Tai Chi Rank · White Sash
White SashTai Chi Basics
Where Tai Chi starts in our Wu style curriculum. White sash covers the foundation: how to stand, how to shift weight, how to breathe with the movement, and the first part of the slow form.
About this level
White sash is not about learning a lot of movements. It is about learning how to move: staying upright and relaxed, letting the legs and waist do the work, and keeping the breath steady. Those habits are what make the rest of the Tai Chi curriculum feel natural later.
At Shadow Fist, this level is taught in class under your instructor’s guidance and supported by the two training videos and the handouts below. A few relaxed minutes most days is the fastest way to progress.
- How to stand: feet, knees, hips, and spine lined up so the body can relax without collapsing.
- Shifting weight slowly and completely, so every movement starts from the legs and waist.
- The first movements of the Wu style slow form, learned at a pace you can stay relaxed at.
- Breathing with the movement instead of against it, using the qigong breathing practice from class that the videos cover first.
Train it with us
Tai Chi classes run at our Windsor Heights school alongside the Kung Fu program. Practice at home with the videos below, then bring your questions to class.
Explore Qigong →The qigong part
What qigong is
Qigong (chee-kong) is an ancient Chinese mind-body practice that combines gentle movement, deep breathing, and focused intention to cultivate and balance qi, the body’s vital energy. The name means energy cultivation: qi is breath and vitality, gong is skill built through steady daily practice.
Body
Posture and alignment, with relaxed joints and an easy stance.
Breath
Slow, natural, deep diaphragmatic breathing rather than forced air.
Mind
Calm focus and quiet intention guiding the movement.
Nothing here needs strength or flexibility, which is why it suits complete beginners. Start with the breathing videos below, then let the slow form build on that foundation.
Training Videos
Practice with the videos
The first videos for this level focus on qigong: the breathing, posture, and standing work the slow form is built on. Handouts go with them, and they are available to current Shadow Fist students.
Student access only
Log in with your My Account username and password, then come back to watch the training videos and download the handouts.
Rank 1 of 16White SashNext: White Sash, 1 Stripe
Tai Chi ranks
- 1. White Sash
- 2. White Sash, 1 Stripe
- 3. White Sash, 2 Stripes
- 4. White Sash, 3 Stripes
- 5. White Sash, 4 Stripes
- 6. Yellow Sash
- 7. Yellow Sash, 1 Stripe
- 8. Yellow Sash, 2 Stripes
- 9. Yellow Sash, 3 Stripes
- 10. Yellow Sash, 4 Stripes
- 11. Green Sash
- 12. Green Sash, 1 Stripe
- 13. Green Sash, 2 Stripes
- 14. Green Sash, 3 Stripes
- 15. Green Sash, 4 Stripes
- 16. Tai Chi Sifu White Sash
For every level
The 10 Tai Chi Principles
These ten principles apply to the whole Tai Chi Chuan curriculum, from the first white sash class onward. They are what the form is training, so come back to them at every rank rather than treating them as a beginner lesson.
Straightening the head
Stand straight, relax your neck and suspend the head naturally erect from the crown point without strain or tension. The image to model is "hanging by a string from the top of one's head", so the head and neck align by the force of gravity alone.
Correct position of chest and back
The chest is kept slightly depressed inward, which helps the breath sink to the lower belly. The upper back is slightly bowed outward while the pelvis is tucked under.
Remain relaxed with no tension
Relax and loosen all the joints, particularly the shoulders and elbows, and sink them so they are flexible, connected and able to integrate into proper structure. Relaxed does not mean limp. Proper structure is held with a minimum of muscular exertion, with gravity providing the downward stacking and power from the root into the ground. Tai Chi transfers energy as a vibration, much like a whip that has no tension. When the muscles and joints are relaxed, aligned and connected, the wave or pulse of the movement is conducted through them with no retained tension.
All movement comes from the center
The waist is the ruler. All movement comes from the waist, whether it is a hand movement or a step, so make the waist cause each movement. The waist as the ruler must be relaxed, initiating, controlling, guiding and distributing the direction and amount of energy transmitted.
Harmonize the upper and lower parts of the body
The vibration of any Tai Chi movement roots at the feet, releases from the legs, is controlled by the waist, moves through the back and arms, and is finally expressed by the fingers. To achieve this path the feet stay firmly attached to the ground like the big roots of a tree, and the knees stay slightly flexed. Upper and lower body then move together, strung together without the slightest break.
The entire body moves as a single unit
The entire body moves as one complete unit, not just a hand, leg or arm. Once one part moves, every other part is in motion; when you are still, everything is in stillness. Be still as a mountain, move like a great river.
All movements are smooth, even and continuous
Tai Chi movements are performed smoothly and evenly, with no interruptions. Nothing speeds up or slows down, except for the Wu style fast form which does change speed, and there is never a detectable start and finish from one move to the next. The common image is reeling silk thread from a cocoon: too fast or too sudden breaks the silk, too slow or in the wrong direction tangles it.
Keep a clear distinction between substantial and insubstantial
When the weight is on the right leg, that leg is substantial and the left leg is insubstantial, and vice versa. One leg is always heavy and one leg is light. This principle of weight movement applies in all directions and to all parts of the body, governed by the waist, and the constant change is understood through the phasing of yin and yang.
Breathe deeply from the lower belly, in harmony with the movement
The breath is deep and full, filling from the Tan tien, two to three inches below the navel. Each movement links precisely with the breath: as the body expands there is an exhale, and as it contracts there is an inhale. Because the breath is linked to very slow movement, the breathing is very slow too.
The mind leads the body
In Tai Chi, attention goes to the mind rather than to force, so use the mind to direct the movement and let the body follow. Keep the mind fully conscious, aware and intent on each tiny point along the path of the movement and on each point of the body. The mind and breath are king and queen, and the bones and muscles are the court.