“The 8 trigrams in the hands” is a vitally important concept in martial arts…especially in tai chi. But it comes with some philosophy and some physics. Don’t expect to understand it all right away, and don’t worry if it doesn’t make sense at first.Introducing the eight trigrams Transcript: As much as I do endeavour to . . . read more

In part of the chorus in Agamemnon, the Greek tragedian, Aeschylus (circa 525 BCE – 456 BCE) writes the following “Mortals are set on the path of wisdom,bound by holy ordinance to pay, with suffering, for their education. Even in our sleep, the relentless pain that we try in vain to forget falls drop by drop . . . read more

This is another one of those opaque concepts that needs to be explored, or updated, or ignored. Understanding it might be out of the question. Transcript There is an important dictum in taijiquan literature that declares that one should have “the 5 elements in the feet and the eight trigrams in the hands.” This has . . . read more

How far can a tai chi metaphor go? When you practice and art and follow its philosophy long enough, you eventually start to see it everywhere. You may even be tempted to manifest it in places where it probably shouldn’t belong. Case in point: tai chi fanatics on a dance floor. Another case is the natural attempt . . . read more