Taijiquan more
famously known as Tai Chi Chuan (太極拳)
is typically practiced for a variety of other personal reasons: its hard and
soft martial art technique, demonstration competitions, health and
longevity. Consequently, a multitude of training forms exist, both
traditional and modern, which correspond to those aims. Some of tai chi
chuan's training forms are well known to Westerners as the slow motion
routines that groups of people practice together every morning in parks
around the world, particularly in China.
Today, tai chi has
spread worldwide. Most modern styles of tai chi trace their development to
at least one of the five traditional schools: Chen, Yang, Wu/Hao, Wu and
Sun. The origins and creation of tai chi are a subject of much argument and
speculation. However, the oldest documented tradition is that of the Chen
family from the 1820s.
Translates as
"supreme ultimate fist", "boundless fist," "great extremes boxing", or
simply "the ultimate" (note that 'chi' in this instance is the Wade-Giles of
Pinyin jí, not to be confused with the use of ch'i / qì in the sense of
"life-force" or "energy"). The concept of the Taiji "supreme ultimate"
appears in both Taoist and Confucian Chinese philosophy where it represents
the fusion or mother of Yin and Yang into a single ultimate, represented by
the Taijitu symbol. Thus, tai chi theory and practice evolved in agreement
with many of the principles of Chinese philosophy including both Taoism and
Confucianism. Tai chi training first and foremost involves learning solo
routines, known as forms (套路 taolu). While the image of tai chi chuan in
popular culture is typified by exceedingly slow movement, many tai chi
styles (including the three most popular, Yang, Wu and Chen) have secondary
forms of a faster pace. Some traditional schools of tai chi teach partner
exercises known as pushing hands, and martial applications of the postures
of the form.
At the height of its development, around 1644 AD, tai chi had become a fast
martial art that also valued slow movements meant to expand the mind and
focus the body's energy. However, the Manchurians invaded the Chinese empire
and created the Ch'ing Dynasty. When the new emperor saw the health and
vitality of tai chi masters, he demanded he be taught the secrets of tai
chi. While refusal to teach the emperor would mean death, the tai chi
masters decided to only teach the slow, flowing movements rather than the
fast martial art aspect of tai chi. The Manchus, now believing that they had
learned tai chi, began to practice it on a large scale. The Chinese, on the
whole not knowing tai chi, saw their new leaders practicing tai chi and
began to practice it themselves. This is how the slow flowing movements that
are internationally recognized as tai chi came into practice. But, just like
shaolin kung fu, both the meditative and physical practices of tai chi were
originally considered necessary for the complete practice of tai chi,
referred to as temple style tai chi. However, many of the slow elements of
tai chi have evolved into their own schools of practice, such as Yang style
tai chi chuan.
Tai chi chuan is generally classified as a form of traditional Chinese
martial arts of the Neijia (soft or internal) branch. It is considered a
soft style martial art — an art applied with internal power — to distinguish
its theory and application from that of the hard martial art styles.
Since the first widespread promotion of tai chi's health benefits by Yang
Shaohou, Yang Chengfu, Wu Chien-ch'uan and Sun Lutang in the early twentieth
century, it has developed a worldwide following among people with little or
no interest in martial training, for its benefit to health and health
maintenance. Medical studies of tai chi support its effectiveness as an
alternative exercise and a form of martial arts therapy.
Focusing the mind solely on the movements of the form purportedly helps to
bring about a state of mental calm and clarity. Besides general health
benefits and stress management attributed to tai chi training, aspects of
traditional Chinese medicine are taught to advanced tai chi students in some
traditional schools. Some martial arts, especially the Japanese martial
arts, use a uniform for students during practice. Tai chi chuan schools do
not generally require a uniform, but both traditional and modern teachers
often advocate loose, comfortable clothing and flat-soled shoes.
The physical techniques of tai chi chuan are described in the tai chi
classics (a set of writings by traditional masters) as being characterized
by the use of leverage through the joints based on coordination in
relaxation, rather than muscular tension, in order to neutralize or initiate
attacks. The slow, repetitive work involved in the process of learning how
that leverage is generated gently and measurably increases, opens the
internal circulation (breath, body heat, blood, lymph, peristalsis, etc.)
The study of tai chi chuan primarily involves three aspects:
Health: An unhealthy or otherwise uncomfortable
person may find it difficult to meditate to a state of calmness or to use
tai chi as a martial art. Tai chi's health training therefore concentrates
on relieving the physical effects of stress on the body and mind. For those
focused on tai chi's martial application, good physical fitness is an
important step towards effective self-defense.
Meditation: The focus and calmness cultivated by the meditative
aspect of tai chi is seen as necessary in maintaining optimum health (in the
sense of relieving stress and maintaining homeostasis) and in application of
the form as a soft style martial art.
Martial art: The ability to use tai chi as a form of self-defense in
combat is the test of a student's understanding of the art. Tai chi chuan
martially is the study of appropriate change in response to outside forces;
the study of yielding and "sticking" to an incoming attack rather than
attempting to meet it with opposing force.
Tai chi's martial
aspect relies on sensitivity to the opponent's movements and center of
gravity dictating appropriate responses. Effectively affecting or
"capturing" the opponent's center of gravity immediately upon contact is
trained as the primary goal of the martial tai chi student. The sensitivity
needed to capture the center is acquired over thousands of hours of first
yin (slow, repetitive, meditative, low impact) and then later adding yang
("realistic," active, fast, high impact) martial training; forms, pushing
hands and sparring. Tai chi 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 depending on style. The fingers, fists, palms,
sides of the hands, wrists, forearms, elbows, shoulders, back, hips, knees
and feet are commonly used to strike, with strikes to the eyes, throat,
heart, groin and other acupressure points trained by advanced students.
Joint traps, locks and breaks (chin na) are also used. Most tai chi teachers
expect their students to thoroughly learn defensive or neutralizing skills
first, and a student will have to demonstrate proficiency with them before
offensive skills will be extensively trained. There is also an emphasis in
the traditional schools that one is expected to show wu te (武德), martial
virtue or heroism, to protect the defenseless and show mercy to one's
opponents.
In addition to the physical form, martial tai chi chuan schools also focus
on how the energy of a strike affects the other person. Palm strikes that
physically look the same may be performed in such a way that it has a
completely different effect on the target's body. A palm strike could simply
push the person forward, be focused in such a way as lift them vertically
off the ground breaking their center of gravity, or terminate the force of
the strike within the other person's body with the intent of causing
internal damage.
Other training exercises include:
Weapons training and fencing applications
employing the straight sword known as the jian or chien or gim (jiàn 劍), a
heavier curved sabre, sometimes called a broadsword or tao (dāo 刀, which is
actually considered a big knife), folding fan also called san, wooden staff
(2 m) known as kun (棍), 7 foot (2 m) spear and 13 foot (4 m) lance (both
called qiāng 槍). More exotic weapons still used by some traditional styles
are the large Dadao or Ta Tao (大刀) and Pudao or P'u Tao (撲刀) sabres, halberd
(jǐ 戟), cane, rope-dart, three sectional staff, Wind and fire wheels, lasso,
whip, chain whip and steel whip.
Two-person tournament sparring (as part of push
hands competitions and/or sanshou 散手);
Breathing exercises; nei kung (內功 nèigōng) or,
more commonly, ch'i kung (氣功 qìgōng) to develop ch'i (氣 qì) or "breath
energy" in coordination with physical movement and post standing or
combinations of the two. These were formerly taught only to disciples as a
separate, complementary training system. In the last 50 years they have
become better known to the general public.
