Qigong

Chang San Feng 

Qi is the Chinese word for ‘life energy’ that flows through every living thing. Gong translates as ‘work’ or ‘benefits acquired through perseverance and practice.’ Together the two words mean; working with life energy – cultivating and accumulating an abundant energy flow through practice. The practice involves a system of self-healing techniques; balance, relaxation, healthy breathing, good posture, exercise and meditation.

There are numerous theories as to the origins of qigong. The earliest evidence of qigong type movements’ lies in the animal dances performed by shamans. Depictions of these animal dances and postures have been found in rock paintings throughout China. From dance it evolved into exercise. The recorded history of qigong development in China is often divided into four periods.

The first period begins around the time of Yi Jing (1122 BC) - the Zhou Dynasty (1122-934 BC) until the Han Dynasty (206 BC). The practice of Daosim and the desire for good health and divinity had a major influence on qigong development in this era. Daoists of that time were known to have used breathing exercises to circulate qi. Lao Zi’s classic Dao De Jing makes reference to breathing techniques to obtain health through working with qi.

The Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) to the beginning of the Liang Dynasty (502 AD) became the second period of qigong development. “The Yellow Emperors Classic of Internal Medicine” describes how with the understanding of yin and yang in life, exercises which combined stretching, breathing and meditation were formulated to promote energy flow. Around this time Buddhism also came to China from India. It is said a combination of movements was developed and introduced that incorporated the Buddhist mediations with qigong practices. This also bought qigong practice into the religious qigong era.

The third period is from the Liang Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty (502- 1911AD). With qigong now in the religious sector, the combination of Buddhist mediation and movement forms were found to be invigorating and increasing power. The Shaolin priests integrated this training with martial arts and this expanded the strength and effectiveness of the techniques both for health and as a martial art. Many well-known styles of qigong were developed in this period and their theory documented. The fourth period is from the end of the Qing Dynasty to present . For the first twenty years or so after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, qigong was practiced and researched and the first qigong clinic was established in 1955. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) qigong was prohibited although interest was still high and many still practiced. Now, qigong has spread worldwide and is practiced by millions. Today modern technology is being used to measure human energy field to discover how qigong benefits human health. This research is producing a lot of interesting studies and literature.

Taiji Quan

Ta Mo

Taiji Quan is one of the oldest documented forms of martial arts. The question of its origin is highly controversial, and supporters of one theory over another base their arguments on differences in:

· posture and form
· training, techniques and combat strategies
· philosophy and legend

Most people recognise Chang San Feng, a Taoist monk of the thirteenth century, as the founder of Taiji Quan. The Chang San Feng legend can be viewed as having three phases: phase I (prior to 1669) merely claims that Chang was a Taoist immortal; phase II (after 1669) claims that he founded the "internal" school of boxing; and phase III (post 1900) claims that Taiji Quan originated with Chang.

In the sixth century Ta Mo (an Indian monk) came to the Shao Lin Monastery and seeing that the monks there were in poor physical condition from too much meditation and not enough movement, created his Eighteen Form Lohan Exercise. Over time these grew to be the precursors of the Wei Chia (outer-extrinsic) school of exercise, by which is meant all the schools of kung-fu and other martial art forms which take an 'external' approach.

Linking some of these older forms; with an internal approach, with yin-yang from Taoism, and stressing the 'internal' aspects of his exercises, Chang San Feng is credited with creating the fundamental 'Thirteen Postures' of Tai Chi. The eight 'postures' are:

1. ward-off
2. rollback
3. press
4. push
5. pull
6. split
7. elbow strike; and
8. shoulder strike

The five 'attitudes' are:

1. advance
2. retreat
3. look left
4. gaze right; and
5. central equilibrium.

In a real sense one can consider Taiji Quan to be a physical expression and manifestation of the principles and philosophy of Taoism. From the very origins of Taoism in the sixth century BC, sages like Lao Tzu wrote in the Tao Te Ching:

Yield and Overcome; Bend and be straight.

And

He who stands of tiptoe is not steady.
He who strides cannot maintain the pace.

Chang San Feng exercises stressed suppleness and elasticity and were opposed to hardness and force. They incorporated philosophy, physiology, psychology, geometry and the laws of dynamics. Wang Chung-Yueh and his student Chiang Fa elaborated his theories, writings and practices sometime later. Wang apparently took the thirteen postures of Chang San-Feng and linked them together into continuous sequences, thus creating something that resembles the contemporary Taiji Quan form.

There are many Taiji Quan styles that vary in principle, form and function. We will describe the main styles that are popular today, but you should note that many other styles and practitioners have not been documented.

1. One of his students, Chen You-Neng, continued what is called the New Frame Style of Chen Tai Chi.
2. Chen Chang-hsing (1771-1853) studied under Chiang-Fa and combined the Cannon Pounding (Pao Chui) form of the Chen Family with the Tai Chi taught by Chiang-Fa. Chen Chang-hsing, in turn, was the teacher of Yang Lu-chan, the originator of the Yang Style of Tai Chi.
3. Another Chen family member and student of Chen Chang-hsing was Chen Gen-yun whose descendants continued the Old Frame Style of Chen Tai Chi.
4. Wu Quan-yu, a Manchu guard in the Imperial Palace at Beijing, was a student of both Yang Lu-chan and his son Yang Pan-hou. Wu taught it to (amongst others) his son Wu Chien-chuan (Also written as Wu Jian-quan). From this stream emerged the Wu Style of Tai Chi.

5. Another Chen family member was Chen Yau-pun who veered away from Chiang Fa's tradition to create the 'new' school of Tai Chi. Apparently his student Chen Quin-ping was an originator of the Zhao Bao Style of Tai Chi.

6. One of Chen Quin-ping's students was Li Jing-Ting who, in turn was the founder of the Hu Lei Style of Tai Chi.
7. A student of both Yang Lu-chan and Chen Qing-ping was Wu Yu- xiang. He taught his nephew Lee I-yu who in turn taught Hao Wei-chen. This gave rise to the Wu Shi Style (or Hao Style) of Tai Chi Chuan.
8. One of Hao Wei-chen's students was Sun Lu-tang who also studied Hsing-I Quan under Kuo Yun-shen and Pa Kua Chang under Cheng T'ing-hua (himself a student of Dong Hai-chuan, the founder of Pa Kua Chang). He combined these forms in the new Sun Style of Tai Chi Chuan.