Today marks the first International Day of Taijiquan. To commemorate the occasion, I will share some of the ways my taijiquan practice has deepened over the past year.
The New Frame
In the past year, I have added the New Frame (xinjia) routines to my practice. The New Frame has some differences which are designed to make martial applications present in the Old Frame (laojia) more clear. My New Frame routines are still rough around the edges, but they are feeling more at home in my body and my fajin is feeling more integrated as a result.
Push-Hands
For several years, my push-hands (tuishou) practice has been lacking due to a combination of several factors. That has fortunately changed within the past few months. One of my key recent developments in this practice has been realizing that I needed to be much more soft than I was previously in order to truly gauge another’s intent and balance while disguising my own.
Using the Ground
In the past year, I’ve had a break-through in my fajin practice. When striking, my shoulders and neck were still too tight. I finally figured out that focusing more of my intent into the ground when striking helped to find the proper pathways for lines of force that didn’t result in as much “leakage”.
A Lively Sword
I’ve been working on achieving the proper characteristic for my sword (jian) routine, so I’ve been aiming to make the sword more lively. This has mostly involved adjusting some of the transitions between movements and shifting the grip in a different way during other moments. It took some getting used to, but my sword routine has improved as a result.
Regulating Qi
Ever since I did a workshop with Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei in the summer of 2024 on the Old Frame Second/Cannon Fist Routine, I’ve been more conscious about the need to do some qi regulating movements following fajin practice. Doing so consistently as I’ve added the New Frame to my practice has kept my breath capacity and regulation at a much better level than it had been previously so I can now run through several routines without losing my breath.
Beginning to Teach
I have long hoped to become a taijiquan instructor. I love practicing taijquan and want to share my love of it with others. There are relatively few things I feel I could or should teach, but taijiquan is one of the few exceptions where I may be able to help others along the path. I also definitely want to teach any of my future children or romantic partners who may be interested, so getting more formal teaching experience would help in that eventual future. Finally, I am aware that teaching taijiquan can provide insights and key learnings for the teacher as well.
In the past few months, I’ve taught 3 “Intro to Taijiquan” workshops to faith communities I have connections with. These were all relatively low-stakes ways to gain some formal teaching experience that have provided me with some key takeaways and have been appreciated by the attendees, hopefully giving them some takeaways as well.
Looking Forward
I graduated from my Master’s of Theological Studies this past year. In my studies, taijiquan was immensely helpful. My taijiquan practice helped me to stay embodied despite the heavy cognitive demand of theological reflection. Lessons from my taijiquan practice also often had several areas of overlap that provided key insights when I was in class discussions, doing readings, or writing papers. When I graduated I had several ideas about what I wanted to do with my degree and I have come to the realization that my ambitions were too broad and required some focusing.
As I go into the next year, I’m hoping to have more opportunities for formal taijiquan instruction, especially in faith communities and non-profit organizations. Christian faith communities often struggle with embodiment so I see taijiquan as a potent corrective for that lack. Non-profits often struggle with burnout and again, taijiquan offers an accessible practice to mitigate that.
I am now doing approximately 2 hours of taijiquan practice daily, in addition to attending in-person classes once a week, and virtual class offerings occasionally. I plan to continue that frequency over the next year and maybe even increase the frequency of virtual classes that I attend or review. This steady, consistent practice is oft-cited as a key to reaching deeper levels of taijiquan skill and this has certainly been the case for me.
I wish everyone reading this a very happy International Day of Taijiquan and wish you all the best in your taijiquan practice, wherever you are on that path.
The Dreamers' Corner 