tablished. The earth’s energy/force is then transmitted up through a point
in the center bottom of the foot just behind the ball joint of the third toe,
a point called the yong quan(bubbling well). Root is established by taking
on the configuration of a triangle with its base on the ground; thus, the em-
phasis turns to developing the lower extremities, especially the thigh mus-
cles. This is as opposed to external styles, where there is more emphasis on
developing strength and power in the upper body.
Though relaxing/sinking into a leg (a yin activity) may appear pas-
sive, it illustrates paradoxical concepts and realities working in conjunc-
tion with one another, so very typical of taijiquan, which has its origins in
mystical Daoism. Sinking or relaxing into the leg is a physical metaphor of
the spiritual concept of “action without action,” wuwei.Though there is
no active muscle contraction when the player relaxes into the leg, the mus-
cles of the leg are contracting on their own in a balanced and natural fash-
ion, without conscious intent. Wuxin(no mind) is a core principle of all
martial arts. The yin activity of sinking is counterbalanced by the yang ac-
tivity of suspending the head. The result is stability elicited by the top of
the spine being pulled up (to heaven) and the bottom of the spine pulled
down (by the earth’s gravity). The spine then serves as an individual’s axis
being pulled from above and from below, and from which all actions and
forces emanate.
The peng (ward-off) energy of taijiquan is construed by some as the
most basic of all of the energies in the martial art, giving taijiquan its char-
acter. Peng energy distinguishes taijiquan from all of the martial arts in the
external school. Master Hong Junsheng, a Chen stylist, states, “Taiji
(Quan) is Peng Force” (Wu 2001). Taijiquan, contrasted to the external
styles of martial art, is notable for its softness and roundness rather than a
hard and linear character. Peng energy is expansive and round (like an in-
flating sphere), spiraling up from the ground. The energy spiraling up from
the ground is accomplished by compressing into the yin leg, followed by
decompressing the leg, as in the case of a wound-up spring being released.
The energy is then transmitted, with the skeleton and its ligaments and
joints serving as the conduit for the energy. It is the slight concavity of the
chest with the upper back slightly rounded, along with the opening of the
joints in the upper extremities, that gives the taijiquan player the sense of
holding an expanding sphere. If someone were to push on or place the arms
around someone exhibiting peng force, there would be the sense of con-
tacting an inflated rubber ball. This force serves to deflect or bounce off in-
coming force. This is the nature of peng.
In Daoism, it is said that from the wuji (Void) comes the One mani-
fested creation—Taiji. The One begets the Two (yin and yang), and the
Two beget the Three. From the Three come the Ten Thousand Things, the
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