Tendon changing

Yes. In this context, “tendon-changing” (yijinjing / 易筋經) does not mean literally changing the tendons. It refers to traditional Chinese exercises intended to condition the connective tissues, tendons, ligaments, fascia, posture, and whole-body coordination. The term is associated with several different traditions, including Daoist and Buddhist exercise systems, so there isn’t one universally standardized “tendon-changing” routine.

What is especially interesting for you is that some of the qualities emphasized in these practices overlap quite well with what tennis demands: elasticity, rotational control, shoulder stability, ankle/calf resilience, and the ability to transmit force through the whole body.

What “tendon changing” is trying to do

The traditional idea is roughly:

bones → tendons → muscles → qi/breath → mind

Rather than simply building muscular strength, the practitioner develops a body that can connect and transmit force smoothly.

In practical modern terms, think of:

• slow loading of tendons and connective tissues

• isometric strength

• controlled joint positioning

• elastic recoil

• whole-body coordination

• relaxed but structurally strong posture

• gradual exposure to unusual ranges of motion

That’s quite different from bodybuilding.

Tai chi has several movements that could be useful for your tennis

You don’t necessarily need a long tai-chi form. A few movements are particularly relevant.

1. “Ward Off” — peng

This is one of the fundamental tai-chi movements.

It develops the feeling of the arm being supported by the legs, hips, spine and shoulder girdle, rather than the shoulder muscles doing everything.

For tennis, that concept is useful for the serve, forehand and especially repetitive volleys.

2. “Cloud Hands”

This is probably one I’d particularly like for you.

The slow lateral shifting and rotation trains:

• hip rotation

• thoracic rotation

• shoulder/scapular movement

• weight transfer

• balance

• coordination between upper and lower body

It also gives you a gentle way of working the adductors, glutes, calves and trunk without pounding the legs.

3. “Silk-reeling” / chan si gong

This is actually even more relevant to tennis than many traditional forms.

The arms make continuous spiraling movements while the body rotates from the feet through the legs, pelvis and trunk.

Think:

foot → ankle → knee → hip → pelvis → spine → shoulder → arm → hand

That is very close to the kinetic-chain concept used in tennis.

4. Bow stance / empty stance

Slowly moving between these positions develops the ability to accept weight on one leg and then transfer it to the other.

That has obvious relevance to tennis because you’re constantly going:

split step → load → push → recover → load the opposite side.

5. “Standing like a tree” / zhan zhuang

This may actually be the most interesting one for your current situation.

You simply stand in a stable posture, usually with the knees slightly bent and arms held in front.

It looks like you’re doing almost nothing.

But done correctly, it develops isometric endurance and postural organization through the feet, calves, thighs, hips, back, shoulders and arms.

And this gets back to the passage you quoted: stillness is itself a form of training.

For your tennis, I’d make one important distinction

I wouldn’t think:

“I need to strengthen my tennis tendons with tai chi.”

I’d think:

“I want to develop better connective-tissue capacity and whole-body coordination without adding much fatigue.”

That’s particularly appropriate given how much tennis/PB/swimming you’re already doing.

You already get plenty of high-intensity loading. Tai chi could occupy the opposite end of the spectrum:

Tennis/PB: explosive → reactive → unpredictable

Tai chi: slow → controlled → deliberate → restorative

That combination could be quite useful.

A simple 10-minute “tendon/tennis” practice

You could try this on a non-tennis morning:

2 min — standing

• feet shoulder width

• knees softly bent

• crown of head gently lifted

• relax shoulders

• breathe naturally

2 min — slow weight shifting

• shift right/left

• don’t let the knees collapse inward

• feel pressure moving through the feet

2 min — Cloud Hands

• slow lateral movement

• rotate from hips/trunk rather than twisting the knees

2 min — silk-reeling arms

• gentle spiraling of the arms

• coordinate with trunk rotation

2 min — Ward Off

• slow repetitions

• imagine the hands are connected to the feet through the torso

• absolutely no forcing

I’d keep it easy enough that you finish feeling better than when you started.

And given your recent combination of swimming, PB and tennis, I would not turn this into another workout. The value is in the low-load, high-control quality.

One fascinating connection to the Eva Wong passage is that “cultivating the body before cultivating the mind” doesn’t necessarily mean conventional strength training. In the Northern Complete Reality tradition, physical practices such as tendon-changing, standing and movement could be used to make the body sufficiently regulated and resilient that stillness of mind became more accessible. In that sense, the physical and meditative practices aren’t really separate.

If you’d like, I can also show you  5 specific tai-chi movements that map almost one-for-one onto tennis movements—serve, forehand, backhand, lateral recovery and split step—and explain exactly which tendons/muscle groups each develops.