Tai chi
Tai chi is a Chinese martial art. Initially created for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into an exercise, a relaxation technique, and a sport. As an exercise and relaxation technique, tai chi is practiced in set sequences known as "forms", usually in gentle flowing motions that are often described as "meditation in motion," and may also be performed in faster and more vigorous routines. As a sport, competitors are judged on their performance in forms, pushing hands, and free sparring. As a martial art, practitioners master the applications of forms and partner work for effective self-defense.
Many styles of tai chi are practiced, both traditional and modern. While the precise origins are not known, the earliest well-documented practice began during the Ming-Qing transition at Chen Village and Zhabao Village in Henan on the North China Plain, a region where centuries of rebellions, invasions, and adverse economic and social conditions nurtured the development of a wide range of martial arts, including those of the Shaolin Monastery on Mount Song at the western edge of the plain.
Most modern styles trace their development to five traditional schools: Chen, Yang, Wu, Wu, and Sun. In the early 20th century Yang Chengfu, Wu Jianquan, Sun Lutang, and others promoted and standardized the art for its health benefits in programs supported by the Nationalist government, an approach that was further expanded and institutionalized by the PRC government after 1949. In 2020, tai chi was included in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Etymology
The name "tai chi", the most common English spelling, is not a standard romanization of the Chinese name for the art. The Chinese name was first commonly written in English using the Wade–Giles system as "". But English speakers abbreviated it to "" and dropped the mark of aspiration. Since the late twentieth century, pinyin has been officially adopted in China and replaced Wade–Giles as the most popular system for romanizing Chinese. In pinyin, tai chi is spelled. In English, tai chi is sometimes referred to as "shadowboxing".| Characters | Wade–Giles | Pinyin | Meaning |
| tai chi | tàijí | , the cosmological relationship of Yin and Yang | |
| chüan | quán | fist, or boxing |
The etymology of tai chi's Chinese name is somewhat uncertain because of the lack of a record of spoken usage. Before the mid-nineteenth century, it appears that outsiders generically described the art as, "Long Boxing", or. In the mid-nineteenth century, the art began to be associated with the philosophy of . This association may have originated in the writings of the founders of Wu -style tai chi, perhaps inspired by a tai chi classic attributed to the semi-mythical Wang Zongyue that begins with the words " is born from ; it is the mother of Yin and Yang". However, as the Wu founders had no financial need to promote their art, their contributions to the "tai chi classics" were not distributed widely for many years. The first public association between and the art was a poem by Imperial Court scholar Weng Tonghe describing a tai chi performance by Yang Luchan. It is not clear whether Weng was making a new connection or whether the new name was already in use. Written evidence for the Yang family's adoption of the name first appeared in a later text, possibly completed in 1875 by Yang Luchan's son, Yang Banhou, or no later than the first decade of the twentieth century by one or more of Yang Banhou's disciples. By the second decade of the twentieth century, Yang Chengfu's disciples and Sun Lutang were using the term in their publications, including in the titles of some of the tai chi classics. It then appeared in a book by a Chen family member, Chen Xin, published after he died in 1929.
Philosophical background
, particularly Taoist and Confucian thought, forms the conceptual background to tai chi. Early tai chi texts include embedded quotations from early Chinese classics like the, Great Learning, Book of Documents, Records of the Grand Historian, and, as well as from famous Chinese thinkers like Zhu Xi, Zhou Dunyi, and Mencius.Early tai chi sources are grounded in cosmology. cosmology appears in both Taoist and Confucian philosophy, where it represents the single source or mother of yin and yang. Tai chi also draws on Chinese theories of the body, particularly Taoist teachings on and on the three. Cheng Man-ch'ing emphasizes the Taoist background of tai chi and states that it "enables us to reach the stage of undifferentiated pure yang, which is exactly the same as Laozi's 'concentrating the qi and developing softness'".
As such, tai chi considers itself an "internal" martial art focused on developing. In China, tai chi is categorized under the group of Chinese martial arts—that is, arts applied with internal power. Although the term suggests these arts originated in the Wudang Mountains, it is used only to distinguish the skills, theories, and applications of from those of the Shaolin grouping, or .
Tai chi also adopts the Taoist ideals of softness overcoming hardness, of , and of yielding into its martial art technique while also retaining Taoist ideas of spiritual self-cultivation.
Tai chi's path is one of developing naturalness by relaxing, attending inward, and slowing mind, body, and breath. This allows the practitioner to become less tense, to drop conditioned habits, to let go of thoughts, to allow to flow smoothly, and thus to flow with the. It is thus a kind of moving meditation that allows us to let go of the self and experience no-mind and spontaneity.
A key aspect of tai chi philosophy is to work with the flow of yin and yang elements. When two forces push each other with equal force, neither side moves. Motion cannot occur until one side yields. Therefore, a key principle in tai chi is to avoid using force directly against force. Laozi provided the archetype for this in the when he wrote, "The soft and the pliable will defeat the hard and strong." Conversely, when in possession of leverage, one may want to use hardness to force the opponent to become soft. Traditionally, tai chi uses both soft and hard. Yin is said to be the mother of Yang, using soft power to create hard power.
Traditional schools also emphasize that one is expected to show , to protect the defenceless, and to show mercy to one's opponents.
In December 2020, the 15th regular session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage included tai chi in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Practice
Tai chi uses 'song' to ground the practitioner's centre of gravity, which is harmonised with the rising of the head to produce a central equilibrium and the movements of the forms through asymmetries in balance. Often described as "meditation in motion," tai chi aims to cultivate harmony, maintain health, and improve efficiency of movement through relaxed alignment of the body’s structure.Traditionally, the foundational tai chi practice consists of learning and practicing specific solo forms or routines. This entails learning a routine sequence of movements which follow a strict set of mechanical rules, abdominal breathing and a range of motion restricted to oblique angles and which are not 'double weighted'. Tai chi relies on correct alignment in response to oncoming forces, by so called 'yielding' or 'rotation' a practicioner manipulates an attack with the 'Eight Gates'. depending on how the opponent force is expressed. This practice is supplemented with Silk Reeling exercises, but these are only found in Chen and Wu Style of Tai chi.
There are also numerous other supporting solo practices which are not directly linked to tai chi such as:
- Sitting meditation: to empty, focus and calm the mind and aid in opening the microcosmic orbit.
- Standing meditation to raise the
- to mobilize the
- Acupressure massage to develop awareness of channels
nor any demonstrating the effectiveness of acupressure beyond that of placebo treatment. However, they can have an instrumental function in interpreting culturally embedded information for modern practitioners.
Further training entails learning , , free sparring, grappling training, and weapons training.
The fundamental training concepts of the art are detailed in a few dozen classical texts originally written in classical Chinese by tai chi masters, the "tai chi classics". In these texts, it is noted that the physiological and kinesiological aspects of the body's movements are characterized by the rotation of the pelvis, based on the metaphors of the pelvis as the hub and the arms and feet as the spokes of a wheel. Furthermore, the respiration of breath is coordinated with the physical movements in a state of myofascial release, rather than held muscular tension.
Tai chi is a complete martial art system with a full range of bare-hand movement sets and weapon forms, such as the , , and , which are based on the dynamic relationship between and. While tai chi is typified by its slow movements, many styles can be practiced at a faster pace when the practitioner has correct alignment after enough slow form practice. Some traditional schools teach martial applications of the postures of different forms.