“Circle and Time (Jakarta 2015)” Online Video Trailer

Don’t Move the Hand

Excellent lesson on foundation for taiji. Two of the most fundamental training concepts we have to get into our bodies. ‘ Don’t Move the Hand ‘ and ‘ What is already done cannot be undone ‘. These aspects of taiji seem like small things, but as Master Chen says in the video, taiji ability comes from the accumulation of many small things done correctly. It’s best to get these embedded into you by training foundations, then use the Yilu like a test to see if they are maintained throughout the yilu without your contrived effort to maintain them. Only when they are there without your having to think about it anymore in the Yilu have you really succeeded to the point where they can start to sprout ability. If you ignore the little things that seem insignificant, and only focus on the things you think are important, then you will just have a lot of difficulty down the road. If you didn’t know ‘ Don’t Move the Hand ‘ is really the first thing you should try to get ingrained into your actions, then it’s OK , just keep what you have been focusing on and go back to training foundations and practice basic circles with this as your focus. It’s very difficult to try to fix it in the Yilu, train it out in by doing circles , then use the Yilu to test. Gradually this foundation should start to be expressed in all your actions. If you think you ‘ know ‘ this already, video your yilu and ask some of your training partners to watch and give you objective feedback. Don’t rely on your feeling of thinking you are already doing it. It must become second nature.

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