Articles

That with shape and odor is an illusion; that without could be real


The original verse is "That with shape and odor is an illusion; that without is the real thing." I intentionally changed it to: "That with shape and odor is an illusion; that without could be real." to:
  1. To see if people notice the change.
  2. To see if people notice the difference between the logic of the two different verses.
In our daily taiji life, we are often told, "It is not this, it is THAT!" This has been used to cover up for many of the problems in taijiquan such as in the case when the form is very bad the person will say "It is the internal aspect, not the form that matters," "Taiji has no forms, if there is, it is empty."

In serious taiji learning, one must first of all make sure that the form is present and is done according to the rules. Only after that one can talk about the internal aspect of the form.

This is very important in our taiji learning. When we are told to do something, it does not automatically mean something else that is similar and vice versa.
Source: https://practicalmethod.com/?p=16167