Recently, a friend of mine, who has taken some Tai Chi classes in the past, was surprised to learn that Tai Chi is a fighting art. Actually, Tai Chi can be a health, meditation, competition (wushu), and martial art. While many people are aware Tai Chi started as a fighting art, the majority of practitioners today, particularly in the United States, practice it for its physical and mental health benefits. However, there is a contingent of practitioners that regard Tai Chi as the most deadly fighting art ever invented.
A great deal of controversy surrounds Tai Chi martial versus Tai Chi health training. Should health training include martial training? Is martial training necessary? And what exactly does martial training entail?
Let’s look at some of the issues involving the martial side of Tai Chi.
In external martial arts (such as karate, taekwondo, and US Boxing), power is generated by jumping, punching, and kicking as hard as possible. Tai Chi, on the other hand, is an internal martial art. This means its power comes from the mind, not the muscle. The body remains very pliable, like a whip, and the force is generated and directed by the mind. But a distracted or disturbed mind cannot direct the force, and this is a difficult concept for most students to grasp.
The Tai Chi form appears tranquil, with prolonged, deep breathing, which allows the qi to sink to the Dantian. The cycle of energy begins, circulates, and returns to the beginning, alternating between yin and yang. Thus, the saying: “Like the Yangtze or Yellow River, endlessly flowing.” This endless circulation prevents physical exertion and, subsequently, harmful constriction or enlargement of the blood vessels.
As written in the Dao Te Ching: “The soft and pliable will defeat the hard and strong.”
Most traditional practitioners and high-level instructors believe that the aspects of both health and martial arts are equally necessary, hence, the so-called Yin and Yang of Tai Chi. When done correctly, the yin/yang balance in combat is the primary goal of martial Tai Chi training. And while some Tai Chi Masters feel martial applications are neither suitable, nor necessary for health, Sigung Clear, who trained with Wu family members, asserts there is little difference between Tai Chi for health and martial Tai Chi training. If an instructor truly understands the structure, internal workings, breathing, principles, and self-defense aspects, the quality of the student’s Tai Chi will greatly improve. If any of these criteria are absent, Tai Chi will not work for either health or self-defense.
Before you begin your search for instruction, it is imperative that you know what your goals are for learning Tai Chi. If you are interested in the martial applications, realize that you will have a higher risk of injury, and that training will be challenging. You will need to strengthen your muscles, as well as improve your flexibility, fitness, and balance. It will also be necessary for you to improve your focus, clarity of mind, and relaxation in order to build your internal strength.
How do we do that? By learning the Tai Chi form.
I’ll discuss martial applications, principles, and the form in my next post.