Shi San Shi (十三式) or Thirteen Postures does not mean thirteen different postures or movements. steps but actually means thirteen basic skills. The 13 postures are also known as Bafa Wubu (八法五步) and Bamen Wubu (八门五步). The hand skills of Taijiquan follow the principle of Bagua trigram. Bafa (八法) or Eight Method are eight hand skill methods.of Jin force. All hand skills and techniques are generated from the Eight Method.
The footwork of Taijiquan follows the philosophical concept of Wuxing (五行) or Five Elements. Wubu (五步) or Five Footwork are the five footwork skills. It is more about Shenfa or body movement skills because footwork and body movement have a very tight relationship.
These 13 basic skills are the foundation of all Taijiquan skills. All other skills come from the different variation and combination of these basic skills. The meaning of those 13 skills are as below:
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Taijiquan Theories >
13 Postures (十三式) |