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 diligent...

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 is vital in...

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...