Grandmaster Tse’s Tàijí Fist 140

Wáng Zōng Yuè’s Tàijíquán Poem王宗岳太極拳論 Part 3

In Wáng Zōng Yuè’s Tàijíquán Poem 王宗岳太極拳論 he says, “不偏不倚，忽隱忽現 No leaning to either side, the mind should be present and also absent.”

This means that in Tàijíquán, when we stand still we should not lean to either side, and this means the back should be straight and the body relaxed. This is the beginning position for Tàijíquán and Zhàn Zhuāng 站樁. The mind should be present and also absent means that we should look forwards, but we should not stare at anything. We should know what is around us, but they are not important and they should not bother us. Then the mind can present and at the same time it can be absent, not there. This is the best state for our minds to be in as we can be very sensitive, and being stationary is being in a guarding position where will be prepared for whatever happens. So we need to relax and not fully focus on anything else, then we can wait and react when our enemy attacks us. In Tàijíquán we want to let go of all distracting thoughts so we can enjoy and focus on our practice and then we will benefit the most from it.