Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

What Are the Six Harmonies in Tai Chi, Hsing-I and Bagua?

chen family taijiquan chen tai chi six harmonies tai chi chuan three external harmonies three internal harmonies Nov 27, 2009

A member of the online school asked a question on the discussion board and I thought it would also make for a good post here on the blog.

What are the Six Harmonies and what does it mean? Does it mean the hands move with the feet, the elbows move with the knees and the shoulders with the hips?

Some people say the Six Harmonies are:

1. Shoulders

2. Hips

3. Elbows

4. Knees

5. Hands

6. Feet

So the shoulders harmonize with the hips, the elbows with the knees, the hands with the feet.

That isn't the complete story, however. These three groups of two (hips/shoulders, elbows/knees, hands/feet) make up the THREE EXTERNAL HARMONIES.

The other three harmonies that make up the six harmonies would include Yi (Mind/Intent, which is frequently paired with "Shen" or Spirit), Chi (Energy), and Li (Strength, pronounced "Lee"). These are known as the Three Internal Harmonies.

The "Shen leads the Yi," the "Yi leads the Chi," and the "Chi leads the Li (strength)."

You must have a strong spiri...

Author - Instructor

Ken Gullette

I have practiced martial arts since 1973 and began studying the internal arts in 1987. My goal is to cut years off your development time by coaching you in the real skills for high-quality Tai Chi, Xingyi, Bagua. To see more about my bio, click the "About Ken" link on the menu at the top of this page.

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

What Are the Six Harmonies in Tai Chi, Hsing-I and Bagua?

Author - Instructor

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