Grandmaster Tse’s Tàijí Fist 252

The Theories of Chén Cháng Xìng 陳長興 – Part 14

When practising Tàijíquán 太極拳 we need to do our forms regularly. How long we train depends on how many forms we know. If you know two forms, then you can practise them both in 10 to 15 minutes, and at the end you can do half an hour. The important thing is that you must do it daily. Then after one year your Gōng Lì 功力 – Internal Strength will be strong. I do not suggest practising for too long as it can over use the body. The most important thing is daily practise. If we miss one day, then the next day we should practise twice, so we always cover the days we miss. Also, we must have a teacher and we must watch how they do the form, ask them questions. We must have a Sīfú 師父, our Sīfú is like a compass like when we are sailing a boat and compass shows us the right direction.

The purpose of Tàijíquán is first good health, and second is fighting skill. The forms connect our body together, so that when one part moves, all parts of the body move and are supported. If we can do this, then we will be healthy. We might even heal our illnesses and never need to see a doctor or at least very rarely. Practising Tuī Shǒu 推手 – Pushing Hands lot with many partners will teach us sensitivity so that once we contact them, we will know their energy. Then we can use it and can make them lose their balance and fall, or we can even just one strike and then finish them. Using less energy is a high level of Tàijíquán fighting skill.