Tai Chi Chuan Book Two :Push Hands

YANG CHiNG-PO From Yang Ching-Po Father of Yang Sau-Chung.

The head should be held vertical so that the spirit can reach the crown.

Sink the chest naturally and pluck up the back. 'This does not mean being hunch-backed. When the chest is concave then the back is naturally lifted.

Relax the waist. The waist is the director of the movement and can't direct if it is tense.

Know the difference between Yin and Yang. Your step will be lively and full of energy.

Sink the shoulders and elbows. If the elbows are relaxed then the shoulders are able to sink and you are able to use Fa-Jing to great advantage.

Use the mind and not force. just believe in your power and your mind WILL take over and give you that power. Give up your strength.

The upper part follows as does the lower part follow the lower. This means that the whole body should act as a whole unit and not one part of the body should move without the rest acting.

The inside is in co-ordination with the outside. This means that the outer mind is in agreement with the inner mind.

Whatever the outer does, so too does the inner, so therefore it is most important to have the outer movements perfect.

The Ch'i is joined without breaks. When we use force to attack someone, there is a time when the power is broken waiting for the body to gain control again, in this time someone could take advantage of that break and attack us. When we use mind power, the force is never broken but flowes on and circulates back inward leaving no openings. In other words we change from Yang to Yin and from Yin to Yang .

Look for stillness in movement. Once again this comes back to the flowing river, If we are circular and use spirals then we are able to slow down and still not lose any speed thus we maintain a calm mind in all situations.

Be as still as the great river and move like the cat.

I have only quoted two great old masters as they all say much the same thing. The whole of T'ai Chi comes down to one thing and that's PRACTICE. If after some years of practice you are unable to perform some of the 'feats' that the old masters speak of then look once again at the "CLASSICS': A very good book which contains a translation of many of the old classics is the one by Lo/Inn/Amacker and Foe called The Essence of T’ai Chi.