Tai Chi - the Early stages

China has a very long and ancient history of movement systems that are associated with health and philosophy. In one way or another all of these systems have helped create the climate in which Tai Chi was born.

From the very origins of Taoism in the sixth century B.C., sages like Lao Tsu wrote in the 'Tao Te Ching':

'Yield and Overcome.
Bend and be straight'.

and

'He who stands of tiptoe is not steady.
He who strides cannot maintain the pace'.

Lao Tsu reflects the central philosophical of Tai Chi Chuan.

Later, at around 220 to 265 A.D., a physician named Hua-tu'o believed that regular exercise would result in a longer and healthy live. He advocated a system based on imitating the movements of animals, like tiger, deer, bear, ape and bird, to help exercise the joints of the body. His teachings are probably the earliest precursor of Tai Chi.

In the sixth century A.D. an Indian monk called Bodhi-dharma (Ta Mo), travelled to China. Arriving at a Shaolin Monastery he found that the monks there were in poor physical condition caused by too much meditation and not enough movement. Ta Mo created 'The eighteen hands of Lo-Han', a set of movements which over time grew into the precursors of the Wei Chia (outer-extrinsic) school of exercise.

This is in contrast to the Nei Chia (internal-intrinsic) school of thought, who take a fundamentally 'internal' approach. Tai Chi is a member of this school.

In the eighth century A.D. several other philosophers developed exercise styles like Hsu Hsuan-p'ing's 'Long Kung Fu', parts of which still survive in the contemporary Tai Chi forms.

Tai Chi - Beginnings

The founder of Tai Chi was a monk named Chang San-feng who lived in the Wu Tang Monastery between 1391 and 1459 A.D.

Linking some of the older forms with the notion of Yin-Yang from Taoism, and stressing the 'internal' aspects in his exercises, he is credited with creating the fundamental 'Thirteen Postures' (or rather eight 'postures' and five 'attitudes') of Tai Chi:

The eight 'postures' are:
1.    ward-off
2.    rollback
3.    press
4.    push
5.    pull
6.    split
7.    elbow strike; and
8.    shoulder strike

The five 'attitudes' are:
1.    advance
2.    retreat
3.    look left
4.    gaze right; and
5.    central equilibrium.

His exercises stressed suppleness and elasticity and were opposed to hardness and force. They incorporated philosophy, physiology, psychology, geometry and the laws of dynamics.

His theories, writings and practices were elaborated sometime later by Wang Chung-yueh and his student Chiang Fa. Wang apparently took the thirteen postures of Chang San-feng and linked them together into continuous sequences, thus creating something which resembles the contemporary Tai Chi Chuan form. His student Chiang Fa taught Tai Chi to the villagers of a town on Honan (almost all of whom were called Chen) and thus began the first family school of Tai Chi Chuan.

Another of Wang's students was Chen Chou-t'ung who quarrelled with Chiang Fa. The former then established the so-called Southern School of Tai Chi, an interesting and colourful branch of Tai Chi which subsequently disappeared. Chiang Fa continued with the mainstream 'Northern' school of Tai Chi which survives today.

Whatever their respective contributions, from Chiang-Fa and the Chen villagers in Honan emerge all of the surviving branches of Tai Chi Chuan:
One of his students, Chen You-heng, continued what is called the New Frame Style of Chen Style Tai Chi.

Chen Chang-hsing (1771-1853) studied under Chiang-Fa and combined the Cannon Pounding (Pao Chui) form of the Chen Family with the Tai Chi taught by Chiang-Fa. Chen Chang-hsing, in turn, was the teacher of Yang Lu-chan, the originator of the Yang Style of Tai Chi.
Another Chen family member and student of Chen Chang-hsing was Chen Gen-yun whose descendants continued the Old Frame Style of Chen Tai Chi.

Wu Quan-yu, a Manchu guard in the Imperial Palace at Beijing, was a student of both Yang Lu-chan and his son Yang Pan-hou. Wu taught it to (amongst others) his son Wu Chien-chuan (Also written as Wu Jian-quan). From this stream emerged the Wu Style of Tai Chi.

Another Chen family member was Chen Yau-pun who veered away from Chiang Fa's tradition to create the 'new' school of Tai Chi. Apparently his student Chen Quin-ping was an originator of the Zhao Bao Style of Tai Chi. One of Chen Quin-ping's students was Li Jing-Ting who, in turn was the founder of the Hu Lei Style of Tai Chi.

A student of both Yang Lu-chan and Chen Qing-ping was Wu Yu- xiang. He taught his nephew Lee I-yu who in turn taught Hao Wei-chen. This gave rise to the Wu Shi Style (or Hao Style) of Tai Chi Chuan.

One of Hao Wei-chen's students was Sun Lu-tang who also studied Hsing-I Quan under Kuo Yun-shen and Pa Kua Chang under Cheng T'ing-hua (himself a student of Dong Hai-chuan, the founder of Pa Kua Chang). He combined these forms in the new Sun Style of Tai Chi Chuan.

These are the principal styles of Tai Chi that are in existence in the present day.

Tai Chi Quan

The origin of Tai Chi Quan is not clear. According to the research of Wushu historian Tang Hao, Tai Chi Quan was first exercised and practised among the Chen family members at the Chenjia Valley - located in Wenxian County in Honan Province. The earliest choreographer of the Tai Chi Chuan was Chen Wangling who was both a scholar and a martial artist. Chen combined his knowledge of ancient psychological exercises and Chinese medical theory of passages, blood channels, airflow and energy, with the exercises and practices of Wushu.

Over the years, many styles of Tai Chi Quan were created. The five most popular styles are:

*     Chen-style Tai Chi Quan
*     Yang-style Tai Chi Quan
*     Wu-style Tai Chi Quan
*     Wu Yuxiang Style Tai Chi Quan
*     Sun-style Tai Chi Quan.

Although different in style and form, all Tai Chi Chuan routines require their practitioners to be tranquil, calm, relaxed but concentrative.

In Tai Chi Quan the spine is the pivot around which the body moves. Forces and energy should be generated from the spine and waist before reaching the arms and legs. The movements are executed slowly, continuously and softly, but hardness is implied in softness. Substantialness should be distinguished from insubstantialness. Practitioners are required to breathe regularly and smoothly. The inner strengths and energy should be exuded through external movements and actions.

Tai Chi - Yin and Yang, 'a systematic thought of balance'

In the Chinese philosophy 'Tai Chi' refers to a 'primitive state', a 'basic' state that can be compared with a baby in the body of a mother. People form much tension in their daily lives which leads to illness. To increase their health and avoid these illnesses, they should relax their bodies and minds through exercise and return to their infant state - (all things are born of Tai Chi).

The whole process is stated in detail in the 'Book of Changes' written in the Zhou Dynasty 1100-221 B.C.:

’Tai Chi causes the two opposites, the Yin (negative) and Yang (positive). The two opposites, which exist in all systems, cause the four seasons, and the four seasons cause the eight natural phenomena (denoting heaven, earth, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountains and lakes).’  The eight phenomena cause all things.

The picture shows the famous 'Tai Chi Chart', in which the black represents Yin, and the white Yang. They are supplementary to each other, transform themselves into each other and depend on each other.

The harmony and balance between Yin and Yang constitutes the 'Tai Chi state'. The human body is also composed of Yin and Yang. When Yin and Yang are balanced, both the body and mind are in a good state. Their imbalance leads to illness. Therefore, improvement of physical qualities and prevention of illness begins with the adjustment of Yin and Yang.

Offence and defence are two other opposites that form a part of Yin and Yang. If the relationship between offence and defence is handled well, the key point of combat is grasped. It is therefore important to understand the rules of the changes between Yin and Yang in the human body. The ideas described above form the basic train of thought for Tai Chi Quan.

There are curves everywhere: The Tai Chi Chart is round in shape. Between Yin and Yang there is a harmonious coexistence and soft transformation. The curved movements conform best to the natural state of the structure of the human body.

Motion and stillness exist together. The movements of the Tai Chi Quan are relaxed and slow. They call for stillness in motion to achieve the relaxation of the mind and body. At the same time, while in the fixed form, there must be motion in stillness so that the movements do not discontinue and the mind and energy flow do not stop. Motion and stillness are the two opposites of a contradiction - the Yin and Yang. The coexistence of motion and stillness is the embodiment of the Tai Chi Quan idea: 'There is Yin in Yang, and Yang in Yin'.

Hardness and softness are combined: if too hard, it is easy to break; if too soft, it is easy to damage. The Tai Chi Quan stresses softness to achieve hardness. In the light and soft movements is an imposing manner, assisted by the mind at the same time. Where there is the body form, there is the mind. What is tempered is the changeable and flexible ‘hardness.’ While executing the movements, softness is implied while hardness is shown
in form. So exists the integral whole, whether in advance or retreat, in rise or fall, or in closing or opening. When one part moves, all parts of the body move. This effectively helps to temper the integrity and harmony of the human body and increase the harmony between Yin and Yang.