Master Tse’s Taiji Fist #58

Level IV Taijiquan 四陰六陽類好手 pt4

When we are at Level IV, we also need to think about the application of the movements. Therefore we need to practise our forms following the correct principles, to feel good and make us healthy, and also to work on the form and think of fighting situations. We break down each movement and work on the fighting skill. We repeat it many times until it flows and is natural when we use it. Then we will discover that there are many ways to us each movement. According to one of Chen Fake’s 陳發科. students, there are seven ways to use Jingang Pounds the Mortar 金剛搗礁 in fighting. Think about all the movements in the whole form and how many fighting applications are contained inside it! Besides this, we also need to think about how to control our opponent’s energy, if they are strong, gentle or even tricky. So we need to practise them with a partner, like we do in Tui Shou 推手. When reach Level IV we understand Taijiquan’s internal movements and external fighting skill, but we are not at the top, the highest level yet. This only happens when we are 50% Yin and 50% Yang, which is Level V.