太極拳練習之程序 ｜STAGES OF LEARNING TAIJI

STAGES OF LEARNING TAIJI

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太極拳練習之程序

THE STAGES OF LEARNING TAIJI BOXING

沈家楨

by Shen Jiazhen

[published in 體育月刋 Physical Education Monthly, volume 4, issues #7–#12, July 29–Dec 30, 1936]

[translation by Paul Brennan, Aug, 2024]

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凡一種學術之修練，若根據科學之精神，必須有數種方式，使學習者按步而進，不墨守一隅，不越級而邁，以求漸漸列入正途，在太極拳本係一種專門拳術，與別種拳術所恃原理，完全不同，自必有其專練之法，及應注意之點，決非墨守不化，自初學至大學，純用一種方式，及專用一本敎科書，所能成也。亦非由初步稍學數日，卽可越級以至大學，研求懂勁功夫也，蓋太極拳之懂勁，乃太極拳最後畢業之課程，懂勁後愈練愈精，默識揣摩，漸至從心所欲，此乃各人造詣之不同，關乎個人聰明智慧，未可強求，有如大學畢業後，再得博士學位之比喻也。故練習者，祗能至懂勁為止境，乃敎授者之責任，懂勁後祇好聽學習者，自行覺悟，因至此境界，規矩已完，如再求進步，在個人聰明巧思，以自邁進，雖欲敎之，亦無法說明其敎授法也。蓋個人身手內之感覺，可意會而不可言傳，雖能說明其要點，若身手內無所感覺，當然不能領會其說，更不能引證其言以致用矣！故所授程序，祇至懂勁為止境，而不計及其他，按照拳譜，凡懂勁者，須能引進落空合卽出，沾黏連隨不丟頂，任憑巨力來打遮，牽動四兩撥千斤以表面觀之此四句功夫，亦不覺其中有何困難之處，蓋能將對方之勁，引進入自己圈內，而使之落空，則對方根斷氣浮，然後因沾黏之偏沉，牽動其身，用四兩之勁，卽可撥去氣浮根斷之千斤矣。言之固甚易，知行則實難；況此種槪括之言，在初學欲思入門者，末由領悟所以必須有步驟，有方法以說明其前進之路線，而後本此路線以練習方可，日進有功，茲按照李氏拳譜之意，闡明其方式，分為九段，以供初學者之參考：

Any field of study, if rationally structured, will have various methods of training, enabling students to progress step by step, neither getting stuck at any point nor skipping ahead, instead proceeding gradually down the proper path. In the case of Taiji Boxing, it is a unique boxing art, its principles completely different from those of other boxing arts, and so it naturally has unique training methods and points for attention. There should be no stubborn fixation on just one aspect of the art (which would be like trying to go from elementary school to college by focusing on only one course or relying on only one textbook), nor any overambitious attempts to skip ahead to more advanced training (as though enrolling in college after just a week of first grade).

　　The level of identifying energies is like a graduation in Taiji Boxing. “Once you are identifying energies, then the more you practice, the more efficient your skill will be. By absorbing through experience and by constantly contemplating, gradually you will reach the point that you can follow your feelings and do as you please.” Although each person’s attainments will vary, as it depends on one’s own intelligence and cannot be forced, this level is nevertheless the equivalent of earning a PhD.

　　After this level, you will have to teach yourself. You will need to be a good learner with a keen perception. Because the principles only take you as far as this level, if you wish to progress still further, it will be a matter of your own ingenuity taking you ahead. Even if you wanted to instruct others about it, there are simply no methods of explanation for it. The feeling in one’s own body can be understood within but not expressed in words. Even if you could convey the gist of what you experience, someone without the same experience would have no way of comprehending what you are explaining, much less able to put your theories to a practical test. This is why the stages of learning finish at this level.

　　According to the classics, at this highest level comes this ability: “It does not matter even if he uses his full power when he attacks me, for I will tug with a mere four ounces of force to divert his of a thousand pounds. Having thus guided him in to land on nothing, I then close in and shoot him out. I stick, connect, adhere, and follow, neither coming away nor crashing in.”

　　If read at face value, the difficulty of the skill that is described with these words is not immediately apparent. You have to be able to draw the opponent’s force into your own circle and cause it to miss you, thereby cutting his root and getting his energy to float up, and then because you are sticking to him and sinking to one side, this action tugs his body along. By using a very small amount of force, you have deflected away his larger force.

　　It is easily said, but hard to understand and to carry out, and simply beyond the comprehension of beginners. That is why there needs to be a mapped-out series of steps to progress along in order to advance toward this skill. On the basis of the writings of Li Yiyu, presented below is a nine-step process for beginners to consult. [Although the last three stages match Li Yiyu’s words, the first six are described slightly differently.]

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第一段　架子之學習

STAGE ONE: SOLO SET

[Li Yiyu: 兩股前節有力。兩肩鬆開。氣向下沈。 “Get the front of your thighs to have strength, get your shoulders to loosen, and get your energy to sink downward.”]

學習架子非口授不可，無論何種精細之圖表，記載愈詳細，亦容易使學者愈迷糊，如欲從書面之圖表學會一趟太極拳架子，實不容易也。除非由電影稍可學習外，然比較以口授者可以四面八方觀察之便利亦不如也。以現時全國練習此拳者之多，初步架子之運使不患無學習之地是以最好用口授，此所謂入門引路憑口授工夫無息法自修也。雖然一人學拳術能臻上境，必定有三要素，方可達到此種之希望：

一、得遇優良之敎師而有敎授法。

二、個人肯下功夫而有恆心。

三、個人聰明靈巧而有悟心。

三者均有連帶關係，缺一不可，其第二第三兩項關係學習者本身之功能，不能強求，若第一項，能遇與否，乃屬人之機緣，有時雖遇之而不識，卽或識之，倘係不善敎授者，則師之功夫，仍不能傳到自身也。為救濟計，吾人因先以拳譜作標準，預為指示一進行之方針，然後本此方針以學習，法則就敎於老師；則可補救老師缺乏敎授法之不及；若學習架子時能分路學習，不但傳之者易，學者亦易，遇有改正，容易指出不合之點，一項校正後，再合為一路，一路校正後，再合為全趟之修正，豈非計之上者乎。萬不可全趟而練，全趟而修，以致授者，有無處下手以修正之苦，而學者，亦易發生前修而後忘之弊也。陳品三先生曰，學太極拳者，當著著細心揣摩，一著不揣摩，則此勢機致情理，終於茫昧，卽承上啟下處猶當留心，此處不留心，則來脈不眞，轉關亦不靈，動一著自為一著不能自始至終，一氣貫通矣，不能一氣貫通，則於太和元氣，終難問津矣，如一趟架子，如是修正，已竟純熟，並能一氣呵成後，卽可進至第二段矣，茲舉架子名稱如下：

（以上武當及宋家，二種架子之著數及色名，均係單式，茲編為架子，以資比較，非武當與宋家，有此十三勢之編組也，著者附誌。）

Learning the solo set requires personal instruction. No matter how meticulously detailed the manuals might be, trying to learn on your own from books in the beginning can easily create confusion. It is rather difficult to learn movements from written text and static photos. Imitating films of the exercise is slightly more reliable, but nothing compares to the attention of a real-life instructor, who you can readily observe from all angles. Since there are now so many people throughout the nation who practice this boxing art, beginners no longer have to worry about finding someone to learn from. It is said: “Beginning the training requires personal instruction, but it is your own unceasing effort that is the key to mastering the art.”

　　You may have the potential to reach a high level, but there are three essential factors that will guarantee it: 1. find a good teacher, 2. be willing to work hard and perseveringly, 3. be smart and open-minded to the art. These three things are interrelated, and so you cannot lack even one of them. The second and third are qualities inside yourself and cannot be sought from others. The first one is largely dependent upon luck. Sometimes you will meet a teacher who is not knowledgeable enough to be teaching, or who is very knowledgeable but is simply not good at teaching and thus incapable of passing on his skills to you. To remedy such a situation, make the Taiji classics your standard of guiding principles for progress. This will help fill in the gaps where the teacher is ignorant or incapable.

　　When learning the solo set, do it in sections. This makes it easier to teach, easier to learn, and easier to make corrections. Go through the process of correcting each posture until you have a full section. Make corrections section by section until you have the full set. Without doing it this way, the set can be neither learned properly nor repaired if learned improperly, because the teacher will take the trouble to make corrections only for the student to forget them due to already trying to remember too much at once.

　　Chen Xin said: “Meticulously ponder the details of every technique. If any technique gets neglected, you will remain ignorant about how it works and the reasoning behind it. Be especially mindful during the transition from one posture to another. Without this mindfulness, there will not be an authentic smoothness and the movements will lack nimbleness. If you address each technique only on its own, you will be unable to move as a single flow from beginning to end. Lacking this flow, a harmonious vitality will be difficult to achieve.”

　　Once the set has been learned, corrected, every part is thoroughly familiar to you, and you are able to perform it as a single flow from beginning to end, you can then move on to Stage Two. The names of the postures in the solo set are presented below. (Note: For Wudang Boxing [i.e. Internal School] and Song Style [Xu Xuanping transmission], the posture names are based on their individual postures rather the traditional arrangement of postures for the other styles, and have here been placed alongside the traditional arrangement for the purpose of comparison.)

第一路

Section 1:

楊家架子

Yang Style

陳家架子

Chen Style 李家架子

Li Style

宋家架子

Song Style

武當拳架子

Wudang Boxing

太極初式

[1] TAIJI BEGINNING POSTURE 太極初式

[1] TAIJI BEGINNING POSTURE 太極初式

[1] TAIJI BEGINNING POSTURE 太極初式

TAIJI BEGINNING POSTURE 坐山虎勢

TIGER SITS ON ITS MOUNTAIN

攬雀尾

[2] CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL 金剛搗碓

[2] ARHAT POUNDS THE MORTAR

攬扎衣

[3] PULLING BACK THE ROBE

六封四閉

[4] SEALING OFF ALL DIRECTIONS 上步七星

[2] STEP FORWARD, BIG-DIPPER POSTURE

懶扎衣

[3] LAZILY PULLING BACK THE ROBE

如封似閉

[4] SEALING SHUT 攬雀尾

CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL 長拳滾斫

REACHING PUNCH, ROLLING CHOP

單鞭

[3] SINGLE WHIP 丹變

[5] TRANSMUTING ELIXIR 單鞭

[5] SINGLE WHIP 單鞭

SINGLE WHIP 雙筆架

DOUBLE PENHOLDERS

提手上勢

[4] RAISE THE HAND 金剛搗碓

[6] ARHAT POUNDS THE MORTAR 提手上式

[6] RAISE THE HAND 上提手

RAISE THE HAND 一提金

LIFTING UP A GOLD PIECE

白鶴晾翅

[5] WHITE CRANE DRIES ITS WINGS 白鵝晾翅

[7] WHITE GOOSE DRIES ITS WINGS 白鵝晾翅

[7] WHITE GOOSE DRIES ITS WINGS 鳳凰屐翅

PHOENIX SPREADS ITS WINGS 仙人朝天

IMMORTAL POINTS TO THE SKY

摟膝

[6] BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE 斜形

[8] DIAGONAL SHAPE

摟膝拗步

[9] BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE 摟膝

[8] BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE 摟膝拗步

BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE 雙推窗

PUSH OPEN THE WINDOW WITH BOTH HANDS

手揮琵琶

[7] PLAY THE LUTE

初收

[10] FIRST WITHDRAWING

手揮琵琶

[9] PLAY THE LUTE 揮琵琶

PLAY THE LUTE 兌換抱月

SHARE AN EMBRACE WITH THE MOON

左右摟膝拗步

[8] LEFT & RIGHT BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE 斜形

[11] DIAGONAL SHAPE

摟膝拗步

[12] BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE 左右摟膝拗步

[10] LEFT & RIGHT BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE 摟膝拗步

BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE 雙推窗

PUSH OPEN THE WINDOW WITH BOTH HANDS

手揮琵琶

[9] PLAY THE LUTE 再收

[13] SECOND WITHDRAWING

揮琵琶

PLAY THE LUTE 兌換抱月

SHARE AN EMBRACE WITH THE MOON

進步搬攔搥

[10] ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH 演手肱拳

[14] COVERING HAND, FOREARM PUNCH 十字上步式

[11] STEP FORWARD WITH ZIGZAGGING STEPS

搬攔搥

[12] PARRYING BLOCK, PUNCH 進搬攔

ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH 迎風鐵扇

WAVING AN IRON FAN AGAINST THE WIND

如封似閉

[11] SEALING SHUT

十字手

[12] CROSSED HANDS 金剛搗碓

[15] ARHAT POUNDS THE MORTAR 雙推手

[13] DOUBLE-HAND PUSH

鵠立式

[14] STAND LIKE A SWAN 如封似閉

SEALING SHUT 鐵門閂

SEALING THE DOOR WITH AN IRON BAR

第二路

Section 2:

楊家架子

Yang Style 陳家架子

Chen Style 李家架子

Li Style 宋家架子

Song Style 武當拳架子

Wudang Boxing

抱虎歸山

[13] CAPTURE THE TIGER AND SEND IT BACK TO ITS MOUNTAIN 撇身捶

[16] TORSO-FLUNG FIST

靑龍出水

[17] BLUE DRAGON LEAVES THE WATER

下演手搥

[18] LOWER PUNCH 抱虎歸山

[15] CAPTURE THE TIGER AND SEND IT BACK TO ITS MOUNTAIN

撇身搥

[16] TORSO-FLUNG PUNCH

攢步搥

[17] GATHERING STEP, PUNCH 抱虎歸山

CAPTURE THE TIGER AND SEND IT BACK TO ITS MOUNTAIN 虎抱頭

TIGER HIDES ITS HEAD

肘底看捶

[14] GUARDING FIST UNDER THE ELBOW 雙推手

[19] DOUBLE-HAND PUSH

肘底看搥

[20] GUARDING FIST UNDER THE ELBOW 斜單鞭

[18] DIAGONAL SINGLE WHIP

肘底看搥

[19] GUARDING FIST UNDER THE ELBOW 肘下搥

GUARDING FIST UNDER THE ELBOW 擺肘逼門

SWINGING AN ELBOW TO FORCE THE DOOR

倒攆猴左右

[15] RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY – LEFT & RIGHT 倒捻肱左右

[21] LEFT & RIGHT RETREAT WITH TWISTING FOREARMS 倒攆猴左右

[20] RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY – LEFT & RIGHT 倒攆猴頭

RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY’S HEAD 順牽羊

LEADING A SHEEP

斜飛勢

[16] SLANTED WINGS

斜飛勢

SLANTED WINGS

提手上勢

[17] RAISE THE HAND

披身接手

[21] DRAPING THE BODY, CONNECTING HANDS 上提手

RAISE THE HAND 一提金

LIFTING UP A GOLD PIECE

白鶴晾翅

[18] WHITE CRANE DRIES ITS WINGS 白鵝晾翅

[22] WHITE GOOSE DRIES ITS WINGS 白鵝晾翅

[22] WHITE GOOSE DRIES ITS WINGS 鳳凰展翅

PHOENIX SPREADS ITS WINGS 仙人朝天

IMMORTAL POINTS TO THE SKY

摟膝

[19] BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE 斜形

[23] DIAGONAL SHAPE 摟膝拗步

[23] BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE 摟膝拗步

BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE 雙推窗

PUSH OPEN THE WINDOW WITH BOTH HANDS

海底針

[20] NEEDLE UNDER THE SEA

三角背

[24] BEND FORWARD TO MAKE A TRIANGLE SHAPE 海底針珠

PEARL UNDER THE SEA 滿肚疼

FILLING HIS BELLY WITH AGONY

單通臂

[21] FAN THROUGH THE ARMS

撇身搥

[22] TORSO-FLUNG PUNCH 閃通背

[24] SURGE THROUGH THE BACK 靑龍出水

[25] BLUE DRAGON LEAVES THE WATER

撇身搥

[26] TORSO-FLUNG PUNCH 扇通臂

FAN THROUGH THE ARMS

翻身搬攔

TURN AROUND, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH 彎心杵肋

TURNING HIS CENTER TO HAMMER HIS RIBS

四把腰

WRAPPING ALL THE WAY AROUND THE WAIST

演手肱拳

[25] COVERING HAND, FOREARM PUNCH 鳳凰單展翅

[27] PHOENIX SPREADS A WING

退步搬攔搥

[28] RETREAT, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH 進搬攔

ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH 迎風鐵扇

WAVING AN IRON FAN AGAINST THE WIND

攬雀尾

[23] CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL 六封四閉

[26] SEALING OFF ALL DIRECTIONS 雙推手

[29] DOUBLE-HAND PUSH 攬雀尾

CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL 長拳滾斫

REACHING PUNCH, ROLLING CHOP

單鞭

[24] SINGLE WHIP 丹變

[27] TRANSMUTING ELIXIR 單鞭

[30] SINGLE WHIP 單鞭

SINGLE WHIP 雙筆架

DOUBLE PENHOLDERS

第三路

Section 3:

楊家架子

Yang Style 陳家架子

Chen Style 李家架子

Li Style 宋家架子

Song Style 武當拳架子

Wudang Boxing

雲手

[25] CLOUDING HANDS 運手

[28] WAVING HANDS 紜手

[31] TANGLING HANDS 雲手

CLOUDING HANDS 左右揚鞭

LEFT & RIGHT LIFTING A ROD

單鞭

[26] SINGLE WHIP

單鞭

SINGLE WHIP 雙筆架

DOUBLE PENHOLDERS

高探馬

[27] RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE 高探馬

[29] RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE 高探馬

[32] RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE 高探馬

RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE 燕抬腮

SWALLOW TILTS UP A CHEEK

左右分腳

[28] KICK TO THE SIDE – RIGHT & LEFT

轉身蹬腳

[29] TURN AROUND, PRESSING KICK 左右擦

[30] LEFT & RIGHT WIPE THE FOOT

蹬一根子

[31] PRESSING WITH A HEEL 左右分腳

[33] KICK TO THE SIDE – RIGHT & LEFT

轉身蹬腳

[34] TURN AROUND, PRESSING KICK 左右分腳

KICK TO THE SIDE – RIGHT & LEFT

轉身蹬腳

TURN AROUND, PRESSING KICK

左右摟膝

[30] LEFT & RIGHT BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE 前蹬拗步

[32] WADE FORWARD, TWISTED STEPPING

摟膝拗步

BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE 雙推窗

PUSH OPEN THE WINDOW WITH BOTH HANDS

進步栽搥

[31] ADVANCE, PLANTING PUNCH 神仙一把抓

[33] IMMORTAL HANDLES EVERYTHING 栽搥

[35] PLANTING PUNCH 上步栽搥

STEP FORWARD, PLANTING PUNCH 舜子投井

EMPEROR SHUN IS THROWN INTO THE WELL

轉身撇身搥

[32] TURN AROUND, TORSO-FLUNG PUNCH

撇身搥

[36] TORSO-FLUNG PUNCH 翻身搬攔

TURN AROUND, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH 四把腰

WRAPPING ALL THE WAY AROUND THE WAIST

進步搬攔搥

[33] ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH

左蹬腳

[34] RIGHT PRESSING KICK 踢二起

[34] DOUBLE KICK 二起

[37] DOUBLE KICK

蹬一腳

[38] PRESSING KICK 二起腳

DOUBLE KICK 柳穿魚

HANGING UP FISH

左右打虎勢

[35] FIGHTING-TIGER POSTURE – LEFT & RIGHT

右蹬腳

[36] RIGHT PRESSING KICK

雙風貫耳

[37] DOUBLE WINDS THROUGH THE EARS 護心拳

[35] HEART-GUARDING FIST 披身伏虎

[39] DRAPING THE BODY, SITTING-TIGER POSTURE

踢一腳

[40] SNAPPING KICK 推碾

PUSH & FLATTEN 烏雲掩月

DARK CLOUDS HIDE THE MOON

踢一腳

[41] SNAPPING KICK 掛樹蹬腳

TREE-BOWING KICK

轉身蹬腳

[38] SPIN AROUND, PRESSING KICK 蹬一根子

[36] PRESSING WITH A HEEL 蹬一腳

[42] PRESSING KICK 轉身蹬腳

SPIN AROUND, PRESSING KICK 剪腕點節

SCISSORING KICK TO THE WRIST

上步搬攔搥

[39] STEP FORWARD, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH 掩手肱拳

[37] COVERING HAND, FOREARM PUNCH 上步搬攔

[43] STEP FORWARD, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH 進搬攔

ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH 迎風鐵扇

WAVING AN IRON FAN AGAINST THE WIND

如封似閉

[40] SEALING SHUT

十字手

[41] CROSSED HANDS 小擒打

[38] SMALL CATCH & HIT 抱虎推山

[44] CAPTURE THE TIGER, PUSH THE MOUNTAIN

鵠立式

[45] STAND LIKE A SWAN 如封似閉

SEALING SHUT 鐵門閂

SEALING THE DOOR WITH AN IRON BAR

第四路

Section 4:

楊家架子

Yang Style 陳家架子

Chen Style 李家架子

Li Style 宋家架子

Song Style 武當拳架子

Wudang Boxing

抱虎歸山

[42] CAPTURE THE TIGER AND SEND IT BACK TO ITS MOUNTAIN 抱頭推山

[39] COVER THE HEAD AND PUSH THE MOUNTAIN

六封四閉

[40] SEALING OFF ALL DIRECTIONS 如封似閉

[46] SEALING SHUT 抱虎歸山

CAPTURE THE TIGER AND SEND IT BACK TO ITS MOUNTAIN 虎抱頭

TIGER HIDES ITS HEAD

斜單鞭

[43] DIAGONAL SINGLE WHIP 單鞭

[41] TRANSMUTING ELIXIR

前招

[42] INVITING IN FRONT

後招

[43] INVITING BEHIND 斜單鞭

[47] DIAGONAL SINGLE WHIP 雀起尾

SPARROW LIFTS ITS TAIL 亂抽蔴

UNTANGLING A ROPE

野馬分鬃

[44] WILD HORSE SENDS ITS MANE SIDE TO SIDE 野馬分鬃

[44] WILD HORSE SENDS ITS MANE SIDE TO SIDE 野馬分鬃

[48] WILD HORSE SENDS ITS MANE SIDE TO SIDE 野馬分鬃

WILD HORSE SENDS ITS MANE SIDE TO SIDE 綰肘裹靠

COIL AN ELBOW IN, CURL UP AND BUMP

上步攬雀尾

[45] STEP FORWARD, CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL 六封四閉

[45] SEALING OFF ALL DIRECTIONS 雙推手

[49] DOUBLE-HAND PUSH 攬雀尾

CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL 長拳滾斫

REACHING PUNCH, ROLLING CHOP

單鞭

[46] SINGLE WHIP 丹變

[46] TRANSMUTING ELIXIR 單鞭

[50] SINGLE WHIP 單鞭

SINGLE WHIP 雙筆架

DOUBLE PENHOLDERS

玉女穿梭

[47] MAIDEN SENDS THE SHUTTLE THROUGH 玉女穿梭

[47] MAIDEN SENDS THE SHUTTLE THROUGH 玉女穿梭

[51] MAIDEN SENDS THE SHUTTLE THROUGH 玉女穿梭

MAIDEN SENDS THE SHUTTLE THROUGH 連枝箭

SUCCESSIVE ARROWS

上步攬雀尾

[48] STEP FORWARD, CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL 攬扎衣

[48] PULLING BACK THE ROBE

六封四閉

[49] SEALING OFF ALL DIRECTIONS 雙推手

[52] DOUBLE-HAND PUSH 攬雀尾

CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL 長拳滾斫

REACHING PUNCH, ROLLING CHOP

單鞭

[49] SINGLE WHIP 丹變

[50] TRANSMUTING ELIXIR 單鞭

[53] SINGLE WHIP 單鞭

SINGLE WHIP 雙筆架

DOUBLE PENHOLDERS

雲手

[50] CLOUDING HANDS 運手

[51] WAVING HANDS 紜手

[54] TANGLING HANDS 雲手

CLOUDING HANDS 左右揚鞭

LEFT & RIGHT LIFTING A ROD

單鞭

[51] SINGLE WHIP 擺腳

[52] SWINGING KICK

單鞭

SINGLE WHIP 雙筆架

DOUBLE PENHOLDERS

第五路

Section 5:

楊家架子

Yang Style 陳家架子

Chen Style 李家架子

Li Style 宋家架子

Song Style 武當拳架子

Wudang Boxing

單鞭下勢

[52] SINGLE-WHIP LOW POSTURE 跌叉

[53] DROP & EXTEND 下勢

[55] LOW POSTURE

金剛跌

ARHAT DROPS TO THE GROUND

左右金鷄獨立

[53] LEFT & RIGHT GOLDEN ROOSTER STANDS ON ONE LEG 金鷄獨立

[54] GOLDEN ROOSTER STANDS ON ONE LEG

朝天蹬

[55] HOLDING A LAMP TO THE SKY 金鷄獨立

[56] GOLDEN ROOSTER STANDS ON ONE LEG 金鷄獨立

GOLDEN ROOSTER STANDS ON ONE LEG

泰山昇氣

MIST FORMING AROUND MT. TAI

倒攆猴

[54] RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY 倒捻肱

[56] RETREAT WITH TWISTING FOREARMS 倒攆猴

[57] RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY 倒攆猴頭

RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY’S HEAD 順牽羊

LEADING A SHEEP

斜飛式

[55] SLANTED WINGS

斜飛勢

SLANTED WINGS

提手上勢

[56] RAISE THE HAND

披身接手

[58] DRAPING THE BODY, CONNECTING HANDS 上提手

RAISE THE HAND 一提金

LIFTING UP A GOLD PIECE

白鶴晾翅

[57] WHITE CRANE DRIES ITS WINGS 白鵝晾翅

[57] WHITE GOOSE DRIES ITS WINGS 白鵝晾翅

[59] WHITE GOOSE DRIES ITS WINGS 鳳凰展翅

PHOENIX SPREADS ITS WINGS 仙人朝天

IMMORTAL POINTS TO THE SKY

摟膝

[58] BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE 斜形

[58] DIAGONAL SHAPE 摟膝拗步

[60] BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE 摟膝拗步

BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE 雙推窗

PUSH OPEN THE WINDOW WITH BOTH HANDS

海底針

[59] NEEDLE UNDER THE SEA

三角背

[61] BEND FORWARD TO MAKE A TRIANGLE SHAPE 海底針珠

[17] NEEDLE UNDER THE SEA 滿肚疼

FILLING HIS BELLY WITH AGONY

單通臂

[60] FAN THROUGH THE ARMS

轉身白蛇吐信

[61] TURN AROUND, WHITE SNAKE FLICKS OUT ITS TONGUE 閃通背

[59] SURGE THROUGH THE BACK 靑龍出水

[62] BLUE DRAGON LEAVES THE WATER

撇身搥

[63] TORSO-FLUNG PUNCH 扇通背

FAN THROUGH THE BACK 彎心杵肋

TURNING HIS CENTER TO HAMMER HIS RIBS

四把腰

WRAPPING ALL THE WAY AROUND THE WAIST

進步搬攔搥

[62] ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH 掩手肱拳

[60] COVERING HAND, FOREARM PUNCH 鳳凰展翅

[64] PHOENIX SPREADS A WING

進步搬攔

[65] ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH 進搬攔

ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH 迎風鐵扇

WAVING AN IRON FAN AGAINST THE WIND

上步攬雀尾

[63] STEP FORWARD, CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL 六封四閉

[61] SEALING OFF ALL DIRECTIONS 雙推手

[66] DOUBLE-HAND PUSH 攬雀尾

CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL 長拳滾斫

REACHING PUNCH, ROLLING CHOP

單鞭

[64] SINGLE WHIP 丹變

[62] TRANSMUTING ELIXIR 單鞭

[67] SINGLE WHIP 單鞭

SINGLE WHIP 雙筆架

DOUBLE PENHOLDERS

第六路

Section 6:

楊家架子

Yang Style 陳家架子

Chen Style 李家架子

Li Style 宋家架子

Song Style 武當拳架子

Wudang Boxing

雲手

[65] CLOUDING HANDS 過手

[63] WAVING HANDS 紜手

[68] TANGLING HANDS 雲手

CLOUDING HANDS 左右揚鞭

LEFT & RIGHT LIFTING A ROD

單鞭

[66] SINGLE WHIP

單鞭

SINGLE WHIP 雙筆架

DOUBLE PENHOLDERS

高探馬

[67] RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE 高探馬

[64] RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE 馬探馬

[69] RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE

抄手掌

[70] CROSSING-HANDS PALM STRIKE 高探馬

RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE 燕抬腮

SWALLOW TILTS UP A CHEEK

十字單擺蓮

[68] CROSSED-BODY SWINGING LOTUS KICK 十字腳

[65] CROSSED-BODY KICK 十字擺蓮

[71] CROSSED-BODY SWINGING LOTUS KICK 十字擺蓮

CROSSED-BODY SWINGING LOTUS KICK 分心十字

SPREAD THE CENTER, CROSSED-BODY KICK

摟膝指撇搥

[69] BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE, PUNCH TO THE CROTCH 指擋搥

[66] PUNCH TO THE CROTCH 指擋搥

[72] PUNCH TO THE CROTCH 指點捶

PUNCH TO THE CROTCH 推肘補陰

PUSHING AN ELBOW INTO THE CROTCH

攬雀尾

[70] CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL 猿猴探果

[67] APE OFFERS FRUIT 上步推山

[73] STEP FORWARD, PUSH THE MOUNTAIN 簸箕式

WINNOWING BASKET POSTURE 猿猴獻果

APE OFFERS FRUIT

單鞭

[71] SINGLE WHIP 丹變

[68] TRANSMUTING ELIXIR 單鞭

[74] SINGLE WHIP 單鞭

SINGLE WHIP 雙筆架

DOUBLE PENHOLDERS

下勢

[72] LOW POSTURE 切地龍

[69] SNATCHING AN EARTHWORM 下勢

[75] LOWERING POSTURE

異物投先

TOSSING OUT AN OBJECT BEFORE YOU

上步七星

[73] STEP FORWARD, BIG-DIPPER POSTURE

退步跨虎

[74] RETREAT, SITTING-TIGER POSTURE 上步七星

[70] STEP FORWARD, BIG-DIPPER POSTURE

下步胯肱

[71] STEP BACK, SITTING-TIGER POSTURE 上步七星

[76] STEP FORWARD, BIG-DIPPER POSTURE

下步跨虎

[77] STEP BACK, SITTING-TIGER POSTURE 上跨虎

STEP FORWARD, SITTING-TIGER POSTURE 仙人照掌

IMMORTAL SHOWS A PALM

轉身雙擺蓮

[75] SPIN AROUND, DOUBLE-SLAP SWINGING LOTUS KICK 擺腳

[72] SWINGING KICK 轉腳擺蓮

[78] SPIN AROUND, SWINGING LOTUS KICK 雙擺蓮

DOUBLE-SLAP SWINGING LOTUS KICK 紅霞貫日

SUN BREAKING THROUGH DAWN CLOUDS

彎弓射虎

[76] BEND THE BOW TO SHOOT THE TIGER 當頭砲

[73] CANNON AIMED STRAIGHT AHEAD 海底撈月

[79] TRYING TO SCOOP THE MOON’S REFLECTION FROM THE WATER

彎弓射虎

[80] BEND THE BOW TO SHOOT THE TIGER

雙抱捶

[81] DOUBLE PUNCH 彎弓射雁

BEND THE BOW TO SHOOT THE GOOSE 灣弓大步

BEND THE BOW IN A LUNGING STEP

上步搬攔搥

[77] STEP FORWARD, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH

進搬攔

ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH 迎風鐵扇

WAVING AN IRON FAN AGAINST THE WIND

如封似閉

[78] SEALING SHUT

十字手

[79] CROSSED HANDS 金剛搗碓

[74] ARHAT POUNDS THE MORTAR 手揮琵琶

[82] PLAY THE LUTE

鵠立式

[83] STAND LIKE A SWAN 如封似閉

SEALING SHUT 鐵門閂

SEALING THE DOOR WITH AN IRON BAR

–

第二段　抽絲勁之練習

STAGE TWO: DEVELOPING A QUALITY OF DRAWING SILK

[Li Yiyu: 神氣收歛入骨。 “Get your spirit and energy to gather and collect in your spine.”]

抽絲者，卽運勁如抽絲之謂也。其中抽絲，不外順逆兩項。順如陽轉。逆如陰旋。此卽開合勁所生之順逆，由順抽絲，以產生之開合勁也。架子內勁之運用，雖離不開順逆兩種，然其中姿勢與方向，則有種種之不同，因是分類以別之，統稱之為十二抽絲：

“Drawing silk” refers to the way we wield energy: as though drawing out strands of silk. This concept of drawing silk always involves the two general actions of smooth drawing and reverse drawing. They are like the fish in the yinyang symbol: the yin fish curving in one direction, the yang fish curving in the other direction. From these two kinds of actions emerge the energies of opening and closing. Although the wielding of internal energy in the solo set never departs from the two basic actions of smooth drawing and reverse drawing, adding the factors of size and direction expands two into twelve:

順抽逆抽

smooth drawing and reverse drawing

左抽右抽

left drawing and right drawing

大抽小抽

large drawing and small drawing

進抽退抽

forward drawing and backward drawing

裏抽外抽

inward drawing and outward drawing

上抽下抽

upward drawing and downward drawing

凡太極之運勁，無一不在此十二抽絲之中。倘無之，則外形雖圓走圈動，而內中之勁，仍是直勁，有失太極拳之義，不能發生以輕制重之功用矣，抽絲勁，為太極拳之基本動作，有如英文之字母，無論初學及已會者，均宜加以專習；則身手內之感覺，自能得到滿意之進步，如此項字母，已經熟悉，則每著之勁，自可由此字母，互相湊成，卽可得到正確之運勁矣。不但學習架子者，易於進步，卽授者，亦容易改正架子內姿勢之悞點也。倘能將抽絲運用純熟，兼可剷除太極拳運勁上易犯之病，如：

俯頭，曲項，露肩，揚肘，駝背，凹胸，鼓腰，撅臀，摺胯，撇襠，直膝，歪腳，等，十二病，

因此項病狀，在運勁時，若發現其一，則手指與足跟間之抽絲，決不能連貫如一，所抽之絲，行至中途，非斷不可矣。何能得到一動無有不動之功用乎！因為此種之抽絲勁，可作試驗貫串之根本，倘能運用順遂，則以上十二病自然不生矣。茲舉例如下：

The wielding of energy in Taiji is nothing more than these twelve methods of drawing silk. Without this quality, your external shape may be rounded, but your internal energy will still be straight, thereby losing the meaning of “Taiji [i.e. yinyang symbol] Boxing”, and you will be incapable of realizing the effect of “using lightness to defeat heaviness”.

　　Drawing silk is the fundamental type of movement in Taiji Boxing, as basic as knowing the alphabet. No matter what you already know when starting to learn the art, you have to give this feature extra attention, and then a unique feeling will grow in your body and hands, and with it you will make very satisfying progress. Equipped with such a foundation, your postures will be more precise and thus your wielding of energies within them will be more accurate. It not only makes it easier to learn the solo set, but it also makes it easier for the teacher to make corrections.

　　Skillfulness at wielding energy as though drawing silk enables you to eliminate the most common errors: drooping your head, bending your neck, raising your shoulders, lifting your elbows, hunching your back, collapsing your chest, bulging your lower back, sticking your butt out, folding your hips in, swaying your groin, straightening your knees, rolling your ankles.

　　If you commit any of these errors, then on the route from your heels to your fingertips, you will be incapable of maintaining a consistent flow of drawing silk, cutting it off halfway, and you will fail to achieve the principle of “if one part moves, every part moves”. Through the twelve methods of drawing silk, you can experience and understand what is deeply basic: wielding energy with a flowing smoothness. If you can do that, the errors above will never arise. Here are some specific examples of drawing silk:

（1）左右雲手乃左右順抽絲也。

CLOUDING HANDS involves both hands performing smooth drawing.

（2）左右倒捻肱乃進退逆抽絲也。

RETREAT WITH TWISTING FOREARMS involves forward and backward smooth drawing.

（3）左右攬扎衣乃左大順抽絲與右小逆抽絲也。

PULLING BACK THE ROBE involves the left hand performing big smooth drawing and the right hand performing small reverse drawing.

（4）左右野馬分鬃乃左外順抽絲與右裏逆抽絲也。

WILD HORSE SENDS ITS MANE SIDE TO SIDE involves the left hand performing outward smooth drawing and the right hand performing inward reverse drawing.

（5）左右摟膝抝步乃左上進逆抽絲與右下退逆抽絲也。

BRUSHING PAST YOUR KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE involves the left hand performing upward forward reverse drawing and the right hand performing downward backward reverse drawing.

（6）左右打虎式乃左大外上進順抽絲與右小裏下退逆抽絲也。

FIGHTING-TIGER POSTURE involves the left hand performing big outward upward forward smooth drawing and the right hand performing small inward downward backward reverse drawing.

王譜云：勁斷意不斷。意斷神不接。又云：收卽是放。放卽是收。斷而復連。合而復開云云。此指太極拳收效，務須求斷也。因斷乃可將勁放出身外以臨人身；若不斷；則勁留自身不能稱為放，變為無武裝之太極矣。故在收放中極力求斷而能復連，乃接勁之功也。練習能接己之勁；而後可以接人之勁也。

It says in the writings of Wang Zongyue: “Although the power finishes, the intent of it continues. But once the intention finishes, the mind lets it go.” Also: “To gather is to release, and to release is to gather. Disconnect but stay connected. Close and then open again.” This indicates that Taiji Boxing’s technique of gathering and releasing requires a moment of disconnection. By disconnecting, you can release your power out of yourself and into the opponent. Otherwise the power would remain in yourself, which then could not be described as a “releasing”, and would in fact seem to negate the martial function of Taiji Boxing altogether. Therefore what is needed within the event of gathering and releasing is an attitude of “disconnect but stay connected”. The outcome of this is the skill of “continuing energy”, merging your own and the opponent’s into one.

王譜又云：一舉一動週身俱要輕靈，尤須貫串，無使有缺陷處，無使有凸凹處，無使有斷續處，其根在足，發於腿，主宰於腰，行於手指，由腳而腿而腰，總須完整一氣，向前退後，乃能得機得勢云云。此指抽絲之運勁也，因運勁之抽絲：

Wang also said: “Once there is any movement, the entire body should be nimble and alert. There especially needs to be connection from movement to movement. The energy should be roused and the spirit should be collected within. Do not allow there to be cracks or gaps anywhere, pits or protrusions anywhere, breaks in the flow anywhere. Starting from the foot, issue through the leg, directing it at the waist, and expressing it at the fingers. From foot through leg through waist, it must be a fully continuous process, and whether advancing or retreating, you will then catch the opportunity and gain the upper hand…” This entire passage describes the wielding of energy as though drawing silk. Attention should be given to these phrases:

（1）無使有缺陷處，乃指由腳至指之抽絲旋轉時，務須處處有飽滿之勁也。

“No cracks or gaps” – Throughout the curving path of the power transmission from foot to fingers, there should be a fullness of energy at every point along the route.

（2）無使有凸凹處，乃指由腳至指抽絲之曲綫，務須緩和順遂以動之，不使綫路有稜角也。

“No pits or protrusions” – There should be a consistency of energy along the route, no part of the curve being allowed to over-swell to the point that it bends so much as to become a corner.

（3）無使有斷續處，乃指由腳至指抽絲之出入，務須綿綿以旋轉，萬不可斷而再續，卽或將順抽絲變為逆抽絲時，中間仍不可有斷續之處也。此種變換，呼之為掉勁，此時若有繼續，則不能貫串，加速力之勁亦丟矣，失去抽絲，以輕制重之作用失矣，

“No breaks in the flow” – Within the switch from gathering to the foot and releasing through the fingers, or from smooth drawing to reverse drawing, there should be no pause, no break in the continuity. Such a break is called “discarding”. Having broken the continuity, power cannot get through, and then any attempt to force it through by rushing it will only work against you. The quality of drawing silk has vanished, and with it your ability to “use lightness to defeat heaviness”.

因此學習太極拳者，務須辨明抽絲，是不可有斷續，倘係收放，勁必須有斷續，此二者務須分別淸楚，乃能應用，斷而復連，及須有斷續處，二句之義也。第二段，抽絲已竟運用合宜，則太極拳形勢上之功夫已得，然後再進一段，以求內勁之功夫，由外而歛內，為太極拳應有之過程也。

Students of Taiji Boxing have to distinguish between the continuous flow required during movement and the disconnection that is inevitable during releasing. These distinctions are well-expressed in the phrases “no breaks in the flow” and “disconnect but stay connected”. This second stage is for developing a sense of drawing silk. By going through this phase, you refine the postures in your solo set. In the next stage, you will strive to develop internal power. To go from external to internal is the proper process of learning Taiji Boxing.

–

第三段　勁別之學習

STAGE THREE: TRAINING THE BASIC TECHNIQUES

[Li Yiyu: 提起精神。神不外散。 “Rouse your spirit rather than letting it be distracted.”]

勁別學習，卽引用八門五步之練習法也。勁雖為八，而要點在掤勁，裏抽之掤，則呼為捋，下抽之掤則呼為按，合掤則為擠，分掤帶按則為採，掤而後發則為挒，掤轉臂發則為肘，掤轉身發則為靠，所有八門之勁，主要仍在掤勁，總其成也，不過因方位之不同，故有八門之名稱，歸根仍以掤勁有無，以為斷也。如有之則叩問是否全圈，均有掤勁，抑為一部份之掤勁一圈半有，或一圈內，只有一點，或九分有，而一分無，如斯種種現象，均不免有所斷缺，乃勁別不分，所生之病也；故在第三段內，應以掤勁是求，尤須一舉一動，各種變化無時離開此掤也，此項掤勁之發生，係基於姿勢，有嚴格之規定，使所有動作，均不許出其範圍，而後掤勁乃能生，卽係根定一適當姿勢，使全身各節，不得不接筍以連貫如一也。主要在連貫時期，尤須使各節均如弓之背，若欲造成弓背之形；則各節均須有緩和之曲線，而後乃能成為整個之弓，其處於抽絲旋轉弓背之勁，自然為掤矣？因此所有動作其姿勢應具弓背之作用及連貫之方法，必須根據下例三點之規定：

Developing the different energies builds upon training the eight gates and five steps. Although there are eight basic energies, it is warding off that is the basis for the rest. Warding off with an energy of drawing inward becomes “rolling back”. Warding off with an energy of drawing downward becomes “pushing”. Warding off with both arms combined toward the same point becomes “pressing”. Warding off with one arm while pushing down with the other becomes “plucking”. Warding off in one direction and then issuing in another becomes “rending”. When the ward-off energy moves from forearm to elbow, it becomes “elbowing”. When the ward-off energy then moves from elbow to shoulder, it becomes “bumping”. Therefore warding off is the most fundamental of the eight, from which the rest are made.

　　They are little more than directions of energy, hence eight “gates”, like the entrances around a city, but the determining factor is whether or not these directions are imbued with ward-off energy. Test your circle to see if there is ward-off energy at every point. If ward-off energy guards only one part of the circle, or half the circle, or even ninety percent of the circle and leaving a mere ten percent gap, the rest of the techniques will collapse, unable to properly manifest, and errors will instead be generated.

　　Therefore the third stage is a matter of striving for ward-off energy. In every movement, every adjustment, every instant, never do without it. The creating of ward-off energy comes from strictly abiding by this rule: throughout the movements, never overextend, and then ward-off energy will grow. Consistently performing the postures without overreaching causes all of your joints to stay coordinated with each other, like when a bamboo stalk is snapped but many strips remain connected.

　　The key is to coordinate the joints to make an overall bow shape. To achieve this, every joint must have a relaxed curve, and then all the curves combined produce the effect of a large bow. Drawing silk in arcing motions while maintaining a bow-like poise will naturally generate ward-off energy. Throughout the movements, every posture should have a bow-like quality, as well as a continuous flow from one posture to the next. This requires that attention be given to the bow quality in the three specific areas of arms, legs, and back.

第一點　手弓圖

1. The bow of the arms:

手把

bow grip

脊背

(spine)

弓背　弓背

bow arcs

肩　肩

手　手

(from shoulders through the upper arms)

– – – – –

bowstring

腕　腕

腕不直則弦不能上

(attached near elbows, stretched taut by the extending of the forearms)

兩膊相繫，卽肘以上，肩以下之一節，有如兩者之間，掛一綫，以互相繫住之意也。能得兩膊相繫則內中掤勁自生有似兩手間之弓，已上弦矣。惟求此手弓貫串如一，而有彈性，故有下列之規定。

Think of your upper body as a bow placed horizontally, your upper back being like a bow grip and your upper arms being like the two bow arcs to either side of the bow grip. Unite your arms with the notion of the bowstring being attached to the upper arms near the elbows. With your arms united by this image, ward-off energy will naturally be generated within. To keep this intention consistent and use it to develop springiness, keep these points in mind:

（1）身要正，使手弓背之兩彎度彈性相等也。

Your torso should be upright rather than leaning in any direction. This causes both of the bow arcs in your upper arms to have equal springiness.

（2）肩要沉，使手弓背緊接於把手，為一整個之弓也。

Your shoulders should sink. This causes the bow arcs to be firmly attached to the bow grip, forming a complete bow structure.

（3）肘要墜，使手弓之彈性增，並令傳達於把手也。

Your elbows should hang. This increases the springiness of your arms, sending it from the bow grip.

（4）腕要直，使手弓能上弦，非直腕，不能傳彈性於把手。

Your forearms should extend. This makes the bowstring taut, enabling springiness to be transmitted from the bow grip.

第二點　足弓圖

2. The bow of the legs:

手把

bow grip

尾閭

(tailbone)

弓背　弓背

bow arcs

跨　跨

腿　腿

(from hips through the thighs)

– – – – –

bowstring

足實　足虛

(attached near knees, stretched taut by relation between the feet, though one foot is full and the other empty)

兩腿相隨卽人之兩腿間，亦須牽連如一之謂也。一腿若邁勁，另一腿必動以隨之，乃使腿亦發生掤勁之功用兼能活動步法也。因兩腿非兩手之比，不能使之發生同等之掤勁，免得陷於雙重之病也。因手之姿勢，非手擺可比，內中自有上下高低之分，且位置於腰之上，可以旋轉，以分輕沉也。若腿乃平放於地，須以一腿為主一腿為賓誠如分為虛實之上弦弓也。故有下列之規定：

Your legs have to be consistently coordinated with each other. When one leg is about to step, the other leg must accommodate it. This generates ward-off energy and enables nimbleness of stepping. Unlike your arms, your legs cannot generate equal ward-off energy, just one leg at a time. The arm posture does not have the pendulum nature of the stepping legs. One arm may get placed higher than the other, but both are carried from and rotated by the waist in order for one to have lightness and the other heaviness. The legs instead are always divided into one leg in the role of host [standing], the other in the role of guest [stepping], which means that the bowstring of the legs seems more taut toward one leg [standing] than the other. Keep these points in mind:

（5）襠要撐，使足弓緊接於把手，為整個之弓也。

Your crotch should support [i.e. tuck in your tailbone]. This causes the bow arcs to be firmly attached to the bow grip, forming a complete bow structure.

（6）膝要曲，使足弓彈性增，並令傳達於把手也。

Your knees should bend. This increases the springiness of your legs and transmits it from the bow grip into your feet.

（7）步要輕，使足弓發生彈性作用，因由輕邁而沉落乃足之開弓法也。

Your steps should be light. This generates springiness in your legs, the stepping foot then coming down to sink in, thus “drawing the bow”.

（8）腳要虛實，使兩足弓之彈性互為強弱，因足弓不分虛實則不活，非比手弓有腰脊以旋轉也。

Your feet should be separated into empty and full. This makes the springiness in your legs stronger in one leg, but if your feet are not separated into empty and full, there will be no nimbleness. While the bow of the arms is reinforced by your back, the bow of the legs is instead more of a one-legged structure to facilitate agility of stepping.

第三點　身弓圖

3. The bow of the torso:

手把

bow grip

在脊背

拉力

抵力

(spine, with a sense of the back pulling and the chest resisting)

– – – – –

bowstring

上接在肩

下接在跨

(attached to shoulders and hips)

上下一條線身弓方有彈性

placement of this bow is vertical

頂

尾閭中正

(from headtop to tucked tailbone)

含蓄之胸，卽人之身弓也。此為上下之弓，此弓以胸為抵力，以背發生為拉力非比其他手弓與足弓之比也。所以胸部必須有含蓄之意，乃能傳達其背，致發生拉拔之勁，此謂含蓄者乃不使凸，不使凹之謂也，若凹胸，均失抵力之功用，則背不能拔矣。背不能拔是身弓無彈性何能稱為含蓄也。且此身弓為連貫手弓足弓之中堅，如工字形之中堅，在三弓中最關重要，不可不特別注重，故有下列之規定：

Unlike the other bows, this one has the bow tips aligned vertically. The bow of the torso is basically the storing of power in your chest. There is a sense of your upper back pulling back and your chest resisting forward. The intention of storing in your chest produces roundness in your upper back, but should not be so much that your back bulges and your chest collapses. If your chest collapses, it loses the effect of a forward resistance, and if your upper back does not have the appropriate roundness, your torso will lack springiness and will in no way be storing power.

　　The bow of the torso is the link between the bow of the arms and the bow of the legs, creating an overall 工 shape. The interrelationship between the three bows is crucial and must be given special attention. As for the bow of the torso, keep these points in mind:

（9）頂頭懸，使身弓之上端，垂直有準，而後手弓乃能正，足弓乃能活也。

The headtop should be suspended. This lifts your body up in order for it to hang straight down, thereby enabling the bow of the arms to be properly placed and the bow of the legs to have nimbleness.

（10）背要拔，使身弓加大彈性，以脊背為弓之背也

The upper back should be rounded. This gives the bow of the torso tremendous springiness, the spine forming the bow arcs.

（11）腰要鬆，乃試驗身弓中正之法，因有歪斜，則腰不能鬆矣。

The lower back should loosen. Make the bow of the torso upright, for if it is crooked, the lower back cannot loosen.

（12）腹要凈，使身弓之前部空洞，亦如腰之鬆也。

The belly should be empty. This makes space in front of you and pairs with the loosening of the lower back.

以上十二項之規定為體，三點為用，乃發生掤勁之製造器，久久練之，自能增進彈性，而增至滿圈內，均有掤勁以為止也。上列為身要正等十二項，乃造成滿圈俱有掤勁之要素，因非照此規定，不掤收其功，不但靜時如此，動時亦應如此也。如果一舉一動，不離此規定，則滿圈內自含有掤勁矣。以太極拳之圈，在架子內可謂式式俱備，如上下，左右，進退，裏外，大小，順逆等之種種運發接蓄，則八門之勁，五項之步，自然而然包含其中矣，則勁別之學習，亦能得之矣，所以太極拳，在開始時，必須要慢，而不准快者，乃因留有時間，可供此三點，十二項之審查也。有時此身感覺，甚合上者十二項之規定，其實乃錯，自身覺有掤勁，其實無之，此種現象，為學習者不可免之事實，所以初步練習太極拳者，必須有師在傍指點以校正之，不然不易得其眞也。如係全身練習，已有掤勁之功，動作已有習慣後，若一動時，忽然無之，自身立時感覺運用不當，至彼時，自能自行改正其錯誤矣，所以在初步時，必須有名師傳授，兼校正不可之理也。設或無師在傍，應請同學監視之，或臨鏡以自習之也，此為一種不得已之救濟法，然較有師指點，仍不同也，以上所定之姿勢，乃造成掤勁之不二法門，若詳推掤勁之根本，係生於彈性，若考彈性之由來，又係生於氣，氣能貫串膨勃於內，則有彈性方可呼之為掤也。故掤勁之主，完全在氣，氣之所以能貫串暢通於關節，使全圈俱滿者，必須先有合於練氣之姿勢，又須存有掤勁之意，以導引之，而後由不通之關節而通之，由微末之氣勢，而長引之，以收練氣之功也。在此段內，應注意掤之有無，蓋掤為氣之先聲也。故在第三段練習時，應以一著為主，連絡此著上下之各一著專練之，舉例如手揮琵琶，必須將上著摟膝，如何接頭至手揮琵琶，並須如何接至下著摟膝抝步，此時萬不可同時練習，一路或一趟，以生貪多不精之弊，拳譜云，每手應先練一手，一手練成後，再練一手，萬不可心急，將三十七式同練，切記切記，無論先後任擇一勢，只要將各式逐一用成，則三十七式自然貫通，並能呵成一氣，故因此又名為長拳也云云。此為練習架子不可磨之根本，凡練者，如不練過此種練法，則所運之圈，決不能全圈均有掤勁也。如不能全圈均有掤勁，則週身必有缺陷，有缺陷卽有受滯之處也，故拳譜再三敦囑，務須每著單練，學習太極拳者，應特別注意，而不可忽者也。

As a tool for developing ward-off energy, these twelve principles form the theory and the three bows form the practice. By working at it for a long time, you will build up more and more springiness until you have filled a complete circle, ward-off energy at every part. Ward-off energy is the key factor in filling the circle, but this skill cannot be achieved without practicing in accordance with these twelve principles. This is true both when in stillness and when in motion.

　　With every action, if you never depart from these principles, your circle will naturally be filled with ward-off energy. If you are maintaining such a circle with every posture of your solo set, able to perform storing and issuing whether drawing silk upward or downward, left or right, forward or back, inward or outward, large or small, smooth or reverse, then the eight gates and five steps will naturally be contained within it. This is the means by which the different energies can be learned.

　　In the beginning of the training, the movements have to be performed slowly. Do not be in a hurry, take your time, and then you will be able to monitor the three bows and their twelve principles. Sometimes you will feel in your body that you are acting in accordance with the twelve principles but are actually not, or that you have ward-off energy but actually do not. This experience is inevitable and is the reason why beginners need to have teachers around to give guidance and make corrections. It would otherwise be very difficult to obtain the authentic art.

　　If you have already developed some ward-off energy, or have already achieved a thorough familiarity with the movements of the solo set, and yet as soon as your opponent acts, suddenly your ward-off energy vanishes and you immediately feel that anything you try will not work, in that moment you will have to take responsibility for correcting yourself. A beginner needs a qualified teacher to learn from and to correct his faults, but if there is no teacher around, he has to ask his fellow students to examine his performance and point out mistakes, or observe himself in a mirror as he practices. Such alternatives are for when there is no choice, but are not as good as having a teacher around.

　　Practicing the postures in the solo set is the best way to build ward-off energy. Warding off is based in a quality of springiness. Springiness comes from energy being able to vigorously course through. By building that quality of springiness, you can then be said to be warding off. Warding off is entirely a matter of energy. For energy to able to course through your joints and thereby create a filled circle, you must first have postures suitable for developing energy. You must also have a ward-off intention in order to loosen the joints and get energy to flow through obstructed areas, thereby turning a weakened level of energy into a stronger level.

　　In this stage, the focus is on whether or not ward-off energy is present, because warding off is the primary energy. Make a point of learning one posture at a time, giving particular attention to the transition from the previous posture. For example, examine how PLAY THE LUTE transitions from BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE, and then how it transitions back into another BRUSH PAST YOUR KNEE.

　　Do not try to do this with many postures at the same time, rushing through the entire set or even a single line. If you get greedy for the whole thing, you will not master any part of it. It is said: “Always remember: learn one technique at a time. Never get impatient for more. Learn all thirty-seven techniques in this way.” No matter which pair of postures you are working on, each transition has to be perfected one at a time, until eventually there is a seamless linking through all of the postures in the solo set, a continuous flow from beginning to end, hence the art’s other name of “Long River” Boxing.

　　Practicing the solo set is an indispensable part of your foundation. Without this part of your training, then every time you make an arcing motion, you will not be able to express a circle that is filled with ward-off energy. If you are unable to have ward-off at every point around a circle, then your whole body will be compromised by cracks and gaps, and wherever your structure has gaps, you will get stuck in them yourself. Therefore take this advice seriously and do not ignore it: 1. constantly consult the classics, and 2. work on one movement at a time.

–

第四段　氣功之練習

STAGE FOUR: QIGONG (“ENERGY TRAINING”)

[Li Yiyu: 神氣鼓盪。 “Get your spirit and energy to be ready.”]

王譜云：氣走於筋脈，力出於皮骨，有力者皆外壯於皮骨，形也。有氣者是內壯於筋脈，象也。云云。查人身氣管之幹綫，藏於關節與肌肉內，如欲氣流暢旺而迅速，必須將氣管拔長而細，關節緩和以曲，人若鼓力以運使，則氣理粗短，而氣流行之極緩矣；所以一切運使，不准腹肌隆起，以阻氣之運行，故氣功之練習，第一項：必須鬆開其勁，而不許稍有努責作用，以減少氣之速度，卽譜中所謂遇動則滯之說也。第二項：對於全身之不隨意肌，尤須用精神意志驅使內臟肌有延長性，其方法乃意存全身透空，使血中氣行順遂而旺盛，此譜中所謂腹內鬆凈，方可使氣騰然之說也。有此二項之規定，全身氣之通路，可謂活潑而無滯矣。路雖無阻，而仍須走路之氣，本身有暢行之能，方可活潑也。此主宰在意不在氣之說也。倘意志精神浮飄，不注到此一點，則氣自不能走到該點也。所以太極拳必須以心行氣，務令沉著，方能收歛入骨，乃以心為令，以氣為旗，必須先有嚴厲之命令，而後乃可使傳旗不得不行，打通此不通之路線，而使之暢通，內中尤以通過骨髓為最難，蓋氣能沉著；則意志專一，兩者有相互之關係也。因有此三項之原理，故氣功練習，務須精神氣收歛入骨，神不外散，此動中求靜之功也。乃以心行氣。務必沉著，方可收歛入骨之謂也。在上段內所云：抽絲以運轉則姿勢成，掤勁以開合，則內勁具，可謂已得太極拳之勁別及形壯矣；所以進一步，以求內心之運用，毋使氣勢散漫，若散漫便無含蓄，身易散亂氣宜緩滯矣；所以務使精神提起，而專主一方，全身務須鬆開，在主義中，須全身筋直以活氣，沉著以行氣，而使氣歛入脊骨，呼吸通靈，周身罔開以合全身透空之意吸為合，為捲，為蓄，呼為開，為放，為發在吸時，有天然提起之精神，亦藏有拏得人起之意義，在呼時，有天然沉下之精神，亦含有放得人出之意義，以心運行其氣則神氣自然收歛入骨內矣。內中含有沉字功用，故氣功練習，以動中求靜，沉著為主，而以神領導之，雖屬練氣，而意念不可注重在氣，蓋在氣則滯在神則活也。此段亦係運用捲放蓄發四勁之時期也。在此期內，應極端注意捲放，使捲放沉著以動之，蓋捲放中乃天然之開合，如沉著，是用精神驅使氣流通過此開合之線路，合則由手指下行至足跟，開則足跟上升至手指能打開此項交叉之兩條通路，則氣功由無而有，由有而活，由活而強，然後以動作是否沉著，作驗氣之有無強弱也。凡太極拳之運勁，無一著內無有捲放，學習者應逐著審查，則功夫自能進矣。此項捲放舉不勝舉，茲另舉蓄發之例如下：

It says in Wang’s writings: “Energy courses through the tissues, limbs, sinews, and vessels. Strength emerges from the blood, muscles, skin, and bones. Therefore a strong person has an outer robustness to their skin and bones, a matter of posture, while an energized person has an inner robustness to their sinews and vessels, a matter of presence.” Consider the pathway of the windpipe, through the neck joint and musculature. For breath to flow fully and easily, the neck has to be straightened up, thereby lengthening and narrowing the windpipe. If the neck is bent forward, the body becomes like a taut drum, the windpipe being shortened and widened, inhibiting airflow. Also do not tighten the belly, which would further inhibit airflow. Key principles for practicing qigong:

　　1. Relax and avoid using any exertion, which would cause you to hold your breath, as in the scenario of “drop one side, you can move, but if you have equal pressure on both sides, you will be stuck”.

　　2. With mental focus, you can lower your heart rate. The method is to have a constant intention of filling the body with emptiness, which causes blood circulation to become both smoother and more invigorated. This is what is meant by: “If there is complete relaxation within your belly, energy is primed.”

　　These two principles have to do with the flow of energy through the whole body, making it lively instead of sluggish. With the pathways clear, energy will flow through freely. Once the body has an unobstructed flow, it can move with liveliness. This is the purpose of “your mind should be on your spirit rather than on your energy, for if you are fixated on your energy, your movement will become sluggish. Whenever your mind is on your energy, there will be no power, whereas if you ignore your energy and let it take care of itself, there will be pure strength.”

　　If your mind is distracted, intention will not focus at a particular point, and as a consequence, energy will not be able to reach that point. This is why Taiji Boxing has these requirements: “Use your mind to move energy. But you must get your energy to be calm in order for it to be able to gather into your spine.” “The mind makes the command, the energy is its flag, and the waist is its banner.” Commands must be authoritative to ensure that orders will be passed on and carried out. This will help to clear obstructed pathways so that energy can get through, although the hard part is to get it to gather into your spine. If you can get your energy to be calm, your intention will be able to focus, and vice versa. By practicing according to the two principles, spirit and energy will gather inward rather than scatter outward. This is the skill of “seeking stillness within motion”, or of “using your mind to move energy, calming your energy in order for it to gather into your spine.”

　　Your progress in the previous stages: having learned the solo set, you then added the quality of drawing silk to perform the movements and make the postures, have been using ward-off energy in all actions of opening and closing, thus imbuing them with internal power. You can at this point say that you have obtained the techniques and the distinct look of Taiji Boxing. Now that you have reached this stage, you are striving to move from within. Do not allow your energy to scatter, which would render you unable to store power, “cause your body to easily fall into disorder”, and make your energy sluggish. Instead boost your spirit, concentrate in a single direction, and loosen your whole body. To do this, you must extend your limbs in order to liven your energy, then calm yourself in order to move your energy, thereby causing it to gather into your spine.

　　Breathing should energize you, opening your whole body to fill it with emptiness. Inhaling goes with closing, curling in, and storing. Exhaling goes with opening, releasing, and issuing. When inhaling, there is a natural raising of spirit, together with an intention of seizing the opponent to lift him up. When exhaling, there is a natural sinking of spirit, together with an intention of releasing the opponent to shoot him away. By “using mind to move energy”, spirit will naturally gather into your spine. To achieve this, induce calmness. To “seek stillness within motion”, calmness is the key. Let spirit drive everything. Although training energy is the theme here, do not let your mind focus on the energy, which would only inhibit the energy from doing what it naturally does, instead put your focus on the spirit, which will liven the energy.

　　This stage has to do with the four energies of curling in, releasing, storing, and issuing. During this stage, you should give extra attention to curling in and releasing, performing them with calmness. Within curling in and releasing is a natural opening and closing. If performed with calmness, spirit will drive energy along the paths of opening and closing, from fingers down to heels in the case of closing, from heels up to fingers in the case of opening, and even crisscrossing back and forth.

　　The process of training energy is first for it to emerge from nothing to something, then to go from something to liveliness, then from liveliness to internal strength. Your level of calmness during movement is the gauge by which you can check if energy is present at all, and whether or not it possesses internal strength. Every action in Taiji Boxing involves curling in and releasing. Find them in each movement and then your skill will naturally progress. Since there are countless examples of curling in and releasing within the solo set, here are a few examples of storing and issuing:

1.彎弓射虎之上蓄發，能沉著以左發否？

BEND THE BOW TO SHOOT THE TIGER stores and issues above. Use calmness to issue through your left fist.

2.搬攔搥之中蓄發，能沉著以右發否？

PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH stores and issues in the middle. Use calmness to issue through your right fist.

3.栽搥之下蓄發，能沉著以轉發否？

PLANTING PUNCH stores and issues below. Use calmness to issue with rotational force.

如均得之；則收歛入骨之功已具，沉著之功自成矣。然至此段內，決非第一趟架子之蓄發，所能夠用，故至此期內，學習第二趟太極拳，最為適當，其二趟內蓄發之處，多緊相接筍，非比第一趟，在多數轉運中，祗能藏有一蓄發也。茲錄其名稱及分路，分項如下：

Once you have found these qualities in your practice, you will automatically be gathering energy into your spine, and calmness will naturally be achieved. The second set [i.e. the “Cannon Fist” set] is actually more useful for learning storing and issuing than the first set. This is because the actions of storing and issuing in the second set are tightly paired together, whereas in the first set they are mixed into other movements and harder to spot. For your reference, the posture list for the second set is presented below:

第一路

Section 1:

太極初式

[1] TAIJI BEGINNING POSTURE

金剛搗碓

[2] ARHAT POUNDS THE MORTAR

攬扎衣

[3] LAZILY PULLING BACK THE ROBE

六封四閉

[4] SEALING OFF IN ALL DIRECTIONS

丹變

[5] TRANSMUTING ELIXIR

躍步覆搥

[6] LEAP, COVERING PUNCH

護心拳

[7] HEART-GUARDING FIST

躍步斜形

[8] LEAP, STEP DIAGONALLY

風掃梅花

[9] WIND SWEEPS THE PLUM BLOSSOMS

金剛搗碓

[10] ARHAT POUNDS THE MORTAR

回頭撇身肘

[11] TURN AROUND, TORSO-FLUNG ELBOW

攢手

[12] SLASHING HAND

翻花舞袖

[13] DANCING SLEEVES GUSHING OUT FLOWERS

掩手肱拳

[14] COVERING HAND, FOREARM PUNCH

躍步抝鸞肘

[15] LEAP, PHOENIX ELBOW IN A CROSSED STANCE

左轉肱掌

[16] LEFT TURN, FOREARM STRIKE

左轉肱掌

[17] LEFT TURN, FOREARM STRIKE

躍步右換

[18] LEAP, RIGHT TURN

右轉肱掌

[19] RIGHT TURN, FOREARM STRIKE

右轉肱掌

[20] RIGHT TURN, FOREARM STRIKE

第二路

Section 2:

鳳凰展翅

[21] PHOENIX SPREADS ITS WINGS

玉女串梭

[22] MAIDEN SENDS THE SHUTTLE THROUGH

玉女串梭

[23] MAIDEN SENDS THE SHUTTLE THROUGH

轉身倒騎麟

[24] TURN AROUND, RETREAT TO RIDE THE DRAGON

倒騎麟

[25] RETREAT TO RIDE THE DRAGON

轉身掩手肱拳

[26] TURN AROUND, COVERING HAND, FOREARM PUNCH

合身裹變

[27] CLOSING INWARD, EXPLODING FIRECRACKERS

轉身裹翻搥

[28] TURN AROUND, WRAP & UNWRAP PUNCH

卸步裹變

[29] WITHDRAWING STEP, EXPLODING FIRECRACKERS

裹翻搥

[30] WRAP & UNWRAP PUNCH

卸步手肘勢

[31] WITHDRAWING STEP, ELBOW STRIKE

通山捶

[32] PUNCH THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN

劈架子

[33] THROWING ASIDE HAUGHTILY

掩手肱拳

[34] COVERING HAND, FOREARM PUNCH

臥虎跳澗

[35] CROUCHING TIGER JUMPS OVER THE STREAM

右黃龍攪水

[36] YELLOW DRAGON STIRS THE WATER – RIGHT

右黃龍攪水

[37] YELLOW DRAGON STIRS THE WATER – RIGHT

躍步轉攪

[38] LEAP, TURN, STIR

左黃龍攪水

[39] YELLOW DRAGON STIRS THE WATER – LEFT

左黃龍攪水

[40] YELLOW DRAGON STIRS THE WATER – LEFT

第三路

Section 3:

左衝蹬腳

[41] LEFT THRUSTING PUNCH & PRESSING KICK

右衝蹬腳

[42] RIGHT THRUSTING PUNCH & PRESSING KICK

掩手肱拳

[43] COVERING HAND, FOREARM PUNCH

掃堂腿

[44] SWEEP-THE-HALL KICK

掩手肱拳

[45] COVERING HAND, FOREARM PUNCH

左穿抱捶

[46] LEFT THREADING, CANNON PUNCH

右穿抱捶

[47] RIGHT THREADING, CANNON PUNCH

海底翻花

[48] GUSHING OUT FLOWERS FROM UNDER THE SEA

掩手肱拳

[49] COVERING HAND, FOREARM PUNCH

倒揷

[50] THRUSTING BEHIND

掤連捶

[51] WARD-OFF, CONTINUOUS PUNCHES

上步掤連捶

[52] STEP FORWARD, WARD-OFF, CONTINUOUS PUNCHES

左右二肱

[53] LEFT & RIGHT FOREARM STRIKES

變勢帶闖

[54] EXPLODING FIRECRACKERS, CHARGING THROUGH

回頭當頭砲

[55] TURN AROUND, CANNON AIMED STRAIGHT AHEAD

勢分捶

[56] SPREADING PUNCH

拗鸞肘

[57] PHOENIX ELBOW IN A CROSSED STANCE

順鸞肘

[58] PHOENIX ELBOW IN A STRAIGHT STANCE

窩底砲

[59] CANNON FROM THE CHEST

進攔指路

[60] ADVANCE WITH WELL-RAILING PUNCH, POINT THE WAY

此趟架子，注意在蓄發，以斷而復連，為主要練習點，內中捲放為始點，蓄發為終點；故練習此段時，非待以三段已有根底後，不可學習，蓋抽絲不能節節貫串，勁別不能分別淸楚，卽行之，亦非眞正之蓄發，且腦力亦無法分顧許多動作也；故在此段之捲蓄放發，務須加強彈性如開弓，彈性脫扣如放箭，則氣功乃能日見增長，方有意義可言也。

This set focuses on storing and issuing, on disconnecting and reconnecting. A basic rule of thumb is that curling in and releasing form the starting point [first set], then storing and issuing form the finish [second set].

　　This stage of the training cannot be learned without going through the previous three stages. Without a constant quality of drawing silk and a clear grasp of the eight gates, storing and issuing will not be authentic, and then they will also be harder to identify within the movements. For curling in and storing, you need to build up a strong springiness, like drawing a bow, and then releasing and issuing will have a strong release of springiness, like loosing an arrow. Based on such a condition, your energy will increase by the day, and then the meaning of “training the energy” will be clear.

–

第五段　精神之練習

STAGE FIVE: DEVELOPING SPIRIT

[Li Yiyu: 周身無有缺陷。 “Get your whole body to be without cracks or gaps.”]

精神練習，務須神氣鼓盪，周身無缺陷，此靜中求動之功也。乃以意行神，使神與氣合也。蓋氣之速度，較神為慢，欲思以神之速，領導氣之速行，而以心意為主動之練習也。

以上列勁別之學習，乃學習滿圈俱有掤勁之功夫，滿圈有掤勁時，由應分淸此掤勁於八門之中，不可含混而過，以失勻淸之功，譬如用掤勁運至下內時，則為捋、若用捋至捋之中心末點時，卽應表示出捋之意，如此類推，因有此表示，則八門之勁，方可分開也。分開時，意動神隨，神行氣發，而後神氣功夫，乃能增進，雖在外表上觀之，仍舊圓行圈動，不見有何相異，然內中之勁，已因意志之發動，精神之專主，而得圓形，撐之為方矣。有方有圓，乃成規矩，方為體，圓為用，此君子外圓而內方也。平時運行，能圓中有方，而後方可用長方點，順遂以加之於人，呼為粘也。如果圈中全圓而無方，遇有動作，旋轉不已，安能粘之對方，以行牽動之功乎？王譜云：太極者圓也，無論內外上下左右不離此圓也，太極者方也，無論上下左右內外不離此方也。方之出入，圓之進退，隨方就圓，用之來往，云云，可見勁運行，雖為圓行圈走，然勁之重心，因表示而成方，但此方，乃方圓相生之方，內中自無稜角可言，祗覺圓，不覺方，能表示勁別，卽有方點存於中，方點之生，乃由意發氣隨以合成也。精神之生，由勁別分淸之方點而來，乃屬於被動，以養成精神之暢旺，久久練之，神與勁合，則神之注意點，卽勁之方點矣，合一之後，方圓之主持者，而歸之精神矣，此時精神屬於主動矣。神愈練愈暢旺，然後乃可隨意念以週行也，此欲神旺，必須注意姿勢正確，頂須虛懸之理也；蓋頭頂懸起則身足注射力強，緊集一點，不易外散，反之頭頂不懸，則精神力量疲乏，如摸魚之呆形，其精神不期而然四散矣。若蓄之於內，膨膨勃勃，以運身軀，非至方時發時，而不外射，射時神行氣出，氣之勁發，待至勁發時，勁氣與神，三者連合，而俱發矣。此種功效，基之於連接時，將意念庽於神氣之中，有起落轉合以主之，是為神氣鼓盪，神氣鼓盪時，氣行於內而緩，神行於外而速，欲氣隨神動，必須練氣歸神，是使神氣參調而應，神到而氣卽隨之，周身爽利活潑無滯，雍雍華貴，有氣吞八荒之勢，變換順遂，有輕靈不羣之槪，然而此種功效，乃因掤勁充足，全身飽滿，一舉一動，神氣蘊蓄在內，外散無由，可以受意之動念，以行活動，來回貫串，因是有不得不鼓盪之勢矣。可謂完全用意志，以走架子之作用，使精神內含藏動之意也。然其主要點，仍在能虛領頂勁，始使神貫於頂，乃能輕，乃能靈，以證明周身無一處有缺陷，無一處不飽滿也。周身如有一缺陷，卽是一處缺乏掤之意也，此項缺陷主要點終上在肩，下在胯，如肩眼現，則手身為二節，跨骨匾，別腿與身為二節，是周身為三家矣，故欲成一家，必須一舉一動在肩跨上，極端注意，無使有鼓處，有匾處，全身成為緩動之曲線，各節均有相當之變度，此是周身無缺陷之現象也。惟外有缺陷，容易改正，若內有缺陷，則不易發現，倘內有缺陷，外無缺陷，則仍是缺陷，不能週身一家矣，是以非用神氣，能否鼓盪以驗之不可，神氣鼓盪之根，在能善用方圓，而方圓之生，又基於勁別之分淸也，故精神後氣功之練習，須在三段之後也。其氣功主要點，在能隱，而精神主要點，在能顯，因隱為收歛而沉著，顯為鼓盪而輕靈，故精神練習，乃是靜中求動，以輕靈為主，此與氣功練習，動中求靜，沉著為主之不同也，蓋神氣收歛後，而能鼓盪，方能生忽隱忽現之功，架子走動時，內中自含輕沉之分矣，此乃證明內部無缺陷之故，始能外現之於神也；若神活氣歛，則輕沉轉換順遂而靈活，順沉輕虛四字之功自得矣，舉例如下：

You must rouse your spirit and keep your structure from having “cracks or gaps anywhere”. This is the skill of “seeking movement within stillness”. Intention drives spirit, and spirit carries energy along with it. Because energy moves slower than spirit, the only way to get energy to move faster is to move spirit faster, and so it all comes down to intention as the driving force.

　　In the previous stage of learning the basic techniques, you learned to inflate a complete circle with ward-off energy. Once the circle is filled, warding off can then be subdivided into the other seven energies, making them distinct and unambiguous. For instance, warding off downward and inward makes: rolling back. If you perform the rollback all the way to its final position, let your intention express the rollback and nothing else. Express the rest of the energies in the same way, making them just as distinct.

　　Once you have made these eight energies distinct, then when your intention moves to perform any of them, spirit follows in total support, and with the movement of spirit comes the issuing of energy. Equipped with this spiritual skill, you will then make great progress. Although outwardly exhibiting the same circle as before, internal power is now bracing the corners of a square, by way of intention initiating specific actions and spirit being concentrated at particular areas.

　　The rule is to possess both squareness and roundness. Squareness is the theory. Roundness is the function. Squareness makes the inner structure. Roundness makes the outward function. At any moment in any movement, roundness can contain squareness, making use of corners. Being able to smoothly flow along with the opponent is the essence of sticking. If the circle involves only roundness and no squareness, then when you encounter any action, your circle would be endlessly revolving in response to it, yielding but never sticking, never tugging him in.

　　It says in Wang Zongyue’s texts [Shen apparently also attributing Explaining Taiji Principles to Wang]: “Taiji is round, never abandoning its roundness whether going in or out, up or down, left or right. And Taiji is square, never abandoning its squareness whether going in or out, up or down, left or right. As you roundly exit and enter, or squarely advance and retreat, follow squareness with roundness, and vice versa.” It is apparent from this that although the circle yields with roundness, the energies are expressed with squareness. This squareness generates and is generated by roundness. It is a square without sharp corners, and so it feels rounded rather than square. When expressing any of the eight energies, a corner will form for it. A corner will swell where intention concentrates and energy is issued.

　　Spirit is generated when any of the eight energies are distinctly expressed. By performing this distinctness somewhat more passively than forcefully, spirit will be cultivated even better. After practicing for a long time, spirit will merge with the energies, spirit focusing at a point and the technique forming a corner there. Once spirit has merged with the energies, spirit will be in charge of the alternating between squareness and roundness, spirit driving everything.

　　The more you train your spirit, the more of it there will be, and then it will follow your intention everywhere. To increase spirit requires correcting the postures, giving special attention to the principle of suspending the headtop. Lifting up the headtop fills the body with strength and enables spirit to concentrate at a particular point instead of just scattering away. If you do not suspend your headtop, spirit and strength will weaken. It would be like trying to catch fish with your bare hands, spirit sloppily dispersing in distracted confusion all around you.

　　Spirit is to be stored up within until it is ready to overflow, but held back until the perfect moment. When the moment to attack arrives, spirit moves, energy is unleashed, and power is issued. When issuing, power, energy, and spirit are linked together, issuing as one. This kind of effect, of the three linking into one, is infused with intention running through them, driving the action with the four-part process of “begin, develop, transmit, and finish”. Spirit and energy are to be roused. When they are, energy moves internally and slowly, whereas spirit moves externally and quickly. In order for energy to follow the movement of spirit, you must train your energy to always return to your spirit, getting them to merge together, and then wherever your spirit goes, your energy will go there too.

　　Your whole body should be efficient, lively, and without any sluggishness. Be filled with an abundant harmoniousness, your energy reaching to all directions equally. Smoothly alternate between different methods of drawing silk, being uncommonly alert. These effects are the result of sufficient ward-off energy filling your entire body. With every movement, spirit and energy are stored within instead of scattering outward. You are able to use the movement of your intention to drive your body. For intention to be coursing through, your awareness has to be fully roused.

　　It is entirely a matter of willpower. When practicing the solo set, have it always in mind to imbue every movement with spirit. The key to this is to forcelessly press up your headtop, thereby causing spirit to reach all the way to it, giving it a lightness and alertness that eliminates flaws in your structure and fills you with power. If there is a gap anywhere, it is because your ward-off intention in that spot is weak.

　　A gap in the upper body is usually at the shoulders, in the lower body usually at the hips. If your shoulders rise up, your arms and body will be trying to function as two separate sections. If your buttocks stick out, your legs and body will be trying to function as two separate sections. Your body has thus been divided into three independent sections. To turn it into one unified whole, pay close attention to your shoulders and hips, allowing no rising up or sticking out. Your whole body should have relaxed curves, your joints positioned at appropriate angles, and then your structure will be free of gaps.

　　External flaws are easily fixed, but internal flaws are not even easily seen. If there are no flaws seen outwardly and yet there are still flaws hidden within, flaws remain to be fixed and your whole body will still not be functioning as a single unit. You have to rouse spirit and energy in order to test your ability to do so, but the basis of rousing spirit and energy lies in skillfully using squareness and roundness, which in turn comes from drilling the eight basic energies. This is why the training of energy and spirit come after the first three stages.

　　The key to developing energy is to allow it to be hidden. The key to developing spirit is to allow it to show. For energy to be hidden away is a matter of gathering and calmness. For spirit to be expressed is a matter of rousing and alertness. Training spirit involves “seeking movement within stillness”, the key being alertness. Training energy involves “seeking stillness within movement”, the key being calmness.

　　Once spirit and energy have been gathered, they can be roused. You will then be able to perform the skill of “suddenly vanish and suddenly appear”. The practice of the solo set inherently contains the duality of alert and calm. The balance between the two inwardly thereby enables spirit to express outwardly. If your spirit is lively and your energy is gathered, then you have achieved the qualities of alertness & calmness, adaptability, smoothness, and liveliness, or in other words the four-word formula of “smooth, calm, alert, empty”, which can be tested by asking yourself these questions:

1.能以心意，驅使其神氣，走動緊湊之架子否？

Can you use your mind to drive spirit and energy through even the most compact movements of the solo set?

2.能將內中抽絲之勁，轉換順遂否？

Can you switch smoothly between the different methods of drawing silk?

3.能將運勁中之接勁，以得天衣無縫之功否？

Can you flawlessly continue the flow of your opponent’s energy?

如均得之，則神氣鼓盪之功已具，輕虛之功自成矣。

If you have achieved these qualities, you already have the skill of rousing spirit and energy, and becoming alert and empty will naturally follow.

–

第六段　內外聯合之練習

STAGE SIX: UNIFYING THE INSIDE & OUTSIDE

[Li Yiyu: 周身一家。 “Get your whole body to behave as one unit.”]

內外聯合練習，務須內外相合，周身一家，此時係以意念為主也。凡練太極拳架子者，能練到周身一家，是為最高之目的已達到，個人練習之能事矣。至此地步，外之身形腰頂，內之精氣神勁，無一處不合乎規矩，周身夭矯不羣，如遊龍矯鳳，似鬆非鬆，將展未展，有行乎不得行，止乎不得止之勢矣。於是周身節節貫串，式式相連，全身均有蓬勃之氣，轉換均係順遂之勁，此卽拳譜所謂：一舉一動，周身輕靈；而且貫串，神氣鼓盪；而且內歛，無缺陷處，無凸凹處，無斷續處，（指抽絲勁非指發勁），其根在腳，發於腿，主宰於腰，行於手指。由腳而腿，而腰完整一氣，向前退後，得機得勢，凡有動作皆是在意，不在外面而在內，有上卽有下，有前卽有後，有左卽有右，如意向上，卽寓下，意欲左則寓右，虛實分淸，一處有一處虛實，處處總有此一虛一實，如是週身節節貫串，上下相隨，無絲毫間斷之功已得矣。在此段方可稱為，一動無有不動，一靜無有不靜，動則內外俱動，靜則內外俱靜，開合有數，順逆有序，急緩相生，蓄發俱能，可隱可顯，可輕可沉，能開則氣由下而上，合則氣由上而下，用功一日，精進一日，漸至從心所欲，一切動作，罔不如意之所指矣。至此地位，可謂已具推手之資格矣。可謂完全由意志以活動矣。祗須顧及意志，是否虛靈而能明，能否活潑以變化，而無須顧慮身體上之種種，因身隨意動，已成習慣，祗覺此心不覺身矣。此太極拳能鍛鍊智慧之由來也。楊譜云：持身中正行大道，用意活潑勢如輪，陰陽旣濟無間阻，變則化極無臭聲，若言體用何為準，意氣君來骨為臣，其斯之謂歟？

Inside and outside must combine. For your whole body to function as a single unit, the key is mindfulness. Getting your whole body to function as a single unit is the highest goal of practicing the solo set. Once you have achieved this condition, you outwardly have perfect structure through your lower back and inwardly have spirit and energy flowing through. Living up this standard at every moment puts you at a higher level, as though you are a dancing dragon or a soaring phoenix. You seem to be relaxed but not relaxed, extending but not extending, to move but not move, to halt but not halt. You have perfect coordination from joint to joint, perfect flow from posture to posture. Your body is full of energy, your movement flawlessly smooth.

　　This skill level is described in Wang’s texts thus: “Once there is any movement, your entire body should be filled with alertness, your spirit and energy should be roused and gathered within. Do not allow there to be cracks or gaps anywhere, peaks or valleys anywhere, breaks in the flow anywhere (which refers to drawing silk rather than issuing). Starting from the foot, issue through the leg, directing it at the waist, and expressing it at the fingers. From foot through leg through waist, it must be a fully continuous process, and whether advancing or retreating, you will then catch the opportunity and gain the upper hand… All movements are a matter of intention rather than being driven externally. With an upward comes a downward, with a forward comes a backward, with a left comes a right. If your intention wants to go upward, then harbor a downward intention. (Or if you want to go to the left, first have an intention of going to the right.) Empty and full must be distinguished clearly. In each part, there is automatically a part that is empty and a part that is full. Everywhere it is always like this, an emptiness and a fullness. Throughout your body, as the movement goes from one section to another, there is connection, your upper body and lower body coordinating with each other. Do not allow the slightest break in the connection.”

　　At this stage, you can say you are fulfilling this principle: “If one part moves, every part moves, and if one part is still, every part is still.” This means that when you are moving, everything is moving, both internally and externally, and when you are still, everything is still, both internally and externally. There will then be an orderly alternation between opening and closing, smooth drawing silk and reverse drawing silk, quickness and slowness, storing and issuing, disappearing and appearing, alertness and calmness. When opening, energy will rise from below, and when closing, energy will lower from above.

　　One day of practice gives you one day’s worth of progress, but if you keep working at day by day, “gradually you will reach the point that you can follow your feelings and do as you please”. With every action, everything will happen according to your design. At this level, it can be said that you have mastered pushing hands, the outcome of every situation now entirely determined by your intention. From now on, intention is all that matters. Ask yourself if you have naturalness and clarity, liveliness and adaptability – of thought. You no longer need to be concerned with endlessly correcting your body, for your body now follows your mind.

　　With such a habit formed, you no longer even perceive your body, only your mind. This is the means by which Taiji Boxing trains wisdom. This state is depicted well by Wang’s texts: “To maintain perfect balance is the whole point. The lively use of intention causes ‘the energy to be like a wheel’… ‘Passive and active exchange roles’ without inhibiting each other. Adapting to every change of circumstances gives away no clue as to what you are going to do… Whether we are discussing in terms of theory or function, what is the constant? It is that mind is sovereign and body is subject.”

總之以上六種用功法，為走架子之畢業課程，茲再以簡單之詞歸納大意義如下：

Stage Six represents a kind of graduation in the practice of the solo set [the emphasis shifting to pushing hands from this point on]. Here is a recap of the general ideas of the first six stages:

（1）架子之學習，是使勁向各方面以運行，使面面得到屈伸動靜之功用。

Solo set: Learn to wield energy in all directions, whether bending or extending, in motion or stillness.

（2）抽絲之學習，是使由足跟至手指之道路，順隨暢旺，而綿綿不斷。

Drawing silk: Make the path of movement from heel to fingers a smooth and continuous flow.

（3）勁別之學習，是使意念專主一方，作導引以待氣之節節貫串。

Eight basic techniques: Focus your intention in one direction at a time, inducing energy to course through.

（4）氣功之練習，是使氣之路線暢旺，以增長為堅剛沉著之作用。

Qigong: Make the pathway of energy so invigorated that your energy becomes both stronger and calmer.

（5）精神之練習，是使精神管理其氣，以活潑變化，為輭柔輕靈之作用。

Developing spirit: Get your spirit to carry your energy, which will make you lively and adaptable, supple and alert.

（6）內外聯合之練習，是使收上列五者，聯合以運之，使精氣精聯合一致，以從心之命令。

Unifying inside & out: This is the sum total of the first five stages, in which energy and spirit are fully merged, and all is under the command of your mind.

如是方可稱之為周身一身矣。

With all these elements in place, you can now say that your whole body is functioning as a single unit.

–

第七段　得機得勢之推求

STAGE SEVEN: POSITION & TIMING

上段所云，周身一家，卽個人得勢之謂也。有此各人之得勢，作為根基而後可以與人推手，推手者，二人之事，非個人可比，因將對方之姿勢及勁別，加入其中，往往在個人本係得勢，因有牽動，變為不得勢矣；蓋欲懂人之勁所以學習推手，欲思由推手之功，以求得到懂勁之效。動作必須無過不及，隨曲就伸，以造成沾黏連隨之功，因顧及沾黏連隨，不許發生頂匾丟抗四病之關係，往往發生不能週身一家之運動矣。所以推手，先求得勢為主，所謂得勢之身勢，不許有俯仰傾斜之病，換言之，卽須立如平準也。得勢之勁別，不許有斷接滯呆之病，換言之，卽須活似車輪也。能在得勢之中，保持身勢勁別之中正勻淸，而後覓得機之點，以窺其空𨻶卽力求上遊，手據人手之上，因人之根在下，欲人之下根斷，或浮起，非據上遊，不易得空𨻶之機也。如得機卽行沾黏，仍可進一步，以行捲放之作用，若不能得機，則徒事推摩，與技擊無關，又何須練習此推手哉。惟周身一家者，始有此得機之能，不然卽有機可乘，亦採用不上，徒覺機會過去之可惜，而不能應用其機，所以推手第一步卽在得機得勢中，以求得沾黏連隨，為主要之希望也，若考推手之方式，須有左右進退中，五步之轉換，以四正為主，並須假定勢有出圈，勁有出隅時，則以四隅手補充之，方合太極拳八門五步之推手也。現時流行之定步四正推手，乃陳長興先生所特創者，專為有工夫之硬拳家改學太極拳之需用者，其目的，在化其原有硬直之勁，變為柔輭，故練習不計次數，藉可改正已往習慣，有無傳染畫圈揉手之弊，在所不惜矣。凡硬直習慣者，非此項推手不足救濟之，尤須施以長時間之推摩，方能挽回僵直之病也。萬不料現時無硬直習慣者，亦多從事此項推手，逐使此項定步推手，風行一時矣。查原來之推手，乃係動步轉換而進者，在楊家呼為小捋，有時假定有出圈出隅之勢，加入四隅手，參雜其中，呼為大捋以別之，查此三種推手，各有妙用，如學太極拳者，自審於硬直之勁，並未下過苦功；則可不必無病呻吟，毋須練習此項定步推手，卽以小捋作初步之推手法可也。推時務須極慢，以便雙方有審查之機會，若能逐圈審查，逐一感覺內中有得機得勢之趨向，方可收到由推手而得之功效也。茲舉例如下：

The previous stage was about the whole body functioning as a single unit, i.e. being properly positioned. Once you are properly positioned in your solo practice, you are ready for pushing hands. Because pushing hands is a partner practice, it adds a dimension of being aware of your partner’s position and techniques as well as your own. You can easily become so habituated in your own positioning that you forget to be adaptable. Therefore in order to understand what an opponent is doing, you also have to practice pushing hands.

　　Your movement must fulfill this principle: “Neither going too far nor not far enough, comply and bend, then engage and extend.” This is another way of describing “sticking, connecting, adhering, and following”. To achieve these four skills, do not allow their four corresponding errors: “crashing in, collapsing, coming away, and resistance”. Such errors will usually prevent your body from functioning as a single unit. For this reason, the primary concern in pushing hands is: positioning. In positioning your body, do not allow the errors of leaning in or away, or in other words: “Stand like a scale.” In positioning your techniques, do not allow the errors of disconnecting or sluggishness, or in other words: “Move like a wheel.”

　　Once you can consistently maintain the proper positioning for your body and techniques, then focus on seeking the right moment to act. Look for a gap in the opponent’s structure, then strive to get his energy to float up. Though his hands are above and his feet are below, toy with his arms to the get him to lift his heels. Unless you can get his energy to float up, it will difficult to create the right moment to exploit a gap. If you can catch the right moment, stick to him, and then you will be able to advance, applying the actions of curling in and releasing. If you cannot catch the right moment, you will basically be left with massaging his arms to try to find a way through, and thus the exercise will lose its martial relevance, rendering pushing hands practice pointless.

　　As long as your body is functioning as a single unit, you should be able to seize opportunities. If not, then even if there are opportunities to exploit, you will not be able to take advantage of them, simply noticing them with regret as they pass by, too late to make use of. Therefore the first step in pushing hands training is to learn to be in the right place at the right time, whereupon you can stick and follow, which is the key to it all.

　　To study pushing hands methods, you have to learn the eight gates and five steps. The feet are to be adjusted as needed, moving forward or back, left or right, or staying centered. The four primary techniques are the essence of the exercise, but when they fail, there are the four secondary techniques to supplement them. The most popular version nowadays is “fixed-step four-primary pushing hands”, which was created by Chen Changxing as a training method for replacing the hardness of other boxing arts with the principles of Taiji Boxing. Its purpose is to transform the hard direct power that we instinctively use into softness.

　　By practicing this simple pattern of movement countless times, you will be able to ingrain a better habit, and one that will not merely lead you into making mindless circles. There is no better means of curing the habit of relying on hard direct power. However, you have to work at it for a very long time in order to reverse the error of using stiffness. Unexpectedly, practitioners who already have a tendency toward softness also gravitated toward the fixed-step version. By appealing equally to those who need to develop softness and those who already have softness, this version therefore became the standard.

　　Pushing hands originally involved advancing with moving steps, what the Yang family refer to as “small rollback”. Sometimes the four primary techniques are insufficient, and so there is the exercise for the four secondary techniques, what is known as “large rollback”. Each of these three versions [fixed-step four-primary, moving-step four-primary, moving-step four-secondary] has its own subtleties. If you have been monitoring yourself for using unnecessary hardness in your solo training, you might already possess adequate softness, in which case practicing the fixed-step version might be a matter of addressing a problem that is no longer there, and so you can go ahead and work on small rollback instead.

　　Pushing hands should be practiced slowly in order to be able to feel what is going on. By examining the situation every moment, you will gradually develop a more refined awareness for positioning and spotting opportunity, and thereby you will be able to receive the full benefits of pushing hands.

　　Some things to check on:

（1）在擠時，有俯之病否，為順抽絲否？

When pressing, do not lean forward, and make sure you are using smooth drawing silk.

（2）在捋時有仰之病否，為逆抽絲否？

When rolling back, do not lean back, and make sure you are using reverse drawing silk.

（3）在掤時有傾之病否，為走之勁否？

When warding off, do not lean forward, and make sure you are using yielding.

（4）在按時有斜之病否，有粘之能否？

When pushing, do not lean to the sides, and make sure you are using sticking.

（5）推手時，掤勁夠度否，有無匾之病？

When pushing hands, do not let your ward-off energy be insufficient, committing the error of collapsing.

（6）推手時掤勁用之過甚否，有無頂之病？

When pushing hands, do not let your ward-off energy be excessive, committing the error of crashing in.

（7）推手時退步過速否，有無丟之病？

When pushing hands, do not retreat too fast, committing the error of coming away.

（8）推手時，進步過速否，有無抗之病？

When pushing hands, do not advance too fast, committing the error of resistance.

如能得到沾黏連隨之功，而無其病，則第一步推手已獲成功矣。

Once you can achieve the qualities of sticking, adhering, connecting, and following, and are without the errors mentioned above, you have obtained the basic level of skill in pushing hands.

–

第八段　捨己從人之詳求

STAGE EIGHT: LET GO OF YOURSELF AND FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE OPPONENT

上段得機得勢，乃屬於主動，捨己從人，乃屬於被動之得機得勢也。人若要己勁卽給之，人若來勁卽走之，人亂來卽拿之，人硬來則掉之，不與頂勢，不與丟勢，而後乃謂之捨己從人也。如欲合之，非運用空結挫揉四字不能得其效。

To obtain position and opportunity is a deliberate action, whereas to let go of oneself and follow along with the opponent is passive. If he invites power from you, give it to him. If he sends power to you, evade it. If he sloppily attacks, seize him. If he stiffly attacks, cast him off. Do not crash into him nor come away, and then it can be said that you are letting go of yourself and following along with the opponent. If you wish to merge with him, it will be ineffective without the four concepts of “emptying, joining, scraping, and kneading”.

1.所謂空者，乃因對方過於壓迫，故須纏轉瀉人之勁，於另一方面，而不許離開之謂也，瀉中並有瀉人瀉己之分，如個人掤勁，用之過大，為避免出圈或出隅計，應調整其勁，此種作用乃瀉於己之法也。此種瀉法無論瀉己瀉人，均為空勁法。

Emptying:

　　When the opponent gives you more pressure than you can handle, you have to use rotational actions to dispel his power, though making sure not to disconnect from him. This concept of “dispelling” can equally apply to either dispelling the opponent’s power or also to dispelling your own. If both of you are expressing ward-off energy toward each other at the same time, it will turn into excessive force. In order to avoid compromising your circle or switching to one of the four secondary techniques, you have to adjust the amount of force being applied, an example of dispelling your own power. This method of dispelling, whether his power or your own, is called “emptying force”.

2.所謂結者，乃因對方掤勁不夠，虛而不明，不足感覺對方勁之所在，故須以己之氣，增加於掤勁之內，逼迫對方不得不表示其勁，此種動作，乃補於人之法也，倘己之掤度過弱，不能與對方發生沾黏功效必須貫之以氣，使其中有膨勃之意，此補於己之法也。故補必須以氣補，不可以力補，若用力則為頂矣。故此種補之名詞，無論於己於人，均為結氣法。

Joining:

　　When the opponent’s ward-off energy is minimal, it is subtle and hard to read, difficult to feel where his force is going. Therefore you have to use your own energy, adding your ward-off to his, to make him reveal his force. This kind of action is a means of supplementing your opponent. If your own ward-off is too weak, you will not be able to effectively stick to him, and so you will have to feed in more energy to cause him to amplify his intention, which is a means of supplementing yourself. Supplementing is a matter of adding more energy, not force, which would result in crashing in. Supplementing in this way, regardless of adding to your own energy or adding to his, is called “joining energies”.

3.所謂挫者，乃因壓迫過甚，非空所能應付，故須用身法，使己之勁向下沉而後落，以化其勁，卽裏抽絲之勁者，若挫極則為捲，其功用是在瀉之內，加以引勁之勁，牽動對方之根也。

Scraping:

　　When the opponent’s pressure is so strong that emptying will not be enough to deal with it, you have to send your own energy sinking downward and dropping away behind in order to neutralize it – i.e. inward drawing silk. If scraping is done to the full reach of its motion, it turns into curling in. This skill is simply an extension of dispelling, drawing in all the way to get him to lift his heels.

4.所謂揉者，乃因對方之勁過弱，補之尚嫌不足，故以身法變換己之勁，微向外行而上起，以化其勁，卽外抽絲之勁也，若揉極則為放其功用在補之內，加以外反之勁，牽動對方之根也。

Kneading:

　　When the opponent’s pressure is so weak that supplementing it with more will not be enough, switch your own energy to going slightly outward and lifting upward in order to neutralize it – i.e. outward drawing silk. If kneading is done to the full reach of its motion, it turns into releasing. This skill is simply an extension of supplementing, reversing outward all the way to get him to lift his toes.

總之空結挫揉四字之運用，完全視對方之情形而後動，可謂完全屬於被動之字也。

蓋從己多生滯，從人則易活也。因捨己從人，方能感覺人勁之大小，彼我之輕重，惟感覺之生，乃固己之動作，己與對方發生沾黏連隨之後，而生隨方就圓，隨曲就伸之功也。因能隨方就圓，方能辨別對方勁之方向，而後明瞭人之意念如何，來去如何，長短如何也，若不善從人，勢必由己，是為主觀，有主觀，則心滯，能從人，則為客觀，有客觀心，則意活，故能從人，手上便有分寸，乃秤彼勁之大小也，方為懂人勁之功夫也，但人之失敗，亦在捨己從人因從中自有分寸，若盲從不止，必至陷己於不拔之地，而無法回救其身，反受從人之害矣；故從人有一定範圍，過此則須接續其勁，轉換其身手，從中略加變化而後再從之，卽再加一圈，是為接勁之法也，不然乃捨己以徇人矣，故從人並非難事，所難者在從人者，己身仍須得機得勢耳，因為在從人中，己身仍能得勢，則對方易感於不得勢，其中空𨻶自生，得機亦可作到矣，因是在從人中，自可佈成可蓄可發之局面則從人之時，卽是攻擊之時矣。無須將從人與攻擊分為二時期，其直接了當時機迅速何等爽利也，茲舉例如下：

In sum, applying the four principles of emptying, joining, scraping, and kneading is entirely about observing the opponent’s situation and then acting in accordance with it, which is fundamentally a matter of being passive.

　　If you do whatever you feel like, you will often end up getting stuck, whereas if you go along with the opponent, it will be easier to move. By letting go of oneself and following along with the opponent, you will be able to feel whether his force is large or small and then gauge your lightness or heaviness accordingly. When what you feel from him is the basis of your own movement, you have an established a state of sticking and following, switching between squareness and roundness as needed, fulfilling the skill of “comply and bend, then engage and extend”. Equipped with this skill, you will then be able to distinguish the direction of his force, and with it know his intention, his timing, and his range.

　　If you are not good at following along with the opponent, you will try to act from yourself, acting upon subjective impressions, which will make you sluggishly distracted by your own ideas. If instead you can allow yourself to follow along with him, you will be open to objective information, which will spark your intention to respond more alertly. The better you can follow what he is doing, the better you can detect changes at a small scale, and the better you can measure the size of his force, this being the skill of “identifying energy”.

　　However, although the opponent’s defeat is also dependent upon on how well you can let go of yourself and follow along with him, this is because within following along with him lies the opportunity to detect changes at that smaller scale. If you let yourself follow along with whatever he does but without paying any attention to what he is doing, you will fall into a trap with no way to save yourself. That is the peril of following blindly.

　　Therefore there are definite limits to as to how far you should follow along with the opponent. If you notice you are going along with him too far, you will have to continue the flow of his energy while slightly reorienting your position, then return to following along with him as normal, now keeping a more balanced circle. This emergency measure is the concept of “continuing energy”. Without respecting the limits of following, you would only be letting go of yourself in order to give the opponent total control over you.

　　Following along with the opponent is not really a problem as long as you keep yourself well-positioned. While following along with him, you have to maintain your ability to take advantage of any opportunities. This condition causes him to feel that he has fewer opportunities himself, thereby generating gaps in his structure which give you even more opportunities. Staying able to manage your own position so that you are always ready to store and issue means that in the midst of following along with him, you can at any moment attack. It is not necessary to separate following and attacking into two different moments, for they can switch from one into the other directly, promptly, and efficiently.

　　Some things to check on:

推手捨己之轉換時，接勁接得上否？

When adjusting your position while following along with the opponent, are you continuing the flow of his energy?

捨己之走化時，得勢否，有無俯仰之病？

While yielding, are you maintaining the opportunity to act, and are you making the mistake of leaning in any direction?

從人之粘定時，得勢吾，有無斷接之病？

While sticking, are you maintaining the opportunity to act, and are you making the mistake of breaking the flow?

如均能作到，則捨己從人之攻成已。

If you can fulfill these requirements, you have achieved the skill of letting go of yourself and following along with the opponent.

–

第九段　知己知彼之要求

STAGE NINE: KNOWING BOTH SELF & OPPONENT

知己係運知，知彼係動覺，卽在鍛鍊有素之後，一舉一動，可以覺悟己勁之所在，及氣之所行也。如欲知彼又須在知己之後，因能以心行氣，以氣運身，先使己身從心之度化，而變化之，乃可從人之變化以變化之從而化之，是為知彼，能知己知彼；則內中有空結挫揉以調節之，拿掉要給以制之；而後雙方沾粘如一；倘能沾黏，則可以行收放，若收放至七分時，卽須停住，以施聽勁之法，因至此地步，在個人言之，乃變換蓄發之適當度數，以對方言之，至此地位不得不表示反應之勁矣。所以在此地位，停之以聽勁，免得發時與對方發生抗頂之病，方可發得人出也。夫練習太極拳者，莫不知有聽勁之法，然須明白聽之時也。並非雙方之手，搭上時卽可聽勁也。所以非至此地點，不可用聽勁之法，卽能聽之，亦無所用也。若在七分時，己身藏有捲放之勢，張弓以待聽，有左行之勢；則借其勢行順蓄以外發之；若右行則行逆蓄以外發之，所以太極拳呼聽勁為發勁之先聲也。蓋此地步乃可蓄以手走而身蓄，乃可發以身正，而脊發也。因此種蓄發施之於人，人無滑走變換之機會，方可收用聽勁以發勁之效也。陳譜云：虛籠詐誘只為一轉，來脈得勢轉關何難，正為此而言也。有此聽勁之轉關法，在而後自可引進以落空，行四兩撥千斤之功矣。所謂引進落空者，乃纏接閃還四字也。總之曰化勁。四兩撥千斤者，乃撩逗了抖四字也。總之曰發勁。處於何時應纏接閃還。何時應撩逗抖了。非如彼不能適其用。非知己不能運其法。如不能知己之勁，何能引彼以進自己之圈內，而使之落空哉！如不知彼之勁，何能加之四兩，卽可撥去千斤之勁乎。此所以為難也。雖然懂勁固屬以之彼為先，仍是以己為要，自己姿勢，勁別神氣，及一切安擺恰當，彼以勁來，己以勁應，在彼勁將動絲毫之際，趁勢而入，接骨逗筍，以接其空𨻶，彼動彼自跌出矣！此所謂彼不動，己不動，彼微動，己先動，以借力打人也，在此時仍須以得勢為前提，如有不得勢處，便是雙重，未化要在動靜之機內，陰陽之圈裏，動分靜合中以求之；而後此病乃可去。此所謂知己知彼，而後百戰百勝也。

Knowing yourself means knowing what you are doing. Knowing the opponent means sensing what he is up to. Once you have built a solid foundation, then with every movement, you will have an awareness of where your energy is and where it is going. If you want to know the opponent, you first have to know yourself. Once you are able to “use your mind to move energy, use energy to move your body”, your body is following your mind and making adjustments to suit its commands. You can then follow along with the opponent’s changes and make adjustments according to what he is doing. Adapting to the opponent’s changes is what it means to “know the opponent”. You thus have gained the ability to “know both self and opponent”.

　　Making internal adjustments using the methods of emptying, joining, scraping, and kneading, you are thus able to control him with seizing and discarding, giving and taking, and thereby sticking to him as if two people are one. Able to stick, you can apply gathering and releasing. But if that is not working, stop trying and switch to using “listening”. You have to judge the right instant to switch from storing to issuing, which is dependent on the opponent showing reaction. In order to avoid issuing and encountering the errors of resistance or crashing in, stopping and listening will enable your issuing to successfully send him away.

　　All Taiji Boxing practitioners know about the concept of listening to energy, but they have to understand when to use it. It is not really something that activates as soon as your hands reach out and connect with his. If his energy is not doing something for you to listen to, listening would be pointless. Keep hidden within you a state of curling in and releasing, like drawing a bow in readiness to loose an arrow. If he attacks on your left side, borrow his force with smooth drawing silk, store, and issue it away. If he attacks on your right side, borrow his force with reverse drawing silk, store, and issue it away. Listening is simply the internal cue to issue.

　　Storing yields with the hands and stores in the body, then issuing straightens the body and shoots from the spine. Storing and issuing in this way gives him no chance to slip away or adjust, granting you a moment to gather in and listen in order to make the issuing more effective. Chen Xin wrote: “Tricking him into an empty cage, you then only need to rotate. Once you are in the right position, there is little difficulty in catching the right timing.” True words indeed.

　　By listening for the right moment, you will naturally be able to draw him in to land on nothing and perform the trick of four ounces deflecting a thousand pounds. “Drawing him in to land on nothing” is related to the four terms of twining, continuing, dodging, and returning, which are all methods of neutralizing. “Four ounces deflecting a thousand pounds” is related to the four terms of provoking, teasing, shaking, and finishing, which are all methods of issuing.

　　When should you use twining, continuing, dodging, or returning? When should you use provoking, teasing, shaking, or finishing? If you do not know the opponent, you will be unable to choose the right techniques. If you do not know yourself, you will be unable to follow the correct principles. If you cannot know your own energy, how can you draw him inside your own circle so that he lands on nothing? If you cannot know his energy, how can you add four ounces to deflect away his thousand pounds? These things would become almost impossible.

　　When identifying energies, knowing the opponent is the priority, but your awareness of yourself is also crucial, your postures, techniques, and spirit all needing to fit the situation so that when he attacks, you will have the right response. If he makes the slightest movement, take advantage of it. Connect all the way into his bones in order to connect to the gaps in his structure, then as soon as he moves, he makes himself fall. This is what is meant by: “If he takes no action, I take no action, but once he takes even the slightest action, I have already acted.” It is a case of “borrowing his force to hit him with”.

　　In this moment, proper positioning is prerequisite. Without being properly positioned, you will easily make the error of double pressure instead of neutralizing to one side. The key to fixing this error lies in the alternation of movement and stillness, the rotating of the yinyang circle. “When there is movement, passive and active qualities become distinct from each other. When there is stillness, they return to being indistinguishable.” With that problem solved, you can now live up to Sunzi’s maxim: “Knowing both self and opponent, you will win every time.”

–

以上九段，乃按照各譜之精華，融和原理以編成者，按段求進，乃學習者練習應有之方針，若越級而上；則難免有欲速不達之苦，反之愈求愈遠矣。

由第七段至第九段，乃推手應經過之階級，非具推手資格之後，不可學也。而推手之對方，尤須注意非有相等功夫，或精底精高者不可，與之對待，以求進步，倘貿然行之，則易傳染病之推動，是求進反退矣。

總之以上走架子之三步審查法，乃根據工心解之原則，推手之三步審查法，乃根據太極拳論之原則，太極拳論：八門之勁別分淸法，與五步之運用，係根據王譜之八門五步用功法，及黃譜之步法，所合編而成，太極拳練習之程序，係根據李譜之原則，統此三部，均本科學之精神，加以說明，使初學者，得一修練之方針，高深者得一自省之方法，不論授者，為何種架子，不論學者為何派之太極拳，如能按照其創造之元理，以運使一切，均可呼之為眞正之太極拳。至架子之長短，或前後之倒置，均無關宏旨，倘所練之架子，不能如工心解所規定。所習之推手，不能如太極拳論之所指示，架子內勁別不分，步法不合，練習不按程序，動作毫無意義，卽由王宗岳氏所親授者，亦不能稱之為太極拳也。蓋言行不能一致；則太極拳原理已失，安能以輕治重，以慢治快乎？太極拳論有云：差之毫釐，失之千里，學者不可不詳辨焉。此乃先哲諄諄以告誡後學者也。在後學者，豈可堅持成見，用力勝人，用快打慢，以負先哲之期望乎？所以吾人應兢兢業業，把住此遺留之標準，研究，其眞義，範圍其練習，則事半而功倍，不致徒入寶山而空還矣。現時學習此拳者，每感於聚訟盈庭，莫衷一是之苦。若本此拳譜遺流之論，加以琢磨，自可免去許多無謂之爭執，何者為眞正太極拳，自可由工心解，太極拳論，及八門五步之義意，審查是否相合，以答覆其問矣。

The nine-part process above was inspired by the classics, mixing together principles from various texts, because students ought to have clear-cut guidance to help them progress through their training. If you skip steps, it will be hard to avoid a case of “haste makes waste”. Instead be content with an approach of “the more you seek, the more you find”.

　　Stages Seven through Nine depict the stages of training in pushing hands. If you are not yet ready for it, you will not be able to learn it. Attention must be given to your pushing hands partner. If he is not at a similar level to you, too much a beginner or too advanced, you will not receive as much benefit. Again, patiently progress. If you try to rush ahead to a higher level, you will easily develop counterproductive habits, and end up regressing instead of progressing.

　　Generally speaking, for the solo set training, go by the principles in “Understanding How to Practice”, and for the pushing hands training, go by the principles in the “Taiji Boxing Treatise”. The eight gates and five steps come to us from Wang Zongyue’s writings, influenced by Huang Baijia’s stepping methods, and the training sequence is based on Li Yiyu’s writings. These three sources all have a scientific mentality to start with. Additional explanation provides beginners with guidelines for practice and advanced students with methods for self-examination. No matter which solo set is taught or which style of Taiji is learned, as long as you are practicing according to the principles, you can say that you are doing authentic Taiji Boxing.

　　The size of your postures and the particular directions you face are not really important. What matters is that you are practicing the solo set in accordance with How to Practice and practicing the pushing hands in accordance with the Treatise. If the eight basic techniques are not distinct, if the five kinds of steps are five other kinds of steps, if the training sequence is out of order, and if the movements are meaningless, then even if you were learning from Wang Zongyue in person, you would not be able to claim that what you are doing is Taiji Boxing.

　　Suit the action to the word, the word to the action. If not, you have abandoned the principles of the art. How then can you expect to defeat heaviness with lightness, or defeat quickness with slowness? The Treatise says: “Miss by an inch, lose by a mile. You must understand all of these ideas clearly.” This is a sincere warning from the early masters to future students.

　　Do not cling to the conventional notions of the strong defeating the weak or the fast defeating the slow, betraying the hopes of those old masters. Therefore we should practice conscientiously and hold the classics as the standard, studying their genuine principles and letting them dictate the parameters of our training, and thus we will get twice the result for half the effort, instead of going on a quest for treasure only to end up empty-handed.

　　Practitioners nowadays all feel the bitterness of conflicting opinions, as though in a courtroom filled with arguing lawyers. If we simply contemplate the old writings, we can dispense with a lot of pointless debate about what is authentic Taiji Boxing. Just check whether your practice is conforming to the Treatise, How to Practice, and the Thirteen Dynamics. Those texts will answer all your questions.

–

走架子修練根本圖　第一至第六段之課程

SOLO SET PROGRESS DIAGRAM (Stages 1-6):

運勁基於離心力

centrifugal force

無力勝有力　手慢勝手快

weak defeats strong / slow defeats fast

|　　　　　　　　　　　|

行抽絲以旋轉作動形　走內圈以腰脊為主動

drawing silk using rotational motion / circular movement driven from lower back

|　　　　　　　　　　　|

順抽絲為開之主　　　鬆腰為左右之內圈

smooth drawing silk controls opening / loosening lower back guides motion left & right

逆抽絲為合之主　　　拔背為上下之內圈

reverse drawing silk controls closing / rounding upper back guides motion up & down

|　　　　　　　　　　　|

放發　　　　　　　　　身正

releasing & issuing / torso upright

結揉　　　　　　　　　頂懸

joining & kneading / headtop suspended

掤擠　　　　　　　　　跨開

warding off & pressing / crotch opened

捲蓄　　　　　　　　　膝曲

curling in & storing / knees bent

空挫　　　　　　　　　沉肩

emptying & scraping / sinking shoulders

捋按　　　　　　　　　含胸

rolling back & pushing / hollowing chest

　|　　　　　　　　　　墜肘

                                              drooping elbows

　|　　　　　　　　　　直腕

                                               extended forearms

|　　　　　　　　　　|

變　　　　　　　　　一

adjusting / unifying

|

靈

alertness

剛　沉　靜　　　動　輕　柔

hard, sinking, still / moving, light, soft

實　　　虛

fullness / emptiness

–

推手修練根本圖　第七第八第九三段之課程

PUSHING HANDS PROGRESS DIAGRAM (Stages 7-9):

輕靈以旋轉

alertly using rotational force

本人

離心力

centrifugal force from you

掤　掤　掤

warding off

實　合　纏勁　開　虛

fullness / closing / twining / opening / emptiness

給　逗勁　粘走　接勁　要

giving / teasing / sticking & yielding / continuing / taking

隨　連　黏　沾

following / connecting / adhering / sticking

揉　挫　結　空

kneading / scraping / joining / emptying

靠　肘　採　挒

bumping / elbowing / plucking / rending

向心力

對方

centripetal force into opponent

還　　　　　閃

returning / dodging

了　　　撩

finishing / provoking

掉　拿

discarding / seizing

–

附太極拳術語辭典

APPENDIX: A DICTIONARY OF TAIJI BOXING TERMINOLOGY

凡一種專門學術，常有一種術語，以資簡單代表應用之方法，此種術語，多係習慣上所染成者，亦有因俗語而漸成者，有時字面與意義完全不同者，亦有按照字面內中毫無意義可言者，惟經過多年之後，一再傳授，則為確定之名詞，轉視為當然矣，學習太極拳者，如不知太極拳術語之裏面，徒為字面意義所拘束，則不易得到正確運動之精神，倘聯想易經及神秘之名詞，作為根據，是有實數而不用，反求代數以成抽象說明，可謂之開倒車矣，未免愈錯愈遠，離開拳術之本題矣，料想現時懷疑太極拳之名詞意義者，大有人在，蓋解釋不一，意見紛紛，令人心中具有苦悶難言之槪，而無所適從，至欲求上進者，因此項詞意之不明，如入五里霧中，各有摸索，於修練上多有妨礙矣，茲為便利學習計，似應有一種確定之解說，以範圍其用，而後本此解說以努力前進，則不致差之毫釐失之千里矣，茲分項說明如下，

Every specialized field of study has its own specialized terminology in order to more easily explain what it is trying to do. These terms are usually things that get habitually repeated or are gradually formed from paraphrasing related common sayings. Sometimes the specialized usage of a word will be vastly different from its literal meaning, or even have nothing to do with it at all, but after years of repeated usage of its altered meaning, that meaning becomes the standard usage for it within that particular field, having become regarded by the people within it as being the normal usage of the word.

　　If students of Taiji Boxing do not open their minds to its specialized terminology and are instead stuck in the literal meanings of the words, then it will not be easy to achieve the proper mentality of the exercise. Consider the mystical terminology of the Book of Changes, which gives abstract meanings to words rather than concrete ones. At first glance, it may seem counterproductive to use words in such a way. Nevertheless, the more that students misinterpret Taiji Boxing terms by expecting them to conform to their literal meanings, the farther they will stray from the theme of this boxing art.

　　There seem to be quite a few people nowadays who distrust the meanings of Taiji Boxing terminology and come up with their own interpretations one after another. This causes students to doubt the whole thing, confused about which interpretation to follow, and thus lose their motivation to practice it at all. Even for those who stick to it and want to make progress, if the terminology is not understood, they will essentially be groping around in a dense fog, encountering endless obstacles.

　　To facilitate the learning of this art, it seems that definite explanations are required in order to prevent interpretation from getting out of hand. On the basis of this, practitioners can then confidently charge ahead, bypassing a situation of “miss by an inch, lose by a mile”. The major terms used in the art are therefore presented below:

（1）掤勁　求有彈性之勁也，

Warding off: a springy energy.

乃練習氣功貫串放內，使身手中有如打氣之橡皮帶也，

Through practicing qigong, this energy will be coursing through you, causing your body and arms to have a quality akin to an inflated rubber tire.

（2）捋勁　求有摩擦性之勁也，

Rolling back: a rubbing energy.

乃換移地點之內下掤勁也，使雙方接觸之點，互相緊貼，以行摩擦之功也，

Shift at the point of contact to an inward and slightly downward ward-off energy, creating an even firmer connection to the opponent so that you can apply this technique of rubbing him away.

（3）擠勁　兩力合之勁也，

Pressing: an example of “resultant force”.

乃以兩種不同方向之勁，交叉聚於焦點，以放出之勁也，

Two forces in different directions intersect at a focal point and together produce a force in a new direction [i.e. both your arms join and press out together at the same spot].

（4）按勁　抑捺不離開之勁也，

Pushing: an energy of pressing down on the opponent without disconnecting from him.

乃範定對方之一點，使之發生反應彈性，不令滑脫或亂舞也。

Stick consistently at the point of contact, causing him to generate a reactive tension, but keeping him from slipping away or wriggling free.

（5）採勁　兩力分之勁也，

Plucking: dividing the opponent’s force into two paths.

乃拿住對方之一點而分之，使對方不得不表示力之出發點，兼可制止一切油滑手法也。

Seize him at the point of contact so that he can neither express force toward you nor slip away from you.

（6）挒勁　擊鼓之撾勁也，

Rending: using a knocking energy as though beating a drum.

乃旋轉以蓄加大彈性突然發出之勁，意義中有入內之可能性也。

Use a rotational action to build up extra springiness and then suddenly issue. There has to be an intention of penetrating inward in order for it to be effective.

（7）肘勁　轉換於肘擊之勁也，

Elbowing: switching to attacking with your elbow.

乃轉換於肘之上下臂部，以突擊之謂，為用挒之二道防線也。

Switch your power focus to the overlap between your forearm and upper arm, and suddenly attack. This is the second line of defense if rending has failed.

（8）靠勁　旋轉由體倒出之勁也，

Bumping: turning your body sideways to reverse the opponent’s power back into himself.

乃轉換於身體一部分，以倒出人身之勁，為用挒之三道防線也。

Switch your power focus from your arm to your body (i.e. the shoulder area) to send his power back to him. This is the third line of defense after both rending and elbowing have failed.

（9）沾勁　乃定住一點而不移也，

Sticking: to stay at the point of contact and not be shifted from it.

乃定住一物之上，如生根於其地，無論如何變化，而不離開此點也。

Stay on the opponent as though growing tendrils into him. No matter how he adjusts, do not disconnect from the point of contact.

（10）黏勁　含膠質以移動之，

Adhering: to move around with the point of contact as though glued to it.

乃沾定一物而緊貼之，以移轉而不離開其面也。

Sticking firmly to the opponent, move with him and do not disconnect from him.

（11）連勁　退中含有牽動之勁也，

Connecting: an energy of tugging in while retreating.

乃將對方之勁延長入己之圈內以拿之也。

Extend the opponent’s energy by using seizing to draw him into your circle.

（12）隨勁　進中含有牽動之勁也，

Following: an energy of pushing away while advancing.

乃將己勁延長，入他人圈內而擊發也。

Extend your own energy to invade the opponent’s circle and then attack with issuing.

（13）空勁　瀉去人之勁也，

Emptying: dispelling the opponent’s force.

乃不以頂勢相對，轉側以瀉人之勁，使之落空也。

Instead of crashing against him, turn your body sideways to dispel his force, causing it to land on nothing.

（14）結勁　補助人之勁也，

Joining: supplementing the opponent’s energy.

乃用於對方勁匾者，由己勁補之，以資雙方緊貼可以牽動也。

When his energy collapses, supplement it with your own, thereby establishing a more secure sticking so that you can then draw him in.

（15）挫勁　逆轉於內下之勁也，

Scraping: switching your energy to going inward and downward.

乃轉換內纏逆纏姿勢，以瀉空其勁，使其不得勢也。

Switch to twining inward, the same as in reverse drawing silk, in order to dispel and empty the opponent’s force, thereby ruining his position.

（16）揉勁　順轉於外上之勁也，

Kneading: switching your energy to going upward and outward.

乃轉換外纏順纏姿勢，以散化其勁，使其不得勢也。

Switch to twining outward, the same as in smooth drawing silk, in order to scatter and neutralize the opponent’s force, thereby ruining his position.

（17）纏勁　螺絲以繞轉其點也，

Twining: using spiraling motions to encircle a particular point.

乃旋轉以環繞其點，使之不能離也。

This causes the opponent to be unable to separate from you.

（18）接勁　延長己之勁也，

Continuing: lengthening your energy.

乃接續己勁以加長，並能接續他人之勁而為一也。

Continue your own energy by reaching farther, which thereby enables you to also continue the opponent’s energy and stay merged with it.

（19）逗勁　投筍以入之勁也，

Teasing: tossing some energy into the opponent’s energy.

乃接續對方之勁，投筍以成相對之線也。

While continuing his energy, toss some extra energy into it to establish a more secure link to him.

（20）抖勁　突然以震動也，

Shaking: to give a sudden shock.

乃全身捲蓄後，突然勃發之勁也。

Your whole body curls in and stores, then suddenly issues power.

（21）閃勁　側身以去其勁也，

Dodging: turning your body sideways to evade.

乃轉身以化其勁，不以強硬抵抗之也。

Turn your body in order to neutralize the opponent’s force instead of using strength to resist against it.

（22）還勁　裏纏外反也，

Returning: twining inward and then reversing outward.

乃採奪其勁，在不停頓中，復回以放之也。

Seize the opponent’s attacking force, and then without any pause, send it back to him, using it to send him away.

（23）撩勁　引誘其勁而出也，

Provoking: to lure out the opponent’s force.

乃旋轉壓迫其點，使之發生反動以持之也。

Roll into place to create pressure at the point of contact, causing him to generate a reactive force in order to keep his position.

（24）拿勁　節而抓之也，

Seizing: grabbing the joints.

乃用指勁，虛籠住人之身手一部分也。

Using energy at your fingers, seem to envelope a part of the opponent’s body or arms.

（25）換勁　移動用勁之部分也，

Switching: changing the place where energy is expressed.

乃轉換此節之勁，展至他節以化人也。

Shift the presence of your energy from one joint to another in order to neutralize the opponent.

（26）了勁　突放以標手之勁也，

Finishing: to suddenly release by flinging out your hand.

乃出其不意，遇有空隙，卽投入，擊之而不分別挒放發之謂也。

Take the opponent by surprise. As soon as a gap appears, throw out an attack, ignoring the need to distinguish between the releasing that goes with rending and the issuing that goes with straight-line techniques.

（27）受勁　人給我受也，

Receiving: taking whatever the opponent gives you.

乃對方勁來，坦然以捲而收之也。

When there is incoming force, calmly curl in and gather it.

（28）給勁　人要我給也，

Giving: letting him have it.

乃人要勁，決不吝嗇，毅然送出，下塌以給之也。

If the opponent wants force, don’t be stingy, give him more than he bargained for, enough to crush him under the weight of it.

（29）捲勁　大圈化為小圈也，

Curling in: when a large circle becomes a small circle.

乃用逆纏，由大外圈以入於小內圈也。

Using reverse drawing silk, go from a large outward circle to a small inward circle.

（30）放勁　小圈化為大圈也，

Releasing: when a small circle becomes a large circle.

乃用順纏由內小圈以成大外圈也。

Using smooth drawing silk, go from a small inward circle to a large outward circle.

（31）蓄勁　成為勁弓也，

Storing: forming an energy bow.

乃加大掤勁，而捲放之，張弓以待也。

Increase your ward-off energy while curling in and preparing to release, as if you are drawing a bow and waiting in readiness to loose an arrow.

（32）發勁　突直其性也，

Issuing: to shoot out suddenly and directly.

乃由彈性之脫扣，以發出其勁，而不計是挒是放也。

An unleashing of springiness shoots out power straight ahead. This kind of power expression does not apply to rending or releasing, which involve curved motions.

（33）兩儀　平行之偶力也，

The dual aspects: the balance of passive and active when encountering force.

乃順逆抽絲互為應用，為偶力之功也。

Smooth drawing silk and reverse drawing silk should assist each other. This is the way to meet force.

（34）虛實　重心偏差也，

Emptiness & fullness: the shifting of your center of gravity.

乃使所有重心，均須在三分之二以內活動，而留有偏差數也。

Your center of gravity should never shift more than two thirds to one side. This enables you to stay internally nimble, the remaining third giving you plenty of room to maneuver.

（35）平準　立身中正也，

“Standing like a scale”: standing centered and balanced.

乃不使身體，有俯仰傾斜之形也。

Do not allow your body to lean forward, back, or to either side.

（36）沾點　竪來橫沾，橫來竪沾也，

Point of contact: attention given to meeting a vertical force horizontally or a horizontal force vertically.

乃本槓桿方向之法以求沾也。

Seek to make contact at the point that gives the best direction of leverage.

（37）缺陷　氣不飽滿也，

“Cracks and gaps”: insufficient fullness of energy.

乃身體一部分缺乏掤勁之謂也。

Some part of your body lacks ward-off energy.

（38）陰陽　兩者相異而相對也，

Passive & active: the euphemism for pairs of complimentary opposites.

乃放，出，發，開，剛，肉，用，氣，身，武與收，入，蓄，合，柔，骨，體，理，心，文，兩者相對而相異之名詞也。

Examples: gathering/releasing, bringing/sending, storing/issuing, closing/opening, softness/hardness, bone/muscle, theory/practice, principle/energy, mind/body, civil/martial…

（39）聽勁　靜待對方表示出勁也，

Listening: waiting in stillness for the opponent to express power.

乃對方沾定之時，靜待對方微動，而順之以先動也。

Once you have connected with the opponent, calmly wait for him, and then smoothly precede him. [i.e. “If he takes no action, I take no action, but once he takes even the slightest action, I have already acted.”]

（40）得關　有𨻶可乘也，

Obtaining opportunity: having a gap to take advantage of.

乃因對方有𨻶可入，得以乘之也。

When the opponent shows an opening, make use of it while you can.

（41）得勢　重心安定也，

Obtaining position: having a stable center of gravity.

乃重心偏差，不過兩足三分之二，可以順遂以活動也。

With your center of gravity shifting no more than two thirds of the way to either side, you will be able to move smoothly.

（42）開展　加大動作之圈也，

Expand: enlarging the circular motion.

乃伸長手足內部之筍帶，以加大動作也。

Extend through your limbs from within to expand the size of your movement.

（43）緊湊　縮小動作之圈也，

Contract: shrinking the circular motion.

乃收歛手足之動件，而以氣運身之謂也。

Withdraw the size of your movement to the point that you are merely “using energy to move your body”.

（44）八卦　八種勁別也，

Eight trigrams: referring to the eight basic techniques (ward-off, rollback, press, push, pluck, rend, elbow, bump).

乃動作時，因用勁之地位不同，故別之為八也。

While moving, the different basic arm positions equal eight, hence their association with the eight trigrams.

（45）五行　五種步之方向也，

Five elements: referring to the five directions of stepping (forward, back, left, right, center).

乃動作時，因步之方位不同，故別之為五也。

When stepping, the different directions of the feet equal five, hence their association with the five elements.

（46）摺疊　意上寓下之反行也，

Folding: using an opposite action, as in “if your intention wants to go upward, then harbor a downward intention”.

乃正行必先反，反行必先正之意也。

To get through in one direction, first seem to go in the other, and vice versa.

（47）借力　給人以加速力，

Borrowing force: accelerating the opponent’s force.

乃沾定一點，順其所走方向，而以加速力引隨之也。

Sticking firmly to the point of contact, go along with the direction of his movement, but add to the speed of it to draw him in.

（48）氣功　氧化運動也，

Qigong (“energy training”): literally “breathing exercise”.

乃練就血液內氧氣加增，且能由精神意志以指揮而運行也。

Practicing this increases the oxygen content of the blood. The term can also denote movement directed purely by willpower.

（49）牽動　倒換偏沉以牽引也，

Tugging: turning and sinking to one side in order to draw in.

乃利用偏沉倒換之勁也，作發動機，以吸引一切外方之勁也。

Using sinking and turning as the engine, draw in all of the opponent’s force.

（50）順抽絲　往外上以旋轉也，

Smooth drawing silk: spiraling upward and outward.

乃屬於攻勢之抽絲，用以逼人之勁也。

This is an offensive action, used for crowding the opponent’s force.

（51）逆抽絲　往內下以旋轉也，

Reverse drawing silk: spiraling inward and downward.

乃屬於援救回守之抽絲，用以瀉人之勁也。

This is a defensive action, used for dispelling the opponent’s force.

（52）接骨逗筍　尋向心力也，

“Connection to his bones”: using centripetal force.

乃尋求向心力之點，而後發之，恰在對方重心之上也。

Seek ever inward for the perfect point of connection, then issue right into the opponent’s center of gravity.

（53）運化主宰　本離心力也，

“The hub of movement and neutralization”: using centrifugal force.

乃一切運使，均以腰脊作中心，以化人之勁也。

With every movement, use your lower back as the hub of your wheel of motion, from there neutralizing away the opponent’s force.

（54）神氣鼓盪　神氣活潑而振作也，

“Spirit and energy being roused”: the need for spirit and energy to be lively and alert.

乃運勁時，氣隨神，神隨意，以週行而發揚也。

While performing the movements, energy follows spirit, spirit follows intention, and this is developed through using circular motions.

（55）上下相隨　手與足分虛實也，

“Upper body and lower body coordinating with each other”: the same hand and foot having opposite emptiness and fullness.

乃右手右足，及左手左足動作時務須手沉則足虛，手虛則足實也。

The way your right hand corresponds to your right foot or left hand to left foot, is that when the hand becomes heavy, the foot becomes empty, and when the hand lightens, the foot becomes full.

（56）周身一家　全身節節貫串也，

“Whole body functioning as a single unit”: all of your joints working together.

乃週身各項關節，能貫串如一，一動無有不動也。

With every part of your body able to work together as one, you fulfill the principle of “if one part moves, every part moves”.

（57）收歛入骨　神氣隱於內也，

“Gathering into your bones”: hiding spirit and energy within.

乃將全身之筋，使有拉長之意，以運行也。

Have an intention throughout your body of lengthening your sinews and then operate from the resulting sense of having more room within.

（58）懂勁　知己知彼也，

Identifying energies: the full awareness of both self and opponent.

乃係身手中感覺靈敏，明瞭對方勁之動靜變化也。

This has to do with perceiving clearly, through your body and hands, the state of the opponent’s energy, whether it is moving, in stillness, or adjusting.

（59）兩膊相繫　兩肐膊間如繫也，

Linked arms: your arms seeming to be bound together.

召兩肐膊之間，如有一綫相繫以動作也。

Your arms seem to be linked by an invisible thread that coordinates their movement with each other.

（60）兩腿相隨　兩腿間亦如繫也，

Linked legs: your legs seeming to be bound together.

乃兩腿間加強彈性如一足邁大時餘一足必隨之也。

There is an elastic relationship between your legs. For instance, when one foot takes a very large step, the other foot will follow it.

（61）虛領頂勁　乃頂有上掤勁也，

“Forcelessly pressing up your headtop”: giving your headtop an energy of warding off upward.

乃頂頭懸起有如頭之上部有一綫以繫住也。

Your headtop is suspended, as though the top of your head is attached to a string.

（62）含胸拔背　不使胸部凸出須含住也，

“Hollowing your chest and rounding your upper back”: not allowing your chest to stick out, instead holding it in.

乃脊背有拔長之意，則前胸自含矣。

Have an intention of lengthening your spine, then your chest will naturally hollow.

（63）沉肩墜肘　不使肘肩揚起也，

“Sinking your shoulders and drooping your elbows”: not allowing your elbows or shoulders to rise up.

乃使肘往下沉以運轉則肩亦連貫自沉矣。

Consciously make your elbows heavy, and then your shoulders will naturally sink down as well.

（64）鬆腰開跨　腰如帶束因帶能旋轉方謂束也，

“Loosening your lower back and opening your hips”: like tightening your belt instead of letting it be loose and easily slip out of place.

乃尾閭中正以立身，則腰自鬆，腰鬆，則跨亦自開也。

Tucking in your tailbone straightens your body. By straightening your body, your lower back will naturally loosen. By loosening your lower back, the front of your hips will naturally open.

（65）頂病　出頭太過也，

Crashing in: leading with your head.

乃掤勁太過，突出其尖，有類鼓滯之勁以上撞也。

When your ward-off energy is excessive, you will become top-heavy, sluggish, and end up crashing into the opponent.

（66）匾病　掤勁過弱也，

Collapsing: when your ward-off energy is too weak.

乃用掤勁不夠其度，致雙方不能生活，虛有其表也。

When your ward-off energy is insufficient to equal the opponent’s own, there will be a lack of liveliness. Although it may look convincing, really there is nothing there.

（67）丟病　離開對方之一點也，

The error of coming away: disconnecting from the point of contact.

乃手中未含有彈性兼離開太速，不能與對方以連之功也。

If your hand comes away too fast before manifesting a springiness at the point of contact, you will not be able to establish a connection to the opponent.

（68）抗病　應之太速而相衝也，

The error of resistance: responding too fast only to collide with the opponent.

乃彼此應而應之過早，致有衝突也。

In too much of a hurry, you respond too soon, with the result that you run into him in futility.

（69）俯病　身前伏以鼓後腰勁也，

The error of leaning forward: when your body leans forward so much that your hips are sticking out.

乃因身之前伏，致重心越過足尖也。

Leaning forward causes your weight to go over your toes.

（70）仰病　身後仰以腆胸也，

The error of leaning back: when your body leans back so that your chest is sticking out.

乃後仰之勢，致重心越過足跟也。

Leaning back causes your weight to go over your heels.

（71）斷病　勁斷意亦斷也，

The error of interruption: when your power and intention have both stopped.

乃勁斷時之意亦連帶而斷也。

When your power has finished, this may cause your intention to finish as well.

（72）接病　似接而未接也，

The error of discontinuity: when there seems to be continuity but there is not.

接非其點，外形雖接，而勁實未接也。

When continuing without a point of contact, there appears outwardly to be continuity, but there is actually no continuity of energy.

以上七十二項名詞乃太極拳常用之名詞，凡傳習太極拳者，莫不知之，而樂引其詞於所授方法之中，惟解說意義，常有不同，有是有非，致就學於彼者，悞於所授之謬解，往往以先入為主，不復計及實在如何，反盡力擁護其說於不知不覺間，自身已隨其悞解趨入歧途矣，功夫進步旣遲，所得效果自微，徒勞往返，有負熱心學習此業之旨矣，足見名詞解說適當與否，關係所練之成績甚重且大，如上列所有名詞，乃練習太極拳所常用者，茲根據力學原理以譯之，附以英文，以資易於明瞭，至譯出之意，均本此拳精義而來，並不拘以以字面，解作為標準，願世之同好此拳者，審查自身之所練有無含藏此等名詞之類目在內，如有之，是否作此解說，如是之，則請將此等名詞，一一實現於練法用法之中，自不致有名無實，似是而非之太極拳矣。

The seventy-two terms above are those most commonly used in Taiji Boxing. They are known by all teachers of the art, who delight in employing them when giving instruction. Unfortunately, their explanations of the meanings of these terms are not always the same, sometimes getting it right, sometimes wrong. As a result, the students of a mistaken teacher absorb his errors, and then not knowing any better, or ever wondering if they should, they unwittingly give their ardent support to his misunderstanding and end up going down the wrong path. This slows their progress, reduces their results, wastes all their effort, and finally dampens their enthusiasm. It is obvious therefore that a correct understanding of the terminology has much to do with whether or not one succeeds.

　　The definitions above have been presented according to the principles of physics in order for the essential ideas of the art to emerge with greater clarity rather than letting you get bogged down in literal meanings. I hope you will examine your own practice to see if it includes these concepts, and if so, to see if they are conforming to these definitions, and if they are, to make each idea a reality within your training so that they do not amount to just a bunch of names without substance, producing a Taiji Boxing that looks like the real thing but is not.