Tai Ji - History


Sun Lu Tang

Tai Ji Quan is considered to be one of the internal or soft styles of Chinese martial art, and is the most widely practiced martial art in the world today. The term "Tai Ji" refers to the ancient Chinese Daoist concept of the interplay between two opposite yet complementary forces (Yin and Yang), being the foundation of creation. "Quan" literally means, "fist" and denotes an unarmed method of combat. Tai Ji Quan as a martial art is based on the principle of the soft overcoming the hard.

The origins of Tai Ji Quan are often attributed to one Zhang San Feng (a Daoist of either the Twelfth or Fifteenth century depending on the source) who created the Art after witnessing a fight between a snake and a crane. Other legends have it that the art was conceived in Chen village by the Chen family and yet others still that it was developed on Wudang by other Daoist sects. Chen village and the Chen family was the place most historical records and family tai ji systems have come from that we know today.

The Yang lineage it seems to be generally agreed came from Yang Lu Chan who was accepted as a student by the Chen family in the early part of the Nineteenth century. After mastering the Art, Yang Lu Chan (nicknamed "Yang without enemy" as he was reportedly a peerless fighter) modified the original Chen style and created the Yang style of Tai Ji Quan, the most popular form practiced in the world today. Wu Yu Xiang leaned the Art from Yang Lu Chan and a variation of the original Chen form from Chen Ching Ping (who taught the 'small frame' version of Chen Tai Ji Quan) and created the Wu style. A man named Hao Wei Zhen, learned the Wu style from Wu Yu Xiang's nephew and taught the style to Sun Lu Tang, who in turn created the Sun style (Sun was already an established master of Xing Yi Quan and Ba Gua Zhang when he learned Tai Ji Quan.)

Tai Ji - Training

Complete Tai Ji Quan arts include basic exercises, stance keeping (Zhan Zhuang), repetitive single movement training, linked form training, power training (exercises which train the ability to issue energy in a ballistic pulse), weapons training (which includes straight sword, broadsword, staff and spear), technique training and various two person exercises and drills (including "push hands" sensitivity drills). The ability to ‘sink’ is also trained, that is, to relax to such an extent that the energy and intention of the body is flowing down through whichever foot is ‘substantial’ or carries the weight of the body.

A beginner will need to start training with very basic exercises designed to teach proper structural alignment, relaxation, correct methods of moving the body, shifting the weight, stepping, etc. All of the Tai Ji Quan arts have at their very foundation the necessity of complete physical and mental relaxation and the idea that the intent leads and controls the motion of the body. The student will be taught various stance keeping postures which serve as basic exercises in alignment and relaxation as well as a kind of mind calming standing meditation.

Traditionally, single patterns of movement were learned and repeated over and over until mastered, only then was the next pattern taught. Once the student had mastered an entire sequence of movements individually, the movements were taught in a linked sequence (a 'set'). The goal of training is to cultivate a kind of 'whole body' power. This refers to the ability to generate power with the entire body, making full use of one's whole body mass and energy borrowed from the earth in every movement. Power is always generated from the bottom up, meaning the powerful muscles of the legs and hip serve as the generator of power/energy. Using the strength of the relatively weaker arms and upper body is not emphasized, they are merely used as a means to conduct the energy to the opponent. The entire body is held in a state of dynamic relaxation which allows the force to flow out of the hands and into the opponent without obstruction. This is described in the Tai Ji Quan Classics as “being rooted in the feet, developed by the legs, directed by the waist transferred through the back and expressed in the hands.”

The Tai Ji Quan arts have a variety of two person drills and exercises designed to cultivate a high degree of sensitivity in the practitioner. Using brute force or opposing another's power with power directly is strictly forbidden. The goal of two person training is to develop sensitivity to the point that one may receive the opponent's power, absorb or redirect and apply one's own whole body power where the opponent is most vulnerable. One must cultivate the ability to listen to opponents force or energy, stick to the opponent, absorb their force and destroy their balance before issuing your own energy.

The ability to "listen, adhere, continue and follow” is vital to the application of Tai Ji Quan combat techniques, many of which are grappling oriented. Techniques that include pushing, pulling, wrapping, bumping, sweeping, locking, knocking down and throwing (grappling arts) far outnumber striking and kicking techniques. Solo forms training is designed to develop the ability to control oneself; paired practice trains the practitioner to apply the power developed during solo training to another in the most efficient manner.

Modified forms of Tai Ji Quan for health have become popular worldwide in recent times because the benefits of training have been found to be very condusive to calming the mind, relaxing the body, relieving stress, and improving one's health in general. However, it is important to realize that all traditional systems of Tai Ji Quan were originally created for a single purpose, training the practitioner to fight.