The Origins of Tai Chi
Author: Stephen Todd
The Origins of Tai Chi
The principles of Tai Chi were established
by Taoist hermits and evolved as a martial fighting art called Tai Chi Chuan.
The
early Tai Chi teachers were mystical figures however; the exception was Chang
San-Feng, who was the first major figure in Tai Chi history.
The Ming
Dynasty places his date of birth at 1247 and he is credited with being the founder
of the fighting art called Wudang Kung fu.
He is believed to have studied
under a Taoist recluse living in the mountains of Northwest China; he then studied
at a Shaolin temple.
The Shaolin temple is credited as the originator
of fighting martial arts such as Shaolin temple boxing and Kung Fu.
After
watching a fight between a bird and a snake, Chang was impressed by the ability
of the snake to dodge and counter attack the larger crane.
Chang observed
this ability to defend and counter attack and then modified his Kung Fu fighting
technique.
From this point on the soft or internal Chinese marshal arts
were born including: Ba Gua, Hsingi and Tai Chi Chan.
Chen Style
The
17th century in China was a time of war and Tai Chi was developed as a fighting
discipline. The most famous of these was the Chen style of Tai Chi founded by
Chen Wang T'ing who served under general Chi Chi-Guang.
General Chi Chi-Guang
is credited with writing the "classic of Kung Fu" which, set out the
principles of what has now become the Cheng style of Tai Chi.
T'ing is
credited as being the first person to refer to Tai Chi Chuan rather than Wudang
kung fu.
Yang Style
Yang Lu-Chan found work in the household
of Chen Chang-xing and secretly spied on Tai Chi Sessions of his master.
One
day he offered to fight a stranger in front of Chen, who was unaware of his
fighting skills.
Chen was so impressed by his performance that he accepted
Yang as a student, Yang then travelled throughout China as Chen's representative
and in any fights he took part in legend has it he was never beaten.
Yang
adapted the Chen style to be a gentler version of Tai Chi. Today, Chen is acknowledged
as the oldest of the three Tai Chi styles but it is Yang's style is more popular.
Wu
Yu Hsiang Style
The third major style of Tai Chi was developed by Wu
Yu-Hsiang, who studied with Yang and Chen.
His style incorporates features
of both styles and these three styles form the base from which many other styles
have flourished.
Modern Developments
The government in Peking
in 1949 established the Wushu Council to formulate a style that would popularise
Tai Chi, improve people's health and make it a competitive sport.
The
Wushu style is responsible for popularising Tai Chi and bringing it to a greater
audience than ever before.
A new style called the Beijing 24 step form
came from this research and has become popular worldwide.
The most famous
of the Tai Chi masters of the 20th century was Chen Man-Ching; he simplified
the Yang style big form of 108 postures cutting it to just 37.
This style
is easier to learn and established Chan Man Ching as the most influential Tai
Chi master of the 20th Century.
Further information
Re Vitalise
offer a warm welcome to both novice and experienced pupils. In addition to offering
regular tuition there are several Tai
Chi weekend breaks available.
To learn more about our services go
to:
http://www.re-vitalise.co.uk
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