T'ai Chi Primer: T'ai Chi Chuan Explained
by John Loupos
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Cloudhands home Information and Bibliography
T'ai Chi Primer: T'ai Chi Chuan Explained
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In today’s high tech world even the most basic of
our needs have become conspicuously dependent on technological gadgets of one sort or
another. Activities as simple as walking or running call for special shoes, pulse
monitors, or treadmills (even the lower end models being fully computerized for maximum
convenience.) In refreshing contrast to this state of affairs we are gifted with the
ancient art of Tai Chi Chuan. No designer lycra outfits, no digital thingys, no rackets,
bells or whistles? T’ai Chi is decidedly low-tech.
T’ai Chi Chuan is the most widely practiced
martial art/health care system in the world today. In China, millions of people commit to
beginning each day with its practice. This is due largely to the fact that T’ai Chi
is understood to offer those who practice it a range of benefits for the mind, body and
soul.
At this time, as we embark on a new millennium, T’ai
Chi has become firmly rooted in our own western culture as well. Only recently have
organized studies begun to explore the reputed health benefits of T’ai Chi. Yet,
centuries of empirical evidence lay claim to T’ai Chi’s efficacy as a health
care and wellness modality. In China, T’ai Chi has typically been indicated for a
wide range of chronic illnesses, including, but not limited to:
T’ai Chi’s application in addressing medical
issues such as these remains largely untapped here in the west. Nevertheless, there is
little question that T’ai Chi has a great deal to offer, and if the growing number of
medical studies citing T’ai Chi for its wide-ranging benefits are any indication of
this, then western science and medicine are starting to sit up and take notice.
Today almost everyone has had some exposure to T’ai
Chi via the various media. Film clips or documentaries on China often depict (albeit
briefly) groups of people practicing early morning T’ai Chi exercises. In China, the
parks and waterfronts are full of people who begin each day with this healthy slow-motion
routine. The Chinese regard T’ai Chi as an official exercise and as a national
treasure. The effective manner in which it contributes to their vast population’s
wellness and reputed vitality is so important for a country historically lacking in
sophisticated medical resources.
T’ai Chi made its first great leap forward into
the American stream of consciousness back in 1993, with Bill Moyers critically acclaimed
PBS series Healing and the Mind. Since that time, T’ai Chi’s growth in America
has been exponential. Yet, a clear understanding of the purpose and intricacies of this
ancient art remains elusive, even for teachers experienced in other fields of martial
arts, let alone for the average layperson. T’ai Chi is like the proverbial iceberg in
that there is more to it than meets the eye.
By way of explanation, T’ai Chi Chuan is a generic
term. There are several different styles of T’ai Chi popularly practiced. Common to
each of the different T’ai Chi systems is a slow motion movement routine. Beyond that
the differences depend on the teacher with who you speak. But one thing that T’ai Chi
is not is slowed down Karate or Kung Fu. The principles of genuine T’ai Chi differ
fundamentally from those of harder style martial arts. T’ai Chi as a martial art
maintains its own autonomy.
Although T’ai Chi’s benefits are wide-ranging
and not limited to those listed below, I understand its practice to be of particular value
in four regards:
These four areas are pretty much all encompassing. Any
of T’ai Chi’s other benefits can arguably be assigned to one of these
categories. Some of these ideas may seem a bit foreign and difficult to grasp at first,
but concealed within these concepts is the magic that T’ai Chi has to offer. It is
however, the actual living of these principles that enables the T’ai Chi practitioner
to experience renewed health and well being on all levels. T’ai Chi students may also
experience the feeling of being more integrated both with themselves and with their
environment. It is the living of these principles that serves as the focal point of this
book. A fifth and separate equally important
regard that begs mention, but which I will not address in detail in this book, is T’ai
Chi’s application as a fighting art.
Life Force Energy, or Chi, is what animates humans as
individual living beings. T’ai Chi Chuan exerts a gentle balance on ones life force
(Chi) energy, and promotes improved health and longevity, and an enhanced quality of life.
Cultivating a practical understanding and reservoir of Chi for self-healing or for martial
arts purposes entails a very specialized approach that is best learned from others, who
are already knowledgeable in such practice.
T’ai Chi body conditioning is unique in how it
simultaneously challenges and addresses the needs of body and mind. Slow, gentle and
continuous, T’ai Chi stretching increases the body’s range of motion while
improving muscle and soft tissue tone and resilience. This manifests on a level deep
enough to begin to counter the long-term effects of chronic stress/tension/pain that many
people carry. After just a few months of practice, T’ai Chi students often find
themselves able to enjoy activities and freedom of movement thought long lost.
The inner structure of T’ai Chi refers to the
anatomically correct alignment of the skeletal frame and connective tissues. Advanced
level T’ai Chi is quite precise and entails an exact, often frustratingly subtle,
positioning of the body’s various components. The bones, tendons and ligaments must
be aligned just so in order to facilitate a mechanical advantage in movement or stillness.
This can take quite some time to master, but once grasped the benefits of improved
posture, rooting and economy of movement become self-evident.
Finally, we are learning to be in the moment. As simple
as this sounds it is probably the concept most challenging to the average westerner to
actually implement. From the moment we wake up each day each of us is deluged with a
barrage of sensual stimuli. We often find ourselves preoccupied with the world around us.
We spend the greater part of our waking time, and all too often our sleeping time as well,
dealing with it, buying it, selling it, wearing it, listening to it, eating it, watching
it and otherwise trying to secure it for ourselves, or trying to secure our place in it.
T’ai Chi teaches us that there is another world,
equally vast, and equally important the world within.
In Taoism it is said that whatever is outside is also
inside. If we spend our lives speeding down the highway, how much will we miss at life’s
roadside? The slow motion approach of T’ai Chi doesn’t just allow, but rather
compels, an enhanced state of self-awareness. T’ai Chi Chuan students learn to
cultivate two important concomitant states, those of attention and intention, combing them
into an inseparable One. This facilitates personal clarity and allows us to proceed
through life in a more conscious, deliberate and enriching manner. As such, these are
important ingredients in evolving towards better health and towards a sense of feeling
more fully integrated as human beings.
As appealing as all this may sound, the real challenge
is to do it right, because practicing incorrectly will fail to produce the full range of
desired results. In order to learn T’ai Chi well, and derive all the aforementioned
benefits, one must have a suitable guide and be prepared to commit to regular practice. T’ai
Chi Chuan is indeed delightful to watch. Even just observing someone practice T’ai
chi form can induce a feeling of calm and wonder. But that which is truly important in T’ai
Chi is typically beyond the casual observer’s abilities. It is the internal
experience of T’ai Chi that is so valuable and that can prove so elusive.
T’ai Chi Chuan can certainly be many things to
many people, but one thing it will do for anybody who practices it is slow them down, even
if just for the duration of practice. At the very least, it serves as a model for reprieve
from the out of control pace of modern life. As one flows through the slow and gentle
movements of the T’ai Chi sequence, the whole psycho-physiological system (the
body/mind) relaxes (parasympathetic response), including the cardiovascular, nervous and
endocrine systems. Notably, this produces a rejuvenating effect rather than a dulling of
the mind or body as one might expect with such a deep level of relaxation. Surely in
relaxing the body/mind and calming the spirit, T’ai Chi is, at the most basic level,
an oasis for modern humankind from many of the stresses and distractions of life in today’s
world.
Things to remember
