Words of Wisdom on Taijiquan Practice ----Part two
By David Chen. Revised on June 2004.

• Tension is like hard knots hidden in our muscles, in our minds, and deep within our hearts.
  We practice Taijiquan in order to discover those hidden knots and dissolve them.

• A relaxed body is a body that does not hold onto things.
  A relaxed mind is a mind that does not hold onto things.

• If you want to be relaxed, practice Taiji.
  If you want others to be relaxed, practice Taiji (on them).

• There are four levels of relaxation:
      Level one: relaxing the shoulders and arms
      Level two: relaxing the waist and lower back
      Level three: relaxing the knees and feet
      Level four: relaxing the mind.

• It is easy to see "what," easy to show "how," but takes true understanding to explain "why."

• Taiji does not eliminate stress; it only helps you to manage it.

• You have to master yourself in order to master Taiji, and Taiji is about mastering yourself.

• Don't try to surpass another's ability; instead, surpass your own.

• Taijiquen practice is a slow fix;
  sometimes it is so slow that the need to fix the problem is no longer important.

• It is not how many rounds of the routine you’ve done, it is how deeply you’ve worked on it.

• Don’t just do the movements---feel them.

• Don’t let the unconscious body steer your mind, instead,
  Let your conscious mind steer your body.

• You are not doing movements wrong,
  you are just doing them unconsciously.

• The common fears of learning Taijiquan:
      fear of falling behind
      fear of being ignored
      fear of being incapable
      fear of losing face
      fear of physical pain
      fear of learning the "wrong way"
      fear of showing the "wrong way"
      fear of giving commitment
      fear of false fantasy

• One bad thing about Taiji is that it is difficult to understand.
  One good thing about Taiji is that once you understand it, there's more to learn.

• The rich contents of Taijiquan are hidden within the transitional movements.

• Any posture in stillness can be considered a Wuji stance---Not moving but ready for any action.

• Qi sinks to the dantien is only the midway. Qi sinks to the feet is the final destination.

• The highest level of Taijiquan has no need of form and movement---It is a state of non-intent.