Training Gong

One often hears the phrase in Taijiquan, “training ‘quan’ without training ‘gong’, in the end all efforts come to nothing”.
 
The acquisition of “gong” takes effort, but where the effort is placed makes a big difference. ‘Quan’ is movement-based and therefore movements and postures play major roles in one’s acquisition of skill. However, people often mistake training “gong” as learning more movements. As a result they learn many forms and put all their effort on "quantity"... rather than on “quality”.

Taijiquan does not only attach importance to training the outside (physical) shape but also to internal (mental) practice. The failure to do both are often manifested in movements that are undefined and empty, and/or excessive and superfluous, or else stiff and clumsy. Wrong habits become embedded and corrections become very difficult, which not only affect the acquisition of ‘gong’, but also reduce the health and fitness as well as the functionality of Taijiquan.

Quantity and quality are the unity of contradiction. Without quantity, there is no quality. But quality is more important than quantity. The high level of Taijiquan is mainly reflected in its high quality. The "quality" of Taijiquan mainly refers to its “nei gong” (internalised skill), which includes “nei yi” (mental intention), “nei qi” (intrinsic energy) and “nei li” (internal force)- manifesting in the coordination of mental intention, guided qi, and trained strength. Mental intention is the prerequisite, guided qi is the core, and trained power is the result. They are the main standard by which to measure the quality of one’s movements and also the foundation of Taijiquan health and fitness as well as its functionality.