In general, without fullness there is no stability...

-

 “In general, without fullness there is no stability, but absolute fullness restricts our freedom of movement, and one is easily toppled. Without emptiness there is no agility, but absolute emptiness causes lightness, floating, and instability, and one is easily shaken. When empty and full complement each other, one attains the marvel of naturalness.”

Ch’ang Nai-chou’s Writings, translated in Douglas Wile ‘Tai Chi’s Ancestors’, p.105.

[Image: Chen Jinao in Golden Rooster posture.]



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Therefore, the application of Taiji Sword is not in one's ability to hit or thrust...

-
Image
  "Therefore, the application of Taiji Sword is not in one's ability to hit or thrust, but rather in hitting but not hitting, and thrusting but not thrusting. Its subtleties lie in this: hitting by means of not hitting, thrusting by means of not thrusting. I should control the sword to the extent that I don't need to strike others." Chen Weiming 'Taiji Sword and Other Writings'. Translated by Barbara Davis, p.12.
Read more

Coming from the judo experience, I was prepared to sweat and exert till mastery came.

-
Image
 “Coming from the judo experience, I was prepared to sweat and exert till mastery came. But it does not come thus in T’ai-chi, Cheng said; it comes by “quiet minding” while “investing in loss.” And it comes with time.” Robert W. Smith ‘Chinese Boxing: Masters and Methods’, p.30 [Image: Robert W. Smith and Benjamin Pangjeng Lo from 'Da Lu and Some Tigers' in Journal of Asian Martial Arts, Vol. 6 No. 2 (1997)]
Read more

Their [the Internal School] most secret teaching was the five word transmission...

-
Image
 “Their [the Internal School] most secret teaching was the five word transmission: “Respect, relentlessness, directness, power, and precision,” which was only given to initiated disciples. These five words do not themselves represent applications. But are the means by which the techniques reach the highest level… .“ Biography of Chang Sung-hsi in the Ningbo Prefectural Gazetteer, translated in Douglas Wile ‘Tai Chi’s Ancestors’
Read more