Tai Chi and schools of martial arts

The Daoist masters not only strove after ‘physical immortality’, but also after its ‘unassailableness’. Thus, in secret martial arts schools abilities were developed that may appear superhuman. Laotse said: ‘I have heard that he who understands how to maintain his life force need fear neither rhinoceros nor tiger when he is on his travels, and in battle need bear neither armour nor arms. For the rhinoceros will find no place where it can pierce him, and the tiger no place to set its claws in him, and the warrior will be unable to run him through with his sword. Why? Because in him there is no place for death.

Martial arts schools have thrived in China for more than 3000 years. Martial arts were especially trained in Buddhist and Daoist monasteries. Here they were associated with health exercises and meditation. The Shaolin monastery in Henan province became especially renowned. Here monks were trained in armed and unarmed fighting. This monastery was founded about 500 CE, and is considered as being the cradle of Zen Buddhism. It is thought that Shaolin kung fu served as a physical counterbalance to the long hours of sitting meditation. Both Kung Fu films and the Peking opera have their origin here. Shaolin Kung Fu is especially known as ‘Wei jia’ or ‘the external school’

In contrast to ‘the external school’, ‘the internal school’ whose origins are linked to the Daoist master Zhang San Feng (Chang San-Fang)(about the 13^th century CE) developed in the Wudang mountains in Hubei province. According to legend Zhang San Feng lived for a long time as a hermit in the Wudang Mountains. One day, he saw a fight between a snake and a bird; this inspired him to create Tai Chi Chuan. It turned out that the snake’s suppleness could overcome the bird’s attacks. Later, Zhang San Feng is supposed to have a book of 13 fundamental movements and how they should be used. He is considered to be the founder of Tai Chi Chuan.

Unlike Shaolin Kung fu, which is based on hard (external) strength, Tai Chi Chuan relies on suppleness, relaxation and the use of qi – energy. In Tai Chi Chuan the joints are never completely extended; all movements are circular and form an imaginary sphere. In this way stability and flexibility are fortified, and attacks can be averted with ease. It is often the case that masters of ‘the inner school’ are superior in skill to the hard styles.

A more precise transmission of Tai Chi Chuan comes from Chen Wang Ting (1597-1664) who is now considered the founder of Chen style Tai Chi Chuan, which is still trained today. This style forms the basis of the other styles. At that time Tai Chi Chuan was a closely guarded secret teaching, which was only passed on to members of the family. Chen Wang Ting originally came from Henan province, and was a high-ranking officer in the Imperial army.

It was not until 200 years later that Yang Lu Chan succeeded in learning the Chen family’s secret. According to legend he disguised himself as a deaf mute and worked secured a job as a servant in the Chen family home. This gave him the opportunity to eavesdrop on their talks, and he surreptitiously observed their training from behind a curtain. He would then secretly practise everything he had learned and made great progress through his determined training. Finally he was discovered, but was given the chance to show what he had learned. Yang’s skill was so impressive that he was accepted as a student of Master Chen Chiang Xing (1771-1853) and was taught the complete system. Yang Lu Chan later became known as ‘The Invincible’ because throughout his life he was never beaten by another master.

Today the most widespread style of Tai Chi Chuan is the Yang style, which is named after Yang Lu Chan. Yang Lu Chan was also the first master who taught Tai Chi Chuan publicly. So it is thanks to him that Tai Chi Chuan is accessible today. It was also he who, in accordance with the oldest transmissions, took Tai Chi Chuan back to an unbroken sequence of slow, flowing movements, and who gave up the fast jumps from the Chen style. However, these are still found in fast Tai Chi Chuan, and in The Tung Family Style.

Under his grandson, Yang Cheng Fu (1883-1936), the Yang style was further developed into the style that we know today, and was spread all over China. The Yang style spawned many other styles, such as Wu, Sun, and yet another Wu style - known as the Hao, or Kai He style, also called hard Tai Chi Chuan.

Characteristic for all styles of Tai Chi Chuan are their soft, harmonious movements, together with balance and stability. In China there is a long tradition of the different schools existing side by side, mutually enriching and inspiring each other. None of them claims to possess ‘the true teaching’ or the ‘authentic’ style: this is a phenomenon that has developed in the west. However, there are great differences between individual teachers’ understanding and proficiency.