The martial art of Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) is based on the ‘13 Postures’. Despite what many believe, these ‘postures’ are not 13 prototype fighting techniques – the term refers to 8 methods of expressing power (Jin) and 5 footwork methods and strategies.

In this article, I will be looking into the 5 footwork methods, and how their strategy is to be applied against an opponent.

As an ‘internal’ martial art, the theories, strategies and concepts of Taijiquan stem from Daoist tradition. The 8 expressions of power relating to the Ba Gua (8 Trigrams), and the 5 footwork methods relate to the Wuxing (5 Elements).

According to Daoist theory, the world around us is made up of five elements: Metal, Earth, Water, Fire and Wood. The elements all relate to each other, either via a creative path:

Metal creates Water,
Water creates Wood,
Wood creates Fire,
Fire creates Earth,
Earth creates Metal,

or a destructive path:

Metal destroys Wood,
Wood destroys Earth,
Earth destroys Water,
Water destroys Fire,
Fire destroys Metal,

Also, in the creative path, each Element will destroy the Element that creates it, for example; Water will destroy Fire via the destructive path, but can also be used to destroy Metal by reversing the creative path.

Each of the 5 stepping methods is thus related to an Element, which means that for any step your opponent makes, you have two steps you can make that will put you into a superior position, or two steps that can put you into an inferior position.

We’ll start by looking at which Element relates to each step:

Metal – Forward
Wood – Backward
Water – Left
Fire – Right
Earth – Center (non-movement)

So, by relating these footwork methods to the 5 Elements, we can see that:

1) Forward Movement (Metal):
Is Strong Against – Maintaining Centre (Earth) & Backward Movement (Wood)
Is Defeated By – Left Movement (Water) & Right Movement (Fire)

2) Backward Movement (Wood):
Is Strong Against – Maintaining Center (Earth) & Left Movement (Water)
Is Defeated By – Right Movement (Fire) & Forward Movement (Metal)

3) Maintaining Centre (Earth):
Is Strong Against – Left Movement (Water) & Right Movement (Fire)
Is Defeated By – Forward Movement (Metal) & Backward Movement (Wood)

4) Right Movement (Fire):
Is Strong Against – Forward Movement (Metal) & Backward Movement (Wood)
Is Defeated By – Left Movement (Water) & Maintaining Centre (Earth)

5) Left Movement (Water):
Is Strong Against – Right Movement (Fire) & Forward Movement (Metal)
Is Defeated By – Maintaining Centre (Earth) & Backward Movement (Wood)

You see how this works, yes?
By implementing this theory, a fight can start to become less random, and begins to feel more like a fast (possibly dangerous) game of chess.
Try this out in some gentle partner drills. Have an opponent make a movement in a direction, and try moving in the various ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ movements to see how they work out. When you feel comfortable in gentle practice, begin to work it into your free-sparring practices, and see if you can keep one step ahead of your partner.

I hope this can be of interest to martial artists of any style.