Taijiquan School of Central Equilibrium (opens in a new window)

What will you learn?

Firstly, students will learn Master Huang Shen Shyan five exercises. The exercises enable the student to work with and refine the principles of Taiji in a static position. This is important as it is more difficult to refine the principles within the Forms as they have within them more complex techniques and movement.

Students will then go onto learn Cheng Man Ching's 37 Step Form (Short Form). This together with push hands and Master Huang Shen Shyan's five exercises is the basis of practice for a number of years. Four conditions are necessary to practice and refine the five exercises and Form, these are:

  1. Jin (Calmness):

    This involves quietening the mind to in order draw attention within creating an acute awareness of the body. Once calm the mind can then be used to listen and observe body movement, awareness of any unnecessary tension can then be observed and the mind can be used to instruct the body to relax.

  2. Ding (Stillness):

    This is stillness of both body and mind. The body should be settled and there should be no wavering. The mind should also be settled and there should be no drifting. Either will lead to the dispersion of qi (vital energy, sometimes called chi).

  3. Song (Relaxation):

    This is sometimes misunderstood as being limp or floppy. The real meaning is to let go of any unnecessary tension from within the body. Only the minimal amount of effort is used to maintain a structure and all movement is generated through relaxation. When the body is relaxed all the elements that make up the structure are connected, when the body is tense the structure will be disconnected. Relaxation is produced through the cultivation of awareness.

  4. Chen (Sinking):

    There is both physical and mental sinking. Physical sinking refers to the dropping of the shoulders, softening of the torso and the sitting of the hips. Relaxing and dropping the shoulders connects the arms to the body, relaxing and sitting the hips connects the body to the legs. Mental sinking is the process of a sensation of relaxed awareness travelling down from the crown of the head, through the body, legs, feet and passing through the bubbling well (a point just behind the balls of the feet), deep into the ground, establishing a strong root or connection with the earth. This it referred to as "swallowing the qi of the heaven, connecting to the qi of the earth". It is from sinking that the relaxed force of Taiji is produced.

If students wish, they can go onto practice Tuishou (pushing hands). In pushing hands a student works with partner to practice the applications of the Form. However, pushing a partner is not the true purpose of pushing hands, it is only a by-product. The focus must be on the process and not the end result. There are three objectives to pushing hands, these are:

  1. To develop the ability to remain centred, balanced, relaxed, with all body movements connected and synchronised, while dealing with an external force.
  2. To cultivate a sensitivity to an external force and an understanding of the appropriate reaction.
  3. To teach a student to recognise whether a situation belongs to them or their partner.

Advanced students if they wish can go onto learn Master Huang Shen Shyan's Short Form, Master Yang Cheng Fu's 108 step Form (Long Form), along with the weapons of staff, sword, sabre and spear.