NAVIGATION

TAI CHI

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.

Tai Chi, as it is practiced in the west today, can perhaps best be thought of as a moving form of yoga and meditation combined. There are a number of so- called forms (sometimes also called ‘sets’) which consist of a sequence of movements. Many of these movements are originally derived from the martial arts (and perhaps even more ancestrally than that, from the natural movements of animals and birds) although the way they are performed in Tai Chi is slowly, softly and gracefully with smooth and even transitions between them.

For many practicioners the focus in doing them is not, first and foremost, martial, but as a meditative exercise for the body. For others the combat aspects of Tai Chi are of considerable interest. In Chinese philosophy and medicine there exists the concept of ‘chi’, a vital force that animates the body. One of the avowed aims of Tai Chi is to foster the circulation of this ‘chi’ within the body, the belief being that by doing so the health and vitality of the person are enhanced. This ‘chi’ circulates in patterns that are closely related to the nervous and vascular system and thus the notion is closely connected with that of the practice of acupuncture and other oriental healing arts.

Another aim of Tai Chi is to foster a calm and tranquil mind, focused on the precise execution of these exercises. Learning to do them correctly provides a practical avenue for learning about such things as balance, alignment, fine-scale motor control, rhythm of movement, the genesis of movement from the body’s vital center, and so on. Thus the practice of Tai Chi can in some measure contribute to being able to better stand, walk, move, run, etc. in other spheres of life as well. Many practitioners notice benefits in terms of correcting poor posture, alignment or movement patterns which can contribute to tension or injury. Furthermore the meditative nature of the exercises is calming and relaxing in and of itself.

Tai Chi Chuan has been handed down for generations through different families, since its creation by the legendary Taoist master Chang San-Feng during the Sung Dynasty (960-1279 C.E.). There are many different accounts of the origin of the form, or kung chia.

The most common of these accounts is that Master Chang once spied a snake and crane fighting and copied the soft, coiling motion of their movements. The form he developed consisted of only thirteen postures, corresponding with the eight trigrams of the I Ching (Book of Changes) and the five elements. The lineage after Master Chang is not precisely clear, but it does lead to a man named Chiang Fah. Chiang taught his form to a man named Chen Wang-Ting, who is recorded as practicing Tai Chi prior to 1644. His descendants still practice the form their family developed, which is characterized by its emphasis on silk-reeling techniques (Chan-Ssu Chin), low stances, and periodically fast movements. The Chen family’s Tai Chi remained a secret for five generations, not to be taught to anyone outside of the family. Later on, during the 1800′s, Chen Chang-Hsin (1771-1853) broke this tradition and taught his family’s style and secrets to an earnest student named Yang Lu-Chan (1799-1872). The Yang style, as we know it today, was standardized by Yang Lu-Chan’s grandson, Yang Cheng-Fu (1883-1936). It consists, at its longest account, of 128 postures and is characterized by large leaning movements, “peng” or “ward-off” energy, and the slow, even pace most people associate with Tai Chi.

The Yang family masters had a famous lineage of students who created the other major styles of Tai Chi Chuan, which include the styles of Wu, Hao, and Sun. Although each style has its own particular “flavor” and they appear different in their external performance, they all keep to the principles laid out centuries ago by Chang San-Feng.

Yang Cheng-Fu had one student by the name of Cheng Man-Ch’ing (1901-1975) who became the greatest master of his time. With his master’s permission, he shortened the form to 37 postures and made it the most popular of all the forms practiced today. Cheng came to the United States to teach and took on students of all backgrounds, which is one of the reasons his particular form is so popular today. Most people originally knew it as the Yang Style Short form, but it has come to be known by Cheng Style Tai Chi Chuan. His form is characterized by its upright spine, “lu” or “roll-back” energy, and its powerful softness.