The Lightness and Heaviness of Energy Circulation (by Peter Tong)

Translated by: 龔振勝

"The root is in the feet. The power is issued through the legs, governed by the waist, and takes shape in the fingers. It flows from the feet through the legs to the waist, all as one continuous energy (其根在腳，發於腿，主宰於腰，形於手指，由腳而腿而腰，總須完整一氣)." This passage from Master Lu-Chan’s Original Text (楊露禪師原文)¹ actually ambiguously presupposes a prerequisite: one must understand the water-like qualities of sinking and rising, as well as the spiral opening and closing principles of the Eight Gates and Five Steps (八門五步).

When the body’s weight sinks and rebounds from the soles of the feet, it moves upward along the path of "feet, legs, waist, back, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fingers." However, this movement is not linear; it operates through a coordinated sequence of spiral openings and closings across the limbs and joints. The energy derives from the sinking of body weight cycles and flows as a unified whole through the water-like sinking and floating and the spiral opening and closing of the Eight Gates and Five Steps, which can be aptly described as "one continuous energy" (完整一氣).

When the opponent applies force to me, my limbs, following the principles of the Eight Gates and Five Steps, naturally spiral open and close, producing the function of "neither disengaging nor resisting" (不丟不頂). The incoming force from the opponent is reduced by 72 degrees of spiral rotation and diminished by a factor of 0.618. The remaining energy is drawn downward, like a water vortex, to my soles. It then rebounds upward through the joints of my limbs, spiraling and expanding the energy by 72 degrees at each step with a factor of 1.618; and this spiraling energy, like a whirlwind, is then applied back to the opponent.

Master Lu-Chan’s Original Text (楊露禪師原文) is the most important classic of Yang-style T'aiChi (楊式太極拳). The text begins with: "Every movement of the body must be light and agile, and all parts must be connected throughout. The energy (氣) should be roused and stirred, and the spirit (神) should be retained inwardly. Allow no deficiencies or excesses, no hollows or protrusions, no interruptions or discontinuities. The root is in the feet. The power is issued through the legs, governed by the waist, and takes shape in the fingers. It flows from the feet through the legs to the waist, all as one continuous energy." (完整一氣).

「一舉動周身俱要輕靈，尤須貫串。氣宜鼓盪，神宜內斂，無使有缺陷處，無使有凸凹處，無使有斷續處。其根在腳，發於腿，主宰於腰，形於手指，由腳而腿而腰，總須完整一氣」。

The human body’s weight is heavy, yet the first sentence of the classic states, "Every movement of the body must be light and agile (一舉動周身俱要輕靈)", "light & agile" (輕靈), not "heavy" (沉重). This is because the "energy" (劤)² in T'aiChi is derived from the sinking and floating of mass (重量「沉-飄」) in a circular harmony(循環一體), starting from heavy mass then changing to an agile energy. Only then can it follow the principles of the Eight Gates and Five Steps to expand and contract, moving in and out in all directions.

Notes：

1、Master Lu-Chan’s Original Text (祿禪師原文) is found in The Art of T'aiChi Ch'üan (《太極拳使用法》) by Yang Cheng-Fu (楊澄甫). The original annotation states: "This is a teaching passed down from Zhang San-Feng of Wu-Dang Mountain (此乃武當山張三峯老師遺論)"

2、In the late Qing Dynasty, martial artist Li, Yi-Yu (李亦畬) wrote the word "energy" (勁) as "劤." This can be found in Li Yi-Yu’s handwritten manuscript of Wang Zong-Yue’s Treatise on T'aiChi Ch'üan (《王宗岳太極拳論》).