Martial Arts in the World

Many people in their professional life truly enjoy what they do (many do not, and that’s a shame). But it’s safe to say there are those that do enjoy their job. Even fewer, I believe, work without a single gripe. It’s huge bragging rights I know… but teaching (for me) gives a sense of joy like no other. Over the years, I’ve fielded lots of questions that I will repost here regarding the essence of Taijiquan and my method of teaching this lovely artform.

If you have a question that you’d like me to answer, please ask it in the comment section of this page and I’ll get to it as promptly as I can. Peace and love. -Coach

• What is Taiji ?
  • Let me first say that there is a misconception that continues to mystify most, and that is centered around two words: taiji (tai chi) and taijiquan (tai chi chuan). They are related but different. Taiji is a subtle principle within Taoist philosophy regarding the essence and relationship of nature to anything and everything. Taijiquan is an artful expression of movement that attempts to unify our physical nature with that which is universal. It is an exercise that stimulates and rejuvenates the mind and body but it can not be forgotten that it is also a wonderful martial art and can be used for self-defense. [sidenote: any of us simply use 'Taiji' to shorten a word by four letters per the example below. Just so you don't try to catch me later. Haha! Thought you had me!]
• Is Chen Style Taiji for fighting & Yang Style for the elderly?
  • No. Finding strength and learning to be soft are one and the same. Never set them apart just because they have a different look and appeal. Yang Style came from Chen Style, so in theory, technique and principle, they are also the same. Master Hong once wrote, “When we (Chen Stylists) look at Yang Chengfu’s (Yang Stylist’s) photos performing the ‘DaLu’, his sinking power into horse stance is perfect. No difference than Chen Style.”
• How many years does the system take to master?
  • There are people that are quick learners, but I can tell you with complete honesty that the system of Taijiquan is very special because it can take a lifetime to master. Incidently it can take a lifetime to only become mediocre. People should study the theory, hold true to the principles and practice correctly (daily) to reach a high level. In addition, I also want to say that I do not believe in holding a “rank” over another person. I always had a problem with another person calling me “master.” This type of ego-stroke… superiority is never a good thing and isn’t what the martial arts should be about. Learning and discovery is cooperative and hence, is why I am referred to as ”teacher, coach or laoshi.” I had an interesting talk with Dr. Yang, Jwing-ming (teacher and prolific writer) and it makes me smile to remember what he told me… he said, “You may call me ‘Yang’ or ’Dr.Yang’ or ‘teacher’… but you call me ‘Master’ and I call you ‘Slave.’”
  • Although people succeed and become a better martial arts (in terms of movement and energy) when they devote time and enthusiasm to their practice… I’ve never advocated in my classes or workshops that long, grueling hours and standing mediations of extreme lengths of time (and boredom) are requisites. In this way, I’m not a teacher of the traditional ways. Becoming what others term “a master” is not what I look for… I ask the questions of “Do you enjoy what you are doing?”… “Do you enjoy HOW you do it?”… “Can you truly FEEL what you’re doing?” … by answering yes to one or all of these questions are all that really matters.
• How do I find “naturalness?”
  • It’s funny, and just one of the many contradictions of Taiji practice and this is “to be natural.” I remember speaking with my Taiji brother Ronnie Yee at Hunyuan World in 2003 and we had an interesting discussion on the subject. He made the point that we read that we should “flow like water”… “mental intention should be here (or there)”… “we should assume this posture for this length of time”… all of these words are in fact, unnatural for us (at least in the beginning). But what I (Michael Joyce) continue to tell my students is this: “The movements, breathwork, coordination… all of these are difficult for the beginner and is quite unnatural. This is simply because it is something foreign or new to us. Proper Taijiquan should be balanced (that is to say, neither 100% soft nor 100% hard/rigid)… done in a relaxed manner in hope to achieve what Bruce Lee termed ‘natural unnaturalness.’”

Chen Fake is considered by many as the greatest Taijiquan master of the century. Born as “Fusheng” in the village of Chenjiaguo, in Henan Province, China, Master Chen grew up to become an extraordinary martial artist and teacher through persistant practice, respect for his family background (ancestors all masterful in Taijiquan), and love of the artform.

From reading about Chen Fake, through the words of his disciple, the late Hong Junsheng (and my teacher Chen “Joseph” Zhonghua), I’ve developed a deep admiration for the man and for his accomplishments as an artist and teacher. If one was to sum up in the man in terms of his gift of Taijiquan, these two characteristics must be mentioned,

Firstly, it was with the dent of hardwork and preserverence that harvested this amazing gongfu skill. Secondly, Master Chen never withheld anything from his teaching. His students asked and they were given an answer. In most cases, a detailed understanding. Withholding anything is strictly for the ego.

Lesson 1: Work, Work, Work

Part 1 is dedicated to that which is most important. To accomplish anything in life, we must put forth effort…never an aimless attempt… but a steady, direct and focused study of that which we feel we must accomplish. The word “work” being just another of those four-letter words that, for many, initiate a conditioned response of dread… is just the first problem of many. Our first direction should be to make work into something else. For me, when I’m teaching, studying, or training in Taijiquan or fencing…I’m “play”ing. So, in essence, hardwork might best be called hardplaying. The only criteria one must follow (after this change in vernacular) should a change in “how we play.” Whether we are playing the piano, ice skating, or doing a martial art form we should look to our actions a heavenly experience and never anything reminiscent of a chore. Embrace your bliss with your entire being and you’ll be surprised at the growth and jubilance (I may have just made that word up, but from “jubilant”) that follows.

Those with anything to add or comment on… please please please.

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What could a Taijiquan master like Yang Lu Chan do if a Muai Thai fighter grabs his neck or head and throws continuous knees into his ribs?

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If he is a modern Taiji dance instructor, there is nothing much he could do, as he neither has the internal force nor knows the techniques to defend against any attacks. He is often quite helpless even if a Taekwondo blue belt attacks him with a high kick or an ordinary untrained person rushes in with haphazard punches.

A Muai Thai kickboxer is a ferocious fighter, and his knee jabs, even a single one, can break the ribs of an ordinary person. When faced with continuous knee attacks from a Muai Thai fighter, the Taiji dance instructor as well as all his students will, unfortunately, become sitting ducks. This is inevitable because in all their training, they have never learnt and practised how to fight.

But a Taijiquan master is different. If he has practised Taijiquan as an internal martial art, which it is, he will have many options to use against Muai Thai knee attacks. One option, which may come as a surprise to Taiji dancers, is the Taijiquan pattern called "Repulse Monkey".as shown in the picture on the left.

In fact the name of the pattern "Repulse Monkey" is very apt. In kungfu, round-house kicks which are called whirl-wind kicks in kungfu terminology, and knee jabs are characteristic of the Monkey style. "Repulse Monkey" is an effective counter against such kicks. The sequence below shows an application of "Repulse Monkey" against knee attacks.

I use the Taijiquan poise pattern "Lifting Hands" to observe Goh Kok Hin. Goh moves in with a thrust punch, and I response with the typical Taijiquan counter, the "peng" technique of "Grasping Sparrow's Tail". The second picture above shows that I am in the process of moving my front leg backward to avoid the full force of Goh's attack.

But Goh's initial attack is a feign move. As soon as I use the "peng" technique", he swiftly moves forward, pushes my head down towards his right, uses his left hand to guard against a possible counter attack of my right hand, and strikes my left ribs with his right knee.

If you have fought with Muai Thai fighters often, you would have noticed that they do not hold your head on both sides of your neck as they strike you with their knees, because as strangling is not permitted in Muai Thai rules, doing so would not give them any advantage. On the other hand, holding your head on one side and pulling it down towards the striking knee will cause you to loose balance, giving the Muai Thai fighters an advantage.

To counter Goh's knee attack, I continue moving my left leg but instead of moving it backward directly as initially intended, I move it in a big arc backward diagonally to my right so as to avoid the full force of the knee attack. At the same time I place my left arm, bent at the elbow, beneath his right thigh and pull his leg towards me, and use my right arm to push away his two arms and then push at his face. Continuing the combined actions, I fell Goh to the ground, still holding his right leg in my left bent arm.

If you successfully apply "Repulse Monkey" this way, even if your opponent intends to throw continuous knees into your ribs, he would be unable to do so now. You have a few ways to apply your coup de grace. You could, if you want to be nasty, step on his groins; but it would be sufficient if you just kick his left knee.

The pictures below show another sequence countering knee attacks.

In the first picture above, Goh Kok Hin attacks me with a typical Muai Thai knee jab to my ribs. I move my right leg diagonally backward to avoid the full force of his knee jab, and simultaneously jerk down my left elbow to deflect his knee attack. Immediately I push away his right arm and strike his chest with my right palm. A palm strike packed with internal force by a Taijiquan master on the heart or lungs of an opponent could kill or maim him, giving him no chance to continuous his numerous knee jabs.

Suppose a young child of five uses continuous Muai Thai knee jabs to attack a powerful adult. Suppose the adult is brutal and has no care for life. He needs not bother about the continuous knee jabs, which could not cause him much harm. All the brute has to do, though extremely cruel, is to give a powerful blow to the child's head, and this could kill or maim the child.

There is a tremendous gap between the standard of martial arts today when they are taken as sports, and that of the past when they were seriously used for life and death combat. In terms of power and combat efficiency, martial artists today, including ferocious Muai Thai fighters and myself, when compared to martial art masters of the past like Yang Lu Chan, are like children compared to powerful adults.

So if a modern fighter were so foolish as to grab Yang Lu Chan's neck or head and threw continuous knees into his ribs, the Taijiquan patriarch might not even bother to apply those counter techniques illustrated by Goh and me above, he would just give the attacker a powerful palm strike. Yang Lu Chan would not kill him, although he could, but he would send the attacker falling many feet away.

Hence, in life-death combat in the past no experienced fighters would grab his opponent's head or neck and throw continuous knees into his ribs. Not only such a mode of attack would render the attackers unprotected and therefore exposed to possible fatal counter strikes -- something no experienced kungfu fighters would ever do -- it was also not necessary.

If an attacker could grab his opponent's neck or head, there was no need to throw continuous knees into the opponent's ribs; he could kill the opponent by dislocating the opponent's head. Or, if he did not want to kill the opponent, he could twist the latter's neck and held him under control.

If, for some reasons, the attacker wanted to break the opponent's ribs with knee jabs, considering the tremendous power past fighters had, just one or the most two jabs would do. If he could not bring the opponent down with one or two knee jabs, he would jump away or continue with other modes of combat. Continuing to throw ineffectual knee jabs would make himself vulnerable to deadly counter attacks.

Let us examine another counter a Taijiquan master could use against a Muai Thai knee attack.

In the first picture above, Goh Kok Hin grabs my neck and strikes me with his right knee, using a pattern known in Shaolin Kungfu as "Jade Girl Kicks Shuttle". Please note that here Goh is holding my neck on both sides, and not on one side as in a typical Muai Thai knee jab. Such a way of holding an opponent's neck is often done by those not familiar with Muai Thai but imitate Muai Thai knee jabs.

Paradoxically, experienced kungfu fighters would also hold the opponent's neck in this way -- for a different reason. As kungfu is not limited by safety rules, the kungfu fighter not only holds the neck but also presses on vital points on the neck. Hence, his attack is not just from his knee but also from the thumbs and fingers of his both hands. The knee attack may be damaging, but the finger attacks can be fatal; that is why this is not allowed in the sport of Muai Thai.

In this"Jade Girl Kicks Shuttle" pattern Goh has to be careful of my possible counter-attack. Should I be foolhardy to ignore his attack and counter strike at the same time, he would be ready to neutralize my counter. For example, I may strike his chest with my right palm, in which case he would lower his left hand to brush away my palm strike, while continuing his right finger and knee attacks.

The Taijiquan pattern "Golden Cockerel Stands Alone" is excellent to counter this triple attack. I lift up both arms to jerk at Goh's elbows, thus dislodging his hold on my neck, and simultaneously lift up my left knee to deflect his right knee jab. Immediately I kick at his groins with my left shin.

But don't think that this "Golden Cockerel" will finish off Goh. As a properly trained Shaolin fighter, he would know the weakness of every attack pattern he uses, and would therefore be prepared for any eventualities. In this case he has a number of effective response to the Golden Cockerel counter attack. One way is to bring his right leg backward to a left Bow-Arrow Stance, and simultaneously strike my attacking shin with a left whip-fist.

Tai Chi Chuan, meaning Grand Ultimate Fist, is one of the highest levels of martial art and health practice. Founded in China over fifteen hundred years ago, Tai Chi Chuan is one of the oldest documented forms of martial art. The history of Tai Chi can be summed up as part legend and part historical record. Legend would have Tai Chi being started by inspired sage or Taoist immortal in the Wu Dang Mountains. History would dictate that Tai Chi was started by men who dedicated themselves to the painstaking process of self-cultivation through martial art.

Tracing back to the Liang Period (AD 502-557) of China's Northern and Southern Dynasty, Tai Chi was first documented by military general by the name of Cheng Ling-Xi. Although not believed to be the founder of Tai Chi, Cheng was the first to write about the success of Tai Chi used in military combat. Later, during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), a martial artist name Xu Xin-Ping recorded his Tai Chi knowledge. Referred to as Tai Chi Chi Kung, Xu Xin-Ping's version also became known as the 37 form. With no beginning or ending and pauses between postures, Xu's version has many movements that resemble the Tai Chi practiced today. It is because of these similarities that we can verify the age of our own Tai Chi.

Tai Chi Today

The Tai Chi of today can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271-1368) to a Taoist scholar by the name of Zhang San-Feng. Zhang, who gave up his job as a government official to become a recluse and study longevity, would later be credited for adding Taoist principles to the art. Already an old man before beginning his Tai Chi training, Zhang added theory and concept that would allow him to defeat younger and stronger opponents. It is his theories that would shape the evolution of Tai Chi for the next several hundred years.

Several generations later, a man named Jiang Fa brought Tai Chi to the village of Chen-Jia Gou. The inhabitants of Chen Village were known for practicing a Shaolin-like martial art that was passed down from the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644) called Pow-Chui, or cannon fist. After observing the stiff and tense movements of Pow-Chui, Jiang Fa could not help but laugh out loud and wonder why the practitioners used such brute force. His laughter was seen as an insult and soon he was challenged by one of villagers by the name of Chen Chang-Xing. Chen was dumbfounded at the ease by which Jiang Fa shrugged off his attack, and realizing Jiang's superiority, begged him to take him as a student. This would begin the legacy of Chen Family Tai Chi.

Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan) is an ancient Chinese martial art well known for its superior health benefits and high level of effectiveness in combat.

At Golden Eagle Martial Arts Centers we are fortunate to be able to offer one of the most direct Yang Family lineages in the United States to the most famous teacher and grandson of the Founder of Yang Family Taijiquan, the great Yang Cheng Fu. Through our Wu Tang lineage we are able to offer the "Laojia" or "old frame" which is the original Taijiquan form taught to Yang Lu-Chan in Chen Village.

Taijiquan forms are performed slowly and in a relaxed manner, which has the benefit of calming the mind and releasing the mental and physical tensions that our modern stressful lifestyles can produce. Studies have shown that the daily practice of Taijiquann helps to prevent stress-related diseases such as high blood pressure, digestive problems and heart disease. It is also commonly recognized as an excellent form of moving meditation.

As a martial art, Taijiquan is unsurpassed; using the theory of "four ounces of strength defeating one ton of force," one can repel an opponent without resorting to force against force. The opponent's own strength is used against him, while the Taiji practitioner uses little or none of his own energy.

* In the May 1996 issue of The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society a study confirmed that "the practice of Taijiquan produces measurable benefits in reducing frailty and falls in older persons and helps in maintaining balance and strength."