This stage, starting from the beginner level, requires serious practice of each movement and a solid foundation. The heights, depths, emptiness, solidity, size, and routes must be executed meticulously according to the requirements of the Tai Chi form. At this point, one should neither pursue techniques too early nor focus solely on the strength of movements; instead, the emphasis should be on performing the form correctly.
This stage is essentially about internal skill and external practice. Through this stage of practice, the strength of the legs, waist, and arms will significantly improve, adapting to the slow, rotational, and forceful requirements of Chen-style Tai Chi.
Practicing Tai Chi without developing leg strength, waist strength, and arm strength makes it impossible to meet the various requirements mentioned earlier, such as maintaining a light and agile top, sinking qi to the dantian, relaxing the shoulders and elbows, stabilizing the stance, and moving the lower body correctly. If these basic requirements are not met, deeper principles cannot be discussed. It is similar to learning a square dance; one must start with basic movements.
This stage is also the first stage, where one should practice the form at least four to five times daily. With dedication, this can be accomplished in about two years. The main characteristics of this stage are performing the form smoothly and correctly, with proper posture and fluid movements. Daily practice should include standing in the round stance, single whip, and lazy tie-up to strengthen the foundational skills.
Intention
Once the form is mature, the focus should shift to practicing “intention”. Chen Xin noted in the Tai Chi classics: “Intention is the meaning of my heart; what the heart expresses is called intention.” Practicing intention requires special attention to eliminating distractions and concentrating the mind. One must first calm the mind; it is essential to avoid a restless heart. “Concentration of intention” is not innate but must be cultivated through repeated practice. The classics state: “When a person is calm, their hand techniques and body movements will naturally be correct.” At this point, the focus should shift from the stance to the practice of the Tai Chi route. Every movement, whether still or in motion, must be concentrated on; one should carefully examine whether each part of the body meets the requirements of Tai Chi principles, whether each posture achieves “light and agile top, qi sinking to the dantian, relaxed shoulders and elbows, and stability in the stance”; whether each dynamic movement achieves “the source of intention is in the waist gap”; whether the roots are in the feet, initiated by the legs, governed by the waist, and executed by the fingers; and whether each transition between emptiness and solidity achieves “moving the lower body in a curve”. If these are not achieved, how can one mobilize intention to adjust movements?
Master Gu Liuxin once proposed that Tai Chi is “consciousness exercise”. In reality, the adjustment of movements primarily relies on the adjustment of intention. The connection of the Tai Chi route mainly depends on the continuity of intention, and the improvement of the Tai Chi route primarily relies on the enhancement of concentration.
During this stage, one should practice the silk reeling technique daily, guided by intention, including: fixed-step cloud hands, single-hand side silk reeling, double-hand side silk reeling, advancing silk reeling, and retreating silk reeling. Generally, practicing thirty minutes of silk reeling before practicing the form will naturally prepare the body, making it easier to master the energy pathways during the form.
In this stage, one should persist in practicing the form four to five times daily. If there are no deviations, within one to two years, one can achieve what Chen Xin noted in the classics: “Intention arises from the heart and is transmitted to the hands, with great intention leading to great spirit.”
Energy
Tai Chi is primarily a martial art, and as a martial art, it must emphasize energy. However, the energy in Tai Chi is not rigid, clumsy, or direct; rather, it is soft, yielding, embracing, adhering, and following, essentially a spiraling silk reeling energy. Chen Xin proposed the “silk reeling method of Tai Chi”. Therefore, after correctly mastering the route of the form, one must practice diligently under the guidance of intention, repeatedly refining the silk reeling energy. Over time, the entire body will become unified, achieving “the whole body as one”, where “every movement affects every other movement”, and “the whole body is filled with silk reeling energy”, with energy emanating from movement, penetrating the bones, and expressing through the skin.
More importantly, this stage will also cultivate the ability to transition between emptiness and solidity, allowing for “yin and yang to be mutually rooted”, developing “qi adhering to the spine”, and achieving a balance of hardness and softness. The eight energies of Tai Chi in push hands—embracing, rolling, pressing, pulling, splitting, elbowing, leaning—must all be practiced in this stage. Simultaneously, during the energy practice phase, one should gradually reduce the size of the silk reeling circles under the guidance of intention, following the principle of “from large circles to small circles, from small circles to no circles”. Gradually, the origin of power should be focused at the waist and the mingmen (life gate) point. At this point, focusing intention on the mingmen will cause even slight movements to lead to simultaneous rotation of the entire body, known as “the source of intention is in the waist gap”, and “entering and exiting the kidneys”. Only in this way can internal energy become agile and swift, allowing for “yin and yang to be mutually rooted”, and making the “two kidneys feel as if they are boiling hot”.
It is particularly noteworthy that some individuals learning Tai Chi neither understand nor wish to practice energy, instead solely pursuing the practice of qi. As a result, they turn Tai Chi into “Tai Chi dance” or “Tai Chi exercise”, effectively practicing a form of moving qigong, which is highly undesirable.
This stage adheres to the principle of “the source of intention is in the waist gap” in practicing the form, leading to many previously difficult aspects becoming naturally achievable. For instance, focusing intention on the waist gap will concentrate the mind and relax the entire body; relaxation will lower gravity, causing the lower body to round and the thighs to turn outward, thus opening the hips. Lowering gravity and opening the hips will allow qi to sink to the dantian; lowering gravity will also lead to the lower body moving in a curve, the waist and spine rotating, and the spine naturally straightening. A straightened spine and a relaxed body will cause the chest to sink and breathing to deepen. Additionally, focusing on the rotation of the waist and spine will tighten the silk reeling circles, making large circles smaller and smaller circles disappear. As the large circles become smaller, not only does the waist act like a bearing, but the shoulders, elbows, and wrists also act like bearings, thus increasing the rotational capacity of the entire body, making it more difficult for opponents to grasp one’s energy pathways during confrontations.
The main characteristics of this stage are: the form is smooth and compact, performed in one breath, the silk reeling energy is smooth and continuous, the spirit is inwardly focused, and both form and spirit are present; the mingmen is warm, the dantian is rotating, and the whole body is unified.
Spirit
Once the energy pathways of the entire body are smooth, the next step is to cultivate spirit. Due to the emphasis on the source of intention—the “waist gap”—in the previous stage, the mingmen point at the core of the two waist points continuously adjusts between emptiness and solidity, thereby driving the lower abdomen to move continuously.
With prolonged practice, the lower abdomen will become full and rotate inward. At this point, “the dantian rotates inward” will occur. This inward rotation of the dantian, in conjunction with movements, often leads practitioners to feel the qi in the dantian moving throughout the limbs and body. At this stage, practitioners will concentrate their intention on the dantian and use the inward rotation of the dantian as the core to drive the silk reeling energy throughout the body. Only at this point will one feel the “qi” rising.
At this time, practitioners should diligently practice until they feel the qi flowing rapidly throughout the body with intention, reaching every part. Moreover, by truly eliminating all stubborn energy, one will find that wherever intention goes, qi follows; the entire body feels like a bag of qi or a water bag, where any part can be soft when needed and firm when required, soft when hard approaches, and hard when soft retreats; wherever intention goes, qi follows; wherever qi goes, energy follows; with qi and energy unified, movements become fluid, truly achieving the state of “striking wherever one touches”. This is the true success of practicing “qi”.
Awareness
For many years, people have believed that Tai Chi possesses immense power during combat, capable of sending opponents flying several feet away, due to a significant flow of qi. In recent years, some have even suggested that practitioners can develop a kind of energy field, or even emit infrared rays, leading some beginners to pursue qi practice, thus straying from the true path, with some learners focusing solely on qi when learning Tai Chi. However, this is not the case. The reason Tai Chi can easily send someone flying upon contact relies on four key elements: reaction ability, pivot points, inertia, and gravitational acceleration.
When an opponent applies force, one must first extract the pivot point of their force, then rotate and apply force in the direction of their applied force’s inertia. The opponent’s force, having lost its pivot point, combined with inertia, will lead to them being thrown out, exemplifying the principle of “using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds”.
Extracting the pivot point of the opponent’s force and applying force in the direction of their force primarily relies on reaction ability, which is the essence of “awareness”. One must be able to feel the incoming force (listening energy); upon contact, one should perceive the direction and magnitude of the opponent’s force; secondly, one must be able to change the energy (transforming energy) by quickly removing the force applied by the opponent; thirdly, one must be able to rotate (transforming energy) to ensure that the opponent’s force remains on the cutting line of one’s energy rotation. If the opponent does not understand or cannot timely change the direction of their force, they will be thrown off by the inertia of one’s force. If the opponent quickly realizes that their force has lost its pivot point and attempts to withdraw, one can swiftly follow up with a counterforce, accelerating their retreat into a fall. All of this relies on “awareness”.