Peasant Talk

Wuji — Knowing How To Strike!

太極者。無極⽽⽣。陰陽之母也。 Taiji is born of Wuji, and is the mother of yin and yang.

Thus begins the Taiji Boxing Classic of Wang Zongyue of Shanxi!

To discuss Wuji and what it means in-depth alone can take up volumes of words. It is not the stated purpose here. Suffice to say that movement is born out of stillness, where it becomes distinguishable and when it returns back to stillness, it is indistinguishable. In-between stillness and movement there exists a moment — a moment in which creation sparks and movement begins, and once begun it continues to transform and change into an evolution of ideas, forms, and thoughts powered by the engine of the active and passive aspects!

It is stated in Eastern thought that the ‘secret’ to any art is given to the student on day one and from hereon it is a case of the student studying diligently to realise this simple truth, and once understood — the tools of ‘mastery’ are already at their beck and call!

In modern martial arts, many practitioners are resorting to striking wearing MMA type gloves and taping their hands like boxers in training — this includes Taiji practitioners purportedly teaching the fighting elements of the art!

If you are having to resort to wearing gloves or wrapping the hands, a simple fact emerges… you don’t understand how to strike with the bare hands safely!

In Taijiquan, striking correctly and with the right part of the hands — whether close or open — is inherent in understanding Wuji. Right from the word go, Wuji teaches us not only how to strike but also the correct angle of strike. Sadly over the years, as Taiji has become more and more diluted and moved into the so-called health arts, this has been understood less and less!

In the Old Yang Style of Taijiquan, from the lineage of Yang Shaohou, we are taught these skills right from the very start.

Virtually all the modern forms raise the hands flat and ‘dead,’ i.e. there is no exchange of yin to yang and vice versa throughout the entirety of the motion. Further, there is no separation of left and right, and thereby, no distinction between the active and passive components between the feet, waist and hands.

Whilst these components are difficult to show here on paper, especially the circling between the heels and the balls of the feet, the images over the next couple of pages show the basic inward and outward reel of the wrists in Wuji and how this translates into strikes.

The aim here is not to spoon-feed the student — the aim is to provide the student food for thought! Something which will hopefully trigger further study into the shapes and movements of strikes throughout the Taiji form.

Above is the standard opening movement of most modified styles with slight variations [the bending of the knees has been omitted in order to keep the focus on the hands in this article, and does not occur in Wuji]. The hands simply move up and down [sometimes circling backwards as if drawing a ‘Taiji’ ball], where the complete change of state — if any — usually occurs at the beginning of the movement not gradually changing throughout.

Below, we see the opening sequence of Wuji from the Old Yang style from the line of Yang Shao-hou.

As I have already stated above, the separation of yin yang in the hands and the circling of the feet has been deliberately omitted for the sake of simplicity. The movements have been exaggerated for clarity into a more ‘square’ version. However, note how the wrists gradually change state and roll inwards on the way up — peaking at shoulder height — and then roll outwards as the state change is gradually reversed on the way down [making an inverse ‘teardrop’ shape]. It is here in this range of motion where we are taught the full range of dynamics of how to strike and which part of the hand to use.

The rules are simple, never strike bone on bone. Fists and knuckles are for the soft areas and the hollows, and open palms for the hard areas, thus preserving the integrity of the structure of the hand and prevent breakages!

Below are a handful of simple examples: