Complete Tai Chi Chuan E-Book

Dan Docherty

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 322

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Complete Tai Chi Chuan is the first book in English to deal extensively with the concepts of 'inside the door' training and the inner art, including therapeutic and martial aspects of Taoist internal alchemy. Drawing on original historical research, the author identifies the links between the art and Chinese philosophy. Fully illustrated throughout, the book includes: history, theory and philosophy, hand form, practical training, inside the door' training techniques, working with weapons and competition.

Leseprobe

COMPLETETAI CHI CHUAN

Dan Docherty

The Crowood Press

First published in 1997 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This impression 2007

This e-book first published in 2015

© Dan Docherty 1997

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84797 917 9

Contents

Foreword by Ilpo Jalamo

Foreword by Cheng Kam

Preface

Acknowledgements

1This is Complete Tai Chi Chuan

2Philosophy, Religion and Tai Chi Chuan

3History of Tai Chi Chuan

4Inside the Door

5Hand Form

6Strategies and Tactics

7Tui Shou (Pushing Hands)

8San Shou (Self Defence)

9Weapons and Other Equipment

10Heal or Hurt

11Terminology and Jargon

12Competition Tai Chi Chuan

13Postscript

Appendix I – Tai Chi Lineages

Appendix II – Chronological Table

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Forewordby Ilpo Jalamo

It gives me great pleasure to write a foreword to Mr Docherty’s new book Complete Tai Chi Chuan.

I first met Mr Docherty in 1989 when I organized a seminar for my karate students in Finland to introduce them to Tai Chi Chuan. In that seminar, and in many others that followed, Mr Docherty’s unique way of approaching this old Chinese martial art not only proved the practicality of the movements, but also the deep philosophy behind them.

Mr Docherty has the rare ability to explain Chinese theories in a way which is understandable to a western mind, and then to demonstrate the theory in practice. This harmony of ideas and their practical application makes this book very useful not only to Tai Chi students but to the martial arts community in general.

Ilpo Jalamo,6th Dan Yuishinkai Karate

Forewordby Cheng Kam

My name is Cheng Kam. I was born in the year of the Metal Horse in the town of Lin Tan, in Yu Nan district, Guangdong province. Let me tell you how Dan Docherty and I have been Tai Chi brothers and friends since 1976.

In 1958 I came to Hong Kong to seek a living, and ran the New Kam Garden Restaurant in Taikoktsui. In 1970 I set up the Lunggang Countrymen’s Association, and in 1973 was elected president for life. Though occupied with business affairs, in 1976 I began training in the Tai Chi Chuan of the famous Master Cheng Tin-hung who, to strengthen the ties between teacher and brothers, set up the Hong Kong Tai Chi Association. In 1979 I was invited to be a Tai Chi instructor by the Recreation and Sports Department and by the urban council. I also taught at the Mongkok Neighbourhood Association and Chen Ching Social Welfare Association. In 1981 I helped set up the Hong Kong International Martial Arts Association, while in 1982 I helped Sifu Cheng set up the Chinese Boxing Association.

In 1976 I became a Door Person of Sifu Cheng and thus Kung Fu brother to Tong Chi-kin and Cinnabar (Dan Docherty). Since then I have supported Tai Chi martial arts, and young and vigorous fighters Tong Chi-kin and Dan Docherty in Lei Tai (full contact fighting platform) competition where fists and feet decide who is higher and who lower. Tong and Dan, like Sifu Cheng and I, were born in the Horse year.

In the fourth month of 1980, Sifu Cheng Tin-hung was appointed leader of the Hong Kong team at the 5th South-East Asian International Chinese Martial Arts Lei Tai Championships in Malaysia. I, Cheng Kam, was assistant team leader. At the first fighting platform in Penang, after a ferocious battle, Tong Chi-kin’s Malaysian opponent gave up. At the second venue in Ipoh, Tong beat the local champion from Chi Ke Chuan style. At the third platform in Seremban, Dan Docherty faced the huge Roy Pink of Five Ancestors Boxing who outweighed Dan by more than 100lb (45kg). Though kicked from the platform, Dan came back to knock out his opponent in the first round with a Tai Chi Running Thunder Punch. Dan’s opponent was unconscious for more than five minutes.

At the final fighting platform in Kuala Lumpur, Tong Chi-kin beat Shum of Dragon style and became champion of the middleweight division by defeating the Malaysian champion. Dan faced Lohandran of Chi Ke Chuan who was Malaysian heavyweight boxing champion and winner of the heavyweight division at the 4th South-East Asian International Chinese Martial Arts Lei Tai Championships in Singapore. Though outweighed by more than 30lb, Dan defeated his opponent and became champion of the superheavyweight division.

I had many good times and jokes with my Tai Chi brothers and our master Cheng Tin-hung during our time in Malaysia, especially in Seremban. In the years that have followed I have taken part in many demonstrations with Dan and my other Tai Chi brothers, and we have attended competitions together in Hong Kong and abroad. In 1990 during the 1st Chung Hua Cup in Taiwan we shared rooms and spent the night talking of heaven and of earth. Now Master Cheng has returned to China, Tong Chi-kin has moved to Guatemala and Dan is always travelling, but whenever we meet, we eat and drink and talk of old times.

It is a pleasure for me to be invited to write this foreword and to wish Dan’s book every success.

Cheng Kam

Hon. President, Hong Kong

Tai Chi Association

Preface

This book has taken me longer to write than I had hoped. A major factor for this was that I kept coming across new material, especially in the field of Tai Chi Chuan history, and this forced me to re-examine material I had already looked at with the result that the historical section is extremely detailed. In trying to make it accurate I found that at several points I was contradicting my teacher’s writings and my own pre-conceived ideas. However, my teacher encouraged me to go for accuracy rather than sycophancy, and I have done so.

Most Tai Chi Chuan practitioners approach the art in a non-martial way, and I respect that. However, the title of this book is Complete Tai Chi Chuan, so I feel it is my duty to my publishers and my readers to examine all aspects of the art. I have therefore included sections on ritual initiation, ‘inside-the-door’ training, the inner form, competitions and Dim Mak which are either not to be found in other Tai Chi Chuan books or are glossed over with a brief mention.

In a sense, Tai Chi Chuan is such a vast subject that no book about it can ever be truly complete; to address this weakness, I look forward to receiving comments and criticism from my Tai Chi Chuan friends and enemies, as I most assuredly will. This book can fairly be said to represent the refined essence (to use a Taoist term) of many experiences and interactions all over the world.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank here some of the many good people in Europe and the Far East who have helped me in my quest, with apologies to any left out: Geert, Lionel, John, Steve and Rob for drawing to my attention certain books and articles (including some on the Internet); my Chinese teachers for their patience; Mak Lai-han for a vital photo, and my elder brother, Tsui Woon-kwong, for a vital book. The great calligraphy is the work of Ms D. Choy; Karl and Orsi gave me useful comments and suggestions. Thanks also to Hans for putting up with me in Hong Kong.

Dr Death in Dublin, and Ilpo in Turku with their extensive martial arts knowledge were most useful debating partners in the fields of history and of vital point attacks respectively, while elder brother Ian was helpful in discussing our master and his method. Thanks to Mr Ma, caretaker of the Golden Pavilion Temple in Bao Ji, for giving unrestricted access, and to members of the Chen clan for showing me as much as they did (though I doubt they will appreciate my conclusions). Lee Yim-ping was a great help in Hong Kong and China. I would also like to thank Madam Chu Wai-man and my old friend Cheng Kam for their many kindnesses.

I appreciate the many useful chats with my colleagues in the British Council for Chinese Martial Arts and at the Tai Chi Union for Great Britain. In particular Ronnie Robinson, editor of Tai Chi Chuan magazine, has been a source of interesting material. Membership of these bodies has brought stimulating contact with instructors in Europe, too. Thanks also to Paul Clifton of Combat magazine for his help and support.

I would especially like to thank my students from their many and various countries for their help and support over the years, and I hope they feel that the efforts I have made in producing this book go some way to repaying them. The subtlety of Chinese language and thought can seem impenetrable to the average Western reader, so I have tried to retain the flavour of the original Chinese texts which I have translated, while trying also to make them clear and a pleasure to read. You must judge for yourself to what extent I have succeeded.

It is customary to dedicate books, so let me dedicate this one to scholars whose writings subvert the laws; to knight-errants who use their martial prowess to overthrow restrictions; and finally to all my flexible friends.

Dan Docherty

1This is Complete Tai Chi Chuan

Tai Chi Chuan (sometimes rendered Taijiquan) is a Chinese martial art and exercise method – and a great deal more besides; a fuller definition will be provided later. The object of this book is to present an overview of the art itself and of different approaches to it in both the Far East and the West.

There is now great interest in Tai Chi Chuan throughout the world, and there are many books available on the subject. However, most of these deal only with certain aspects of the art, or they deal with the art from the point of view of one particular style, or they are too basic for the advanced reader or too advanced for the beginner. Many books also suffer from being contradictory or unclear, particularly as regards the history, and how to put theory into practice.

There are now many different styles of Tai Chi Chuan, and even styles within styles, and we will examine the more important of these in turn to trace and discuss their evolution and development.

The majority of Tai Chi Chuan practitioners only practise a few aspects of the art, and in most cases are also only aware of a few, and this applies to Chinese and non-Chinese alike. Furthermore, despite claims to the contrary, no-one alive today is practising precisely the art that Yang Lu-chan brought with him to Beijing around 1852. Since that time, successive generations of teachers have added to, and just as often have subtracted from the art; moreover in many cases the additions have been as detrimental as the subtractions. Nevertheless we must accept that any art, if it is to thrive, must develop and change to fit the circumstances of the society in which it exists.

Our journey in search of Tai Chi Chuan will cover thousands of years of Chinese history and culture. In addition on our travels we will examine medicine, self defence, physiological alchemy, weaponry, philosophy, religion, competition methods, aesthetics, teaching methodology and ritual initiation. It is a journey that will take us all over China and the Far East; a quest for truth and order in a jungle of mystery, fraud and conflicting theories.

THE FIVE ASPECTS OF TAI CHI CHUAN

There are five aspects which together make up the traditional Tai Chi Chuan syllabus. Here they are set out briefly, but they will be discussed in more detail later. They should be seen as complementary and interdependent rather than as completely separate entities.

The Hand Form (Tao Chuan)

This is a series of set moves performed in a flowing manner (Fig 1). Most schools of Tai Chi Chuan practise a traditional long form of some kind which includes many combinations and repetitions of techniques. It can take half an hour or more to do the traditional long form, while it can take up to two years to finish learning the form. This has led many teachers, particularly those teaching in the West, to develop short forms which can be learned more easily as they contain fewer combinations and repetitions; some of these can take as little as three or four minutes to perform. The mainland Chinese government has introduced simplified forms, but most practitioners prefer to practise traditional Tai Chi Chuan in all its aspects, rather than a simplified version.

In most styles the form is practised slowly and in a relaxed manner to enhance the respiration and circulation and to relax body and mind. In addition such practice helps to improve coordination, posture and balance.

Fig 1 Sifu Chu Wai-man from Hong Kong demonstrating Parry and Punch.

Pushing Hands (Tui Shou)

This term is something of a misnomer, as some of the drills which come under this heading are not restricted to pushing or to the use of the hands. In fact the term refers to partnered drills which are designed to improve qualities useful in self defence such as sensitivity, balance, footwork, distance, angle, timing and co-ordination, as well as how to disrupt an opponent’s centre of gravity. The drills described can be formal or spontaneous. There are also various methods of competition pushing hands.

Certain schools use pushing hands practice as a way of therapy and interaction, but this is a modern and largely Western development.

Self Defence (San Shou)

The term San Shou literally means ‘scattering’ or ‘dispersing hands’. Many Tai Chi Chuan schools do not teach self defence, and in the schools that do teach it, the San Shou is seldom taught in a practical way, but consists of merely attempting to apply techniques against an opponent in exactly the same way that the techniques are executed in the form. Many Tai Chi techniques are not found in the form, and in any case it is the form which is based on self defence techniques rather than the other way round.

The footwork and body evasion methods trained in pushing hands are concomitant with the strategies elucidated in the Tai Chi Chuan classics in applying the self defence techniques. Certain conditioning methods are also advisable. Tai Chi Chuan is fundamentally a counterattacking style using low kicks, strikes, grappling and throwing techniques.

Weapons

The three Tai Chi Chuan traditional weapon forms are Dao (sabre/broadsword), Jian (straight sword) and Qiang (spear), and they are normally taught after the student has gained a certain level of proficiency in the hand form, pushing hands and self defence. The techniques of the weapon forms can be applied in self defence using the same strategies and tactics as in the case of the unarmed self defence techniques. We will discuss other weapons later.

Fig 2 Sifu Ian Cameron demonstrating Tai Chi sword.

Internal Strength (Nei Kung)

Internal strength is part of what is known as ‘inside the door training’: in other words, it is not something that is taught in open classes, but only after the student has undergone a formal initiation ceremony. It consists of twenty-four exercises: twelve Yin and twelve Yang, and these exercises have therapeutic, meditative and self defence aspects. They are seldom taught now and not many of those who do teach them are able to explain their function properly. In many respects this is the most effective form of training for both health and self defence, certainly far more so than the form, although it is a much more demanding type of training.

Fig. 3 Sifu Cheng Kam demonstrating Nei Kung.

In recent years a number of Tai Chi Qi Gong methods have come out of China which borrow partly from the form and partly from soft exercise methods such as Eight Pieces of Brocade (Baduanjin) to make up a simple exercise regimen that can be learned easily by older people and the sick. They are less sophisticated than traditional Tai Chi Chuan, but are useful where a student has difficulties in, or no time to learn Tai Chi Chuan. Certain Kung Gong methods are inherently dangerous or can be dangerous if practised incorrectly, as we shall see, so quality tuition is most advisable in this field.

Auxiliary Training

In addition to these five aspects it is necessary to learn the philosophical and theoretical side of the art to make sense of certain of the training methods, and to derive maximum benefit from your practice. Furthermore, there are other drills and training methods which don’t quite fit into any of the categories given above, in particular certain conditioning methods.

TAI CHI CHUAN FOR ALL?

While Tai Chi Chuan can be practised by people of all ages, they cannot and should not be expected to practise it in the same way, as the type and method of the training should vary according to the physical and mental capabilities of the student. As with any martial art, generally the younger you are when you start, the better. My own daughter has been training in Tai Chi Chuan since before she went to school; firstly some simple Nei Kung exercises, then spear and then sabre. Only after all this did I start to teach her the form.

Sick and retired people, however, are normally more interested in learning the form to improve their health; and most students fall somewhere between the extremes of childhood and old age. I generally teach students the pushing hands and the martial aspects together with the form right from the first class, as I believe that practice of each aspect improves the student’s ability to perform the others.

Learning Tai Chi Chuan

The first requirement for learning Tai Chi Chuan is to establish your reasons for doing so: thus, if you wish to learn it in all its aspects, then your choice of teacher will be limited as there are few of such calibre in either the Far East or the West. If you wish to learn only for health purposes, then as long as the teacher can do the form competently, this is usually enough for him/her to impart some basic skill.

The other requirements are that you must watch, ask, listen, read, and above all, practise: watch your teacher and fellow students, watch other teachers and students. Using the criteria mentioned in the chapter on form, you can analyse the good and bad points of technique. There is a lot of truth in the old saying that ‘if you don’t practise for one day, you know it; if you don’t practise for two days, your teacher knows it; and if you don’t practise for three days, everybody knows it.’

It is important to ask questions: most students ask the wrong questions and are therefore often given unhelpful answers. Furthermore, many teachers don’t like answering questions, maybe because they don’t always know the answers.

While it is useful to read appropriate books on Chinese philosophy, if you want to be able to use what you have learned, there is no substitute for daily practice. In Tai Chi Chuan, as in life, there are many armchair experts: don’t be one of them.

Students

The word ‘student’ has a Latin root, in the verb studere meaning ‘to be eager’ or ‘diligent’ and by extension ‘to study’. A student may just be someone engaged in the study of a particular subject, or he/she may be someone devoted to learning. Study itself has suggestions of examining, analysing, thinking, interest and purpose – yet how many students of Tai Chi Chuan practise with this attitude?

In Chinese martial arts there are various classifications of student. First, we use a family structure where students are classified as older/younger brothers/sisters, depending on when they started learning from a particular teacher. By the same token, one of your teacher’s fellow students would then be your elder or younger aunt or uncle.

A general term for students of a master is Tu Di meaning literally ‘younger brothers who are followers’; more succinctly, we can call them apprentices. Students are then divided into inside- and outside-the-door students: ‘Inside-the-door students’ are normally referred to as Men Ren meaning ‘Door People’ or more properly ‘disciples’ because they have undergone a ritual ceremony with their teacher; this is called Bai Shi. In Tai Chi Chuan we undergo this ceremony prior to being taught Nei Kung. Traditionally, only after the student and teacher had known one another for six years would the teacher offer to teach the Nei Kung; nowadays the period of time involved is usually much shorter, although it is still long enough for student and teacher to get to know one another properly.

Some teachers expect almost blind obedience from their students. However, this is not a healthy attitude: of course the student should respect the teacher’s greater experience and knowledge, but this does not require him to ape his/her every action and opinion. Then again, some students are looking for a guru to direct their every thought and action rather than a teacher. But again, this is a path which has its dangers for students and teachers both because it is as bad to question nothing as it is to question everything.

Many people affirm that the evolution from student to master takes ten, or fifteen, or twenty years – but they are all wrong because the measure is not in terms of time, but of ability. My teacher became a full time professional Tai Chi instructor at the age of nineteen after three years of full time tuition from Qi Min-xuan. Yet I know other Chinese teachers who have trained for twenty, thirty or even forty years who are at best mediocre.

Some say that Tai Chi Chuan is more difficult to use in self defence than is hard style martial arts. However, the system that I teach is easier to learn because the basic techniques are freer as well as more versatile. In particular the defensive techniques are more efficient and require less physical effort on the part of the student. Also, many martial arts are taught as if the opponent can only be from the same art or as if he is a complete simpleton. I do not teach in this way.

Powerful students are not the best, nor are intelligent students, nor talented ones: the first requirement is spirit. With unquenchable spirit it is possible to beat stronger and better opponents; with power, technique and intelligence as well, such a student has the potential to become a master. How to acquire spirit? With practice, serious practice.

A good student will observe the following criteria: he

1. practises;

2. looks and listens;

3. thinks, then asks;

5. is neither too harsh nor too soft with his training partners; constantly seeks to learn both inside and outside the class;

6. trains and competes honestly.

Too many students spend time talking, rather than doing. Learn by watching and listening to others, not just the teacher, and learn to discriminate. And if in doubt, ask. It is a major weakness of many students that they don’t ask questions, and that when they do, they ask the wrong ones, such as ‘What if…?’ or ‘How do I get out of…?’ No teacher can teach you everything, even if he or she wanted to, which many don’t. However, by practising certain basic techniques which follow key principles, the student will not find it necessary to ask the wrong question so often.

If you know something, then be positive, show that you know it. If you don’t know something, then admit that you don’t and seek to find it out. When learning something new, analyse it in the light of what you already know, and in turn use new ideas and information to analyse your old knowledge.

There is no point in bigger and stronger students relying mainly on their strength against smaller opponents. On the other hand, if techniques are not executed properly, for example out of a misguided sense of gallantry towards a lady opponent, then that lady is given a false sense of security. Furthermore, it is a deplorable trait amongst certain male students to attempt to correct female students of the same, or even of greater experience than themselves. I once saw a male student of six months’ experience attempt to correct (wrongly) a female student with three years’ experience!

However, experienced and capable students do have a responsibility to advise and encourage beginners; for instance they must accept that they have no divine right always to defeat every beginner in pushing hands or fighting. It is not enough to turn up at a class once a week and expect the teacher to do everything for you: it is up to you to get the most out of your training in a class, and to work on your own training. This is not just a physical approach, but includes reading and analysing.

Training and teaching should be honest. If you feel you can beat someone in pushing hands, for example, then do it. I have no time for instructors I have met in places such as Taiwan who, wanting to impress Westerners with their skills and expecting to beat them merely because they have been training for a certain number of years, then get angry with foreigners who failed to play their part and allowed themselves to be thrown around. In their way, teachers must be students too.

Discipline and Etiquette

In the Far East it is customary to address the teacher as Sifu and to address fellow students as elder/younger brother/sister depending on whether they learned before or after you. In my own classes, students call me Dan or (rarely) Mr Docherty. Some teachers require bowing both before and after each class, and also when students take a partner for pushing hands or self defence. My teacher only required a student to bow to him and more senior members of the school when undergoing Bai Shi, and I much prefer this approach; in other schools they seem to spend almost as much time bowing to one another as they do training.

Discipline and etiquette in Tai Chi classes are thorny questions. If too harsh and rigid, then the students live in fear of the teacher – though some martial arts students occasionally need to be hurt by the teacher, particularly when they are training in a way that is dangerous to themselves or to others. Some need strongly worded criticism from time to time; others require gentle encouragement – but they should not be treated the same unless they are the same.

TEACHING TAI CHI CHUAN

Although much has been written about the deeds and idiosyncracies of famous Tai Chi Chuan masters and how to learn Tai Chi Chuan, it is a remarkable fact that very little has been written about teaching the art. Teaching Tai Chi Chuan is not like teaching tennis or boxing, and many (most?) Tai Chi Chuan teachers – Chinese and non-Chinese alike – have teaching methodologies which would very quickly earn them the sack from an academic institution. A typical example is the practice of many teachers to rely on students merely copying their movements, and then moving on once the student can do the technique more or less correctly. There is seldom any explanation or correction, the emphasis being on monotonous repetition. The more perspicacious and physically gifted students are often able to reproduce the teacher’s movements exactly, but many end up doing Tai Chi Chuan which has severe technical defects. Some teachers go to the other extreme, making minute corrections to each posture which the student has little, if any, hope of replicating in his or her private practice.

Fig 4.

Many teachers will try to avoid exposing gaps in their knowledge and/or to keep control of their students, either by teaching very slowly, or ‘stealing’ techniques from books and videos, or making up explanations on the spot. However, not all are like this: there is also a tradition in Tai Chi Chuan of teachers referring those students who have absorbed all their own knowledge, to a more experienced or highly skilled practitioner for more advanced tuition. Indeed, practitioners of one style of Tai Chi Chuan will often approach a teacher from another style to learn some particular skill which has either been lost in their own art or which their own master is unwilling to teach them. For example, a few years ago some Tai Chi friends who practise Hao style approached me to learn Nei Kung. As they were sincere and honest people and genuinely trying to improve their standard and that of their students, I was happy to teach them.

Once a teacher has taken on a student, he will have to decide not just how to teach him, but what to teach him. I teach Seven Star Step pushing hands first as this is comparatively easy to learn and it gives the student confidence to be able to do something in his/her first class. I also teach self defence applications and form from the first class onwards, as I believe that this helps a student to progress faster. After he has learned the short form he can then learn the long form, sabre, and if I feel he is ready, the Yin set of Nei Kung. After this he can learn the sword, the Yang set of Nei Kung, the spear and the inner art.

Before Yang Lu-chan went to Beijing and his descendants and students popularized the practice of Tai Chi Chuan, the art was taught on a much more intimate basis – ‘inside the door’ to no more than a handful of disciples at any one time. The commercialization of the art from the beginning of the twentieth century onwards has meant that although more and more people are learning the art, they are learning less of it.

2Philosophy, Religion and Tai Chi Chuan

In this chapter we will examine Chinese ideas of cosmology as well as three of the major thought systems of the Chinese and their influence on the development of Tai Chi Chuan. Many of the ideas are an intriguing blend of philosophy and religion developed over many centuries. Because of its rich cultural origins Tai Chi Chuan offers at once a way of relating to the world and other people through its theory and practice that seems more realistic and more attractive than the ways offered by organized religions and politicians.

THE BEGINNING: CHINESE COSMOLOGY

Before looking at the Tai Chi symbol and Yin Yang theory it is helpful to examine Chinese concepts of the universe. The basic Chinese cosmology, traced from c1000 BC and developed by succeeding philosophers and schools of philosophy, is as follows:

Tao (Way)

cannot be spoken of and has no name – (Lao Tzu Ch 1).

Wu (Nothing)

Something and nothing mutually gave birth to one another (Lao Tzu Ch 2) so we have Wu Chi yet Tai Chi; Wu Wei (not to act against Nature) is Tao and from it came

Hun Tun (Chaos)

which is also Tai Chi (Supreme Ultimate Pole), a potentiality containing form, Qi (energy/vapour) and substance.

Tai Yi (Supreme Change)

took place and produced

Tai Chu (Supreme Starting)

of form and shape which caused

Tai Shi (Supreme Beginning)

of Qi (breath/energy) and then

Tai Su (Supreme Emptiness)

which brought the formation of substance and was the origin of

Liang Yi (the two symbols)

known as Yin (passive, female) and Yang (active, male), the interaction of which produced

Wu Xing (Five Elements)

of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth which produced the Ten Thousand Things, including

Humanity

which is composed of Yin and Yang.

The Yin governs the seven emotions which on death descend to earth to become a Gui or demon; Yang governs the internal alchemy of Qi, Jing and Shen which on death ascend to heaven to become a spirit or immortal.

Much of the theory and terminology of Tai Chi Chuan derives from these concepts and terms, and those who formed and developed the art would have been well versed in them. We will discuss many of these ideas in both this and subsequent chapters.

THE TAI CHI SYMBOL

The term ‘Tai Chi’ first appears in Chinese literature in Appendix III to the I Ching (Book of Changes). This book is used for divination, and dates back to the Zhou dynasty (c1027–221 BC). It states:

Therefore the I (Changes) has Tai Chi, It gives birth to the Two Forms (Yin & Yang)

This reference dates the term ‘Tai Chi’ to around 200 BC at the latest. Earlier than this, much earlier, there is considerable evidence of a wide variety of martial arts and hygienic exercise in Chinese society. Tai Chi Chuan at its best is a marriage of these three forces, the martial, the therapeutic and the philosophical. It is a very appealing art as it balances the physical and dynamic with the spiritual and intellectual.

The earliest records of a Tai Chi symbol date from about the tenth century AD round about the time Chen Duan, the famous Taoist philosopher, lived on Hua Shan. The original symbol for the concept of Tai Chi seems to have been a simple circle. This is logical, as once we have a circle there is an inside and an outside; what is enclosed and what is not; what is circular and what is not: there is Yin and Yang. The inspiration for the circle may have come from the sun or moon, or it may simply be the inside of the circle made by the Eight Trigrams when they are arranged as the Eight Directions. Over the years what was the symbol for Liang Yi (two forms, ie Yin and Yang) replaced the simple circle and became known as the Tai Chi symbol. There are eight variations of the Tai Chi symbol, only one of which is auspicious as a symbol for a Tai Chi school: that is why it appears as the logo of my association.

Fig 5 Eight variations of the Tai Chi symbol.

The white (or sometimes red) is called Yang and symbolizes the light of the sun, the active, masculine principle; the black (or sometimes blue) is called Yin and represents darkness, the passive, feminine principle. The two small black and white dots represent Yin in the Yang and Yang in the Yin respectively, as each principle is considered to contain a minimal amount of the other which allows them to interact and change.

The anticlockwise Tai Chi symbols are identified with the destructive cycle of the five elements, ie contrary to the Tao, and so are absolutely not suitable as symbols for a Tai Chi school. It may be that Bruce Lee’s choice of an anticlockwise Tai Chi for his Jeet Kuen Do method contributed to his misfortune. Most Tai Chi masters, including those in China, are not aware of any of this.

In the light of the above, let us now define the term Tai Chi Chuan/Taijiquan, and then try to discover how that term should be applied. Chuan literally means ‘fist’, and by extension ‘martial art’, so we are not dealing here with something that is purely a health method or merely a form of moving meditation.

Tai Chi, the Supreme Ultimate, is the idea that the Tao or ‘Way’ is governed by two interacting and complementary principles known respectively as Yin and Yang. Heaven is Supreme Yang and Earth is Supreme Yin, so we have rain from Heaven fertilizing the Earth which takes it into the soil and produces life. Humanity stands between them, trying to match its actions with theirs, rather than going against them. Yin and Yang each contain an element of the other, and when one goes to an extreme it reverts to the other.

Tai Chi Chuan is therefore a chuan governed by the changes of Yin and Yang. For martial purposes Yin is soft or indirect, while Yang is hard or direct. Soft is not necessarily better than hard, or vice versa; it’s a matter of using whatever is most appropriate under an existing set of circumstances. For example, we can use softness in the form of evasion and diversion to overcome hardness in the form of attacks, and we can use hardness to overcome softness by attacking the vulnerable points of the assailant’s body. Beyond this, we need to be able to switch from Yin to Yang or Yang to Yin with ease. The same theory, as we shall see, also governs the health and technical aspects of the art.

The Changes of Yin and Yang

Appendix III to the Book of Changes goes on to say that:

The Two Forms (Yin and Yang) give birth to the Four Emblems (Old Yin, Old Yang, Young Yin, Young Yang) The Four Emblems give birth to the Eight Trigrams (Pa Kua/Ba Gua)

The Eight Trigrams determine good fortune and adversity;

Good fortune and adversity give birth to the great business of life.

From the Eight Trigrams, through mathematical progression, we can eventually produce the sixty-four Hexagrams of the Book of Changes. Diagramatically this progression can be shown as depicted in Fig 6.

THE THREE DOCTRINES AND TAI CHI CHUAN

Some Tai Chi Chuan practitioners – mainly from the Chen style – say that there is no connection between Tai Chi Chuan and Taoism, and they are absolutely right: there is no connection between the Tai Chi Chuan which they practise and Taoism. I will explain this later in the section on Tai Chi Chuan history.

Fig 6 Changes of Yin and Yang from Tai Chi to the Eight Trigrams to the Sixty Four Hexagrams.

It is no easy task to decide where Chinese philosophy ends and religion begins. Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism are often called the three religions of the Chinese. ‘Religions’ is an overly simplistic translation of the Chinese character Jiao