steve

We have never been separate from wuji for an instant. To conceptualize it as something distant or only occurring before birth or after death or at any point in time is misleading, imo. It is independent of time and space and ever-present as the undifferentiated, unmanifest source of all. Taiji and wuji are not separate in time and space, that is a misunderstanding, imo.

This may qualify as one of those unpopular opinions but I think people are more likely to harm themselves with sitting meditation than with standing meditation, both physically and mentally.

Chess warfare! Hikaru tossing Gukesh's king into the audience at a recent match. Truth is, it's more about entertainment than anything else.

I think if we stand simply for the sake of standing, with no expectations or demands on ourselves, there is little risk of harm and it can be a wonderful practice, even for beginners. If we stand to reach some objective, with a certain set of expectations. that is when we tend to cause problems for ourselves. I find standing practice to be a great way to introduce people to meditation. It is less challenging in many ways than seated meditation and has additional physical benefits.

Agreed, in practice we stand for a time before we begin and after we end. My teacher encouraged standing for as long as possible after completing the form, 5 minutes minimum.

I think to define wuji simply as stillness, as opposed to dynamic, whether in practice or ontology, is misleading. Wuji is not “other than” or “opposed” to anything else, it is better expressed as undifferentiated, imo, not static. I certainly allow the body to move if it arises, standing quietly before or after the form or zhan zhuang. Taiji expresses motion vs stillness, their mutual arising both in form and meaning. Wuji embraces and does not favor ANY position relative to any other. All is completed and yet nothing is done.

If you get good at this, I suggest practicing in a small room with a mattress against one wall. If you get displaced by a healthy fajin, a brick wall just won't do...

Yes, that is the best way to learn and practice them in the beginning, and to teach them, one at a time - clear and consistent. Eventually the techniques must come alive, adapt and respond to the circumstances, and one must be able to flow into any other. If you try to use a technique and your opponent neutralizes, you need to adjust and continue without interruption or it's over. This is the nature and part of the utility of tui shou. And the solo forms, 2 person forms, and tui shou drills are an encyclopedia of techniques, combinations, and adaptations waiting to be investigated but it really helps to have a good partner.

Glad you like it. I bought it directly from a Hungarian chess master who designed it. His design was copied by the company in India that produces the majority of the Western world's sets. They never paid him a penny, of course, but for him it is a labor of love.

Understood, me either. I once took some cooking lessons. The chef's dogs were Mexican Hairless... the Xoloitzcuintle Oy!

Yes, I could see the video. Peng does resemble ye ma fen zong and kao does involve the shoulder. If that is your understanding and you want to leave it there, I am happy to accommodate you.

When I first got into running, I read a great book called Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. One assertion the book made is that we are hairless due to natural selection. Our lack of hair and ability to sweat gives us a distinct advantage in hunting over hairy, four legged animals that are much faster. They can run faster but can only lower their temperature through panting so they are forced to periodically stop and rest or they overheat. Humans, on the other hand, can lower temperature through sweating so it is possible for us to keep running for hours, even days, without stopping. As long as we can keep the faster animal in our sight, we will eventually catch them. McDougall postulates this is one reason we have come to dominate other species. The book goes into some interesting territory, including the Raramuri people of Mexico who are amazing runners. One just won an ultra-marathon, in fact, running in traditional sandals and a long skirt with no formal training. Before running the ultra, she walked 14 hours just to get there. https://www.onlygoodnewsdaily.com/post/indigenous-runner-wins-canyon-ultramarathon

Yes, I've studied with two masters (one in Yang and Chen Pan Ling styles, one in Chen style) beginning around 2003, competed in many tournaments, read a few books on the subject, and did some workshops with other masters here and there. I taught for my shifu for about 12 years, mostly taijiquan but also some xingyiquan and qigong. I spent years working through all of the taijiquan forms (solo and two-person) and tui shou techniques we were taught with my training partner and we made all kinds of discoveries about the possible applications of the various postures. I'm not arguing, just sharing my understanding. Ignore my posts if you aren't interested but others may be. If you look a bit more closely at 野马分鬃 (meaning practice the movement and the possible applications, preferably with a partner) you will find it contains many possibilities - 靠 and 挒 are both implied in the posture, as is 掤 of course. With a little imagination, and depending on the opponent and type of attack, there are other possibilities, such as 捋, 采, and 肘. It's good to start with the basic posture and a single intention. Over time it is good to be open minded and creative and look for all possibilities. Every technique has obvious, hidden, and secret applications just waiting to be discovered by a dedicated student. My teacher would show one or two and expect us to discover what we can through diligent practice. The best students would be rewarded through their hard work and investigation, shifu didn't just spoon feed us.

I'll have to disagree here. 野马分鬃 is an example of a specific technique making use of 掤勁 but the two are not exactly equivalent. There are many ways to use 掤勁 that are not 野马分鬃. In addition, 野马分鬃 is not limited to 掤勁 and can also express 挒勁 or 靠勁 among others.

Don't mistake the external appearance for the internal 勁. By internal, I do not mean anything that is woo-woo or unmeasurable. Internal can simply refer to all of the things that are happening in the mind/body, the physics and anatomy, that combine to generate the resulting force/strength that is not necessarily visible to the eye. It is easy and convenient to describe techniques by their external appearance but that does not capture the essence of the 勁. Anyone can hold their forearm up and push it outward - that is not the 勁, it is not 掤. 掤 is the force or strength that results from a particular and precise way of using the mind/body. None of the eight methods are limited to a particular posture, direction, or body part, they describe energetics that are very flexible and lend themselves to infinite variations once understood.