The Taiji Manual of Xu Yusheng 1921

TAIJI BOXING POSTURES WITH DRAWINGS AND EXPLANATIONS
by Xu Yusheng
[1921]
[translation by Paul Brennan, Aug, 2012]
-
1921, 7th month
Taiji Boxing Postures With Drawings and Explanations
- [calligraphy by] Fu Zengxiang
[1st] FOREWORD
In ancient wrestling, the idea was to see who was best, and so they dragged oxen along while
steering pigs around [i.e. struggled moving every which way] to see which student was
bravest. Alas, for those martial arts, it is hard for us to say whether they were good or bad, but
they were extensively developed and were popular in their time.
When instruction is systematic, fitting, and proper, the student will make a truly martial
display, and the divine horse will gain a bridle [i.e. the student will achieve control over a
special power]. Hardness and softness will conquer each other. Experiment and play will
make use of each other. The muscles and bones will carry each other. The mental and
physical will seek each other.
Xu Yushengs writing leaves nothing out. Let it be spread in countless copies and give
instruction to the future. I have expressed here but meager esteem, so please scrutinize these
words, for fear of divine justice has kept me from exaggerating.
- Yuan Xitao
[2nd] FOREWORD
Towering are the splendid towers of Yan and Zhaos ancient capitals. So too martial valor is
to be respected, for it is bestowed on us as its students. Our magnificent martial arts are as
fresh as they are old. But many systems have been forgotten, and so we must seek for them
from every neighbor. In the might of the north, who is the best? Xu Yushengs skill rivals the
horses of the heavens.
The ideal thing to do is unite in association with each other and rouse our spirits to strive, to
study intensively in the triple aspects of education [i.e. ethical, intellectual, physical] and let
us be common friends against a common foe. Without strength of literature, how will these
things be spread far? A single page carried by the wind can delay a cultures decay. When
warriors assemble, these methods will be passed on. For the sake of strengthening our nation,
please regard this book.
Liu Qian
PREFACE [BY ZHANG YILIN]
I studied the military systems in the Rites of Zhou and the Maxims for War Ministers to figure
out the average size of each states armies. Each state had a force of 25,000 soldiers, so a
hundred states would amount to 2,500,000, and if there were 1,800 states, that would amount
to 40,000,000 [45,000,000]. Nowadays, the equivalent amount for the whole country would
be five out of every ten eligible males. I also studied the History of the Warring States, with
its seven kingdoms of Qi, Qin, Yan, Zhao, Han, Wei, Chu. Each state had to possess
1,000,000 pieces of armor, 100,000 weapons, and 10,000 servants. If by such numbers we
arranged the 200,000,000 males of our entire country as it is at present, then our nation would
have men eligible for service numbering 10,000,000!
During the Russo-Japanese War [1904-1905], in the battles at Port Arthur [Feb 8-9, 1904],
Liaoyang [Aug 24 - Sep 4, 1904], and so on, there was hand-to-hand fighting, and it has been
argued that Japans victory over Russia came down to their skill in Judo. (See the Japanese
book Human Bullets: Notes of Actual Combat at Port Arthur [by Lt. Tadayoshi Sakurai,
published 1906].) Judo is one of the martial arts we have passed down. If it is the case that we
are not concerned with defending ourselves, we do not need it. But if we do wish to defend
ourselves, then central to it are the three aspects of cultivating virtue, wisdom, and body, the
cultivation of the body being the most important.
Ever since the unification of China during the Qin Dynasty, rulers have neglected the
martial spirit of the people, and the ancient days when a person was both soldier and farmer
have gotten ever more distant. Now our nations people are generally lazy and dispirited, to
the joy of onlooking tyrants. When we come into contact with the mighty powers to the east
and west, we then respond by shivering as if it is cold or stiffening as if being hit with a
chilling breeze, and really it is our own fault.
When the Republic was established, those who comprehended the era we are living in
gradually understood that boxing arts are our national soul. Xu Yusheng is well-versed in
each of these arts, but is particularly expert in Taiji. When I joined his school, I became a
privileged member [being more literate than most,] and he often bestowed his wisdom upon
me. One day he showed me something he had written, an Illustrated Handbook of Taiji
Boxing, and I gave it a careful readthrough. It had a scientific way of analyzing things, written
in a systematic way and including drawings in sequence.
In the larger scale, Taiji can strengthen our nation and our race. In the smaller scale, it can
prevent disease and prolong life. I had previously seen Xu Zhiyis article Boxing Arts in
Relation to Physics, drawing from the principles of leverage, and explaining Taijis theory of
avoiding the opponent where he is full and attacking him where he is empty, its skill
approaching near to the Way.

Unfortunately Xu Zhiyis writings have only appeared in Physical Education
Quarterly and have not been seen in their entirety [His material, including his physics article,
was finally compiled into a book and published in 1927.], but now Xu Yushengs illustrated
explanations have been compiled into a complete book. Compared to Xu Zhiyis writings, it is
like the wheel of a cart or the wings of a bird [i.e. is getting around more easily]. For those
who are frail, like myself, it can rouse you from your timidity and brace you up out of your
feebleness. All who study it can be invigorated by it.
Let us take the 400,000,000 men and women of our nation and leave aside those with a
wasteful lifestyle. Of those who follow this method, one in a hundred will work at it without
giving up, but that would already be enough to supply ten percent of the whole army, and
these 4,000,000 will none of them be idle parasites. How could they then be inadequate at
defense? If we inquire of Xu Yushengs opinion of all this, would he not agree with me?
- preface by Zhang Yilin of Wu county, 1st autumn month, 1921
PREFACE [BY YANG CHANG]
In boxing arts, there are the two schools of internal and external. The external was founded by
Damo and is called the Shaolin school. The internal was founded by Zhang Sanfeng and is
called the Wudang school. The elements taught in both do not go beyond technique and
energy. Technique is what is outwardly revealed. Energy is what is inwardly concealed.
Technique is substance. Energy is flow. Technique is form. Energy is function. When
substance and flow are both cultivated, and when form and function are both prepared, then it
can be said to be boxing.
The distinction between external and internal comes down to these two terms: technique
and energy. The external school excels in technique. The internal school excels in energy. It is
similar to the way the Han Dynasty scholars put importance on the commentaries to ancient
texts but the Song Dynasty scholars were more concerned with understanding the ideas within
the texts themselves. Although each group has its distinct method, they should work in
parallel to each other rather than in opposition.
Most people do not scrutinize, thinking that the external school is all about hardness and
the internal school is all about softness, and they do not understand that hardness and softness
must not be individually emphasized, and that there should never be a moment when they are
separated. Taijis thirteen dynamics [i.e. the solo set] was passed down from Zhang
Sanfeng. Since Zhang was a Daoist, it is therefore said in Taiji Boxing things such as: He is
hard while I am soft this is yielding. My energy is smooth while his energy is coarse this
is sticking. And also: Once you have engrained these techniques, you will gradually come
to identify energies, and then from there you will work your way toward something
miraculous.
Yielding and sticking should both be sought in the aspect of energy. You must be
sensitively aware and be without obstruction, and then you can say you are identifying
energies. You must respond to circumstances and do what is natural, and then you can say
you are on your way toward something miraculous. It is as Laozi said [Daodejing, chapter 1]:
Dwelling with nothingness, you will see mystery. Dwelling with somethingness, you will see
details. Truly this is no different. When boxing experts discuss energy and have reached this
level, it can be said they have achieved a way that is great beyond greatness. But when they
explain its meaning, it is so lofty, and when they discuss its theory, it is in such detail, and
therefore for those who practice it, it is very hard to predict the day when skill will arrive.
I have seen people who think that in practicing Taiji Boxing, it is only necessary to
identify energies, who then get ahead of themselves by rushing into focusing on pushing
hands without having given adequate attention to how they are using their torsos, hands, and
feet [i.e. the aspect of technique]. After practicing like this for many years, they are just as
weak as when they started, reaching the point that they cannot even be a match for someone
who has been practicing other boxing arts [i.e. external] for only a few months. These are all
mistakes of thinking the internal school is all about softness, the result of not striving to make
the postures correct and the techniques skillful.
Xu Yusheng, my fellow student, has researched this method for nearly thirty years and is
capable and knowledgeable in both the internal and external schools, understanding the
essentials of each, and so he is perfect for the task of making such a book to provide for his
comrades. He has explained the movements, including their applications, and the pushing
hands methods, which is especially valuable. He went through three drafts to make the final
manuscript, calling it Taiji Boxing Postures With Drawings and Explanations.
If you can put your heart into what you learn from it, you will break through and become
skillful. The more you practice the pushing hands, striving to identify energies, from there it
will not be difficult to get on your way toward something miraculous. Even if you have no
extra time to practice the pushing hands, practicing the techniques in the solo set should be
sufficient for you to begin to be able to say you are well-versed in these skills. This is Xu
Yushengs goal. When there is social turmoil or natural disasters, sensible people often flee to
hide in philosophy. But it is also the case that we hear of things that wake up our senses, such
as: through art we approach the Way! And this book is a bridge toward it.
- written by Yang Chang of Xiangtan in Beijing, 1st autumn month, 1921

AUTHORS PREFACE
When I was young, I was frail and often ill, and so I read all sorts of health books, controlled
my diet, and was careful in my daily habits. I proceeded along such lines for several years, but
had not yet received any outstanding results. I sought out the books of Hua Tuos Five Animal
Frolics, Da Mos Tendon Changing Classic, and the Eight Sections of Brocade, and practiced
according to them. However, in each case the pictures had no explanations and the essential
concepts were not being imparted. I did my best to imitate the postures, but the results were
sparse, and so I did not complete the study. After that I engaged in external styles of boxing
arts. I trained in the skills of attack and defense, worked at jumping all over the place, and
consequently my body became somewhat robust. But I suffered from the severity of the
exercise and had to take a break due to renewed illness. I began to understand that it was not a
good method.
Finally I got into internal styles of boxing arts, namely what the world calls the skill of
Taiji. In its contracting and expanding, its bending and extending, the mind guides the energy.
It is simple and easy to practice. It is soft and sparing of effort. Before I had practiced it for a
full year, all my long-standing ailments had been alleviated. The results were enormous. In
every movement in the postures of its solo set, there is a rhythm to follow, a linking up
throughout, like a continuous flow. With the breath and the movement spurring each other,
the energy and blood, muscles and bones, are lively without stagnation, and you will deeply
achieve the essence of the ancient limbering arts. The qualities of its movements hard and
soft, advance and retreat, passive and active, empty and full fully conform to the taiji
principle in the Book of Changes. When facing an opponent, act according to the situation and
seize opportunity when it appears, striking where there is a gap, guided by the hollows, and
knowing what areas are too tough to bother with. Indeed it is like those words from the Book
of Zhuangzi [chapter 3] where it talks of the butcher whose skill is near the Way.
And so I have made this book to share with the world. Although it does not do justice to
the intentions of the ancients, if you practice well, it will be possible for you to make your
way toward the Way. You need not look upon this as only a martial arts text.
- written by Xu Longhou [Yusheng] of Guyan at the Beijing Physical Education Research

Society, autumn, 1921
-

GENERAL COMMENTS
- Each chapter of this book has been previously published in Physical Education Quarterly.
The intention right from the start was to wait until the series of articles had added up to a
comprehensive volume of material, and now they have been compiled for such a publication.
Because the process of editing has been hastened to get it published that much faster, areas of
either repetition or omission are inevitable. If experts would give me correction, I would be
overjoyed.
- This book is divided into two parts: the first part being concerned with explaining Taiji
Boxings origins and principles, the second part being concerned with explaining the postures
in the solo set, including drawings, and the various methods of pushing hands.
- This book draws widely from the expertise of others and is not confined to my own
understanding. For the boxing techniques, I have focused on larger postures to make it easier
for you to see what is going on.
- The most important thing in Taiji Boxing is the linking of movements. In this book, for the
sake of convenience of explanation, each movement within a posture is divided into its own
section of description, but while you are practicing you should still be moving from one to
another continuously.
- In this book, the explanations for the movements in the postures often make use of current
martial arts terminology mixed into what the founders have passed down to us, and I hope it
conforms well to their original intention.
- In this book, I have selected the Taiji Diagram and the Change Development Chart as a
means of verifying the place of this boxing art and to supply you with reference material.
- In the course of making this book, Beijing Physical Education Research Society instructors
Ji Zixiu, Yang Mengxiang [Shaohou], Wu Jianquan, Liu Enshou, and Liu Caichen all served
as consultants, while society members Guo Zhiyun and Lang Jinchi did the drawings [Most of
these drawings are obviously based on photos of Yang Chengfu which were published later in
Chen Weimings 1925 book, although occasionally the descriptions make a better fit with
postures of Wu Jianquan. The drawings which are not based on the Yang Chengfu photos are
again sometimes more similar to Wu Jianquans movements and are also apparently drawn by
a different hand. We can thus see how their work was divided: one man worked exclusively at
drawing from the Yang Chengfu photos while the other man drew either from photos of a
different source or from an actual model.]. Yang Jizi and Ye Yingtang did the editing, and Yi
Jiansi and Xu Xiaolu did the proofreading.

(author)
-
Portrait of the author
CONTENTS
PART ONE

Chapter One: Introductory Remarks

Chapter Two: The Meaning of Taiji Boxing

Chapter Three: The Origin of the Name Thirteen Dynamics (Including Maps of the Eight
Directions and Five Steps)

Chapter Four: How Taiji Boxing Conforms with the Symbols of Change (Including the Taiji
Diagram and the Chart of the Development of Change)

Chapter Five: The Various Schools of Taiji Boxing

Chapter Six: The Taiji Boxing Classic Annotated
PART TWO

Chapter One: The Sequence of the Taiji Boxing Solo Set with Movement Positioning Chart
(Complete with Explanations)

Chapter Two: Explanations for Each of the Taiji Boxing Postures with Drawings
1
PREPARATION POSTURE
2
CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL
3
SINGLE WHIP
4
RAISE THE HANDS
5
WHITE CRANE SHOWS ITS WINGS
6
LEFT & RIGHT BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE
7
PLAY THE LUTE
8
ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH
9
SEALING SHUT
10
CROSSED HANDS
11
CAPTURE THE TIGER AND SEND IT BACK TO ITS MOUNTAIN
12
13
DIAGONAL SINGLE WHIP
14
GUARDING PUNCH UNDER THE ELBOW
15
RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY
16
DIAGONAL FLYING POSTURE
17
RAISE THE HANDS
18
WHITE CRANE UNFURLS ITS WINGS
19

20
BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE
21
NEEDLING UNDER THE SEA
22
FAN THROUGH THE BACK
23
FLINGING BODY PUNCH
24
WITHDRAWING STEP, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH
25
26
SINGLE WHIP
27
CLOUDING HANDS
28
RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE LEFT
29
KICK TO THE RIGHT SIDE
30
RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE RIGHT
31
KICK TO LEFT SIDE
32
TURN AROUND, PRESSING KICK
33
COME DOWN, BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE
34
ADVANCE, PLANTING PUNCH
35
TURN AROUND, FLINGING BODY PUNCH
36
DOUBLE KICK
37
LEFT & RIGHT FIGHTING TIGER POSTURE
38
DRAPING THE BODY, KICK
39
DOUBLE WINDS THROUGH THE EARS
40
ADVANCE, PRESSING KICK
41
42
STEP FORWARD, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH
43
SEALING SHUT
44
CROSSED HANDS
45
46
47
WILD HORSE PARTS ITS MANE
48
MAIDEN WORKS THE SHUTTLE
49
SINGLE WHIP
50
CLOUDING HANDS
51
LOW POSTURE
52
LEFT & RIGHT GOLDEN ROOSTER STANDS ON ONE LEG
53
54
55
RAISE THE HANDS
56
57
58
59
60
61
STEP FORWARD, CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL
62
SINGLE WHIP
63
CLOUDING HANDS
64
RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE
65
CROSSED-BODY SWINGING LOTUS KICK
66
BRUSH KNEE, PUNCH TO THE CROTCH

67
68
SINGLE WHIP
69
LOW POSTURE
70
STEP FORWARD WITH THE BIG DIPPER and RETREAT TO RIDE THE TIGER
71
TURN AROUND, SWINGING LOTUS KICK
72
BEND THE BOW TO SHOOT THE TIGER
73
CLOSING POSTURE

Chapter Three: Discussion of Taiji Boxings Pushing Hands Skill

Chapter Four: Explanations of the Eight Techniques of the Pushing Hands Skill

Chapter Five: Taiji Boxings Practical Function Pushing Hands

Section 1: TAIJI BOXINGS STANCE

Section 2: SINGLE TOUCHING-HANDS METHOD

Section 3: DOUBLE TOUCHING-HANDS METHOD

Section 4: SINGLE-HAND HORIZONTAL CIRCLING PUSHING & RUBBING
METHOD

Section 5: ROLLBACK & PUSH PUSHING HANDS METHOD

Section 6: SINGLE-HAND VERTICAL CIRCLING PUSHING HANDS METHOD

Section 7: ROLLBACK & PRESS PUSHING HANDS METHOD

Section 8: SINGLE-HAND PRESSING DOWN PUSHING HANDS METHOD

Section 9: PRESSING DOWN THE WRIST & PUSHING DOWN THE ELBOW
PUSHING HANDS METHOD

Section 10: PUSHING HANDS METHOD FOR THE FOUR PRIMARY TECHNIQUES

Section 11: PUSHING HANDS METHOD FOR THE FOUR SECONDARY TECHNIQUES
Postscript

PART ONE

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
In ancient times, there was the map that came out of the Yellow River, the arrangements of
the eight trigrams, the scroll that appeared from the Luo River, and the pattern of the nine
fields. Confucius used them to make the Book of Changes. Although the Book of Changes is
fundamentally a discussion of divination, within it is already a tool for understanding the
principles of all things. But because the explanations for the symbols did not have the main
points laid out, later generations have been unable to comprehensively understand them and
each explanation has gone down mistaken paths.
Zhou Dunyi worried about this situation, so he contemplated the substance of the Way, the
essentials at its root, and wrote the Explanation to the Taiji Diagram. He made it so that the
subtleties of nature, the methods of society, the variety of activities, and the inscrutability of
spirits all have a single principle running through them. It can genuinely be said that he was
the originator of a philosophy.
Our nations boxing arts were the earliest to be developed, but so far have not yet become
an integrated art. This is because later generations of students discuss the art but not the
theory, and they look upon it as a skill but do not use it as a tool for training body and mind.
When we look for the source of the boxing arts, we find they came from the ancient limbering
arts.
Long ago before medicine had been invented, [the theory was that] people encountered six
kinds of atmospheres [windy, cold, hot, moist, dry, smoky] which, when the bodys defenses
were down, gathered in the breath and blood to make illness. Thus those people engaged in
bending and extending, contracting and expanding, using mind to lead energy, stretched areas
of stagnancy to unclog them, and thus cured themselves of illness. Therefore their art was
known as limbering [dao yin, meaning to lead and pull, as in stretching].
In those ancient times, Fu Xi assigned Yin Kang to make a Grand Dance to stretch the
body and heal the peoples illnesses. The Yellow Emperor made his famous book of
medicine, containing massage and limbering techniques, as well as comprehensive
information on acupuncture and medicinal mixtures, all the basic principles of nurturing the
body and of using exercise to defeat illness.
It is said in the Book of Zhuangzi [chapter 15]: Expel dead air and take in fresh. Loosen
by imitating the walking motions of bears and stretch by imitating the extending motions of
birds. These ideas are suitable for breathing exercises. Hua Tuo of the Han Dynasty [206BC220AD] continued to spread it by making the Five Animal Classic (the five being tiger, deer,
ape, bear, bird).
Wu Pu discussed it thus: The human body desires to be worked, although it is not
appropriate to work it too strenuously. When we move, the energy from our food is dispersed
to circulate through our blood, and illness then cannot be born, in the same way a door hinge
[that is constantly used] will never rot. Therefore the ancient immortals engaged in limbering
exercises, drawing in what is essential to the body, moving every joint, to strive to hinder
aging. I possess an art, which is called the Imitating of Five Animals. When I feel my body is
unwell, I begin to act like one of the animals, until I feel comfortable and sweaty, and then,
lightened and efficient, I have an appetite for food. Wu followed its principles and learned it.
Even beyond his ninetieth year he still had acute hearing and sharp vision.
The Buddhist monks of the Shaolin Temple carried on his ideas, mixing them together
with the various techniques passed down by Damo, and made the Five Boxing Styles (dragon,
tiger, leopard, snake, crane), but with particular attention to practical application. (The five
are explained in detail in Secrets of the Shaolin Boxing Art [published 1915].)
The original intentions of this physical training have been lost, but since the Song and
Yuan Dynasties many who discussed martial arts followed in the path of their forefathers.
After the temple was burned, the monks dispersed in all directions. The clever ones developed
strained interpretations, each holding to their version, branching off into numerous schools.
However, the authentic transmission of Shaolin consequently fell into oblivion.
In the declining years of the Yuan Dynasty, there was a retired scholar called Zhang
Sanfeng who took the basic Confucian principle of taiji and mixed it together with the major
principles of the other schools of thought, putting the five elements and eight trigrams into his
boxing techniques and footwork, using taijis passive and active, hardness and softness,
movement and stillness, as metaphors for its function. With these as its main points, it became
known as the internal school, distinct as a result from the external school.
In the matter of its techniques, Taiji Boxing is indeed different from the other schools of
boxing arts, moving by way of energy, defeating opponents purely through the use of
emptiness and stillness, emphasizing spirit as the highest form of cultivation, resolute of
intention and determined of will, to the enhancement of ones intelligence, which cannot be
said by those who emphasize the body-building of external styles.
If those who practice external styles learn but some of its ideas, they will be able to benefit
from the work of others. From this it can be seen that as a study of the Book of Changes which
involves the Explanation to the Taiji Diagram reveals the principle that runs through
everything, so a training in boxing arts which involves the Taiji skill will integrate all the
boxing schools.
There are several versions of the Taiji Boxing Classic that have been passed down to us,
but due to all the retranscribing of the text, with words getting transposed for other slightly
different words, it is hard to distinguish which version is correct. In 1912, I asked the scholar
Guan Baoqian to analyze the versions and determine the correct text. Recently my
organization has established a physical education school, where he gives lessons in his spare
time. [I asked for his help] because I seek to present the Classic in its original form, and I
have also added commentary to it. As for the postures of the solo set, I have included
drawings and explanations with which to instruct you. In order to deal with what is easy
before tackling what is hard, take it one step at a time.

CHAPTER TWO: THE MEANING OF TAIJI BOXING
Taiji Boxing is a study in abstractions. Modeled upon the principles within the Book of
Changes of passive and active, movement and stillness, its movements and postures are
simple and natural, with something being generated from nothing, in other words: Wuji [no
pivot], then Taiji [grand pivot]. Its movements are round and lively, like a limitless circle,
no one knowing where the end is, and so again the idea that Taiji comes from Wuji. [As well
as no pivot, Wuji can equally be rendered as no limit. Although representing nothingness,
it seems closer in concept to infinity than to zero.] Within each posture and technique, there is
a round shape, therefore explaining the borrowing of the use of the taiji principle [i.e. the
yinyang symbol], serving to supply the analogies of passive/active, movement/stillness,
hard/soft, advance/retreat, and so on, and is not the same as the common shamanic
superstition that made use of the term Taiji. Nowadays science is flourishing and the next
generation of students will be able to use geometry and other studies to explain its principles
rather than divining from the Book of Changes, so I heartily hope.

CHAPTER THREE: THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME THIRTEEN DYNAMICS
(INCLUDING MAPS OF THE EIGHT DIRECTIONS AND FIVE STEPS)
The thirteen dynamics are the five elements and eight trigrams combined. Taiji Boxing uses
the four techniques of ward-off, push, press, and rollback (corresponding with the four
cardinal directions of , , , and ), the four techniques of pluck, rend, elbow, and bump
(corresponding with the four corner directions of , , , and ), and the five steps of
forward, back, left, right, and staying put (corresponding with fire, water, wood, metal, and
soil, known as either the five phases or five elements). They are applied as expanding
[advancing] (Fire blazes upward,), contracting [retreating] (water soaks downward,),
advancing [contracting] (wood is flexible yet resilient,), retreating [expanding] (metal is
malleable yet resistant,), and staying put (and soil goes with planting and harvesting.
[passage from the Book of Documents] This one is the most important of the five elements,
corresponding with the central position.). These five correspondences are also depicted in the
[second] map below.
Map of the Eight Directions:
(elbow) (ward-off) (pluck)
(rollback)
(press)
(rend) (push) (bump)
Map of the Five Steps:
fire
(advance)
wood soil metal
(left) (center) (right)

water
(retreat)

CHAPTER FOUR: HOW TAIJI BOXING CONFORMS WITH THE SYMBOLS OF
CHANGE (INCLUDING THE TAIJI DIAGRAM AND THE CHART OF THE
DEVELOPMENT OF CHANGE)
The Book of Changes covers everything, yet its terse theory does not go beyond the Taiji
Diagram. The things Taiji Boxing discusses passive and active, empty and full, hard and
soft, movement and stillness are all there. However, the world has inherited two taiji
diagrams. One comes from Zhou Lianxi, being in common tradition the one with the double
fish. The double fish pattern can be seen during the double touching-hands posture in its
qualities of passive and active, empty and full, expand and contract, advance and retreat, and
can be found endlessly beyond them. The principles within Zhous diagram are too profound
to be covered in a single chapter, but can be almost fully experienced by practicing the
techniques of Taiji Boxing. Due to the brief length of this chapter, it cannot be explained in
detail, so here will be given only a rough analysis of the diagram. This diagram divides into
five layers:
First, there is its round shape (2-dimensionally a circle, 3-dimensionally a sphere). It is
said: Wuji, then Taiji. When practicing, be calm within, embracing the primordial oneness.
When there is no scheming thought and there is also no giving anything way, only emptiness
to be seen, this can be called wuji. From within it comes movement and stillness, passive and
active, hard and soft, advance and retreat truly it is the source of all things. How could it
not be taiji?
Second, the circle divides into two aspects: passive and active, or emptiness and fullness,
each occupying a half. And so it is said that from movement the active is generated and from
stillness the passive is generated. Thus are established the two polarities. By extension, there
are the two trigrams of and [notice the inverted pattern], and this is like the boxings
hardness hidden within softness, or stillness maintained within movement, the idea that the
two aspects are the root of each other.
The third level: the five elements are equated with the five steps. This expresses the idea
that with the active aspect there is change and with the passive aspect there is merging, as in
the case of the active aspect being rooted in the element of water [which is passiveness at its
peak] and the passive aspect being rooted in the element of fire [which is activeness at its
peak], akin to wanting to retreat at the end of advancing and wanting to advance at the end of
retreating. The disposition of wood is to be flexible yet resilient, and the temperament of
metal is to be malleable yet resistant, and in the boxing exercise this is akin to bending and
extending, opening and closing, sticking and yielding, absorbing and pressing. All things are
born of earth, which therefore dwells in the central position [of the five elements], and so this
is akin to your mind. During pushing hands, the actions of ward-off, rollback, press, and push
generate and overcome each other, but if you are not mentally engaged in them throughout,
they will be done incorrectly. The Explanation to the Diagram says: When these five kinds
of weather [cold (corresponding to water), hot (fire), damp (wood), dry (metal), wind (earth)]
occur accordingly, the four seasons march along as they should. The five elements each have
a different nature and the four seasons each have a different weather, but none of these natures
and weathers can go beyond their roles within the passive and active aspects. Passive and
active occupy different positions, movement and stillness occur at different times, but they
cannot depart from their roles within the taiji.
Fourth and fifth, there is the comparison to people and to things. We have discussed wuji
[i.e. the Zero], the two [aspects], and the five [elements]. They gather and take form, affecting
each other and then join to produce all things. The essence of Taiji Boxing lies in movement
and stillness, both merging to fulfill the [taiji] principle, thereby controlling the center at the
basis of all variations. Once you are responding according to the opponents changes, no
matter how interlinked his techniques or intricate his methods, you can deal with everything,
since all your variation is rooted in a single principle. Zhou said: A wise man is fixed upon
being fair and upright, compassionate and just, is guided most of all by a sense of peace, and
is thereby the best of men. Fairness has to do with his behavior. Uprightness has to do with
his character. Compassion has to do with his influence. Justice has to do with his judgments.
There is movement and there is stillness. All who are devoted to the taiji principle [i.e. the
perfect balancing of complementary opposites] are without flaws, and therefore there is
nothing they do that is not successful.

ZHOU LIANXIS TAIJI DIAGRAM

taiji / wuji

active movement / passive stillness

fire / water
earth

wood / metal
The way of the ground makes the female quality,
the way of the sky makes the male quality,
[and together] they produce all things.
Shaos Chart of the Development of Change concerns passive and active, hardness and
softness, movement and stillness. It is somewhat different from Zhous diagram with its
words of With movement, the active is generated With stillness, the passive is generated
The workings of the sky are based upon passive and active [or more literally, shade and
sunshine]. The workings of the ground are based upon softness and hardness [or more
connotatively, yielding and firmness].Shao observed things and wrote: When movement
begins, the active is generated. Once movement peaks, the passive is generated. When
stillness begins, softness is generated. Once stillness peaks, hardness is generated. Thus it is
movement that generates passive and active, and it is stillness that generates hardness and
softness. Although his line of reasoning is different, yet his description of movement and
stillness as a machinery producing a distinction between passive/active and hardness/softness
is of unique worth in the Taiji boxing art, and you should consider it and grasp its meaning.
SHAO KANGJIES CHART OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHANGE
the moment between movement and stillness
--
stillness / movement

-- --
softness / hardness / passive / active

-
-
-
-
great soft / great hard / lesser soft / lesser hard / lesser passive / lesser active / great passive /
great active

CHAPTER FIVE: THE VARIOUS SCHOOLS OF TAIJI BOXING
Since Fu Xi first drew the set of eight trigrams, the concepts of passive and active were
understood, and the taiji principle was already implied within it. He later assigned Yin Kang
to make a Grand Dance to guide people to become more invigorated. The Yellow Emperor
made his famous book of medicine, containing massage and limbering techniques, all based in
the taiji principle, to make formless exercises. Hua Tuo based his work on words from the
Book of Zhuangzi [chapter 15]: Expel dead air and take in fresh. Loosen by imitating the
walking motions of bears and stretch by imitating the extending motions of birds. He wrote
the Five Animals Classic to instruct Wu Pu, who was already an early advocate of postural
exercises.
There was Xu Xuanping of the Tang Dynasty. (He was from Jiangnan, Huizhou prefecture,
Xi county. He lived as a hermit at Mt. Chengyang, where he retired on the south-facing slope
and avoided eating grains. He was seven and a half feet tall. His beard reached his navel
and his hair reached his feet. He walked like a galloping horse. Xu, a Tang poet, often carried
firewood to sell in the marketplace, chanting to himself: I carry firewood in the morning to
sell, / so I can buy wine to find retreat in being drunk all day. / Pardon me, where do I live? /
Through the clouds up the verdant hillside. Li Bai went to visit Xu but did not meet him,
then carved a poem [about not meeting him] onto Gazing Immortals Bridge.) Xu taught a
Taiji boxing art he called Thirty-Seven, because it had only thirty-seven posture names. His
method of instruction was single posture training, making the student train each posture to
perfection and only then moving on to the next posture. There was no fixed solo practice set,
but once all the postures were learned, all the postures could be linked up with each other as
an unbroken continuity, thus it was also called Long Boxing. It secrets are contained in the
Eight Character Song, On Mental Understanding, On Using the Whole Body, the
Sixteen Key Points, and the Song of Function, all passed down to Song Yuanqiao.
The Taiji Boxing that Mr. Yu (of Jiangnan, Ningguo prefecture, Jing county) taught was
called Innate Nature Boxing, and Long Boxing. He learned it from Li Daozi of the Tang
Dynasty (who was from Anqing, Jiangnan). Li lived in the Wudang Mountains at the
Southern Cliffs Temple. He did not cook his food, instead snacking on wheat bran several
times a day, and people called him master. Those who were taught by Mr. Yu that we know
of were Yu Qinghui, Yu Yicheng, Yu Lianzhou, and Yu Daiyan.
The Cheng style Taiji boxing art started with Cheng Lingxi (He was called Cheng Yuandi. He
was from Hui prefecture, Jiangnan. He protected Xizhou in Anhui during the Houjing
Rebellion [548-552], and because of all his help was given charge over it by the Liang
emperor as a devoted and powerful soldier.), who received it from Han Gongyue. It
eventually was passed down to Cheng Bi. (Cheng Bi [in 1193] achieved a second level in the
civil service exam in Shaoxing prefecture, was then given the mayorship of Changhua [a town
near the city of Hangzhou], working his way up to Minister of Rites, was honored with a
degree from Hanlin Academy, given the title of Marquis of Xinan prefecture [modern day
Huizhou in Anhui], as well as Scholar of the Hall of Clarity, was an expert in the theory of the
Book of Changes, and author of the Luo River Collection.) The name was changed to Small
Highest Heaven and had fourteen postures in total. It includes a list of Five Study
Reminders and the Song of Four Natures Returning to One.
The Taiji Boxing art taught by Yin Liheng was called the Acquired Nature Method, and he
taught it to Hu Jingzi (of Yangzhou). Hu Jingzi taught it to Song Zhongshu. (Song was from
Anzhou. He traveled to Gusu, where he wrote this poem on a temple wall: Universe eternal,
on and on forever, / you dont think about me, so I dont care about anything. / I wander to the
ends of the Earth, nobody paying any attention to me, / and when spring breezes come, I blow
my flute in taverns.) His posture count amounted to seventeen, many of which were elbow
techniques. Although its posture names were different, its method of use was the same as
before.
Zhang Sanfeng, given name Tong, called Junshi, was from Liaoyang. He was a Confucian
scholar from the end of the Yuan Dynasty, excelling at calligraphy and painting, versed in
poetry and essays. In the first year of Kublai Khans reign [1260], he was noticed for his
remarkable talent and was appointed as a scholar-official for Zhongshan. He admired the
nature paintings of Ge Zhichuan, which inspired him to abandon his official career, and he
traveled to Mt. Baoji, where the mountain has three peaks so proud and elegant, green and
lush, a joy to behold, and from then he was known as Three Peaks [san feng].
Over the generations, about a dozen sources of biographical information about Zhang have
accumulated, but none discuss his superb boxing art. At the beginning of Emperor Hong Wus
reign [1368], he was invited to court, but his way was blocked at Wudang. That night in a
dream, the deity Xuan Wu gave him the boxing method, and then at dawn he used it to defeat
the bandits. Thereupon his boxing art was known as the Wudang branch, or the internal
school of boxing.
Internal stylists are of a Confucian mentality, and are therefore distinct from
transcendentalists. Also because eight techniques and five steps are the key within this boxing
art, it is therefore called Thirteen Dynamics [or thirteen postures], meaning thirteen
methods. Later generations have misunderstood the term as indicating postural postures,
leading to confusion.
It was taught to Zhang Songxi and Zhang Cuishan. Then beginning with Song Yuanqiao
and Yu Lianzhou, and followed by Yu Daiyan, Zhang Songxi, Zhang Cuishan, Yin Liheng,
and Mo Gusheng, these seven colleagues met each other in Nanjing, then together went to the
Wudang Mountains. They sought to visit a Master Li, but they did not get to meet him.
However, passing by the Jade Emptiness Temple, they did meet Zhang Sanfeng. They did
obeisance to him, listened to his wisdom for over a month, and then went home, constantly
returning to get more lessons. From this it can be seen that all seven of these men considered
Zhang to be their teacher, but only Zhang Songxi and Zhang Cuishan taught his art by the
name of Thirteen Dynamics.
It is also said that Zhang lived during the reign of Huizong [1082-1135] of the Song Dynasty.
During the invasion to install the Jin Dynasty [1115-1234], he killed more than five hundred
Jin troops single-handed. The people of mountainous Shaanxi admired his valiance, earning
him hundreds of followers, and so he passed down his skill in Shaanxi.
When the Yuan Dynasty began, Wang Zongyue of Xian obtained the authentic
transmission and became renowned everywhere. He authored the Taiji Boxing Classic, the
Taiji Boxing Treatise, Understanding How to Practice, the Touching Hands Song, and
the Thirteen Dynamics Song. Chen Zhoutong of Wenzhou learned it, and thereupon it
spread from Shaanxi all the way to eastern Zhejiang [i.e. from the mountains to the sea].
More than a hundred years later, there was Zhang Songxi of Haiyan county, Zhejiang, who
became the most famous within the system (see the Records of Ningbo Prefecture). His art
was then passed on in Ningbo to Ye Jimei, called Jinquan, who then taught it to Wang
Zhengnan, called Laixian, during the reign of the Qing Emperor Shunzhi [1644-1661].
Because Zhengnan was bold with people but just, he had a unique reputation at the end of
the Ming Dynasty. Huang Zongxi puts the greatest importance on Wang Zhengnan (whose
deeds can be found in the Stories of Knight-Errants). When Wang died, Huang wrote a
memorial inscription for him. Huang Baijia [Huang Zongxis son] wrote the Boxing Methods
of the Internal School, including Six Path Long Boxing, Ten Sections of Brocade, and
other instructions. More than a century after Zhengnan, the next person of note was Gan
Fengchi. These are all exponents of the southern branch.
Of those who passed on the northern branch, it was taught by Wang Zongyue to Jiang Fa
of Henan, who then taught it to Chen Changxing of the Chen family village, Huaiqing
prefecture, Henan. Chen always stood straight, impassively, not inclining in any direction,
was as expressionless as a rooster made of wood, and so people called him Mr. Board. He had
two sons, Gengxin and Jixin.
At that time, Yang Luchan, called Fukui, from Yongnian county, Guangping prefecture,
Hebei, heard of his fame, and so he with his fellow villager Li Baikui went to learn from him.
When they arrived, they were the only students who did not have the surname Chen and they
were looked upon as being very much outsiders, but because there was a close bond between
the two of them, they studied wholeheartedly, often practicing throughout the night instead of
sleeping. Mr. Board saw that Yang studied diligently and thereupon taught him all his secrets.
Yang went home and taught the art to his fellow villagers, and it was commonly known as
Soft Boxing or Neutralization Boxing, because it has the ability of using evasion to gain
control over a strong force. Then Yang traveled to Beijing and was a guest in every mansion.
Many Qing Dynasty royals, nobles, and men of rank learned from him, and at that time he
was made martial arts instructor to the Manchu barracks. He had three sons, the eldest named
Qi, who died young, the second named Yu, called Banhou, and the third named Jian, called
Jianhou, also called Jinghu, and both Banhou and Jianhou earned much fame.
I learned from Yang Jianhou for years and know his familys history. He has three sons,
the eldest named Zhaoxiong, called Mengxiang, the middle one named Zhaoyuan, who died
young, the third named Zhaoqing, called Chengfu. Banhou had one son, named Zhaopeng,
who is a farmer in his village. While Yang Luchan served as instructor at the Manchu
barracks, three people who got instruction from him were Wan Chun, whose power was hard,
Ling Shan, who was good at flinging opponents away, and Quan You, who was good at
neutralizing, and so it is said that three people each obtained one of his qualities. When he
physically declined, he then told them all to do obeisance to Banhou as their teacher, and
hence they are said to be Banhous disciples.
Song Shuming, who says he is descended from Song Yuanqiao, has traveled much, is an
expert in the theory of the Book of Changes, and is proficient in the Taiji boxing art,
contributing many innovations. He is casual and familiar with me, and I have had a constant
association with him from which I have received unique benefit. Instructors in my
organization such as Ji Zixiu, Wu Jianquan, Liu Enshou, Liu Caichen, and Jiang Dianchen
have also received much from him. (Wu Jianquan is Quan Yous son, and it is often said that
he was close friends with Ling Shan.)

CHAPTER SIX: THE TAIJI BOXING CLASSIC ANNOTATED
Taiji is born of wuji.
Tai means the grand or extreme. Ji means the central pivot point. Taiji is the ultimate
foundation of everything in existence. Taiji Boxing therefore is what each boxing system
ultimately attains to. To be born of wuji means that wuji [no pivot] is the origin [of the
grand pivot]. This boxing art emphasizes refining spirit and uses the wielding of energy to
make the postures, which are natural and unrestrictive in their shapes. Emptiness is the
foundation, yet it embraces everything, and thus it is called wuji [also meaning no limit].
However, a beginner should work on the postures as the initial training. After a long period of
becoming familiar with them and then identifying energies, you will naturally have a
breakthrough, and you will begin to have a condition of the miraculous.
It says in Zhou Dunyis Explanation to the Taiji Diagram: Wuji, then taiji. Zhu Xis
commentary to it says: Natures work is silent and intangible, yet it is truly the operation of
creation, the foundation of all things. This is why it says there is wuji, then taiji. But wuji is
not beyond taiji, since taiji will return to wuji. Although in that case, the phrasing of born of
wuji would thus seem to be a poor choice of words.
It is the manifestation of movement and stillness, and the mother of yin and yang [the passive
and active aspects].
Change in position or the progress of the body in a certain direction is called movement.
Solidly staying in or preserving its location or orientation is called stillness. By
manifestation is meant the sign of their occurring. It is similar to the use of that word in
the Classic of the Talisman of the Abstract, in which it says: The sign of the sky expressing
its destructiveness [is the shifting of the constellations] [the shifting of the constellations
indicating the change of seasons, the different seasons bringing different weather, and each
change in weather being destructive to the previous status quo of weather]. There is no
beginning or end to the cyclings of stillness and movement, passive and active. Taiji means
the pivoting mechanism between them.
When practicing Taiji Boxing, there is calm within the mind, an embracing of a primordial
state of oneness. Do not get stuck in either movement or stillness, but be instead magically
unpredictable. Once there is contact, issue, but do not then freeze into stillness. When moving,
preserve an intention of stillness, but within the stillness dwells the potential for more
movement. Movement and stillness are rooted in each other and complement each other
naturally. Herein lies the subtlety of the Taiji Boxing art.
Everything that comes into existence carries the passive and contains the active [Daodejing,
chapter 42]. They all have taiji. When there is taiji [i.e. polarity], there is therefore duality.
Therefore taiji is the mother of passive and active. Every technique and posture in Taiji
Boxing contains a circle. When it moves it is active, and when still it is passive. So it is with
hard and soft, advance and retreat, etc, all having the same principle of change. Therefore here
I will explain the principle of alternating changes in an easy way:
The theory in ancient China was that everything corresponded analogously to passive and
active, and therefore passive and active themselves do not have fixed roles. This is the case
for correspondences of passive and active in Taiji Boxing
active / passive:
movement / stillness
hands going out / drawing in
advancing / retreating
hardness / softness
issuing / gathering
sticking / yielding
joints extending / bending
spreading apart / closing inward
expanding / shrinking
contracting / expanding
rising / lowering
All of these correspondences, regardless of how one thing changes into another, are each
contained within a circle. Therefore when movement and stillness become distinct, passive
and active then do not occupy the same place and taiji is everywhere.
With movement there is division [into the vectors of the initial force and the diverting force
(often called a thousand pounds and four ounces)]. With stillness there is merging [into
the net force of both].
Movement means change. When there is movement, there is differentiation of passive and
active, and the two polarities are established. When there is stillness, there is nothing
disturbed and nothing that gives anything away, though the principle of passive and active is
complete within it.
When practicing the Taiji boxing art, in each of its postures, movement and stillness
alternate with each other. This boxing arts movements go forward or back, left or right, up or
down, but in all cases there is passive and active, empty and full, to be abided by. Therefore it
is said that in movement they become distinguishable. In postures of stillness, although there
is no trace of anything that can be specifically pointed out, passive and active, empty and full,
are all already within. Therefore it is said that in stillness they become indistinguishable.
If we break down the exercise, then Taijis active aspect transforms and its passive aspect
merges, which with an air of physics or mechanics represent the principles of the dividing
force [components of force] and merging force [resultant/net force]. In the Taiji boxing art,
when I encounter an opponent and he wants to control me, I then right away [take his attack]
to the side, dividing his power into two paths [i.e. the components of force], causing his
power to be unable to directly reach my body (coarsening his energy). This is what is meant
by With movement there is division.
If this induces him to stick to me, I apply lifting energy [a further vector added upon the
sideways energy], which is a transformation of the active aspect, and once initiated, a stillness
is established which either causes him to cease his movement or gets his power to land on
nothing. [If the latter (he has landed on nothing but is still moving),] then once there is the
slightest stillness [i.e. hesitation, confusion, indecision on his part], I promptly issue, making
use of the merging energy [i.e. taking advantage of the net force in other words, capitalizing
on the direction he is now unpreparedly moving in], which is the merging of the passive
aspect.
If the opponent wants to issue upon me, I then respond by being calm in my mind,
watching for the moment and taking the opportunity when it comes. While there is stillness, I
wait [for the moment to move at an angle and thereby create components of force]. Once there
is the slightest movement, I respond [by seeking the stillness within movement of the merging
net force which can be taken advantage of]. It is like the saying goes: Second to shoot but
first to hit the target.
There is only one Way. In the primal chaos there were not yet distinctions and the vast
opaqueness was not yet cleared away. If in the beginning there was neither movement nor
stillness, how could there be passive and active? Therefore use emptiness as the foundation
and you will invariably join with the Way.
The universe is like this, the Taiji is like this, and when you have practiced Taiji Boxing
until it is extremely refined, it will also be like this. But these words about the beginning of
the universe are being used to talk about the practicing of the boxing art and how depth of
practice advances you to the Way, and beginners may suddenly find this difficult to discuss.
The sky and the ground are fixed, and the two polarities are separated. When there is
passive and active, there is movement and stillness, and thus one who talks of Taiji must pay
attention to the postures. Taiji Boxings separating and joining, movement and stillness,
accord with passive and active. If there is movement in a posture, you must seek to open up.
When wielding power, you must understand emptiness and fullness. When he is hard,
neutralize him. This is called dividing [i.e. creating components of force]. Once he is soft,
defend against him. This is called merging [i.e. making use of the net force]. The ground is in
a state of stillness seeking movement. It has an end but no beginning, and we must submit to
it. The sky is in a state of movement seeking stillness. It has a beginning but no end, and the
only thing to do is return to emptiness.
It is the principle of all things that emptiness receives and stillness completes. The universe
stands within emptiness and revolves within stillness. Therefore when the primal chaos
opened up, the whole of the beginning was established. The whole body truly initiates from
wuji, invariably coming from a state of emptiness and quietude.
Wang Chongyang said: Here I describe the source of the Way: work first at emptiness
and quietude. As for emptiness, there is nothing it does not welcome. As for quiet, there is
nothing it does not answer. Looking at it this way when practicing Taiji Boxing, if emptiness
and quietude are taken as your foundation, then the changing between dividing his force and
merging with it will naturally happen as you please.
Neither going too far nor not far enough, comply and bend then engage and extend.
Too far means you are going beyond. Not far enough means you are not arriving. To
comply means to not resist. To engage means to approach. Going too far or not far
enough are both cases of becoming uncentered. If you become uncentered, you will be
resisting by way of your active aspect or separating by way of your passive aspect, and you
will be unable to have connection.

Taiji Boxing lies in the situations of bending, extending, dividing his power, and closing
on him. If when wielding power you go too far, you are making the errors of crashing in or
resisting. If you do not go far enough, you are making the errors of running away or
collapsing. If you wish to be neither reaching nor separating, you should comply and bend
then engage and extend.
Adapt to the situation and act accordingly, being neither stubborn nor egotistical, for it
depends on the power coming from the opponent. Making centeredness your priority, engage
by sticking, adhering, connecting, and following, staying always with the opponent. As it says
[in the Zhong Yong (Impartial Constancy), chapter 31 of the Book of Rites]: A gentleman
always stays centered. It is the case that a beginner in this boxing art will often go too far,
and while you begin to identify energies, you will often fail to go far enough. You should be
carefully aware of this.
He is hard while I am soft this is yielding. My energy is smooth while his energy is coarse
this is sticking.
By he is of course meant the opponent. Hardness indicates being strong and forceful.
Softness has to do with smoothness. Yielding has to do with neutralizing. Using softness and
smoothness, change according to the direction of the opponents force so it does not restrict
you, and thus it is called yielding. Smoothness is being unrestrained and easy. Coarseness is
being restrained and difficult. Sticking is seizing control of the opponents power. Upon
encountering the opponents hard power, I smoothly respond to his momentum and take
charge of it, causing him to lean into range of my control, and thus it is called sticking.
Taiji Boxing always uses little strength in response to the opponents great strength. Weak
defeating strong, soft controlling hard this is the gist of it. However, the conventional
opinion is that the small cannot really match the large, that weakness cannot really defeat
strength, and that it is really difficult for softness to gain control over hardness. But in talking
of matching, defeating, controlling, there is indeed a theory behind getting the upper hand: the
opponents power must get to me for it to be effective, but if I gain control over what he is
trying to do, I take advantage of the moment he begins to apply hard power, watching for the
opportunity and responding accordingly, arresting his attack and sending him back to seeking
control over his own body.
Therefore even if I am weaker, I always claim control over the opponents position, and
even if he is stronger, he is always in a position of being controlled. If it is difficult for him to
freely expand, then even if his power is great, what good would it be? The statement of Laozi
that the teeth wear out but the tongue goes on very much aligns with the idea of hard and
soft in Taiji Boxing. But if you are not an ardent student who ponders deeply upon these
things, these words will not help you.
If he moves fast, I quickly respond, and if his movement is slow, I leisurely follow. However
countless his changes may be, the principle of this timing is a single constant.
The speed of your movement should be based on the speed of the opponents. If you want to
know his speed, you must first watch for the pivotal moment his power moves, then you will
be able to respond appropriately. What is this moment of movement? It says in Zhou Dunyis
Penetrating the Book of Changes: The pivotal moment is the time before action has taken
shape, between when it is not and when it is The moment is subtle, and so it is hard to
spot. As difficult to recognize as it is, if you have not trained deeply it will not be easy to
understand. As long as I catch the timing, it does not matter what the opponent does, for
countless variations are based upon that single principle, and so I hold to it, controlling the
variations by making them return to their single basis. I observe the timing and respond to the
situation, neither overdoing nor underdoing. Holding to that single constant and being ruled
by it, your movement will be pure and natural and be without the slightest bit of stagnancy.
Thus it is said [Zhuangzi, chapter 12]: Obtain the One and all things are accomplished.
Once you have engrained these techniques, you will gradually come to indentify energies, and
then from there you will work your way toward something miraculous. But unless you
practice a lot over a long time, you will never have a breakthrough.
For Taiji Boxing practitioners, there is a fixed process of progress. You cannot skip steps and
rush ahead. The subtlety of Taiji Boxing all comes down to using energy. (This energy has
to do with nimbleness and liveliness, comes from a deeper level of training, and cannot be
explained only in terms of physical strength.) Although the energy is shapeless, it must be in
accord with the shape of the technique in order for you to start to be able to manifest it. In
Taiji Boxing, whenever you concentrate power it depends on being good at moving energy. If
you neglect it when applying techniques, you will end up unable to understand why they are
not working, and you will feel pathetic, that you have wasted your time, and that progress is
hopeless. Compared to proceeding step by step and progressing gradually, you will instead get
half the effect for double the effort, the result of not abiding by the natural sequence.
Confucius discussed education along these lines: if it is always based in talented
instruction, then each student will benefit from it. Although boxing arts are a lesser skill, it
takes applying it upon opponents to say you have mastered it, which no one has ever been
able to do quickly, therefore a practitioner of this boxing art should first imitate the teachers
postures.
Once you are doing them correctly, you must seek to be mindful of linking them with each
other. Once you can do the solo set fluently, you must focus on each postures function. Once
you are familiar with the techniques, see whether or not you can apply them properly. Once
you have grasped the proper way to apply them all, see whether or not your power is empty.
Once your power is substantial, you have truly engrained the techniques.
Then seek to identify energies through pushing hands. Study the weight and speed of your
opponents movements and the direction his energy moves toward. After a long time, you will
naturally come to identify a little bit, then a little more, until you progress to the point that you
sense the slightest thing and everywhere know what it is, and then you will have grasped what
is meant by identifying energies.
Once you are identifying energies, you will not try to apply techniques and they will
happen by themselves. You will progress to the point that without the energy there is no
technique and without the technique there is no energy. Gradually you will reach the level at
which you do not need to apply techniques, you only need to apply energy. Then finally you
will not try to apply energy and the energy will happen by itself, for you are wielding power
by way of intention and transposing intention with energy. There is spirit in your touch and
nothing can stand against it. You have proceeded to the miraculous. Indeed, without several
decades of ardent practice, how could you attain this?
Forcelessly rouse strength at the headtop.
Forcelessly has also been written as must [making You must rouse strength at the
headtop.], but it seems appropriate to go along with forcelessly. Force-lessly is said in
opposition to -fully. To do it forcefully would cause you to be jammed up and slowed
down, making it hard to be skillful. [i.e. You must rouse strength at the headtop neglects the
point that it should be done without effort, and in fact due to the imperative nature of must,
it would seem instead to encourage effort. Therefore must can be dismissed as simply
wrong. It was surely not intended and was most likely the wrong character transposed for the
right one, an easy and common mistake when characters have identical pronunciations, a
major hazard of the Chinese language.] Headtop means the top of the head, the area also
called the fontanel. During infancy, the bones in this area are soft and not yet joined, and it
often trembles along with the breath.
Daoists call it the upper elixir field or the clay pellet palace. It is the mansion in which
the spirit is stored. When a Buddhist is ordained, he receives marking there. For Daoists, the
upper field is where spirit is cultivated. The Book of Changes says: He walks in his
courtyand but does not notice his family. (The courtyand indicates the forehead, but means
the top of the head [the headtop]. Walks this is the spirit and energy flowing along
[corresponding to rouse / strength]. Does not notice his family this is the emptiness
[corresponding to effortlessly].) The Yellow Courtyard Classic says: He wishes to be
immortal and cultivate himself at Kunlun. (This mountains name is a metaphor for the
headtop.) All these examples show people with the knack for self-cultivation.
A persons cerebrum controls thought while the cerebellum controls movement, but the
headtop is really the source from which all things emerge, controlling all the nerves. [The
acupoint at the top of the head is named (Bai Hui) where all meet.] It is the
governors mansion, and its position is important as such, for it is a fitting place to
emphasize when engaged in self-cultivation. The Taiji Boxing practitioner directs body and
mind to unite. Inside and out are simultaneously cultivated, and spirit and body are
simultaneously tempered. Therefore, when moving energy in the body, you must move
intellect in the brain, penetrating spirit to the headtop, seeking to make a halo of clearmindedness round the head, and thereby refining the spirit. The head is the whole bodys
guide. Guiding upward, the gaze then spreads outward. When the headtop is suspended,
throughout the body the skeleton is upright, the muscles behave smoothly, and whenever there
is movement, the whole body functions as one unit, whether to the left or right, forward or
back, without being impeded by anxieties.
Energy sinks to the elixir field.
The elixir field [Dan Tian] is the name of an acupoint. The Daoists say there are three elixir
fields: one at the headtop storing spirit, one in the belly storing energy, and one below the
navel storing essence. This last one is the lower elixir field (three inches below the navel).
Through constant deep breathing, which causes energy to accumulate at this point, you will
naturally have sufficient energy and abundant spirit.
The Yellow Courtyard Classic says: When breathing, take outside air into the elixir field
and see how long you can keep it there. The length of the ordinary persons breath is short
and only goes as deep as the belly (i.e. meeting the diaphragm [but not expanding it]) and
cannot make it to the elixir field. This causes the circulation to slow and the lungs to weaken,
inadequately removing impurities from the abdomen, and hence the blood cannot be lively,
greatly shortening a persons life span. Laozi said [Daodejing, chapter 5]: The space between
sky and ground is like a bellows. He also said [Daodejing, 3]: Empty the mind, fill the
abdomen. This is along the lines of [Zhuangzi, chapter 15]: Expel dead air and take in
fresh (expel meaning exhaling bad air from the abdomen and take in meaning inhaling
fresh air) and [from Daodejing, 16]: Returning to the root [and thereby] rejuvenating life.
(By root is meant the source, i.e. the vitality in the elixir field [in the lower abdomen] and
what is called the life-gate in the lower back, and then returning and rejuvenating
meaning the intention is inverted and aimed at these places.)
Use intention to guide energy to the lower elixir field where it is refined. After a long time
you will naturally be able to prolong life and prevent disease. The lower elixir field is the key
point of the whole body for practitioners of boxing arts. By sinking energy to this area, you
will be majestically stable and it will not be easy to affect you or make you topple. But
sinking the energy is to be done slowly, somewhere between deliberately and unconsciously,
not like an external stylists sinking by way of effort and outwardly swelling the abdomen. If
you are not careful, you could end up giving yourself a hernia, amongst other ailments.
Recently Gang Tianhu, a second-level practitioner of Japanese meditation, died of diabetes. It
is suggested the cause may be in connection with him being too forceful with his lower elixir
field, a hypothesis which is not unreasonable.
Neither lean nor slant. Suddenly hide and suddenly appear.
To lean means to lose your balance. To slant means to deviate from your upright posture.
To hide means to conceal. To appear means to show. To suddenly hide and suddenly
appear means to be magically unpredictable. Neither lean nor slant has to do with the
bodys posture. Suddenly hide and suddenly appear has to do with the movement of spirit
and energy. In Taiji, there is emptiness and clarity, balance and uprightness, meaning that the
posture must be balanced and upright, and that the movement seems both intended and not
intended, causing the spirit, energy, intention, and power to course through the whole body.
Neither going too far nor not far enough, suddenly hide and suddenly appear, making the
opponent unable to figure out what you are doing. When you have practiced until you are
skillful, you will easily come to comprehend this.
In geometry, between two points there is only a single straight line. In Taiji Boxing,
strength at the headtop is to be roused above and the center of balance is to be guarded below,
and as long as the whole body is balanced and upright, these will easily be the case. But both
the rousing above and guarding below must contain an intention of liveliness and a quality of
being abundantly natural, whereas if you overdo them and become restrictive, then the spirit
and energy will become sluggish, the posture will become stiff, the wielding of power will not
be able to be done with effortless nimbleness, and your own movements will begin to obstruct
you. Therefore it is said: Suddenly hide and suddenly appear.
When there is pressure on the left, the left empties. When there is pressure on the right, the
right disappears.
This continues the thought from the previous explanation. I hide and appear inconstantly. If
the opponent feels me applying force on my left side and wants to add pressure to it to cause
me to lose my balance, I then empty my left side and await his pressure, guiding his power to
land on nothing. If he feels I am applying force on my right side and that he can take control
of it, I promptly hide it and store it away, my empty and full switching roles. If you adapt to
the situation and respond accordingly, how can an opponent ever use his techniques?
When looking up, it is still higher. When looking down, it is still lower.
Looking up means rising. Looking down means lowering. If the opponent wants to lift
me to make me go upward, I then continue it even higher, or if he wants to crush me to make
me go downward, I then continue it even lower. This makes him lose his balance and turns the
tables to subject him to my control.
When advancing, it is even farther. When retreating, it is even nearer.
To advance is to go forward. Even farther means to stretch out. To retreat is to go back.

Even nearer means to close in. When I advance forward, if the opponent complies with and
leads in my power, I then extend my body and follow him in so that he cannot evade me. If he
takes advantage of the situation and advances, I quickly lure him in until he is stretched out,
making his power reach its limit so he cannot do anything with it. If I were to simply retreat,
his power would press in on me and I would be forced back with no route of escape.
It says in the Book of Changes: The sky acts with vigor. A gentleman ceaselessly
improves himself. When you see the opponent is about to forcefully advance, you must not
cower. Although Taiji Boxing prioritizes softness and stillness, it does not seek to avoid
contact. Feign retreat and turn retreat into advance rather than actually retreating. If I retreat
and the opponent follows me closely, I will be crowded and made uncomfortable. When he
retreats, I advance and press in to make him more crowded. If I retreat and his power follows
me to attack, I then bend forward, folding up to obstruct his fingers or wrist, or twist sideways
to push his elbow, making him crowded and uncomfortable and unable to advance any
farther.
A feather cannot be added and a fly cannot land.
The character for feather [can also mean wing but here indeed] means feather. To be
added is in the sense of to be put on you. To land means to lower and touch you. These
phrases describe one who has excellent Taiji skill, perceiving acutely, knowing the opponent
upon the merest contact, putting an end to the situation when the opponent makes the merest
attempt. Even if his touch is as light as a feather or as slight as a fly, if he encroaches upon me
to the smallest degree, I am immediately aware of it, evading his attack but not adding any
pressure to him in the course of doing so. With the natural clear-mindedness we call spirit, I
am aware of his action and then able to act upon it. [Daodejing, chapter 16:] Achieve an
extreme softness and maintain a sincere stillness. Be silent and still, sensing and connecting,
and give no warning when you act. If you do not train to the point of purity, building a supple
nimbleness in your body and developing an abundant power of touch, you will not be
qualified to discuss these things.
He does not know me, only I know him. A hero is one who encounters no opposition, and it is
through this kind of method that such a condition is achieved.
When you are empty and still, passive and active blend together. When you are aware and
alert, hard and soft alternate with each other. Whatever the opponent does, I know it all. As
for what I am doing, the opponent has a very difficult time knowing any of it. When an expert
of boxing arts encounters no opposition, it is because of this principle [of knowing and being
unknown]. Sunzi said [Art of War, chapter 4]: Good fighters do not make a show of their
skill. He also said [chapter 3]: Knowing both self and opponent, you will win every time.
But not knowing the opponent and only knowing yourself, you will have only a fifty-fifty
chance. If the opponent does not know me but I am able to know him, then I will meet no
opposition.
There are many other schools of boxing arts besides this one.
This points to other kinds of boxing arts generally.
Although the postures are different between them,
Different schools, different postures.
they generally do not go beyond the strong bullying the weak and the slow yielding to the
fast.
Other kinds of boxing arts emphasize strength and showing off. They do not seek to identify
energies, and thus the ingenuity of merging timing and momentum, of applying sensitivity,
and of using stillness to overcome movement of any speed, are things which are typically not
looked into.
The strong beating the weak and the slow submitting to the fast are both a matter of inherent
natural ability
This points out that both great strength and quick reflexes are talents one is born with.
and bear no relation to skill that is learned.
They are not abilities that come from learning.

Examine the phrase four ounces moves a thousand pounds (See the Touching Hands
Song [i.e. Playing Hands Song] where it says: I will tug with four ounces of force to
move his of a thousand pounds.), which is clearly not a victory obtained through strength.
When measuring weights on a scale, the pulley responds to the heavier side, as per the
mechanics of leverage. Taiji Boxings use of a small force to defeat a large force, or an
absence of force to gain control over a presence of force, is in accordance with science.
Or consider the sight of a septua/octogenarian repelling a group, which could not come from
an aggressive speed.
In the old days, septuagenarian was commonly used to indicate a man in his seventies,
octogenarian a man in his eighties. An old man moves slowly, but in ancient times there
were great generals like Lian Po, who when he was old could still defeat many. Therefore
there is surely more to it than hands and feet being fast.
Stand like a scale.
If your body is upright and comfortable, neither leaning nor slanting, the three sections of the
spine will naturally be correctly placed.
Move like a wheel.
If your poise is rounded and dignified, your movement nimble and without sluggishness, then
your whole body will have a wheel-like quality, constantly turning without end.
If you drop one side, you can move.
To drop means to go to one side. It is like when water is being drained by being poured
from a bottle. This causes one side to be empty and therefore you can draw off the water. If
the bottle were overfilled, it would spill on its own.
If you have equal pressure on both sides, you will be stuck.
There is the equal pressure between me and the opponent [i.e. neglecting to drop one side
and release the pressure on that side to draw the opponent off balance, instead maintaining
pressure on both sides and merely spending effort holding him back], and there is the equal
pressure that has to do only with myself [i.e. having equal weight on both feet]. Taiji Boxing
is based on naturalness. If you cannot function with single pressure [i.e. with the weight more
on one foot than the other], what is double pressure supposed to get you?
We often see one who has practiced hard for many years yet is unable to perform any
neutralizations and is generally under the opponents control, and the issue here is that this
error of double pressure has not yet been understood.
Long ago it was said [in the Historical Records, chapter 68]: Those who rely on virtue
flourish. Those who rely on force perish. It says in the Book of Changes: The sky acts with
vigor. A gentleman ceaselessly improves himself. Building upon these words, when you are
empty you are sensitive, being sensitive you move, by moving you change, by changing you
neutralize, and when you neutralize you do not get stuck. [Sunzi said (Art of War, chapter 6):]
One who is good at dealing with opponents always controls the opponent and is never
controlled by the opponent. Is not this even more important to know for one who is under
the opponents control? Although you may have worked to the point of skill, if you do not
understand the error of double pressure, it is like you have not yet learned anything.
If you want to avoid this error,
(the error of double pressure)
you must understand passive and active.
Pairings of passive and active are rather numerous, and as it has already been touched upon
above, such a list will not be repeated here.
In sticking there is yielding and in yielding there is sticking.
When you control the opponents energy, this is called sticking. When you neutralize the
opponents energy, this is called yielding.
The active does not depart from the passive and the passive does not depart from the active,
for the passive and active exchange roles. Once you have this understanding, you will be
identifying energies.
Being aware of both the opponents and your own hardness and softness, emptiness and
fullness, then passive and active mutually wax and wane. When switching emptiness to
fullness [and vice versa] without misjudging the time to do it, here indeed is the identifying of
energies.
Once you are identifying energies, then the more you practice, the more efficient your skill
will be,
By contrast, if you are not identifying energies, then despite lots of practice you will have
very little increase in efficiency.
and by absorbing through experience and by constantly contemplating, gradually you will
reach the point that you can do whatever you want.
Once you are identifying energies, you can constantly think about them and further
understand them by experiencing them. Experience and contemplation are your extra teachers.
The basic of basics is to forget about your plans and simply respond to the opponent.
[Confucius said (Lun Yu, 9.4):] There is no idea, no imperative, no insistence, no me.
Respond according to situations. Do not get stuck in expectations.
We often make the mistake of ignoring what is right in front of us in favor of something that
has nothing to do with our immediate circumstances.
When you do not sense the right moment to act and then end up acting with haste, what your
action gets you is not going to be what you would want.
For such situations it is said: Miss by an inch, lose by a mile.
Unless you distinguish very minutely, you can easily go astray.
You must understand all this clearly. That is why it has been written down for you.
Someone in the past said: Obtain the real stuff and ardently work at it. If you do not
discriminate over details, then you will simply be wasting your effort.
This essay comprises what Wang Zongyue learned from Zhang Sanfeng. Its words are simple
and comprehensive. He wanted Taiji Boxings subtle theory to be explained without anything
left out. Of the many primary texts, start with this one, including its commentaries. If you
come across doubtful areas, as is bound to happen from time to time, please pardon.
PART TWO

CHAPTER ONE: THE SEQUENCE OF THE TAIJI BOXING SOLO SET WITH
MOVEMENT POSITIONING CHART (COMPLETE WITH EXPLANATIONS)
[1] With north to your [right] and west in front of you, perform READINESS POSTURE.
[2] Advance with your left foot, turning your torso to the right, and perform CATCH THE
SPARROW BY THE TAIL.
[3] Step out with your left foot, turning around to the south, and perform SINGLE WHIP.
[4] Shift your right foot forward and perform RAISE THE HAND.
[5] Staying where you are, perform WHITE CRANE SHOWS ITS WINGS.
[6] Step out with your left foot to the south and perform BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED
STANCE on the left side, step forward with your right foot and perform BRUSH KNEE IN A
CROSSED STANCE on the right side, then step forward again with your left foot, and
perform BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE on the left side.
[7] Bring your right foot beside your left foot and perform PLAY THE LUTE.
[8] Stepping out with your left foot, perform PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH.
[9] Staying where you are, perform SEALING SHUT.
[10] Bring your left foot beside your right foot, facing west, and perform CROSSED HANDS.
[11] Step out with your right foot, turning around diagonally to your right rear, to the
northeast, and perform CAPTURE THE TIGER AND SEND IT BACK TO ITS
MOUNTAIN.
[12] Staying where your are, perform CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL.
[13] Turn around to the southwest, stepping out with your left foot, and perform DIAGONAL
SINGLE WHIP.
[14] Step forward with your right foot, withdraw your left foot, face south, and perform
GUARDING PUNCH UNDER THE ELBOW.

[15] Withdraw your left leg, extending your left hand forward, and perform the first
movement of RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY. Withdraw your right leg,
extending your right hand forward, and perform the second movement of RETREAT,
DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY. Again withdraw your left leg, extending your left hand
forward, and perform the third movement of RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY.
[16] Retreat your right foot to the northwest (or advance your left foot to the southeast) and
perform DIAGONAL FLYING POSTURE.
[18&19] Staying where you are, perform WHITE CRANE SHOWS ITS WINGS.
[20] Step out with your left foot, facing south, and perform BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED
STANCE on the left side.
[21] Withdraw your left leg a half step, bend your [right] leg, and perform NEEDLING
UNDER THE SEA.
[22] Again stepping out with your left foot, perform FAN THROUGH THE BACK.
[23] Turn around to the right and perform FLINGING BODY PUNCH.
[24] Withdrawing your right foot, perform WITHDRAWING STEP, PARRY, BLOCK,
PUNCH.
[25] Again step forward with your right foot, and perform CATCH THE SPARROW BY
THE TAIL.
[27] Bring your left foot beside your right foot and perform the first movement of
CLOUDING HANDS, step out with your left foot and perform the second movement of
CLOUDING HANDS, again bring your left foot beside your right foot and perform the third
movement of CLOUDING HANDS, then step out with your left foot and perform SINGLE
WHIP.
[28] Withdrawing your left foot a half step, perform RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO
THE HORSE LEFT.
[29] Kick with your right foot to perform KICK TO THE RIGHT SIDE.
[30] Lower your right foot and perform RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE
HORSE RIGHT.
[31] Kick with your left foot to perform KICK TO THE LEFT SIDE.
[32] Turn around to your left rear, and perform TURN AROUND, PRESSING KICK.
[33] Bring your left foot down and perform BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE on the
left side, then step forward with your right foot and perform BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED
STANCE on the right side.
[34] Again step forward, now with your left foot, and perform ADVANCE, PLANTING
PUNCH.
[35] Turn around to your right rear, and perform TURN AROUND, FLINGING BODY
PUNCH.
[36] Lift your left leg and kick with your right leg to perform DOUBLE KICK.
[37] Lower your right leg, withdraw your left foot, turn to your left, and perform FIGHTING
TIGER POSTURE on the left side, then withdraw your right foot, turn to the right, and
perform FIGHTING TIGER POSTURE on the right side.
[38] Staying where you are, perform DRAPING THE BODY, KICK.
[39] Bring your right foot down in front and perform DOUBLE WINDS THROUGH THE
EARS.
[40] Kick with your left foot to perform ADVANCE, PRESSING KICK.
[41] Turn around to your right rear, to the east, lower your left foot, and kick with your right
foot to perform TURN AROUND, PRESSING KICK.
[42] Bring your right foot down, step forward with your left foot, and perform PARRY,
BLOCK, PUNCH.
[43] Staying where you are, perform SEALING SHUT.
[44] Bring your left foot beside your right foot and perform CROSSED HANDS.
[45] Step out with your right foot, turning around diagonally to your right rear, to the
northeast, and perform CAPTURE THE TIGER AND SEND IT BACK TO ITS
MOUNTAIN, then staying where your are, perform CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE
TAIL.
[46] Turn around, stepping out with your left foot to the southwest, and perform DIAGONAL
SINGLE WHIP.
[47] Step forward with your right foot and perform the first movement of WILD HORSE
PARTS ITS MANE, step forward with your left foot and perform the second movement of
WILD HORSE PARTS ITS MANE, then again step forward with your right foot and perform
the third movement of WILD HORSE PARTS ITS MANE.
[48] Step forward with your left foot and perform the first movement of MAIDEN WORKS
THE SHUTTLE to the northwest, turn around to your right rear and perform the second
movement of MAIDEN WORKS THE SHUTTLE to the southwest, again step forward with
your left foot and perform the third movement of MAIDEN WORKS THE SHUTTLE to the
southeast, turn around to your right rear and perform the fourth movement of MAIDEN
WORKS THE SHUTTLE to the northeast, then stay where you are and perform CATCH
THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL.
CLOUDING HANDS, again bring your left foot beside your right foot and perform the third
WHIP.
[51] Staying where you are, perform LOW POSTURE.
[52] Stand your body up, lift your right leg, and perform GOLDEN ROOSTER STANDS ON
ONE LEG on the right side, then lower your right foot, lift your left leg, and perform
GOLDEN ROOSTER STANDS ON ONE LEG on the left side.
[53] Withdraw your left foot and perform the first movement of RETREAT, DRIVING
AWAY THE MONKEY, withdraw your right foot and perform the second movement of
RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY, then withdraw your left foot and perform
the third movement of RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY.
[54] Retreat your right foot to the northwest (or advance your left foot to the southeast) and
perform DIAGONAL FLYING POSTURE.
[56] Staying where you are, perform WHITE CRANE SHOWS ITS WINGS.
[57] Step out with your left foot, facing south, and perform BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED
STANCE on the left side.
[58] Withdraw your left leg a half step, bend your [right] leg, and perform NEEDLING
UNDER THE SEA.
[59] Step out with your left foot and perform FAN THROUGH THE BACK.
[60] Turn around to your right and perform FLINGING BODY PUNCH, then advancing with
your right foot, perform STEP FORWARD, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH.
[61] Staying where you are, perform CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL.
[62] Step out with your left foot, turning around, and perform SINGLE WHIP.
CLOUDING HANDS, bring your left foot beside your right foot and perform the third
WHIP.
[64] Withdrawing your left foot a half step, perform RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO
THE HORSE LEFT.
[65] Step out with your left foot, threading through with your left palm, then turn around to
your right rear, and perform CROSSED-BODY SWINGING LOTUS KICK.
[66] Bring your right foot down and perform BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE on
the right side, then advance with your left foot and perform BRUSH KNEE, PUNCH TO
THE CROTCH.
[67] Step forward with your right foot and perform CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE
TAIL.
[68] Step out with your left foot, turning around, and perform SINGLE WHIP.
[69] Staying where you are, perform LOW POSTURE.
[70] Stand your body up, step forward with your right foot, and perform STEP FORWARD
WITH THE BIG DIPPER, then retreat your right foot, withdraw your left foot, and perform
RETREAT TO RIDE THE TIGER.
[71] Turn around to your right rear, step forward with your left foot, threading through with
your left palm, then again turn around to your right rear, and perform SPIN AROUND ON
THE FOOT, SWINGING LOTUS KICK.
[72] Lower your right foot to your right and perform BEND THE BOW TO SHOOT THE
TIGER.
[73] Step forward with your left foot so your feet are standing next to each other, both hands
hanging down, and return to READINESS POSTURE.
EXPLANATIONS TO THE TAIJI BOXING SOLO SET MOVEMENT POSITIONING

CHART
1. Generally when practicing martial arts sets, you should end where you began. So that it is
easy here to see everything in the chart, it is spread out [vertically], and therefore the
beginning and ending posture cannot occupy the same place [horizontally].
__
|__|
|__|
|__|
2. Often you will continue through several postures without changing your location. It is
difficult to show this and so they are merely put in order by piling them up.
__
|__|_
|__|
3. When two postures happen in the same place, but the movement slightly shifts away, the
postures are given an irregular alignment.
__
|__|
_|_
|__|
4. When movements have a vertical line between them, it means you are advancing in that
direction, and when it is happening diagonally, the line is diagonal, but the length of the line
has no bearing on the distance you are advancing.
5. Whether a posture is at an angle or straight, it is indicated by the angle of the box in the
chart.
6. Each posture is written toward the direction it [your torso] faces, a hint to be given attention
to. [This is displayed only in the Chinese text in the chart, whereas in the list I have simply
used arrows to indicate which direction your torso is facing.]

7. [In the chart,] a full turn of your body is indicated by a full circle spiraling inward/outward
and a half turn is indicated by a half circle.
8. For the LEFT & RIGHT KICK TO THE SIDE, the chart shows the direction your toes are
pointing [rather than the direction your torso is facing].
9. When a box is made of dotted lines, its posture is indicated in the box below it. Because the
space in the chart is confined, it would be inappropriate to write it so high [for the sake of the
movements that continue from it], and so it is shifted below.
10. As to the other direction indicators for the whole chart, the common way is for up to be
north and down to be south, but here it is different [up being east and down being west]. [As
no actual reason for this is given here, this does not satisfy. It amounts to saying something
along the lines of, What most people call left, in my book I have decided to call right. Why
not just leave it the common way of up being north? And since Xu so rarely mentions
compass directions within his actual instructions for the postures, there seems little purpose in
his bringing it up at all.]
[1] READINESS POSTURE []

[2] CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL []
[3] SINGLE WHIP []
[4] RAISE THE HAND []
[5] WHITE CRANE SHOWS ITS WINGS []
[6.1] LEFT BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE []
[6.2] RIGHT BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE []
[7] PLAY THE LUTE []
[8] PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH []
[9] SEALING SHUT []
[10] CROSSED HANDS []

[11] CAPTURE THE TIGER AND SEND IT BACK TO ITS MOUNTAIN []
[13] DIAGONAL SINGLE WHIP []
[14] GUARDING PUNCH UNDER THE ELBOW []
[15.1] RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY (1) []
[16] DIAGONAL SINGLE WHIP [ DIAGONAL FLYING POSTURE] []
[18&19] WHITE CRANE SHOWS ITS WINGS []
[20] BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE []
[21] NEEDLING UNDER THE SEA []
[22] FAN THROUGH THE BACK []
[23] FLINGING BODY PUNCH []
[26] SINGLE WHIP []
[27.1] CLOUDING HANDS (1) []
[27.4] SINGLE WHIP []
[28] RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE LEFT []
[29] KICK TO THE RIGHT SIDE []
[30] RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE RIGHT []
[31] KICK TO THE LEFT SIDE []
[32] TURN AROUND, PRESSING KICK []
[34] ADVANCE, PLANTING PUNCH []
[35] TURN AROUND, FLINGING BODY PUNCH []
[36] DOUBLE KICK []
[37.1] LEFT FIGHTING TIGER POSTURE []
[37.2] RIGHT FIGHTING TIGER POSTURE []
[38] DRAPING THE BODY, KICK []
[39] DOUBLE WINDS THROUGH THE EARS []
[40] ADVANCE, PRESSING KICK []
[41] TURN AROUND, PRESSING KICK []
[43] SEALING SHUT []
[44] CROSSED HANDS []
[45.1] CAPTURE THE TIGER AND SEND IT BACK TO ITS MOUNTAIN []
[45.2] CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL []
[46] DIAGONAL SINGLE WHIP []
[47.1] WILD HORSE PARTS ITS MANE (1) []

[48.1] MAIDEN WORKS THE SHUTTLE (1) []
[48.5] CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL []
[49] SINGLE WHIP []
[51] LOW POSTURE []
[52.1] RIGHT GOLDEN ROOSTER STANDS ON ONE LEG []
[52.2] LEFT GOLDEN ROOSTER STANDS ON ONE LEG []
[54] DIAGONAL SINGLE WHIP [ DIAGONAL FLYING POSTURE] []
[56] WHITE CRANE SHOWS ITS WINGS []
[57] LEFT BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE []
[58] NEEDLING UNDER THE SEA []
[59.1] FAN THROUGH THE BACK []
[59.2] FLINGING BODY PUNCH []
[60] ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH []
[62] SINGLE WHIP []
[64] RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE LEFT []
[65] CROSSED-BODY SWINGING LOTUS KICK []
[66.2] PUNCH TO THE CROTCH []
[68] SINGLE WHIP []
[69] LOW POSTURE []
[70.1] STEP FORWARD WITH THE BIG DIPPER []
[70.2] RETREAT TO RIDE THE TIGER []
[71] SPIN AROUND ON THE FOOT, SWINGING LOTUS KICK []
[72] BEND THE BOW TO SHOOT THE TIGER []

[73] CLOSING POSTURE []

CHAPTER TWO: EXPLANATIONS FOR EACH OF THE TAIJI BOXING POSTURES
WITH DRAWINGS
The Taiji boxing art uses nothingness as its root. What it trains is nothing more than spirit and
energy, and it is not like the external boxings emphasis on how it looks. So why care about
the postures at all? Well, what does a persons spirit and energy depend on? The body, by way
of which the spirit is trained. Use the actions of the mind to move the body. Its contracting
and expanding, bending and extending, are each as the mind dictates. Make body and mind
merge to become one. By way of opening and closing, rousing and stimulating, inhaling and
exhaling, advancing and retreating, the energy is tempered. By way of the sensitivity of the
body, the sensitivity of the muscles, and sensitivity of touch, the spirit is sharpened. For the
sake of training both Taijis form and function, a practitioner of the Taiji boxing art will be
particular about the postures, and so it seems they cannot be treated dismissively. Examining
the different schools of Taiji Boxing, they fall into three categories:
[1] There are those who practice many postures such as the schools of the Thirty-Seven
Postures, Small Highest Heaven, and so on.
[2] There are those who make use of the symbols in the Book of Changes such as the
schools of Innate Nature Boxing, Acquired Nature Boxing, and so on.
[3] There are those with specific techniques of moving energy and moving the feet such
as the school of the Thirteen Dynamics.
The postures, names, and practice method of each school are different. Although any of
them can be selected, apart from the school of the Thirteen Dynamics many use a single
posture practice without a fixed sequence, but I feel that to continue into that as an
accompaniment to Part One of this book would not yet be very suitable, so I will save it for a
future edition. For now I will begin by presenting the postures of the Thirteen Dynamics solo
set in their original sequence, with drawings and explanations for you to consult.
1
PREPARATION POSTURE

Explanation of the name:
Before practicing any boxing set, there must be a readiness, a rousing of the whole body and a
focusing of the mind, like when your sense of caution is stimulated, making you more alert.
When practicing, there is also the intention of paying respect to those observing you, same as
standing at attention in gymnastics. Taiji Boxing uses the mind to move muscle, and so when
practicing, your spirit must be concentrated, and then you can be efficient. Therefore within
the Taiji Boxing art, PREPARATION POSTURE is particularly important.
One movement:
1. Get ready.
Explanation for the drawing:

Your body stands upright, your hands hanging down, wrists beside your hips, palms pushing
down, eyes looking forward, your feet shoulder width apart.
Points for attention:

When practicing, your body should be calm and your spirit comfortable, energy sinking to
your elixir field, spirit passing through to your headtop. Your whole body must be nimble and
lively without the slightest effort anywhere.
2

The idea is that your hands are holding a sparrow by the tail and following its movement as it
flutters up and down. Another name is CATCH & TEAR OFF THE TAIL. Imagining the
opponents arm is a sparrows tail, catch it to slow its forward power, then take advantage of
the moment by cutting forward to throw him away. Both of these explanations work.
There are six movements. When beginning to train, this posture divides into only the two
movements of catching and cutting. When you are more advanced at it, then both your hands
go from inward to outward and again from outward to inward, the path of the movement
making a circle. In finer detail, the posture then divides into the six movements of lift, press,
rollback, push, ward-off, and cut.
1. Step out, lifting your hands.
2. Advance, penetrating with a press.
3. Sit back, rolling back to catch.
4. Advance with your hands pushing.
5. Hang outward, warding off forward.
6. Push forward with cutting hands.
Explanation for the drawings:

1. From the previous posture, your left foot takes a step forward, heel touching down, while
your right knee bends and your torso squats down, your left palm goes from beside your hip,
inward from outward in an arc, rotating, extending forward and upward until in front of your
belly, your right hand pushing down, fingers touching your left forearm to assist the posture.
They gradually lift to chest level as your left toes come down, and upon touching the ground,
the weight shifts to your left foot.
2. Advancing your right foot to the right, your right arm bends and does a press outward and
forward, elbow hanging down, thumb at nose level, your right leg likewise bending forward.
3. Your left leg sits to the rear, your arms embracing inward as though with the intent of
catching something with a downward rollback.
4. Your hands push forward.
5. Your right hand faces upward and hangs forward with an intention of warding off.
6. Both hands rotate inward, fingertips drawing an arc, your right hand rotating until the palm
is downward then pushing forward with a cutting motion, while your left hand stays by your
right elbow, the hands unevenly placed but pushing forward in unison.

When practicing [this posture], the path of your fingertips must make a double circle, and if
your waist and spine are going along with it to make the same movement, then it will be
nimble. This posture exercises your torso, abdomen, waist, shoulders, and back.
Application:
When using the rear hand, if contacting the outward side [of an opponents arm], then I
outwardly hang [my hand over it] and push forward, and if contacting to the inward side, then
I inwardly catch with a plucking action and lift up to push forward. When using the front
hand, [if contacting to the outward side,] then I catch to the outside of his elbow and push
forward, and if contacting to the inward side, then I outwardly hang over his elbow or wrist
and then push forward.
3
SINGLE WHIP

Single means with one hand. Whip means it is like you are hitting someone with a whip.
When practicing this as a single posture, you can also change to using both hands spreading to
the sides at the same time, in which case the posture would be called DOUBLE WHIP.
Two movements:
1. Hang from your [right] wrist.
2. Extend your [left] arm, sending out your palm.

1. From the previous posture, your right arm stays where it is, but your hand hangs down from
your wrist, your fingers gently gathering to make a hook shape, while your toes subtly turn
about ninety degrees to the forward left.
2. Your left arm bends and the palm traces along your right arm to the left, passes in front of
your chest in a slight upward arc, then extends to the left, making a straight line with your
right arm, your left wrist sitting, fingers upward, spread and slightly bent, forefinger at nose
level, elbow slightly bent. At the same time, your left foot slightly lifts, takes a half step out to
the forward left, toes pointing to the same direction, the feet parallel on a diagonal, the toes
coming down with the positioning of your hand, making a bow & arrow stance, causing the
weight to shift to your right [left] foot.

When your front hand moves forward, your rear hand must put energy through the arm to
assist, and there is a slight hollowing in order to strike from above to below. Your feet are to
coordinate with each other and must move in unison. Your shoulders are to be level with each
other, neither one rising up. This posture exercises your limbs and back.
Application:
An opponent uses his front hand to advance and strike me, I take advantage of his momentum
to draw his arm in, causing him to slightly lean forward, then extend my palm to strike his
chest with either a pushing energy or a cutting energy.
4
RAISE THE HANDS

Raising describes the energy. It is like lifting an object up, hence the name is Raising [up
with] the Hands.
Two movements:
1. Bring your hands together.
2. Raise your hands up.

1. From the previous posture, your right foot advances, creating distance between your feet (It
is like your feet are making a triangle, your right heel at the vertex.), your arms embracing
inward, your right hand slightly farther forward, palms toward each other. See first drawing:
But when your right arm embraces inward, there are two parts: going down from above, and
up from below.
2. Drop your right wrist, then lift it up, passing your left palm to the inside, until at about nose
level. See second drawing:

When practicing this posture, you should lift your headtop, and with your waist and thighs
going along with the expanding and shrinking, with the up and down, you will then obtain the
opportunity and position. This posture trains the power of expanding and shrinking.
Application:
An opponent uses his front hand to strike directly to my face. One response is to make contact
with his arm from above and use my wrist to do a pressing technique to throw him away, or
squat down and ward off upward to throw him away. Another is to use my left hand to push
down on his wrist while drawing out my right hand, lifting my wrist to strike his chin or nose.
5

In this posture, you spread your arms at an angle, making a shape like a birds wings, with
your arms extended above and your legs bent below, like a crane spreading its wings, hence
the name. There is the bird form of Hua Tuos Five Animal Frolics. The fourth posture in the
Brahmanic limbering art is crane rising and the twelfth posture is phoenix unfurls its
wings. And then there is the Crane Boxing of Fujian. All of these things are the same idea.
When practicing this posture, it is divided into spreading at an angle and spreading squarely,
or spreading wings (at an angle) and showing wings (squarely forward), which can be
done as a continuous movement from one to the other. Drawing 1 is of spreading wings and
drawing 2 is of showing wings.
Two movements:
1. Spread your arms.
2. Raise both hands.

1. Spread your arms apart at an angle in the manner of a wild goose, your left hand going
diagonally downward and brushing outward, your torso turning halfway to the left, your left
foot stepping out diagonally, toes touching down, your right hand passing in front of your
face, spreading diagonally upward until to the right side of your head, the back of the hand
outward, palm therefore inward. When your arms spread open, they must have the same speed
as each other and the weight shifts fully to your right foot. See first drawing:
2. Withdrawing your left foot, your body stands upright, your left hand, elbow bending, rising
up to about head level or slightly higher, palm upward. At the same time, your right hand also
turns to face forward [with the palm also upward], both hands making the same posture, your
head and arms forming the character for mountain: . See second drawing:

When practicing [this posture], you must use energy from the center of your back to make
your arms twist, and then the opening and closing will be natural. This posture trains the
flexibility of your chest and [upper] back.
Application:
1. For an opponent to my left side, my left [right] hand threads through from under his [left]
armpit, lifting and spreading away, while my right [left] hand strokes away downward [along
his left arm], causing him to lean back.
2. Or I simply spread open to tangle up his hands.
6
LEFT & RIGHT BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE

Brushing the knee means brushing downward past your knee. A crossed stance is a stance
name. When a boxing arts practitioner advances his left foot while extending his left hand, or
advances his right foot while extending his right hand, that is called a straight stance. But
when it is the reverse, and the left foot is advanced while the right hand is extended, or the
right foot is advanced while the left hand is extended, that is called a crossed stance.
Two [three] movements:

1. Staying where you are, brush past your [right] knee.
2. Step forward, brushing past your [left] knee.
3. Cross your stance with a [right] palm strike.

1. From the previous posture, squat your torso down, your left hand staying where it is, your
right hand brushes outward and downward until beside your right knee.
2. Your left foot takes a step to the left, your left hand passing your nose and lowering in front
of your chest, then continues outward to the left, brushing past your left knee until beside your
left hip, palm downward, fingers forward, arm slightly bent, elbow pointed to the rear. Your
torso is now turned to the left to be squared forward.
3. When your torso turns to the left, your right hand goes from downward in the rear, turning
over and extending upward, passing beside your right ear, the palm almost rubbing against it,
and then with a horizontal line forming from the three parts of shoulder, elbow, and hand,
extends straight forward until at its limit, fingertips lifted, palm expressing power, legs
making a bow & arrow stance. See the drawing:
[Repeat the posture on the other side and then once more on this side.]

When practicing, you must squat your torso down. The movement of your arms is based on
the movement of your waist. The route of each hand makes an oval shape. This posture trains
the flexibility of your arms, waist, and knees.
Application:
The opponent strikes at me from below, so I use my front hand to brush it aside and use my
rear hand to push his chest.
7
PLAY THE LUTE

Both your hands embrace toward each other in the manner of holding a lute, hence the name.
When your hands play, your fingers seem to give a strum to the strings.
Two movements:
1. Embrace with your hands.
2. Step together, rubbing outward.

1. From BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE, your torso slowly withdraws, causing the
weight to shift fully onto your right leg, making an empty stance. At the same time, your right
hand withdraws while your left hand follows along with your left hip and rises up, both hands
embracing inward, unevenly facing each other as though holding a ball. Your elbows are
slightly hanging, the forefinger of your front hand is at about nose level, and your rear hand is
in front of your chest, palm almost facing to the elbow of your forward arm. See the drawing:
2. Bring your right foot up to stand together with your left foot behind the heel, both your
hands moving outward with a round shape.

When moving your hands outward, you must use the strength of your waist and back.
Application:
The opponent grabs my right wrist, so I withdraw my right hand toward my chest to neutralize
his energy, then advance my right foot, using my left hand to push his shoulder down and then
forward.
8
ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH

PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH means that you use a parry to take aside the opponents hand,
then a block to obstruct him, and then a punch to strike him directly. Southerners use a
different character for punch which directly indicates a fist, whereas the one used here
instead expresses a mace. This is one of the five punching techniques in Taiji Boxing. When
ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH is performed retreating, it is called
WITHDRAWING STEP, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH.
Three movements:
1. Inward parrying hand.
2. Outward blocking hand.
3. Punch forward.

1. From the previous posture, use your left hand to parry inward, your torso going along with
it, your right hand in front of your chest, fingertips up.
2. Your left foot advances a half step to the forward left, your left hand goes along with it,
blocking outward until by your left ear, the elbow slightly hanging down aligned with your
left hip, fingertips pointing up. See first drawing:
3. Your right hand grasps into a fist and turns inward, tigers mouth upward, and punches
forward past your left palm. See second drawing:

(This is parrying and blocking upward. If you parry and block downward, then you will punch
forward over your left wrist.)

When practicing [this posture], your waist, back, shoulders, and hips must all move in unison.
When you parry and punch, you must keep space in your armpits and loosen your shoulders.
When you punch, you must keep your body upright and use power from your spine, not
leaning forward, for if you lean, you will only be using power from your waist. This posture
exercises your spine and the nimbleness of your shoulders and hips.
Application:
The opponent punches to my chest, so I move my front hand inward to parry it aside. If he
wants to escape outwardly, I then jam him and take the opportunity to punch him in the chest.
9
SEALING SHUT

SEALING SHUT means to stop the opponents hands, and is the same as the double push of
General Yues Continuous Boxing and the tiger form of Xingyi Boxing.
Three movements:
1. Cross your hands.
2. Spread your hands apart.
3. Push forward.

1. Your left hand not moving, your torso sits back, your right leg slightly bending, your right
fist arcing across to the left, and once the wrist has withdrawn to be above your left wrist,
both wrists are crossed to make an X shape.
2. Then your right fist withdraws, changing from fist to palm, and both hands spread apart to
about shoulder width.
3. Both hands turn inward and push forward, your torso inclining forward, the weight shifting
to your left foot, or you can lift your left foot and step it slightly forward. See the drawing:

When you withdraw your fist, you must fully sit back your torso to lead back the fist, not
merely bend your arm. Once your wrists are crossed, they must spread apart, and once they
spread apart, they must push forward there can be no sluggishness. When you spread your
hands apart, the elbows slightly bend and hang down near your ribs. They must not spread
away to the sides, or the energy will be scattered. When pushing forward, your fingers extend
forward, then the palms stick out forcefully.
Application:
If when I apply PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH, the opponent uses his left hand to push my right
fist, I then turn my right fist inward and withdraw it, while sending my left hand from below
to the outside of my right fist to block his hand, and once I have cleared his right hand aside, I
push forward.
10
CROSSED HANDS

CROSSED HANDS means your wrists cross each other to make an X shape, hence the name.
Whenever two postures are linked by a transition that is not flowing, you can always add the
crossed hands as a way to join them up.
One movement:
1. Make an X shape with your hands.

From the previous posture, your left foot turns inward to the right almost ninety degrees, your
body turning with it to the right, and the distance between your feet becomes shoulder width.
With your left hand inside, right hand outside, your hands rise in unison, crossing above your
headtop, arms slightly bent.

When practicing this posture, it must continue into the next posture without the slightest
pause.
11

CAPTURE THE TIGER AND SEND IT BACK TO ITS MOUNTAIN means that the
opponent is in the role of the tiger and you take hold of him and throw him away. It is also
called EMBRACE THE TIGER AND PUSH THE MOUNTAIN. When you embrace the
opponent and he wants to escape, take advantage of it by pushing forward. Both of these
explanations are equally valid. Students often do not pay attention to this posture, and there
are those who transpose the name onto SEALING SHUT. Since this posture flows
continuously into the next posture, CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL, it is very easy
to get confused.
Five movements:
1. Staying where you are, brush past your [left] knee.
2. Stepping forward, brush past your [right] knee.
3. Palm strike with the rear hand.
4. Embrace inward.
5. Push forward.

1. From the previous posture, your right hand does not move, your left hand lowers and
brushes past your left knee, your torso squats down, and you turn around to face diagonally to
the right rear.
2. Step out with your right foot and lower your right hand, brushing downward past your right
knee. See the drawing:
3. Extend your left palm to make the posture of BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE
on the right side.
4. Your left hand not moving, your right hand extends to the rear, and using the shoulder as a
central pivot point and the arm as the radius of a circle, goes from downward to the rear and
turns over upward, until forward, having made a large circle, wrapping around below. Once
the hand and elbow are at shoulder level, sit back your torso, rolling back to the rear with both
hands, and make the CROSSED HANDS shape.
5. Both hands spread apart and do a level push forward.

In this posture, you must use your waist to move your shoulders and back. The five
movements should be one continuous flow.
Application:
If an opponent uses his left hand to strike me from behind on my right side, I then send my
right hand downward to brush aside his arm and use my left palm to strike his face. If his left
arm takes advantage of the momentum by lifting to carry outward, or he turns to the left and
strikes to my head, I then advance, using my right shoulder to brace under his armpit, circle
my right arm to the rear, and wrap around his torso. If he wants to escape, I withdraw my
torso, using my right hand to rend his hands outward, and push forward to his chest.
12
CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL (as before)
13

Diagonal indicates the direction. The previous posture took a diagonal direction and the
direction of this posture is dependent on the direction of that posture, hence the name.
Movements:
Same as in SINGLE WHIP.


The direction is at an angle.
Application:
14
GUARDING PUNCH UNDER THE ELBOW

When your elbow is stood up, [the space] below it is called under the elbow. By guarding
is meant being protective. It is also called PUNCH UNDER THE ELBOW. [This is one of the
five punching techniques in Taiji Boxing.]
Three movements:
1. Shift a step, leading with your [right] hand.
2. Withdraw a step, raising your [left] hand.
3. Punch under your [left] elbow.

Making a triangular shape in relation to the previous posture, your left foot is at point A(1),
right foot at point B(1).
Footwork diagram for GUARDING PUNCH UNDER THE ELBOW:

A(1)
/
\
A(2) \
/
\
B(1) > B(2)
1. Your left foot staying where it is, your right foot steps out a half step to the right, shifting to
B(2), your right hand moving along with it.
2. Your left foot withdraws a half step inward, from A(1) to A(2), heel touching down, toes
up. At the same time, your left hand arcs inward from outward, passes your hip, and rises until
in front of your chest, palm inward, at about shoulder level.
3. Your left wrist slightly turns outward and props up, while your right hand makes a fist and
is placed under your left elbow, and your right leg slightly bends, making an empty stance, the
weight shifting fully to your right foot.

The path of your right arm makes a horizonal semicircle while your left arm arcs in a vertical
slant. When punching, your body must go along with it and slightly shrug forward. At the
same time, loosen your wrist and lengthen your torso. Pay particular attention to the three
unions (i.e. shoulder united with hip, elbow united with knee, hand united with foot). This
posture trains deep breathing.
Application:
If the opponent uses his right hand to strike, I use my left hand to grab his right elbow and
lead it forward, turn my wrist over to prop upward, then use my right hand to strike
underneath to his ribs.
15

RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY means that when a monkey [i.e. a
troublemaker] attacks forward, first use a hand to draw him in, then strike forward, one hand
withdrawing, the other pushing down on his headtop. The retreating refers to moving
backward away from pursuit, drawing the opponent in as he chases, then take advantage of
the moment to make a surprise strike with your hand.
Three movements:
1. Retreat with your left foot, extending your [right] palm.
2. Retreat with your right foot, extending your [left] palm.
3. Same as 1.

1. From the previous posture, your right foot stays where it is and your left foot retreats a half
step behind you, your while left hand goes from beside your ear, extending forward to its
limit, fingertips up, palm expressing power, wrist at shoulder level. At the same time, your
right hand lowers until beside your hip, same as in BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED
STANCE.
2. Your left foot staying where it is, your right foot retreats a half step behind you, while your
right hand goes from the rear, turns over, goes upward until beside your ear, and extends
forward to its limit, fingertips up, palm expressing power, wrist at shoulder level, your left
hand lowering until beside your hip, same as in BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE.
3. Same as 1.

Your knees should be slightly bent. Your feet should each make a straight line front to back
from toe to heel and should be spread to shoulder width. Your body must be upright, headtop
suspended, and spine lifted so as to exercise the Ren-Du path (of the twelve meridians) [the
circle that goes up your back and down your front]. This movement should be done an odd
number of times, either three or five [and ending with your left hand forward].
Application:
If the opponent uses either his fist to strike or foot to kick, I use my front hand to brush
downward and block it, then use my rear hand to strike to his face.
16

This posture is like a bird diagonally opening its wings to fly, hence the name. There is both a
left and a right version of the posture, but when practicing the posture to the left, the beginner
often easily interrupts the energy, and so it is inferior to the version on the right side.
Two movements:
1. Meeting wrists.
2. Diagonally flying.

1. From the practice of the previous posture, wait until it is again with your right leg in front.
Your left hand is in front and does not move. Your right hand goes from behind and turns
over, drawing a semicircle forward, lowering under your left wrist.
2. When your right hand has almost reached your left wrist, your left hand flattens out above
your right wrist so that the palms are facing each other. At the same time, retreat your right
foot and step out a half step toward the right rear corner. Your right hand goes diagonally to
the right and your left hand goes diagonally to the left, in the manner of a bird spreading its
wings. Your gaze is toward your right hand.

You must use your waist to move your hands and feet.
Application:
This posture is a technique of surprise. If my right hand and the opponents left hand are
touching each other, I send my left wrist up to carry his wrist and send my right hand forward
to strike him.
17
RAISE THE HANDS
18
WHITE CRANE UNFURLS ITS WINGS
19
20
These four postures are all done as before.

21

Under the Sea is the name of an acupoint on the human body. [Hai Di, more
commonly known as Hui Yin (Gathering Place of the Passive), is located just in front of the
anus.] NEEDLING UNDER THE SEA means your hand has an intent of poking toward the
Under the Sea point. [Going by the application explanation below, you are not to aim for
this acupoint directly, but instead use it as a mental target to help you go through the opponent
as you aim your intent at his lower abdomen, his Qi Hai area, appropriately indicating that to
get to his Under the Sea, you must go through his Sea of Energy.]
Two movements:
1. Lift your [left] foot, brushing with your [left] hand.
2. Stab the needle to Under the Sea.

1. With your left hand brushing your knee, withdraw your left foot, toes touching down.
2. Your right leg squatting down, sit your torso, your right arm extending straight down along
the inner side of your left knee, fingertips pointing down. At the same time, your left hand
may either touch your right forearm or withdraw behind your hip.

Your spine must be erect and should not bend and lean forward. When pointing down with
your hand, slightly harbor an intention of poking an acupoint. When practicing this posture,
there should be flexibility in your spine and knee.
Application:
When the opponent [in the previous posture] used his right hand to strike me and I then used
my left hand to brush it away to the side while using my right hand to strike his chest, if at
that moment he uses his left hand to grab my right wrist, I then turn my wrist over, pointing
downward, and issue my energy forward, making him topple away.
22

FAN THROUGH THE BACK means that your spine is like the hinge of a fan and your arms
are like the cloth of the fan, and it is like a fan spreading open. Through the back means that
you send power from your spine through your arms.
Two movements:
1. Stand up, bringing your wrists together.
2. Palm through the back.

1. Stand up, your hands embracing toward each other.
2. Your left foot takes a step forward while your left arm extends forward and your right arm
bends, lifting until the back of the hand covers your forehead. Your body should now be
straight and your legs are making a horse-riding stance except that your left foot should be
pointing its toes forward.

When wielding energy, the power in your left palm must be coordinated with your left ribs in
going forward, and at the same time, the power in your right arm must go through to your left
hand. This posture trains strength in your spine and upper back.
Application:
If the opponent uses his right hand to strike, I then use my right hand to slyly lift his wrist and
use my left palm to strike his ribs.
23
FLINGING BODY PUNCH
FLINGING BODY PUNCH means you fling your waist to the rear, causing your torso to fold
up, then advance and strike using your wrist. This is one of the five punching techniques in
Taiji Boxing.
Two movements:
1. Cross your hands below your ribs.
2. Flinging torso punch.

1. From the previous posture, your body turns around, your left knee bending, your hands
lower and come together, wrists meeting below your left ribs, the weight shifting fully onto
your left foot.
2. Your left hand staying where it is, your right foot lifts and takes a half step diagonally to
the right rear, your torso turning to the right, while your right hand, palm upward, makes a
fist, the elbow bending as you fling your torso, the elbow lightly against your right ribs. While
the fist comes down from above until lining up level with the elbow, your left hand does a
palm strike at chest level, fingertips upward, forefinger at about nose level. Your gaze is
forward. Your stance is a large T stance.

When turning around, the movement of your hands and legs must use your waist and spine as
a pivot, then it can be nimble and without sluggishness.
Application:
An opponent from behind me uses one hand to push down on my wrist and the other to push
down on my elbow. When he is about to hurl me away, I then fling my torso to the rear,
bending my elbow to seize control of his arm, taking advantage of the opportunity to step in,
making a fist, and intercepting his attack with a [palm] strike.
24
WITHDRAWING STEP, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH

PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH has already been explained. By withdrawing is meant a step
shifting to the side and is not the same as retreating.
Two movements:
1. Inward parrying hand.
2. Punch forward.

1. Your left hand parries inward, your left foot staying where it is, your right foot withdrawing
a half step to the right, your right fist going along with it by blocking across outward from
inward, its path an arc, the wrist then rotating so the tigers mouth is upward.
2. Your right fist punches forward, same as in ADVANCE, PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH.
Your wrist should go along with the movement of your step.
Application:
When contacting the opponents hand, if he forcefully lifts up, I withdraw a step to the side to
neutralize his energy, then take advantage of the moment to strike forward to his chest.
25
CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL (as before)
26
SINGLE WHIP (as before)
27
CLOUDING HANDS

CLOUDING HANDS means your hands move like the swirling of clouds. The movement of
the hands to the left and right is the same as the left & right climbing hands of Shaolin
Boxing. This is the most important posture within Taiji Boxing.
Three movements:
1. Staying where you are, cloud with your [right] hand.
2. Shifting your step, cloud with your right [left] hand.
3. Shifting your step, cloud with your left [right] hand.

1. Your left hand not moving, your right hand lowers and arcs from the lower right to the left,
the path of its movement as your right arm arcs downward taking it past both of your knees,
then rising from your navel to the left, until past your headtop and slowing by your right
temple. Your left hand, which has been waiting until your right hand has moved as far as your
left shoulder, at that moment lowers, palm inward, then rises from the lower left to the upper
right in an arc, the path of its movement as your left arm arcs downward taking it past both of
your knees, then rising to the right, slowing by your right ribs. See first drawing:
2. Continuing from the previous movement, your right hand lowers, again arcs to the left,
until past your headtop and slowing by your right temple. The rest is the same as the first
movement, except that when your left hand is by your right ribs, your right foot coordinates
with your right hand by shifting a half step to the left, and your left hand coordinates with the
lowering of your right hand by going upward until past your headtop and slowing by your left
temple. See second drawing:
3. Your left hand continues from the previous movement by lowering, passing your knees,
and rising to the right until beside your right ribs, your right [left] foot shifting a half step to
the left. Your right hand at the same time goes past your headtop and slows by your right
temple. Each hand clouds three times. After the last time, again perform the SINGLE WHIP
posture as before.

The movement of both hands must be of equal speed. Your step must shift along with your
bodys movement. Your upper body should not sway. Your eyes follow along with your
upper body as your hands move side to side.
Application:
If an opponent attacks my right shoulder from the rear, I meet his hand with my right hand,
and as I turn over my palm, I issue power to throw him away. [If the same situation to the
left,] my left hand does the same. Or if an opponent attacks from the front, I then move it
aside to the right with my right hand, then take advantage of the moment by advancing and
striking [with my left].
28
RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE LEFT

RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE means your body is rising up and you
are reaching out forward, in the manner of extending your body forward to mount a horse,
hence the name. RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE LEFT precedes
KICK TO THE RIGHT SIDE. RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE
RIGHT precedes KICK TO THE LEFT SIDE.
Two movements:
1. Roll back with your [left] hand.
2. Palm strike to the face.

1. Withdraw your left foot, toes touching down, your left hand turning outward and doing a
downward rollback, the hand facing upward, the elbow bending until placed beside your left
ribs. At the same time, your right hand lowers from the upper right, passes in front of your
face, and touches on top of your left wrist so the hands are making the CROSSED HANDS
shape, the tigers mouths of both hands facing upward.
2. With your left palm facing upward, your elbow slightly withdraws, and with your right
palm facing downward, it extends forward from above your left palm and expresses power in
the center of the palm, fingertips at nose level.

When your hand rolls back, the lifting and lowering of your foot must happen in unison.
Application:
If the opponent uses his left hand to strike forward to my chest, I then use my right [left] hand
to roll back and twist his wrist, and strike with my [right] hand.
29
KICK TO THE RIGHT SIDE

KICK TO THE SIDE means to use your foot to kick to the side, be it left or right. This one is
to the right side, but below there is also the left side.
Two movements:
1. Withdraw a step, rolling back with your hands.
2. Kick to the side.

1. Withdraw your left foot to the left rear while rolling back with both hands, or drawing an
outward arc and then embracing inward, making the CROSSED HANDS shape. At the same
time, your right foot withdraws until to the right side of your left foot, making an empty
stance, toes touching down, storing power and awaiting the moment to express it.
2. Your hands spread apart, wrists at shoulder level, while your right leg kicks forward to the
right side.

When withdrawing your foot and rolling back with your hand, hand and foot must act in
unison. When kicking, your arms are level, your standing leg slightly bent, and the weight is
entirely on the standing leg.
Application:
When I roll back the opponents arm and use my palm to strike to his face, if he follows my
energy and uses his elbow or arm to resist upward, I then wrap my hand around under it, from
inward spread my hand outward to cast away his arm, and take advantage of the moment by
kicking forward.
30
RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE RIGHT

See RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE LEFT
Two movements:
1. Withdraw your foot, bringing your hands together.

1. Your right leg withdraws back to where it was, toes touching down, while your arms from
outward lower to embrace inward and your wrists touch to make the CROSSED HANDS
shape.
2. Same as in RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE LEFT, movement 2
[but with left and right reversed].

Same as in RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE LEFT.
Application:
Same as in RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE LEFT [but with left and
right reversed].
31
KICK TO THE LEFT SIDE

Already explained in KICK TO THE RIGHT SIDE. The hand and foot movements are the
same, except left and right are reversed.
32

TURN AROUND, PRESSING KICK means your body turns around to the rear, and then you
press forward using your heel.
Two movements:
1. Turn around.
2. Pressing kick.

1. Withdraw your left foot, toes touching down, right foot going along with your torso as it
turns to the left, while your hands come from outward to embrace inward, the wrists making
the CROSSED HANDS shape, your right leg bent, your body squatting, your left toes
touching down, your eyes looking to the left.
2. Your body lifts up, and spreading your hands away to the sides, your left foot presses
forward to the left, force expressed with the heel.

When you turn around, your body must be upright and not lean forward.
Application:
If an opponent suddenly attacks me from behind, I then turn around to prevent it, taking
advantage of the moment to press forward with my foot, my hands spreading away to the left
and right to prevent him from brushing my leg aside.
33
COME DOWN, BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE

Come down into BRUSH KNEE IN A CROSSED STANCE performed as before. As your
left foot steps down forward, your left hand brushes past your left knee. The rest is the same
as before.
34
ADVANCE, PLANTING PUNCH

ADVANCE, PLANTING PUNCH means you step forward while your fist strikes down from
above as if to plant something, hence the name. This is one of the five punching techniques in
Taiji Boxing.
Two movements:
1. Step again, brushing past your [right] knee.
2. Step out, brushing past your [left] knee while performing a planting punch.

1. Your [right] foot advances a half step, your left leg bending, your right hand brushing down
until by your [right] knee, your left hand going from downward in the rear, lifting to be beside
your left ear, the arm bending forward, the palm inward and almost coming to a halt.
2. Advance your left foot, your left hand lowering and brushing forward and outward. At the
same time, your right hand makes a fist, palm inward, and strikes diagonally downward, your
left hand patting your right wrist to assist the posture. Your left leg is bent forward and your
right leg is slightly bent, although you can also make a full bow & arrow stance.

Your head must not tilt nor dare go past your toes. The planting punch must be powered from
your spine. When brushing past your left knee, your left hand should float near your left knee.
Application:
If the opponent uses his fist to strike to my chest, I then use my left hand to brush it aside
while sending my right hand forward to strike his face. If he then uses his left hand to grab my
wrist, I then turn over my hand, make a fist, and strike forward to his abdomen.
35
TURN AROUND, FLINGING BODY PUNCH (as before [but in the opposite direction])
36
DOUBLE KICK

DOUBLE KICK means your feet, left then right, lift and kick in succession.
Two movements:
1. Roll back with your [left] hand and kick forward.
2. Step down and kick forward.

1. From TURN AROUND, FLINGING BODY PUNCH, your left hand, the elbow bending,
withdraws with the palm up to be near your left ribs, while your right hand extends forward
(same as in a palm strike to the face) and your left leg kicks forward (similar to the snapping
kick of Tantui).
2. Your left foot comes down while your hands roll back from the upper right to the lower
left. Right when your left foot comes down, your right foot lifts and kicks forward, your arms
extending forward, both palms slapping the back of your right foot.

The path [of your hands] in the second movement should make an arc.
Application:
The opponent uses his left fist to punch my chest, so I send my left hand forward to grab his
wrist and strike his face with my right hand, capitalizing on the surprise by kicking him with
my left leg. If he retreats or blocks my foot, I then hop to change feet and kick him once more,
now with my right foot.
37
LEFT & RIGHT FIGHTING TIGER POSTURE

In this posture, the energy is fierce in the manner of a fighting tiger, hence the name.
Two movements:
1. FIGHTING TIGER POSTURE on the left side.
2. FIGHTING TIGER POSTURE on the right side.

1. From the previous posture, your left foot diagonally withdraws a half step to the left rear to
make a left bow & arrow stance, your torso inclining to the left and facing halfway to the left.
Your right foot has withdrawn a half step, coming down where your left foot was in the
previous posture. At the same time, your left arm goes from in front of your abdomen,
withdrawing to the left until below your ribs, grasps into a fist, raising up from outward, and
faces up (tigers mouth to the rear [downward in the drawing]), turned over beside your left
temple, your right arm also withdrawing to the rear, turning over, and is placed sideways
below your left ribs (tigers mouth close to your left ribs).
2. Your right foot shifts a half step to the right, and makes a right bow & arrow stance, your
torso inclining to the right and facing halfway to the left. At the same time, your fists lower,
pass in front of your lower abdomen, until below your right ribs, left fist turned over and
placed sideways below your right ribs, right fist raising up from outward, and faces upward
[tigers mouth again facing downward in the drawing], turned over beside your right temple.

In the left and right postures, the paths your fists move along should indicate two circles
that would link with each other in front of your stomach.
Application:
The opponent uses both hands to grab my arm, so I withdraw my arm, turning it over upward,
then use my other hand to thread through below my ribs, replacing his grab of my arm with a
strike to his head [ribs].
38
DRAPING THE BODY, KICK

DRAPING THE BODY, KICK means your body inclines into a diagonal draping posture, and
your foot lifts and kicks forward.
Three movements:
1. Drape your body, rolling back with your hands.
2. Crossed hands.
3. Spread your hands and kick forward.

1. From the previous posture, your left foot withdraws a half step diagonally to the left, and
your body sits back to the left. At the same time, your hands become palms and go from right
to left in a half circle, your left hand placed to the left of your chest, your right hand placed in
front of your chest, fingertips at about nose level.
2. Withdraw your right foot until it is to the right side of your left foot, toes touching down,
your left leg squatting down. At the same time, your right hand touches under your left wrist,
your left hand slightly extending forward, the palms making the CROSSED HANDS shape in
front of your chest.
3. Your hands spread apart forward and back while you lift your right foot and kick forward.

When draping your body, you must use your waist as a pivot to move your arms. When lifting
your foot to do a pressing kick forward, your left leg should slightly bend to get the weight to
shift onto your left foot.
Application:
The opponent uses his left hand to strike directly to my chest, so I drape over my body, using
my hands to roll back his arm, then I strike out with my right hand propping upward while
kicking his chest or ribs with my right foot.
39
DOUBLE WINDS THROUGH THE EARS

In this posture, both fists come from the sides to strike the opponents ears as swift as the
wind, hence the name.
Two movements:
1. Step down with your hands manacled.
2. Spread your hands apart and thread them through.

1. From the previous posture, your right foot comes down forward about a full steps distance
from your rear foot, your right knee bending forward, while your arms move inward until in
front of your knee, crossing at the wrists (left wrist on top, tigers mouths upward).
2. Your torso withdraws and your legs sit back, both hands (palms up) spreading to the sides,
making fists once beside your hips, then travelling outward, then forward and upward, until
they are at shoulder level, about four or five inches apart. Your fists are now turned over,
elbows hanging, arms level and bent inward to make an oval shape.

The retreating and advancing of your arms must be in unison with your legs, and be lively and
without sluggishness.
Application:
The opponent punches to my chest, so I use both hands to block to the sides, and then take
advantage of the moment to advance and strike his ears.
40
ADVANCE, PRESSING KICK

In this posture, you first step forward, then lift your foot and kick forward, hence the name.
Two movements:
1. Advance, bringing your hands together.
2. Spreading your hands apart, do a pressing kick.

1. From the previous posture, your right leg straightens as your left foot advances forward,
coming down in front of your right foot, your torso squatting, your toes touching down (your
torso going along with your right toes as they shift to the right ninety degrees), your hands
becoming palms [and coming together to make the CROSSED HANDS shape].
2. Your right leg straightening, your torso lifts up, while your left leg lifts and does a pressing
kick forward, your hands spreading away to the sides.

During the pressing kick, you must stick out the heel forcefully, your right leg should be
slightly bent, and get the weight to gather fully onto your right foot.
Application:
When I use my left hand to strike the opponent, if he uses his right hand to prop up my elbow
from below, I then squat my torso to the right, [my hands] going outward and downward to
wrap around his arms, and lift my left foot to do a pressing kick to his ribs.
41
42

43
SEALING SHUT
44
CROSSED HANDS
45
46
These six postures are all done as before.

47
WILD HORSE PARTS ITS MANE

In this posture, the manner of the movement is like a wild horse running swiftly, your hands
spreading away like the horses mane draping side to side, hence the name.
Two movements:
1. Twist your torso, bringing your hands together.
2. Step forward, spreading your hands.

1. From DIAGONAL SINGLE WHIP, both your feet shift to point their toes ninety degrees to
the right, your torso turning to the right and bending in, your hands embracing inward to make
the CROSSED HANDS shape.
2. Your right foot advances half a step, the knee bends forward, and the weight shifts to your
right foot. At the same time, your right hand goes to the forward right and your left hand
spreads away to the left rear, corresponding to each other from a distance, like a wild goose
spreading its wings. This is the posture on the right side.

The left side version is the same as the right, except your limbs are reversed left and right.
In the course of practicing the solo set, the movements of this posture should be done an odd
number of times if the right side is done twice, the left is done once but while the first one
only advances a half step, the rest each advance a full step.

As your arms spread apart and come together, it must be in unison with your waist and hips.
The movement of your whole body must be stretched out and lively.
Application:
An opponent makes a direct attack to my chest, so I use my rear hand to push down on his
wrist while advancing a step behind his knee and extending my front arm under his armpit to
go diagonally upward with a carrying strike.
48
MAIDEN WORKS THE SHUTTLE

This posture first advances then turns around to the rear, then again [advances and] turns
around to the rear, travelling toward the four corners in a continuous maneuver, like the
manner of the shuttle slipping in and out when weaving silk, hence the name.
Two movements:
1. Twist your torso and bring your hands together.
2. Bend your arm and extend your palm.

In this posture, the path of your hands moves to the four corners for a total of four times, and
each time the movement has two parts. Your body twists or turns around altogether, the first
and third time twisting, the second and fourth time turning around. Each time faces a different
direction and the directions are faced in a specific sequence: if practicing according to the
compass directions [in the movement chart], the first time is to the northwest, the second to
the southwest, third to the southeast, fourth to northeast.
First time:
1. Repeat the first movement of WILD HORSE PARTS ITS MANE.
2. Your left foot takes a step out to the forward left, the knee bends forward, your torso
inclines forward, and your right hand extends forward from below your left armpit, the force
expressed in the palm.
Second time:
1. Your hands come together to embrace in front of your chest, making the CROSSED
HANDS shape, and your body turns around to the right rear.
2. Your right steps out diagonally [to the forward right], and your hand movement is the same
as in the first time, but with left and right reversed.

Third time:
Your left foot steps across to the left, your hand movement the same as in the first time.
Fourth time:
Your body turns around to the right rear, your hand movement the same as in the second time.

When turning your body around, your step and waist movement must be in unison, and
although the direction is diagonal, your body posture should still be upright and not lean.
Application:
An opponent uses his rear hand to strike me from behind, so I turn around and use my rear
hand to wrap around his wrist from the side, then advance a step while using the same arm in
an upward ward-off to his arm and extending my other hand to strike his chest.
49
SINGLE WHIP
50
CLOUDING HANDS
Both of these postures are done as before.

51
LOW POSTURE

LOW POSTURE means that your body descends, hence the name.
Two movements:
1. Squat, withdrawing your [left] hand.
2. Stand, extending your [left] arm.

1. From SINGLE WHIP, bend your right leg and squat down, extending your left leg so it is
almost lying on the ground (known as half step forked stance), and sit down on your rear
foot, while with your rear arm not moving (Some bend the rear arm to make a PLAY THE
LUTE posture together with the front hand.), your forward arm bends and withdraws until by
your right knee (or inner thigh), then the palm extends forward. When your forward arm
withdraws, the path of your body and hand make the upper half of a circle.
2. Bending your forward leg, your rear leg straightens, causing your body to rise up to be
standing, and your left arm extends forward from above [below], the path of the movement
making the lower half of a circle, and with the previous movement makes a complete circle
(returning you to the SINGLE WHIP posture).

When squatting your body, your spine must be straight and not incline forward. The bending
and extending of your knee and arm must happen in unison with the lowering and rising of
your body.
Application:
If the opponent grasps my arm with both hands, or makes a forward attack to my body which
I cannot resist, I then use this posture of squatting my body to avoid it, neutralizing his force
and causing him to land on nothing, and then take advantage of the situation by striking
forward.
52
LEFT & RIGHT GOLDEN ROOSTER STANDS ON ONE LEG

In this posture, one foot stands on the ground while the other is lifted, a hand rising up to
make a posture of spreading wings, in the manner of a rooster, hence the name.
Two movements:
1. Advance and lift your [right] leg, propping up with your [right] palm.
2. Retreat and lift your [left] leg, propping up with your [left] palm.

1. From the LOW POSTURE, your right hand comes forward from behind, twisting and
lifting up in front of your chest, past your face, and once it is at headtop level, the palm is
turned outward, the arm curving to make a semicircle shape and placed beside the right side
of your forehead. At the same time, your right leg bends at the knee and lifts up until the knee
and your right elbow meet. Your left leg is standing straight, your left arm hanging down,
palm inward, fingers pointing to the left side of your right foot.

2. Your right foot comes down, your left hand and left foot lift as in the first movement, your
right arm hanging down, the fingers pointing to the right side of your left foot.

In this posture, the movement pivots around your waist and headtop and the weight is entirely
on one foot. Make it as stable as a mountain and do not sway. When your hands and feet lift
and lower, they should do so in unison.
Application:
If I use my fist or palm to strike the opponents chest and he uses his hand to block it, I
respond by using my [other] hand to lift his away, then strike his lower abdomen with my
knee while striking forward with the same hand.
53
54

55
RAISE THE HANDS
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
SINGLE WHIP
63
CLOUDING HANDS
64
RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE
All of these postures are done as before.

65
CROSSED-BODY SWINGING LOTUS KICK

In boxing arts, when you extend your front fist while kicking with your rear leg, it is called a
crossed-body kick (as in the second line of Tantui). When kicking from the side, it is called
a swinging lotus kick. This posture does both kinds of things, hence the name.
Four movements:
1. Thread through with your [left] hand.
3. Turn around, raising your [left] palm.
4. Swinging kick.

1. From RISING UP AND REACHING OUT TO THE HORSE, your left foot advances a
half step and your left hand, palm up, threads out over your right wrist, while your right arm
withdraws, palm down, bending to be placed below your left armpit.
2. Your left palm turns downward and expresses force forward.
3. Sitting on your left leg, turn around to your right rear, slightly relaxing your right leg so
you seem to be in an empty stance, while your left arm goes from the left of your head, raising
up in an arc to placed above your head, palm forward.
4. Your right foot does a swinging kick from the left to the right, while your left palm goes
from the right to the left, slapping the top of your right foot, causing your left arm to hang
down, palm downward.

Once you turn around, you must put all the weight on your left foot, then you can lift your
right foot. The path your right foot moves along should be a crosswise arc.
Application:
An opponent attacks me from behind, so I turn around, using my hand to block it, and take
advantage of the situation by sending out a sideways kick.
66
BRUSH KNEE, PUNCH TO THE CROTCH

In this posture, after you brush past your knee, take advantage of the moment to advance and
punch the opponent in the crotch, hence the name. This is one of the five punching techniques
in Taiji Boxing.
Three movements:
1. Bring your foot down and brush past the knee.
2. Advance, brushing past your [left] knee.
3. Punch to his crotch.
1. From CROSSED-BODY SWINGING LOTUS KICK, your right foot comes down and
your right hand brushes past your right knee, making the posture of BRUSH KNEE IN A
CROSSED STANCE on the left [right] side.
2. Your left foot advances a step and your right [left] hand brushes past your left knee.
3. Inclining your body and bending your knee forward, your right hand grasps into a fist
(tigers mouth upward) and extends diagonally forward and downward, while your left hand
can either be placed beside your left knee or touch your right arm to assist the punch.

When punching forward, the power must be sent from your spine, your right shoulder must
stretch, and your right leg should extend straight.
Application:
The opponent attacks my groin with his left hand then his right foot, which I respond to by
blocking with my hands in succession, and then I take advantage of the situation by advancing
and punching him in the groin.
67
68
SINGLE WHIP
69
LOW POSTURE
All of these postures are done as before.

70
STEP FORWARD WITH THE BIG DIPPER and RETREAT TO RIDE THE TIGER

When boxing practitioners roll their arms toward each other so their fists line up diagonally
with each other, it is called a big dipper posture [i.e. making a bucket shape resembling the
saucepan of the Dipper]. When the arms spread apart, the hands going to the sides as a hook
and a palm, the legs squatting with one foot standing and one foot lifted, toes touching down,
it is called riding a tiger. These two postures must be linked when practicing, therefore I
have combined them here.
Two movements:
1. STEP FORWARD WITH THE BIG DIPPER
2. RETREAT TO RIDE THE TIGER

1. From LOW POSTURE, your left knee bends forward and your right foot advances, staying
near your left heel, toes touching down. At the same time, your left hand grasps into a fist in
front of your chest and your right hand comes forward from behind, grasping into a fist and
going along with the advancing of your right foot, passing beside your right hip and striking
forward under your left wrist, crossing with it to make an X shape.
2. Your right foot retreats a half step, the knee bends into a squat, and your left foot withdraws
to be beside your right foot, toes touching down, making an empty stance. At the same time,
your arms wrap inward, your right hand going from pulling out from inward of your left arm
and extending to the right side, palm forward, as your left hand makes a hook which brushes
diagonally to the lower left as your left knee rises, the fingers making a monkey fist [i.e. a
hook hand], fingertips pointing to the rear [although the drawing shows a downward palm].
Your shoulders should be level.

For STEP FORWARD WITH THE BIG DIPPER, the weight sits fully on your left foot. For
RETREAT TO RIDE THE TIGER, the weight sits fully on your right foot.
Application:
1. STEP FORWARD WITH THE BIG DIPPER: If the opponent punches to my chest, I use
my left arm to prop it up or block it outward, then advance with my right foot and use my
right hand to strike under my left hand to his chest.
2. RETREAT TO RIDE THE TIGER: Continuing from the previous application, if the
opponent uses his hand to push [my strike] down or brushes it aside and kicks forward, I then
use my left hand to brush down his hand or foot, withdrawing my right hand to then push his
chest or shoulder.
71
TURN AROUND, SWINGING LOTUS KICK

Turn around describes movement. To turn around and do a swinging lotus kick means that
you turn around to store up power, then release it by lifting your foot and doing a swinging
lotus kick (as explained previously in Posture 65).
Two movements:
1. Turn around, joining your hands.
2. Swinging lotus kick.

1, From RIDING THE TIGER, turn your body to the right rear, step your left foot forward,
both hands joining inward, crossing in front of your chest to make the CROSSED HANDS
shape.
2. Lift your right foot and go from left to right with a swinging kick, both arms extended
forward, the hands going from right to left, slapping the back of your right foot,
then gathering in to be placed at both sides [to the left side] of your waist, your right foot now
lowering to the ground, toes touching down close beside your left foot.

When your left foot steps forward, the toes should be pointed inward so as to make it easier to
turn.
Application:
If an opponent attacks from my left side, I evade it by dodging with my body and stepping
forward [back] with my left foot, drawing him in to be ambushed as I then turn around and lift
my right foot to kick his ribs from the side.
72
BEND THE BOW TO SHOOT THE TIGER

The intention in this posture is of a person quickly drawing a bow to shoot, hence the name.
Two movements:
1. Step out, bending your arms.
2. Loosen your arms and extend them forward.

1. From the previous posture, your right foot steps to the forward right, your torso inclines to
the forward right, your arms bend, making fists, and go from the left side of your waist,
passing in front of your navel, and move to the right until to the right of your waist. Your
arms lift up, your right shoulder and elbow level with each other, the fist overturned (tigers
mouth downward) near your right cheek, pointing to the forward left, the posture like holding
an arrow. Your left elbow is bent near your ribs, the hand lifted in front of your chest. Your
gaze is forward and the posture is like holding a bow.
2. Your fists go toward the lower left, slightly corkscrewing, aligned with each other as right
fist above and left fist below, your arms extended.

When both fists strike forward, there must be a corkscrewing intention.
Application:
If the opponent connects with me to the right and pushes down my right arm, I go along with
the movement in a semicircle to neutralize his energy, riding his energy until it has slackened,
then strike forward.
73
CLOSING POSTURE

The intention here is to conclude the solo set by returning to the original posture, hence the
name. The methods of returning to the original posture vary among people: some [i.e. Wu
style practitioners] do CATCH THE SPARROW BY THE TAIL, PALM TO THE FACE,
and several more postures to get to the original posture, while others [i.e. Yang style
practitioners] do the two postures of PARRY, BLOCK, PUNCH and SEALING SHUT to get
there. In either case it would here be unnecessarily repetitive to explain the original posture
over again.
Two movements:
1. Step together, joining hands.
2. Return to the original posture, standing straight.

1. From SHOOT THE TIGER, step your left foot forward to stand beside your right foot,
turning your body to the right, crossing your hands in front of your chest.
2. Both hands releasing downward, return to your original posture, standing straight.

CHAPTER THREE: DISCUSSION OF TAIJI BOXINGS PUSHING HANDS SKILL
Pushing hands, or touching hands, or nearing hands, is a feature of many boxing arts, and
is used to train close-body techniques. The secret to the art of Taiji Boxing is identifying
energies, the first step of which is to make your skin keenly aware. The method of training
this sensitivity lies in two people touching with each others elbows, wrists, palms, and
fingers, pushing back and forth to rub at the skin. The measure of sensitivity that comes from
your skin being gently pressed is used to perceive whether the opponents energy is light or
heavy, empty or full, and in which direction it is going. After a long time, your sensitivity will
be very acute, sticking and yielding will be assisting each other, and when there is the
slightest movement you will be aware of it, thus you will be identifying energies. The Taiji
Boxing Classic says: Once you are identifying energies, then the more you practice, the more
efficient your skill will be.
When practitioners of Taiji Boxing do not practice pushing hands, it is equal to not
practicing at all. And if you practice pushing hands but are not yet able to identify energies,
then it will be worthless when you try to apply it. Alas, there are levels to work through. Upon
entering each room [i.e. moving on through each level], understand there is a door [that leads
to another]. When practicing the pushing hands techniques, there are things you need to pay
attention to:
The pushing hands techniques divide into single touching-hands postures and double
touching-hands postures (explained below). Single touching is a single hand pushing by itself.
Double touching is both hands being used together. This is always a case of touching
outwardly with the fingers (the chest being inward, the fingers and forearms being outward).
There is also what is called open & close hands, in which one partners hands both go
inward while the others go outward, alternating with each other, going back and forth with
double-hand pushes.
In single-hand pushing hands, the rubbing method is the same as in the nearing hands in
the boxing of Fujian, as well the five element hands (dividing into techniques for metal,
wood, water, fire, and earth, the five generating and overcoming each other throughout the
movements), and have many uses.
In my youth I learned from Liu Jingyuan, training in the single-hand pushing hands
techniques, gaining something of the idea. Then I sought out the various postures in the
various schools of Taiji, and bit by bit I standardized a training method, organizing a complete
regimen of pushing hands techniques to supplement the original four cardinal and four
corner exercises where each is insufficient. I have added additional sections to provide you
with the cardinal and corner exercises, but have selected only the beginning levels of them
and have explained them in brief to make your experience easier.

CHAPTER FOUR: EXPLANATIONS OF THE EIGHT TECHNIQUES OF THE PUSHING
HANDS SKILL
WARD-OFF [peng]
This means to hold up, to carry, or to expand.
It is like when inflating a leather ball and pushing down on it the further it is pushed
down, the more the expansion is felt, causing the force to be unable to push all the way down.
From poem 78 of the Book of Poems: His quiver is spent. According to Du Yu, the word
means an arrow guiver. It is also pronounced bng.
From Zuos Commentary to the Spring & Autumn Annals, 25th Year of Duke Zhao: [His
men took off their helmets and] sat down holding their quivers. An annotation explains that
the character used in this passage represents an arrow quiver which can be used as a drinking
vessel as well as a carrier for arrows and is interchangeable with the same character that
appears in poem 78.
In the Taiji skill, it is the trick when touching hands of going against the opponents
momentum by carrying him upward and making him unable to lower himself.
All these things make up ward-off.
ROLLBACK [l]
Although it is pronounced l, the actual character does not appear in any dictionary, and
may be a mistake for a similar looking character meaning to extend. From Ban Gus drama
Replying to a Guest: In solitude, we extend our thoughts beyond the whole universe.
Or it can mean to distribute. From Sima Xiangrus Book of Nature Worship:
distributing without limit.
Or it can mean to disseminate. From On the Rhapsodizers East of the Yellow River,
by Yang Xiong: extolling the Six Classics from which they disseminate their odes.
Or it can mean something akin to gallop. From Thinking Profoundly, by Zhang Heng:
The eight chariots are released and overtake with their gallop.
In the Taiji skill, when touching hands, usually when the opponent does a ward-off or
press to me, I use rollback as a trick to dispel his force, causing it to gallop away, unable to be
regrouped.
All of these things make up rollback.
PRESS [ji]
The Shuowen Jiezi [Chinas earliest dictionary] says that it means to forcefully remove,
or to push away. It is to send a hand outward with a forward push to something.
From Zuos Commentary to the Spring & Autumn Annals, 13th Year of Duke Zhao: A
man who is oblivious to his old age gets pushed into a ditch.
From the Historical Records, Annals of Xiang Yu: A gap in the Han army made for a
push from the Chu army.
From Zhuangzi, chapter 4: Those rulers [Jie and Zhou] pushed these virtuous men away
[i.e. had Guan Longfeng and Prince Bigan killed] because they were more virtuous than
themselves.
Generally you may use your hand, shoulder, or back to press the opponents body and
make him unable to move, and from that point give him a push to throw him away.
All of these things make up press.
PUSH [an]
The Shuowen Jiezi says this means to go downward.
The Guangyun [a rhyming dictionary] says this means to press downward.
From the Rhapsodies of Emperor Jianwen of Liang: By way of variety and pressing down
[i.e. restraint], elegance runs through it.
The Erya [an ancient thesaurus] lists it as a synonym of words meaning to suppress.
From the Historical Records, Annals of Zhou: The king pushed his army [i.e.
encouraged] with the command of: no exit!
Poem 241 of the Book of Poems says: Crush their armies [with yours], and the word is
there explained [in the accompanying commentary of Zheng Xuan] as meaning to suppress.
From the History of the Early Han Dynasty, Annals of Emperor Gao: Both officials and
commoners settled down [the two characters in the text making a term which is a combination
of push down and stop up] to how it was before, with the commentary then explaining:
Pushing constantly until the walls were sealed up and there was no change.
It also means to occupy, as in the Historical Records, Bio of Bai Qi: The Zhao
commander pacified the people by pushing in with an occupying force.
It also means to stroke, as in the Historical Records, Bios of Rulers of the Plains: Mao
then stroked his sword and marched onward into history.
There is also the meaning of massage [to push down plus to rub equalling
massage]. In ancient times, there were the massage and limbering arts, as is mentioned in
the History of the Early Han Dynasty, Bibliographical Records: The Yellow Emperors Qi
Bo wrote ten chapters on massage.
As for the Taiji boxing art, when your opponent presses forward, use your hands to push
down and suppress his action, making him unable to do what he wants.
This is push.
PLUCK [cai]
This means to take.
From the Books of Jin: On the mountain is a fierce tiger, and the plants are not what he
picks to eat.
To select and take is called plucking.
In Taiji Boxing, this is when you pluck to take control of the opponents force. This taking
is like the movement of energy inward when a practioner of silent meditation restrains
himself.
The Classic of the Talisman of the Abstract says: The sign of the sky expressing its
destructiveness [is the shifting of the constellations.] [i.e. The stars disappear over the
horizon as if pulled down.]
Once you understand these explanations, ponder on them.
REND [lie]
This means to turn or to twist.
From the Writings of Han Yu: Turn your hands to stir the soup.
It also means to coil. It is an intention of rotation.
In Taiji Boxing, when you use rotational force to control the opponents body, it is called
rending, including the intention of rending away.
ELBOW [zhou]
This is the name of the boney point in the middle of your arm where it bends.
When practitioners of boxing arts use this area to strike opponents, it is called elbowing,
making it a verb rather than a noun.
In Taiji Boxing, there are many methods of applying elbowing techniques. In this book, it
is only mentioned in the pushing hands section when relevant, and discussed briefly.
BUMP [kao]
This means to lean on, to lean against, or to lean upon someone else.
In Taiji Boxing, when you are near with your body and you use your shoulder or hip to
strike the opponent, it is called bumping, the two methods being known as shoulder bump
and hip strike.

CHAPTER FIVE: TAIJI BOXINGS PRACTICAL FUNCTION PUSHING HANDS

Section 1: TAIJI BOXINGS STANCE
The Taiji boxing arts stance often uses the river-character posture [or three-line posture
showing a line for each foot and the line between them].
From a posture of standing straight, your left foot takes a step out to the forward left, the
toes of both feet are equally forward, and the distance between your feet to the left and right is
shoulder width. Squat your body down, slightly bending your knees, and make the weight of
your whole body go to your rear foot. It is somewhat like the T stance, except the front toes
are held upward or placed flat on the ground, so it is slightly different.
Your upper body should be upright in your waist and empty in your chest, with energy
concentrated at your lower abdomen. Your head is held straight, headtop empty and
suspended. Your tailbone is centered and spirit passes through to your headtop. Your spine is
in a bow shape.
Your arms are slightly bent and go forward, raising until level. Your palms extend forward
and your wrists sit. Your fingertips are slightly bent, are spread, and are upward, the
forefinger of your forward hand at about nose level, your rear hand at about chest level. Your
palms are unevenly facing each other and seem to be holding something. Droop your
shoulders and hang your elbows.

Your shoulders, elbows, and hands are united with your hips, knees, and feet. Your whole
body should be nimble and without sluggishness. Once each part has a condition of
naturalness (and the posture on the other side is the same as on this side), then it is right.

Section 2: SINGLE TOUCHING-HANDS METHOD
Two people stand facing each other. Each steps out forward with the right foot, while the right
hand extends forward from beside the right ribs in an arcing motion, as in the standing posture
above. The backs of the wrists stick to each other, making a crossed shape. This is the single
touching-hands posture.

Section 3: DOUBLE TOUCHING-HANDS METHOD
This posture is like the single touching-hands posture, except that the rear hand also comes
forward to pat the other persons elbow area. Four arms are touching, making a complete
circle. The wrists touching each other are turned inward so that both people occupy the area in
front of their chests, each getting half of the circle. It is just like the two fishes of the taiji
symbol. This is the double touching-hands posture.

Section 4: SINGLE-HAND HORIZONTAL CIRCLING PUSHING & RUBBING
METHOD
Both partners stand facing each other and make the right-sided single touching-hands posture.
1. As right palm pushes down on Bs right wrist, pushing forward toward Bs chest.
B bends his right arm, his hand withdrawing toward his own chest, moving horizontally,
retreating and rubbing, making a semicircle, his wrist passing below his left shoulder, moving
to the right until in front of his breastbone.
2. Bs torso sits back, elbow hanging down, turns over his hand drawing in beside his ribs,
his wrist extending outward, peeling aside As wrist, then in turn pushes down on As wrist.
3. Bs hand then pushes toward As chest as in movement 1.
4. As hand retreats and rubs as in movement 2, also making a semicircle. Go back and
forth, pushing and rubbing. Wait until you are skillful at it, then practice another posture. This
is a basic action of the pushing hands methods.

Doing the exercise on the left or right side is the same apart from left and right being
switched.

Section 5: ROLLBACK & PUSH PUSHING HANDS METHOD
Both partners stand facing each other and make the right-sided double touching-hands
posture.
1. A with his right palm pushes down on Bs right wrist and with his left hand pushes
down on Bs right elbow, making the push posture toward the sides of Bs chest.
2. B bends his right arm, the hand withdrawing toward his chest, retreating and
neutralizing with a horizontal motion, his left hand is patting behind As elbow. His right
wrist is passing below his left shoulder as it moves to the right, left hand going along with it
downward to the right, the arm bending, making a rollback, both elbows hanging down.
3. B with both hands pushes As elbow and wrist toward As chest to make the push
posture, as in movement 1.
4. A with both hands retreats and rolls back, as in movement 2.

Section 6: SINGLE-HAND VERTICAL CIRCLING PUSHING HANDS METHOD
Both partners stand facing each other and make the right-sided single touching-hands posture.
1. A uses his right palm to cut downward onto Bs wrist (B going along with As cutting
action), fingertips pointed forward toward Bs belly.
2. B bends his arm, going along with As cutting energy, neutralizing with a withdrawing
arc from below in a vertical semicircle, lifting past his right ribs until beside his right ear.
3. Bs right hand continues the previous movement by making the upper half of the circle,
extending his arm forward, pointing at As forehead.
4. A sits his body back, bending his right arm, his hand sticking to Bs wrist and going
along with his movement, turning his body to the side to lead downward, until when beside
his ribs he turns it into a forward push.
Note:
This exercise can train the two postures of RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE MONKEY
and LOW POSTURE. If A moves in the manner of RETREAT, DRIVING AWAY THE
MONKEY, B then moves in the manner of LOW POSTURE.

Section 7: ROLLBACK & PRESS PUSHING HANDS METHOD

Both partners stand facing each other and make the [right-sided] double touching-hands
posture.
1. A squats his torso, standing up his left forearm, and rolls back Bs right arm diagonally
to the rear.
2. B takes advantage of the moment and extends his right arm downward, advancing his
torso toward where his elbow is being touched by A to do a bump forward, and by using his
left hand to pat the inside of his own arm, does a press outward.
3. A leans his torso forward to slow down Bs power, going across with his left ulna or
wrist to touch the middle of Bs upper arm, causing Bs arm to get near his own torso, and
then using his right hand to pat the inside of his own forearm, does a press forward.
4. B softens his torso inward to yield to and neutralize As power, squats his torso,
standing up his left forearm, and rolls back As right arm diagonally to the rear, like A in
movement 1.
5. A is like B in movement 2.
6. B is like A in movement 3.

Section 8: SINGLE-HAND PRESSING DOWN PUSHING HANDS METHOD
Both partners stand facing each other and make the [right-sided] single touching-hands
posture.
1. As right hand sticks to Bs right wrist and moves outward horizontally, correspondingly
withdrawing [as if in response to a forward energy from B], his hand turns over and presses
down on Bs wrist, palm upward, arm bent, elbow close to his ribs. (The bend in the arm
should make an obtuse angle.)
2. A, continuing from the previous movement of using his upward-facing palm to press
down Bs wrist, extends his arm forward toward Bs belly.
3. B goes along with the force of As forward push, turns his hand over in a horizontal
motion, bends his arm, retreating, then waits until the moment A is almost in front of his
belly, and sucks in his torso and hangs his elbow down, turns his hand the rest of the way
over, and presses down As wrist, like A in movement 1.
4. B extends his arm forward toward As belly, like A in movement 2.
This exercise is done the same on the left side.

Section 9: PRESSING DOWN THE WRIST & PUSHING DOWN THE ELBOW
PUSHING HANDS METHOD
Two people stand opposite each other, making the [right-sided] double touching-hands
posture.
1&2. A presses down on Bs wrist as before, except that his left hand, fingers pointing
down, pushes down on Bs elbow to assist the power.
3&4. As B retreats, turning over his wrist and withdrawing, his left palm goes upward to
prop up Bs elbow, which is different from before.

Section 10: PUSHING HANDS METHOD FOR THE FOUR PRIMARY TECHNIQUES
Pushing hands with the four primary techniques is when two people are pushing hands using
the four techniques of rollback, press, push, and ward-off, which are aligned with the four
cardinal directions [of the eight trigrams], and repeat their cycle over and over again, back and
forth between the two people. To begin, they stand opposite each other and cross their right
hands.
1. A bends his knees and sits back, bends his arms so his elbows hang down (making the
lute posture), his hands catching Bs right arm at the elbow and wrist, and he rolls back
inward and diagonally downward.
2. B takes advantage of the momentum and bends his right arm horizontally, making a
ninety-degree angle, and presses forward toward As chest with his wrists connected, then
shifts his left hand to touch the inside of his own forearm and assist the power.
3. Right when B presses with his elbow, A turns his waist slightly to the left, both hands
taking advantage of the momentum and pushing down on Bs left arm.
4. B then uses his left arm to do a pressing push, bringing it away [from his right arm] in
an upward arc to ward off and neutralize As pushing force. At the same time, his right arm
also wraps around from below to prop up As left elbow and assist the neutralization.
5. Once B wards off and neutralizes As pushing force, he then takes advantage of the
momentum and rolls back As left arm.
6. A goes along with Bs rollback energy and presses forward.
7. B goes along with As pressing energy and pushes down.
8. A then wards off and neutralizes Bs pushing power, and then rolls back.
All of this goes round and round without end. This is the pushing hands method for the
four primary techniques.

Section 11: PUSHING HANDS METHOD FOR THE FOUR SECONDARY TECHNIQUES
Pushing hands with the four secondary techniques, also known as Large Rollback, is when
two people are pushing hands using the four techniques of elbow, bump, pluck, and rend,
which are aligned with the four corner directions [of the eight trigrams], and repeat their cycle
over and over again, back and forth between the two people. It compensates for the limitations
of the four primary techniques. To begin, [persons A and B] stand opposite each other along a
north-south line [A facing south, B facing north] and cross their right hands.
1. A steps his right foot diagonally to the northwest, making a stance between a horseriding stance and a wide T-stance, with his right arm level and bent, his right hand touching
Bs right wrist, his left arm bends at the elbow and uses the middle area of the outer forearm
bone to roll back Bs right arm diagonally to the northwest.
2. B then takes advantage of the momentum and steps his left foot across forward and to
the left, moving his right foot to step forward between As legs. At the same time, his right
arm extends downward, his shoulder going along with As rollback energy, and bumps
forward into As chest with his left hand assisting by touching the inside of his own right arm.
Both people are again facing each other, with B looking toward the northeast.
3. A uses his left hand to push down on Bs left wrist and his right hand to push down on
Bs left elbow, plucking down. At the same time, his left foot goes from the outside of Bs
right foot to step between Bs legs.
4. B goes along with As plucking energy and withdraws his left leg to the southwest,
making a horse-riding stance, and with his left arm level and bent, his left hand touches As
left wrist, and his right arm bends at the elbow and uses the middle area of the forearm bone
to rollback As left arm diagonally to the southwest.
5. A takes advantage of the momentum and steps his right foot forward, moving his left
foot to step forward between Bs legs. At the same time, his left arm extends downward, his
shoulder going along with Bs rollback energy, and bumps forward into Bs chest with his
right hand assisting by touching the inside of his own left arm. Both people are again facing
each other, with A looking toward the southeast.
6. As left arm wants to lift up. B then goes along with As lifting energy, his left hand
doing a palm strike toward As face while his right hand pushes on As left shoulder,
diagonally rending downward.
7. A goes along with Bs rending energy and withdraws his left foot a step to the northeast,
his left hand touching Bs left wrist, his right arm bending at the elbow, and rolls back Bs left
arm to the northeast.
8. B takes advantage of the momentum and steps forward with his right foot, moving his
left foot to step forward between As legs, his left arm going along with As rollback energy
and using his shoulder to bump forward into As chest, his right hand assisting. The direction
B is facing is northwest.
9. A uses his right hand to push down on Bs right wrist and his left hand to push on Bs
right elbow, plucking down. At the same time, his right foot goes from the outside of Bs left
foot to step between Bs legs.
10. B goes along with As plucking energy and withdraws his right foot to the southeast,
his right hand touching As right wrist, and with his left arm bent at the elbow, rolls back As
right arm diagonally to the southeast.
11. A takes advantage of the momentum and steps forward with his left foot, moving his
right foot to step forward between As legs, his right arm going along with Bs rollback
energy, and uses his shoulder to bump forward into Bs chest, his left hand assisting. The
direction A is facing is southwest.
12. As right arm wants to lift up. B then goes along with As lifting energy, his right hand
doing a palm strike toward As face while his left hand pushes on As right shoulder,
diagonally rending downward.
[Movement 1 repeating:] A retreats his right leg, and with both hands he rolls back Bs
right arm at the wrist and elbow area.
Both people have returned to the posture of crossing their right hands and this whole
sequence may continue. This is the pushing hands method for the four secondary techniques.
POSTSCRIPT [BY ZHONG RUIYUAN]
Chinese boxing arts began during the Warring States period and were carried along through
the dynasties Han, Wei, Tang, Song, etc. They were passed on through the generations, but
always by personal instruction, and with some things being kept secret, unrecorded in books.
It is known that in the Han Records [History of the Early Han Dynasty, Bibliographical
Records] there is mentioned records of [six chapters of] bare-hand fighting and [thirty-eight
chapters of] swordsmanship, but those writings are long lost.
During the Ming Dynasty, there was Qi Nantangs [Qi Jiguang] New Book of Effective
Methods and Mao Yuanyis Records of Martial Training Methods, and there emerged the
Sword Classic, Boxing Postures, Staff Techniques, and Spear Treatise, some of these texts in
detail, others in brief. Later generations of those who trained in martial arts were unable to
surpass the range of those writings until the boxing essay of Huang Baijia on the internal
school and the writings of Wu Shu on bare-handed fighting and the spear, which were
detailed and refined.
During the early Qing Dynasty, it was forbidden to teach or train in martial arts, and
therefore it was done in secret, very rarely appearing in books. What was preserved was
always through simple songs which were memorized and could not be very detailed about the
theory or techniques, and this situation was caused because those transmitting it were often
not very well-read.
In the first summer month of 1920, I bumped into Xu Yusheng on my way somewhere,
and he invited me to come right away to the physical education school he had established to
see Ma Zizhens new martial arts performance team, but I was already running late and did
not get to see them. I subsequently associated with Xu and so I got to look at two pieces of his
writing: A Commentary to the Taiji Boxing Classic and Explanations with Illustrations. I
thereupon began to understand his motivation for opening a school, as well as its emphasis on
a deep understanding of Taiji Boxing. I had already known of him for quite a while as a
skilled martial artist, but I did not expect the depth of his learning.
Taiji Boxing is the way most people refer to the internal school, and together with
Shaolin makes two distinct schools. Studying the internal school is more common but most
who study it do not complete the course, and then when its essential principles are left a
secret, later students will be even more unable to seek guidance. With the publication of this
book, those who admire the internal school will have a way ahead, for it is a truly unparalleled
work. But I have heard that the work of learning a martial skill never has an end.
I truly hope that going through Xus stripped-down postural explanations and studying his
meticulous commentary to the Classic will bring the internal school to be as equally regarded
as Shaolin, and it is now recorded in a book to provide greater access to future students.
Comparing him to a complacent teacher who keeps things to himself, he exhaustively shares
the skills of the internal school, and so it is apparent which one has a more generous heart.
Since Xu and I have a worldly friendship, I will not presume to praise him, and therefore I
have confined myself to straightforward words in writing this postscript.
sincerely written by Zhong Lan (Zhong Ruiyuan)

The Taiji Manual of Xu Yusheng 1921

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TAIJI BOXING POSTURES WITH DRAWINGS AND EXPLANATIONS

1921, 7th month

Taiji Boxing Postures With Drawings and Explanations

- [calligraphy by] Fu Zengxiang

PREFACE [BY ZHANG YILIN]

approaching near to the Way.

- preface by Zhang Yilin of Wu county, 1st autumn month, 1921

PREFACE [BY YANG CHANG]

- written by Yang Chang of Xiangtan in Beijing, 1st autumn month, 1921

- written by Xu Longhou [Yusheng] of Guyan at the Beijing Physical Education Research

Portrait of the author

Chapter Five: The Various Schools of Taiji Boxing

WHITE CRANE SHOWS ITS WINGS

BRUSH KNEE, PUNCH TO THE CROTCH

Map of the Eight Directions:

(elbow) (ward-off) (pluck)

(rend) (push) (bump)

Map of the Five Steps:

wood soil metal

(left) (center) (right)

The way of the ground makes the female quality,

the way of the sky makes the male quality,

[and together] they produce all things.

SHAO KANGJIES CHART OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHANGE

the moment between movement and stillness

Taiji is born of wuji.

will be unable to have connection.

Forcelessly rouse strength at the headtop.

Energy sinks to the elixir field.

Neither lean nor slant. Suddenly hide and suddenly appear.

When advancing, it is even farther. When retreating, it is even nearer.

To advance is to go forward. Even farther means to stretch out. To retreat is to go back.

A feather cannot be added and a fly cannot land.

This points to other kinds of boxing arts generally.

Although the postures are different between them,

Different schools, different postures.

and bear no relation to skill that is learned.

They are not abilities that come from learning.

Stand like a scale.

Move like a wheel.

If you drop one side, you can move.

If you have equal pressure on both sides, you will be stuck.

If you want to avoid this error,

(the error of double pressure)

you must understand passive and active.

In sticking there is yielding and in yielding there is sticking.

For such situations it is said: Miss by an inch, lose by a mile.

Unless you distinguish very minutely, you can easily go astray.

GUARDING PUNCH UNDER THE ELBOW.

EXPLANATIONS TO THE TAIJI BOXING SOLO SET MOVEMENT POSITIONING

[1] READINESS POSTURE []

[10] CROSSED HANDS []

[47.1] WILD HORSE PARTS ITS MANE (1) []

[72] BEND THE BOW TO SHOOT THE TIGER []

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