Tai Chi: Embodying the Four Primary Energies (Part 1 of 2)
By Paul Cavel
Part One
Whether you train or would like to learn the Wu, Yang, Chen or any combination style of tai chi, there are four primary energies that govern all tai chi movements. Learning how to manifest these energies in ever-changing sequences and patterns systematically opens up the body and mind, and allows you to gain access to profound states of being. In this way, tai chi can become a powerful personal practice for making the body-mind conscious, and letting go of that which holds you back from realising your true potential, whether in relationship to yourself, others, your environment, your work, recreation – in all aspects of life.
Many people train and teach tai chi forms solely from the perspective of choreography. But even from the beginning tai chi moves are driven by internal techniques and energies that define the shapes and even the flow of the forms themselves.
What are the Four Primary Energies?
The four primary energies are:
Peng – lifting and expanding energy,
Ji – projecting and piercing energy,
Lu – absorbing and neutralising energy,
An – rooting and compressing energy.
All four energies are expressed in moves by their own names between Beginning Form and Single Whip in the opening section of most tai chi forms. As you move through the form up to Single Whip, a clear-cut experience of each energy — in all its purity — is generated. The four primary energies are then expressed and combined in various ways throughout the rest of the form.
The very basics of the energies can be learned in a moment, but you can spend the rest of your life developing them as you learn ever-deeper aspects of their nature, and making your body-mind ever-more conscious as you do. But in order to unlock these more advanced techniques and states of being, you must first become very familiar with your tai chi form to the point that the sequence of movements are on autopilot. Then and only then can your intention be totally devoted to the subtleties of developing the four primary energies; that is, through the intricate weaving of various neigong threads.
There are many approaches and methods for introducing and embodying the four primary energies, so what I offer here, and will continue in Part Two, is not set in stone, nor should it be degraded into dogma and carried forward into the future indefinitely. When embarking upon study of the four energies, every student requires a bit of framework to get a handle on the methodology, as without one there is much fumbling around in the dark in search of the light switch. However, once a basic framework has been established, e.g. as I’m presenting, and embodied to some degree, the game shifts.
The many layers that must be worked through will uncover many paradoxes, where energies appear to break the "rules" and yet the energies remain true to their intrinsic nature, and grow and develop beyond what they could ever be within the initial parameters. In Part Two, I’ll continue to lay out the “rules” of the game, as Morpheus wisely advises Neo when introducing him to the Matrix, "…some of them can be bent, others can be broken", and still others must remain. You will find out which can do what as we go down the rabbit hole!
Photo by Jaime Valdovino
Peng: Lifting & Expanding Energy
Peng is the first energy in the tai chi form and, from the perspective of learning and the beginning phases of practising tai chi, it is the mother of all other energies. Peng opens up the body and develops the initial connections — arms and legs to spine — and initiates blood and qi circulation. Peng also develops the energy of the legs, which generates buoyancy for the torso and arms, preventing the body from collapsing once the nerves and soft tissues start to release. Without peng, it is easy to collapse the upper body and condense the organs and legs, which would diminish blood and qi circulation. Peng is also responsible for generating more internal space which will allow the other energies to manifest.
Peng is divided into two possibilities: closing and opening. Closing peng uses closing of the joints yet the soft tissues stretch out and extend to open up the body. This extension can be used to contact the strike of an opponent, which is why peng is often referred to as "Intercept". But that description does not do it justice. While it is true that peng extends the arms out to meet an incoming force, you do not only intercept, but also absorb your opponent's force (via closing the joints) when contact is made; therefore, peng is both yin and yang, yet remains predominantly yang due to its upwards and expanding force.
“The supreme excellence is to be like water.” —Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching (Chapter 8)
The way of water in the moving ocean aids in understanding how this is achieved: water sinks in one place, which causes a rising swell adjacent to it. This swell will lift a boat right out of the water. There is no resistance in the water as the boat is lifted, so the boat simply floats in the rising swell. It is not that the water independently rises, but that the sinking creates the rising. In closing peng, the kwa and joints close and the legs bend, which creates an internal pressure that drives blood out to the extremities, and the arms rise and stretch out. Again, it is the sinking torso, through closing and bending in the legs, that creates the rising energy; if the rising arms contact an incoming force (e.g. an arm or a leg), then the closing action will suck the power out of the incoming limb while the power of the expanding arms redirects the attacking limb's force. This is why peng is commonly translated into English as "Ward Off".
Opening peng has one important difference in that all the joints, cavities and tissues expand and open, generating a growing sphere. This type of peng is pure yang and produces a powerful opening in the body, a strong flush through the cardiovascular and nervous systems, as well as an impressive expansion in the qi body.
Both closing and opening peng are yang in nature, using either a closing or an opening action to drive blood to the extremities, and thereby create an expanding body.
More to Come in Part Two: Ji, Lu & An
Again, Peng is the mother energy, which opens up the body and activates the circulatory system. Once the body has opened to some degree, it then has the potential to manifest the other three energies. In Part Two, I’ll lay out the qualities and framework for working with ji, lu and an to complete this fundamental level of truly internal tai chi training.