The “Understanding Energy” of Tai Chi (dong Jin 懂勁)

The Understanding Skill of Tai Chi is closely related to the Listening skill (ting jin.)

In many ways it’s the next step in training.

It’s not enough to feel what’s going on inside you and your opponent, you must also understand.

An important use of this skill is knowing where you opponent is going to attack.

In push hands, for example, if the opponent wants to issue effectively they must first feel inside you and find a good target. Once they find a good target they can issue and you’re done for.

This is where Understanding skill comes in.

When you can feel them looking inside you and feel them trying to acquire that target, you can disrupt what their doing. or better yet attack it.

Here’s a clip of Sigung Clear demonstrating some of this at the 2015 Clear’s Internal Push Hands Instructor workshop:

https://youtu.be/UkhvjnsIglc

This skill is one of the requirements to become a Level 1 Clear’s Internal Push Hands Instructor and it’s one of many things you will learn in the push hands instructor course available this Thursday Feb 18

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