| Tai Chi (the Supreme Ultimate), It was born from Wu Chi (No Ultimate). It produces both movement and stillness, It is the mother of Yin and Yang. |
| Once there is movement, there is separation. Once there is stillness, there is unity. There is nothing exaggerated, nor is there anything lacking. |
| Follow the bent and the straight, When the opponent is hard and stiff and I am pliant and soft, this is called Zou (Moving); When I am smooth and the opponent is not, this is called Nian (Adherence); If the opponent's actions are swift, then my response is swift; If his actions are slow then I slowly Sui (Follow) them; Although there are multifarious changes, The principles remain the same. |
| Through practice we gradually come to understand
Jin (Trained Force). From understanding Jin, we can aspire to the highest level of ability, However, we must be diligent over a long period of time, And cannot suddenly become expert. |
| Relax the neck and align the head correctly, The Chi (Vital Energy) sinks to the bottom of the Tan Tian (Region of Vital Heat), Don't lean to either side or forward or back, |
| Suddenly conceal, suddenly reveal, When the left feels heavy then make the left void, When the right feels heavy then make the right distant, When the opponent looks up, I am still higher; When he looks down, I am lower still. When he advances, the distance seems surpassingly long, When he retreats, the distance seems surpassingly short. |
| A feather cannot be added, A fly cannot land, Nobody knows me, I alone know them, A hero thus becomes invincible. |
| Other schools of martial arts are so numerous Although there are external differences, Without exception, they amount to nothing more than the strong bullying the weak; The slow surrendering to the fast; The powerful beating those without power; Slow hands surrendering to fast hands. This is entirely due to innate ability It is not related to trained ability at all. |
| From the sentence, "Four taels (Chinese
ounce) displaces a thousand catties (Chinese pound)." It is evident we do not use force to get the upper hand. When we observe an old man of eighty withstanding the assault of a group of people, How can it be due to speed? |
| Stand like a level scale, Move like a wheel. When the weight is sunk deeply on one side then we can follow, When there is Double Weightedness then our movements will be hindered. You can often see people who have practised their skills for several years, But who still cannot change and turn. This leads to their being entirely regulated by others. They are not aware of their sickness of Double Weightedness. If we wish to be free from this sickness, We must know Yin and Yang. |
| When Nian (Adherence) is simply Zou (Moving), When Zou is simply Nian, When Yin does not depart from Yang, When Yang does not depart from Yin, When Yin and Yang aid one another, When we can say that we understand Jin (Trained Force). |
| After we understand Jin, The more we train, the more expert we become, Silently memorise, study and imitate. Gradually we reach the point where we can do all we wish, Originally it is giving up yourself to follow the opponent, Many err by forsaking what is near to pursue what is far. It is said, "A minute discrepancy leads to an error of one thousand Li (Chinese mile)." The student must carefully discriminate. |