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The introduction
of orthodoxy
In his book Chinese Boxing, Robert
Smith asserts that tai chi practitioners never used to think of their art in
terms of a given recognised style.
A student would simply say that they did 'tai chi'.
No further elaboration was expected.
Nowadays, people practice orthodox styles of tai chi, often training numbered
forms. What has changed, and why?
1950's China
Faced with a health crisis, the People's
Republic commissioned the
creation of a simplified
tai chi exercise sequence that would be relatively easy to learn and
good for health.
This was
24 step tai chi
(it looks like a tai chi/yoga hybrid).
Please note that this was not a system or style of
tai chi.
It was merely a sequence of movements.
It was deliberately devoid of martial and
unpolitical Taoist influences.
Performance art
With the invention of 24 step tai chi, people began to see tai chi in
terms of merely being a sequence of moves.
Many aspects of the training were set aside.
More numbered forms emerged over the years; with the emphasis placed upon
accurate, dance-like rendition of the patterns.
Aesthetically pleasing and conventional, this new approach to tai chi was to
become the dominant standard in China.
Traditional teaching
Before the creation of 24 step tai chi, the art had been
passed down through families and tai chi schools.
Every teacher passed on what they knew and
added their own insights and preferences to
the art.
A diverse range of tai chi approaches existed.
Haphazard
Unlike Japanese martial arts (which often seek to follow a standardised syllabus
and method of teaching) tai chi was taught in a more haphazard, piecemeal
manner.
Martially, this was good; no two schools trained quite the
same art, and different teachers emphasised
their own unique values and predilections.
However, the drawback with the traditional method was that not all teachers were
forthcoming.
Many high-level fighting skills died with the master of the
school.
Uniformity
Following a numbered form pattern may appear to be
a good method because it assures the accurate continuity of the sequence.
People learn how to do the correct movements in the correct order. Like a
wind-up doll... But tai chi is more than form.
You must also know the biomechanical principles behind the movements and the way
of using the body must conform to the internal
way.
The martial purpose, strategy, skills and precepts within every nuance,
step and movement must also be fully
understood. Can such knowledge be rendered through copying? Through blind uniformity?
Historically accurate?
One question facing modern students is whether or not their named style
is accurate or not.
The form may follow an accepted pattern.
The method of execution may be correct.
The applications may be in keeping with the style and the tai chi way of doing
things. But is this exactly how the founder performed their art?
An example...
If a student claimed to be training the
Yang Cheng Fu style of
tai chi, is this true?
Did the student personally study with Yang Cheng Fu himself?
Do they know what his personality, fighting skills, preferences and
applications were?
Does their tai chi represent an accurate reflection of Yang Cheng Fu's whole
art or just his form?
Evidence
There is no surviving film footage showing the entirety of Yang Cheng Fu's tai chi system.
Nobody really knows quite what he trained, how and why.
Who knows quite how much of his art he chose to
share.
Yes, you can read many books about Yang Cheng Fu and learn from various
Yang-style teachers... but is this the same as hands-on training with the
man?
Your art
As Robert Smith points out in Chinese Boxing, you are in fact training
your art, your style.
John's tai chi.
Sheila's tai chi.
It is highly unlikely that you are in any way representing Yang Cheng
Fu's tai chi.
No matter how scholarly or earnest or well meaning you are.
Be honest
We train tai chi to the best of our own
understanding and ability.
The final product reflects our own strengths, our
weaknesses, our
personality and our own range of fighting skills.
There is no shame in this.
It is simply the fact.
Sameness
Should we all do tai chi in the exact same way? Like the 24 step? Not unless you really want to.
Remember: the 24 step is a form.
Tai chi is much more than just form.
Socialist tai chi
24 step tai chi was developed in a time when China was under socialist rule.
According to Robert Smith the aim was to be create an exercise pattern that
broke from ancient Taoist tradition and contained no martial value.
In Communist China, uniformity, conformity, orthodoxy and sameness were encouraged.
This was no place for individual expression.
Bickering about styles?
There is really no such thing as good or bad tai chi.
One style is no better or worse than another.
What matters is the individual and how skilfully they
can manifest the essence of the art.
And whether or not their training is
actually tai chi
at all...
The essence of the art
Slow-motion movement is not tai chi.
To qualify as tai chi, your training must adhere to the
principles and
precepts of the art.
Tai chi is the art described in The Tai Chi
Classics.
It is the art of Yang Lu-chan. Can your art be applied martially?
To whose standard? Yours? Or that of the Manchu emperor?
Bona fide
Style is unimportant. Form numbers are unimportant.
What matters is how well you adhere to
the essence of the art:
Move your body in accord with The Tai Chi Classics
Train all 13 areas of study
Follow Yang's 10 Essentials
Maintain medically-sound body use
Employ the tai chi principles at all times
Embody the teachings of Taoism
13 methods should be expressed at all times
Every movement is a whole-body movement
A high standard of fitness is necessary
Providing these criteria are met, you have an immense degree of freedom for
personal expression and individual
interpretation.
An honest picture
Why are there so many different schools of tai chi in the world?
And is everyone doing the art the same way?
People are doing their own thing. Conformity never really caught on.
Diversity is healthy
Sameness is stagnant. Would you really want to live in a world where
everyone was the same as you?
Looked like you? Thought like you? Agreed with you? Shared your own tastes
and values?
Diversity is good.
It is healthy and interesting. It encourages innovation, growth and
change. In terms of tai chi... just remember to make sure that
what you call 'tai chi' is really tai chi.
Page created 2 March 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023
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