The Yin and Yang of Classical Tai Chi

Yin and Yang video

I have rarely seen this move done correctly in large frame Tai Chi. If you have more questions? Please go to classical-tai-chi.teachable.com and take the "Health and Strength with Tai Chi" course for $27. To elucidate further: I would say that one can certainly see how the body is twisted in this picture with the back foot at a right angle and body turned to the front. This occurs when you do not follow Wu's edict of 6 harmonies "hand follows foot, elbow follows knee, shoulder follows hip", Ironically the Tai Chi Classics is frequently touted by large frame practitioners and "harmonies" is outlined in the "Holy Writ" of Tai Chi Classics. Actually, I have rarely seen the edict followed correctly in a large frame. The catch is that those are "external harmonies" applicable to large frame and use just the extremities in the reference. A small frame follows the external harmonies but they originate from the core and not the extremities. One has the thought that the core is like a centralized drive train that controls the wheels and not the wheels controlling the drive train.

Learning how to focus your muscle movements within your torso can help in stimulating your blood flow and lymphatic flow. It begins to teach you how to maintain the “springtime of your life”. Student comments echo their questions and difficulties but they need to understand our bodies are stubborn in lifetime habits of using muscles externally but now they are recruiting "new" uses of those same muscles. One needs to understand until those muscles in the process of becoming useful for internal movement, often temporarily turn out to deter the intended purpose of the movement. To resolve this during training, Classical Tai Chi with eminently rational logic has to develop skill in the traditional concepts of yin-yang and it's the delineation of movement and stillness to instill principles of inner balance of muscles in the body.