Tai chi chuan is one of the famous branches of Chinese martial arts.It is well-known and widely practiced in the world today; however its origin is confused. There are many conflicting accounts as to its origin.
The most common of these accounts is that the founder was the Taoist monk Chan San Feng, who lived in the Sung Dynasty (AD 960-1279). The legend states that Chan San Feng watched a battle between a snake and a crane ten times its size. As the crane lunged at its prey, the wily reptile dodged and weaved, lashing back at its tormentor with relaxed lightning speed. Eventually the exhausted crane flew off for easier prey. In that instant the art of tai chi was said to have been born. Chan San Feng, a master of the bard Shaolin martial arts, applied the principles he had witnessed in the actions of the snake to his martial arts expertise.
As a martial art, Tai chi chuan works on a number of levels, but the principal aim is to teach practitioners to relax and become fluid in their movements. This allows for smoother actions and quicker response times. The objective is for self-defense to become a reflexive action rather than a repetition of technique. There is a variety of sensitivity exercises which allow the practitioner to adapt instantly to an opponent and to react in the most appropriate manner. Incoming force will, typically, be diverted, however slightly, and the corresponding opening in the opponent?s defense exploited. The level of response can range from applying holds and locks, to immobilizing an opponent, through to highly damaging strikes against nerve centres and acupuncture points (dim mak).
Yin and Yang are the complete polar opposite of each other: the softer, more pliant and yielding, more feminine and more negative aspects in anything are viewed as Yin while the more masculine, harder, more rigid and more positive aspects are seen as Yang. Both sides complement each other completely and together form a perfect whole. Things in the world, which are perfectly balanced and in harmony, will be at peaceful state. Half of certain organs and meridians are governed by Yin and the other half by Yang. The ultimate purpose of Tai Chi Chuan training is to strengthen Qi and maintain its smooth flow, thus Tai Chi Cuan can prevent as well as cure some illness.
Originally, the Chen tai chi chuan was only taught family members of the Chen clan until a promising young named Yang Luchan wished desperately to learn the art of the Chens'. Knowing that he would be refused if he asked to study with them, he became a servant in the household. He watched secretly as they trained at night, and during his free periods be would imitate the techniques be had seen. Later, he was caught spying on the Chens. When be was ordered to vie against the family members, he managed to throw his adversaries to the ground. Chen Chansheng was so impressed that he immediately offered to teach Yang as if he were a family member. After mastering the Chen tai chi chuan, Yang Luchan modified the original Chen style and created the Yang style of tai chi chuan, the most popular form practiced in the world today.
The various forms of tai chi chuan, despite having different characteristics and style, have the same training principle: execution of relaxed actions to create a state of softness, which is accumulated to produce firmness, forming a state of firmness and softness complementing each other.
About the Author:
Learn about Tai Chi Techniques and Training by visiting http://tai-chi-guru.info, a popular website that provides free Tai Chi For Health advice and resources.
No comments:
Post a Comment