October has been another busy and challenging month for me. Preparing and helping deliver a Taijiquan coach training, together with other event, took more time and energy than I could comfortably manage. I am especially grateful to Linda, Karen, Mikayla, Chelsey, and everyone who helped keep our club sessions running. Your willingness to step in allowed our friends to continue learning and practicing together. Thank you for sharing the work and caring for our community.
One thing I would like to bring back from that work is a practical summary of Tai Chi fundamentals. I developed these materials for coach education, but the knowledge belongs in every practitioner’s toolbox. You do not need to be a coach or competitor to benefit from understanding the shapes you make, the steps you take, and how your body works together.
We have already explored warm-ups and forward Tai Chi walking. This month, let us connect those lessons to the basic stances and the other building blocks that appear throughout our hand and weapon forms. I will make a video when I have time to do so.
1. Stance and stepping: two related ideas
Bu xing (步型) refers to the configuration of a stance: how the legs and feet are arranged and how the body is supported. Bu fa (步法) refers to stepping methods: how the feet move and how you transfer your weight.
A stance is a useful position to study, but a form is not simply a collection of poses. The transition into and out of each position deserves just as much attention. Learn the recognizable shape, understand its support, and then practice connecting it to the next movement.
2. Five basic stances
The following five stances appear together in our training material. They are a foundation for study, rather than an exhaustive list of every stance used across Tai Chi styles. Stance depth and weight distribution should suit the routine, your ability, and your practice goals.
Bow stance · Gong bu · 弓步
The front knee bends while the rear leg extends, with the torso upright. The front leg carries more of the weight, while the rear leg continues to provide support. You will recognize this position in movements such as Parting the Wild Horse’s Mane and Brush Knee and Push.
Practice focus: establish your foot placement, then transfer weight with control. Keep the front knee following the direction of the foot and avoid leaning the torso forward to make the stance appear longer. The rear leg extends without being forced into a locked position.
Common mistake: reaching too far with the stepping foot, then pulling the body into place. Choose a step length that lets you settle into the stance smoothly.
Horse stance · Ma bu · 马步
The feet are apart to either side, the knees bend in line with the toes, and the weight remains centered and controlled. Think of the two legs working together to support the torso.
Practice focus: lower only as far as you can maintain alignment and control. Keep the torso supported rather than folding forward. When studying a centered horse stance, notice whether you are unintentionally favoring one leg.
Common mistake: spreading the feet wider or sinking lower than you can comfortably control. Width and depth are not the same as quality.
Empty stance · Xu bu · 虚步
Most of the weight rests on the rear leg, while the front foot touches lightly. The front contact may be through the forefoot or heel, depending on the movement. White Crane Spreads Its Wings and Strum the Pipa provide familiar examples of different front-foot contacts.
Practice focus: distinguish the supporting leg from the lightly touching foot. The front foot should not secretly carry a large share of your weight. Keep the torso upright as you settle onto the rear leg.
Common mistake: leaning backward to create the appearance of sitting back. Shift the body’s support instead of tipping the upper body.
Crouching stance · Pu bu · 仆步
One leg bends deeply while the other extends. This stance appears in low movements such as the lower portion of Snake Creeps Down.
Practice focus: lower and rise with control. The illustrated standard is a deep position; use a higher, smaller version when necessary to preserve balance and alignment. Develop the range gradually.
Common mistake: chasing the low position by collapsing the torso or forcing the legs farther apart. A controlled adaptation is more useful than copying a depth you cannot manage.
Cross-legged crouching stance · Xie bu · 歇步
The legs cross and the hips lower with balance and control. This is a distinct stance, rather than simply a passing crossed step. In the 42-movement hand form, Cross Stance, Grab and Punch (歇步擒打) gives an example.
Practice focus: understand the foot arrangement before lowering. Maintain a controlled center and use only the depth you can enter and leave smoothly.
Common mistake: twisting into the crossed position or dropping down without a controlled way to rise. Begin with the arrangement at a comfortable height.What about standing on one leg? Your training material also discusses the single-knee-raised position under leg techniques. It is another important practice position: stabilize the supporting leg and center before increasing the height of the lifted knee. Competition height requirements are not a target every community practitioner needs to meet.
3. How we move between stances
The training material summarizes good stepping as light, stable, clear in empty and full, and continuous. A useful sequence is: establish support, release the moving foot, place it with control, and transfer weight clearly. The precise timing depends on the movement.
| Stepping method | What the feet do |
|---|---|
| Step forward · 上步 | The rear foot steps forward, or the front foot advances half a step. |
| Step backward · 退步 | The front foot steps backward one step. |
| Withdraw half-step · 撤步 | A foot withdraws backward half a step. |
| Advance · 进步 | The feet move forward successively, one step each. |
| Follow step · 跟步 | The rear foot follows forward half a step. |
| Side step · 侧行步 | The feet remain parallel and move sideways successively. |
| Cover step · 盖步 | One foot crosses in front of the supporting foot and lands diagonally forward. |
| Cross-behind step · 插步 | One foot crosses behind the supporting foot and lands diagonally backward. |
Practice one method on its own before adding the hands. Notice unnecessary bouncing, rushed foot placement, or a loss of balance. Then reconnect the step to a familiar movement. Your goal is to understand how your center moves, as well as where your foot lands.
4. Three hand shapes: clear without stiffness
- Fist · Quan · 拳: held gently, with space in the palm rather than a tight squeeze.
- Palm · Zhang · 掌: fingers naturally separated and slightly curved.
- Hook · Gou · 勾: fingertips gathered, with the wrist flexed without force.
These shapes should be recognizable without making the whole arm tense. For example, forming the hook in Single Whip should not cause the shoulder to rise or the elbow to lock. Check the hand, then notice what happened to the wrist, elbow, and shoulder.
5. A posture check from head to chest
The posture section of the training material provides five straightforward checkpoints:
- Head: upright, with the crown gently lifted; avoid tilting or swaying.
- Neck: naturally upright, without unnecessary tension.
- Shoulders: relaxed and settled; avoid shrugging, hunching forward, or pulling them back.
- Elbows: naturally lowered with a slight bend; avoid locking or holding them outward.
- Chest: relaxed and gently contained; avoid puffing it out or deliberately collapsing inward.
This is one practical meaning of song (松): release unnecessary tension while keeping alignment and support. Relaxation does not mean letting the body fall out of shape.
6. Let the eyes, body, and hands work together
Keep attention focused and expression natural. At the completion of a movement, the gaze may be forward or toward the hands, according to the technique. During transitions, coordinate the eyes with the hands and body rather than staring at the floor or mechanically following every finger movement.
In Cloud Hands, for example, the training material emphasizes the waist leading the arms while the center remains steady. In Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail, weight changes, body turning, hands, and stepping should work together. The arms should not do all the work while the torso and legs remain disconnected.
7. Breathing: learn the movement, then find its rhythm
Begin with natural breathing while learning the movement. As it becomes familiar, notice its opening and closing, rising and settling, and storing and releasing. Simple breathing cues can then be introduced at clear points.
The important point is progression. Do not hold your breath, force deeper breaths, or try to assign a rigid breathing pattern to every small action. Comfortable breathing and controlled movement come first; coordination develops through practice.
A small assignment for your next practice
Choose one familiar movement, such as Parting the Wild Horse’s Mane. Identify the final stance, check your foot placement, and observe how you transfer weight into it. Then check the hand shape, shoulders, elbows, and gaze. Finally, repeat the whole movement with natural breathing.
Work on one detail at a time. Once you understand it, let it become part of the whole movement again. Fundamentals become valuable when they improve the form you actually practice.
A little music to finish
That is plenty of technical detail for one month! To balance our study with something to enjoy, I would also like to share the new 古风 (gu feng) music videos on our channel. Gu feng music draws on traditional Chinese sounds and imagery, creating an atmosphere that many of us enjoy alongside Tai Chi.
Take a break from studying the stances, enjoy the music and videos, and return to your practice refreshed. Learning can take concentration, but there should always be room for pleasure, too.
Thank you again to everyone who helped our club this month, and to all of you who keep showing up, learning, and sharing the joy of Tai Chi.