How the internal arts work: Part 2 - Taijiquan
Taijiquan’s "continuing momentum" In Part 1 of this article I discussed the internal arts principle of "preservation of momentum" - ie. converting a fully extended or expanded position into something else. In that Part, I discussed how each of the internal arts has its own principle 1 or preferred method of doing this. “Continuing momentum” is my name for taiji’s method. What is this? Essentially it involves beginning a retraction at the very moment you reach full extension and vice versa. That might sound easy enough. But if you simply “back pedal” after missing a committed haymaker, you will probably be simply reversing momentum - not continuing it. In that circumstance you might well find yourself smack in the middle of your opponent’s counter. If anything, your opponent is relying upon your back pedal (as a predictable, untrained response). So how does taiji address this issue? The answer lies in 5 different, but equally important elements...