„Swimming in air“ – practitioners of Cheng Man Ching Tai Chi know this expression as a description of Tai Chi form practice.
Taiji Forum Compilation
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Fight or Flight: Tai Chi’s general attitude; or, a ‘Walk or Talk’ mode.
Cheng Man Ching’s Tai Chi System is praised by some as a corner stone of Tai Chi’s reinvention in the modern age.
We may consider the following errors ‘invitations’ to cut or thrust.
Professor Cheng said, “While doing the form the Tassel should always be dancing.”
The Sword Fingers are used as a balance to the sword hand and to round out the posture, as in “Raise Hands”.
Ken van Sickle is famous for his swordplay & his photographs of Cheng Man Ching
As we do the sword form, and as we fence, we must take care to move the sword as its nature requires.
We grip the handle the way a baby holds our finger; the fist is firm, but the arm is relaxed.
Tai Chi principles lead us to moving the point by moving our grip / hand in the opposite direction, leaving the centre of the ‘stick’ relatively still like a lever, with little wrist strength required.