I received an interesting email from a member of the online internal arts school last week asking what does it mean to use intent in Taiji. Like a lot of members, he's using the online material to supplement training under another teacher. It became apparent that an instructor had made intent appear mystical.

He asked if, when establishing the ground path, if it's physical or if you are using Mind Intent?

After giving him my take on the subject, I then did some research to see what other instructors say. As I expected, the term Intent is shrouded in abstract terms and descriptions, in Taoism and Buddhism. One well-known "master" writes about it in such an abstract way that you'd need a Ph.D in Philosophy to understand it, then he asks for nearly a hundred bucks.

Let me put it simply -- the question is "what is intent when doing any internal movement?"

You can make it as flowery and abstract as you want, but the bottom line is this: the intent of the movement depends upon the martial application of the movement. When I am completing the movement Single Whip, as I open and move the left hand across, what is the intent? One application would be to pull on an opponent's wrist with the right hand and strike his face with the left.

So how do I work on the intent here? By being mindful of the body mechanics required to generate balance, strength and power throughout the movement. By doing it slowly, I seek to internalize the body mechanics and develop the relaxed strength that comes from the body mechanics and spiraling. Later, I can try speeding it up -- "putting on the gas" as Chen Xiaowang might put it -- and using fajing at a more realistic speed. But I can only do this with quality when I have a grasp of the body mechanics, which are developed at slower speeds.

If the application I'm envisioning as I do the same movement involves pulling the arm closer and expanding the chest to hyperextend or break his elbow, my intent will be slightly different.

Although the internal arts can be used for detachment and meditation, if you do a form and detach mentally, you're not going to be doing the art -- unless you've already practiced so many times with intent that it happens automatically, but even then, if the mind isn't engaged in the actual purpose of the movement, it's a bit empty.

The internal arts are complex. They require subtleties of movement and mechanics, of neutralizing force and applying force -- and you can get very abstract, especially when you bring in Taoism, Buddhism, karma, and the many interpretations of chi flow and chi cultivation into it.

But at the heart of it all -- it's about neutralizing force and using force.

The Yi leads the Chi and the Chi leads the Li. The mind knows what it must do and it generates both Intent and Spirit. If the Spirit is scared or weak, the technique will be ineffective. If the Intent and Spirit are strong, and the body mechanics are right, the Chi will "flow" and the Strength of the body will follow (Li).

It really isn't mysterious. You can show this physically in any classroom. Just have someone stand with their arms folded but out in front and away from their bodies. Tell them you're going to push them and move your hands close. You'll see them shift, preparing for the push. Their mind was focusing on intent, their energy and strength were following.

Here's an interpretation looked at another way: when establishing and maintaining the ground path and peng (and other mechanics), these are physical skills that combine and change in relation to the always-changing intent of the movement (always changing because an opponent's attack is constantly changing). Rarely will an attacker punch and then go away. Generally the punch will evolve into a grab, which may evolve into a clench, and may evolve into an attempted takedown. Your intent is constantly shifting with the situation. 

You can bring yin and yang into this and get as complex as you want. In fact, it's fun and interesting to get more complex. But you can never lose sight of the fact that these are martial arts. And if you have a teacher who isn't teaching this aspect, there are some supplemental materials I could recommend. :)