We define our Tai Ji according to four criteria - like the four sides of a square:
1. The Rhythm of Silence ... that is, the quality of movement which is specific to each person. This would be lost by an authoritarian or regimented style of teaching, but it is fostered by a looser, slower approach: so that everybody's unique way off moving is left intact and not suppressed, even though in the beginning it may lead to more inaccuracies.
2. The Picture in Space ... that is, the quality of continuous movement and the sense of the total form which is greater than the component parts: to do with a fully developed skill in connecting the different forms.
3. The Stillness of Movement ... that is, though moving we appear to be still: non-doing.
4. The Softness of Strength ... that is, all the strength should be coming up from the legs and lower back, and not be connected with rigidity in the arms: the arms should be soft and relaxed, gaining their strength from the condition of the body as a whole.
