Tai Chi Combat and Health

1.) Head upright to let the shen [spirit of vitality] rise to the top of the
head. Don't use li [external strength], or the neck will be stiff and the ch'i
[vital life energy] and blood cannot flow through. It is necessary to have a
natural and lively feeling. If the spirit cannot reach the headtop, it cannot
raise.

2.) Sink the chest and pluck up the back. The chest is depressed naturally
inward so that the ch'i can sink to the tan-t'ien [field of elixir]. Don't
expand the chest: the ch'i gets stuck there and the body becomes top-heavy. The
heel will be too light and can be uprooted. Pluck up the back and the ch'i
sticks to the back; depress the chest and you can pluck up the back. Then you
can discharge force through the spine. You will be a peerless boxer.

3.) Sung [Relax] the waist. The waist is the commander of the whole body. If you
can sung the waist, then the two legs will have power and the lower part will be
firm and stable. Substantial and insubstantial change, and this is based on the
turning of the waist. It is said "the source of the postures lies in the waist.
If you cannot get power, seek the defect in the legs and waist."

4.) Differentiate between insubstantial and substantial. This is the first
principle in T'ai Chi Ch'uan. If the weight of the whole body is resting on the
right leg, then the right leg is substantial and the left leg is insubstantial,
and vice versa. When you can separate substantial and insubstantial, you can
turn lightly without using strength. If you cannot separate, the step is heavy
and slow. The stance is not firm and can be easily thrown of balance.

5.) Sink the shoulders and drop the elbows. The shoulders will be completely
relaxed and open. If you cannot relax and sink, the two shoulders will be raised
up and tense. The ch'i will follow them up and the whole body cannot get power.
"Sink the elbows" means the elbows go down and relax. If the elbows raise, the
shoulders are not able to sink and you cannot discharge people far. The
discharge will then be close to the broken force of the external schools.

6.) Use the mind instead of force. The T'ai Chi Ch'uan Classics say, "all of
this means use I [mind-intent] and not li." In practicing T'ai Chi Ch'uan the
whole body relaxes. Don't let one ounce of force remain in the blood vessels,
bones, and ligaments to tie yourself up. Then you can be agile and able to
change. You will be able to turn freely and easily. Doubting this, how can you
increase your power?
The body has meridians like the ground has ditches and trenches. If not
obstructed the water can flow. If the meridian is not closed, the ch'i goes
through. If the whole body has hard force and it fills up the meridians, the
ch'i and the blood stop and the turning is not smooth and agile. Just pull one
hair and the whole body is off-balance. If you use I, and not li, then the I
goes to a place in the body and the ch'i follows it. The ch'i and the blood
circulate. If you do this every day and never stop, after a long time you will
have nei chin [real internal strength]. The T'ai Chi Ch'uan Classics say, "when
you are extremely soft, you become extremely hard and strong." Someone who has
extremely good T'ai Chi Ch'uan kung fu has arms like iron wrapped with cotton
and the weight is very heavy. As for the external schools, when they use li,
they reveal li. When they don't use li, they are too light and floating. There
chin is external and locked together. The li of the external schools is easily
led and moved, and not too be esteemed.

7.) Coordinate the upper and lower parts of the body. The T'ai Chi Ch'uan
Classics say "the motion should be rooted in the feet, released through the
legs, controlled by the waist and manifested through the fingers." Everything
acts simultaneously. When the hand, waist and foot move together, the eyes
follow. If one part doesn't follow, the whole body is disordered.

8.) Harmonize the internal and external. In the practice of T'ai Chi Ch'uan the
main thing is the spirit. Therefore it is said "the spirit is the commander and
the body is subordinate." If you can raise the spirit, then the movements will
naturally be agile. The postures are not beyond insubstantial and substantial,
opening and closing. That which is called open means not only the hands and feet
are open, but the mind is also open. That which is called closed means not only
the hands and feet are closed, but the mind is also closed. When you can make
the inside and outside become one, then it becomes complete.

9.) Move with continuity. As to the external schools, their chin is the Latter
Heaven brute chin. Therefore it is finite. There are connections and breaks.
During the breaks the old force is exhausted and the new force has not yet been
born. At these moments it is very easy for others to take advantage. T'ai Chi
Ch'uan uses I and not li. From beginning to end it is continuous and not broken.
It is circular and again resumes. It revolves and has no limits. The original
Classics say it is "like a great river rolling on unceasingly." and that the
circulation of the chin is "drawing silk from a cocoon " They all talk about
being connected together.

10.) Move with tranquility [Seek stillness in movement]. The external schools
assume jumping about is good and they use all their energy. That is why after
practice everyone pants. T'ai Chi Ch'uan uses stillness to control movement.
Although one moves, there is also stillness. Therefore in practicing the form,
slower is better. If it is slow, the inhalation and exhalation are long and deep
and the ch'i sinks to the tan-t'ien. Naturally there is no injurious practice
such as engorgement of the blood vessels. The learner should be careful to
comprehend it.