Before form, before techniques, before issuing power, two conditions must exist in the body: Song (release) and Peng (structural integrity).

All genuine Taijiquan skill arises from their continuous cooperation. They are not techniques, not strategies, and not stages of training. They are the operating state of the Taiji body. Without Song, the body is rigid and disconnected. Without Peng, the body collapses and loses structure. Together they create the living architecture of internal power.

Song (松): Release Without Collapse

Song is the progressive removal of unnecessary tension so the body can organize naturally.

Song produces:

• open joints rather than compressed joints
• weight carried by structure rather than muscle
• continuous connection through the body
• sensitivity to pressure and change
• freedom of internal movement

Song is not limpness, softness, or relaxation in the ordinary sense. The body remains organized and responsive while unnecessary effort dissolves. Song creates space.

Peng (掤): Structural Integrity and Elastic Support

Peng is the body’s condition of continuous elastic support. It is the quality that maintains shape under pressure and distributes force through the whole structure.

Peng produces:

• whole-body connection
• outward extension in all directions
• spring-like responsiveness
• resistance to collapse
• uniform structural support

Peng is not muscular force, not pushing outward, and not internal pressure. It is the body’s integrated structural integrity. Peng maintains shape.

Their Relationship

Song and Peng must exist simultaneously. Song removes obstruction. Peng provides support. Song opens the joints so connection becomes possible. Peng uses that connection to maintain structure. Song without Peng collapses. Peng without Song becomes tension. Their balance produces the fundamental Taiji quality:

loose yet full, soft yet supported, relaxed yet connected.

The Emergence of Sinking and Rising

From Song and Peng arise the complementary dynamics:

• Chen (sinking), the downward release through open structure
• Rising / Buoyant support, an upward structural response

These are not separate actions but expressions of the same internal organization. The body releases downward while maintaining upward structural support. This condition becomes the basis of rooting, sensitivity, and power.

Dui–La: Opposing Length and Internal Elasticity

Dui–La is the condition that allows Song and Peng to coexist without contradiction. It is not tension, and it is not stretching. It is the simultaneous presence of opposing directions within the body.

The body lengthens upward while settling downward. The back expands while the front remains quiet. The limbs extend while the joints remain released.

This creates internal elasticity.

Without Dui–La, Song becomes collapse and Peng becomes rigidity. With Dui–La, the body maintains structure without stiffness and release without loss. Dui–La is not added after the fact. It is present whenever the Taiji Body is correctly organized.

Song releases what would block Dui–La. Peng maintains what Dui–La requires.

Foundational Principle

All Taijiquan training develops the capacity to maintain Song and Peng simultaneously in stillness and movement. They are the primary conditions from which all internal skill emerges.