Seijaku: From the Soles of the Feet!

Seijaku, the advanced form of T’ai Chi Chih, involves applying a different emphasis (or resistance) during the movement which dramatically increases the flow of chi. During Seijaku courses, the question is frequently asked: “where is the resistance?” in this or that movement. My response is, “The answer is in the soles of the feet!”

According to The T’ai Chi Ch’uan Classics, by Wang Zong-Yue, which we quote in the T’ai Chi Chih Teacher Training Manual:

The internal force should be rooted in the feet, transmitted by the legs, controlled by the waist, and manifested in the fingers. The chi, intelligent energy, is rooted in the feet.

I have often heard Justin say, “get to the root and forget the branches.” In other words, if you want to know the truth, go to the source.

Although I cannot tell you exactly what I’ve learned from practicing Seijaku from the soles of the feet, I will say that doing Seijaku in this way has taught me how to do T’ai Chi Chih without effort, and has brought tremendous benefits and insights into my life. If you want to know where the resistance is, or anything else in T’ai Chi Chih or Seijaku, forget the branches and learn the principles which govern the flow of chi throughout the movements. Why be satisfied with someone else’s insights when your own await you in the soles of the feet? Go to the source. It will be worth the trip!

Quoted From The T’ai Chi Ch’uan Classics

Attributed to Wang Zong-Yue

1. Beginning to act, all parts of the body must be light, agile and connected together.

2. The breath (CHI) should be excited; the spirit should be internally gathered.

3. Let the postures be without hollows, projections, or discontinuities.

4. The internal force should be rooted in the feet, transmitted by the legs, controlled by the waist, and manifested in the fingers.

5. Moving up or down, left or right, forward or back, in all these principle is equally applied. These are all mind and are not external. If there is up, there is down; if there is left, there is right; if there is forward, there is backward.

6. Insubstantial and substantial should be clearly differentiated. If one has a place that changes from substantial to insubstantial, then everything in that direction changes from substantial to insubstantial. String together all parts of the body, and do not let them be broken by even a fraction.

7. That which is T’AI CHI is infinite and unbounded and yet gives birth. It is the primary force of motion and stillness, and the mother of YIN and YANG.

8. In motion, YIN and YANG separate, in stillness, they fuse (and are stored in the bones).

9. It has no deficiencies and is not excessive; accordingly, when it contracts, it then expands.

10. From skillful practice one gradually comprehends the internal force; from the comprehension of the internal force, the steps extend to wisdom. Certainly, do not use the strength for some time. You cannot suddenly understand it.

11. Let the spirit reach the head-top (with unclouded mind). Let the CHI sink to the T’an Tien. Do not let the body lean to any direction, and let the internal force appear and disappear suddenly.

12. Stand like a balance and rotate as actively as a wheel.

13. After you understand the internal force, the more you practice, the more refined your technique will be. You should silently recognize and examine it; gradually it will follow the wishes of the mind.