Tai chi

T'ai Chi Ch'üan, Taijiquan, Tai Chi Chuan, or commonly Tai Chi or Taiji (太極拳 in pinyin: tài jí quán lit. taiji fist), is a Nei chia ("internal") Chinese martial art which is known for its claims of health and longevity benefits. T'ai Chi Ch'uan is also known as a "soft style" martial art.

Overview

T'ai Chi Ch'üan is an art of moving-meditation based on principles such as

- Giving up Oneself to Follow Another (in a Martial Sense)

- Using the Mind and Breath to Direct the Body (Nei Jin)

- Unity of the Internal (Yin) and the External (Yang), Mind and Body

The Mandarin term "T'ai Chi Ch'üan" translates as "Supreme Ultimate Boxing" or "Boundless Fist". The T'ai Chi forms (the famous slow motion routines groups of people practice every morning in hundreds of parks across China and, increasingly, other parts of the world) and pushing hands (two person training, choreographed and freestyle) are designed first to improve the T'ai Chi students' stability, looseness in the joints and muscles and level of relaxation by taking them through their complete natural range of motion. The slow, repetitive work necessary to that process are said to gently increase and open their internal circulation (body heat, blood, peristalsis, etc.), while the postural requirements introduced in the first classes are conducive to relaxing and deepening the students' breathing. Over time, proponents say this enhancement becomes a lasting effect, a direct reversal of the physical effects of stress on the human body. This reversal allows much more of the students' native energy to be available to them, which they may then apply more effectively to the rest of their lives; families, careers, spiritual or creative pursuits, hobbies, etc.

T'ai Chi Ch'üan is seen by many of its schools as a variety of Taoism, and it does seemingly incorporate many Taoist principles into its practice (see below). It is an art form said to date back many centuries (although not reliably documented under that name before 1850), with precursor disciplines dating back thousands of years. The explanation given by the traditional T'ai Chi family schools for why so many of their previous generations have dedicated their lives to the study and preservation of the art is that the discipline it seems to give its students to dramatically improve the effects of stress in their lives, with a few years of hard work, should hold a useful purpose for people living in a stressful world. They say that once the T'ai Chi principles have been understood and internalized into the bodily framework the practitioner will have an immediately accessible "toolkit" thereby to improve and then maintain their health, to provide a meditative focus, and that can work as an effective and subtle martial art for self-defence.

In T'ai Chi classes one is taught awareness of one's own balance and what affects it, awareness of the same in of others, and appreciation of the practical value in one's ability to moderate extremes of behavior and attitude at both mental and physical levels. Teachers say the study of T'ai Chi Ch'üan is, more than anything else, about challenging one's ability to change oneself appropriately in response to outside forces. These principles are taught using the examples of physics as experienced by two (or more) bodies in combat. In order to be able to protect oneself using change, it is necessary to understand what the consequences are of changing appropriately, changing inappropriately and not changing at all in response to an attack. Students, by this theory, will appreciate the full benefits of the entire art in the fastest way through physical training of the martial art aspect.

In combat, if one uses hardness to resist violent force then both sides are certain to be injured, at least to some degree. Such injury, according to T'ai Chi theory, is a natural consequence of meeting brute force with brute force. The collision of two like forces, yang with yang, is known as "double-weighted" in T'ai Chi terminology. Instead, T'ai Chi students are taught not to fight or resist an incoming force, but to meet it in softness and "stick" to it, following its motion in contact until the force exhausts itself or can be safely redirected, the result of meeting yang with yin. Done correctly, achieving this this yin/yang or yang/yin balance in combat (and, by extension, other areas of one's life) is known as being "single-weighted" and is a primary goal of T'ai Chi Ch'üan training. Lao-Tzu provided the archetype for this in the Tao Te Ching when he wrote, "The soft and the pliable will defeat the hard and strong." Generally, the T'ai Chi student has to be well conditioned by many years of disciplined training; stable, sensitive and elastic mentally and physically in order to realize this ability, however.

The following quote was taken from one of the first writings published on the internal arts, written in the late 1800s, by the well known Wu Yu-hsiang stylist Li I-yü (translated by Douglas Wile in Lost T'ai Chi Classics of the Late Qing Dynasty):

"How wonderful is T'ai Chi Ch'üan whose movements follow nature.

The whole body filled with one unbroken ch'i (py: qi).

Use the mind and not strength.

The body feels relaxed and the ch'i lively.

For everywhere ch'i goes there is a manifestation in the body.

All this is a function of the mind and has nothing to do with brute force.

Movement arises from stillness, But even in movement there is stillness.

The spirit leads the ch'i in its movement...

Let the strongest aggressor attack us,

While four ounces deflect a thousand pounds."

Another relatively early text, from the hand of Wu Chien-ch'üan, co-founder of the Wu family style, described the name T'ai Chi Ch'üan this way at the beginning of the 20th century:

"Various people have offered different explanations for the term T'ai Chi Ch'üan. Some have said: 'In terms of self-cultivation, one must train from a point of movement towards a point of quiescence. T'ai Chi comes about through the harmony of yin and yang. In terms of the art of attack and defense then, in the context of transformations of full and empty, one is constantly inwardly latent, not outwardly expressive, as if the yin and yang of T'ai Chi have not divided apart.' Others say: 'Every movement of T'ai Chi Ch'üan is based on circles, just like the shape of a T'ai Chi symbol (太極圖 taijitu). Therefore, it is called T'ai Chi Ch'üan.' Both explanations are quite reasonable, especially the second, which is fuller."

T'ai Chi styles

There are several major styles of T'ai Chi Ch'üan:

Wudang (武當)

Wudang (Wu Tang) style T'ai Chi Ch'üan is said to concentrate exclusively on spiritual practices, and as a result it is not well known outside of the immediate vicinity of Wudangshan in central China. Some even consider that what is practised under that name today may be a modern back-formation based on the stories of Chang San-feng (py: Zhang Sanfeng) (see below) and the martial fame of the Wudang monastery (there are many other martial art styles historically associated with Wudang besides T'ai Chi). There is also another modern T'ai Chi style going by the name Wudang that is fairly well-known internationally, especially in the UK and Europe, originally taught by a student of the Wu style (see below).

When tracing T'ai Chi Ch'üan's formative influences to Taoist and Buddhist monasteries, one has little more to go on than legendary tales from a modern historical perspective, but T'ai Chi Ch'üan's practical connection to and dependence upon the theories of Sung or Song dynasty Neo-Confucianism (a conscious synthesis of Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian traditions, esp. the teachings of Mencius) is readily apparent to its practitioners. The philosophical and political landscape of that time in Chinese history is fairly well documented, even if the art later to become known as T'ai Chi Ch'üan's origin in it is not. T'ai Chi Ch'üan's theories and practice are therefore believed by some schools to have been formulated by the Taoist monk Chang San-feng in the 12th century CE, a time frame fitting well with when the principles of the Neo-Confucian school were making themselves felt in Chinese intellectual life. Therefore the didactic story is told that Chang San-feng as a young man studied Tao Yin breathing exercises from his Taoist teachers and martial arts at the Buddhist Shaolin monastery, eventually combining the martial forms and breathing exercises to formulate the soft or internal principles we associate with T'ai Chi Ch'üan and related martial arts. Its subsequent fame attributed to his teaching, Wudang monastery was known thereafter as an important martial center for many centuries, its many styles of internal kung fu preserved and refined at various Taoist temples associated with the Wudangshan system.

Chen style (陳氏)

Considered to be the senior branch of the T'ai Chi Ch'üan family styles, the Chen style today is known for its low postures and vigorous martial art training. While there are many hundreds of schools teaching T'ai Chi around the world, the family styles are said to go the farthest in maintaining the "old-fashioned" style of teaching that has been normative for T'ai Chi Ch'üan instruction for most of its history.

Historically documented from the 1600s, the Chen family originates in the Chen Clan Village (Chenjiagou) in Wen County, Henan Province.(溫縣陳家溝). Their best known teacher was Chen Changxing (陳長興 Chén Chángxīng) (1771-1853). Chen is traditionally associated with a teacher known as Jiang Fa (蔣發 Jiǎng Fā), although it is no longer clear if their relationship was a teacher/student one (or even who was senior) or if they were colleagues.

Some traditions purport that a disciple of Zhang Sanfeng named Wang Zongyue taught the martial art later to be known as T'ai Chi to the Chen family, but this cannot be confirmed. On the other hand, some in the Chen family claim that it was Wang Zongyue who learned T'ai Chi Ch'üan from them.

Chen style has become well recognized internationally in recent years, due mostly to the efforts of Chen Fake (1887-1957), who taught for many years in Beijing.

Yang style (楊家)

The most popular and widespread style (many variations exist).

The Yang family first became involved in the study of T'ai Chi in the early 1800s. The founder of Yang style was Yang Luchan (楊露禪), aka Yang Fukui (楊福魁) (1799-1872), who studied under Chen Changxing starting in 1820. Yang's subsequent expression of T'ai Chi as a teacher in his own right became known as the first Yang style.

Yang Luchan passed his art to

his son Yang Banhou (1837-1890) who taught Wu Quanyou, a Manchu cavalry officer. His son, Wu Jianquan, also a cavalry officer, became known as the co-founder (along with his father) of the Wu (&#21555) style.
his son Yang Jianhou (1839-1917), who passed it to his sons, Yang Shaohou (1862-1930) and Yang Chengfu (楊澄&#29995) (1883-1936). Yang Chengfu removed the vigorous "Fa-jing" (release of power), energetic jumping, heavy stepping, and other difficult movements to create Da Jia (large frame style). Da Jia has slow, steady, and soft movements suitable for general practitioners. Thus, Yang Chengfu is largely responsible for systemizing and popularizing the Yang style T'ai Chi widely practiced today.
Wu Yu Xiang who also developed his own Wu (&#27494) style.
Other students including:
- Wang Jiaoyu (1836-1939), the founder of Guang Ping style T'ai Chi Ch'üan.
- Wang Lanting, a court official, who taught Li Rui –Dong, who founded Li style T'ai Chi.
- other court officials

Cheng Man-ch'ing (Zheng Manqing), a student of Yang Ch'eng-fu, shortened and simplified the "long" Yang form after his teacher's passing, supposedly to emphasise the health benefits and make it more accessible. According to his students, the changes were introduced to make it more practical as a fighting art, but despite Cheng Man-ch'ing's undeniable talent and fame as a teacher (known as the first to teach T'ai Chi Ch'uan in the West); most other teachers of the earlier "long" forms taught by Cheng's teacher Yang Ch'eng-fu don't necessarily agree with that assertion.

Cheng's style is particularly popular in Taiwan, Southeast Asia and the U.S.A. (where Cheng spent his final years).

Wu style of Wu Yuxiang (Hao) (武家)

Also called the Hao style, it was founded by Wu Yuxiang (Wu Yu-hsiang) (武禹襄) (1813-1880), a senior student of Yang Luchan. Wu Yuxiang combined Yang and Chen style, which he also studied, to form a distinctive style with small movements, highly focused on internal ch'i movement. His most famous student was his nephew, Li I-yü (1832-1892), who in his turn taught Hao Wei-chen (1842-1920), whose family preserved the art for several generations, so that it is now sometimes known as Wu/Hao or just Hao style T'ai Chi Ch'uan. Hao Wei-chen taught the famous Sun Lu-t'ang (see the Sun style article below).

Wu/Hao is a rare style, with only a few teachers active in the West at present.

Wu style of Wu Ch'uan-yü (Quanyou) and Wu Chien-ch'üan (Jianquan) (吳家)

Founded by Wu Ch'uan-yü (吳全佑) (1834-1902). Wu Ch'uan-yü started studying T'ai Chi Ch'üan in his capacity as an Imperial military officer cadet under the famous Yang Lu-ch'an in 1850. He eventually became a disciple of Yang's son, Yang Pan-hou, in 1870. Wu Ch'uan-yü's son, Wu Chien-ch'üan (1870-1942), and grandchildren; Wu Kung-yi (1900-1970), Wu Kung-tsao (1902-1983) and Wu Ying-hua (1906-1996) were also well known teachers. Wu Chien-ch'üan moved his family south to Shanghai in 1928. Wu Kung-yi then moved the family headquarters to Hong Kong in 1948, his younger sister Wu Ying-hua and her husband Ma Yueh-liang (1901-1999) staying behind to manage the original Shanghai school.

Wu style is the second most popular form of T'ai Chi Ch'üan in the world today, after Yang style. Wu style emphasises parallel footwork training with the feet relatively closer together than the modern Yang or Ch'en styles, small circle hand techniques (although large circle techniques are trained as well) and differs from almost all of the other T'ai Chi styles martially with Wu style's initial focus on wrestling and groundfighting technique; tumbling, jumping, throws, footsweeps, pressure point leverage and joint locks and breaks, which are trained in addition to more conventional T'ai Chi sparring and fencing.

Sun style (孫家)

Was developed by Sun Lu-t'ang (孫祿堂) (1861-1932), who was considered expert in two other internal martial arts styles Hsing-i Ch'uan (Xingyiquan) and Pa Kua Chang (Baguazhang) before he came to study T'ai Chi. Sun learned T'ai Chi Ch'üan from Hao Wei-chen, who was Li I-yü's chief disciple. Interestingly, Sun started studying with Hao relatively late in his life, but his accomplishments in the other two internal arts led him to develop his T'ai Chi abilities to a high standard more quickly than is usual. He subsequently was invited by Yang Shao-hou, Yang Ch'eng-fu and Wu Chien-ch'üan to join them on the faculty of the Beijing Physical Education Research Institute where they taught T'ai Chi to the public after 1914. Sun taught there alongside the Yang brothers and Wu Chien-ch'uan until ca. 1928, a seminal period in the development of modern Yang, Wu and Sun T'ai Chi Ch'üan.

Besides his earlier Hsing-i and Pa Kua training, Sun's experiences with Hao Wei-chen, Yang Shao-hou, Yang Ch'eng-fu and Wu Chien-ch'üan influenced the development of what is today recognized as the Sun style of T'ai Chi - characterized by small circular movements and high stances with subtle footwork. Sun's daughter, Sun Jianyun (who passed away in 2003) was also a famous T'ai Chi Ch'üan teacher.

T'ai Chi training and techniques

The term "t'ai chi" is held to be related to the t'ai chi t'u (py tàijítú), commonly known in the West as the "yin-yang" diagram. T'ai Chi Ch'üan techniques thus balance yin (receptive) and yang (active) principles in a number of ways.

T'ai Chi Ch'üan training proceeds from the Taoist principle of complementary opposites: that in order to become hard, one must first be soft; in order to be fast, one must first be slow; and in order to develop strength, one must cultivate weakness. From ultimate softness comes ultimate hardness. The core training involes two primary features. The first being the solo form or "Ch'üan" - a slow sequence of movements which emphasise natural movement and relaxation. the second being different styles of pushing hands or "T'ui Shou" - for training "stickiness" and sensitivity in the reflexes through various motions in concert with a training partner in order to learn timing, coordination and positioning when interacting with a training partner or opponent. Pushing hands is seen as necessary not only for training the self-defense skills of a soft style such as T'ai Chi by demonstrating the forms' movement principles experientially, but also it is said to improve upon the level of conditioning provided by practice of the single person forms by increasing the work load on students while they practise those movement principles.

The solo form is essentially a catalog of movements that are practiced individually in application scenarios to prepare for combat. In the Yang Style (Chen Man-Ch'ing via Waysun Liao), the form is divided into three sections. The first section is for dealing with opponents, attacks or energy coming from the four cardinal directions (North, South, East & West). The second section is about energy coming from the four oblique angles (The four corners) and the third section is circular tying all the angles and directions into a circular flow, for dealing with multiple energies or opponents. In the Wu style different variations of the solo forms are routinely practiced; fast/slow, small circle/large circle, square/round (different expressions of leverage through the joints), low sitting/high sitting, for example.

Other training exercises include:

Weapon forms and fencing employing the straight sword (jiàn), a heavier curved sword (dāo, which is actually considered a big knife), fan, staff, and 7 and 13 foot spear (qiāng). Less commonly known weapons still in use are the large "Bagua" dao, halberd, cane, rope-dart, tri-sectional staff and steel-whip.
Two-person tournament fighting (san shou);
Breathing exercises (ch'i kung) to develop ch'i (氣 qì) or internal energy in coordination with physical movement. These were formerly taught only to disciples as a separate, complementary training system. In the last 50 years they have become more well known to the general public.

T'ai Chi combat techniques are similar to those found in other Chinese martial arts, with an emphasis on sensitivity to the opponent's movements dictating appropriate responses. T'ai Chi Ch'üan trains in three basic ranges, close, medium and long, and then everything in between. Pushes and open hand strikes are more common than punches, and kicks are usually to the legs and lower torso, never higher than the hip in most styles. The fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, back, hips and knees are commonly used to strike, and there is an extensive repertoire of joint traps, locks and breaks (chin na), particularly applied to put pressure on the opponent's elbows. Despite its "soft" image, T'ai Chi techniques can be lethal or incapacitating, with strikes to the eyes, throat, heart, groin and other "acupressure" points commonly used. However, most T'ai Chi styles expect their students to learn defensive or neutralizing skills first, and a student will have to demonstrate proficiency in defending themself with them before the offensive skills will be introduced. There is also an emphasis in the traditional schools on kind-heartedness. One is expected to show mercy to one's opponents, as instanced by a poem preserved in some of the T'ai Chi families said to be derived from the Shaolin temple:

"I would rather maim than kill

Hurt than maim

Intimidate than hurt

Avoid than intimidate."

Recently there has been some divergence between those who practice T'ai Chi solely as a combat technique, and those who are more interested in its benefits to physical and mental health, but more traditional stylists still see the two aspects as equally necessary pieces of the puzzle, the yin and yang of T'ai Chi Ch'üan. The T'ai Chi family schools therefore still present their teachings in a martial art context even though the majority of their students nowadays profess that they are primarily interested in training for the claimed health benefits.