Cheng Man-ch’ing titled his third treatise “Developing the Ch’i to Attain Suppleness”, where he stated “the way to cultivate life is to be supple”¹. Cheng makes reference to this idea many times in the text, but it may not always be obvious to English readers. Because the character 柔 (jou, róu)† and characters 柔软 (jou juan, róu ruǎn)† generally mean “supple, soft, flexible, yielding”, translators frequently choose the word ‘soft’ in English rather than ‘supple’. This may lead to English readers not making the connection. For example, in The Classics there is this passage: “The softest will then become the strongest”². While it doesn’t read as smoothly, it might be clearer to readers if they read the text as “The most supple will then become the strongest”.

This quality of suppleness is a primary goal and benefit of Tai Chi and why correct, daily practice is so important. Cheng and Robert Smith wrote: “Chinese say that whoever practices T’ai-chi, correctly and regularly, twice a day over a period of time will gain the pliability of a child…”³. Being supple doesn’t ‘just happen’, we have to seek it when we practice. As we do the form for flow, hold postures, or go through sequences of postures slowly (referred to as ‘posturing’) we use relaxation (sung, sōng)^† to utilize our full range of motion and seek gentle stretching of the sinews and muscles. In the eleventh treatise of Cheng Tzu’s Thirteen Treatises on T’ai Chi Ch’uan, Cheng describes the various levels of Tai Chi. He writes how the first level, the ‘Human’ level, “relaxes your sinews and vitalizes your blood”⁵. The character used for ‘sinews’, 筋 (chin, jīn)^†, is frequently translated using one of several English words such as ‘sinews’, ‘ligaments’, or ‘tendons’. But more accurately it refers to both the sinews (ligaments, tendons, fascia) and the muscles. The broader meaning of the Chinese character should probably be applied when reading English translations, as it’s quite likely the translator chose a particular English word rather than ‘soft tissues’.

There are many aspects to supple, but a key one involves the upper legs, hips, waist area, and lower torso. One example of seeking to become supple occurs when starting into Ward Off Left. As we ‘sit down’ on the left leg (see Please Take a Seat for details) and turn the ‘waist’ (turning the entire torso as a unit), we keep our left knee aligned with our toes and turn the torso as far as we can by opening our left hip via only relaxation. Each and every time we do this, we turn as far as we can to the right until we get to the place where we are experiencing a very gentle stretch centered in the left hip area and spreading out from there. We must resist the temptation to use muscle to ‘go further’, not straining even a little bit. Straining is the use of hard force (力, li, lì)^† which is the opposite of what we want to cultivate. This very gentle stretch might seem to have little or no value, but it is a crucial aspect of our practice. Through daily practice using this approach, we can incrementally increase our strength, balance, and range of motion, or at least halt or slow the declines we all experience as we age. There is a lot going on when we do this kind of training: as we turn the torso, we are continuously changing what muscles are used and how they are used, and we are working to lengthen ligaments, tendons, and muscles, as well as remodeling our fascia. Needless to say, this ‘seeking supple’ is true for every part of every transition and posture of the entire form, throughout our body, from start to finish.

To increase our suppleness and avoid injury, we can’t rush the process. This is one of the reasons we cultivate a daily practice⁵. We seek small gains that build upon each other day by day. Mr. Lo used the analogy of a stack of paper, which represents your investment in Tai Chi. Each day you practice, add a single sheet of paper to the stack of paper. But each day you don’t practice, you must remove a sheet of paper from the stack. This metaphor is not just a way to motivate people to practice every day. It represents real physical processes, especially regarding our quest for suppleness. Each day we practice correctly, we gain a little bit or maintain what we have. But each day we don’t practice, we lose a little bit. And even if we practice on alternating days we are merely ‘treading water’. Doing so is certainly better than not practicing, but the true benefits in Tai Chi come when cultivating and then persevering in our daily practice. And as we do so, we should seek stretches, not strains.

1 Cheng Tzu's Thirteen Treatises on T'ai Chi Ch'uan; page 30
2 The Essence of T'ai Chi Ch'uan - The Literary Tradition; Annotated Edition; page 52
3 T'ai Chi: The "Supreme Ultimate" Exercise for Health, Sport, and Self-Defense; page 1
4 Cheng Tzu's Thirteen Treatises on T'ai Chi Ch'uan; page 75
5 In truth, all of the principles and benefits of Tai Chi are deeply connected to acheiving daily practice.
† If you have questions about Chinese terms used, you may find About Chinese Terms helpful.