when I thought my knowledge and skill has got to a “high” level, I

would be brought crashing down to earth, sometimes literally. It

would dawn on me, each time, that the bar was ten times higher

than what I could conceive before the fall.

The defining moment of correction was in 2004 when I was on a

short visit to Malaysia. I was sharing “push-hands” with an

advanced student of a senior “brother” Tai Chi practitioner in

Malaysia. To my amazement, nothing I did could work against the really polite young

fella. All my senior “brother” could say was that I when I return to Australia, I needed

to seek out and learn from and practise with those with higher skill. Being an

analytical type, I didn’t think that blindly running into walls was the complete solution

– it could take too long. There must be an underlying principle ... So began my

quest for the “holy grail”.

In his book “TaiJiQuan – Through the Western Gate”, Rick Barrett introduces the

concept of “Energetic Coherence” stating, “Rooting ... appears to be a product of

energetic coherence, not the source of it. … rooting and internal power are

somehow dramatically enhanced when you consciously point you index finger.” He

cautions, however, that one needs to feel the finger pointing, not just “think” about it.

Then I came across the teaching of Master Peter Wu of Melbourne. An important

procedure he emphasizes is to “extend the middle finger”! I had to take that really

seriously, because Master Peter’s skill is astounding. But what’s this different finger

thing? Apparently, Chen stylists extend the middle finger whilst Yang stylists extend

the first finger.

I remembered the saying: “The finger pointing at the moon is not the moon.” The real

agenda may be what Barrett terms “energetic coherence”. Barrett probably means

what the Tai Chi literature refers to as being “open” (the mandarin word is “Kai”) and

it gets frequent mention by Peter Wu, who teaches that by extending the middle

finger, one can “open” the rest of the body. Then also, in “Inner Structure of Tai Chi -

Tai Chi Chi Kung I”, Mantak Chia says, “Another important part of Tai Chi is opening

of all the joints in the body. … Taoist regard the joints as energy gates ……”, and

further “To help open all of the joints in the body, grow the Chi in the joints of the

index fingers and the big toes.”

All these three sources describe different ways to attain this common concept of “Kai”

or “open” or “energetic coherence”. To me, this commonality is a sign that this is IT,

the “holy grail” that I am seeking. Eureka!! …. I hope?

Ken Goh

Sydney