A beautiful Tai Chi form is dependent on graceful, nimble, light, and solid footwork. We are constantly transferring our weight back and forth, from foot to foot, by alternating which moves, and which holds the weight. That’s a lot movement, and the only way to ensure that footwork is not wobbly or clunky is to clearly understand empty and full, which Master Yang Chengfu (1883–1936) called the first fundamental of Tai Chi Chuan.
The full foot is considered Yin, because it is solid, stable and unmoving. It is also rooted into the Earth. The empty foot is Yang, because it is active and able to move freely like the air. The Dantian should always be over the full foot when the other is empty. Once you are clear on this important principle, and conscious of how one becomes the other and vice versa, you will (hopefully) never again move on a full leg or balance on an empty one.
Start by shifting your weight back and forth slowly, from one foot to the other, with one foot slightly in front of the other. Feel the sensation of weight pouring, like sand, from the full leg to the other, as one leg empties and the other fills. As you shift your Dantain from the full foot to the empty one, sink your body weight, and your Qi, into the full leg until the empty foot has no weight on it. Though it doesn’t have a proper name, teachers often call it empty step.
Once your foot is empty, you can safely pivot. To test if your foot is truly empty, you should be able to lift that foot without jerking, repositioning your body or falling. Everything above the waist should feel light and fluid, while everything below the waist should feel full and heavy. Sinking the Qi also promotes blood and energy circulation, while removing chronic tension from your daily movements.
When you step with an empty foot, you should feel your foot rooted to the ground below and determine whether or not there is stability. If the ground doesn’t feel stable, you should move your foot to another position before you commit. Notice when you walk that your legs transition by shifting weight back and forth; from full to empty. Keep this in mind as you move through your form. As you become more comfortable with the principles of empty and full, begin feeling it in your arms and the rest of your body. It is more subtle than you might expect.
Of course, in Tai Chi, you are constantly shifting between empty and full. For example, in bow stance, the front leg is 70% full and the back leg is 30% full. In a back follow step (Sun form), your front foot will be about 90% full and your back foot about 10%. The opposite is true in a front follow step. Of course, none of these stances are static, because you are constantly shifting and moving the weight from Yin to Yang and back.
Tai Chi is a safe exercise for people of all ages and physical conditions when it is done correctly. In order to protect our knees and joints, we always move our weight off a foot before we reposition it. Only then do we place weight back on it. Unfortunately, I often observe students moving the upper portion of their bodies, but not emptying the moving foot of its weight before they pivot or step. This is a good example of “controlled falling.”
It might sound complicated, but try it. Anyone who can walk can learn to differentiate between empty and full.
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