If a substance is the ultimate one - containing all and only real entities, none of its content will have a cause that isn’t found in the way this substance is; the substance itself is the whole and complete mechanism of movements and stasis, the source of any properties and their negations (any ‘is’ and ‘isn’t’, ‘was’ and ‘wasn’t’, ‘to be’ and ‘not to be’, ‘can be’, and ‘cannot be’, ‘must be’ and ‘must not be’, etc.).

If a fighter is the ultimate one - containing all and only superior/winning movements in every combat situation, no part of her superiority will have a cause that isn’t found in just the way she is; the fighter herself is the whole and complete mechanism of movements and stasis, the source of any properties and their negations (such as ‘lethal’ and ‘not lethal’, ‘sufficient’ and ‘insufficient’, etc.).

Whenever the fighters wills movements, the required body parts and reflexes stir; when she wills stasis, they settle into appropriate places. She applies no more or less than the required pressure; if the opponent has the upper hand at the moment, she works with that; if she has the upper hand, she works with that. When the opponent is on the offense, she yields to create space; when the opponent is on the defense, she adheres to eliminate space. She respond to quick movements quickly and respond to slow movements slowly. There might as well be infinite particular combat situations; this one principles governs them all. A fighter can gradually become an expert of how force works through consistent practice and can gain extraordinary awareness via chiseling that expertise to the degree of appearing superhuman to unsuspecting eyes. Without having practiced applying pressure for a long time, no one can suddenly gain combat abilities. Make your head light and the bottom or your core heavy, so that your torso is completely straight; if you master this, your opponent will struggle to connect. If the attack comes from the left, catch it from the left; if it comes from the right, catch it from the right. If the attack goes up, go higher, if it aims down, do deeper. When the ultimate fighter strikes, her line of effect is long; when she retreats, her opponent struggles to catch up and take advantage of the situation. She can sense a feather’s weight, a fly’s momentum in her opponent. The opponent just doesn’t know and she just knows. The tall tales of heroes meeting no match can all be explained by this principle of combat!

太极者，无极而生，动静之机，阴阳之母也。动之则分，静之则合。无过不及，随曲就伸。人刚我柔谓之走，我顺人背谓之粘。动急则急应，动缓则缓随。虽变化万端，而理唯一贯。由著熟而渐悟懂劲，由懂劲而阶及神明。然非用力之久，不能豁然贯通焉。虚领顶劲，气沉丹田，不偏不倚，忽隐忽现。左重则左虚，右重则右杳。仰之则弥高，俯之则弥深。进之则愈长，退之则愈促。一羽不能加，蝇虫不能落。人不知我，我独知人。英雄所向无敌，盖皆由此而及也！

How can you tell between a Taiji practitioner on a good track from a confused Taiji practitioner? There are stronger and weaker confused practitioners, but they all tend to use strength to subdue and manipulate weaker people. They are simply naturally faster and stronger than the people they bully; they make no progress in understanding how force works. Think carefully about the ideal to deflect a thousand pounds by four ounces. You cannot do that by overpowering higher strength, which makes no physical sense. If you see a 90 year-old fighter subduing a group of people, how impressed would you feel about someone’s natural born speed now? Stand like a pole, be ready to rotate; your feet should be flexible like a wheel. In a short period, only one side of your body should deliver kill moves, and only one of your legs should support most of your weight. Not doing these two things make you “double-heavy”. There are people who have trained for years but still can’t seem to fight better. It’s because they are holding themselves back by either having both legs pinned to the ground or by trying to delivery kill moves consecutively from both left and right or by moving around too much and overusing confusion moves. The key of avoiding being double-heavy is to understand the complementary roles of attack and defense. Yielding is adhering, and adhering is yielding. Your current defense has effects on subsequent attacks and your current attack has implications on subsequent defense. If you understand the complementary roles of relevant dualities like attack and defense, advancing and retreating, etc. you understand how force works. Once you understand this, practice to make more progress, observe and reflect, slowly you will gain better control or governance of your body. In real combat situations as well as sparring or hand pushing exercises, if your opponent hits you, deal with that attack; do not try so hard to knock out the opponent right away, even during his attack. Studying how force works and studying boxing with the holistic philosophy of understanding all and only superior movements in mind, if the practitioner’s aim is off by the slightest fraction, she will miss the target by a thousand miles. So, practitioners must study with care. The above make the principles of this treatise.

斯技旁门甚多，虽势有区别，概不外壮欺弱、慢让快耳，有力打无力，手慢让手快。是皆先天自然之能，非关学力而有也。察四两拔千斤之句，显非力胜！观耄耋御众之形，快何能为？立如枰准，活似车轮，偏沉则随，双重则滞。每见数年纯功不能运化者，率皆自为人制，双重之病未悟耳。欲避此病，须知阴阳，粘即是走，走即是粘，阳不离阴，阴不离阳，阴阳相济，方为懂劲。懂劲后愈练愈精，默识揣摩，渐至从心所欲。本是舍已从人，多误舍近求远，所谓差之毫厘，谬之千里，学者不可不详辨焉！是为论。

Author：王宗岳（1535-1606AD）famed Taiji practitioner from the Ming dynasty.

I referenced a commentary from some veteran contemporary Taiji practitioners with proper lineages found here:

https://doubledragonalliance.org/zh/王宗岳太极拳论/

as well as another wonderful, more prosy English translation by a veteran Yang-Style Taiji practitioner here:

https://jinglingtaichi.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Wang-Zhongyue-The-Taijiquan-Treatise.pdf