5 missing pieces | ||
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Legendary skill
The
the old/classical Yang style of tai chi was developed by the
martial arts legend Yang Lu-chan. Yang Lu-chan's nickname was
'Yang-the-Invincible'.
He is famous for teaching his tai chi to the Manchu Emperor's elite palace
guards.
Centuries later...
Modern tai chi is hardly considered to be the
pinnacle of
Chinese martial arts. So what happened? Very few classes are
offering the principles of tai chi these days.
It is in danger of becoming a lost art. Given the untold thousands of
practitioners worldwide, this may sound absurd.
But tai chi can only be considered 'tai chi' if it conforms to the
parameters that constitute the art.
A lost art?
Many people think that tai chi is just
qigong, a demonstration form and pushing
hands. Maybe a sword form and a smattering
of self defence moves/theories...
Tai chi is more than this. Training the superficialities of
tai chi will never give you any real grasp of the art.
If you want to find out what tai chi is really about, you will need to
commit yourself to a journey of discovery. Why not start by considering
what is missing from many classes?
What is commonly being taught
in a tai chi class
According to
The Journal of Asian Martial Arts, most tai chi
classes in the world offer solo form (a sequence of moves), and a bit of
qigong. Not many classes actually do pushing hands.
Some do sword form.
Occasionally, teachers speak of self defence applications. Things like 'san sau' are very, very rare, and rarer still are classes that teach anything
approaching an actual martial art.
5 missing pieces
Many tai chi classes lack 5 important elements necessary in order
for tai chi to function as a martial art:
Neigong (whole-body strength)
Martial concepts (what combat constitutes and how to do it effectively)
Chin na (the art of seizing)
Shuai jiao (take downs)
Jing (whole-body power)
Without these 5 components, tai chi is lacking something and may not work in
combat.
What does qi have to do
with
fighting? Absolutely nothing. If you want to talk about qi in the martial arts,
I'd say that it doesn't have anything to do with the martial arts. They're
talking about intention mostly, and they're calling it qi because it sounds more
mysterious.
(Tim Cartmell)
1. Neigong
(i) Qigong
Every student in out school starts by learning qigong. The qigong
exercises are quite straightforward. Some are moving exercises whilst others are
standing postures.
The moving exercises are taught in sets.
The standing postures can be held for anything between 5-20 minutes.
(ii) Infused with neigong
All of the basic qigong exercises are infused with neigong. This affects the way
in which they are performed. Whole-body movement is not the same as disconnected
arm movement.
Unity is required and this takes practice and corrections.
Once the student can perform the qigong exercises adequately, they will able to
take those same body skills into form and other
areas of their training.
(iii) We're not interested in qi
Some people think that neigong is about qi. That's okay. We're not interested in
that approach. For our students, neigong is about
biomechanics.
(iv) Unbroken strength
With practice, an internal martial arts person can use less and less
effort for each task.
This means that the muscles are less tired and do not hold residual
tension.
Over time, the tendons, ligaments, fascia and muscles become united.
There is no longer a need to exert for a given task. Whole-body strength is
now present continuously.
(v)
Inherent peng
Pressure can be applied to any part of your body and you should feel
substantial.
This substance is tangible but not rigid in any way.
You must always yield when pushed and never resist the incoming force.
The connection must exist without
conscious effort. If you need to employ effort, then the peng is not inherent
and will not be there in every movement.
(vi) Other approaches
We once read an account of neigong that spoke of self hypnosis, "being
lost in the light", "sharing the light" and "inner
spiritual work". Whilst the teacher may be a really nice person and well
intentioned, the narrative had no bearing whatsoever on whole-body strength or
biomechanics.
Other accounts of neigong suggest excruciating exercises that really strain the
body. This again seems unnecessary and misguided.
2.
Martial concepts
(i) Seeing
A martial artist perceives situations in a certain way. They aim to avoid
conflict, to refrain from backing themselves into a corner. They explore
possibilities and embrace ambiguity.
(ii) Cultivation
Martial perception is no different to driving a car. It must be actively
cultivated, trained and put into practice. Musashi said that martial arts is
'The Science of the Advantage'.
(iii) Physicality
Once martial perception begins to develop, the student takes a keen interest in
human biomechanics, positioning, alignment, structure, timing and momentum. They
begin to see other people differently.
Physical imbalances seem glaringly obvious, prevailing emotional habits are easy
to observe. The entire realm of physical usage becomes fascinating.
(iv) Not theory
A concept is an idea, an insight, a framework for understanding. Tai chi is
not like judo or karate - you cannot simply transfer an external martial arts
attitude and expect tai chi to work.
The student needs to learn a fundamentally different way of viewing combat, and
the use of the human body.
Concepts provide focus; a direction, a purpose. Without a deeper grasp of what
is taking place, the student will flounder indefinitely. This is a why a highly
detailed syllabus is essential.
(v) Technical knowledge
The tai chi martial skills must be refined many, many times before they are
truly 'combat' ready.
The nuance of each movement, the possible ramifications, applications,
variations, off-shoots and follow-ups must be examined thoroughly. How the body
moves. How the power is being generated.
As your overall skill in tai chi grows, your body and mind change
considerably, and these training methods will change with you. Layers of
meaning, purpose and application will unfold.
(vi) Proof
You may not be able to persuade the general public to believe that tai chi is
a credible martial art. But you can show them. To do this you must train the art
properly yourself.
(vii) Guiding principles
The main thing is to adhere absolutely to the guiding principles of the art.
These were outlined in The Tai Chi Classics. If your art deviates from these,
then you have gone astray.
Seek tuition from a teacher who is committed to training an art that applies
martial skills in a thorough and convincing manner.
(viii) What is martial?
Spend some time researching the nature of combat. See what other martial arts
classes and styles are doing. Gain an understanding of what combat entails.
Is your class exploring a realistic range of martial scenarios? How do you
address fear?
3. Chin na
(i)
Freeform triangle
The 3 tai chi skills of shuai jiao, chin na and form application
enable the student to deal with different stages of an attack:
Striking is defeated by grappling (shuai jiao or pushing hands/monkey paws)
Grappling is defeated by chin na
Chin na is defeated by striking
Students learn how to develop their own response to attack, utilising this simple triangular premise.
(ii)
Skills
Your basic chin na skills are: breaking, sealing, seizing, splitting and
tearing.
It is important that you can differentiate clearly between them and apply each
skill as the situation demands.
Each ability requires you to be fully connected, rooted and be using the 'baby
grip' rather than tension.
(iii) Techniques?
The danger with learning specific chin na applications is that you may come to
see them as techniques.
This is not the approach advocated by Sifu Waller.
Techniques have their place as a learning tool but are not a good approach to
use in actual self defence.
A technique involves a series of steps employed against a particular attack.
Should your opponent deviate from the anticipated course of action, a technique
could easily fail.
(iv) Adaptation
For chin na to work, you must concern yourself with the underlying
principles rather than technique.
Once you understand how the principles work, you can use them spontaneously
in accord with the requirement of a given situation.
This is more realistic.
Adaptation is essential; you change what you are doing relative to what is
happening.
If your chin na is countered by your opponent, you move into a different one
or adopt a different strategy entirely - such as stepping or striking.
(v) Grappling
As a boy and a young man, Sifu Waller trained a lot of wing chun,
judo and ju jitsu. He became very fond of the
grappling arts.
If you punch somebody it may hurt them or it may not. Grappling is
different; the applications and techniques can be trained rigorously in
class and then applied in real life, with simply an increase in
power.
Our students are taught how to strike, but skill with grappling must come
first. Simply because it is more reliable.
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Page created
18 April 2005
Last updated
16 June 2023