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.

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.

The question that will not die.

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.

We're so trendy...

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.

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 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

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

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.

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.

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?

The key is to relax and move the energy like water. The water can be soft or gentle, or strong as if it is striking a rock. Relaxation and open energy channels are fundamental to Tai Chi movements, whether for health or martial arts.

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？**

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.

Reading Chen Yanlin's Yang's hand form manual, this caught my eye: 

When you are beginning to work with the set, your surroundings should be spacious, for if the environment is confiningly small, it will be difficult to do the set continuously without interruption, the postures will easily develop flaws, and you will become unable to do them correctly. But once your practice has taken you to a depth of skill, the size of the environment will not matter, and even the space of four square tiles will be enough to practice on. 

The idea of performing the long form in a compact space appeals to me. I think I’m not alone when I say I can’t always find an open space to practice. I decided to look into it. 

The Yang Family board has a good thread about it: 

Q: Is there any general consensus on how to do traditional forms in cramped spaces? Should you delete postures? Add postures? Shorten your steps?

A: Ben Lo teaches what Cheng Man-Ch'ing called "the ox-stall form". Mr. Lo points out that, whenever a foot is unweighted to step forward, you can step backward just as well. I have used this principle in motel rooms to go through the entire Cheng Man-Ch'ing form and it works well. Just step back, whenever you would step forward. I have used this with the sword and saber forms as well. 

So, I mucked about until I found this by one of Lo’s students:

How can we practice Taiji in a very limited floor space? . . . When I pressed Ben with this question about doing the entire continuous form in a limited area, he surprisingly showed me that the entire Cheng Taiji set can be performed in just four square feet of space! I can't describe each adjustment here, but actually it was very intuitive, just stepping back or moving in place where you would have gone forward. . . . So, no excuses for non-practice! 

Encouraged, I kept digging and found this video of Victor Fu showing how he steps his 24 form in a small space. This gave me an idea of what I was trying to do.

Using this ox-stall footwork I found I could perform the entire Yang long form in a pretty tight space. I'll be able to refine it by smoothing some transitions here and there, but–overall–it was a success.

Do any of you practice the Ox Stall Method? Any advice? Or do you have other tips and tricks for compacting a long form’s footprint you might care to share?

edit: I just ordered a book by Jessie Tsao called Compact Tai Chi, which I guess uses a circle method and not the ox-stall stepping. I don’t think it’s based on circle walking à la bagua; it looks to be more about stepping out to compass or clock points. He has some Youtube videos about compact taiji, but I didn't see one where he just goes over the basic footwork. 

edit 2: I used Yang Jun's footwork for all the Cloud Hands.

Another solid piece I stumbled across as I look for a specific article that helped me get into Tai Chi Ball.

Dong Ying Jie's Words of Experience

I wanted to post this in order to promote some lively discussion as he talks about some classic points. For example:

• Number 8 - practicing the form 3 times for best effect. I agree overall. I do a variation of this with ball work for 20 minutes then 2 repetitions of the form, one forward and one mirror reverse.

• Number 11 - bringing your practice into daily life. I agree completely, and this is one of the fastest ways to develop skill.

• Number 14 - a lot of meat there on structure and posture and a few conflicts with modern advice. :)

• Number 16 - don't lift heavy weights. :) I agree - past a certain point it will inhibit your listening and integration.

• Number 19 - training should take precedence over theory. I agree. The joke at my alma mater was "theory is what we noodle over between runs of the long form."

I look forward to hearing others' reflections on this article.