People in Tai Chi say: "We stand perpendicular to the ground because that is what you do in Yang Style" and "We don't stand perpendicular to the ground because it is Wu Style." On the humor side, I met a Judo teacher who criticized the Wu Style "tilt," and her rationale was, "Because we have hips." I have not heard a functional justification for standing perpendicular to the ground in postures.
By functional, we mean a coherent and comprehensive rationale directly related to why one should stand perpendicular to the ground. Frequently, we hear: "Yang Style always stands this way," "My teacher said so, "It is for centering," "It aligns the acupuncture points with the ground," etc., and it leaves us wondering.
This article referred to Cook Ding's Kitchen: September 2009. https://cookdingskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/09/ As Wustyle.com in Hong Kong reports: "In 1916 Grand Master Wu Chien Chuan, along with other famous Wushu experts of the time Yang Shao Hou, Yang Cheng Fu, Hsu Sheng Chi Tzu Hsiu, Sun Lu T'ang, Liu En Shou, Liu Tsai Chen, Chang Chung Yuan, Tong Lian Chi, Chiang Teng Tsui, Hsing Shih Ju and others established the Beijing Institute of Physical Education."
The most famous teachers from "Yang Style," "Wu Style," etc., taught under the same roof. If I had to venture into an opinion, the teachers would not say, "I'm teaching Yang Style, and because of that, the correct way to stand is perpendicular to the ground. My other opinion would be that it was not the teachers but the students who came up with the names, such as "I'm studying something from Yang" and "I'm studying something from Wu." I would also venture into another opinion and say those gentlemen did not develop their art in a vacuum. They also trained with each other, compared arts, pushed hands with one another, etc. That itself has profound implications. Reference to this can be found at Cook Ding's Kitchen: September 2009 (cookdingskitchen.blogspot.com)
Finally, I quote Master Hwa in answering a student's question:
Q. Why do you emphasize "classical" Tai Chi and not "Wu" Tai Chi?
Tai Chi Health Benefits. https://www.classicaltaichi.com/tai-chi-health-benefits.html According to my teacher, Grand Master Young Wabu, he heard his teacher, the legendary master Wu Chian Chuan, say that Wu did not change the Yang Tai Chi learned from the Yang's. Wu Chian Chuan emphatically said, "It can not be changed."
The knowledge cycle of learning classical Tai Chi to understand its eventual consequences is very long. To learn the Tai Chi form takes several years to become proficient. To test the effectiveness of what has been learned in actual martial arts application takes another few years. Confirming the health implications, especially during older age, requires a human generation. Here, we have classical Tai Chi with numerous components meticulously optimized to satisfy both the requirements of martial arts application and health benefits. It must be a multi-generation effort. When Wu Chian Chuan taught my teacher, Tai Chi was already in such an advanced state. One can fully appreciate his statement, "It can not be changed."
2 comments:
Your latest blog entry reminds me of a story you may have heard before about an old family recipe that called for cutting the ends off a ham prior to roasting. Here is a link: http://www.snopes.com/weddings/newlywed/secret.asp
People are people and I'm confident there is, for good or ill, also an element of this type of assumption / acceptance on the part of taijiquan students.
Thanks for your blogs.
Chuck
Chuck,
I like that analogy but there also is other reasoning why such assumption/acceptance is so often ventured nowdays. I hope an upcoming blog can adequately deal with it.
Jim
Post a Comment