Misson Statement
My task is to make Taijiquan learnable as a modern discipline,
and usable as an art that extends beyond martial contexts
into the broader spectrum of human life.
This site presents the Taijiquan Framework detailed in the book
Mastering Taijiquan in the Modern Age.
It serves as a structured gateway to the ideas, principles, and methods introduced in the book, and as a platform for their continued extension, and application.
Problem Statement
Why does Taijiquan remain elusive for so many practitioners?
For many practitioners, even after ten, twenty, or a lifetime of Taijiquan practice, the art remains like a dark tunnel: the light at its ancient end appears so distant that it seems unreachable within a single human lifespan.
In contrast, when studying a modern discipline, learners usually know at any given moment what they are learning, where they are, and what they may reasonably achieve after a certain period of time.
Where the difficulty truly lies
The mystery of Taijiquan does not reside in its nature or its mechanisms. Rather, it lies in how the art has been interpreted and presented.
Metaphysical terminology, claims of invisible or transcendental experience, and visual illusions produced by counter-movements constitute three major obstacles that prevent most practitioners from truly observing and understanding Taijiquan.
A missing historical perspective
In addition, the lack of historical and realistic analysis of the environment in which Taijiquan originated and evolved has further obscured its true position and value.
Without understanding the human, social, and practical conditions of its formation, later interpretations tend to drift toward myth rather than mechanism.
A modern point of entry
Despite the passage of time, we are not severed from the past. By examining the common nature of human beings—physically, psychologically, and historically—we can establish a meaningful connection with ancient thinkers and practitioners.
From this perspective, modern education, reasoning, logic, and accumulated knowledge are not impediment to understanding Taijiquan. On the contrary, they provide new perspectives that allow us to study Taijiquan as a modern discipline—systematically, efficiently, and in a way that supports continuous and meaningful inquiry.
What This Site Is
A modern point of entry
This site is an attempt to address the obstacles described above by approaching Taijiquan as a modern, observable, and systematically studied discipline.
It is developed in parallel with, and draws directly from, the book Mastering Taijiquan in the Modern Age, which presents the same framework in full detail, together with extended discussion, examples, and applications. The site does not replicate the book, but instead makes its underlying structure visible and accessible.
Rather than treating Taijiquan as a collection of forms or inherited interpretations, both the site and the book begin with a working definition. As a discipline, Taijiquan concerns the interplay between the human mind, body, and movement.
Taijiquan and Taijiquan Form
From this perspective, Taijiquan does not refer primarily to what can be seen from the outside or measured directly by instruments. The object of study is a connection that emerges only under certain conditions and only through experience.
Taijiquan Form—often taken to be Taijiquan itself—serves as a training tool. Its role is to awaken and amplify the interaction between mind and body so that the underlying mechanisms can be observed, examined, and gradually applied to movement in daily life. This distinction is discussed at length in the book and summarized here to orient readers to the site’s structure.
Once this distinction is made, questions about origins naturally shift. Instead of focusing on who created a particular form, attention turns to when and how this type of human interplay was first noticed and explored, reducing many long-standing disputes surrounding lineage.
The framework presented on this site
The site organizes its content through a layered framework distilled from the book. Each layer addresses a different aspect of observation, understanding, and practice:
- Core concepts: Yi, Jin, and Relaxation, defined in ways that are perceivable and demonstrable
- Muscle group states: how different muscle groups behave when guided by Yi
- Physical rules: a small set of physical principles governing body movement
- Integration and Synchronization: the use and optimization of these physical rules when interacting with external power
- Philosophical implications: how these embodied observations relate to ideas commonly associated with Dao and Zen, and how they remain relevant to everyday social life
Each layer is treated independently on this site, while their full integration is developed more comprehensively in the book.
Practice and inquiry
In addition to conceptual discussion, the framework includes practical paths for different readers.
One path outlines a six-phase training guideline intended for traditional practitioners. Another is designed for researcher-practitioners, who use their own bodies as experimental grounds in order to gain firsthand, observable experience of Taijiquan. Both approaches are presented in greater depth in Mastering Taijiquan in the Modern Age, with the site serving as a navigational and conceptual reference.
How the Site Works
This site is organized to allow readers to approach Taijiquan in a structured and non-linear way, depending on their background and interests.
- Concept hubs: The core ideas of the framework are presented through a set of concept hubs. Each hub focuses on a single theme and provides definitions, observations, and references that can be explored independently.
- Structured exploration: While the framework itself is layered, readers are not required to follow a fixed sequence. The site is designed to support gradual exploration, allowing connections between concepts to emerge naturally over time.
- Relationship to the book: The site and the book serve complementary roles. The site makes the structure of the framework visible and navigable, while Mastering Taijiquan in the Modern Age develops the same ideas in full detail, with extended discussion and application.
Reader Positioning
If you are here, you are already somewhere on this map.
Some readers may be encountering Taijiquan for the first time, while others may have practiced for many years. Rather than sorting readers by background or experience, this site treats every encounter as a point of orientation.
The purpose of the site is not to prescribe a single path, but to help readers identify where they are, understand what lies around them, and consider possible directions for further exploration and practice.
Taijiquan Framework 