What are the Principles of T'ai Chi?
That is such a vast subject to cover, let alone writing it down. Perhaps a good place to start with is Relaxation, which is so fundamental to T'ai Chi. To fully understand T'ai Chi we need to have a look at what relaxation is, and what role it plays in T'ai Chi.
I'm constantly surprised by answers I receive from people when they're asked “What is relaxation?” Even from people with many years of T'ai Chi practice behind them the answers can range from, “I don't know”, to “Just letting go of the body and not caring”. I'm a big believer in clarifying what words mean, and to never assume the meaning of a word - especially when dealing with an art that is as subtle as T'ai Chi. I believe it was Saint Augustine who said “What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know.” Socrates said “One should always question common assumptions, what you assume to know to be true, under closer inspection it falls apart.” Albert Einstein also said "If you can't explain to a 6 year old then you probably don't understand yourself." I feel the concept of relaxation falls into this category. Everyone seems to have a firm grasp on what relaxation is, until it comes time to explaining it. If you can't verbalise something, then it tends to follow that you don't really have such a clear idea on what you had assumed to know so well. Hard to believe that something that is so vital to T'ai Chi can be left so unqualified. If relaxation is the fuel that drives T'ai Chi shouldn't we at least know what this fuel is.
That is such a vast subject to cover, let alone writing it down. Perhaps a good place to start with is Relaxation, which is so fundamental to T'ai Chi. To fully understand T'ai Chi we need to have a look at what relaxation is, and what role it plays in T'ai Chi.
I'm constantly surprised by answers I receive from people when they're asked “What is relaxation?” Even from people with many years of T'ai Chi practice behind them the answers can range from, “I don't know”, to “Just letting go of the body and not caring”. I'm a big believer in clarifying what words mean, and to never assume the meaning of a word - especially when dealing with an art that is as subtle as T'ai Chi. I believe it was Saint Augustine who said “What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know.” Socrates said “One should always question common assumptions, what you assume to know to be true, under closer inspection it falls apart.” Albert Einstein also said "If you can't explain to a 6 year old then you probably don't understand yourself." I feel the concept of relaxation falls into this category. Everyone seems to have a firm grasp on what relaxation is, until it comes time to explaining it. If you can't verbalise something, then it tends to follow that you don't really have such a clear idea on what you had assumed to know so well. Hard to believe that something that is so vital to T'ai Chi can be left so unqualified. If relaxation is the fuel that drives T'ai Chi shouldn't we at least know what this fuel is.