Legacy Articles

In Shanghai I think there are several masters who can genuinely be said to be Internal Martial artists. That is they can really demonstrate pure internal movement and energy and utilize the energy surrounding the body or the "Shen Qi". Master Ren Gang, (who was...

In Master Ren Gang's article, he talks a lot about "shen qi", and using the shen qi to move the physical body. I translated the shen qi as a spiritual and energetic manifestation of the spirit and energy that fills and surrounds us. Rather like a kind of field of...

2006 - Allowing your intention and energy to play the form: Watching a high level master play their particular form, one can really see the difference in the way they utilize their energy and intention. Usually when a practitioner moves through their form, they are...

In answer to a question regarding the difference between Ji and Peng energy: Concerning "Ji" or "press". In Chinese, as I'm sure you know, many Chinese characters can have several different meanings, depending on the context that we use them in, which obviously leads...

Ward Off Energy (Beng/Peng Jing) The element of Peng energy is FIRE. The quality of Fire means that the outside of the fire is the hottest part. But it is not a rigid hard force, where someone has a very tense or stiff outside resistance to their arm/body. Rather like...

In the initial phase of learning Taiji and in training the waist, we need to first ascertain where the waist is. If we look at a skeleton, the second main large lumbar vertebra, above the first lumbar vertebra attached to the sacrum, is classified as the “waist” in...

How much does our actual spirit and generosity play in learning Taiji or other internal arts? I have heard many teachers expound this principle and stress that to reach a high level one must have a generous spirit, not only in teaching and learning martial arts, but...

The Essence of HarmonyIn the pursuit of learning the Chinese Internal Arts students are often briefed on the importance of remaining in harmony during the performance of forms. In some cases this is done for aesthetic purposes so that the class appears uniform and...

Perception and awareness are essential principals which practitioners of the internal arts need to develop from an early stage in their training. These characteristics are sensory in nature and often mysterious to many beginners who have shut themselves off from the...

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the recent series of seminars I gave in Britain was the refreshingly candid series of questions I was asked by British Tai Chi practitioners. Not surprisingly, some of the most interesting questions were put to me by beginners....

By Rose Oliver, 2007 Having lived in China for some time and being interested in all aspects of Chinese culture, I have been researching Peking Opera, to discover some of the meanings behind the gestures and mannerisms seen by the performers. To some westerners,...