Most tai chi students eventually ask the question: “If I am supposed to relax and not use muscular force, then where does power come from?” The answer is neither simple nor straightforward because many factors contribute to internal power. However, one of the most important is the sinking of the elbows. Most students sink their elbows but not deeply enough to establish a strong connection to the legs, and as a result they unconsciously resort to muscular force. In this articl

The concept of "give and take" is familiar to everyone. However, most may not realize how vital this relationship is to the process of continued survival. Giving and receiving is a universal law expressing the physical manifestation of the principle of yin and yang. Receiving embodies yin, giving expresses yang. If there is not a mutual relationship between giving and receiving, things cannot exist. Absolutely everything as we know it embodies this law. When giving and receiv

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...