Why Chen's

Peace

Sixth Principle: Overlap

During a potential student's interview, invariably, the question of how many moves they would learn in the Taiji set would be asked. Since the set is seen as discreet movements following one after the other, it is a valid question. However, Sifu would never answer. He would move past it to some other question they might have.

If the student stayed and continued to study Taiji with Sifu, he would return to the question years later when installing overlap in the movements. He would ask rhetorically how many moves are in the set and answer, one move. His point was that the movements were not discreet but part of a continuous flow that linked them together like a string of pearls.

The technique was simple, similar to hand-over-hand movement used to climb a rope or to haul in a line. Hand-over-hand prompting taught how to perform the important skill of linking movements together. However, on a deeper level, it sets the stage for its use as a cueing system when listening to internal movement.

Cueing involves using information like feeling and sensation to intuit posture and purpose of movement within the set. Cueing practice furthermore aided in determining hidden usages not specifically taught. Later in push-hands practice, it will be useful in determining an opponent's intent.

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