Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan - Shadow Boxing) forms one of the three primary disciplines within the Neijia group of martial arts, or Internal Martial Arts. The other Neijia pugilistic forms are namely, Taijiquan, Ba Gua and Hsing I. The concept of Neijiaquan encompasses a person's internal development. This involves the incorporation of Daoyin, Tu Na and Jingluo theories from Chinese medicine studies. Daoyin and Tu Na (literally, breathing out forcefully) are methods of deep breathing, whilst Jingluo refers to the human body's meridian lines in Acupuncture.
Taijiquan(Tai Chi Chuan) is a form of martial art. Just like another martial art, its goal is to strike in the fastest possible time with the least possible effort. Now how is that possible? It is so slow, and so soft!! Well, the secret lies in the training method. Chenjiagou uses a systematic training approach (well, this is true as far as our Master Zhu Tian Cai is concerned). At the very beginning, the trainee needs to start slow and gentle. It is just like watching your golf swing in slow motion. You can’t analyse your swing if it's done in fast forward speed. Now in Taijiquan you have to practice slowly so that your body can follow your mind. Let your body feel every movement you execute. You will not be able to feel anything if you tense up your muscles. As every one knows, tensing up will cause you pain and desensitize your ability to feel.
Now once the trainee masters this stage, he/she will proceed to the next stage, i.e. to execute fast and powerful strikes. This is exactly how the Chenjiagou school of Taiijiquan(Tai Chi Chuan) trains. It begins with Laojia Yi Lu (Old form 1st set) which emphasizes slow and gentle movements. Next, the trainee then proceeds to Laojia Er Lu (Old form 2nd set) which emphasizes swift and powerful strikes. The keyword here to note is “emphasize”. i.e. in both forms there are both slow and fast, powerful and gentle strikes. This is what is meant by ying and yang, the 2 extremes. In the taiji symbol, both ying and yang are there, which forms taiji. This is unlike other schools of Taijiquan which focuses mainly on slow and gentle practices. (Only exception is in Tong Ying Jie’s school where kuaiquan or fast fist is added to the training methods). Of course there is no right or wrong, it is just how much effort or gong fu as we say, is put into it. It is difficult to achieve the 1st stage mentioned above, as it already requires a lot of effort and discipline. And I am still working on it.
