Yang Cheng Fu (YCF, 1883-1936) is one of the best known historical masters of Taiji Quan.
He was formative in the development and adjustment of the traditional boxing art inherited from his family (Grandfather was Yang Lu Chan) and now referred to simply as Yang style.
The ‘traditional’ forms that YCF remodelled allowed the more complex and martially oriented martial system of ‘soft boxing’ to be taught to the public whose interests were more to do with health, fitness and Taiji Quan as an expression of Chinese culture and philosophy than martial arts. This was in the early 1900s (1914) when Yang Cheng Fu and several other renowned masters of Taiji Quan (notably Wu Jian Quan, Sun Lu Tang etc) where invited to teach Taiji Quan classes to the general public at the Beijing Physical Culture Research Institute (1914-1928). Until that time Taiji Quan like many Chinese martial styles had been kept mostly hidden from public knowledge.
The ‘modernised’ versions of Taiji Quan incorporated many simplified and adjusted postures as well as a more congenial training programme geared to a world that was less oriented towards hand combat and ancient weaponry. YCF taught a set of principles around which a student could check and develop their skills. These points or principles were undoubtedly an abbreviated version of traditional teachings that had come down to him via his father and grandfather. They became known as YCF’s 10 principles and although he did not write them down his renowned student Chen Wei Ming did. They were published in an early book explaining the Yang style of Taiji Quan (The Art of Taiji Boxing, published 1925). It is unknown exactly which order YCF taught these or how he taught them but as a set of principles they embrace all the key defining characteristics of Taiji Quan.
In my exposition of these principles I have not ordered them necessarily in the same order as they appear in Chen Wei Ming’s book. I have not deviated much but have found the order I present them (at least the first five) here to be more applicable to beginners.
It is generally recognised that the first 5 principles are directly applicable to body mechanics and body structure whereas the second 5 require a greater maturity of practice and understanding to be able to implement. The second 5 are also more abstract and represent a much deeper level of teaching and practice. All the principles are key to studying the solo hand forms as well as the weapons forms, Tui Shou and martial application.
YCF 10 principles are generally accepted now as the guiding and core principles for all foundational practices and study of Wu, Yang, Hao and Sun Taiji Quan and ideally should be trained in sequence and committed to memory. This is especially true if you are a teacher.
1. Raise the top of the head to ‘raise the spirit of Vitality / raise the Shen’
‘Xu Hui Ding Jin’
Do not exert force in accomplishing this. Force will obstruct the sensation of rising ‘qi’ that this action promotes and the ‘opening’ sensation of the neck (sometimes referred to as ‘emptying’). The point to be aware of is Bai Hui and this is known for raising ‘yang’ energy in general. The common ‘hang from a thread’ analogy that is often used to describe the physical sensation should be cultivated at all times especially during practice. This is a simple remedy to poor posture. This idea also brings an awareness of our ‘mid line’. This can be a difficult awareness to cultivate. The mid line is defined by the two extreme points of Bai Hui and Hui Yin and one of the reasons for lifting the top of the head/Bai Hui point is to assert the mid line. The mid line plays a crucial role in the body’s rotation on the vertical/central axis and allows one to make clear distinctions between left and right side rotation especially important in neutralising and diverting force as well as simultaneously applying a force on the other side. Even when the body is inclined, the mid line/central axis awareness should remain strong and this is achieved by gently ‘pushing up’ the Bai Hui point (the ‘hang from a thread’ analogy does not work with inclined postures and you need to ‘internalise’ and make the central line a palpable experience). Energetically, a useful analogy is that of a sprouting seed under the earth pushing upwards towards the surface. The seed being lower Dan Tian connecting to Hui Yin and the surface being Bai Hui at the top of the head. I was always taught that in Chinese martial arts there is a saying…’never forget Bai Hui’. This is a good indicator of just how important and primary this first principle is. As a teacher it is a good place to start on the body mechanics and naturally leads to principles 2, 3 and 4.
2. Sink the shoulders and hang the elbows
‘Chen Jian Zhui Zhou’
Though my number 2 principle also deviates in order from the Chen Wei Ming book, it seems to me this action follows on naturally from raise the Bai Hui since without the raising of the head the sinking of the shoulders cannot be fully realised. The idea is simply to allow a full loosening and relaxation of the shoulders (crucially the trapezius) so as to avoid the rising, constrictive sensation that is associated with having the shoulders in a raised tensioned position.
Excessive tension in this area causes respiratory constriction thus reducing respiratory efficiency and the ability to cultivate Dan Tian breathing. Whilst the arms are hanging to the side, this is relatively easy to achieve though often when you think you have achieved ‘loosening’ you can still go further. The big problem arises when you extend your arms and this is where shoulders pick up the cantilever force of the extended arm(s) and often rise up as the relevant muscles tighten. Hanging the elbows allows for the release of the shoulders and the consequent ability to ‘sink’ or relax them downwards. This also follows the principle of ‘never lock a joint’ since this both makes the joint vulnerable to attack but also diminishes potential mobility and the ability to transmit energy optimally.
3. Contain the Chest and Raise the Back
‘Han xiong ba bei’
This follows on from ‘sink the shoulders’ though it appears as the second principle in Chen Wei Ming’s book. For me it follows logically from the first two and it is in this order that I present my teachings. ‘Contain’ the chest really means to relax the sternum down to a ‘neutral’ position. It does not mean however to collapse or hollow it This would be very constrictive in the thoracic area in general and posturally weak. Allowing the sternum to ‘settle’ encourages the sensation of lifting the upper back. In addition, when the sternum is neutral, the lumber spine is not excessively pulled in. This changes the whole sensation of the unity of the spine, especially the upper spine and upper back in general. Finding the point at which the sternum is neutral is an important awareness in postural/structural terms. The effect in the front can be referred to as Yin whilst the back which is ‘raised’ becomes Yang. This is achieved by raising the Bai Hui, relaxing the shoulders down and gently lifting the occipital ridge/Jade Pillow giving a lifting/pulling up sensation (‘raised’) whilst the relaxing shoulders slightly round forwards allowing the scapula to separate giving the sensation of emptiness in the front. The upper back consequently feels empowered, lifted and rounded and the front empty and sinking.
These first three principles are intimately linked and are high on the list for early learners to understand.
4. Loosen the Waist
‘Song Yao’
This is number 3 in Chen Wei Mings ordering though I have placed it at 4 since I found working from top (Bai Hui) to bottom on the vertical axis a much easier and logical sequence to teach and remember. The ability to loosen the waist is predicated upon the relaxing and loosening of the upper body. This is why I have put Song Yao as my fourth principle. Loosening the upper body (principles 1, 2 and 3) encourages ‘qi’ to sink downwards which in turn establishes Dan Tian breathing. Dissolving tensional forces in the torso and the waist (Yao) means the body mass can be distributed downwards at first to Xia Dan Tian and then as the skill develops to the ground. This is the experience referred to as Song Yao. Its achievement is referred to as Song Kai which means an ‘opening’ of that particular anatomical and energetic area.
The waist (Yao) in Taiji Quan includes the Dai Mai (belt Channel), the lower Dan Tian centre and more specifically the Ming Men (life Gate) located on the spine approximately opposite the navel. ‘Loosen the Waist’ therefore implies all these areas. The most important muscle group associated with Song Yao are the psoas muscles which manage the postural and kinetic link between the torso and the legs via the pelvis. To achieve Song Yao it is necessary also to release the gluteus, and piriformis and moderate tension in the abdominal muscles and the lower back laterally across the sacrum. You will need to stabilise the pelvis on the horizontal and also rotate the pelvis under slightly to create the spine as a ‘bow’ and to create a pathway for the mass of the upper body to distribute down efficiently through the legs. In addition you will need to cultivate an awareness of the Dan Tian as a centre for balance and as a centre for the transference of mass and kinetic force as well as the locus of breathing. Endless repetition (Form and Zhan Zhuang) is the required strategy for achieving Song Yao, correct posture and especially intelligent and directing mental focus and awareness are often neglected components.
Finally, Song Yao also means to be able to rotate the pelvis freely and appropriately without compromising balance (Zhong Ding). Song Yao is a significant task and cannot be achieved ‘over night’ or even in one workshop. Being able to rotate the pelvis and/or waist easily does not mean Song Yao has been achieved. Signs of Song Yao are when you can sink ‘qi’ and feel a growing sense of anchoring and fullness in the Dan Tian area. The sensation should ‘fill’ down to the Hui Yin, back to Ming Men and the Dai channel and a distinct physical and energetic centre should be felt in the deep centre of the pelvic cavity where true Dan Tian is located. Eventually you will feel a link develop from here to the feet (Yong Chuan) and you will feel body mass dissolved downwards and ground return force moving upwards. It is a deeply satisfying sensation as is Dan Tian breathing. All this is referred to by YCF as Song Yao. It is a sensation that must be trained and once achieved nurtured. It is difficult to achieve and difficult to hold onto.
5. Separate Empty and Full
‘Fen Xu Shi’
Positioned as number four in Chen Wei Mings book, dividing the Xu (void/emptiness) and the Shi (real/solid/full) is key to the practice of Taiji Quan. Xu and Shi are a more common way of discussing the distribution of weight and movement than Yin or Yang to which they are typically linked. The idea of ‘separating’ the body weight in the completed postures and understanding how to shift weight and manage the kinetic force smoothly in motion allows for a refined level of agility and also allows you to ‘know’ yourself and how your balance and structure is arranged in relationship to stability in solo practice and stability and responsiveness in Tui Shou. Separation of empty and full is a fundamental and a defining characteristic of Taiji Quan as both a health and martial practice. In fact the name Taiji as a cosmological principle expresses the fundamental separation of vapour/gases (Yang) from solids (Yin); the establishing of a ‘Heaven’ to an ‘earth’.
The creation of ‘two’ from ‘oneness’ from which all things consequently emerge.
Understanding Xu and Shi also implies that the movement potential can be realised in accordance with requirements of the solo form practice or in a martial exchange. This is necessary for the realisation of boxing skills. In training ‘empty and full’ it is important that the student pays close attention to the body stability and where the ‘centre’ is (Zhong Ding). An inability to know this results in ‘double weighting’ (Shuang Ding) and ‘sick hands’ (Bing Shou) which compromises mobility, agility, listening and interpretation and responsiveness.
Understanding the transmission, convergence and separation of forces within the body are fundamental and take a long time to fully understand. It is important to introduce this idea early in the development of body awareness and control.
As I have already mentioned the first five principles are considered the easiest to achieve since they all are closely connected to body mechanics. They are the most common instructions you will hear as a Taiji student. However, the next five principles are in a different league. They are much more difficult to achieve but are key to a deeper understanding and a higher level of skill that should be your goal. It is necessary that a student can implement the first five to an appropriate level before being able to cultivate the next five which seems to me to be a bridge from the basics to the the more accomplished. They are a kind of leap of faith since they do not all fit easily into the conventional martial arts paradigm. This is very true of the next and sixth principle which seems somehow counter intuitive. Nevertheless it is a crucial bridge to cross and one which most serious students will struggle with in one way or another.
6. Use mind intention not physical force
‘Yong Yi, Bu Yong Li’
Use the mind not force seems to run contrary to all we are told about the need for physical strength with regards to martial power. As an ‘Internal’ boxing system that pays little attention to the development of conventional ‘muscle power’, Taiji Quan specialises in cultivating the ability to produce force from a highly coordinated and integrated structure. Taiji Quan practitioners generally believe that excess muscle and its use to deliver force is not commensurate with the principles that define Taiji Quan as a martial art.
This is a counter intuitive strategy and requires us to overcome our natural propensity to use muscle force as our default reflex response. The strategies of Taiji Quan focus more on flexibility elasticity and highly coordinated and integrated movement as well as absorption and transformation of applied and received force. To achieve this skill it is necessary to focus training on softness and pliability and grounding and to achieve this requires us to dissolve muscle tension and muscle reliance and in turn this requires focused awareness and a clear intention i.e. use ‘Yi’ not ‘Li’.
This process is predicated on the idea that a long period of training ‘softness’ (rou) and mental ‘intention’ (Yi) will bring about high levels of integration and coherence (Qi) which manifest in the emergence of ‘trained force’ (Jin) that is capable of delivering a more sustainable and varied force repetoire than muscle alone whilst also allowing the development of other core skills like absorption and transformation and the methods of the 8 Gates and 5 Steps etc.
Using the ‘mind/intention’ rather than muscle force (which equals tension) also brings about a more effortless fluidity and lightness and the ability to change (ching ling bian hua). Long hours of solo and partner practice plus additional martial qi gong and other forms of training are necessary to refine and cultivate a functionally effective body but even within such a training regimen and even though it is often strenuous and physically demanding (yes Taiji Quan also requires a tough training regime) the emphasis should always be on mental guidance and awareness of the body.
There is a saying that where the mind goes, Qi and blood follow. This means that the body as an energetic structure can be developed to be responsive to mental control and guidance and that through training, the body’s energetic pathways (Jing Luo) are opened and optimally maintained allowing for the cultivation of Qi and consequent health. The dominance and building of excess muscle is believed to hinder health by constricting the movement of ‘blood and Qi’. It is therefore considered important to dissolve excess tensional forces in the body and to start using the power of the mind to exert the right influence and directing principle to not only nurture the martial functionality but also health; without which martial skills can not easily be cultivated or sustained.
7. Upper and Lower mutually follow
‘Shang Xia Xiang Sui’
‘Rooted in the feet, ‘issuing’ (fa) from the legs, trained force (jin) is governed by the waist and expressed through the fingers’.
Upper and lower body mutually follow or support each other and this is a key movement principle. Initially it seems very obvious but on closer inspection it presents significant difficulties and is one of the key stumbling blocks in the higher refinement of Taiji Quan movement. Firstly it implies a high level of coordinative motor skill and awareness of positioning in space. It also also denotes kinetic chains that are seemless in their application of functional movement.
Typically we train these from the ground up as described in the roughly translated and commonly spoken quotation above. However it is also important to consider the relationship from the hand back to the foot and the role the mind intention (Yi) has. The intention really moves with the hand since this is your primary tool of response, interpretation and functional application. It is obvious that the rest of the body must enable this and simultaneously maintain balance and weight distinction plus ground connection and return etc.
Obviously by the time a student starts to address the micro management of movement combined with intention as expressed in principle 6 it will have dawned on them that, especially if they have begun the study of Push Hands (Tui Shou) and application (Yong Fa) that expressing power (Fa/Da) comes from the ground up and that key skills like neutralising, absorbing and diverting comes from the upper body down to the ground. Both are controlled by the waist. If there is a dysfunction in the link between upper and lower body then none of the martial skills can be fully realised.
The upper and lower body are required to function ‘harmoniously’ to both retain balance and function. This is hard to understand until you engage in partner work where your own balance and ability to impact upon your opponent is called into question.
Taiji Quan is the art of motion (at least externally) and as a martial art it must be able to achieve a very high level of coordinated skill in motion. This naturally requires that all the limbs and the shoulders and waist are linked and connected so that all parts can play there role in forming a coherent mechanical and energetic state.
Finally the body responds to ‘intention’ and intention results from awareness and perceived need.
This link must be trained and refined. When the ‘upper and lower body mutually follow’ then ‘intention’ and ‘functionality’ can be realised efficiently and effectively.
8. Inner and Outer Harmonise
‘Nei Wai Xiang He’
For an understanding of this principle, it is necessary to consider the idea of Liu He or Six harmonies. This is a complex idea that attempts to explain and map the process and evolving conditions that go towards defining the achievement of the ‘internal’ in the ‘Internal’ martial arts.
Briefly the theoretical framework is this:
There are three key components in the cultivation of Taiji Quan. They are Xin (Heart/mind), Yi (Mental intention/potential and directing intelligence), Qi (energy/breath) and Jin (trained/internal force). These components are developed sometimes independantly according to different training strategies but they all have to come together to manifest in the totality of the Taiji (Undifferentiated Unity) and the effectiveness of the Quan (Fist/martial art). The sequence can be expressed as follows: Xin as intelligent awareness/perception expresses Yi as intention/potential which translates in the living body of Qi which supports the specialised/trained vectors of movement referred to as Jin. Sometimes Li (strength is added here also to indicate the physicality of function).
Xin and Yi harmonise
Yi and Qi harmonise
Qi and Jin harmonise
We can study these components independently and in reverse order. In fact that is quite normal in the learning process. Firstly we can train the Jin pathways through repeated practice of forms etc, we can cultivate Qi through a variety of qi gong and forms, we can cultivate Yi through studying the martial applications and by training the concentrative awareness and directing intelligence and we can train Xin through meditative and moving qi gong practices and martial applications and applied principles. e.g. Ba Men.
Indeed it is true to say that a good syllabus of Taiji Quan must have strategies and methods for developing each element in relative isolation and then in a combined way. This will result in the harmonising of ‘Inner and Outer’ which is necessary if you wish to achieve a high level of Taiji Quan whether for health or for martial skill. You can hinge your training on Jin and Qi then Qi and Yi and then Yi and Xin. Jin places emphasis on body work (forms and partner work), Qi places emphasis on Qi Gong/breath work and Xin denotes mental focusing/ mediation and qi gong. All need to be applied in solo and then partner practice.
In the end, as my teacher Master Li Li Qun used to say: ‘Harmonising inner and outer is one qi’.
This is the goal. As always in Taiji Quan though, knowing is one thing doing it is another.
9. Continuously Connected
‘Xiang Lian Bu Duan’
When all the principles are realised and the student has understood and harmonised the Six Principles (Liu He) then Taiji Quan can be understood as one continuous motion, without breaks or gaps. Common analogies are ‘ flowing river’ (Yangtse River) and ‘pulling silk from a cacoon’. At this point Taiji Quan is understood as a continuous unbroken thread unified as ‘one qi’.
10. Seek stillness in movement
‘Dong Chuan Qiu Jing’
This must be one of the most enigmatic phrases used in Taiji Quan and would require a book to explain in full or preferably a really good teacher and programme.
Stillness is considered the ‘mother’ of movement and therefore is considered to be a context/condition from which movement occurs. It is a complex principle that alludes to both a cosmological pre undifferentiated state (pre heaven) and the philosophy that underlies it as well as a mental meditative state where mental activity is ‘stilled’ and ‘stabilised’. This is the mind uncluttered by emotions/conceptual or analytic thinking and can respond appropriately to conditions and contexts in a ‘natural’ way. This is both relevant to our daily life, as well as relevant in martial arts. It is generally trained through qi gong/meditative practices and solo form practice. But, from a martial point of view it must also be trained in ‘application’ and partner work. Stabilising the mind means that you are receptive and aware and your mind can both interpret and direct clear intention (Yi) without pause or confusion or rational analysis to achieve the best and relevant response to the martial context and conditions.
MWA
April 2021