Tai Chi Chuan

Known as the art of shadow boxing, t'ai chi is becoming increasingly popular in the Western world. Although it is mainly done as exercise in the West, its adherents claim that it benefits them as much as other forms of exercise such as yoga, if not more. It's movements are fluid and rhythmic and, teaching as it does the control of physical and mental functions, it improves the health of the performers.

T'ai chi is a combination of martial arts, artistry and meditation. Its origins are obscure and no-one knows just when it began. Tradition claims that it originated with a Taoist monk, Chang San-feng, who lived somewhere between AD 600 and AD 1500. However, the credit for the development of a formal style must go to Ch'i Chi-kuang, who lived from AD 1528 to 1587. He drew together the various schools of martial arts and boxing so popular during the Ming dynasty.

The movements in t'ai chi involve exercising, stretching and clearing the body at its deepest levels; thus, meditation forms an important part of this discipline. It combines three ancient Chinese skills: Chu'uan shu - co-ordinate movements of hands, eyes, body and feet; T'u na shu - deep breathing from the abdomen to empty out the old and take in the new; and Tao yin shu - bowing, lifting, crouching and stretching the limbs.

A poetic description of t'ai chi ch'uan is this English translation from the Chinese - 'T'ai chi ch'uan is the martial art of inner power, of the hard residing in the soft, of toughness harmonizing with gentleness. In it, strength is transformed into grace, the sum of grace becomes strength and strength reverts to grace.' It is a physical attitude of apparent relaxation, which is not quite relaxation, and its sinuous movements look effortless but require great mastery. There are many exponents of t'ai chi today, deriving from various sources. However, they all ultimately come from a common source, adhering to the principles of change and yin-yang. The yin-yang symbol is a familiar sight nowadays with its yin (dark) half of the symbol with a dot of yang (light) in the middle, and in the yang half a dot of yin.

The five main variant styles of t'ai chi known by the names of the masters who originated them: Ch'en the Sun; the Yang and the two Wu styles.

The Yang style is gentle and its expansive movements are done slowly. Westerners often use a simplified 24-posture cycle of Yang, but an 88-posture cycle is practiced in mainland China. The Ch'en is a combination of fast and slow, hard and soft movements. Of the two Wu styles, one combines small, brisk, compact movements while the other combines gentleness with compactness in more expansive gestures.

The Sun style is similar to the small-movement Wu style, presenting a brisk, lively movement and much agility. Ch'i (pronounced chee) means both breath and vital energy. Chi (pronounced jee) means the utmost point, or ultimate. The aim of t'ai chi, therefore, is to achieve chi through the practice of ch'i. The practice of this art demands intense mental concentration and the mind must be cleared of all other thoughts. As a result, an inner harmony is built up as graceful movements proceed and the performer experiences a great feeling of well being.

The philosophical concepts behind t'ai chi lie in Taoism, which is indissolubly linked with the past Chinese thought and culture. Its aim was longevity and immortality-to become one with the One. The meaning of t'ai chi is 'extreme ultimate' or 'great absolute.

' Little known facts ; The famous Boxer uprising in China in AD 1900 was led by a group of men skilled in the martial arts associated with t'ai chi. They included two groups of women, known as the Red Lanterns and the Blue Lanterns.

Acknowledgement and thanks to The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd.