Notes for Toronto Workshop 20260829

Water is water, but going through a procedure, it may become dirty or clean.

Master Hong Junsheng never said his taiji was better. The differentiation was how to teach it.

Exercise: In with elbow no hand, out with hand no elbow. Use the other hand/finger to initiate the move.

Switch is the change of direction.

Front is where your eyes can see.

Where you touch the opponent, it becomes the end of the circle where switching has to happen.

3 moves happen at the same time

Elbow-in hits a wall/target behind my back, hit through it parallel to the ground. At the same time, add lowering of the body.

We don’t move, we add something to cause movement.

Shoulder and kua are the framing the car, elbow and knee are the wheels. Don’t move the shoulder and kua, and only move the waist.

Whip around the body jump, big step on left foot, weight on left foot, push off from right foot, small in the air, and land right foot first, stretch left foot, big on the landing. Try to go across the floor as far as possible.

Lock the top in the air after the push off the floor with rear foot.

Stretch back of the rear knee into the line, don’t let the shoulder pop, stretch the hands.

Use the elbow, in with elbow, use the elbow to push the hands, after the pulling the elbow in, use the elbow only, don’t go back to the hands.

When out with hand, stretch to the rear foot, don’t let the chest go forward to the hand.

Create a cross in the body, lock it and turn the waist.

Elbow moves towards the kua, step forward without changing the top.

Lean backwards on impact, keep the slant, step forward.

Push towards the opponent centre, change the hands to hook on the opponent’s upper arm, pull in the elbow to the dantian, change hand position to the same dot that was pulled in.

Constrict the elbow, expand the waist.

What is Taijiquan?

Here is my summary at this stage:

Taijiquan is our body expression of separation of yin and yang. There are different degrees, layers, and dimensions of separation, which are manifested as different levels of ability.

这是我现阶段对太极拳的总结：

太极拳就用身体来演绎分阴阳。怎样分可以有不同的程度、层次、维度，也是功力深厚的表现。

Notes for Toronto Workshop Jan 2026

Bend the knees to go down while the torso is fixed and straight. The hand goes out proportionally.

First Move

Squeeze into dantian:

Kua up elbow down

Left elbow against the right kua

Elbow meets the kua, two become one.

There is never right or wrong. There is only one thing that is wanted.

Direction - 1

Alignment - 2

开拳

开-松开-断开

分开-拉开-转开

Day 2

Negative Circle - Lock the top and turn only the waist

Fetch Water - Back of the knee and back of the shoulder blade stretch on the same line

Six Sealing and Four Closing - Dot on hand and the back of the shoulder blade stretch

Right, reset, left, reset

Waist turning exercise (lock the top)

Twisting the towel (go down as the hand goes out)

Rip the shirt exercise with the twisting the towel

Rip the shirt exercise with six sealing four closing

Using the leg to trip, the knee goes down to the heel instead of hitting to the opponent.

Traditionally, asking and answering are through hands.

Kai - use the waist lock the top

On the opponent’s shirt only when opponent pushes

|_|__ -> |___| -> __|_|

Elbow inwards the kua.

Opponent pushes my forearm, the hand points up, hand and shoulder are a pair on the straight line, split. Nothing in the forearm.

Initial Closing Application

Shake opponent three time. Kua goes down to create distance without moving the hand. Pull elbow to the kua.

Negative Circle - turn the shoulder, but it hits the wall and it goes down instead. (Yi and Li Separation)

Suck - Knee and opposite shoulder to the dantian

Big body movement and little or no hand movement

If you are aligned, you can’t move.

If you can move, you can’t align.

Day 4

Zhou - Adherence - Hold (Doing Bie can have Zhuo)

Zhuo on the opponent is a hook, Zhuo on myself is a handle.

Looking for universal principle

Two armpits and between the legs. 3 pairs squeezing and releasing.

Release to make the book drop.

Absolutely no push, we need to be like constipated.

Notes for Toronto Workshop Sep 2025

Nothing in between two dots.

Don't be distracted by the opponent. Keep going straight.

One turns into two. One is gone.

Exercise: Elbow up, split into hand and shoulder

Back on a roller wall, and not push against the wall.

Yin yang reversal.

Opponent pushes me to the left, I move to the right instead.

We are always pushing, we should be pulling.

Don't change the system.

Real intent is no intent.

Every push must be turned into a pull.

When you feel power, there is no power.

When things don't change shape, it is a rotation.

Lock the frame, contraction will create an expansion.

Push the kua over the other side of the opponent's waist.

Not moving the contact point is the key to not fight.

Find a way to destroy the opponent's system.

Elbow goes to the hand through the forearm. (Through fist)

Always focus on finding and using the line, and not fixate on how it is for a particular example.

First turn in Pound Mortar: Wait for the opponent to push onto me, cave in and stretch to the foot. Turn the elbow without pushing forward.

Longer is stronger. Be longer.

Exercise: Hug the opponent and hold the top structure, don't open the elbows, the armpits. Drop the tailbone. 

Exercise: Hold the opponent with push and pull on the arms, lock the top. Baihui to huiyin line to the floor, rotate on that axis. Only try to rotate by a little bit, there is a lot of pressure on the legs. The opponent and myself must be one.

Kelvin Ho Yilu at UK Cambridge University Botanical Garden 20250608

Breakthrough: The opponent couldn't stand properly

Today, I realized one thing during my Sunday class. It was about on the touch of my right hand to the opponent's right hand, the opponent couldn't stand properly. There was peng. My feet was connected to his feet.

Notes for Toronto Workshop Jan 2025

Buddha’s Warrior Pound Mortar

Separate torso from arm

Keep the torso and hip inside a vertical tube

An object hits a wall horizontally, the wall can’t be moved, the wall goes down only, and the object is attached to the wall and goes down with it.

Hold the line between the shoulder and hand, bring the elbow to the kua, kua to the elbow

Always two dimensions, something going forward, something going downward

Every move must contain 3 moves.

Push Hands: Pretend to fight to gain space

Do my move to 99% and reserve 1% as trigger

Whatever the opponent does, you have to go in.

If the opponent wants space, you take that space.

If the opponent wants to be close, you create a little space, but it can’t be too far. Too far the opponent can kick or punch.

Result of matching is proportional. Match perfectly is full.

The system is balanced. No adding and no subtracting overall. We are only borrowing from one place to give it to another.