Ever Changing

There are no fixed moves. Otherwise, you become predictable, and your opponent will lead you into a trap. Eight basic moves, five basic steps, these are the basic rules of taiji. After that, it all depends on how you apply these simple rules to bring about constant change.

If you keep changing, your opponent will not be able to follow, and eventually will make a mistake when he fails to follow the ever changing direction of your force. And that is when you either move in and push. Or he reads your force wrongly, uses strength in the wrong direction, and thus falls because of his own strength.

It is the myriad of moves that can be derived from the basic taiji rules, that makes taiji so unpredictable. And it is that unpredictability that makes taiji so effective.