The Meaning of
"Taiji" Quan
Bear in mind that the theory of Taijiquan movement is also
the basis of all Chinese martial arts.
Theoretically.
There is a philosophy in Chinese thought about how things
universally evolve and basically it starts with a "void" (Wuji) that
splits into two polar/opposite extremes (Taiji), which then splits into further
components, and so on. But the idea of
two polar opposites and the constant cycling back and forth between those two extremes
is the basic idea behind the name "Taijiquan". I've seen translations like "Grand
Ultimate" and "Polar Boxing" and so forth as translations of
"Taijiquan", but really it means the constant cycle between two
extremes. "Yin Yang Boxing"
would be saying the same thing, but in a less-clear way.
The Chen-style Taijiquan is historically shown to be the
inception of the extant "Five Styles of Taijiquan" (excluding the
rather recent "Wutang Taijiquan", which claims to be "thousands
of years old", in an attempted marketing coup). However, the Chen-style should probably be
viewed more properly as simply a tangential evolution of the general Yin-Yang/Open-Close
movement basis of Chinese martial-arts, qigongs, calligraphy, traditional dance,
and so on.
The Chen-style Taijiquan bases it's movement principles on
the idea of Two Polar Opposites, or "Yin Yang", the basis of which are
the two traditional Chinese movement pillars of Open and Close: the body
expands to its limits of Open and then contracts to its limits of Close, in a
continuous cycle. I want to give some
personal observations and opinions about the Open-Close cycling movement, using
Taijiquan as an example.
Taijiquan still adheres to the ancient model of optimal
movement which goes from Open to Close to Open, etc., by contracting and
winding inward on the Close, and by expanding and unwinding outward on Open. Taijiquan (and also Xingyiquan, Baguazhang,
Liu He Ba Fa, and so on) when done correctly will also make use of
1.
the forces of gravity,
2.
the natural elasticity of the body
3.
the involuntary-muscles systems normally
controlled by the subconscious
4.
the power of inhales and exhales
5.
the power of hydraulic pressure in the body, a
combination of breathing and involuntary systems.
6.
the control of the body as a whole, with the
center of control being in the middle of the body.
Regardless of those six contributing factors I just listed,
just think of them as supplements that add to the basic cycle of movement from
Open to Close to Open to Close, and so on.
The distinction that is important to traditionalist
Chinese is the distinction between a common muscular effort and a clever, energy-efficient
way of doing the same effort. The idea
of a continuous cycle between Open and Close, as a way of movement is
considered far more favorably than a way of movement that utilizes common muscular
force. As an example, think of a man
going down a planted row using his hoe: the ideal would be not the strong
muscular many chopping his hoe down the row, but rather the ideal would be for a
man to use the natural cycle of Open and Close, elasticity and breath, etc., to
hoe down the row with the least expenditure of energy. Ultimately, the Asian martial arts became
simply an offshoot of that same philosophy of movement: better for the
swordsman or spearman to move with the natural cycle of Open and Close, etc.,
than to muscularly chop and hew.
This movement that utilizes the natural cycles attending
motion should be as close to a non-powered system, an energy-efficient system,
as possible. I've included a video at
the bottom which shows an attempt at an automaton's movement that uses only the
structure, elasticity, and the power of gravity to move the automaton. Notice that the automaton goes from one side
to the other in a cycle as it moves forward … in essence this is the meaning of
Taijiquan, going from one extreme to the other.
Over time, many/most of the Chinese martial-arts have
gradually devolved from the continuous cycle of Open and Close, but not all of
them. Most westerners, looking at a
Chinese martial art, tend to see a "form", upon which they focus, but
there are style purist martial arts which adhere to the old traditions of Close-Open,
Yin-Yang, A-Un, Heng-Ha, and so on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvyJhWhz38c
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