This verse describes a common problem when interacting with a strong partner. If we do not move at the correct time and take the correct position our own structure will suffer the consequences. We will have to distort our position and our body in order to cope with the superior structure and position of the partner. It is an extremely common occurrence in Martial Arts but in Tai Chi where there is a specific focus on our own body method to make our tactics effective, it is of larger importance. ...

In my opinion the concept of softness is perhaps the most misrepresented idea in all of Tai Chi. For many softness is to be floppy, it is to be soft in both musculature, structure and position. It is the idea to ‘yield’ to external forces and to be loose and slack when someone interacts with us. I have lost count of the amount of Tai Chi exponents that I have met who had embraced this idea, most of whom cannot maintain their structure or positional security when interacting with a partner. Con...

In this series of articles, I give my thoughts on various verses from the Tai Chi Classics. The classics are a series of poems, manuals and instructions left by famous masters of the past. They are heralded as the blueprint for correct Tai Chi instructions and for some, form the bedrock on which they practice their arts. They are, however, somewhat defuse in their meaning and as such, the ‘correct’ interpretation of these texts proves to be the heated subject of many a forum, discussion, and d...

One of the first questions that a teacher of a traditional art can expect to be asked from some circles is ‘Who was your teacher?’ or ‘What is your lineage’?