowing force and hitting force, this circle, half is borrowing and the other half is returning, this is hitting. Like a jade maiden moving about, it is used in a way that is both sealed and closed. Tai Chi is a form of softness over force. At the moment of landing, the entire movement of the frame is loose and gentle, without any force. However, towards the end, there is a sense of force that seems to sink. Just like really hitting someone, it's only a brief touch. The force of the strike does not rely on the combination of the weight of the body and hands, along with the stiff force of the movement. The entire journey was light and gentle, and the direction could be changed at any time. Until the final contact point, the point of attack where the force was exerted, there was also a circle when striking. There is also a circular movement. Half of it is gravity, exertion, changing the opponent's force point, forcing the opponent's force out, or borrowing. The other half of the circle is either to strike out with the flow or to leverage the force. The movement process of Tai Chi is circular. It seems to be a circle, but in fact, it is composed of many circles, interlinked and continuous. Each circle can attract, dissolve and release force. Therefore, in Tai Chi, one can strike wherever they encounter it. All parts of the body can exert force, and it can be applied in any form or posture. The human body is three-dimensional. The movement of Tai Chi is to weave a circular net throughout the body, with countless circles encircling the human body in a three-dimensional way. So within this circle, every point and every spot can exert force. Therefore, as soon as Tai Chi moves its hand, it immediately sends a person flying. Unless one just stands still obediently, being meek and weak without the slightest effort. In this way, everyone will get along well and live in peace. Those who master Tai Chi have an aura circulating outside their bodies. Entering this aura, one is naturally drawn by it. Wherever its thoughts reach, it can draw and interfere with the other person's breath without the need for physical contact. In this aura, people can also be blown up into the air. This is the "aerial power". This is why Tai Chi is invincible in the world.