Category: principle

The essence of Chinese Martial Arts

The essence of Chinese martial arts, also known as Wushu or Kung Fu, lies in the cultivation of physical, mental, and spiritual aspects to achieve overall self-improvement, self-defense, and harmony with nature. Chinese martial arts have a rich history and encompass a wide range of styles and techniques, but their core principles can be summarized Read More

The Five elements in martial arts

The Five Elements Theory has a strong connection to Chinese martial arts, where it serves as a framework for understanding and categorizing techniques, strategies, and principles. Each element is associated with specific qualities, movements, and energies that can be applied to martial arts practice. Here’s a brief overview of how the Five Elements relate to Read More

Small Heavenly Circle

What is the “small heavenly circle” in taoist qigong? Source: https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/ The “Small Heavenly Circle,” also known as the “Microcosmic Orbit” or “Xiao Zhou Tian” (小周天) in Chinese, is a fundamental concept in Taoist qigong practice. It refers to the circulation of qi (life energy) along specific energy channels or meridians in the human body. Read More

Taijiquan – The Art of Receiving

By Wee Kee Jin Taijiquan is no different from any other exercise or martial art if it is practiced without understanding the principles and without putting the principles into the movements. Regardless of the various different Taiji styles or Taiji forms, they are all based on the same set of Taiji classical texts. They are: Read More

Master Sam Tam demonstrating form

In this videoclip master Sam Tam is giving out some basic instructions to the first section of his Taijiform. Where a lot of variations of the Yang style emphazises a quite “heavy bottom” ei. base, strong and powerfull legs with emphasis on the ground,  Sam Tam main focus is light, even and connected. On a basic Read More

Wang Peisheng creative interpretation of some Taiji principles

Master Wang’s Creative Interpretation and Application of Some Taijiquan Principles in Self-defence Master Wang makes it a point of emphasis and has set an example to his students of how one should use one’s mind and learn from experience of success and failure after having studied carefully the theories set in the Taijiquan classics, listened Read More

On the Value of Yi Quan 

By Han Jing Chen As soon as it emerged Yi Quan rose to fame for its instant and huge explosion of energy in combat. This power is traditionally named as the “Whole Power” or the “Hunyuan Power” – the power of integrating all the elements. The theories and effectiveness of Yi Quan soon interested the Read More

Song of the Real Meaning

真義歌 No shape, no shadow. Entire body transparent and empty. Forget your surroundings and be natural. Like a stone chime suspended from West Mountain. Tigers roaring, monkeys screeching. Clear fountain, peaceful water. Turbulent river, stormy ocean. With your whole being, develop your life. 無形無象。全身透空。 忘物自然。西山懸磬。 虎吼猿鳴。泉清水靜。 翻江鬧海。盡性立命。 When practicing taijiquan you must let go of Read More

The True Teachings of Yang Jianhou’s Secret Yang Style Taijiquan

Historical background of Yang style Taijiquan as passed down by late Wang Yongquan For more than half a century people in China and other countries have learnt about and to a certain degree understood Taijiquan, while health aspects of Yang style Taijiquan attracted special attention all over the world. However very few people know that Read More

The Dantian of Xingyi

THE ELIXIR FIELD The elixir field is the source of the active aspect, the mansion of energy and power. If you want to be proficient in the art, you must first strengthen your elixir field, and if you want to strengthen your elixir field, you must first practice the art. The back-and-forth of the two Read More

Yang Banhou Explaining Taiji Principles

太極法說 EXPLAINING TAIJI PRINCIPLES 楊班侯 attributed to Yang Banhou [circa 1875] [translation by Paul Brennan, Sep, 2013] 目錄 CONTENTS 八門五步 [1] The Eight Gates & Five Steps 八門五步用功法 [2] On the Training Method for the Eight Gates & Five Steps 固有分明法 [3] Our Innate Ability to Distinguish 粘黏連隨 [4] Stick, Adhere, Connect, and Follow 頂匾丢抗 Read More

We need to practice meditation gently

The most stable posture for meditation is sitting cross-legged on a cushion. Choose a cushion that is the right thickness to support you. The half-lotus and full-lotus positions are excellent for establishing stability of body and mind. To sit in the lotus position, gently cross your legs by placing one foot (for the half-lotus) or Read More