Taiji - In brief
Taiji (or Tai Chi) is an ancient art based on Daoist principles. Chinese culture is the originator of taiji and chi kung. Taiji (or Tai Chi) is an ancient Chinese form of exercise. Originally practiced as a martial art. Research studies from practising taiji suggests that taiji can strengthen the body, mind and spirit. In the west we practice tai chi for it's health giving properties. All the movements of the tai chi are soft and gentle, with the mind being calm and focused.
As a health exercise, taiji helps improve balance, lower blood pressure, and relaxation. As a martial art, taiji uses the method of "softness overcomes hardness." At present many Chinese practise Tai chi , Taiji and Chi kung on a daily basis.
What is a taiji form?
Taiji was invented by different families in China, each had been involed in studing martial arts of some type. Each family developed and enhanced the movements for their own particular series of taiji movements in the excercises known as taiji sets or forms. There are many different family styles – the main ones being Chen, Yang and Wu,
each being named for its founder's family name
(go to history of taiji). Each of these may be sub-divided so there can be many different styles of taji and some of them have been simplified so that they are more easily learned by beginners.
What style of taiji am I doing?
Yang style tai chi.
Taiji teachers: Master Huang & Patrick Kelly
We are practising Taiji as developed by Master Huang Sheng Shuan (Huang Xiangxian 1910-1992), student of Grand Master Cheng Man-Ch'ing, himself the famous student of Yang Cheng Fu.
Patrick Kelly is a long time student of Master Huang.
From the age of 14 Master Huang practiced the internal Daoist arts and Fujian White Crane. In 1949 he became the student of Cheng Man-Ching and studied and refined his Tai Chi for a further 43 years, thus completing nearly 70 years of intense personal study. During this time he headed one of the largest Taiji schools in South East Asia.
Patrick Kelly spent 20 years studying with the master during the last decades of his life. Patrick has systematised the teachings and now spends his time generously disseminating the teaching for the benefit of the Taiji world.
What we do
The main vehicle for our practice is the Form - this beautiful, slow flowing sequence of movements is what most people recognise as Taiji - this is where we create the depth of our Taiji practice.
Initially concentrating on Master Huang's 5 Loosening exercises and Cheng Man-Ch'ing's 37 movement Taiji Form, we lay the foundation for those who wish to further their study.
At its simplest level, the Form is a choreographed routine that flows from one posture to the next, co-ordinating mind and body, gently aligning the skeletal structure, stretching and mobilising the body, calming the mind and deepening the concentration.
As we deepen our practice the form becomes internally?wavelike', rising and falling in a ceaseless rhythm - like the swell of the ocean on a calm day.
What differentiates Master Huang's Taiji from most others, is the emphasis on the internal changes between postures, rather than the postures themselves.
Later, through the clear direction of the mind's intention (Yi), the body is drawn inexorably towards a point of stillness. Where the intention withdraws, where the awareness expands, where the forces from the ground are free to travel through the body and beyond?..
Although people train for many different reasons, you could say Taiji has 3 main reasons for being:
1) a gentle system of exercise that stretches and strengthens the body, and calms the superficial mind through slow co-ordinated smooth flowing movements.
2) A system for increasing mind / body connection and deepening awareness. It offers freedom to review habitual responses and provides the potential for self-discovery and deep inner change.
3) A subtle martial art, in which yielding and neutralising are the overlapping central principles.
|
