The inner and outer harmonies

I just remember I had a bad teacher in the early days of my Tai Chi journey or should I say unsuitable? He virtually showered me with all sorts of "sophisticated" language aka bafflegab which I did not understand. My only thoughts were:" Shut up. Better tell me your own experience."

Apart from Yang Cheng Fu's standardized principles, the outer harmonies(wai san he) and inner harmonies(nei san he) are principles we deal with as we have left the so-called external stage of our Tai Chi. Not that the outer harmonies are external, but the inner harmonies are simply more internal than the "external" ones. The understanding is different and according to my teacher, I am now beginning to understand what was being talked about.

Many books have summed up these harmonies and for a better understanding I will list it again:

Wai san He or outer harmonies:
1.Shoulder and hips
2. elbow and knee
3.Hand and feet

I will try to reflect what I have experienced during my practice:
During zhan zhuang practice, we perceive the three outer harmonies as a connection.

a.Shoulders and hips connecting with each other
I found out that whenever shoulder and hips are mentioned, it also includes the areas surrounding these joints such as chest or lower back. For some time, I had difficulties sinking my coccyx(tailbone) but as soon as I sank and opened my shoulders and chest, the qi automatically sank into the tailbone. When I expand my mingmen(acupuncture point at the tailbone area, located in the middle between the buttocks), my chest and shoulders automatically opened up and softened down

b. Elbow and kneesDuring any move in the form, I felt that the elbow and knees are bent of course. But as soon as my knee moves, the elbow moves as though it is connected by an invisible thread in the body.

c. Hand and feet
This is easier to understand, because when my striking hand arrives at the end of a move, the foot which follows the other stepping foot automatically arrives. When the following foot is dragging without control, it means that the harmony is broken

The inner harmonies or nei san he
1. Heart(xin) and mind(yi, intention)
2. qi(force) and li(outer physical strength)
3. Muscles and bones

Heart and mind
I found the first harmony most difficult to understand. In the traditional sense, the heart is a harmony of feeling and understanding. It is neither the romantic heart nor the blood pump. The yi is something like the driving force or the implied mind.

When I have the intention of a warrior and the love for what I am doing, I feel myself acting stronger with less effort. It is as though my soul,mind and body is growing into one whole entity during proper form practice. There is no sense of being torn apart between ethics, kindness and martial intent when our heart is forged with the will to overcome illness or martial intent. IN fact this is what makes a plain street fighter or mixed martial artist very powerful because his mind consists of one harmonious entity: The intention to attack without having anything like self-doubt to inhibit his plans..... ...

Qi(force) and li(external physical strength)
Everybody can feel his qi without having practiced any Tai Chi. Beginners are able to feel their qi from day one, but this is not to be mistaken with conscious control of qi flow to any part of the body. After some years of Tai Chi practice and good instruction, I began to consciously direct my qi through the meridians and acupuncture points. For instance I know exactly when the qi has reached my bahui(point in the middle of the head) and flows to the fingers before flowing back to the dantien. My body has developed stronger muscles through standing meditation, bare-hand form and weapons form. Recently I tried on a dress and was surprised that the sleeves did not fit anymore. The sales assistant had a scale in the shop and my weight did not change at all. She said:" I don't see any fat, you are made of muscles."

My peers clearly recognized an increase in my deltoid or shoulder muscles. My biceps and leg muscles have always been visibly strongwith a reasonable volume. The more focused I am during my form, the stronger for instance my punch is. There was a colleague near me who could definitely feel and hear my punch. My legs were rooted, shifting weight of the legs very pronounced, my posture was upright and the arm very light, only serving as a lead for the power to escape from the fist. My slap kicks induced a strong patting sound after it was powered by a forward shift of the dantien. Moreover, I began to effortlessly turn around the heavy weapons by just using whole-body reeling silk movements which were controlled by the dantien.

Muscles and bones.
The use of my intention obviously have strengthened my deep muscle layer. My posture and balance has significantly improved. During push hands, now I begin to make use of the structure I learnt in the form. It is really as though my muscles and bones are just one huge internal body.

Tai Chi Chuan needs a whole life and three afterlifes to learn and that will not be enough. But I think that I have reached a stage where Tai Chi is more than just a sport.