[Martial Arts] Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg, Not Golden Rooster Lifts Its Knee

Author: Jeffi Chao Hui Wu

Time: 2025-7-11 Friday, 11:41 AM

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[Martial Arts] Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg, Not Golden Rooster Lifts Knee
In my decades of martial arts training and stance practice, one day I finally understood the true meaning of the seemingly simple yet easily misunderstood action name—“Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg.” In traditional understanding, many martial artists, when they hear “Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg,” immediately picture a stance of standing on one leg, lifting the other knee high, arms spread wide, and a proud posture. However, when I stood by the seaside at dawn, rooted in the wind, completely surrendering my body to that standing leg and the solid ground beneath me, I finally realized: the essence of Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg has never been about “lifting,” but about “standing”; it is not about showmanship, but about returning to the root; it is not about form, but about spirit.

That morning, I wore a light training outfit and stood at the edge of the soft, warm sand. Sunlight filtered through thin clouds, the air was slightly humid, and a gentle breeze brushed by. I slowly shifted my weight to my left leg, gently lifted my right foot, letting my toes naturally droop, and held my hands in front of my chest as if cradling a ball—at that moment, the world seemed to quiet down, time appeared to freeze, and my entire awareness concentrated on that weight-bearing left leg, amplifying every detail: the texture of the sole, the alignment of the bones, the opening of the hips, the straightness of the spine. I stood firm, without swaying, retreating, or even actively exerting force, yet I was as steady as a rock. At that moment, I felt like a true golden rooster perched on a mountaintop, unmoved by the winds, its intent contained, its energy abundant—that was the true meaning of “standing alone.”

I understood that the “standing alone” of the golden rooster does not depend on how high the leg is lifted, nor on who has the flashiest posture, but rather on whether that weight-bearing leg can support the heavens and the earth, whether it can uphold the energy, structure, and spirit of the entire body. Conversely, those who lift one leg high as “Golden Rooster Lifts Knee” often compromise the stability of their entire structure due to excessive lifting and a floating center of gravity; if they force themselves to maintain it, they will only cause stress misalignment in the hip joints, lumbar spine, and knees. This misunderstanding is akin to mistaking “looseness” for “softness” and “heaviness” for “pressure,” deviating from the essence of martial arts.

My Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg is a form of “structural standing.” The left foot does not “press” down on the ground, but rather “falls” into place through the alignment of the entire body’s structure; the energy does not stagnate in the abdomen or seal in the dantian, but rises, transforms, and circulates along the spine; the right leg is slightly lifted, not for show, but naturally suspended, like a bird slightly retracting a claw, moving with the wind. The hands cradling the ball are not for posture, but for maintaining center, gathering energy, and embodying intent. In this entire structure, there is only one true source of power—that is the heart.

I recall when I first learned Tai Chi, every time I practiced Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg, I would sway continuously, either not lifting the right leg high enough or not stabilizing the left leg. At that time, I did not understand that the issues with my body actually stemmed from an unstable inner awareness. If your heart is unsettled, you cannot stand firm. If your focus is still on “should I lift my leg a bit higher” or “do I look cool to others,” then your energy will not return to center, your bones will not gather strength, and your stance will not be stable. Conversely, when I truly stopped caring about how high the right leg was lifted and instead fully immersed my heart into that sole, that hip joint, that line of the spine, my body would “stand firm by itself.” There were even a few times when I inadvertently stood for five minutes, only to suddenly realize, “Ah, I’ve been standing for so long!”

At that moment, I understood that the true golden rooster embodies the “way of maintaining independence.” Gold signifies value; rooster signifies awakening; independence signifies maintaining center without deviation. This is not a simple standing posture, but a form of wisdom: amidst a thousand troops and horses, I can still stand alone; amidst chaos, I can firmly hold my center; amidst the chaos of heaven and earth, I stand grounded, establishing my own uniqueness. If Tai Chi stance practice is “great concealment in movement,” then Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg is “small concealment in stillness.” It hides within simplicity, yet represents the deepest cultivation.

From another perspective, Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg also aligns deeply with the principle of “using stillness to control movement.” Many beginners pursue issuing force and explosive power, yet do not realize that true power does not lie in “issuing,” but in “storing”; it does not lie in “exploding,” but in “gathering.” Can you allow one leg to bear the entire weight and breath of your body? Can you maintain your form without leaking energy, without deforming, without distraction while under the pressure of one leg? If you can, then your entire being has already entered a state of “stillness,” and this “stillness” is the true essence of Tai Chi, where movement is found within stillness and stillness is found within movement.

Therefore, my perspective on Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg has long since changed. I even believe that if this posture is practiced to perfection, it can represent a person’s “overall energy penetration ability” and their “stability of body and mind,” far beyond a mere display of skill. When I practice this posture, the right leg does not need to be lifted high; even just a few centimeters off the ground is sufficient. What truly matters is the “root” of the left foot, the “center” of the spine, the “guarding” of the heart, and the “flow” of energy, rather than that right foot being lifted high. Thus, I coined a new saying: “Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg, not Golden Rooster Lifts Knee,” to remind myself and all future practitioners—not to be deceived by appearances, not to mistake the high lift of “lifting” for the independence of “standing.”

I believe that if every practitioner can take a step back from “lifting the knee” and truly experience the profound meaning of “standing alone,” then the Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg will not only become a posture for practice but also a symbol of spirit, a structure of life, and an inner cultivation method that can be practiced anytime and anywhere. It requires no space, no equipment, only a heart willing to stand alone and a leg willing to remain calm.

From today onward, I wish to no longer lift the knee and forget to “stand,” nor to show off my posture and lose my “spirit.” I will only guard one posture, one intent, one line, standing in the wind, under the sun, by the water, on the stone, calm and fearless, serene and steady.

We often say “the form conveys meaning,” and since it is called “Golden Rooster,” we should observe the rooster—when a real rooster stands on one leg, it never lifts one foot high; instead, it naturally retracts it close to its body, with toes drooping, knees relaxed, and body stable. That posture is not about “strenuously lifting the knee,” but rather a natural transfer of center of gravity and release of the other foot.

This is the true meaning of Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg: lifting the foot is for relaxation, not for performance. It is not a knee lifted by force, but a natural suspension after relaxation.

In my own practice, I have deeply realized that once I attempt to lift the non-weight-bearing foot, even by a few inches, it leads to increased tension in the standing leg, pelvic misalignment, and disrupted energy flow. Especially for those who are slightly older or have less flexible hip joints, it can be counterproductive. Conversely, if I merely lift one foot slightly, with toes pointing down and knees relaxed, the body naturally aligns, and the entire skeletal system automatically “returns to position”—this is the true “standing alone.”

A chicken stands not to fight, but to rest; Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg is not for striking, but for returning to the origin.
The higher the knee lift, the further it strays from the chicken; the looser the natural standing, the closer it approaches the Dao.
From today onward, whenever I practice this posture again, I will remind myself: do not lift too high, for that is not a symbol of strength, but a disguise of tension; a true master stands steadily and independently, rather than lifting the knee high.
This is the true understanding of “Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg, not Golden Rooster Lifts Knee.”
Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg, solely in the two words “standing alone.”

Source: https://www.australianwinner.com/AuWinner/viewtopic.php?t=696808