Meditative group dialogue is meditation in communication. We question, look, and investigate together whatever comes up. It is a meeting together as free from hierarchy and roles as possible rather then a question and answer period between beginners and experienced meditators. We give each other and ourselves lots of space, lots of time, and lots of silence so that we have a good opportunity to watch our own reactions, understand our conditioning and not too easily slip into the thinking intellect or emotional drama. One of the most important aspects of group dialogue is to listen. We listen to the words, to the silence, and to that which is beyond words and silence. Other important aspects are honesty and personal relevance. By not pretending I give myself a chance to discover my own truths and others to discover theirs. By being personally relevant, that which is seen becomes something that concerns and is for real rather than a discussion on the content of ideas and images. In order to give room for the space to be personal it is important that what is shared in the group dialogue stays in the group so that the group can be held in a spirit of trust and confidentiality.

Group dialogue is not therapy. We do not try to change each other or tell each other what would and should not be done. There is of course a therapeutic effect in discovering ones hindrances and seeing the clearly enough to stop being a victim of them but the purpose of group dialogue is not therapy but to listen, see and explore together.

Group dialogue is not an exchange of opinions, a debate or a discussion. By observing our own reactions, thoughts, opinions, values, prejudices, emotions etc. we can learn something about ourselves and about being human. We can share this and look into this together from a perspective of open exploration instead of trying to convince someone else about our point of of view.

Group dialogue is not primarily a sharing of experiences or stories. If those comes up and helps to shed light on what the group inquires into together there is of course no problem but can we be aware that telling of experiences and stories easily lead into a sharing of memories? Can we be here together this moment instead? Look at what is actually going on here and now? Is it possible to allow what is really present here to surface and express it? Maybe something one wrestles with right now or something your caught a glimpse on during the sitting before the dialogue that you would want to look closer at together with the others?

You can also participate in silence, watching your own reaction on what is being expressed. Your silent attention contributes to the energy level of the entire group. We can also help each other by asking questions such as “what do you mean by that?”, “can you please elaborate?” and similar. By asking questions we helt the speaker to go deeper and find hidden motives or to see it clearer. When a question is put to the group or to oneself, is it possible to give yourself a little time to be with it for a little while and not be in such a hurry to respond that the answer comes out of reactive conditioning? Do you feel attacked or challenged when someone asks such a question? If so, is it possible to observer it? What is it? Who is being attacked or challenged?

The essence of group dialogue is to meet and help each other to open up and reveal nuances of this wonderful and unfathomable experience of being.

5 kinds of meditation practises

At the SanCai school we practice 5 different forms of meditation i.e.

1. Anchoring meditation

2. Cultivating meditation

3. Choiceless awareness meditation

4. Inquiry meditation

5. Non-meditation (just sitting)

It does not really matter where you start. Not matter in the sense that a certain practice is not intrinsically better than another. However it greatly matters where you start in the sense that what you start with should be something that interests you, suites you or however you want to describe your relationship to a certain practice.

Our True nature is whole, nothing is missing. Hence describing meditation as stages of practice can be just as helpful as it can be misleading. That being said by not providing some description about it, we have little to talk about and then our approach becomes difficult to refine so talking about meditation in a way that leads to finer discernment and precision is something I have found to be very valuable both in my own practice and in teaching.

One such way is to reflect on our practise from four angels i.e.

1. The method or technique – what is it about, what is it axactly

2. States and stages – what happens in meditation as a result of practising

3. Fruits – The results in terms of insights and qualities such as wisdom, happiness, energy etc. i.e. outside of formal practise

4. The application of insights including mind, body, heart, soul, depth and expression i.e. how to live (embody) what we have understood.

The following is an example for how one might begin to learn the six forms of meditation. As I mentioned above this is something highly individual and should be guided primarily by the intelligence of ones intuition in conjunction with good advice from experienced friends or teachers.

1. Counting breaths (anchoring meditation)

We start with counting the breath from 1-10 over and over. Unless you have a strong feeling how you want to do it, starting with counting exhalations is a good way to begin. If the mind is churning obsessively and you loose track all the time then use the count on both inhalations and exhalations. On inhalation count 1 silently, on exhalation count 1 silently. On the next inhalation count 2 silently, on the next exhalation count 2 silently and so on).

When you loose count, just begin from 1 again on the next breath.

At some point in time (usually when some concentration ability has developed somewhat to the extent of being able to count for 5-10 minutes without getting lost) you can begin to be mindful about the things that distracts you. You find yourself being lost, perhaps in a fantasy. At this moment of awareness look at what is going on. What am I thinking, feeling, sensing (tactile sensations, seeing ,hearing, tasting, smelling)? Who is thinking, feeling, sensing? No need to do anything with what is going on, just take a moment to watch. Then you return again to counting.

2. Following the breath (anchoring meditation)

After some time with counting stop the counting and just be with your breath. Note that “some time” might mean a couple of weeks or years of practise but can even be in a single session.

3. The sensation of sitting (anchoring meditation)

After some time with being with your breath use the sensation of sitting as your anchor.

4. Loving kindness (cultivating meditation)

After some time with using the sensation of sitting as your anchor, do loving kindness meditation. In loving kindness meditation start with a thorough investigation of what loving kindness is. Contemplate loving kindness until you have a good, working understanding of it and then go into cultivating loving kindness.

5. Attention to the present moment (anchoring meditation)

After some time with loving kindness meditation sit with awareness of the present moment as your anchor. Start awareness of the present moment by asking yourself ”what is happening now?” and watch both what you primarily experience and your reactions to it (if any). After some time stop asking yourself and just pay attention.

6. Choiceless awareness

After practising awareness of the present moment turn to choiceless awareness. Just allowing to be be as they are without trying to do anything about it but curiously present to what ever is experienced.

7. Compassion (cultivating meditation)

After choiceless awareness turn to meditation on compassion. Maybe you have some supporting phrases that helps you to get into it, maybe just focusing on compassion directly is easier – whatever it is you find a way to make space for this quality to grow and sustain it with your awareness and intention. You might direct it to someone or something or just focus on the quality of compassion in itself.

8. Non-meditation

After meditation on compassion, turn to sitting without any object. You let go of any doing, any thinking, planning, meditating, trying etc. and just be.

9. Inquiry

After meditation on sympathetic joy turn to sitting with an existential question that speaks to you such as ”Who am I?”, ”What is the meaning of life?”, ”What is life?”.

10. Breath (anchoring and inquiry meditation)

Now go back to just following the breath for a while. Once you have reached a level of inner stillness and silence start inquiring into what is going on. What makes and in-breath start? What makes an out-breath start? What is the experience between the in-breath and the out-breath? What is the experience between the out-breath and the in-breath? What is the experience of the breath in different parts of the body (e.g. Nose, chest, back, stomach, heart, skin, etc.)? Can I be aware of my whole organism breathing? Who is breathing?

Now you have some practical experience of the 5 forms of meditation (anchor, cultivation, choiceless awareness, inquiry and objectless) and some of the combinations.

These 5 forms of mediation are practised in all four positions i.e. in sitting, laying, walking and standing.

There are many, many more ways of combining. After many years of practising these different methods will become different aspects of one thing – meditation. At this point you have transcended the notion of technique or method but there is a lot more to it than that!

Meditative absorption

Discerning the levels of absorption (dhyana) and insight can be through the use of any of these 5 forms of meditation. It is quite possible to experience all levels of absorption using just one of the 5 methods described above so again – it is perfectly OK to just stick with one of them that suites you and dive deeper into that.

The practice of absorption is called Shamatha in Sanskrit (Zhi in Chinese) and the practice of insight is called Vipashyana in Sanskrit (Guan in Chinese). My experience have led me to believe it is good for ones own understanding to discern the two but not to separate them but rather look at them as two sides of the same coin. There are some fundamental problems with this approach of looking honestly and reflecting on what is going on in my meditations and what this leads to however. The main one is that the attainment of a certain result e.g. a state of absorption, easily fuels the notion of someone attaining it i.e. it reinforces the self image with things like pride and of separation or of being special. That being said, I believe the benefits outnumbers the problems, especially if those kind of results are also looked at honestly and curiously. I have some chocking experiences of talking with Zen practitioners who have been sitting regularly for more than 2 decades doing retreats regularly but have very little understanding about themselves or of deeper levels of meditation, rather they seem to have gotten stuck in some kind of passive vegetation believing they did true Shikantaza.

Being able to enter the various states of absorption does not in itself mean a guarantee of any fundamental break-through. It does provide access to different levels of consciousness, one could even say access to different worlds, which is helpful in the inquiry as it provides different perspectives to do engage in inquiry from. It also bears with it some fruits that are very helpful in inquiry such as calm, clarity, sustained focus, energy, extra-ordinary sense perceptions etc. that both brings more power and depth to the inquiry and also balances some of the tendencies to become restless, agitated, overwhelmed etc. when doing inquiry.

When practising emphasizing the absorption aspects I have found it helpful for many (myself included) to do longer periods of meditation e.g. Sitting for 45 min to an hour each time.

When practising emphasizing insight I have found it helpful to shift more often between sitting and walking e.g. Sitting for 20-25 minutes, then do 5-10 minutes of walking, then sit (or stand or lay) again for 20-25 minutes and so on.

Cultivation of qualities

Another important angle on meditation is cultivation (Bhavana in Sanskrit) of qualities. Traditionally the qualities of loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity are particularly stressed since they are so supportive to ones meditation practice. Another important set of qualities are the 7 enlightenment factors i.e. mindfulness, discernment, energy, rapture, peace, concentration, and balance and also the 6 perfections i.e. generosity, virtue, patience, diligence, awareness, and wisdom. I have found some others to be very important as well. They are openness, curiosity, love of truth, personal responsibility, creativity, commitment , freedom in relationship to experiences, and clarity.  Cultivation has two sides to it. One is the level of contact with this quality within oneself and strength of the particular quality that is being cultivated. The other is acting from and out of this quality in ordinary life e.g. to be more lovingly kind to family, friends and strangers.

Are the insights that I have or the qualities I cultivate constrained to certain aspects of my being (e.g. intellectual and physical) or do they encompass me as a whole? When we sit in open curiosity, listening and wondering it is possible to find out!

There are different versions of the names of the form for this set. I have yet to determine the most original one. The following is the version as reported from a student of Sun Yi Ren (grand student of Sun Lu Tang):

形意奇枪目录

1.白鹤亮翅。2.三卷枪。3.青龙缩尾。4.枪里加棒。5.珍珠倒卷帘。6.拨云见日。7.黑虎出洞。8.流星赶月。9.青龙 缩尾。10.青龙掉尾。11.龙虎相交。12.青龙现（献）爪。13.青龙返首。14.搅拿捲枪。15.两肋穿梭。16.青龙缩尾。17.枪里加棒。 18.珍珠倒卷帘。19.金梁架海。20.海底捞月。21.铺地锦。22.巧女纫针。23.金鸡食米。24.流星赶月。25.金蝉脱壳。26.二郎担山。 27.倒退连环。28.搅拿。29.八步赶铲（蝉）。30.金鸡食米。31.青龙缩尾。32.枪里加棒。33.海底栽花。34.苍龙摆尾。35.玉柱擎 天。36.搅拿。37.白鹤亮翅。（完）
　　定兴孙雨人

This description is very similar to the Qi Qiang I (Per Nyfelt) practise but some movements are missing. Below is a version that matches the form I do:

1. 起式 – Qǐ shì – Starting form
2. 白鹤亮翅 – Báihè liàng chì – White crane spreads wings
3. 海底栽花 – Hǎidǐ zāi huā – Plant the flower at the bottom of the sea
4. 三卷枪 – Sān juǎn qiāng – Three rolling spear
5. 青龙缩尾 – Qīnglóng suō wěi – Green dragon contracts tail
6. 枪里加棒 – Qiāng lǐ jiā bàng – Add stick inside the spear
7. 珍珠倒卷帘 – Zhēnzhū dào juǎn lián – Perl rolls upp the curtain
8. 拨云见日- Bō yún jiàn rì – Dispel the clouds to see the sun
9. 金鸡食米 – Jīnjī shí mǐ – Golden rooster eats rice
10. 黑虎出洞 – Hēi hǔ chū dòng – Black tiger exits cave
11. 流星赶月 – Liú xīng gǎn yuè – Meteor catches moon
12. 青龙缩尾 – Qīng lóng suō wěi – Green dragon contracts tail
13. 青龙掉尾 – Qīng lóng diào wěi – Green dragon drop its tail
14. 龙虎相交 –  Lóng hǔ xiàngjiāo – Dragon and tiger intersect
15. 青龙献爪 – Qīng lóng xiàn zhǎo – Green dragon presents its claws
16. 青龙返首 – Qīng lóng fǎn shǒu – Green dragon turn head
17. 搅拿捲枪 – Jiǎo ná juǎn qiāng – Stir, seize and roll spear
18. 海底栽花 – Hǎidǐ zāi huā – Plant the flower at the bottom of the sea
19. 两肋穿梭 – Liǎng lèi chuān suō –  Pierce shuttles on both sides
20. 搅拿扎 – Jiǎo ná zhā – Stir, seize and thrust
21. 青龙缩尾 – Qīnglóng suō wěi – Green dragon contracts tail
22. 枪里加棒 – Qiāng lǐ jiā bàng – Add stick inside the spear
23. 珍珠倒卷帘 – Zhēnzhū dào juǎn lián – Perl rolls upp the curtain
24. 拨云见日 – Bō yún jiàn rì – Dispel the clouds to see the sun
25. 金梁架海 – Jīn liáng jià hǎi – Golden bean frame the sea
26. 海底捞月 – Hǎi dǐ lāo yuè – Fish up the moon from the sea
27. 铺地锦 – Pū dì jǐn – Pave the brocade
28. 巧女纫针 – Qiǎo nǚ rèn zhēn – Skilful lady thread the needle
29. 金鸡食米 – Jīnjī shí mǐ – Golden rooster eats rice
30. 流星赶月 – Liú xīng gǎn yuè – Meteor catches moon
31. 金蝉脱壳 – Jīn chán tuō ké – Golden cikada sheds it shell
32. 拿扎枪 – ná zhā qiāng- seize and thrust spear
33. 青龙缩尾 – Qīnglóng suō wěi – Green dragon contracts tail
34. 枪里加棒 – Qiāng lǐ jiā bàng – Add stick inside the spear
35. 搅拿捲枪 – Jiǎo ná juǎn qiāng – Stir, seize and roll spear
36. 海底栽花 – Hǎidǐ zāi huā – Plant the flower at the bottom of the sea
37. 順势撩枪 – Shùn shì liāo qiāng – Smothly lifting spear
38. 二郎担山 – Èrláng dàn shān – Erlng carries the mountain
39. 倒退连环 – Dàotuì liánhuán – Retrogression chaining
40. 挂劈 – Guà pī – Hook and split
41. 八步赶铲 – Bā bù gǎn chǎn – Eight steps drive the shovel
42. 金鸡食米 – Jīnjī shí mǐ – Golden rooster eats rice
43. 青龙缩尾 – Qīnglóng suō wěi – Green dragon contracts tail
44. 枪里加棒 – Qiāng lǐ jiā bàng – Add stick inside the spear
45. 搅拿捲枪 – Jiǎo ná juǎn qiāng – Stir, seize and roll spear
46. 海底栽花 – Hǎidǐ zāi huā – Plant the flower at the bottom of the sea
47. 苍龙摆尾 – Cāng lóng bǎi wěi – Grey dragon sway it tail
48. 回搅拿捲枪 – Huí jiǎo ná juǎn qiāng – Reverse stir, seize and roll spear
49. .玉柱擎 天 – Yù zhù qíng tiān – Yuzhu raises heaven
50. 白鹤亮翅 – Báihè liàng chì – White crane spreads wings
51. 收式 – Shōu shì – Closing form

•  Introduktion till meditation (swedish)

Ba Shi Chui is a short combination form based on 5 elements and 12 animals. It is normally taught after one has learned the 12 animal forms and has a special focus on helping the development of obvious power (Ming Jin).

1. 预备式 (yùbèi shì) – Preparatory stance
2. 起式 (qǐ shì) – Starting form (Low hand San Ti or ordinary san ti)
3. 鷂子束身 (yào zǐ shùshēn) – Hawk contracts body
4. 鷂子入林 (yào zǐ rù lín ) – Hawk enters forest
5. 盖捶 (gài chuí) – Covering hammer strike
6. 退步崩拳 (tuìbù bēng quán) – Step back crushing fist
7. 黑虎出洞 (hēi hǔ chū dòng) – Black tiger exits cave
8. 金鸡独立 (jīnjīdúlì) – Golden rooster stands on one leg
9. 金鸡食米 (jīnjī shí mǐ) – Golden rooster eats rice
10. 单推把 (dān tuī bǎ) – Single hand push (劈拳式)
11. 双拉手 (shuāng lāshǒu) – Double pulling hands
12. 炮拳 (pàoquán) – Canon fist
13. 龙虎相交 (lóng hǔ xiàngjiāo) – Dragon and Tiger meet
14. 崩拳 (bēng quán) – Crushing fist
15. 掩肘 (yǎn zhǒu) – Closing Elbow
16. 挂锤 (guà chuí) – Backfist strike
17. 崩拳 (bēng quán) – Crushing fist
18. 白鹤亮翅 (báihè liàng chì) – White crane spreads wings
19. 右炮拳 (yòu pàoquán) – Left canon fist
20. 鳳凰雙展翅 (fènghuáng shuāng zhǎnchì) – Phoenix spreads both wings
21. 鷂子入林 (yào zǐ rù lín) – Hawk enters forest (alt. namne: 左炮拳 Zuo Pao Quan – Right canon fist)
22. 鹞子钻天 (yàozi zuān tiān) – Hawk pierces sky (shang bu if changing side)
23. 鹞子翻身 (yào zǐ fānshēn) – Hawk overturns body
24. 收式 (shōu shì) – Closing form

The formal methods of pushing hands practice includes

Single hand

Push, elbow, deflect, stroke (tui, zhou, peng lü)

Push, double deflect (An-shuang peng)

open-close push (kai he tui)

4 powers (Peng lu ji an), open position and closed position

3½ step, 4 powers,  (closed position)

Twirling hands like brush knee (lou xi au bu chan shou)

Twirling hands like cloud hands (yun shou chan shou)

3½ step, Cai, lie, zhou, kao (open position)

3½ step, twirling hands (chan shou)

Great pull (da lü) – inside circle

Great pull (da lü) – outside circle

Free flow (luan cai hua)

An introduction to Sun style Tai Ji Quan

History:

According to legend Tai Ji Quan was founded by the Daoist monk Zhang San Feng who was living in seclusion on Wu Dang mountain researching the art of longevity.

After Zhang San Feng it is difficult to follow the succeeding line, and many researchers doubt the fact that Zhang San Feng had anything at all to do with the creation of Tai Ji Quan, but we can say for sure that the art was practised in Wen Xian area in the province of Honan where it was taught by such notables as Jiang Fa of Zhaobao village and Chen Wang Ting of Chen family village in the 17th century.

Yang Lu Chan learned the art from Chen Chang Xing who was a successor to Chen Wang Ting and taught it to the scholar Wu Yu Xiang. Wu Yu Xiang researched the art deeply and travelled to Wen Xian in order to receive more knowledge of the art. Eventually he became a disciple of Chen Qing Ping who was a successor to Jiang Fa’s Tai Ji Quan and completed his training under him. He also got hold of some ancient manuscripts on the theory of Tai Ji Quan and researching these was able to reorganise what he have learned from his teachers into a new form later called Wu style Tai Ji Quan. Later, Hao Wei Zhen learned the art from Wu Yu Xiang’s nephew Li Yi Yu and taught it to Sun Lu Tang who subsequently created Kai He Tai Ji Quan or Sun style Tai Ji Quan as it came to be known.

Sun Lu Tang had started his martial arts training with Shaolin Quan in his youth but eventually became a disciple of Li Kui Yuan who was a master of Xing Yi Quan (Form-Mind Boxing). After several years of practice under Li he was introduced by him to Li’s teacher Guo Yun Shen who took Sun as a disciple teaching him the finer aspects of Xing Yi. After completing his training with Guo he was introduced by Guo to his friend and Ba Gua Quan master Cheng Ting Hua. Sun Lu Tang lived and studied with Cheng for three years and was then left to practice and research what he had learned on his own.

One day he heard of a martial artist who had come to Beijing but became very ill and lived at an inn nearby. Sun went there and invited the man to come and live in his home while recovering and saved no expenses buying medicine for him. After his recovery the man wanted to give Sun something back in order to repay his kindness but Sun politely refused saying that all martial artist are like brothers and would expect no repayment from whatever favours done. The man, who was Hao Wei Zhen, was impressed by Sun’s attitude and good heart and offered to teach him his art of Tai Ji Quan. Sun who had long been interested in this art as it was supposed to be related to the ones he was practising, gladly accepted his offer and thus came to study the Wu style of Tai Ji Quan.

After many years of research Sun Lu Tang punding the commmon roots of Taiji, Xing yi and Ba Gua and including a lot of exchange with Yang stylists such as Li Jing Lin, Yang Shao Hou and others, created Kai He Tai Ji Quan or Sun style Tai Ji Quan as it’s known today.

Sun Lu Tang wrote five books on martial arts: “A study of Xing Yi Boxing”, “A study of Ba Gua boxing”, “A study of Tai Ji Boxing”, “A study of Ba Gua sword” and “The true meaning of boxing”. These books was among the first on internal boxing to spread widely and are still regarded as classics on the arts. Especially his last published book, “The true meaning of boxing”, is regarded as a real treasure on internal martial arts and has affected almost every other branch of martial arts practised today.

Sun Lu Tang chose his daughter Sun Jian Yun to be his successor. She has several prominent students such as Sun Yong Tian, Zhang Zhen Hua, Liu Shu Chun, Zhang Da Hui etc. who carries on the style today.

Characteristics of Sun style Tai Ji Quan¹

1. Entering and retreating coordinates.

This means that the body should be coordinated in all kinds of movements. Coordination of movement is accomplished if the back leg follows the front leg in advancing and the front leg follows the back leg in retreating.

2. Movements are comfortable, extended, round, flexible, nimble and natural.
3. Distinguish clearly between empty and solid.
4. The movements of Tai Ji Quan are like “moving clouds and flowing water” (i.e. continuously without stops).
5. Every turn of the body is accompanied by opening and closing.

Because of what is stated above Sun style Tai Ji Quan is also called “Open-close alive step grand ultimate boxing” (Kai He Huo Bu Tai Ji Quan) and is suited for people of any age, constitution or present state of health.

Important points in practice.

General: The whole body should be relaxed, round, straight, agile and have a constant feeling of power. Pay attention to the feelings in your body and in your mind while practising. Consider the form as an instrument helping you to find out about yourself, Tai Ji Quan and the relationship between these two. Focus on developing “whole body power” (i.e. the whole body is engaged in every movement with a unified intent). Whole body power comes from “the six harmonies”. The six harmonies consists of three external and three internal harmonies. The three external harmonies are:

1) coordination of the hand and the feet.

2) coordination of the elbows and knees.

3) coordination of the shoulders and the hip.

The three internal harmonies are:

1) coordination of heart and mind.

2) coordination of mind and Qi.

3) coordination of Qi and strength (force).

    

Head: The head should prop up but without using strength. The chin should be naturally held in, allowing the head to become really straight. If the head is straight the spirit will become alive.

Mouth: The mouth should close lightly. The tongue should press lightly against the upper palate. Use the nose for breathing.

Chest: The chest should be held in and not protruded out. This would make the Qi (vital energy or breath) to sink down to Dan Tian (The “field of elixir” in the lowest part of the belly² ), otherwise it would be detained in the chest area. If the upper body is heavier than the lower parts the heel will easily leave the ground. The problem is that you’re not stable enough. If you do the posture right, Qi would keep close to your back and you’ll get the real power, the power that comes from the backbone.

Shoulders: The shoulders should relax and drop down. Do not raise your shoulders or the Qi will go up.

Elbows: The shoulders should relax down and be naturally bent making the arms keep their roundness, hiding straight power in it. Before you release power from your body first collect and build it up.

Hands: The five fingers should open and the wrist press down. The tigers mouth (the area between your thumb and index finger) should be round. Empty the palm as if though were to grasp and hold a ball.

Waist: The waist is the centre of whole body and the origin of power. Therefore the lower back should be straight so that you’re able to carry the weight of the whole body and allow the Qi to flow unrestricted.

Legs: The legs should be bent. Empty and full should be clearly separated, the weight of the whole body should be kept on one leg. If the weight is on the right leg, the right leg is full and the left leg empty and vice versa. To clearly separate between empty and full is an essential point in Tai Ji Quan because it allows one to start to move very quickly and also to become light and nimble.

Breath: Use deep breathing (down to the lower belly), but don’t force yourself to press the Qi down there. Let it sink down naturally.

How to practice Tai Ji Quan.

There are three important aspect of Tai Ji Quan that should be emphasised in practice. These three are: 1) The health aspect, 2) The martial/self defence aspect and 3) The Philosophical aspect. You can consider these three aspects as the legs of a three-pin chair. If you take one leg away the chair would fall over. Only when you have all three can the chair serve it true function, without one or two it can only serve as an interesting object to look at (at most).

Remember the important points in practice ³ and always check yourself to see if your movements follows these principles.

Practice regularly: It is better to practice for 15 min every day than to practice for two hours once a week. Don’t practice on a full or too empty stomach. Find a nice, quiet area for practice (usually areas are nice and quiet in the morning which is the reason why most Chinese get up at 5 a.m. for their daily practice (there are other reasons as well, but out of scope of this article)).

Though TJQ is a really wonderful thing it is also one of the most difficult things to study. In order to make progress in the art it requires more than just doing the form a couple of times every day. It requires research.

The way to research the health aspect of TJQ is basically to develop your feeling of your body-mind (i.e. become aware of thoughts and feelings coming to you while practising and also of the changes in your body when executing the postures). The way to research the martial/self defence aspect is to think about and figure out different ways to use the movements in the form in a self defence situation. Remember the Chinese saying “although when practising there is no-one in front of your eyes but in your mind there is, although when defending yourself there is someone in front of your eyes but in your mind there isn’t”. The way to research the Philosophical aspect of TJQ is to study literature on Tai Ji and related areas (Books on other martial arts, Daoist and Buddhist literature, etc.⁴) and compare the ideas you’ve found with how the form works.

Let your practice (and life) be guided by the balance principle (not to little and not too much), always seek to find a balance with yourself and your surrounding and you’ve taken an important step on the Tai Ji way…

1. . The bare handed form
2. The essential practice of the 13 postures by Wu Yu Xiang
3. The song of 13 postures by Wu Yu Xiang
4. Single practice of any movement in the form
5. The poem of pushing hands by Wang Zong Yue
6. Single hands pushing hands – fixed step
7. One application for each movement in the form
8. Four powers pushing hands – fixed step
9. The song of pushing hands by Wu Yu Xiang
10. Single hands pushing hands – moving step (enter and retreat)
11. The Taiji Boxing treatise bu Wang Zong yue
12. Four powers pushing hands – (enter and retreat)
13. The Taiji Boxing treatise by Wu Yu Xiang
14. Single hands pushing hands – moving step (3 steps)
15. Four powers pushing hands – moving step (3 steps) in closed position
16. Song of the 5 words bu Li Yi Yu
17. Four powers pushing hands (cai lie zhou kao) – moving step (3 steps) in open position
18. Great roll back (Da Lü)
19. The secret of releasing bu Li Yi Yu
20. Three applications for each movement in the form
21. The essentials in practicing the form and pushing hands by Li Yi Yu
22. Form applications from all the pushing hands variations
23. Four word secret formula by Li Yi Yu
24. Sword (San Cai Jian)
25. Pair practice sword (San Cai Dui Jian)
26. Duan Da
27. Free form practice
28. Free form pushing hands (Luan Cai Hua)
29. San Shou
30. Sword sparring
31. Saber (13 Dao)
32. Sticky Saber (Si Dao, pair practice with saber)
33. Spear (13 Qiang)
34. Sticky spear (Si Qiang, pair practice)
35. Saber sparring
36. Spear sparring

太極十三枪谱：(Tàijí shísān qiāng pǔ)

1. 绷一杆 (Běng yī gǎn) – Single Ward-Off Staff
2. 青龙出水 (Qīnglóng chūshuǐ) – Green Dragon Emerges From Water
3. 童子拜观音 (tóngzǐ bài guānyīn) – Child Praying To the Goddess Of Mercy
4. 饿虎扑食 (èhǔpūshí) – Hungry Tiger Pounces On Prey
5. 拦路虎 (lánlùhǔ) – Blocking Road Tiger
6. 拗步 (ǎo bù) – Reverse Step
7. 斜劈 (xié pī) – Diagonal Cut
8. 风扫梅 (fēng sǎo méi) – Wind Sweeps The Plum Blossoms
9. 中军出队 (zhōng jūn chū duì) – Cental Troops leaves the Brigade
10. 宿鸟归巢 (sù niǎo guī cháo) – Old Bird Returns To Nest
11. 拖杆败势 (tuō gān bài shì) – Pull Staff Defeating Posture
12. 灵猫捕鼠 (língmāo bǔ shǔ) – Agile Cat Catching Mouse
13. 手挥琵琶势 (shǒu huī pípá shì) – Hand Playing Lute Posture