T'ai Chi Chu'an: Body And Mind In Harmony

Sophia Delza

• Publisher: Hauraki Publishing
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781786259011
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Nutrition, Dietics & Bariatrics

The first English language book on the subject of tai chi, this book brilliantly describes in detail each movement together with easy-to-follow pictures for a learning. First published in 1961, this book remains a firm favourite amongst beginners and refreshers alike.
"My intention in writing this book is to bring to the attention of Western people this ancient masterpiece of health exercise, which, ancient though it is, is supremely suitable for us all in these modem times. I wish to create an informed understanding of what is necessary, theoretically, for a vital life, and also to arouse the interest of the reader and his willingness to apply this exercise for his own use. As an exercise that demands no physical strength to begin with, it therefore is as good for the weak as for the well, for young and old, men and women. Since the techniques are adjusted to, and develop with, individual capacities, it is practical for any disposition.
"Movement by movement, step by step, with its organic and intrinsic harmony, it trains both body and mind-to longer life with heightened interest and deeper understanding. The calmness that comes from harmonious physical activity and mental perception, and the composure that comes from deep feeling and comprehension are the very heart of this exercise."-The Author

PART I—THE T’AI CHI CH’ÜAN WAY

INTRODUCTION

“What is past one cannot amend,

For the future one can always provide.”—From the Analects of Confucius

Is there anyone in the world whose idea of being truly healthy would not include, along with a healthy body, a fine mind combined with an ease of disposition? Fleeting glimpses of this feeling of harmony are experienced by everyone at some time in his life. In our colloquialisms we see revealed the inner clear relationship of mind and body. “I feel as if I were floating” is a common expression to describe a peak of contentment of physical comfort. Well-being produces a sensation of lightness where the body is sensed but not felt. “I’m simply walking on air” is an image that almost obliterates the body and makes the spirit seem all powerful.

What an agony of indecision and what physical immobility are exposed in “I’m all tied up in knots.” “My heart stood still” expresses an anxiety that almost strangles the circulation. Composure and mental equilibrium can hardly be sustained in a weak and unhealthy system where discomfort dominates the consciousness.

The effect of body on mind and mind on body is in evidence at every turn of our lives every day. The realization of this fact is a step toward making an effort to find a technique that can “nourish the body and calm the spirit”-a technique that, as an exercise, can give action to thought, and, as a philosophy, can give thought to action, and which as a composite art is so synthesized as to make the whole greater than the sum of its intriguing parts.

Such is T’ai Chi Ch’üan (pronounced Tye Gee Chwan), the unique Chinese System of Soft-Intrinsic Exercise, which, dating back to A.D. 1000, is extremely popular today. In the present century four T’ai Chi Ch’üan styles (P’ai) are being practiced: Yang, Wu, Ho, Sun. Illustrated in this book is Wu, a style that concentrates on harmonious self-development with the philosophical as well as the psychological aspects emphasized. It has as its goal the achievement of health and tranquillity by means of a “way of movement,” characterized by a technique of moving slowly and continuously, without strain, through a varied sequence of contrasting forms that create stable vitality with calmness, balanced strength with flexibility, controlled energy with awareness.

There is a significant difference in concept between the dance-art that is used as an exercise and the exercise that is an art in itself. As a modern dancer I appreciate this, having created dance forms for the purpose of art and for exercise. Designed movements, patterns, and excerpts of dance techniques, which are extracted from the dance-art for use as general exercise, though inevitably stimulating and enlivening, must be considered inadequate for the more profound, permanent aspect of the development of mind and body.

T’ai Chi Ch’üan is not a by-product, as it were, of any other art-dance form; it is not derived from ancient Chinese commemorative dance, folk, or classical Chinese theater dance, and does not resemble them in dynamics, rhythm, or structure. T’ai Chi Ch’üan is a complete entity, composed to answer the needs to which it is directed. Total in concept, it is a synthesis of form and function. With the elements of structure and movement so consummately composed, it is an art in the deepest sense of the word. Aesthetically, it can be compared to a composition by Bach or a Shakespearean sonnet. However, T’ai Chi Ch’üan is not art directed outward to an audience. It is an art-in-action for the doer; the observer, moved by its beauty, can only surmise its content. The experience of the form in process of change makes it an art for the self.

My intention in writing this book is to bring to the attention of Western people this ancient masterpiece of health exercise, which, ancient though it is, is supremely suitable for us all in these modem times. I wish to create an informed understanding of what is necessary, theoretically, for a vital life, and also to arouse the interest of the reader and his willingness to apply this exercise for his own use. As an exercise that demands no physical strength to begin with, it therefore is as good for the weak as for the well, for young and old, men and women. Since the techniques are adjusted to, and develop with, individual capacities, it is practical for any disposition.

Movement by movement, step by step, with its organic and intrinsic harmony, it trains both body and mind-to longer life with heightened interest and deeper understanding. The calmness that comes from harmonious physical activity and mental perception, and the composure that comes from deep feeling and comprehension are the very heart of this exercise.

The wonderful thing about writing a book on this subject is that its always-to-be applied principles are constantly with one, under ones very fingers, for immediate use. When one is blooming and content, to practice it gives greater growth and awareness. When, working restlessly, impatiently, one has come to an impasse, then to do the exercise is revivifying; it settles the mind, quiets the spirit, smoothes out the emotions; and with refreshened mind and unagitated heart, one can take on problems again (as has been the experience of many students in diverse fields of work).

The deep interest and enthusiasm that T’ai Chi Ch’üan has aroused in those who practice it and those who have seen it have also contributed to my desire to make it available for those who have no teacher. It is a preparation for those who will study with someone eventually, because it is best “that beginners be guided by oral teaching, but nevertheless, if you direct yourself with diligence, skill will take care of itself” (as stated in T’ai Chi Ch’üan Ching, Classic of the Ming Dynasty). For those who are studying or have studied, it can be a permanent record’ for more profound self-study. “...in teaching others everything depends on consistency, for it is only through repetition that the pupil makes the material his own” (I-Ching, Book of Changes).

Needless to say, there are a great many books on T’ai Chi Ch’üan by Chinese writers that deal with its philosophical, practical, historical, and physiological aspects in a most thorough and masterful way. Then you may well ask what is my contribution, if it is a contribution.

In the light of what Chinese literature contains, this book must indeed be considered modest. Let me mention at this point that I have omitted certain features not imperative for the Western student as a beginner. Those are the techniques and skills that the study of this exercise can lead to, such as the Art of Self-Defense and Joint Hand Operations.

I do not touch upon a very important subject, that of Ch’i, variously interpreted as breath, spirit, or air and as the nervous system in the latest books. The doctrine of the use of Ch’i is an important element that enters into the philosophy of art, aesthetics, science, and philosophy. Ch’i is a vital force differentiated from life force; it is the rhythm of nature, the creative principle that makes life. It is circulation and the circular movement of breath within one, an aspect that T’ai Chi Ch’üan is greatly concerned with, at an advanced stage of development. Ch’i, as “an urge or energy, compounded of spirit and in a mysterious way the physical breath” (E. Herbert in Taoist Notebook), I leave as a subject to be studied with the masters of T’ai Chi Ch’üan.

In rendering the entire exercise precisely, I have included innumerable details that are not noted in Chinese versions, because there they are taken for granted for reasons that are obvious. We, in the West, with no background for these techniques, cultural or actual, require more specific, minute, exacting explanations with a more simplified analysis. I have, so to speak, put the microscope on the action, without reinterpreting or changing it. Certain repetitions are unavoidable and perhaps are necessary, to open up new perspectives and perceptions.

The Chinese people are prepared philosophically and psycho-logically for the theory and practice of T’ai Chi Ch’üan. An accepted method of movement, it is available everywhere; they have only to reach out for it, to walk to the park (literally), and it can be learned. The degree to which we in the West are not prepared for it has governed the choice of the material in this book. In doing so I have kept in mind that an old Chinese idea of proven values is being presented in a new western environment.

The principles, qualities, and features inherent in the nature of this exercise are faithfully given, as taught to me by my teacher Mr. Ma Yüeh-Liang. However, I have expatiated upon them in order to clarify and emphasize their content. I have consciously included personal aesthetic and psychological interpretations, which have inevitably come from my increasing experience with this exercise, and which are the result of my inquiring into related fields of study and of discussion with T’ai Chi Ch’üan experts.

WHAT T’AI CHI CH’ÜAN IS

T’ai Chi Ch’üan is a form of Ch’üan. To call T’ai Chi Ch’üan Body and Mind in Harmony is to state its essence in a few succinct words. In T’ai Chi Ch’üan—An Ancient Chinese Way of Exercise to Achieve Health and Tranquillity, its nature is indicated in terms of the objectives to be reached. But only by translating T’ai Chi Ch’üan literally do we give it its real significance; in so doing it becomes more than a definition—it becomes this book.

What is Ch’üan? Ch’üan means fist, metaphorically action, a word that connotes power and control over one’s own actions: the epitome of organized movement and the ultimate in protection of the self. To be expert in Ch’üan is to have immunity—immunity from destructive external forces and from poor health. It is also to have the power to control the self. The uses of this power and the ends toward which it is to be directed depend entirely upon the inclinations and interests of the individual; these may range from the purely physical to the philosophic or spiritual.

To us in the West, a fist provocatively denotes aggressive attack. A fisted hand, on the contrary, in terms of ancient Chinese thought, meant concentration, isolation, and containment, as depicted in wood blocks showing figures in various exercising positions (Kung-Fu) with fisted hands. We can assume that Ch’üan implies the active as controlled by the inactive—the active being form or matter and the inactive being spirit or mind.

As a synonym for exercise, with deep implications as to its usefulness, Ch’üan is a technique of organized harmonious forms. Its essence is continuity of action where each movement evolves from and grows out of what it is joined to, which spurs on and motivates the oncoming movement. The correspondence between the parts of the body is essential to structure, idea, and feeling. “One single movement suffices to affect other movements.” “No isolated rest without eventually enveloping the whole.” “Just as in the turning flow of a stream, so the positions are determined by the spaces between.”

Symbolically, Ch’üan is mental and physical co-ordination. If the body is in fine health, then the mind can function skillfully and adroitly. The body is the form, and the mind, which is the spirit, is actually the moving force. Mental “motion” is present with every physical action. T’ai Chi Ch’üan is “controlled by the mind” exercise (Ting Tou Yuan).

What is T’ai Chi? T’ai Chi is the concept that all of life is comprised of, and has been set in motion by, the constant interplay of two vital energies, Yin the passive, and Yang the active principle. “T’ai Chi is the mother of Yin and Yang [everything female and male],” which has given rise to everything under the sun.

No part has a life of its own, but each exists in complementary interaction with the other. “Yin and Yang mutually help each other.” “T’ai Chi is the root of motion (Yang) which has division, and of stillness (Yin) which has union.” T’ai Chi is this duality in harmonious relationship.

The symbol for the T’ai Chi is a circle divided into two curved shapes of equal size, one being Yin, the shadowed right part, the other Yang, the light part. A touch of Yin in Yang and of Yang in Yin is indicated by the small spot or dot of the opposite color in each area, showing the flexible and sympathetic character of each to the other. The line between them has the movement of a wave. The fall and rise of the wave-line is also Yin and Yang, and this flowing is restrained and contained by the evenness of the circumference. All of this movement represents the continuity of the life force, which is movement.

Yin as the receptive, feminine, and Yang as the creative, masculine, complement each other. Though opposite, they are not in opposition or antagonistic. Though different, they supplement each other. In the continuous movement between them, without beginning and without end, when Yang reaches its final moment, then Yin is created and starts when Yang is completed. The interplay of these two fundamental and vital elements implies “perpetual motion.” Together, in T’ai Chi where their relationship is perfect; they constitute equilibrium and harmony.

T’ai Chi holds in balance what is separated. A few examples of the opposites (placing the Yang before the Yin) as experienced in the exercise of T’ai Chi Ch’üan, are: movement-stillness, motion-rest, tangible-intangible, straight-curved, expansion-contraction, inhalation-exhalation, outside-inside, solid-empty (void), light-dark, firm-soft, open-closed, right-left, forward-backward, float-settle, and rise-sink. There is nothing without its opposite; there is nothing that does not change (move) in order to be permanent (to live)—which in itself is a Yin-Yang statement.

We in the West are apt to overexert ourselves in exercise and sports, believing that a hard and tense movement indicates strength and control, and that power comes from the ability to expend energy violently. The spirit of T’ai Chi Ch’üan is the antithesis of such a point of view. With the technique of T’ai Chi Ch’üan, true energy can be controlled, strength balanced, and vitality increased, by using the body in such a way so as not to strain the muscles, not to over-activate the heart, not to exert oneself excessively. It is in the philosophy of T’ai Chi Ch’üan that in order to prolong the life of the body, to stabilize the life of the emotions, and to ...

Table of contents

• Title page
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• DEDICATION
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• PART I-THE T’AI CHI CH’ÜAN WAY
• PART II-FUNDAMENTALS
• PART III-PRELIMINARIES
• PART IV-THE PRACTICE OF T’AI CHI CH’ÜAN
• APPENDIX