Grandmaster Tse’s Tàijí Fist 177

Internal and External Three Closings 內外三合 – Part 6

All the Nèi Wài Sān Hé 內外三合 – Internal and External Three Closings and the Nèi Wǔ Hé 內五合 – Internal Five Closings, tell us that the whole body is Closing – that it is connected and related. No part independently moves on its own or just works singularly. It is like the world or the universe, they are all related together. In Tàijíquán 太極拳 there is a poem that says, “ Yī dòng ér wú bùdòng,  Yī hé ér wú bùhé, wǔzàng bǎi hái xī zài qízhōng yǐ —動而無不動，—合而無不合，五臟百骸悉在其中矣 – One movement makes every part move, one closing makes every part of the body closing. It the same with the five internal organs and the whole skeleton. They all follow the same closing.”

This is the principle of Tàijíquán, once we move, even if it just a finger, the rest of the body will be affected and move as well. If the external body moves, then the internal body will also be affected. No part moves individually or goes on its own. It the same for everything is the world or the universe, everything is connected, it is just whether the effect is more or less, or moves towards a better situation or a worse one.