Taijiquan practice requires the two hands to achieve "mutual attraction and mutual connection." From an external perspective, it is the coordination and synchronisation between the two hands. From the aspect of internal strength or the practitioner's personal sensation, it is as if there is a rubber band between the two hands, providing both outward tension and inward pull.
The "mutual attraction and connection" of the two hands play a crucial role in terms of the attack and defence aspects in Taijiquan. The upper limbs are the primary “weapons” for attack and defence, and the hands, being the extremities of the upper limbs, are the "vanguards". Therefore, the quality of the movements of the two hands directly determines the effectiveness of defence and attack.
Hands movements are expressed in three fundamental ways: double-opening, double-closing, and one opening and one closing. Opening movements involve centrifugal force where the hands move outwards away from the body; closing movements involve centripetal force where the hand move inwards towards the body.
Taijiquan movement principle incorporates continuous opening and closing movements from beginning to end. The opening and closing not only apply to the hands but to the entire body. The quality of the opening and closing determines a practitioner’s level of proficiency.
The coordination of the hands in attack and defence follows its own rules and its own unique and logical sequence of movements. By adhering to these rules, the combinations of hand movements (in conjunction with the various requirements of body and foot movements) can evolve into a myriad of techniques and applications, transitioning from “having defined moves to having no defined moves; where every place has no moves yet every place has moves.”
(June 2024)
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