April 1982

On hands.
Tai Ji is a "science" as well as an "art": there are quite precise things to be done, as well as a general enjoyment or grace of movement. This is especially the case with the hands, which should not be either "dumb" or "noisy". They should be expressive without being showy. They should be intelligent. You can see if somebody is intelligent even if you don't actually talk to each other: so the hands should be intelligent without saying anything. They should show the outward signs of an inward sensitivity, aware of their movement through the air as if it was resisting them, and as if it was rounded. Miss Li commented that the class as a whole is beginning to move from "dumbness" to "intelligence", and that was something I was very much aware of in my own form today.

On Yin and Yang, the combination of opposites.
The reason that Tai Ji is said to embody this quality is because of alternations. The hands don't always move together: they may be one up/one down, one forward/one back. The "kai" and "he" is the armpits, or more accurately the elbows: sometimes armpits closed and elbows close to the torso, sometime open. Often simply alternating between the two states, but sometimes one closed and one open.

Another alternation is in the "dong" or arch between the legs. Because we say it should always be maintained, there can be some confusion. The point is it should be maintained when both feet are on the ground, but in moving a leg/foot you close it, so that the next movement comes from the centre. Thus there is also an open/closed alternation of the legs.

Then also "shen" and "suo", the extension and contraction of the arms. Again, this is sometimes also a simple alternation between the two states: both out/both in, but sometimes one out and one in.

Miss Li said again something she often mentions, which is that in Tai Ji it is said: "when you are moving, you are resting; when you are still, you are active". This is partly just a paradox to express balance, but it also has a quite specific meaning which she indicated and which I now understood from experience. That is, that the internal quality of parts of the form is often the opposite of the external appearance. Thus when you are moving, you are actually relaxed and allowing a flowing to take place. Whereas, when you get to the full extent of a given form and appear to be still for a moment, you are actually stretching forcefully and also the awareness is highly focused.