The classics
Can you value
your uniqueness, as part of the whole?
Be subtle as breath, and supple as a baby?
Be a polished mirror, reflecting truth perfectly?.
(Lao Tzu)
Tai chi classics
What are the tai chi classics? What do they
constitute?
The tai chi classics are the recorded wisdom of some famous tai chi
teachers.
Do and don'ts concerning tai chi.
Most of the suggestions are quite clear, although others are more cryptic.
It is very important for every student of tai chi to read the classics
periodically and use them as a meter against which to gauge the quality of their
own practice.
If your tai chi deviates from the classics, you are probably not doing tai chi.
Before the classics
The tai chi classics are not the root of tai chi.
To extend the metaphor; they are the tree trunk, with the various schools and
families representing the branches and leaves.
The root of tai chi is taoism.
Taoism is not about tai chi and never mentions tai chi, but everything in the
tai chi classics presupposes an understanding of taoism and its associated
principles and insights.
If you are not familiar with Tao Te Ching and Chuang Tzu, you should expect to
find the tai chi classics difficult.
Lao Tzu spoke of how his insights were nothing remarkable yet no one would
implement them.
His book Tao Te Ching is a clever piece of literature; it is so utterly
understated and easily ignored.
The title tells you its worth: The Way Things Are And Their Inherent Power.
In other words: accord yourself with existence and you will draw strength from
your relationship.
This lies at the core of tai chi chuan.
Taoism
Taoism is not a religion in any real sense; it is more like science than
religion.
Imagine watching an insect and noting the cunning ways in which it utilises its
body relative to its environment - and then adopting and adapting those insights
yourself - that is taoism.
You are not expected to memorise anything or quote witty insights.
You can possess tremendous taoist wisdom without ever reading a book; all the
books do is help you to notice things and contemplate.
Zen
If tao eludes you, read zen or study a zen-related discipline.
Zen is the spirit of spontaneity; the art of being in the immediate, in the now.
Many zen books are a mixture of taoism and Buddhism, and this occludes the heart
of zen somewhat.
Since zen sprung from taoism, it can be an interesting way to expand your
understanding.
Not tao
Krishnamurti and Alan Watts are two influential writers and public speakers who
spoke about taoist matters without necessarily promoting taoism.
Watts wrote about taoism on occasion but Krishnamurti never did.
Their insights offer a fresh perspective on taoism.
Different classics
There are other classics.
The two most significant ones are Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings and Sun
Tzu's The Art of War.
No self respecting martial artist can neglect to read these books repeatedly.
They are packed with insight.
If you look further afield, you will find stray books here and there that
astound you with their clarity and vigour.
Our school offers a reading list, but you should not be hampered by it.
Manifestation
There is so much more to tai chi than copying moves and practicing
what somebody else teaches you.
The real skill must come from you, from your journey into the heart of the
teaching.
Reading the classics and looking around you for insight is potentially worthless
if you never actually do.
The key to doing is to find ways in which to manifest the principles you have
uncovered.
If you read the classics but do not use them as a guide for your tai chi, you
have not learned anything.
Your training must be a living incarnation of what you have discovered.
The quality of your practice, the depth and texture of it represent the extent
of your accomplishment.
Start
with the obvious
The treatise(s) can best be accessed by considering the bits that make
immediate sense to you.
Consider the quote at the top of
the page. Now look at rollback and squeeze in your form.
The act of withdrawing creates the possibility of release.
You cannot release until you have coiled/made space within the body.
Look at the other examples on this page. They will get you started.
Folding
The joints of the body must open and close as you draw into your body and
then release out:
In advancing and returning there must be folding.
(Wu Yu-hsiang)
If you do not allow the joints to fold
and unfold naturally, you will be stiff and your jing will become trapped.
Changes
Nothing is static in tai chi:
Going forward and back there must be changes.
(Wu Yu-hsiang)
The weight shift and
the spiralling of the body is constant. You must never fix any part of the body
in one place as you move.
Everything must move as one. Everything must be in flux.
Form and shen
The first part of this describes the physical presence of the form. It
must look powerful and predatory.
Ready and alert. Sharp but at ease:
The form is like that of a falcon about to seize a rabbit, and the shen is like that of a cat about to catch a rat.
(Wu Yu-hsiang)
The second part explains your
spirit/emotional content/vigour. You must be focussed and intent.
Capable of immediate action without pause or hesitation.
Pre-emptive striking
Strike at the first sign of movement:
It is said; “If the
opponent does not move, then I do not move. At the opponent's slightest move, I
move first."
(Wu Yu-hsiang)
Open
& close
Opening and closing is gross at first. Then you internalise:
First seek extension,
then contraction; then it can be fine and subtle.
(Wu Yu-hsiang)
Unity
All parts move together. They start together and stop together:
Remember, when moving,
there is no place that does not move.
When still, there is no place that is not still.
(Wu Yu-hsiang)
When at rest there
should be no dithering, no anticipation and no hesitation.
Sensitivity
If you are stiff you cannot feel:
A feather cannot be
placed, and a fly cannot alight on any part of the body.
(Wang
Tsung-yueh)
True yielding/4
ounces will prevent anyone from applying force upon you.
Connection
Contrary to common tai chi practice, Chang is advocating a soft, agile body:
In motion the whole
body should be light and agile,
with all parts of the body linked as if threaded together.
(Chang San-feng)
The network of connected body parts
creates a framework of strength.
Gaps & deficiencies
Slough off any weaknesses in your tai chi:
The postures should be
without defect,
without hollows or projections from the proper alignment;
in motion the form should not become disconnected.
(Chang San-feng)
You are only as strong as your weakest part. Do not disconnect any body part.
The whole body should
be threaded together through every joint
without the slightest break.
(Chang San-feng)
60/40
Consider what you are doing with the 60/40 stance:
The jing should be
rooted in the feet, generated from the legs,
controlled by the waist, and manifested through the fingers.
(Chang San-feng)
Timing
The most common timing faults pertain to the position of your feet relative to
the opponent:
If correct timing and
position are not achieved, the body will become disordered
and will not move as an integrated whole; the correction for this defect
must be sought in the legs and waist.
(Chang San-feng)
Also, if you step badly, you cannot
easily release as you step.
Centre and legs
The 3 dimensions require the involvement of the centre and the legs:
The principle of
adjusting the legs and waist applies for moving in all directions;
upward or downward, advancing or withdrawing, left or right.
(Chang San-feng)
Do not simply lift your arms up by
themselves. Feel the movement come from the legs, centre and spine.
Sever the root
This is one way to uproot someone:
Alternating the force
of pulling and pushing severs an opponent's root
so that he can be defeated quickly and certainly.
(Chang San-feng)
Page created 5 August 1999