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Taijiquan
is a Chinese Martial Art that uses "Internal"
Principles to develop ones skill rather than focusing on "external" speed
and strength. After years of experience in Martial Arts, I settled
on the art of Taijiquan (Tai Chi). The word "Taijiquan" is roughly translated as
"supreme ultimate fist" and draws its roots and principles from Taoism. It
is more than a martial art. The ancient sages designed Taijiquan to be
rejuvenating for the health and spirit.
Taijiquan is inseparable from Taoism and I have learned
many things about it by studying Taoism and vice versa. The origins of
Taijiquan are clouded in Legend, but all follow similar lines.
Origins of Taijiquan
Taijiquan traces its roots back to the Taoist Temple
in the Wudan Mountains. At this temple, a great martial artist,
Zhangsanfeng developed an Internal Boxing Art that was taught to the
monks. It is said that Zhangsanfeng originally mastered the famous
Shaolinquan.
Shaolinquan is the art developed by Tamo at the
famous Shaolin Monastery (a Chan Buddhist Monastery). Shaolinquan was
abandoned for many years, before Jiaoyuanshangren began to teach at the
temple. Jiaoyuanshangren was a master monk that was proficient
in quan and fencing and who had further developed the Eighteen Buddha's
Palms into 72. Zhangsanfeng studied for ten years at the Shaolin
monestary
and mastered all the arts.
It is further said that Zhangsanfeng left Shaolin to
study with a famous Taoist and learned the secret of immortality. After
this, he lived at the Wudan Temple for many years. He then traveled
throughout China.
There are many stories about how Zhangsenfeng
developed the Internal Boxing which later became Taijiquan, but all the
styles trace their origins to Zhangsanfeng.
What differentiates Taijiquan from other arts is its adherence to
internal principles. These principles can be found in the masters of all
martial arts. Taiji starts with these principles. Practitioners learn a
different way of moving, a more natural, powerful way of moving.
Taijiquan is a martial art, but the emphasis is not on fighting,
rather on self defense. when studying the Taiji Classics, we find that
they used a different set of words for self defense than would normally
be used in a martial concept. It is thought that these words were used
to mean that dilligent practice of Taijiquan will defend against many
things as well as physical attackers.
Taijiquan as a Martial Art
The movements of Taijiquan are deceptively simple & - to the
outside observer, ridiculously slow. Many people who practice Taijiquan
do so for it's beneficial effects on one's health, their spiritual
development, inner peace & long life. And of these, most people who have
not had experience with Taijiquan under a qualified master have not had
the opportunity to understand how the martial applications that are
taught to them Enhance & Support the healthful benefits that such a
practice promotes. Eventually, students of Taijiquan mature & advance to
the state where the combative techniques are taught to them by a
qualified master in such a way that these techniques themselves explain
the actual processes behind the inner work & refinement of ones personal
being. Such a person will sit at a tournament surrounded by the friends
& family of people competing in the Taijiquan division, & while everyone
else comments on how graceful & controlled their friends or relatives
look-
the knowledgable Taijiquan practitioner sees these things & much, much
more. The various strikes, pushes, blocks, kicks, redirective maneuvers,
evasive techniques, spiral throws, joint locks & separations. This is
the fighting, the Quan, of Tai Ji Quan. This is the Grand Ultimate Fist
or Boxing.
Many styles of boxing tend to lend their abilities to people who
are aggressive & belicose, while Internal Arts generally are practiced
by people who are quite calm & almost continuously meditative in their
awareness of the world around them. The very nature of its training,
with emphasis on gracefulness, gentleness, and harmonious energy flow,
is intrinsic to the development of mental freshness and cosmic harmony.
'Traditionally', Taoists are known for their love of freedom, disregard
of mundane trifles, and penchant for joviality. A Taijiquan master,
while confident of his martial skills, is soft-spoken, humble, tolerant,
and at peace with himself and with others.
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