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(Because of space limitations, this article is published in two installments. The author suggested that readers postpone trying to test the methods described here and wait until they read the second part, which will appear in the next issue. It will contain suggestions from the author on techniques for beginning, intermediate and advanced students.)

Readers’ questions on breathing while doing Taichichuan raised in the Nov.-Dec. 1981 issue (see T’ CHI NOTES) aroused interest in the subject and articles on ch’i and breathing have been published in subsequent issues. In discussing this matter in T’AI CHI, Feb. 1982, I suggested that it is best for beginners to completely forget breathing while doing Taichichuan, for there are too many things one should pay attention to.

These include the correct postures and movements, the suppleness, stability, energy, balance, more or less evenness of energy, transmission and integration of strength, continuity of energy, smoothness of movements, roundness of movements, correct internal feelings, spirit, etc.

From the great interest shown after that article, however, it appears that the simple suggestions for beginners in that article does not satisfy the needs of many readers. I also received requests for more details on the subject. This article also gives fuller replies to the original questions raised in 1981.

There are vague and general discussions and suggestions about breathing. There are also highly sophisticated methods which are meant for stationary meditation. Some of these are dangerous even in stationary meditation if not done with extreme care. They must not be considered for Taichichuan. This article tries to summarize some of the simpler but concrete and practical suggestions that may be of interest to the more advanced students.

The original purpose of matching breathing with movements in Taichichuan was primarily for use in self-defense. It is a general practice in most martial arts when encountering a strong opponent to exhale when you issue strength to strike. In Taichichuan, in which a sinking down energy is an important feature, especially at the time of issuing strength to shoot off your mighty opponent, you exhale part of the air from your lungs and at the same time automatically sink down part of the air to press the diaphragm downward.

This gives you a feeling of firmness at your lower abdomen. By definition, this is reverse abdominal breathing. The practice preserves some air in your lungs without its being fully exhaled. It lets you gain stability and strength to shoot your opponent far away, and yet allows sufficient energy reserve for smooth change into your next move. And this smooth change between yielding and attacking is a special characteristic of Taichichuan.

When you draw your opponent, as in "Play the Guitar," you inhale to press your diaphragm downward. By definition, this is natural abdominal breathing. The same applies to the rounding of your arms at your front to store up your energy.

The above forms the basis of Taichichuan breathing in self-defense, and the general method is described in the book, "Chen Style Taichichuan," prepared by a committee of five persons headed by Shen Chia-jen and first published in 1963. You extend your body when you exhale and contract and round your limbs when you inhale. The book recommends that, separately from your daily exercise of the regular series, you may practice for selected, isolated postures "the methods of storing and issuing of energy with springing strength at your chest, shoulders, back, hips, and buttocks," together with your inhalation and exhalation. You may practice these selected postures either by yourself or with a partner until you become skillful. Such description is part of the discussion on the two-man exercise. The comprehensive book does not say anything on breathing in the one-person exercise. the book did not use the term natural or reverse breathing. It may be noted that all present styles are directly or indirectly derived from the Chen style.

The first author who discussed matching breathing with movements in Taichichuan is Yearning K. Chen of the Yang school. In his Chinese book published in 1943, his discussion is by far more detailed and concrete than any subsequent book. The next four paragraphs summarize his views and the rest are the comments and suggestions of the present author.

Chen said, generally, in the one-person exercise, when you extend your hands, you exhale. When you withdraw your hands, you inhale. You inhale when you pull up; you exhale when you sink down; you inhale when you open; you exhale when you close. When you twist your body, make steps, or during various transitions, you use short exhalation and inhalation. By short exhalation and inhalation, it means that the breathing is very light and short, implying a little rest.

In the fixed-step (and the forward-backward step) two-person exercise, you exhale when you squeeze or press; you inhale when you draw your opponent or neutralize your opponent’s strength. When you are drawn by your opponent, you use short exhalation and inhalation. This is to insure quiescence in your mind.

It is only when you are in a quiescent mood that you can observe the intention and movement of your opponent without making mistakes. If you are squeezed or pressed by your opponent to the extent that you cannot inhale any more, you change to exhalation. This is to release the air that you have breathed in. Therefore, when you inhale up to a point that you cannot inhale any more, you change to exhalation. Exhalation and inhalation are basically interchangeable.

In the four-corner, two-person exercise, you exhale when you break, lean, or press; you inhale when you draw or are being leaned. When you turn your body and are about to press forward, you use short exhalation and inhalation again. You also use short exhalation and inhalation when you change your steps but before you issue your strength. This is to make sure that you are quiet and keen to see and feel, and also have the continued sticking strength.

Chen’s recommendations generally conform to the self-defense needs described in Shen’s book except that he has partly mixed it up with calisthenic breathing. He suggested in the one-person exercise to inhale when you open and to exhale when you close. This is in accordance with calisthenic needs when you open up your chest to admit more air and close to squeeze out the air. but it may not always be consistent to self-defense needs. For example, in Wild Horse Parts Its Manes, when you round the two arms at your front to store up your energy to prepare for an attack, you contract and close your limbs and inhale.

(Of course, you have to round your arms away from your body with plenty of space below your armpits, or between your upper arms and your trunk in order to inhale more air into your lungs.)

Then, when you spread your two arms to issue your strength for an attack, you extend, open, and exhale. This way, you feel as if your energy is issued from your lower abdomen. This self-defense need is opposite to the calisthenic principle which is incidentally mixed in Chen’s system.

Chen never recommended a rigid formula for breathing in Taichichuan, and this is his merit. He said that when you cannot exhale any more, you inhale, and when you cannot inhale anymore, you exhale, and that exhalation and inhalation are interchangeable. This avoids artificial lengthening or holding your breath. He also recommended short inhalation and exhalation during transitions and changes. Like most authors, he especially emphasizes naturalness in breathing.

Among the dozen books on the Wu Chian-chuan style in Taichichuan, only one by Hsu Chi-I (1958) suggested for the advanced students partial matching of breathing of one-fourth to one-third of the postures in the one-person exercise. None of the books on the Hao style or Sun style ever mentioned matching. Among the experts of the Yang style and its derivatives, however, there has been a long controversy since 1960 on whether breathing should be matched with movements and how to match them.

There has not been a general agreement on whether movements and breathing should be matched, and how to match them. Authors may stand at opposite sides. Most books on Taichichuan do not touch upon the matching.

For the one-person exercise, they prescribe natural, smooth, light, and slow breathing through the nose. Among the few books which prescribe matching, the matching methods are not always the same.

For example, Shi Tiao-mei and Chang Wen-yuen published their books in the same year, 1969. Shi recommends exhalation in kicking out a foot, whereas Chang recommends inhalation.

While the divergency is consistent with Yearning K. Chen’s statement that exhalation and inhalation are interchangeable, it reduces the justification for perfect matching and favors Chen’s flexibility.

The methods described by Shen and Chen are among the least harmful but most practical, provided that you emphasize naturalness and do not insist on perfect matching.