The original Six Harmony Spear techniques are comprised of six paths: Golden Child, Jade Maiden, Green Dragon, Black Tiger, White Horse, and Crimson Ox. The core principle is the central, level spear (zhongping qiang), and its techniques emphasize powerful hacking and splitting motions.
harmonising with the natural flow (Dao 道), releasing attachment, and cultivating inner peace. Daoism sees light/dark, good/bad as interdependent. Past actions, even harmful ones, are part of life’s cyclical balance. The Dao is like water—it doesn’t condemn the boulder it flows around.
Chuojiao, one of China's traditional martial arts schools, unconsciously embodies and applies this philosophical thought. Every move in Chuojiao reflects the concept of unity of opposites, allowing two opposing elements to coexist and transform into each other. It skillfully combines contradictory elements such as attack and defense, advance and retreat, emptiness and solidity, upper and lower, hardness and softness, extension and contraction, movement and stillness, and applies them flexibly and masterfully, elevating one's combat skills to a new level.
As stated in the Chuojiao Boxing Theory: "The hands are the vanguard, and the feet are the commander. The fists strike in six directions, and the feet kick in eight." In practical combat, Chuojiao emphasizes the coordinated use of hand and foot techniques. The hands defend the upper body, while the feet attack the lower body. The hands guide the feet, and when the hands move, the feet follow. When the feet retract, the hands defend. This synchronization is crucial.
Taijiquan is the art of softness containing hardness and hardness and softness complementing each other, and peng force is the most important of all. The combat principle of Taiji is to listen, neutralize, control, and issue, using the opponent's force against them, overcoming the hard with the soft. Therefore, whenever contact is made, peng comes first.
The ancestors of Zhaobao Taijiquan left behind a diagram of the Thirteen Postures (十三式). The口诀 (mnemonic verse) states: "The Thirteen Postures of Taijiquan originate from the Dao of Heaven and encompass 64 movements. Each movement must be practiced with thirteen characters: one circle, two polarities, four phenomena, and eight trigrams
"In martial arts, practicing leg techniques is fundamental. If leg techniques are well-trained, the Five Elements will be in harmony, and the Six Harmonies will be aligned. If one does not train their legs, the Five Elements will not be in harmony, the Six Harmonies will not align, movements will not be swift, advancing and retreating will lack agility, and it will be difficult to utilize the tendons and bones effectively. Therefore, one must first focus on developing leg strength.
The Internal Five Forms correspond to the Five Organs: the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Where the qi (气) and strength (力) go, the posture follows; where the posture goes, the qi and strength are concentrated. Therefore, when qi and strength are abundant, the posture is effective, and when the posture is trained, qi and strength increase.