An art is best
learnt in its culture. One remarkable difference between culture of the
east and the west is the respect shown to a master. Many eastern
masters comment on the lack of respect, sometimes utter disrespect,
shown to them. Often it is because of the western students' ignorance
of eastern ways rather than their wilful discourtesy that their eastern
masters of chi kung or kungfu (including taijiquan) regard as
disrespect.
The Chinese characters
for Tai Chi Chuan can be translated as the 'Supreme Ultimate Force'.
The notion of 'supreme ultimate' is often associated with the Chinese
concept of yin-yang, the notion that one can see a dynamic duality
(male/female, active/passive, dark/light, forceful/yielding, etc.) in
all things. 'Force' (or, more literally, 'fist') can be thought of here
as the means or way of achieving this ying-yang, or 'supreme-ultimate'
discipline.
To approach Nature is to know harmony;
To acheive Nature is to be enlightened;
But to surpass Nature invites calamity
For emotion will burst the lungs
And exhaustion will age the heart;
The light that burns twice as bright
Burns half as long.
The word Qi (Chi) is used to describe breath, vapor, air, and of
course, the internal energy that Chinese medicine is so adept at
strengthening. Gong (Kung) means work, or achievement.
Many people are
fascinated with the mystical taiji (Tai Chi) legend of the Taoist monk,
Zhang Sanfeng, who allegedly invented taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) through
dreaming about or observing a fight between a snake and a crane in
Wu-dang Mountains. It's human nature to enjoy and believe in
fairytales. As filmmakers continue to make films with this
half-legendary and half-fictional character, Zhang Sanfeng, based on
the stories written by famous Chinese martial arts novelists such as
Jing Yong, I believe this legend will continue to live for centuries.
People always enjoy passing on this kind of legendary story to future
generations like the legends of King Arthur and Robin Hood.
Known for its slow tempo and graceful movement, Taijiquan has been
mainly practiced as a moving meditation. Most of the practitioners'
unawareness of Taijiquan being an effective health exercise as well as
an in-depth internal martial arts training can be explained in terms of
Taijiquan's evolution and practice. After years of research and study
of historical documents by Taiji practitioners, it has been proved that
most of the major styles of Taiji currently practiced (e.g., Chen,
Yang, Sun, Wu, Small Wu) were all derived, directly or indirectly, from
Chen Family Taijiquan, which originated from a small village located in
Henan, China, with the name Chenjiagou, literally, Chen Family Ditch.
Chen Wangting
(1600-1680), a warrior, a scholar, and a ninth generation ancestor of
the Chen family, invented Taijiquan after a lifetime of researching,
developing, and experiencing martial arts. Chen Changxing (1771-1853),
the 14th generation Chen patriarch, was the first to teach Chen
Taijiquan to an outsider, Yang Luchan (1799-1872). Vowing to his master
to never teach Taijiquan to the public or use its name, Yang was
finally taught the Chen family martial art. He later traveled to
Beijing and became known as "Yang the Invincible." True to his oath,
Yang formulated his own Taijiquan form based on Chen Family Taijiquan's
first form (Lao Jia Yi Lu) and became the founder of Yang Taijiquan.
Another possible reason for Yang Luchan to formulate his own Taijiquan
form might be due to the fact that during those days, the Yang family
was employed by the Manchu rulers of the Qing Dynasty to manage the
practice and teaching of war. As Manchus were considered the oppressive
foreign rulers by the people in their sovereignty (i.e., the Han
people), the Yang family probably decided to teach the Manchus only the
boxing form, but not the boxing methods nor its applications.
Manchus were taught to
be soft as cotton so they would not use Taiji to attack or kill. Direct
Yang family members and close disciples, on the other hand, were
secretly taught both the hard and soft aspects of Taiji. Yet, the soft
form started to gain its popularity and gradually Taiji was recognized
and associated with the soft form while people in Chen Village
continued to practice both the soft and the hard forms. It's also
uncertain when the name "Taijiquan" was given to this Chinese martial
arts system. It's very likely that there was no name for Taijiquan when
Chen Wangting initially developed this martial arts system because he
meant to pass it down to his descendant. It is common for a Chinese
family to develop their own style of martial arts. These arts then
become known as the style of the family. Chen Wangting didn't know the
martial arts system he created would one day become one of the most
popular health exercises in the world. The name taijiquan was given
later possibly because this unique martial arts system was created
based on the principles and theory of Taiji, "Grand Ultimate or
Extreme" - yin and yang reaching the ultimate balance and regenerating
from each other. Today there are basically two empty-hand Chen
Taijiquan forms. The first form is soft and slow, also known as Yi Lu
(First Form) whereas the second form is powerful and fast, also known
as Er Lu (Second Form) or Pao Chui (Canon Fist).
Although a person is not
required to be athletic in order to learn Taiji, patience, consistent
practice, and time commitment are essential for a Taiji learner to
truly benefit from this ancient internal martial arts system. Chen
family Taijiquan offers a very complete training system including
qigong, empty-hand forms, silk-reeling exercises, push-hand practice,
weapon sets, etc. Beginning students usually start with Yi Lu, qigong,
and silk-reeling exercises to help them establish a strong foundation
and to prepare them if they wish to continue and pursue further the
martial aspects of the system. For generations, the practice of
Taijiquan has been compromised to the extent that it has lost its
original essence. Chen Family Taijiquan, however, has gone through the
least amount of change as a martial art and it has not only preserved
most of the training methods (e.g., Dan tian rotation exercises, 5
different types of push-hands pattern, etc.) but also some of the most
unique training tools (e.g., Taiji bang, Taiji sphere, etc.). It is
hoped that through the promotion of Traditional Chen Taijiquan, the
public will again recognize Taijiquan not only as a health exercise, benefiting
both mental and physical health, but also a truly valuable Chinese
martial arts system.
According to
statistics, there are over 100 different styles of Chinese boxing
alone. "Weaponry" includes nine kinds of long weapons and nine short,
such as knives, spears, swords, and clubs, which together constitute
what is called the "Eighteen Types of Martial Arts."
Each style of
boxing and weapon-wielding of "Chinese kung fu" has its own special
sequences and movements backed up by comprehensive and profound
theories and techniques.
Many Tai Chi styles and
variations of styles have been passed down through the generations.
Three styles of Tai Chi Chuan are considered to be the "major" systems
taught throughout the world, although there are many modified versions.
These styles, Chen, Yang, and Wu, are named after the families that
founded them (see Origin & History). Each of these styles, or
systems, has characteristics that make it distinct from the others,
however most of the general principles of Tai Chi Chuan are the same
for all of them (principles of body structure, mind-body integration,
relaxation and breathing, and others, see Introduction to Tai Chi Chan
Principles).
The primary differences
between the three major styles are:
1) Chen contains hard as
well as soft techniques, some resembling regular kung fu with fast,
hard power and footwork;
2) Yang is made up of
large, graceful circles, and the techniques are easy to see and
understand;
3) Wu uses smaller circles with more throwing and pushing techniques
4) There is another, less
practiced, style known as Sun style Tai Chi (also derived from the
"majors"), founded by Sun, Lu-Tang that deserves mention. Sun combined
many techniques of the other Chinese "internal" martial styles Hsing-I
Chuan and Bagua Chang into his Tai Chi Chuan style.
The Tai Chi
Symbol (also twin fish symbol and yin - yang symbol) is familiar to
almost everyone, although most don't know what it is or represents. The
white portion of the symbol represents yin by virtue of it's lack of
color. The black portion represents yang. In general, yin and yang are
considered opposites of virtually anything, and the shape of each side
of the symbol and it's rotational character represent the relative
proportions of yin to yang as they continuously change and cycle from
one to the other and back (essentially the nature of all things). The
small circular areas of white within black and black within white
indicate that, even in the extreme, there is always a little yin within
yang and a little yang within yin. Examples of yin may include; dark,
soft, night, cold, empty, etc. Examples of yang relative to these yin
examples may include; light, hard, day, hot, full, etc., respectively.
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Indigenous Peoples' Literature