Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

What "Intent" Really Means in Taiji and the Internal Arts

chen tai chi training chen taiji training martial arts training tai chi intent May 28, 2015

I am currently updating my instructional videos for the Chen Tai Chi form Laojia Yilu, replacing video shot between 2008 and 2010. As I was shooting instruction on Sunday for the second movement of the form -- Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds Mortar -- the concept of "intent" came to mind as something a lot of people misunderstand.

A lot of Tai Chi instructors talk about "intent," but too many students are left with the impression that intent is somehow connected to "cultivating chi" or other mystical, healing energy nonsense.

Let's cut out the noise, eliminate the middleman, and cut to the chase.

"Intent" means exactly what it implies. What is the intent of the movement? What are you intending to do with this movement?

The answer is almost always a self-defense application.

Tai Chi was created as a martial art. Every movement in the form is a self-defense movement.

When you perform Tai Chi movements with the intent of self-defense, it informs how your "energy" should be use...

How to Use Intent in Tai Chi, Hsing-I and Bagua

internal arts training internal body mechanics tai chi intent taiji intent Feb 15, 2012

I received an interesting email from a member of the online internal arts school last week asking what does it mean to use intent in Taiji. Like a lot of members, he's using the online material to supplement training under another teacher. It became apparent that an instructor had made intent appear mystical.

He asked if, when establishing the ground path, if it's physical or if you are using Mind Intent?

After giving him my take on the subject, I then did some research to see what other instructors say. As I expected, the term Intent is shrouded in abstract terms and descriptions, in Taoism and Buddhism. One well-known "master" writes about it in such an abstract way that you'd need a Ph.D in Philosophy to understand it, then he asks for nearly a hundred bucks.

Let me put it simply -- the question is "what is intent when doing any internal movement?"

You can make it as flowery and abstract as you want, but the bottom line is this: the intent of the movement depends upon the marti...

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

What "Intent" Really Means in Taiji and the Internal Arts

How to Use Intent in Tai Chi, Hsing-I and Bagua

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