Tai Chi Classics

A feather cannot be placed,
a fly cannot alight
on any part of the body.

- Wang Tsung-yueh

If the opponent's movement is quick,
then quickly respond;
if his movement is slow,
then follow slowly.

- Wang Tsung-yueh

It is not excessive or deficient;
it follows a bending, adheres to an extension.

When the opponent is hard and I am soft,
it is called tsou [yielding].

When I follow the opponent and he becomes backed up,
it is called nian [sticking].

- Wang Tsung-yueh

T'ai Chi [Supreme Ultimate] comes from Wu Chi [Formless Void] and is the mother of yin and yang.
In motion T'ai Chi separates;
in stillness yin and yang fuse and return to Wu Chi.

- Wang Tsung-yueh

... This is the so-called inches mistake, which, when allowed to develop, becomes the distance of thousands of miles.

- Master Wong Chung-yua

The T'ai Chi principle is as simple as this: yield yourself and follow the external forces. Instead of doing this, most people ignore such obvious and simple principles and search for a more remote and impractical method...

Then you will understand the flow of internal power, and, having repeatedly practiced and refined your your technique and explored your own awareness, you can use and control your internal power at will.

- Master Wong Chung-yua

To avoid double-weightedness you should further understand that positive and negative should compliment each other...

... and so cannot follow the flow of their opponent's movement.. This is essentially because they are hindered by their mistake of double-weightedness.

- Master Wong Chung-yua

Following the changing situation, you move as is necessary. If you are unable to respond in this way, you will become double-weighted. Often martial artists who have practiced for years still cannot move properly ...

You're right, at worst they can make people believe things they shouldn't.

When you practice T'ai Chi, you should stand with your posture balanced like a scale. When you move, your movements should revolve as effortlessly as the turning of a wheel.

- Master Wong Chung-yua

... and speed (fast destroys slow), so that the weak must fall to the strong and the slow must lose to the fast. This, however, is dependent on physical ability and does not relate to the discipline we now discuss.

- Master Wong Chung-yua

If you achieve this level of sensitivity, there is no force that will defeat you. There are thousands of methods and techniques in the martial arts. Regardless of the techniques and postures employed, most depend on physical condition (strong destroys weak) ...

Look into the technique of using four ounces of energy to control the force of a thousand pounds. Such techniques as these do not depend on brute force to overcome.

- Master Wong Chung-yua

... or control you, but you will be aware of your opponent and control him.

- Master Wong Chung-yua

Your body's sensitivity should be such that you are aware of the tiniest feather brushing against your skin. Even the mosquito finds no place to land on you without causing you to move. Then there will be no way for your opponent to detect ...

Make your opponent feel that when he looks upward, you are much taller, and when he looks downward, you are much lower. When he moves forward, he should feel that he cannot reach you, and when he retreats, he should feel that he has nowhere to escape to.

- Master Wong Chung-yua

... Your movements should be constantly changing from the substantial to the insubstantial. If your left side feels heavy, you should make your left side light. If your right side feels heavy, you should make your right side disappear.

- Master Wong Chun-yua

When you practice T'ai Chi, you should relax the neck and suspend the head, as if from a height above you. Internal power should sink to the lower part of the abdomen. Your posture should keep to the center. Do not lean in any direction...

you cannot reach a sudden understanding of natural awareness without proper practice for an extended period of time.

- Master Wong Chung-yua

After coming to an understanding of the internal power of movement, you can approach the theory of natural awareness. Natural awareness is developed through practice over a long period of time;

Regardless of your opponent's actions, the principle of your response remains the same. Once this type of movement has become your own, you will understand internal power.

- Master Wong Chung-yua

... Then you are attached to your opponent: when he moves faster, you also move faster; when he moves slower, you move slower, thereby matching his movement.

- Master Wong Chung-yua

If your opposite side is hard, change your own side to make it soft. This is called following. If your opponent is moving and you adhere to him while following in the same direction, it is called sticking...

When practicing T'ai Chi, doing too much is the same as doing too little. When the body is in motion, it should follow the curve to extend the movements.

- Master Wong Chung-yua

Happy new year, everyone. Here's to a year full of consistent progress!

T'ai Chi is born out of infinity. It is the origin of the positive and the negative. When T'ai Chi is in motion, the positive and the negative separate; when T'ai Chi stops, the positive and the negative integrate.

- Master Wong Chung-yua

Roll-Pull, Split, Elbow, and Lean Forward forms are called the four diagonals. Forward, backward, left, right, and center are called metal, wood, water, fire, and earth respectively. When combined, these forms are called the 13 original styles of T'ai Chi

- Master Chang San-feng

In stance, moving forward, backward, to the right side, to the left side, and staying in the center are called the Five Style Steps. Ward Off, Rollback, Press, and Push are called the four cardinal directions...