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My teacher says, “turn, don’t turn.”

*IVE ONLY FELT IT ONCE* about a week ago - it was very strange and wonderful. I was doing Taiji and suddenly it required NO movement of the muscles consciously My arms and legs became sort of weightless and effortless to move, all I had to do was think the move and by some force I cant explain [Chi presumably] they just did it. Time stopped and serenity descended, I continued for about an hour. After I was in a world of total calm, like a pearl floating on a perfectly still ocean. It was one of the most profound experiences of my life.

Very interesting 😀 indeed. My father took me to see a painter in New York ages ago, it was master Cheng Man Ching, who did some very strange, for a western eye, paintings. Cheers

“X-ray, not X-rated.” … ed

Body no twist, energy twist.

*I JUST WANT TO SAY* Ive been doing TaiJi [badly] every day for 5 years - where I live I can't get tuition so it has been exclusively TH-cam videos. Your videos have been a revelation. I am finally starting to "get it" and to get something from it. No one else has ever explained the fundamental principles, they just show you a movement and you copy it, usually completely incorrectly - pushing with your body LOOKS like pushing with your arms to the novice. I just want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU, Im now really enjoying it and making progress.

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As my current teacher says, "There is no 'hold the ball' in Yang style taiji.".

Hi again. The late master Fong Ha, brought Master Yu peng shi over who was famous in Shanghai for his empty force ability. Whist in the states scientists at Stanford asked the master to stand inside the particle accelerator and be bombarded. To their astonishment he deflected the particles in an egg shape around his body. So we have to accept the presence of a very powerful Qi shi, ( Qi field) whatever this is in terms of western science is… l myself in 1991 witnessed the senior student of Ma yieh Liang manifest empty force when attacked powerfully. He was an old man who had practiced push hands for over seventy years. Again a palpable force field surrounded the masters body and it was like two opposing magnets with the burly young attacker just being thrown through the air. My wife who is a scientist stood with her mouth open in astonishment and came away a complete believer. I would say that this is a very rare ability that only some very experienced masters achieve, not something to be chased after. Something that science has yet to explain is going on, it is not just tactics, timing and phycology , there is a force / Qi field involved. I have photo’s capturing the above eplisode.

yes another lesson I really knew intuitively but did not adapt or follow, maybe because of seeing other people move externally. thanks for a stark reminder, I look forward to putting this into practice

The ‘power’ starts from the earth, is controlled by the center and is expressed in the limbs. This is the basis of all movement, including holding the ball. So this needs to occur naturally, as you demonstrated. Everything is round, no sharp curves. As you showed in the beginning, most people hold it like an actual small ball, palms facing each other. When you look at the forming of ward of left from the starting position, the arms never stop. The left arm follows the body to the right and just before the body moves again to the left and forward, there is a brief moment where the left hand and right hand could be considered to be in a hold a ball position before moving to ward off left position. As the classics say, when one part of the body moves, everything moves; upper and lower body, left and right. When one part stops, everything stops. Like ward off left is only briefly there because the body keeps on turning left and therefore takes the hand with it , while causing the right hand to move left. When the body is at highest extension to the left it causes to go back to the right again and briefly position both hands in a hold the ball position again on the left side. The hands are in both ‘ball’ situations either at shoulder height and center height. Having both hands on one side helps with the balance of stepping with the opposite foot. The movement of the body helps shifting the balance in the feet, freeing a foot for the stepping. This is of course my opinion, and the way that I feel in my whole body the logical progression in the movement and balance. It s a constant shifting in Yin and Yang. There is already so much to explore and discover in these few positions. Still keep discovering new layers .

Myth busting in Tai Chi!

Very helpful. But now I have to start all over again.

Your opinion is the truth.

BE the ball - genius.

Great video! I would love to see these differences expressed in a partner's reaction.

Excellent description.

another great video, thank you.

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*IF YOU WATCH THIS VIDEO* " Stuart Hameroff: Orch OR, Penrose, Fractal Consciousness" You will find information on the backwards time effect of consciousness in the microtubules of the brain cells. They have about 450m/s of backwards time effect. When a neuron is activated it takes about 500m/s of electrical activation but they trigger in 30m/s. If you give them 400m/s they DONT trigger after 30m/s but if you give them 500m/s of stimulation they trigger after 30m/s. So they know after 30m/s if they are to get 400 or 500 m/s of stimulus. They are a quantum system.

It's a bit like what I call 'menu' Chinese medicine which seems to focus on symptoms rather than causes. Acupuncture formulae/herbal remedies for.. followed by a long list of common ailments. It may be a way of attracting western patients into the real, wholistic, traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis of illness and imbalance, and educating them once they are 'in the door.'

It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing😂 Good one!

Thank You…Sir….

According to Wu I Shiang tradition ( who wrote a high percentage of the Tai ji classics) song is the compete relaxation of the big muscles downwards but not the bones. This called separating the muscle (yin) and the bones (yang) muscle down, bone up, The jing rises up through the body through 9 joints from ankle to wrist /hand as the big muscles on the outer surfaces. Muscles down and bones down is a form of double heavy. This information is from Master Liu ji Shun 5th generation direct lineage from the writers of the classics. The Cheng man jing tradition appears not to understand this,but maybe I am wrong.

Another outstanding video! I cannot thank you enough for sharing your deep knowledge and experiences with us. You are truly a treasure… Be well.

Thank you🩷

I'm loving this... prehaps you could talk about the weight shifting on the bottom of the feet? Sometimes I'm not sure about it.

*YEARS AGO I USED TO DO A LOT OF FENCING* as in with a bendy sward. The instructor used to do a one-a-month session where novices would come in and thrash the living daylights out of each other for an hour - it was NOT fencing, it was hitting each other with a pointy stick, but out of every class of 30, 5 people would go on to learn it as a sport / hobby Thats how I started, everyone has to start a new thing in an accessible way.

Yes tai chi has gotten off to a slow start in America due to the vast # of poor (inexperienced) teachers….

My teacher also emphasised awareness that everyone could come away from class with different understanding simply based on where you were standing in the room. Every senior instructor seemed to have a different flavour of the same system. It was always my job to try to make sense and integrate any teaching with my own current level of understanding.

Thank you

Reminds me of Hermetic Philosphies law of Coorespondance. "As above, so below." Interestingly when I started walking with a cane for stability (in my early 30s but hava a chronic pain condition.) I felt that concept of the root for the first time. My condition makes me buckle, but adding a stick makes me firm and in control as though I'm fully able.

Thank you!!!❤

As one of my teachers told us, when you understand yin and Yang, you understand taiji and other forms.

This is a controversial subject. Yun Shou commonly called cloud hands means to move something heavy from one side of the body to the other side and pack it downwards with the AN force. If you turn away at the end like you are doing you don’t express this, and miss the point of this movement. Hidden within Yun shou are the four directions of Peng Lu Ji An. Happy to discuss this with you. 50 years of practise .

I’ve been trying to incorporate abdominal breathing while doing these exercises. I really appreciate this video, as I do all of them, because it allows me access to your Taiji expertise. I wish I could make it to class. I’m sorry I don’t. By the time you have class I’ve already practiced an hour and am into the rest of the day. Thank you so much for this TH-cam channel you created. One of the best. … ed

Thank you for sharing, Mr. Chuckrow

Breathing is everything. Bill P.

Wonderful presentation! Thanks as always.

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Thanks, as a tai chi player it's really nice to be remembered and pointed to these ideas.

Hello…i am french…and i dont speak english…not enough to understand your mots…but i undesrstand par ce que vous êtes ( by You are) …thank You Sir…. I pratique qi gong and taï Ji …un qi gong interne…depuis 1995…i pratique all the days…Norbert

I get a great deal out of your videos and books. But on this question of side stepping I focused on this with my teacher recently with cloud hands, and he pointed out something that made sense once I could feel it in action. He had us try side stepping quickly multiple times moving in one direction, with the heal, with the flat foot, and with the ball of the foot. With the heal or the foot flat, we ended up clomping down and not feeling sure footed in the steps when done quickly, as opposed to when we briefly touch the ground first with the ball of the foot and softly securing the step. With the ball of the foot, we could side step far more quickly. It's not an exaggerated ball of the foot fist step, like a flowery ballerina, but rather a very natural subtle like a half inch touch down of the ball of the foot first to quickly secure the landing. It's about agility in being able to side step rapidly when we need to.

A gem of a video Doc! I think Damo Mitchell has written as to changing the weight (rocking forwards and backwards from heel to toe also.Master Luke Chan recommends internal rotation via the 3 Dan Tien's (externally at, first) see method ....

Have you come across Dr Alis ultimate back book where he covers similar ideas

Indeed! In particular, learning to open the spine means '(re-)finding' and using the erector spinae and multifidus muscle groups. I too have gained much improvement by suspending the headtop as a practice.

😊 thanks

Great video thank you! this is something ive been working on. I have a question and would be grateful for any tips - i have flat feet and rolling in arches and knees that naturally point inward. When i do the knees inward/outward excersise, to maintain correct ‘hip knee foot’ alignment, i need to push my knees outward to as wide as i can go. When i do this, my arch does raise and there is a torque on my feet (toes wanting to rotate outward) that is resisted by the friction of my shoes on the ground. Any tips for this would be appreciated, thank you

Thank you, this is really helpfull. Maybe you could do a Video for the use of the pelvis in Tai Chi? If it should be pushed Forward or just be in a natural state. That would be very interesting 😊