Guided observation
Observation provides another pathway for deepening and broadening understanding. In this framework, direct observation, observation-based analogy, and comparison play key roles in presenting Taijiquan’s principles.
1. Analogy
Analogy uses familiar phenomena to clarify abstract ideas.
Example: Jin Is Faster
Jin is immediately available and requires little preparatory effort, making it faster and more efficient than conventional muscular strength.
This difference is analogous to:
- Jin is like cash: instantly spendable. Brute strength is like other assets: effective only after they’ve been liquidated.
- Jin is like data in memory (RAM): instantly accessible. Brute strength is like data on a hard drive: requiring time to retrieve and activate.
This immediacy allows a practitioner to act before an opponent fully deploys force.
Example: Jin Is More Controllable
Jin is part of muscular strength, but it is far more controllable than brute force. Imagine raw power as a bullet, and Jin as a missile:
- A bullet, once fired, follows a fixed trajectory—you cannot alter its speed or direction mid-flight.
- A missile allows for course corrections, adjusting trajectory and energy deployment after launch.
2. Comparison
Comparison reveals the universal relevance of Taijiquan principles by relating them to seemingly unrelated phenomena.
Example: Wave Movement
When the ocean floor shifts, it triggers movement in deep water, which in turn generates waves that carry everything in their path—like logs rushing toward shore. Once the earth’s tremor ceases, gravity restores the ocean to a flat surface. A similar principle applies to movement in Taijiquan.
When the legs, like the seabed, initiate movement, the body, like deep water, follows, then the arms and hands—acting like waves—respond in sequence, one after another. The power generated at the base travels all the way to the hands, allowing them to push everything in their path with force originating from the bottom.
When the legs return to their original position, gravity pulls the body back, naturally bringing the arms and hands along with it. This continuous flow explains why Taijiquan moves like a wave—each wave following another in succession.
Example: Yin-Yang Interplay
The interplay of Yin and Yang appears in nature and society alike. Take price fluctuations: two opposing forces are always in play. Yang pushes prices upward; Yin holds them down. As prices rise, Yang dominates for a time, but it simultaneously nourishes Yin—demand weakens in response, applying downward pressure.
Taijiquan Framework 