Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

Defend from All Directions - What Does It Mean?

chen bing chen xiaowang taiji strategy zhan zhuang Oct 08, 2025

Chen Xiaowang corrected Chen Bing's posture in a video, when Chen Bing was a young man. He stood in a posture from "Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds Mortar." After adjusting him a bit, Chen Xiaowang turned to the camera and said, "Now, he can defend from all directions."

Defend from all directions? That sounded intriguing. I began thinking about that concept. After a few years, I honed in on what it means.

The picture at the top of the post shows Chen Xiaowang correcting my posture in 2000.

"Defend from all directions" sums up a core principle of being prepared and being able to adapt in the face of a self-defense situation.

It emphasizes that a Taiji person should not simply focus on defending against a single, anticipated attack from one direction. Instead, it means to cultivate a state of mind and body that can remain aware of everything around you and respond to threats from any angle at any time.

This is why when you practice Zhan Zhuang with Chen Xiaowang, he says, "Calm d...

A True Story about the Ultimate Self-Defense Skill

awareness chen xiaowang self-defense zhan zhuang Jan 27, 2019

In March, 2013, Chen Xiaoxing came to Chicago to do a workshop on Xinjia Yilu. Nancy and I stayed for the weekend in a hotel downtown.

After the first day of the workshop, we took a walk from the hotel onto Michigan Avenue. We wanted to do some shopping along the Magnificent Mile and enjoy dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

March in Chicago can be very cold, but we got lucky. This was the warmest day of the year in Chicago after a cold winter.

The photo above shows Nancy as we are beginning our walk. The Magnificent Mile is behind her down the street.

As we got into the shopping area, the sidewalks became more crowded. I was enjoying the people but I noticed there were a lot of young people in their teens to around 20, maybe 21 or 22. We kept walking and there were more people. The young people were scattered through the crowd, in groups of two or more.

As we got deeper into the area, the crowds got a little heavier. I have been in crowds before. New York City is one...

How Zhan Zhuang - Standing Stake - Can Improve Your Tai Chi

chen tai chi training chen taiji training standing meditation zhan zhuang Aug 28, 2014

Zhan Zhuang is also called "Standing Stake" or "Standing Like A Pole." It is the most important exercise in Tai Chi. It can be used for meditation and qigong, but it also will help improve your Tai Chi.

Here are the basics of getting into a Zhan Zhuang stance:

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.

2. Raise your arms as if hugging a tree with the palms facing you.

3. Relax the knees and let them flex a bit.

4. Relax every muscle in your body - neck, shoulders, chest, abdomen, hips and legs.

5. Keep the head up and the chin slightly tucked.

6. "Sink" your weight -- your "energy" -- and feel as if your weight is sinking into the ground or floor.

7. Calm the mind along with the body.

Here are important things you need to incorporate into your Zhan Zhuang practice:

8. Relax the lower back. We usually keep it tense when we are standing. When you relax the muscles in the lower back, you will feel your buttocks sink and "tuck" slightly. That is a good thing.

9. You should ...

A Special Place for Qigong and Zhan Zhuang

how to use qigong in daily life mindfulness standing stake zhan zhuang Jul 05, 2011

I've been interested in the concept of being "one" with nature (or the Universe) since the early Seventies. I was first inspired by the Kung-Fu TV show -- fascinated by the "flashbacks" and the morality and philosophy of the Shaolin monks.

"Standing," as it is often called, is the most important exercise in Taijiquan. It's also known as Zhan Zhuang. Translated from Mandarin, that means "standing like a post."

When Nancy and I moved into our new home a month ago, I found an ideal spot for Standing Stake. It's in a corner of my deck, surrounded by trees with a deep yard below. Yesterday morning, a young buck was at the edge of the yard below, eating leaves from low-hanging trees. His antlers were pretty short. He stopped to stare at me for a moment, wondering if I was friend or foe, then lost interest and began munching again. On the tree a few feet away, a chipmunk ran up and down.

It's not difficult to feel "one" with nature here.

Standing Stake is useful for a lot of reasons. ...

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

Defend from All Directions - What Does It Mean?

A True Story about the Ultimate Self-Defense Skill

How Zhan Zhuang - Standing Stake - Can Improve Your Tai Chi

A Special Place for Qigong and Zhan Zhuang

Author - Instructor

Stay connected with news and updates!

Two Step