Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

What Does "Double-Weighted" Mean in Tai Chi?

push hands tai chi self-defense taijiquan Feb 12, 2020

You have heard people say that being "double-weighted" is bad in Taijiquan.

But if you ask 10 different Taiji folks what that means, you will get 10 different answers.

Some say it is when your weight is distributed 50-50 between the legs.

Some say it's a mental thing. Others say something completely different.

This video shows what I learned about double-weighting from training with Chen Xiaowang, Chen Xiaoxing and their students and disciples.

The Taiji Yin-Yang Formula

chen family taijiquan push hands tai chi chuan Dec 18, 2006

Tai Chi magazine had a good article recently called The Taiji Yin-Yang Formula. I especially enjoyed this quote: "If one wants to catch something, first it must be let go."

Naturally, I can't go into all of the principles included in this blog post, but one of the principles I'll practice with the class this week is "letting go" when force comes at you.

I practiced pushing hands with Master Chen Bing in Chicago last year. There was an exercise we did--he put his hand on my shoulder and I put my hand on his. When I pushed, he would relax and suddenly he wouldn't be there. His shoulder gave way under my push. Instead of greeting my push with force, he let go. He easily handled my force and before I knew it, I was off balance.

One of the things about Tai Chi that has always fascinated me is the idea of relaxing when force is coming at you. It's contrary to everything we've been taught to do our entire lives. And as the article in Tai Chi Magazine says, the very act of yielding create...

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

What Does "Double-Weighted" Mean in Tai Chi?

The Taiji Yin-Yang Formula

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