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This simple movement is part of the Yang Taiji Neigong, who’s method originally derives from Wudang. In fact a number of parts of the Yang’s Neigong are carbon copies of the much older Wudang Taijiquan which dates back to the early Ming Dynasty. Traditionally this Neigong was only taught after everything else in the Taiji syllabus had been mastered. The purpose of this training was to cultivate, harness and control one’s own Qi and direct it at will with the speed of the mind. With Neigong, before the more complex combinations can be learned, we must first be able to ‘sense’ and feel our ..read more

Ti Jin and An Jin The ‘Classics’ spell out the internal method of these two jin quite clearly. For Ti Jin (Lifting Strength) “...if you want to go up, first go down...” This means we must sink the Qi into the feet as we apply Ti Jin. For An Jin (Sinking Strength - moving energy down into the Earth.) “...if you want to go down, first go up...” This means that with the Qi already in our feet we allow the Qi to rise upward to the crown (Baihui) as we apply An Jin. This is a bit of a simplification in that there are often multiple energy flows, many times in contrary motion, that is, simultaneou ..read more

Most of us have experienced some of the confirmatory signs of our Yang Qi, such as warmth in the Dan Tien or throughout the body, the feeling of warmth and/or fullness flooding our palms or feet during various Taiji movements. The feeling of rooted heaviness and unified solidity. The feelings of power or inner strength after a proper Fa Jin release. All these are aspects of what we can call ‘Yang (or active) Qi.’ And this is what most people are interested in, for martial power and the like. And this is natural because these are the things we first encounter as we follow through in our traini ..read more

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During Zhan Zhuang we experience many different types of ‘organic sensations.’ These sensations or feelings reflect the diverse changes and adjustments the body goes through on the way to refining our Zhong Ding and eventually achieving Song. These organic sensations many times preoccupy the new student throughout the first several years of training. These sensations are often so powerful they drown out our ability to maintain the unified focus of our feeling-awareness in our low Dan Tien. Eventually however after enough practice, many of the body’s issues resolve themselves and the pull of ..read more

To all our Spanish speaking friends -  Inside Zhan Zhuang is now available as an ebook en Español! CHECK IT OUT ON AMAZON ..read more

Slow Frame testing, sometimes called Spring Testing, is a basic two-person exercise designed to give experience in the compression and expansion of the joints and cavities and cultivate and strengthen the outer physical frame and the idea of spherical movement. Simply put, one training partner assumes a Tai Chi (or Zhan Zhuang) posture. The other partner then gradually applies pressure (force) while the partner in the Tai Chi posture systematically absorbs the force into the low Dan Tien. At first a technique called “Snaking” (like the undulation of a snake) is used where the force is absorb ..read more

Mao Dun Zhuang or Combat Stance is an essential posture for developing martial power. Sometimes called ‘Shield and Spear,’ it is a fully back-weighted side stance which trains among other things, both lifting and sinking power. There is little or no weight on the front leg and the front heel is very slightly lifted. Because this is a martial posture, the eyes want to be open and focused way in the distance, say out to the horizon. To train lifting and sinking Jin, imagine your arms around the trunk of a tree. Next, feel you are ‘pushing’ the trunk upward (Lifting Jin) and then feel you ar ..read more

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