The development of high level martial skills in Taijiquan involves cultivating the ability to connect one's own intention with the intention of the opponent, according to Wang Hao Da, one of the top students of the late Master Ma Yueliang.
Wang, who has exceptional push hands skills from his training with Ma and his own research, said he tries to match his own intention, or yi, with that of the opponent. He then harmonises with the opponent in such a way that the two become one so that he can direct the opponents movement. This is done while concealing his own intention and energy so that the opponent cannot control him.
The groundwork for this kind of skill is accomplished by practising the Taiji Form, creating a strong, lively, needle-like centre of equilibrium (zhongding) that the opponent cannot find. The method is based on Master Ma's key points: Don't use strength; use quality, not power; use the invisible, not the visible; use the internal, not the external.
According to Wang Hao Da, Master Ma's practice entirely emphasised the internal,
to create a strong and deep centre of equilibrium that he could rely on for
power rather than external force. This enabled him to remain loose and pliable
when he had to repulse the external strength of his opponent.
In his own development, Wang focused on 4 key aspects of practice. The first is zhao, or searching. "You have to be continually
searching for your zhongding (central equilibrium) whenever you do push hands
and forms. You want to find your zhongding and understand your zhongding. At
the same time, you also have to search for the other person's zhongding and
understand their zhongding. Then you can know their power and neutralise it."
The second is qiao, which means the body has to be skillful. "You have to be able to let other people touch and push you so you can become skillful and smart. You can create this skillfulness. Qiao really means a well trained body."
The third is hua which means to yield and dissolve. "Your jin or internal
strength can absorb others energy and become like a compressed spring. By doing
this it is possible to make ones own centre very small so people cannot find
it. This is both to hide the centre but also to first store energy before sending
it out to throw the opponent."
The fourth is qiu which means to probe for your own root. "The root must be made strong to give the ability to use folding power and issuing power. It is from a strong root that you can gain the ability to suddenly disappear and reappear. Your root has to be deep, your hips have to be loose."
The specialty of Master Ma and Wang is the use of invisible jin. Most who use
pengjin or fajin are too visible in the ay they use their energy. But Master
Ma and Wang use more yi (intention) and qi (non-physical energy) and less external
jin. Their pengjin is just the internal strength of the Mind working through
the qi. This is developed through Taiji Form practice to internalise the jin
and make it more subtle.
Another technique that Wang uses is to let other people become part of an outside circle while maintaining his own inner circle. He wants the opponent to be outside so that if you push you go outside. He is at the centre and has his inside circle. When he finds the opponents centre he discharges his energy.
The sensitivity that Wang cultivates enables him to read the opponents centre and the depth of root they have in their feet.