Tai Chi, as it is usually called in the west, or Taijiquan, or Taiji Chuan, as it is also sometimes known (precise translation
from Chinese is difficult because the language is so different) traces its roots back to a Taoist master called Zhang San
Feng (or Chang San Foong). After completing his kung fu training at the Shaolin temple Zhang San Feng took himself on a retreat
up the famous Wudang mountain to continue his Taoist quest for immortality. While there he witnessed a fight between a crane
and a snake. Inspired by this, he set about modifying his Shaolin kung fu to create softer and more flowing system which emphasised
chi training and meditation. To do this he incorporated his Shaolin qi gong training with his martial arts, and drew inspiration
fromt he animals he had seen. This new kind of kung fu was called the Wudang 32 Patterns Long Fist, and is generally thought
of as the first of the 'internal' schools of Kung Fu which combine the energy cultivation of Qi Gong / Chi Kung with the external
forms of kung fu. Internal, or 'soft' kung fu styles begin with gentle, flowing and soft movements, emphasising harmony, health
and the cultivation of chi; in the early stages of learning one of these styles it can be hard to see how it has anything
to do with fighting at all, but it is a mistake to think that they are not effective as martial arts. Although it may take
many years for a student of one of the internal scholls of kung fu to reach the level where they can apply what they have
learned in a combat situation, when they do so they are devastatingly powerful and very effective. There are a number of internal
martial arts style in existence today in addition to Tai Chi, such as Bagua Zhang and Xing Yi Quan. It is very rare to
see this original wudang style practiced now, so I will move on to look at the later styles which are still popular today. The
Wundang style was passed on to Wang Zhong Yue, then Zhang Song Xi, and then to Chen Wang Ting, a scholar-general of the late
Ming Dynasty. It was this man who founded the Chen style Taijiquan, which is one of the most popular styles practiced today.
Compared to the later forms of Tai Chi, which continued the movement away from the original Shaolin kung fu basis towards
the 'softer' approach, Chen style Tai Chi is fairly hard and fast, with a noticable resemblance to Shaolin kung fu.
The next development was to the Yang style, a transistion attributed to Yang Lu Chan. Up until this point the sectrets
of Taijiquan had been closely guarded by the Chen family, who kept it just for themselves. There is a famous story about how
Yang Lu Chan was able to learn the Chen style and spread its teachings: Apparently Yang had practiced many different styles
of kung fu and was eager to learn the Chen style that he had heard about; he was so eager, in fact, that he gave away his
families estate and worked as a servant in the Chen household. While working there Yang secretly watched the family train
and practiced what he had learned at night for many years. Then one day another master came to the Chen village to make a
Chen Chang Xing, the head of the family and holder of the Chen style. As Xing was too old to fight his eldest son took the
challenge, and was badly beaten.
The challenger then asked for the master, but his disciples tried to prevent Xing's disgrace by saying that the master was
away. The challenger, however, decided that he would wait for the master to return. It was then that Yang surprised everyone
by taking the challenge himself and beating the challenger, restoring the glory of Taijiquan. Because of this Yang was pardoned
for his crime of stealing the families secrets by watching them train, and was allowed to go out from the familiy village
and practice and teach Taijiquan openly. He travelled all over China to make friendly challenges against all of the kung fu
master - and using Chen Taijiquan he defeated them all and became known as the Invincible Yang. Although the Yang style is
attributed to him as the one who brought it out of the Chen family it was actually his grandson Yang Deng Fu who modified
the Chen style and created what is now known as the Yang style. Yang style Tai Chi is sometimes known as 'big frame' Tai Chi,
because it of its large sweeping and open movements, wide stances, and general tendency to make the practitioner open and
expand themselves in its practice. Yang style is excellent for health and fitness, and as a combat art is geared towards big
powerful moves that would probably suit a large, strong, 'big framed' person.
Wu Yu Xiang established the first of
the two Wu styles (pronounced with different pitches in Chinese but with the same translation in English), after learning
from two Chen style masters. This style is sometimes differentiated from the other Wu style in English by using the full name
of its creator - Wu Yu Xiang. This style has many similarities with the Yang style but with more compact movements and with
some of the large sweeping forms replaced with faster and more direct movements. There are also less of the kind of low stances
that can be hard work for the legs and joints, and so has a more relaxed feel that is more suitable for the elderly.
The
second Wu style, initiated by Wu Chan Yu is concentrates on balance (of different aspects of Tai Chi rather than physical
balance!) and harmony.
Then, finally, Sun Lu Tang, at the beginning of the 20th century, combined Wu style tai Chi
with two other internal martial arts styles - Bagua and Xingyi, to create the Sun style of Tai Chi. Sun Lu Tang wanted to
take the best bits of all three of the internal martial arts he had studied and put them together to create a new martial
art. The most noticable benefit of these additions is the advanced footwork of Bagua, which allows its practitioner to change
stances quickly and in an elusive manner.
Thus the main forms of Tai Chi today are Chen, Yang, Wu, Wu and Sun styles.
Although there are substantial differences between these Tai Chi styles the basic principles are still the same, as are many
of the methods.
