Historically, T'ai Chi Ch'uan has been regarded as a martial art, and its more traditional practitioners still teach it as one.
Even so, it has developed a world wide following among many thousands of people with no interest in martial training for its
aforementioned benefits to health and vitality. Some call it a form of moving meditation and T'ai Chi theory and practice evolved
in agreement with many of the principles of traditional Chinese medicine. Besides general health benefits and stress management
attributed to beginning and intermediate level T'ai Chi training, many therapeutic interventions along the lines of traditional
Chinese medicine are taught to advanced T'ai Chi students in traditional schools.
T'ai Chi Ch'uan as physical training is characterized by its requirement for the use of leverage through the joints based on
coordination in relaxation rather than muscular tension in order to neutralize or initiate physical attacks. The slow, repetitive
work involved in that process is said to gently increase and open the internal circulation (breath, body heat, blood, lymph,
peristalsis, etc.). Over time, proponents say, this enhancement becomes a lasting effect, a direct reversal of the constricting
physical effects of stress on the human body. This reversal allows much more of the students' native energy to be available to them,
which they may then apply more effectively to the rest of their lives; families, careers, spiritual or creative pursuits, hobbies, etc.
The study of T'ai Chi Ch'uan involves three primary subjects:
- Health - an unhealthy or otherwise uncomfortable person will find it difficult to meditate to a state of calmness or to use T'ai Chi
as a martial art. T'ai Chi's health training therefore concentrates on relieving the physical effects of stress on the body and mind.
- Meditation - the focus meditation and subsequent calmness cultivated by the meditative aspect of T'ai Chi is seen as necessary to
maintain optimum health (in the sense of effectively maintaining stress relief or homeostasis) and in order to use it as a soft style
martial art.
- Martial art - the ability to competently use T'ai Chi as a martial art is said to be proof that the health and meditation aspects
are working according to the dictates of the theory of T'ai Chi Ch'uan.
In its traditional form (many modern variations exist which ignore at least one of the above requirements) every aspect of its training
has to conform with all three of the aforementioned categories.
The Mandarin term "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" translates as "Supreme Ultimate Boxing" or "Boundless Fist". T'ai Chi training involves learning solo
routines, known as forms, and two person routines, known as pushing hands, as well as acupressure-related manipulations taught by traditional
schools. T'ai Chi Ch'uan is seen by many of its schools as a variety of Taoism, and it does seemingly incorporate many Taoist principles into
its practice (see below). It is an art form said to date back many centuries (although not reliably documented under that name before 1850),
with precursor disciplines dating back thousands of years. The explanation given by the traditional T'ai Chi family schools for why so many
of their previous generations have dedicated their lives to the study and preservation of the art is that the discipline it seems to give its
students to dramatically improve the effects of stress in their lives, with a few years of hard work, should hold a useful purpose for people
living in a stressful world. They say that once the T'ai Chi principles have been understood and internalized into the bodily framework the
practitioner will have an immediately accessible "toolkit" thereby to improve and then maintain their health, to provide a meditative focus,
and that can work as an effective and subtle martial art for self-defence.
Teachers say the study of T'ai Chi Ch'uan is, more than anything else, about challenging one's ability to change oneself appropriately in
response to outside forces. These principles are taught using the examples of physics as experienced by two (or more) bodies in combat. In
order to be able to protect oneself or someone else by using change, it is necessary to understand what the consequences are of changing
appropriately, changing inappropriately and not changing at all in response to an attack. Students, by this theory, will appreciate the full
benefits of the entire art in the fastest way through physical training of the martial art aspect.
Wu Chien-ch'üan, co-founder of the Wu family style, described the name T'ai Chi Ch'uan this way at the beginning of the 20th century:
"Various people have offered different explanations for the name T'ai Chi Ch'uan. Some have said: 'In terms of self-cultivation, one must
train from a state of movement towards a state of stillness. T'ai Chi comes about through the balance of yin and yang. In terms of the art
of attack and defense then, in the context of the changes of full and empty, one is constantly internally latent, not outwardly expressive,
as if the yin and yang of T'ai Chi have not yet divided apart.' Others say: 'Every movement of T'ai Chi Ch'uan is based on circles, just
like the shape of a T'ai Chi symbol. Therefore, it is called T'ai Chi Ch'uan.' Both explanations are quite reasonable, especially the second,
which is more complete."
Notes:
- Source: wikipedia.org
- Copyright of this article is under the
GNU Free Documentation License
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