If you have every seen a performance with Tai Chi Fan, it looks like a lovely dance. Indeed, it is and can certainly be. However,Tai Chi Fan (also known as Iron Fan or tiě shān) is primarily used as a weapon in the Tai Chi martial arts. It is one of the most beautiful self-defense forms.
Tai Chi Fan is often considered a newcomer to Tai Chi weapon forms. Only Chen style and Yang style usually have a true Tai Chi fan history of practice. The most common forms consist of 18, 24, 52 , or 56 movements. It is not taught in most schools, although, there are some smaller schools that have it as part of their tradition. Even thought there are double fan forms, those are not usually seen.
For self-defense, Fan forms require focus, concentration, dexterity,balance, poise, intention, and awareness to be an effective tool in self defense. This is also true of Tai Chi fan forms for dance. Fan forms emphasizes body awareness and mindful meditation but looks like an elegant, unique, and calming dance. In fact, practicing Fan form develops your strength, connected movements, balance, health, flexibility and it will also improve your other Tai Chi forms.
Fans are popular because they are small, light, fun, attractive, and relatively inexpensive. Originally, fans were made of palm leaves and bamboo thousands of years ago, and were used to cool and/or to swat bugs or flying insects. Culturally, fans later became status symbols once different materials were used in creating them. The colors, fabric, design, size, and even the different materials used became significant and told “a story” about the owner. At around this time, they were often used to hide a women’s facial expression and intent.
Today’s fans continue to have a lot of meaning and are still considered status symbols. They can be works of art containing intricate designs and materials.Modern fans are well designed with strong synthetic material in the folding part and tines that are made of wood, plastic or metal.
In Feudal China, both men and women carried fans as weapons. Though both carried them, they were particularly effective for women during the Ming dynasty, between 1368 and 1644.
During the early 1700s, the second Ming Dynasty emperor called out for skilled fan practitioners. He watched and learned from them, afterwards banning fans in China from martial arts usage. If you practiced or demonstrated fan, you were sentenced to death.
Fans were not introduced (or should I say re-introduced) as a Chinese martial arts weapon until at some point between the 1800 and 1900s. They were used earlier in Japanese martial arts and were outfitted with metal blades. Fans were also carried by Japanese Samurai. Because fans obscured or hid intentions and had the ability to surprise and deceive, they began to be used in the Chinese martial arts as a short weapon technique. As the materials changed, so did the martial purpose of the fan. They began to mask small blades, knives, metal, or even darts. Once steel was introduced as fan ribbing, Tai Chi fan became a more serious weapon now known as the “iron fan”.
The fan can be used to shield yourself from your opponent, mask the practitioner’s next move or yours, to hide other weapons, to visually confuse your opponent, or even distract them by the loud noise the fan makes when it collapses. They can also conceal other weapons, and block projectiles. In close combat, a fan can be used to block your opponents’ move or weapons, to deflect hits, or even to cut or slice to disable. A closed fan can be used as a baton to “deflect, strike, stab or bludgeon” vital areas on your opponent.
A fan is easy to conceal and hide during combat situations. “Battlefield legends tell of these fans playing a part in saving the lives of unarmed warriors caught in ambushes or surprise attacks”.
As with everything in life, there are differing opinions. Some practitioners believe that Tai Chi fan breaks from the traditional Tai Chi and focuses on breathing techniques, meditation, and health of the body, with less attention paid to defense. They also believe that Tai Chi fan is more about aligning the forces of the body, “making it more of an art”, as well as keeping the body in rhythm with the mind and spirit. The popularity of fan is attributed to people wanting to meditate through physical movements.
From this perspective, fans are used for aesthetics or “to focus the practitioner’s will on the object and movements”. Tai Chi fan is often seen in dance or celebrations and therefore, in their opinion, has evolved “into a personal practice” for better health.
There certainly are health benefits to practicing Tai Chi fan, whether you use it in martial or dance performance. In fact, In Practical Tai Chi Training, Master Jesse Tsao states that the crisp opening and closing sound, “releases stress from your mind and body.”
Fan form has become quite popular. Usually nylon and silk fans are used for new students. Once the practitioner achieves a certain level of competence, they normally transition to fans ribbed with iron or steel, particular for martial and self defense purposes.
Today’s fans continue to have a lot of meaning and are still considered as status symbols by many. Modern fans are well designed and use strong synthetic materials in the folding part and tines that are made of wood, plastic or metal. Many fans are considered works of art containing intricate designs and materials and are often displayed on walls or in cases.
If you ever have the opportunity to watch a professional fan performance, stop to consider how deceptive a beautiful dance can be!
Subscribe to receive my weekly blogs in your email.