Jin), Da Mo’s Muscle Change Classic (Yi Jin Jing), and Twelve Postures (Shi Er Qhuang).
Taijiquan, which is said to have been created by Zhang, San-feng in the twelfth century, is now the most popular martial qigong style in the world, even though it was shrouded in secrecy until the beginning of 20th century. At present it is widely practiced not only in China and the East, but in the Western world as well.
There are several reasons for the rapid spread of this art. The most important, perhaps, is that the practice of taijiquan can help to calm the mind and relax the body, which are becoming survival skills in today’s hectic and stress-filled world. Secondly, since guns are so effective and easy to acquire, taijiquan has been considered less vital for personal self-defense than it used to be. For this reason, more taijiquan masters are willing to share their knowledge with the public. Thirdly, ever since taijiquan was created, it has been proven not only effective for defense, but also useful for improving health and curing a number of illnesses.
Unfortunately, because of this healthful aspect, the deeper theory and practice of taijiquan, especially the martial applications, is being widely ignored. Therefore, the essence of the art has been distorted. Most people today think that taijiquan is not practical for self-defense. To approach the deeper aspects requires much time and patience, and there are very few people willing to make the necessary sacrifices. In addition, a few taijiquan experts are still withholding the secrets of the deeper aspects of the training and not passing down the complete art.
Anyone who practices this art correctly for a number of years will soon realize that taijiquan is not just an exercise for calmness and relaxation. It is a complex and highly developed art. It is one of the most effective methods to understand the way of the Dao and our lives. Through slow meditative movement, taijiquan gives the practitioner a deep inner feeling of enjoyment and satisfaction, which goes beyond that of any other art. This is because taijiquan is smooth, refined, and elegant internally as well as externally. The practitioner can sense the qi (energy or bioelectricity) circulating within his body and can achieve the peaceful mind of meditation. Qi circulation can bring good health and may even help you to reach enlightenment. Furthermore, when a taijiquan practitioner has achieved a high level of qi cultivation and development, he can use this qi in self-defense situations. The principles that taijiquan uses for fighting are quite different from most other martial styles, many of which rely on muscular force. Taijiquan uses the soft to defend against the hard, and weakness to defeat strength. The more you practice, the better you will become, and this defensive capability will grow with age instead of weaken. However, because the martial theory of taijiquan is much deeper and more profound than most other systems, it is much harder to learn and takes a longer time to approach a high level of martial capability. In order to reach an understanding of the deep essence of taijiquan, either spiritually (mentally) or physically, a knowledgeable instructor is very important. Correct guidance from an experienced master can save many years of wandering and useless practice.
Today, more and more taijiquan practitioners are researching and practicing the deeper aspects of taijiquan with the help of the very few qualified experts and/or the limited number of in-depth publications. Many questions have arisen: Which is a good style of taijiquan? How can I tell who is a qualified taijiquan instructor? What is the historical background of the different styles? Which styles can best be applied to my health or to my martial arts training? How is taijiquan different from other qigong practice? How do I generate qi? How do I coordinate my breathing with the qi circulation? How do I use qi in self-defense? What is power (jin) and is there more than one kind? How do I train my jin correctly? How does the fighting strategy of taijiquan differ from other styles? All these questions puzzle people even in China today.
I wrote the taijiquan book, Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan, published by Unique Publications in 1982. When I wrote this book, it was based on my understanding of taijiquan after twenty years of taijiquan practice. Since then, many years have passed. In these years, my experience and my knowledge have also grown through pondering, studying, practicing, and teaching. In fact, in order to contribute all of my efforts to studying Chinese qigong and internal arts, I resigned from my engineering job in 1984. I then started to write and teach extensively around the world, and my goal through this effort, is that Chinese culture can be introduced to the West more rapidly and correctly. From 1984 until the present, I have written 30 more books and published 60 videotapes and DVDs.
I have gained much knowledge and experience from reading the ancient documents, understanding them, compiling them, and organizing them logically according to my scientific background. I experienced the theories and techniques myself and then published them into books or videotapes. I deeply believe that the ancient secrets must be revealed to the public in order to encourage wide-scale study, research, and development of the Chinese inner arts.
Now, after more than forty-five years of study, I realize that taijiquan is actually a profound training for spiritual enlightenment. Taijiquan was developed in Daoist monasteries nearly one thousand years ago. The final goal of its practice is enlightenment, which all Daoists at all times are pursuing. I realize that the method to reach this goal is understanding the essence of the art through comprehending theory and practice correctly.
Among my writings since 1984, those that relate to taijiquan are:
1 Tai Chi Theory and Martial Power, 1986
2 Tai Chi Chuan Martial Applications, 1986
3 The Essence of Taiji Qigong, 1990
4 Taiji Chin Na, 1995
5 Taiji Sword Classical Yang Style, 1999
6 Taijiquan Theory of Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming, 2003
7 Tai Chi Chuan Classical Yang Style (Revised), 2010
8 Tai Chi Ball Qigong, 2010
Over the coming years, I will continue to write more books about taijiquan:
1 Taiji Saber and Its Applications
2 Taiji Fighting Set
3 Taiji Pushing Hands
4 Taiji Staff and Spear
5 Taiji Sparring
These new books will be based on my personal understanding of taijiquan and my martial arts background. The purpose of these books is to offer you some reference material. You should not treat them as authoritative. Once you do so, you have blocked yourself from further pondering and studying. As we should always remember, the art is alive. As long as it is alive, it should and must grow. Otherwise, it is a dead art and not worth preserving.
In the first chapter of this book, a general discussion will be given, which will provide basic concepts for taijiquan beginners. Next, since taijiquan is considered a branch of qigong training, the relationship between taijiquan and qigong training will be summarized in the second chapter. After you have built a firm understanding in taijiquan theory from the first two chapters, the most important foundation of taijquan practice—the thirteen postures—will be discussed in the third chapter. Finally, the traditional Yang Style Taijiquan form will be introduced in the fourth chapter. If you wish to understand more deeply both theory and martial applications, you should refer to the books previously listed.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Mei-Ling Yang, and Ramel Rones for general help with the work. Thanks to the editor (first edition), James O’Leary, and special thanks to Erik Elsemans, Chris Hartgrove, and Chris Fazzio for proofing the manuscript and contributing many valuable suggestions and discussions. Thanks to Dolores Sparrow for proof reading and for the editorial style guidance of this revised edition, and thanks to Axie Breen for the cover design and interior layout model. Thanks also to Tim Comrie for typesetting.
Chapter 1
General Introduction
1-1. Introduction
Even though Chinese martial arts were imported into Western society more than fifty years ago, many questions still remain. The most common and confusing questions today are the following: Where does the style I am learning come from? What are its theoretical