Let us see a standard of Taijiquan in this world. So many people practice Taijiquan which seems very slow and soft. Then they think and believe what it is and how it is as is. Is Taijiquan just slow and soft?
What if someone does a slow motion? Would it be called Taijiquan? No, it is not. It can never be.
The famous slowness and softness in Taijiquan is a great tool to maximize one's sensitivity and feeling of energy in motions. It is not everything. They are just part of Taijiquan disciplines.
As a Chen Family Taijiquan teacher and disciple of shifu Chen Bing, it has been very hard to teach the authentic Taijiquan because a standard in this world is very low due to lack of information and authentic teachers.
Here are the secrets of Taijiquan which Yang Lu Chan (the founder of Yang Taijiquan) deeply studied to acquire from the Chen family. These are only taught to indoor students.
Studying Taijiquan is not about to master an external form. It is to deepen the internal disciplines that make external postures an internal practice. After Yang Lu Chan truly acquired these internal key disciplines from his teacher 'Chen Chang Xing', he could modify external forms into his own understanding. So did other Taijiquan style founders.
There are lot of Taijiquan books, but I have never seen and read books that explain the key disciplines of Taijiquan. Therefore, I published the 25 key disciplines to reveal the secrets of Taijquan.
They are considered the top secrets of Taijiquan study in the Chen family. I teach those to my practitioners because someone has to maintain the genuine and to make them as fine Taiijquan practitioners.
I am here to provide 'The 25 Key Disciplines of Chen Family Taijiquan' in English, Chinese and Korean. These are direct translation from original Chinese sentences. So it might be hard to understand them unless one can learn from the authentic lineage holders.
Please share these with your Taijiquan friends and teachers. Again, Taijiquan is not just slow and soft.
If you are doing a slow motion and believing that it is Taiijquan, it would be better to learn something else.
Chen Family Taijiquan 25 Key Disciplines
The Law of Body
1. Make the neck empty and be energy in the crown of the head.
2. Loosen up the shoulder and immerge the elbow.
3. Incubate the chest and suspend the lowerback.
4. Bend the knee and relax the hip.
5. Hang the buttocks and circle the groin.
6. Be comfortable and solid under a tray.
7. The body stands up in the center correctly.
8. The upper is empty and the lower is full, the empty and the full is clearly split.
9. Support in eight sides.
The Law of Mind
10. Relax the whole body deeply.
11. Go down the energy of mind to the low.
12. Protect dantian (elixir field) with intention, Sink energy into dantian
13. Feel and take exhalation and inhalation.
14. Penetrate energy far through the body.
15. Not to be lost and greatly.
The Law of Reeling Silk
16. According to the waist as an axis.
17. The chest and waist incurvates and folds.
18. Dantian rotates and moves.
19. Pass and penetrate through joint by joint.
20. Intention reaches and then energy reaches, energy reaches and then shape reaches.
21. Combine in and out mutually, The body becomes evenly a one house.
The Four Major Characteristics
22. Harmonize and help the hard and soft mutually, The fast and slow are mixed mutually.
23. Cultivating and discharging mutually change.
24. Be relaxed, alive, elastic and vibrating.
25. It goes a circular line in an external form, The internal force rotates in a spiral line.
陳氏太極拳 二十五 練拳要訣
身法 Shēn Fǎ
虛領頂勁 Xū Lǐng Dǐng Jìn
鬆肩沈肘 Sōng Jiān Chěn Zhǒu
含胸塌腰 Hán Xiōng Tā Yāo, 尾閭中正 Wěi Lǘ Zhōng Zhèng
屈膝鬆胯 Qū Xī Sōng Kuà
垂臀圓襠 Chuí Tún Yuán Dāng
下盘稳固 Xià Pán Wěn Gù
立身中正 Lì Shēn Zhōng Zhèng
上虛下實 Shàng Xū Xià Shí, 虛實分明 Xū Shí Fēn Míng
八面支撑 Bā Miàn Zhī Chēng
心法 Xīn Fǎ
全身放鬆 Quán Shēn Fàng Sōng
心氣下降 Xīn Qì Xià Jiàng
意守丹田 Yì Shǒu Dān Tián, 氣沈丹田 Qì Chén Dān Tián
感受呼吸 Gǎn Shòu Hū Xī
氣貫周身 Qì Guàn Zhōu Shēn
不丢不頂 Bù Diū Bù Dǐng
纏絲法 Chán Sī Fǎ
以腰爲軸 Yǐ Yāo Wéi Zhóu
胸腰折疊 Xiōng Yāo Zhé Dié
丹田運轉 Dān Tián Yùn Zhuǎn
節節貫串 Jié Jié Guàn Chuàn
意到氣到 Yì Dào Qì Dào, 氣到形到 Qì Dào Xíng Dào
內外相合 Nèi Wài Xiāng Hé, 周身一家 Zhōu Shēn Yì Jiā
四大特點 Sì Dà Tè Diǎn
剛柔幷(相)濟 Gāng Róu Bīng(Xiàng) Jǐ, 快慢相間 Kuài Màn Xiàng Jiàn
蓄發相變 Xù Fā Xiāng Biàn
鬆活彈抖 Sōng Huó Tán Dǒu
外形走弧線 Wài Xíng Zǒu Hú Xiàn, 內勁走螺旋 Nèi Jìn Zǒu Luó Xuán
진씨태극권 25 연권요결 (陳氏太極拳 二十五 練拳要訣)
身法 신법
虛領頂勁 허령정경
鬆肩沈肘 송견침주
含胸塌腰 함흉탑요, 尾閭中正 미려중정
屈膝鬆胯 굴슬송과
垂臀圓襠 수둔원당
下盘稳固 하반온고
立身中正 입신중정
上虛下實 상허하실, 虛實分明 허실분명
八面支撑 팔면지탱
心法 심법
全身放鬆 전신방송
心氣下降 심기하강
意守丹田 의수단전, 氣沈丹田 기침단전
感受呼吸 감수호흡
氣貫周身 기관주신
不丢不頂 부주부정
纏絲法 전사법
以腰爲軸 이요위축
胸腰折疊 흉요절첩
丹田運轉 단전운전
節節貫串 절절관관
意到氣到 의도기도, 氣到形到 기도형도
內外相合 내외상합, 周身一家 주신일가
四大特點 4대특점
剛柔幷(相)濟 강유병(상)제, 快慢相間 쾌만상간
蓄發相變 축발상변
鬆活彈抖 송활탄두
外形走弧線 외형주호선, 內勁走螺旋 내경주나선
* All copyrights by Bosco Baek of Chen Bing Taiji Academy.
All I have learned is from my wonderful Taijiquan teacher, Chen Bing (陈炳).
