Four Fundamental Rules

Four fundamental rules of Taijiquan movements are: "With every turning there must be sinking; With every sinking there must be leading; With every rising there must be falling and; With every settling there must be closing”. 

“With every turning there must be sinking”:  Turning refers to transformation, which should include two aspects: one aspect is the transformation of pace, the other aspect is the change of the centre of gravity. Sinking involves loosening (song), letting go of the tension of the hips so that the body drops. Loosening is the action and sinking is the result.  The purpose is so that power can be generated from the ground, which is a fundamental requirement.  All the power source of Taijiquan practice comes from "pushing off the ground", from which the so-called "crotch strength" (dang jin) develops.  Depending on the direction of the waist, crotch actions either take a “downward arc” or a “downward back arc”.

"With every sinking there must be leading”:  Sinking in this case refers to dropping the waist and hips or relaxing the whole body.  “Leading”  (ling) refers to the hands. As the body sinks the hand must lead (upwards) instead of being allowed to drop. The position of the leading hand is not actually moving the hand, but the hand staying up as the body drops.

“With every rising there must be falling”:  the concept is applied in multiple ways  e.g. with every up there must be down;  with every forward there must be backward etc. The concept facilitates and maintains lower plane stability and should be executed throughout the form. For example, whenever a knee is raised the waist and buttocks drop as the kua relax and the leg rotates downwards into the ground.  The opposing energetic strength stabilises the centre of gravity and the stances will not be erratic and energy will not drift and float.

"With every settling there must be closing": can also be understood as "everything must be brought together". There is an obvious settling at the end of each posture that brings into play all the above requirements. The settling facilitates the commencement of the next posture and ensures the link is smooth and everything is in its optimum place. This is important in the process of unbroken intention, continuous strength, and connected postures.