Circles and spirals

Tai chi gains its strength by way of the curved, and every movement involves spiralling.

The twisting and turning of the body in tai chi is usually quite subtle, with only the barest hint of spiralling evident to the observer.

It is important not to exaggerate the use of spiralling, otherwise the joints will close and freedom of movement is lost.
As with everything else in your practice, intent is essential.
Chen style uses reeling silk in a more explicit manner than the Yang system.

Inexperienced exponents simply twist their disconnected limbs instead of unifying the complete structure for every movement.

The use of reeling silk is essential during self defence, where the wave-like undulations are used to absorb and redirect incoming force.