I recently saw a post on Facebook asking: “I’ve read that Peng will not arise by itself - you must be led to it. But my school says Taijiquan is natural and can be discovered in the world around us. So, which is true?” This raises an important question: Can Tai Chi be learned “naturally” through enough repetition, or must we work at it deliberately? From my experience, Peng Jin does not  arise on its own. It must be cultivated—patiently, consciously, and with a great deal of

Knee pain is one of the most common problems in Tai Chi. Many practitioners blame it on age or weak joints, but more often it’s a matter of how we move  - especially how the hips and knees interact when the body turns. When the knees turn with the hips, strain is inevitable. In this article, I explain the real cause of knee strain in Tai Chi and how “opening the kuas” allows the hips to turn freely while the knees stay safe and aligned.  In addition, releasing the hamstrings

In a previous article, I introduced a method I call “Catch the Baby”  (see “Catch the Baby: A Natural Way to Learn Tai Chi”) . This...

Song (Relaxation) Everything in Tai Chi begins with Song—relaxation and letting go of unnecessary tension. When catching a falling...

“Invest in loss” is a popular saying in tai chi that implies that since you do not use muscular force, you must yield to gain or...

This is the companion article to “ Expansion Underlies Everything ” in which we discussed what expansion means and why it is so important....

Tai chi (taiji chuan) is known as an “internal art” because it uses internal energy rather than external muscular force. This internal...

In our previous article called The Inner Connections of Peng-Jin we discussed the importance of peng-jin and how to create peng-jin in...

To understand tai chi, you must understand peng-jin. Without peng-jin, tai chi postures and movements lack power and energy, and have no...

“Sit!” I have heard my teacher, William Ting say it a million times, and I have said it to my students a million times. Sitting while...

THINGS "TOO SMALL" TO BE SEEN “There are no secrets hidden in Taiji, but only things too small to be seen.” (Huang Sheng Shyan). ...

Tai chi is all about balance. Yet, when many tai chi players step, they use only one side of their body. When they shift their weight...

No, not like the picture; that was just a cheap trick to get your attention. But, To do tai chi well, the entire body must be relaxed...

It is difficult to feel suspended if you were never suspended by your hair. An easy way to feel it is to imagine a pully, a wheel, or a...

Should the wrist be bent when doing tai chi? This question will surely stir controversy because it seems that every teacher does it...

In tai chi we spend a lot of time on the physical aspects of the art. But as teachers and students of Tai Chi we sometimes overlook how...

Tai chi is balance; physical, mental and energetical. Imagine an old-style balance scale where one side has a pound (or kilo) of metal,...

By Joe Eber The spine When you do tai chi, your spine should feel as if it is continuously expanding. This may seem to be unrealistic,...

To shift your weight in tai chi there are two ways: push off against the ground or pull your weight. I’ve written in the past about how...

I have studied tai chi with Master William Ting (Ting Kuo-Piao) since 1995. Through the years I have learned many things, and I am still...