有些习练太极拳的爱好者见书中有“迈步如猫行”一说，以为这是单纯的形容词，意思是练拳行步时好比家猫或野猫般轻灵、稳健。殊不知，传统太极拳中确有猫形步的单练，其详尽细致的介绍又少见于书籍与杂志的字里行间。

我们日常走步，是前脚去，后脚撑，后脚有了力，才移上去。但是“迈步如猫行”却不能如此。太极拳名家郝少如先生讲过：“不许后脚用力，要前脚实足站稳了，后脚提起慢慢移过去，而且后脚置前时，在重心未移过去时，还要不费力地能抽得回来。”教授我练拳多年的恩师林墨根先生曾说：“太极拳中的猫形步体现腰胯带动四肢的虚实运动，要下苦功把猫形步练到位，虽费力辛苦，却能增长腰腿的松弹沉稳之劲。”

cats' steps are different from humans'. When cats move, they lift one leg and put the other three legs down to support their body. Humans do it differently - they lift one leg, but only leave another leg supporting their body. The lifted leg should be slightly bent to support the whole body weight, with attention paid to balance and coordination. It also requires "constant awareness in the waist" when moving slowly.

The slow practice of cat-step is more important than the fast one. First, you need to relax your perineum (when stepping forward) and your right hip (when looking forward). From your right knee joint down to your ankle joint, make them all soft. Your right foot should be turned outward by 45 degrees before it touches the ground firmly with your heel and sole.

Next, relax your left shoulder while keeping a stable feeling in your right foot. Then loosen up both sides of your lower abdomen (the two grooves running downwards), while turning your waist gently towards the left side along with moving energy towards front direction and slightly raising up my head.

When doing this step-by-step process for each side of cat-step practice, we must focus on our breathing technique as well as maintaining a correct posture throughout every movement so that we can achieve an optimal result in practicing this specific style of Tai Chi movements.