Yung Ch'uan | Chan Kung | Chi: Intrinsic energy | chan, Lien, Tieh, Sui, Pu tiu pu ting | Ch'i Hai | Ch'ien Po, Ts'ai, Chou | Chin, T'ui, Ku, Pan, Ting | Ching | Ching Shen | Chung Ting | Fa Chin | Grasp Sparrow's Tail | Hu K'ou | I (pronounced like the letter E ) | Jen Mai | Lao Kung | Liang I | Lieh | Ming Men | Ni Wan | Pa Kua | Shen | Sixty-Four Hexagrams | Three Gates | Sze Hsiang | T'I Chin | T'I Ho | Ting Chin | Tu Mai | Tung Chin

Yung Ch'uan: Bubbling Well
The forward middle -center of the under-pad of the foot at the apex of the big toe joint and front pad supporting the toes.

Chan Kung:
Standing meditation practices help develop the root, legs, chi, mind, and spirit. The outside of the body is still and the inside is active. The standing Universal Post meditation practice from Kuang P'ing Yang Tai Chi Chuan is based upon the feet standing on the corners of a square. Two corners unseen and two seen with the heel of one foot at one corner (substantial weight) and the toe of the other at an opposite upper corner (insubstantial weight)-approximate eight inch separation or two thirds of a foot length. This is an expression of Spiritual square energy rooted in the legs which are earth bound. Spiritual energy is developed as partly visible (definitive form) and partly invisible (infinite form)-thus, the square.
The two arms are rounded and held out at chest level. The arm on the same side as the leg with insubstantial weight is four inches farther extended than the arm on the substantially weighted side of the body. The hands are open and natural with a spread of four inches between the hands. The two circular arms create the rounded energy of the earth as it comes to reside in the upper part of the body which is heavenly bound and rooted in conscience perception. The difference in arm extension forms two opposing spirals, one outer and one inner, that move heavenly energy through the body like the connections between positive and negative polls of electricity. With the head uplifted and the eyes 'looking far', one becomes open to the energies of the Universe. This standing meditation is switched from one side to the other. One may stand for short or long duration (two hours). Twenty to thirty minutes on each leg may be considered a completed round. Build up the duration of standing on one leg slowly, bit by bit, so that you don't wear yourself out with resistance.

Chi: Intrinsic energy
One is born with or receives from one's parents pre-natal Chi. One begins to consume this chi after birth unsubstantially replacing this with chi derived from food and air=post-natal Chi. Any and all metabolic or psycho-spiritual transformation of energy may be characterized as Chi[8]. This concept has, also, been covered in the body of the text.

Chan, Lien, Tieh, Sui, Pu tiu pu ting:
This refers to the sticking aspect or adherence in T'ai Chi Ch'uan. Chan and lien are vertical adhering movements, lifting from above supporting from below, respectively. T'ieh is adherence in horizontal motion, and sui is adherence from the rear. Pu tiu pu ting means neither to lose the adherence nor to resist.

Ch'i Hai:Sea of ch'i or tan t'ien
Located in the abdomen, this point is critical for the development of the ch'i. It corresponds to the sixth point on the jen channel of the body.

Ch'ien Po, Ts'ai, Chou:
Lead, parry, pull, and elbow are four techniques within the Rollback posture.
One of the main objectives of T'ai Chi Ch'uan is the development of chin or internal force. Chin is contrasted with li, which refers to muscular contraction and release. Chin is said to generate it's power from the sinews rather than from the muscles binding together and striking with the bones. Chin is developed through circular changes while the flexations of li follow straight lines.

Chin, T'ui, Ku, Pan, Ting:
These are some of the original thirteen postures of T'ai Chi Ch'uan and translatable as: step forward, step back, look left, look right, and central equilibrium.

Ching:
This refers to the seminal essence developed from the kidney ch'i of the body.

Ching Shen:
Spirit-having almost exactly the same connotations as in English.

Chung Ting:
Central Equilibrium, see ... chin, t'ui, ku, pan, ting. It means being centrally balanced and firmly rooted.

Fa Chin (Fa Shing-in the text):
To release the internal force (chin).

Grasp Sparrow's Tail:
A series of four postures (Ward-off, Roll back, Press, Push) which form the basis of the solo movements.

Hu K'ou:
Tiger's mouth-the space located between the index finger and the thumb of the hand.

I (pronounced like the letter E ):
Mind. I and Ch'i are separate concepts but are almost inseparable in function. One of the objectives of T'ai Chi Ch'uan is to make the ch'i, or breath-energy, follow the dictates of the I through an initial sinking of the ch'i to the tan t'ien.

Jen Mai:
The jen mai is sometimes referred to as the conception vessel in traditional Chinese medicine and corresponds to the midline traveling up the front of the body. It is classified as one of the extra meridians of the body.

Lao Kung:
This refers to the eighth point on the pericardium meridian which is located on the middle of the palm of the hand. It is an important junction for the ch'i to pass through before it travels to the fingers.

Liang I:
Two Primordial Powers, I.e., Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang (the cosmological forces creating all things). The Liang I evolved from T'ai Chi and is symbolized in the Book of Changes by a broken, then an unbroken line. From these representations the Sze Hsiang evolved and then the eight trigrams. (See: Pa Kua and Sze Hsiang.)

Lieh:
This is one of the basic thirteen postures of the T'ai Chi Ch'uan movements-striking the opponent with an open palm.

Ming Men:
this is an acupuncture point located between the third and fourth lumbar vertebrae of the spine and closely associated with the prenatal kidney ch'i.

Ni Wan:
A point located on the midline at the top of the head.

Pa Kua:
Literally, eight trigrams. The trigrams consist of all the combinations of broken and unbroken lines (binary system) in three positions, as follows: (look these trigrams up in the I Ching)

Ch'ien=three solid lines one above the other

Kun=three broken lines one above the other

K'an=one broken on top of a solid line followed by a broken line

Li=one solid line on top of a broken line followed by a solid line

Chen=one broken line followed by a broken line on top of a solid line

Sun=one solid line followed by a broken line on top of a broken line

Tui=one broken line followed by a solid line on top of a solid line

Shen: Spirit.
See ... ching shen.

Sixty-Four Hexagrams:
These are the various pairings of the eight trigrams which represent the coming together of Heaven and Earth, or the Yin and Yang, as they interact and affect human affairs. Refer to the Book of Changes (I Ching).

Three Gates:
These refer to the sacral and occipital regions and the top of the head, the three areas of the body which correspond to the Western parasympathetic nerves and through which the Ch'i must circulate in order for the practitioner to achieve the highest levels of practice in T'ai Chi Ch'uan.

Sze Hsiang:
Four Manifestations. Four diagrams denoting the evolution of the cosmos from Yin and Yang to the eight trigrams. They are described as:

T'ai Yin (great Yin)= two broken lines one over the other

Hsiao Yang (small Yang)=a broken line over a solid line

Hsiao Yin (small Yin)=a solid line over a broken line

T'ai Yang (great Yang)= two solid lines one over the other

T'I Chin:
Uprooting strength.

T'I Ho:
Raise and bring together.

Ting Chin:
This is the ability to be rooted and immovable as opposed to being hard and resistant to the opponent's attack.

T'ing Chin:
Listening to the opponent's strength.

Tu Mai:
One of those classified among the Eight Extra Meridians of the body, it travels up the midline of the back, the back of the head, to the top of the head, and down the front of the face to the upper lip.

Tung Chin:
nterpreting the opponent's strength. This represents one of the most refined levels of push-hands practice. The practitioner at this level must be able to distinguish between the real or the feint; the solid or the hollow; the big or the little; the longer reach or the shorter; the rigid or the pliable; and the differentiation of 'inner pliable strength' and 'outer rigid force'.


 

GLOSSARY of COMMON TERMS
Common terms use in the art of Tai Chi Chuan. Quoted material is adapted from the Tai chi Ch'uan Ta Wen.