Tai chi abounds with cryptic, mystical statements that circle around back on themselves. At first, they seem incomprehensible, but they are intended to be instructive to us and help us along the way to improving our tai chi practice. Most of them allude to tai chi concepts that, once grasped, promise to improve our understanding, form, and life in general. As an example and to keep the conversation light-hearted, let’s begin with a few pieces of sage advice from the famed philosopher Lao Tzu:
“If you would take, you must first give, this is the beginning of intelligence.“
“Those who know do not speak. Those that speak do not know.”
“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”
“Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy.”
And my favorite that sums up the often frustrating nature of age-old wisdom: “The words of truth are always paradoxical.”
All clear now? I didn’t think so either.
Tai chi concepts use philosophy, physics, theory, and metaphor to describe ideas that enable a person to progress faster in tai chi. Many instructions are difficult to understand because they involve foreign ideas and are tying external movements with internal feelings and thought patterns. Tai chi concepts are ideas that are intended to make teaching more clear.
While tai chi is notorious for looping language it also gets credit for creating actual, physical activities that let you experience the concept to gain a personal understanding. Let’s be fair to the sages and trust that they experienced something monumental but struggled in finding the words to share their ideas. Luckily, they also gave us the tai chi form so we can get out of our head, roll up our sleeves, and get to work. Two clear tai chi concepts that help us understand what we are doing in the form is the idea of Hsu – Shih or Substantial – Insubstantial.
Hsu – Shih or Insubstantial – Substantial
The tai chi concepts of Hsu and Shih offer us a way to grasp some of tai chi’s more complex ideas simply by practicing the form. Typical new practitioners focus on the dominant hand or foot that is completing the most obvious action like a push, punch, or step. Hsu-Shih invites us to always be considering the unweighted leg, the rear hand, and the directions we are turning away from. From a strictly aesthetic perspective, it’s this consideration of the entire body that makes tai chi so beautiful. From a mental perspective, it creates continual global awareness. And from a personal and philosophical perspective it asks us to consider every aspect of a job, interaction, or conversation rather than just the part we are most interested in, worried about, or focused on. In essence, to practice Hsu-Shih is to practice balance.
Shih; (pronounced similar to “she”) substantial, solid, positive, measured, and careful.
Hsu; (pronounced somewhere between “Sue”and “Shoe”) negative, lively, spirited, flexible, and easy moving.
Let’s start with the lower body because that is easy. If you have your weight on your right leg it is solid, not really moveable, and intent on supporting you (Shih). Your empty leg can step, kick, or be kicked (Hsu). Normally the moving leg gets all the attention while the planted leg does the dirty work. But BINGO! It shouldn’t be this way. In tai chi you should be concentrating on keeping a strong stance AND what to do with your empty leg. This is Hsu/Shih; taking both into account at the same time. Direct your mind to make the stable leg more stable and the light leg lighter. Don’t favor.
Hang with me while we visit the upper body. Whichever body part you are thinking about is positive (Shih) because it has your intention. Do not perform a stance without focusing on one of your hands. If you are performing a move, put your mind on the part. For example, when you are punching, put your eyes and your mind on your fist.
Why should I be concerned with the tai chi concepts Hsu and Shih?
There is great benefit in being able to simultaneously conceptualize both extremes of a concept. For example, it makes you balanced or gives you a way to improve your balance. It can be frustrating if someone tells us to be balanced because we think we already are. Same goes for being told to “just relax.”
Point 1: Shih and Hsu are constantly changing. When you take a step the empty leg becomes stable and full and vice versa. Without Hsu/Shih you are in a stance, you come out of balance, you go into another stance. Hsu/Shih allows the progression to be continual.
Point 2: Shih and Hsu are always taking place simultaneously. This is an important idea because you don’t practice one and then the other as both should always be occurring. You add your intention to the movements, clean them up, and differentiate them.
Point 3: What is the overall purpose of this? We begin by putting “thought” into one part of the body. This then leads to being able to put thought into all parts of the body to produce martial force or healing.
Point 4: Where else is this leading? Feeling Hsu/Shih begins in our bodies but is the basis for “feeling” when an opponent has shifted their weight (intention) and is planning a defense or attack.
As a practical measure stop and think, which leg is stable? Can it be more stable? Which leg is empty? Is it truly light? Which hand am I focusing on? Is the other relaxed?
How does this apply to real life?
Think of the tai chi form as an experimental playground. You work on your form and, for arguments sake, get to a point where you can feel what balanced is. It is just that, a gut feeling. Then when you are at work and about to play your expected role in an argument, it doesn’t feel right so you move your thinking to this central place. Now you are more open to see each side of an argument, and trust me, more valued as an employee. Or, you are cooking and think that a meal is “missing something.” You bring the base ingredients into balance and then add more of the one that you want to stand out (spicy, sweet, etc.).
Shih prepares for Hsu, Hsu prepares for Shih.
Expand your knowledge of different tai chi concepts:
- Martial Progress in Tai Chi: Using Yin Yang Theory
- The importance of the number 9 in Tai Chi
- Why Study Tai Chi? Adaptation
Additionally, here is a great online course covering important tai chi concepts and theory:
Tai Chi Theory with Master Yang, Jwing-Ming
Master Yang reveals the secret to transforming your Taiji practice into your own personal art-form. He explains the development of the internal and external aspects and different styles of Taiji by taking us back to the root of this ancient art.
