香港太極學院

Tai Chi Chuan is a Chuan with “Intrinsic Essence”　2010.05.18　Ng YueWah

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(Translated by Michelle Lee) 　　This article focuses on the “intrinsic essence” of Tai Chi Chuan, rather than examining the styles or schools of Yang, Wu or Chen. It is emphasized the Tai Chi is with the nature of inner essence. 　　Process of learning Tai Chi is usually commented as: "Learning the rules, following the rules, then breaking the rules." 　　At the beginning we have to learn the “form”, which requires “alignment and integrity” among the various parts of the body. Like learning Chinese calligraphy, a student without training on holding the Chinese brush, is hardly following the forms of Liu, Yan or Wei style. Teachers usually start from teaching the technique of writing Chinese word “one” and no student can graduate in a short period like 3 months. It is because the students have to develop the basic “form” in calligraphy. Tai Chi Chuan is more difficult than calligraphy; it must have its “form” and is beyond following the gestures. Tai Chi without a “form” is merely a Tai Chi exercise. It is easy to distinguish between Tai Chi Chuan and Tai Chi exercise. 　　It takes 3 months to graduate from Tai Chi exercise course, I believe. But it takes at least 6 years to graduate from Tai Chi Chuan, which I am firmly sure. Three months and six years, this is the difference between "Tai Chi Exercises" and "Tai Chi Chuan", can you imagine? 　　Tai Chi Chuan starts with a “frame”. Without a proper “frame”, it is like with empty hands, difficult to start to practice. 　　Here are the prerequisites of good Tai Chi Chuan: Firstly: “Integrity” within the whole body. Secondly: “Smoothness” in the practice. (If the frame is fragmented, it is not following the rules of Tai Chi Chuan). 　　These two prerequisites are only the basic requirements, but they manage to help to achieve the health benefits and attain some martial arts techniques. It is the beauty of the effect of Tai Chi Chuan’s "intrinsic essence”. 　　There is huge difference between Tai Chi Chuan with “intrinsic essence” and that with only “superficial element”. 　　Many people like to comment on the frames and strokes, as it is hard to tell the differences in the strengths applied. 　　In fact, the most challenging issue in practicing Tai Chi Chuan is: Relax, which is not consuming any force at all. Therefore, Tai Chi Chuan is the most “intrinsic essence” bearing Chuan among all Chuans. 　　Tai Chi Chuan is very special. When you manage to practice a smooth Chuan, the internal organs starts to be smoothened up and the blood circulation improves. Tai Chi Chuan carries health benefits and martial arts effect simultaneously – it is the signature of Tai Chi Chuan. In other words, when you feel the smoothness in practicing Tai Chi Chuan, not just the health is improving, but you can have the ability to fight back the “enemy” who suffers from attacking you. 　　Tai Chi Chuan with “intrinsic essence” and that with only “superficial element” are completely contrary in terms of effect. They are like the Chuans in opposite directions. 　　Tai Chi Chuan in general, can never be practiced up to a satisfactory level in a short period like three to five years. When Yang Lu Chan in the old days accepted the three guards in Prince Duan’s courtyard as Tai Chi students, he had said, “These three guards will achieve a new milestone in three years. However, they had to practice day and night to be successful. Moreover, success was in the stage of soft body and not the rigid body yet. Counting the years that I have been practicing Tai Chi Chuan, I should be able to reach the stage of rigid body in three years. 　　Now, it is really hard to find someone who can get both benefits – health and martial arts. Whose fault is it?

Flowing and Float-sink　2010.04.22　Ng YueWah

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(Translated by Sheun Siu Ho)
　　Master Wang Zongyue (王宗岳) has said that, “ unbalance leads sinking, then body follows. Double heaviness happens, then stagnation occurs”.
　　If you practice a force (power) boxing, “sinking” properly will happen, but body hardly follows. The “unbalance”(your body weight shifts to one side) is definitely impossible to accomplish and there is no reason to do it too. It is because only water-form boxing needs “unbalance leads sinking, then body follows” and uses “unbalance” characteristic to make our boxing keeps flowing. This flowing action drives the movement of hip and this is the Ta Chi’s characteristic too. Actually, “unbalance leads sinking, then body follows” needs a procedure but the timing of procedure quite short. Only in a special state that will need a “unbalance leads sinking”, and not all the way it happens.
　　In addition, in terms of “Double heaviness happens, then stagnation occurs”, what does it mean ? It needs to explain from the beginning.
　　First of all, we have to distinguish between “sinking” and “heaviness”.
　　“Heaviness” means weight and what is “sinking”?
　　Boxing needs a structure form so as to make our form be one able to“sink”; otherwise, it is only a pile of sand.
　　“Double heaviness happens, then stagnation occurs” for a Tai Chi learner is a serious matter because if this situation occurs that means the procedure of “unbalance leads sinking” have not been done properly and it gets stuck right the way and move nowhere. This situation is similar to a wheel getting stuck.
　　Referring to floating and sinking, we all understand that boxing needs a structure form first, then to make our body achieve “sinking”. However, if the form is bad then “sinking” could not happen. For instance, if our skeleton was in a condition of “loose”(out of control), how could us to make our body “sinking”?
　　After making our body “sinking”, what should we do next? Actually, our body will float naturally. Because human body’s floating and sinking just like “breathing” and it is the simplest principle. (There is no need using “Chi Chong “ to achieve this; otherwise just gilding the lily.)
　　Using “Needle at sea bottom (海底針)” as an example, because “Needle at sea bottom” is a significant form of “sinking”, after it sinks to the bottom due to its “sinking”, then the “Fan through back (扇通背)” floats, we could see all Tai Chi Chun acting in a pattern of floating and sinking. In addition, Tai Chi Chun is more than sinking or floating, and this phenomenon is also the characteristic of Tai Chi Chun itself.
　　If practicing Tai Chi Chun well, all actions are either sinking and floating. But if you feeling “treading on air” during practice, that means your practice still not steady because if you doing well there should not be any “treading on air” happens.
　　A good Tai Chi Chun learner may not a good observer of boxing. As reading book, a good reader will put books into three categories. First one, those books he has to memorize. Second one, those books are just for general reference or information. The last one, those books he has to forget. ( His meaning is for those bad, harmful or not suitable for reading books, should be forgotten at once.)
　　For watching boxing is in the same way too. The different between a good boxing observer and a bad boxing observer is obviously.

Swinging In and Out, Inflating and Deflating　2010.04.19　Ng Yue Wah

　　The first thing I learnt from Master Kwan-lam Wong, who enlightened me on Tai Chi, was Post Standing (Mandarin: Zhan Zhuang 站樁). One hour a day, for two weeks I did the practice. On the third week he began teaching me the 85-movement form – also one hour per day. I learnt all movements in two weeks. Master said I was gifted – I could not agree with him, knowing that my gift on Post Standing is much absent.
　　Now what I want to say is, Master always emphasized on Swinging Out (Mandarin: Kai 開) and Swinging In (Mandarin: He 合). I felt I was getting no where. Later when I was studying Sun-style Tai Chi Chuan, the idea of Swinging In and Out became clear and such technique is unique and occurs many times in the form.
　　Swinging In and Out is fundamental in Tai Chi Chuan. Normally it is done by limbs swinging out, and then swinging back in. Those who do elementary Taiji Exercise (Mandarin: Tai Ji Chao太極操) would have no problem understanding this.
　　Then where is the training leading us to? Swing In and Out is certainly not the sole element – superficial it looks; we need to generate an Internal Energy-flow Mechanism (Mandarin: Nei Nian 內練). Tai Chi Chuan would otherwise not be considered as a kind of Nei Gong, ‘Internal Skill’.
　　Swinging In and Out is similar to Inflating (Mandarin Shen 伸) and Deflating (Mandarin: Suo 縮). What is the difference? What do they have in common?
　　First, we have to adapt Synchronization of Body and Mind (Mandarin: Chuan Sheng Yi Zhi 全身一致) before we move on. To make progress, student has to know the basic step by step. When Synchronization has been achieved, training should run on regular and continuous basis. As Master Chen-fu Yang said, “One who refuses to strive for a good posture will understand nothing. A good posture is the foundation of Tai Chi Chuan. Only with regular and continuous training, the stance would become stable and movement would be light. Without a good posture, the stance would be easily led off. Pushing hands exercise would not help on this.” Only then a Consolidated Bodily Status with Sharp Responsiveness (Mandarin: Gang Ti 剛體) can be formed (Gang Ti will have to be neat and tidy). At this stage, we can generate an Internal Energy-Flow Mechanism. Inflating and Deflating should not be perceived as muscular movements, it is ‘bones’ that do the work. This is a high-level training.
　　A saying echoes what I have said so far, “knowing to breathe gives agility”.
　　When you do Tai Chi next time, this technique will enable you to master a form that is, as the saying goes, “larger beyond the boundary and smaller than the molecule” - the real Tai Chi Chuan.
　　One more thing: those who acquired the technique can downsize the bone frame. This is beyond imagination, but examples can be found widely in novels. I remember watching this on a TV programme, in which a big guy fitting his body in a tiny shirt. This falls into the kind of Body Shrinking (Mandarin: Suo Gu Gong 縮骨功)

How to explain 'Kong ti' and 'Qi ti'　2010.03.29　Ng Yue Wah

　　There are three phases of personal experience in Taijiquan practice, namely 'Rou ti' (the state of gentleness), 'Gang ti' (the state of intensity) and 'Kong ti' (the state of mergence). These phases can be illustrated by water in its forms of liquid, solid, and gas (or 'Qi ti'), whereas the abstractions of 'Rou', 'Gang' and 'Kong' have made them more difficult to define than to explain the three states of water. In the following we will zero in the matter of 'light' in terms of Taijiquan.
　　The adjective 'light', as Wang Zongyue (王宗岳) discussed, refers to the status that "neither a feather nor a fly could land on it". Yang Chengfu (楊澄甫) also used the idiom "as light as downs" to describe such a term. How light is this 'light' then?
　　Air exists in the atmosphere and has certain weight even though it is too light to be aware of. Feather and down are relatively heavier but are nearly as light as air. The reason why many people could not perceive this 'light' is because of the physical force that remains in their bodies.
　　Nothing else would be more symbolic to illustrate the feeling of 'light' than a feather, a down or a fly. Yet there is a different perspective on 'light' when things occur in a vacuum. By gravity any feather, down or fly (when it is dead) must fall on the earth, while in the vacuum space they would have no motion.
　　Taijiquan is an art that relates to the lifeblood of the body and is indeed uneasy to practise when we have not forsaken our physical force. The intention behind the messages of Wang Zongyue and Yang Chengfu is to point out that the practice of Taijiquan requires no involvement of physical force.
　　Just as Wang Zongyue proclaimed, "The [Taijiquan] achievement is not related to the learning [and the use] of physical force." This is the secret of Taijiquan - not to retain any physical force, but depend upon 'weight' and 'speed' in all movements. Like the spinning of the earth is the rapid movement of Taijiquan without physical force. The earth revolves and rotates while Taijiquan turns clockwise and anti-clockwise.
　　After all, Taijiquan is both the 'lightest' and 'heaviest' martial arts (or 'Wu Shu'). Other elements of Taijiquan apart from 'weight' and 'speed' will be discussed later.

Tai Chi Chuan and Tai Chi Exercises　2009.12.07　Ng YueWah

　　It will be great if we can identify the differences between “Tai Chi Chuan” and “Tai Chi Exercises”, because most of people don’t know how to differentiate them, what they can do is just by guessing. Therefore, here are a few of criteria that we can use to make our judgment:
　　Comparisons between Tai Chi Chuan and Tai Chi Exercises

	Benefit the entire body & enhance health		As good as all other low-impact sport
	Tuition fee is high due or small-class		Tuition fee is relatively much lower
	Class Size up to 5 students at most		20 or above, unlimited class size
	No more knee pain		Students may suffer from knee pain
	Not to force		Force applied
	Strengthen the skeleton		Strengthen the muscles
	Training starts from legs		Training starts from hands
	Step by step teaching with decent adjustment for individual		Unable to perform the decent teaching
	Does not use force for Push Hands¹		Use “very” large force for Push Hands
	Stomach as the enegy center to access tremendous inner power inside (Fa Jing)		No inner power at all
	Relax		Not relax or presume relax
	Inner energy development		Without inner energy training
	Strong immune system		Easily get ill or weak
	It takes at least 3 to 10 years ……		Much quicker, one set after the other……

　　Tai Chi Chuan was originally "freestyle" in boxing. It has later been developed into around six major styles, namely Chen, Yang, Wu, He, Sun, Zhao Bao. According to the legend, Zhao Bao was the very first style of Tai Chi Chuan and has formed a very secret chapter. Teaching Zhao Bao Tai Chi Chuan and passing it on was only conducted in the Zhao Bao region in the early days. In recent years, it has been spread everywhere. They have a tradition to teach and pass the skills to the capable students, but not necessarily passed it on to the next generation of their family, like what most family business does. According to the history of the Zhao Bao Tai Chi Chuan, the great master in each generation is: the first generation: Jiang Fa; the second generation: Xing Hi-huai; the third generation: Zhang Chu-chen; the fourth generation: Chen Jing-bo; the fifth generation ….. In each generation, they have a well recognized and representative martial art master. The most remarkable and amazing thing is their "names". They all have different "last name” which indicates that the martial art is not only passed on to family members from generation to generation, but to inherit it to a person who has the talent and is capable. The one who got the skills in each generation was so brilliant that their names were marked in the history!!
　　Let’s talk about something else:
　　Tai Chi Chuan is "arbitrary" in boxing. Everyone should have their own style because their physical condition, personal perceptive and understanding, etc are different. For example, Yang Cheng-fu's style, (I saw his photos), his three outstanding students, who are Zheng Man Qing, LI Ya Xuan and Dong Ying Jie. They all were trained by Yang Cheng Fu. Their styles of Tai Chi Chuan however are completely different. Why? Let’s see: 1) Zheng Man Qing’s style emphasizes on the “Yi”⁴, but not on the Form. Generally, it is soft, free and easy. 2) LI Ya Xuan’s style is with relaxing and large movements. Its Form and Yi are in equal importance. 3) Dong Ying Jie’s style is with moderate stretch movements and having both Form and Yi. As they all have their own understanding and perceptive in the Tai Chi Chuan, and hence they have different style. Their martial art and boxing are "real”, "authentic," and "genuine". If the students of these great masters just copy and imitate the same moves of their teachers, then their Tai Chi Chuan is surely "counterfeit", and is a "fake" Tai Chi Chuan of their master! By doing that, these students for sure cannot work out and create their own style. Of course, beginners should follow their teacher’s move mainly, but ultimately they should be able to go on their own ways.
　　Now we are talking about the differences between Tai Chi Chuan and Tai Chi Exercises. We need to know how to use the Tai Chi Chuan when we are practicing it. Therefore, we need to be able to distinguish between Tai Chi Chuan and Tai Chi Exercises
　　Tai Chi Chuan is certainly >not the same style boxing, but Tai Chi Exercises are possibly the same style “boxing”.
　　Don’t you see how the Olympics "natural" (?) Tai Chi Chuan performs? They are "the same" boxing!
　　

Keys:
1.	Push Hand:
	An important training device used in Tai Chi Chuan. It involves two people, usually in fixed position, giving and receiving energy, using Tai Chi movements and principles, with the intention of developing an awareness of the highest levels of Tai Chi.
2.	Fa Jing:
	Fa Jing is an explosive burst of energy used in push hands and fighting.
3.	Dan Tien:
	Storage vessel for acquired energy, usually referring to the lower Dan Tien locatd slightly below the navel. In Tai Chi and many forms of Chi Kung, the mind is centered on the Dan Tien, thereby moving energy that is acquired into that storage site to be used or refined.
4.	Yi:
	It means the “will” and the conscious mind.

Three states of Tai Chi Chuan　2009.10.30　Chung Wen Yuan

(Translated by Sheun Fung Yi)
　　Water has three forms, liquid, solid and gas , Tai Chi Chuan also shares three similar forms as water which are liquid, the solid form and gas form. However, these three forms in Tai Chi Chuan are not referring the liquid inside our body nor the air that we breathe. Contrary, they have different meaning.
　　So what do these three states of the Tai Chi Chuan actually referring to? In fact, they symbolize the Forms and Movements (hereinafter we call it “Chuan Jia”) and its application. In our Chuan Jia practice, we first look for a water-like movement; this is to achieve the so-call “soft body” stage. When our body has reached the softest, our body begins to extend and contract. The body structure will switch to smaller elements and gradually re-structured into a rigid body. Then, further extend will then be occurred slowly and over a period of time; you will feel like combined with the air, extremely soft & gentle; just as light as the air.
　　Like water, no matter how it changes to diffrent, it is still water. What’s different is just the shape and properties. The most important thing is that the change of the states shall comply with the external environment. The same in Tai Chi, no matter in which state, it is a natural expression of its own identity. It depends on internal and external demands and conditions for various state developments.
　　Of course, there are different requirements in Tai Chi practice. However, we shall first train out the water-like body of Tai Chi. After water-like body has been formed; the body structure of Tai Chi is first completed. Only after that, we can then move forward to carry out the training on rigid body and the air-like body.
　　For the Tai Chi applications, they are classified into three states as well. Generally speaking, the soft body state is actively reform during push-hand (practize). As it works mainly on taking the external force by others to strengthen our body in terms of resilience, flexibility, integrity and unity. Yet, in real fight (hereinafter we call it “Sanshou”), we commonly change the state to either solid or air form, simply because of their quick penetration property and massive attacking power. Nevertheless, there is no fixed rule/ form for real fight. It depends all on your “heart” - your will and focus.
　　As for how to train out and achieve the three states of Tai Chi, and how to apply it in actual combat; I would leave this for further discussion in a separate column later.

Tai Chi Chuan is a Sphere　2009.10.02　Ng Yue Wah

　　There were only cars, but no train in the old times. Today, we have aircraft, which is very convenient in terms of transportation means. When we fly in the sky, we think the sky is endless. However, there is a "space” outward. In Chinese, “TaiHung” means “space”. Therefore the word “Tai” means something that reach its extreme. Similarly, the meaning of “Chi” is also referring to the sense of unlimited extension. The Earth is very very big. When this bigness expands beyond its limited, we call it “Tai Chi”. Therefore, literally the word “Tai” “Chi” includes the meaning of infinity. That’s why “Tai Chi” Chuan literally refers to a boxing of extreme infinity.
　　When a teacher is teaching her students, he would say, “Embraces the ball”. It is actually a signal to start the Tai Chi Chuan.
　　Tai Chi Chuan is a boxing with very deep meaning.
　　Mountains are with fixed shape and form while water is not. Tai Chi Chuan just likes water.
　　Like the Shaolin boxing, it can be regarded as a tangible boxing while Tai Chi Chuan is an intangible boxing without fixed shape and form. Shaolin boxing is a martial art with using force, but Tai Chi Chuan is a martial art without using force. The difference between these two is very important. If you don’t understand this difference, you will not know what you are learning when you practice Tai Chi.
　　Some people do their moves which “look like” Tai Chi Chuan, but actually they just able to mimic its empirical movement instead of getting into the core. A great Tai Chi Master, Mr. Wang Zongyue had once said, "a great mistake will be caused by a small error at the very beginning”. Let’s don’t discuss about what the difference between “Tai Chi Chao” and “Tai Chi Chuan” at this moment. Even we are on the road of learning the proper form of Tai Chi Chuan, as long as there is a small mistake, it means that we are still miles apart from the proper form of Tai Chi Chuan.
　　Tai Chi Chuan has always been very difficult to learn and it is very difficult to teach as well. My teacher, Master Gu Lau Xin, was well-intentioned and wanted to let all Chinese have a chance to learn Tai Chi. So he requested Jiang Qing to relay the message to Chairman Mao Zedong to promote Tai Chi Chuan. Jiang promised and Mao in one of his speeches had mentioned about this issue. You know, Mao's instruction was an order at that time. Therefore, the whole country started to promote Tai Chi Chuan. It resulted in a serious shortage of teachers. Therefore, the authority conducted some high-speed training in order to provide a massive amount of Tai Chi Chuan teachers. By three months time, they had trained a large number of Tai Chi Chuan teachers. They immediately started to teach the others. Their students, after learning the Tai Chi Chuan for three to six months, then came out as another batch of teachers. Consequently, more and more people seem to “know” what Tai Chi Chuan is and able to perform the empirical gesture, but they would never know the real contents of Tai Chi Chuan. Tai Chi Chuan was said only leaving with a piece of skin, while the core sense of Tai Chi could never be popularized or to be taught properly. When Master Gu talked to me about this, he looked so frustrated and helpless! Now same situation happens in Hong Kong. The teachers in Hong Kong are mostly teaching Tai Chi Chao, which is simply a kind of daily exercise, instead of Tai Chi Chuan, because this is also how the teachers were being trained, to only focus on the outward gesture instead of the philosophical core. I am so frustrated because I could foresee “the same piece of skin” that left remain in HK.
　　The current situation would definitely leads to devastating consequences, as it would inhibit the spreading of Tai Chi Chuan, or even distort its nature.
　　Tai Chi Chuan is an intangible martial art, but also a kind of "arbitrary" boxing.
　　Tai Chi Chuan has three states: water , solid (ice) and gas.
　　Water state means boxing like liquid. It can be treated as a soft body (a lot of people are practising boxing with soft body). After that, what shall we aim for? We shall start the training to enter into the solid state, which is the same as hard as ice. That is a rigid and powerful body “Kong Ti”. (Please note that it is rigid, but not the same as the iron ). Ice melts, and then turn into liquid. It can be changed back and forth. However, a lot of people just know that Tai Chi Chuan has the soft body, but not the rigid body. For some people, they think that the rigid body and the soft body are complementary to each other, but not the same body. However, Master Chung said the rigid body and soft body are in fact the same body. If you want to train out the soft body and hard body successfully, it is not that difficult. In the book of Master Chung, “Tai Chi Chun Heng” has talked about it. However, many people do not bother to read it; even it is only a very thin book. I find that interesting. ----
　　What next? Finally, we shall aim for getting into the gas state (we are not talking about "qigong" and please don’t mix up with it). That is, an empty body. How can we achieve the empty body? It is not that difficult as well. Master Chung has told us in the internet that “ ...Practising more Tai Chi Chuan so as to make the movement running more smooth, more completeness and less hindered, then we shall of course be able to understand the nature and merge with it and then enter into a non-I state. This is a form of the emptiness. ... in push hands practice, the emptiness is a kind of complementary interaction to achieve the harmony, the harmony with your opponent. We shall get not only the physical harmony, but also the harmony with his ideas. ... so as to achieve a full harmony and finally merged and united with your opponent so that what he can feel is just the emptiness, like air, and you seem to be disappeared ... "Emptiness" is not nothing. On the contrarily, it includes every thing......
　　Tai Chi Chuan is indeed very difficult to learn, but as long as you are running on a right track, you will eventually achieve your goal!