Note of Interest: When Shih-fu Symonds was around ten years old a brass fireside set found its way into the household, it had on its handle an entwined snake and crane, in battle. He realised that this was deeply significant; at that time he used to practice a “strange” shadow boxing, with relaxed coiling moves. No-one had heard of Martial arts then, let alone Taijiquan! This same image (above) is used on the T’ien Ti Tao badge now, a “birthright” mark, you might say.

Zhangsanfeng taught others and then eventually to Chenwangting (c1600’s) and so on to today’s many variations: Chen, Yang(1), Yang (2), Wu, Wu/Hao, Li, Sun and many, many almost unheard of branches.

The origins of this form of Wutang Taoist Boxing ( Wudang Gongfu or Taijiquan) by nature imply that it contains methods which are in accord with the Bagua (Pa Kua) and the commonly known 13 Methods.

It seems that each Family developed its own specialised version of Boxing in Accord with Nature (Taijiquan, as it became known). This has since caused many people to be confused, as it becomes a scholarly affair with some people behaving in quite unbefitting manner by denying another man’s style, just because it does not fit in with what they know (or what liitle they know); Very un-Dao like and blinkered.

Each Major Family Style (Yang, Wu, etc.) has not sought to undermine another Family’s Style, they have simply set out to translate the theory into practice as they see it, putting emphasis on the points which they see as relevant to themselves. We must also bear in mind the creator’s gung-fu background as this may have some influence; e.g. it is said that Chen was influenced by Zhangquan (Chang Ch’uan, or Long Fist). In general terms of "Taijiquan Basics" it is generally recognised that Chen, Yang and Wu appear to follow the most commonly accepted principles of the Taoist philosophy in Form and Action: Shih-fu Jao, Tsung Hwa suggests that one might study these three to get crossover view of the original values. However, we must also acknowledge that many other styles also follow the Taoist philosophical principles, including Hsing-I Ch'uan (Xingyiquan) and of course Pa Kua Ch'uan (Baguaquan). The principles used here do not mimic or echo exactly the same as Chen Taijiquan, Yang (1) Taijiquan or Wu (1) Taijiquan. Taoist philosophy may have gained some set reference points but it is open to translation and personal emphasis when it comes to Taoist Boxing Forms, the creators often placing greater emphasis on what they see as the most important skills and translating them according to their Martial Arts knowledge and personal flair.

Knowledge can be slow to travel whereas the general whispers on the street are fast. The world got to know about Taijiquan in the 1970's with the first English book by Cheng man Ch'ing and Robert W Smith. many people started "learning" Taijiquan... from the book! This lead to many errors, world-wide and now there are thousands of "Masters" out there with some very bad habits, not doing their Taijiquan as it should be. Lack of instruction breeds a thirst for knowledge, so when the slightest little particle of knowledge drifts over from China, many people grasp it desperately and concentrate on it to the extent of sometimes blocking out all else. This apear's to have happened in the UK between 1990 and 2000 with the "Fajing" trend.

Shih-fu Symonds says, “Much is spoken in the west about aspects of Taijiquan, like Fajing. Everyone goes on about Fajing like it is something new, alien. It’s no more than sneezing, a natural fajing of the body, along with many other actions where energy is released in a spontaneous way. Also there seems to be much confusion about Shen, Li, Ch’i, et cetera. I have even read articles by famous people who seem to neglect simple but vital points. There is nothing complicated or intellectually demanding about it. Taijiquan is a simple yet extensive training process. We start it by training the Mind.”