Tai Chi Insights, a summary of “108 Insights into Tai Chi Chuan" by Michael Gilman
The above book is available from YMAA Publication Center email: ymaa@aol.com, 1-800-669-8892
Mr. Gilman offers 108 helpful hints and practical advice for great Tai Chi.
I am attempting to summarize this meaningful information.
• When practicing Tai Chi, you are the forward edge of a wave that is moving forward, pushed by an ocean of at least twenty generations of past experience.
• Your chi is like a gun. You must line up the stock and barrel (your tai chi pole) so that the force of your chi goes straight and true.
• Your dan tien is the center of your spider web where you sit, sensing all that comes into your web. Nourish your spider by breathing into the dan tien.
• There are 104 bones in your hands and feet, and a total of 206 bones in your body. Be aware of the infinite possibilities of movement just with the hands and feet.
• In Tai chi as in many things, it is not what you do but how you do it. Keep learning to achieve mastery. Doing the movements correctly is important, but takes time to master. Soon you will instinctually be able to react reflexively.
• The process of matching breath to movement is important in Tai Chi practice. As you become proficient, the body and the breath will align themselves naturally to the demands of the movement.
• Advanced beginner’s mind is when we have arrived at the place where we don’t have gto think about what movement comes next or how to do it. It is now possible to just be amazed at what the body is doing and how it feels at each moment.
• The body is more efficient when the spine is erect, the chest and shoulders are relaxed, and all parts are as close to the center of gravity as practical. (Tai chi pole)
• A good teacher is essential to learning tai chi. Books and DVDs help, but offer no feedback.
• Tai chi practice is a perfect way to relieve stress.
• “Your life should flow out of your Tai Chi practice. There is a state when your practice and your life become one and you are always practicing Tai chi, aware of each moment completely.”
• If you begin your Tai Chi study when you are young, your form will start out large. It will gradually tighten as
• If you begin your Tai Chi study when you are young, your form will start out large. It will gradually tighten as you age. If you are young and study with an old master, your form will be too small because this master has tightened his form already.
• Have patience. It usually takes many years to learn the form, movements and principles. And the rest of your life to improve.
• Relaxation is key to practicing Tai chi. But you need to relax with full attention (song).
• Internal energy is bone energy as opposed to muscle energy. To use bone energy, you must line up your bones, don’t bend your joints too much to avoid strain on the connective tissues. Ie. Don’t over extend. Think grace.
• Reaction time is 3 phases: 1. Sense the signal. 2. Decide the correct response. 3. Respond. Tai chi teaches us to automatically find the correct response. We sense the signal from our senses in the following order: sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. Sight, overhead is faster than from below. Fake from above, deliver energy from below.
• Wu chi is the state of complete balance, nothing, everything. At some point the balance shifts into Yin and Yang. Wu chi to Tai chi, Tai chi to Wu chi.
• The form is not Tai Chi. You do the form to accomplish something: move energy inside the body, gain powers of concentration, relaxation, build internal and external strength, and psychophysical integration. Just like we use computers to accomplish something, not just sit and punch keys.
• To increase your awareness of Tai chi, break it down. Do it slow. Fast. Low stance. High. Change breathing pattern. Do it as big as you can. Do it in a very small space. Choose different music. Don’t get too serious. Think of the Buddha sitting with a smile on his face.
• Practice Tai chi until the thinking mind disappears into the movement.
• Tai chi is a form of ritualistic dance belonging to all cultures.
• There are two periods of rest, like a rollercoaster, the top of the hill and the bottom of the slide. When yin changes to yang and then yang changes to yin. The pause between inhalation and exhalation. This is the moment when enlightenment most likely occurs.
• Tai chi can be practiced anywhere and everywhere.
• Our earliest ancestors had limited use of our arms and legs. Think of yourself as a fish with limited use of the hands and feet. Just move your center and see what happens.
• Yi is the mind intention which proceeds action. A signal is sent and chi starts to build. The chi moves the body. Deal with your opponent’s chi in a relaxed fashion with Jing, which is the expression of energy.
• For quick movement the body has to be right on the edge of imbalance. An animal hunting is just on the edge in a state of readiness. Think of being on a teeter totter. Any movement and it will upset the balance. There is not time that you are not on the teeter totter in Tai chi.
• Man’s posture is determined by how he thinks he should look and move, determined by society. Think of a soldier, a model, or a loser. An actor can come on stage and his posture will convey their character without a word. The goal of Tai chi is to form feelings from the inside out so as to harmonize and balance our body.
• Moving in Tai chi is like walking across a swift moving stream. Your foot has to be well rooted before you shift your weight onto it. Try walking in a river sometime and see what happens if you don’t root first. You will be swept downstream.
• There are three major storage vessels for energy, the lower, middle and upper Dantien. It is important to fill the lower dantien first, then middle, then top. If you fill the top first, there is no ground. You need a solid foundation.
• The dragon is a powerful beast. It has a tail to use for support. Imagine you have a dragon’s tail to give you support as you do your form, like a tripod.
• “The process of learning Tai chi requires patience. Slow and steady progress comes with regular practice. This should be augmented with occasional retreats or intensive workshops to push you to a new level. Also be careful not to compare your progress with others. Hopefully the journey to mastery of Tai Chi brings joy all along the path.”
• Your body is like a tent with a tent pole in the center. All limbs, muscles and tendons must pull evenly from this pole as if guy wires, all keeping the pole perfectly straight.
• Pain is the body’s signal to pay attention. If pain stops after you stop, there is no problem. If pain persists, you must examine what you are doing, remembering that you are doing something you may not have done before. So a dull ache is okay, but a sharp pain is a signal to stop.
• Strength and power are different. Strength is the ability to do work. Force times distance equals strength. Power is strength divided by time. Martial arts is concerned with power, not strength.
• Form follows function. When one practices Tai Chi a lot, the whole body learns to move as one unit. The muscles are toned without increase in bulk, the bones get strong and flexible. You can always pick out a Tai Chi player by his body.
• Stillness in movement. A wheel turning, the outside moves a great deal but the hub of the wheel turns very little. The hub is the dantien.
• Imagine when you do the form that you are enclosed in a large bubble that extends about one and one-half feet beyond your body. Work at the edge of this bubble.
• Knees are the most stressed in Tai chi. The knee should always move in the direction the toe is headed. Be careful not to let the knee collapse inward when moving onto it. Don’t move your knee past the toes. Never lock the knee. Try not to let the knee travel in a lateral direction. Always have a slight bend in the knee.
• In Tai chi chuan each movement is a real movement like a punch, kick or block. These are fast self-defensive movements pantomimed slowly. This is in order to understand them in great detail, figure out the alignment of the body and chi, condition the breath and relax. Some understanding of the martial arts aspect of the form is needed to correctly perform its movements.
• Develop your own strengths and skills. A snake will never be a tiger.
• Tai chi is beneficial for controlling blood pressure. For high blood pressure you want to move your energy downward and outward. For low pressure, upward and inward.
• We have two large cavities, the thoracic and the abdominal. In the lung cavity we have the nose and mouth to release the gases. In the abdomen is sealed to the outside. Therefore we can store energy there and why we use abdominal breathing.
• Every body is different with different roots and branches. Trust your own body and develop your uniqueness.
