Tai Chi Chuan Martial Power. Jwing-Ming Yang

call him “Mr. Oldest.” He practiced taijiquan since he was six years old. He had a strong and persevering personality. He was expert in free fighting and very good at using various jing like his uncle Yang, Ban-hou. He reached the highest level of taiji gongfu. Specializing in small postures, his movements were fast and sunken. Because of his personality, he didn’t have too many followers. He had a son called Yang, Zhen-sheng (振聲).

      Yang, Jian-hou’s second son, Zhao-yuan, died at a young age. The third son was Yang, Zhao-qing (AD 1883–1935), also named Cheng-fu (澄甫). People called him “Mr. The Third.” His personality was mild and gentle. When he was young, he did not care for martial arts. It was not until his teens that he started studying taiji with his father. While his father was still alive Yang, Cheng-fu did not really understand the key secrets of taijiquan. It was not until his father died (1917) that he started to practice hard. His father had helped him to build a good foundation, and after several years of practice and research he was finally able to approach the level of his father and grandfather. Because of his experiences, he modified his father’s taijiquan and specialized in large postures. This emphasis was just completely reversed from that of his father and brother. He was the first taiji master willing to share the family secrets with the public, and because of his gentle nature he had countless students. When Nanking Central Guoshu Institute (南京中央國街館) was founded in 1926, he was invited to be the head taiji teacher, and his name became known throughout the country. He had four sons, Zhen-ming (振銘), Zhen-ji (振基), Zhen-duo (振鐸), and Zhen-guo (振國).

      Yang Style Taijiquan can be classified into three major postures: large, medium, and small. It is also divided into three stances: high, medium, and low. Large postures were emphasized by Yang, Cheng-fu. He taught that the stances can be high, medium, or low, but the postures are extended, opened, and relaxed. Large postures are especially suitable for improving health. The medium-posture style requires that all the forms be neither too extended nor too restricted, and the internal jing neither totally emitted nor too conserved. Therefore, the form and jing are smoother and more continuous than the other two styles. The medium posture style was taught by Yang, Jian-hou. The small posture style, in which the forms are more compact and the movements light, agile, and quick, was passed down by Yang, Shao-hou. This style specializes in the martial application of the art. In conclusion, for martial application the small postures are generally the best, although they are the most difficult, and the large-posture style is best for health purposes.

      To summarize:

      1 Chen Style Taijiquan was derived from Jiang Style. Before Jiang, the history is vague.

      2 Chen Style was divided into two styles: old and new. Chen, Chang-xing learned the old style and later passed it down to Yang, Lu-chan. The new style was created by Chen, You-ben.

      3 Yang Style was derived from Chen Style fourteen generations after the Chen family learned from Jiang.

      4 Chen, You-ben passed his art to Chen, Qing-ping, who created Zhao Bao Style.

      5 Wü, Yu-rang (武禹襄) obtained the new style from Chen, Qing-ping and the old style from Yang, Lu-chan and created Wü Style Taijiquan (武氏太極拳).

      6 Li, Yi-yu learned Wü Style (武氏) and created Li Style.

      7 Hao, Wei-zhen obtained his art from Li Style and started Hao Style Taijiquan.

      8 Sun, Lu-tang learned from Hao Style and began Sun Style.

      9 Wu Style (吳氏) was started by Wu, Quan-you, who learned from Yang, Lu-chan’s second son, Yang, Ban-hou.

      10 Yang Style Taijiquan has been famous since its creation by Yang, Lu-chan in the early part of the twentieth century.

      11 Yang, Cheng-fu’s taijiquan is not the same as his father’s, uncle’s, or brother’s. He modified it and emphasized large postures and improving health.

      The reader should now understand why there are so many variations within the art, even within a style such as the Yang Style. After so many years and so many generations, countless students have learned the art. Many went on to modify the style in light of their own experiences and research. It is understandable that a student nowadays might learn taijiquan and find that his style is different from that of another claiming to be from the same source. No one can really tell which is the original style or which is more effective than the others.

1-4. What is Taijiquan?

      In Wang, Zong-yue’s Taijiquan Classic he writes, “What is taiji? It is generated from wuji. It is the mother of yin and yang. When it moves, it divides. At rest it reunites” (see appendix A-2). According to Chinese Daoist scripture, the universe was initially without life. The world had just cooled down from its fiery creation and all was foggy and blurry, without differentiation or separation, with no extremities or ends. This state was called wuji (無極) (literally, “no extremity”). Later the existing natural energy divided into two extremities, known as yin and yang. This polarity, or tendency to divide, is called taiji, which means “grand ultimate” or “grand extremity,” and also means “very ultimate” or “very extreme.” It is this initial separation that allows and causes all other separations and changes.

      When you are standing still before you start the sequence, you are in a state of wuji. Your body is relaxed, with no intentions; your weight is evenly distributed on both legs. When you generate the intention to start the sequence, you are in a state of taiji—you shift from side to side, foot to foot, and each part of your body becomes alternately substantial and insubstantial. From this, you can see what is called taiji in taijiquan is actually the mind or intention of action.

      Once you start a motion it is possible to modify or redirect it, but this modification is only possible after the motion has been started. If one change is made, others can be made, and each change opens up other possibilities for variation. Each factor in the situation introduces other factors as possible influences. The initial motion makes all other motions possible, and in a sense “creates” the other motions. The Chinese express this by saying that taiji is the mother of yin and yang. “Taiji begets two poles, two poles produce four phases, four phases generate eight trigrams (gates), and eight trigrams initiate sixty-four hexagrams.”

      The eight trigrams are derived from taiji.

      The yin and yang theory is used to classify everything—ideas, spirit, strategy, or force. For example, female is yin and male is yang. Night is yin and day is yang. Weak is yin and strong is yang. It was from the interaction of all the yin and yang that life was created and grew. Taijiquan is based on this theory and applies it to form, motion, force, and fighting strategy. In the thousands of years since the taiji theory was first stated, many taiji symbols have been designed. The best one for both theory and application is a circle that contains yin and yang and becomes Taiji yin/yang diagram. In this diagram, the circle and the curved dividing line between yin and yang imply that both yin and yang are generated and contained in roundness. The smooth dividing line between yin and yang means that they interact smoothly and efficiently. Extreme yang weakens and evolves into yin, first weak and then extreme yin. Extreme yin, in turn, evolves into yang. One evolves into the other and back again, continuously and without stopping. The diagram also shows a small dot of yin in the center of the greatest concentration of yang, and a little bit of yang inside the greatest concentration of yin. This means that there is no absolute yin or yang. Yang always reserves some yin and vice versa. This also implies that there is a seed or source of yin in yang and of yang in yin.

      The yin/yang diagram.

      Taijiquan is based on this theory, and therefore it is smooth, continuous, and round. When it is necessary to be soft, the art is soft, and when it is necessary to be hard, the art can be hard enough to defeat any opponent. Yin-yang theory also