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Taijiquan [ Tai Chi Ch'uan ]
Taijiquan or Tai chi chuan (Chinese: 太極拳; simplified Chinese: 太极拳; pinyin: tài jí quán; Wade-Giles: t'ai4 chi2 ch'üan2) is classified as Wudangquan or an internal martial art.
Most modern styles of taijiquan trace their development to at least one of the five traditional schools: Chen 陈, Wu 吴, Yang 杨, Wu/Hao and Sun.
The term "tai ji quan" literally translates as "supreme ultimate fist", "boundless fist," or "great extreme boxing". The concept of the "supreme ultimate" appears in both Daoist and Confucian philosophy where it represents the fusion of Yin and Yang into a single ultimate represented by the Taiji symbol.
Taijiquan training involves learning solo forms (套路 taolu) - both fast & slow - as well as push-hands, and martial applications of the postures of the form.
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 taijiquan primarily involves three subjects. Traditional schools cover these aspects of taijiquan practice simultaneously, while many modern schools focus on a single aspect, depending on their goal in practising the art.
These subjects are:
- 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 taijiquan as a form of self-defense in combat is said to be the most effective proof of a student's understanding of the art's principles. The study of tai chi chuan martially is the study of appropriate change in response to outside forces; the study of yielding and blending with outside force rather than attempting to meet it with opposing force.
There are five major styles of taijiquanuan, each named after the Chinese family from which it originated:
- Chen style (陳氏)
- Wu style of Wu Jianquan (吳氏)
- Yang style (楊氏)
- Wu or Wu/Hao style of Wu Yu-hsiang (Wu Yuxiang) (武氏)
- Sun style (孫氏)
The first five major family styles share much underlying theory, but differ in their approaches to training.
There are now dozens of new styles, hybrid styles and offshoots of the main styles, but the five family schools are the groups recognised by the international community as being orthodox. Zhaobao Taijiquan, a close cousin of Chen style, has been newly recognised by Western practitioners as a distinct style. The designation internal or nei jia martial arts is also used to broadly distinguish what are known as the external or wai jia styles based on the Shaolinquan styles, although that distinction is sometimes disputed by modern schools. In this broad sense, all styles of taijiquan (as well as related arts such as Ba Gua Chang and Xingyi Quan) are therefore considered to be "soft" or "internal" martial arts.
As the name "taijiquan" is held to be derived from the Taiji symbol (taijitu or t'ai chi t'u, 太極圖), commonly known in the West as the "yin-yang" diagram, tai chi chuan is therefore said in literature preserved in its oldest schools to be a study of yin (receptive) and yang (active) principles, using terminology found in the Chinese classics, especially the Book of Changes and the Tao De Jing.
The core training involves two primary features: the first being the solo form (quán, 拳), a sequence of movements, fast & slow, which emphasize a straight spine, abdominal breathing and a natural range of motion; the second being different styles of pushing hands (tui shou, 推手) for training movement principles of the form in a more practical way.
The solo form should take the students through a complete, natural range of motion over their center of gravity. Accurate, repeated practice of the solo routine is said to retrain posture, encourage circulation throughout the students' bodies, maintain flexibility through their joints and further familiarize students with the martial application sequences implied by the forms. The major traditional styles of tai chi have forms which differ somewhat cosmetically, but there are also many obvious similarities which point to their common origin. The solo forms, empty-hand and weapon, are catalogs of movements that are practiced individually in pushing hands and martial application scenarios to prepare students for self-defense training. In most traditional schools, different variations of the solo forms can be practiced: fast–slow, small circle–large circle, square–round (which are different expressions of leverage through the joints), low sitting/high sitting (the degree to which weight-bearing knees are kept bent throughout the form), for example.
The philosophy of the style is that 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 tai chi theory, is a natural consequence of meeting brute force with brute force. Instead, students are taught not to directly fight or resist an incoming force, but to meet it in softness and follow its motion while remaining in physical contact until the incoming force of attack exhausts itself or can be safely redirected, meeting yang with yin. Done correctly, this yin/yang or yang/yin balance in combat, or in a broader philosophical sense, is a primary goal of taijiquan training. Lao Zi provided the archetype for this in the Dao De Jing when he wrote, "The soft and the pliable will defeat the hard and strong."
Taiji'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. Taiji 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 taiji 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 de (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 effects 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.