September 5, 2026

Early one morning, before sunrise, with the sky still dark and the cool ocean air around me, I was practicing the Yang Style Long Form of Tai Chi at the rear of Deck 11 on the Queen Mary 2, wearing a heavier jacket against the chill. Another gentleman came out, also dressed for the cool morning, saw me practicing, and began practicing as well. As I continued through my form, I could see out of the corner of my eye that he was practicing the Cheng Man-Ch’ing style of Tai Chi.

Cheng Man-Ch’ing was a well-known teacher who introduced his shortened version of the Yang-style long form to American students in the 1960s and early 1970s. Although the shortened form is not recognized by the Yang family as one of its traditional forms, it has been widely taught and practiced, particularly in the United States.

Other than watching some brief videos of Cheng Man-Ch’ing online and reading a couple of translations of his books—which, by the way, I highly recommend—I have no personal experience practicing this particular form.¹ So, after finishing my own practice, I watched the other gentleman for a while.

Without knowing whether he was a beginner, a seasoned practitioner, or somewhere in between, I will share a few observations about what I saw. These observations are not meant as a criticism of him personally, but rather as an opportunity to discuss some principles of Tai Chi that apply regardless of which style or form a person practices.

The first thing I noticed was his stepping. When he changed positions, there was not always a clear transfer of weight before taking the next step.

I also noticed that some of the transitions between his arm movements were not very smooth. For example, in Fair Lady Works at Shuttles, he seemed to move his hands into position rather than allowing them to flow naturally from one movement into the next. In movements such as Single Whip, his hands appeared very relaxed—perhaps even a little too relaxed for my taste. This is one area where different teachers and schools can have very different interpretations.

His form also took relatively little time to complete—my estimate was perhaps 15 minutes or less.

After he finished, I walked over and chatted with him for a while. He told me that he had started learning Tai Chi in his 30s, approximately 40 years ago. Since we appeared to be about the same age, I assumed his estimate was probably close. He said it had taken him about ten years to learn the form.

He also mentioned that he was having some difficulty with his balance. I replied that the movement of the ship certainly affects one’s balance and that practicing Tai Chi at sea can be challenging.

Depending on the strength of the wind and waves, the up-and-down motion of the bow and stern, combined with the side-to-side rolling of the ship, can throw anyone off balance. That morning, however, the conditions seemed better than usual for practicing Tai Chi at sea.

First of all, I have to give him credit for his dedication. It is far more common to meet someone who says they learned Tai Chi or took lessons many years ago but eventually stopped practicing and now wants to relearn the movements than to meet someone who has continued practicing for 40 years.

If I were to offer a couple of suggestions for improving his form—and, actually, these suggestions could apply to almost any Tai Chi student—I would start with the concept of weight transfer when stepping.

This is an area that, in general, most people need to work on. No matter what style of Tai Chi you practice, the principles of yin and yang are central to the art, and one of the first places you begin to experience these principles is in stepping.

Ideally, you should be centered with your weight fully established on one foot before taking the next step. If you are not properly centered, your steps tend to become hesitant, heavy, or awkward. This, in turn, affects the movement of the entire body.

Tai Chi steps should be light and soft. A soft step, accompanied by a smooth transfer of weight from one side to the other, demonstrates a basic Tai Chi principle in action. It allows the transitions between movements to appear smooth and effortless.

From a martial perspective, a centered and light step also allows balanced movement in the five directions: left, right, forward, backward, and center.²

The next area is the movement of the arms. The arms should be relaxed, but they should also move smoothly and continuously. Ideally, their movements are synchronized with the movements of the legs.

The Tai Chi classics express this principle by saying that when one part moves, all parts move. In other words, the upper and lower limbs should not move as though they are separate parts of the body. They work together as one coordinated movement.

Interestingly, a similar principle appears in traditional Chinese acupuncture. There is a method of selecting treatment points based on relationships between corresponding areas of the upper and lower limbs. For example, left-sided knee pain may be treated using a corresponding area around the opposite elbow.

This same principle is described in General Explanations of Taiji Boxing Fundamentals by Chen Jifu, written in 1930 and translated by Paul Brennan.³ The text describes relationships between the wrist and ankle, elbow and knee, and shoulder and hip. These are referred to as the “Three External Unions.”

The idea is essentially that different parts of the body are connected and coordinated rather than functioning independently. As the text explains, when one part moves, every part moves.

Think about what happens when you walk. Your arms naturally swing in coordination with your steps. The movement is not something you have to consciously arrange. Your upper and lower body naturally work together in a yin-yang balance.

Tai Chi should have a similar natural synchronization between the upper and lower limbs. As you become more familiar with the form, the movements should become less like a series of individual positions and more like one continuous movement.

Learning the form and understanding the form are two different levels of practice.

First, you have to learn the movements. More importantly, you have to practice them. With consistent practice, you gradually begin to understand what the movements are teaching.

If your goal is simply to practice Tai Chi as an exercise, a person can learn the basic form in seven or eight months. But if you want to delve more deeply into the principles of Tai Chi, that understanding comes through consistent, daily practice.

Perhaps that is one of the things that struck me most about meeting this gentleman on the QM2. After approximately 40 years of practice, he was still out on the deck before sunrise practicing his Tai Chi.

And, after nearly 50 years of practicing myself, I am still learning.

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Footnotes:

¹ Cheng Tzu’s Thirteen Treatises on T’ai Chi Ch’uan, Cheng Man-Ch’ing, translated by Benjamin Pang Jeng Lo and Martin Inn.

² The directions of movement are outlined in the Tai Chi classics. See The Essence of T’ai Chi Ch’uan, by Lo, In, Amacker, and Foe.

³ General Explanations of Taiji Boxing Fundamentals (太極拳學入門總解), by Chen Jifu (陳績甫), 1930, translated by Paul Brennan, September 2019. See page 16, #6, “Three Unions,” which states:

Once the five organs have been understood, then the concept of “three unions” has to be discussed. Mind is united with the intention, energy united with power, sinews united with bones—these are the three internal unions. Hand is united with foot, elbow united with knee, shoulder united with hip—these are three external unions.

If it is left hand united with right foot, left elbow united with right knee, left shoulder united with right hip, then right hand united with left foot, and so on, would also be true. In addition, head is united with hand, hand united with torso, torso united with step. Are these not external unions? Heart is united with eye, liver united with sinew, spleen united with muscle, lungs united with torso, kidneys united with bones. Are these not internal unions?

But these are special variations of the term. The main idea is that when one part moves, every part moves, and when one part finishes, every part finishes. The five organs and hundred bones are automatic participants in this principle.