Root, Energy, and Spirit - The Foundation of My Taiji

Long ago in my nascent years of training in Taiji, I was thinking about competition to compare my skills against practitioners in other area schools. I was working hard and feeling pretty good about myself. My postures were strong. My transitions were agile. I adhered to the principles we were taught that define good Taiji. I was ready.

My teacher at the time was Master Aiping Cheng. She was highly accomplished in Taiji as both a competitor at the national level in China, coach on the national team, and judge at international competitions. Who better to give me advice as I prepared for the event. So, I asked her a simple question one night after class. What does she look for in a competitor? I was naive and anticipated her response to be all about movement, alignment, structure, flow. What she told me was a surprise. Master Aiping said just three words: root, energy, shen.

I trained so hard on physical movement and then I learned I may be judged on criteria that was not even on my radar. It was time to spend more time on the internal qualities of Taiji.

Understanding Root

A Turning Point in My Development

This one was the easiest for me to understand. In Taiji, rooting is the ability to connect your body to the ground. It relies heavily on the alignment of your structure, friction with the ground, and the influence of gravity. It is not just about balance. It allows you to channel an incoming force to the earth and to transmit your energy through your structure from a solid base. If you roll your supporting foot to the inside or outside, you are not rooted. If your weight is too far toward the toe or back to the heel, you are not rooted. If you allow your weight to float up as in a kick, you are not rooted. This is the basic stuff and most people know this. But, there is more.

Root is not just when you sink as you complete a posture. It is not a static or temporal quality. Root must be maintained throughout your form. Transitional movement is no exception. When you step, you must keep your center above the supporting leg until you place your other foot confidently on the ground. You should feel strong and stable through the entire transition and able to change direction at will. Maintaining your root as you shift weight and step often gets less attention. But, it can be argued that the transitions are more important than the postures. Root is not an anchor, rather it is a dynamic base from which you move.

Understanding Energy

In Taiji and many martial arts there is the concept of the Internal Harmonies. Students are taught to use their intention (Yi) to direct their energy (Qi) which is then outwardly expressed through their muscles (Li). The concept is easy to understand but hard to observe without a lot of practice. Unfortunately, Taiji has become synonymous with slow, gentle movement. The more you relax, the better it is. That is fine if you just do forms for the physical benefits. But if you want to practice Taiji as originally intended, you need more.

Taiji should have an energetic quality. It does not mean the movements must be fast or big, rather each posture should clearly represent the channeling of the energy from an incoming force or the release from an outgoing force. The five bows of the body are lively and elastic as they bend and release. The legs clearly exhibit the power of the earth and the transfer of energy through our waist, to our shoulders, elbows, wrists, and even the fingers. The waist is lively as it rotates around the central axis of the spine and connects the upper and lower parts of our body. Gravity is used to generate power downward as needed. When Fajin (sudden release of energy) is used, the entire kinematic chain of the body efficiently transfers energy as directed. Taiji with martial intent should not be practiced as a slow, gentle choreographed sequence. The relaxation (song) discussed so frequently should not make a player look tired or listless. Just the opposite.

Understanding Shen

At first, this one had me baffled. Shen is often translated as “spirit”. It refers to your awareness of your surroundings, your mental clarity, and your ability to create. As such, it is the spark taking what you know (Yi), reacting to something you sense, and creating the action to deal with it while remaining calm and in the moment.

It is interesting that my teacher identified Shen as such an important attribute of Taiji. I asked her if it is so important, how can you tell it is present as an observer of another practitioner. Without hesitation, she pointed to her eye and said “like a tiger”. The eyes are such an important gateway to the world and the threats around us. We need to stay focused and observant at all times. When you see someone doing Taiji and their eyes are wandering around, they look disinterested and just moving through a postural sequence. No purpose. No driving force. Just movement. That is not Taiji.

Shen is also about staying in the moment. Under stressful situations like a form competition or a sparring match, your emotions can take over and interfere with how you perform. Fear and discomfort is obvious. Often practitioners start moving their head more, move faster, and lose focus.

Solid Like a Mountain But Move Like a Tiger

Looking back on that conversation over 20 years ago I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a turning point in my progress as I realized there is so much more to Taiji than the forms everyone strives to perfect. It is a deeper art with inner qualities that need to be nurtured. There is an old expression in Chinese literature to be "solid like a mountain but moving like a tiger." Focused. Rooted. Lively. That is Taiji.