by Shih-fu Mike Symonds

Grandmaster Chee Soo at opening of Shih-fu Symonds' Gt. Yarmouth club
in October 1978: Shih-fu Symonds is  on the far left, full beard and 70's hair!

T'ai Chi is usually taken as a gentle form of exercise for health and relaxation which originates from ancient China. It usually has, depending on the 'style', gentle flowing movements which are often associated with relaxation exercise, but in reality it can be quite demanding to perform, some styles more so than others. It combines self-defence in slow motion, with lots of attention to detail, with deep breathing exercises in order to develop an awareness of the inner energy of the body. Later on the practitioner learns how to guide this energy and transform it into a deeper spiritual energy so that no effort is made in applications of real emergency.

T'ai Chi is more than this though, what we are talking about above is T'ai Chi Ch'uan ("Tai Chee Chew-ann"). Ch'uan means "Fist Skills", any form of Chinese Self-defence, or Chinese Boxing as it known otherwise. The name T'ai Chi refers to the philosophical principle of the harmonious Universal workings, Tao ("Dow"). From this was derived the philosophy of Taoism. Tao, roughly translated, means the WAY, or Nature, as we would say in the west. It can be translated as much more than this, but let us keep it simple for now.

The Taoist philosophy says that in the beginning, before the Universe was created, there was nothing, a void or Wuji ("Wu-jee"), a state of emptiness and stillness. Then there was action, this is what today's scientists call "the big bang". This state of creation is T'ai Chi, The Supreme Ultimate Force. From T'ai Chi springs Yin and Yang, the two main opposing and harmonising forces of all life in the Universe. Then there comes the Five Elements or Wu Hsing ("Wu-xing"), these each have Yin or Yang aspects and from these are created all things in existence.

T'ai Chi Ch'uan emulates through physical movement the principles of the Philosophy of Tao. It does this with mindfulness and the will to move ch'i ("Chee": Qi/Ki/Bioenergy) around the body in various ways, the most common being 'spiral energy'; this more accurately describes the spiral effect of the body as it sinks or moves though, not necessarily the ch'i! These principles lay within sets of movements, called Forms. Each Form has a meaning and a philosophical translation. In accordance with the I-Ching ("Yee-jing") or 'Book of Changes', we start by balancing and emptying, Wuji. From there we progress to T'ai Chi and move through the Forms in a constant state of change and flux, like Yin and yang and the Wu Hsing. Eventually we come back, full circle, so to speak, to Wuji.

The true beauty of Taijiquan, or Tai Chi for Health (a milder form of exercise for those with limited abilities, arthritis, or diabetes, et cetera), is that anyone can benefit. It can be learned from any competent instructor and can be practised in a small space, indoors or out. Master Chee Soo used to call Lee/Li Style, 'Square Yard' Taijiquan, because it only took up about one square yard. In fact, anywhere where the air is clean and you are not likely to bump into sharp objects, such as furniture corners, trip over bumps or mats, is a good place to practice.

There are many different styles of T'ai chi Ch'uan but the mainstream styles are Chen, Yang, Wu and Sun; in order of creation dates. There are many other styles and variations, of which Wu/Hao, Li, Jinquan, are but three. There are good and bad teachers, real and pseudo and many variations of some styles, especially Yang Family, some even proclaiming to be a sort of gentle exercise without self-defence applications; not really T'ai Chi Ch'uan, of course but an exercise derived from it. Most styles follow what we call the "13 Principles" (8 basic techniques and 5 steps or directions) but not in any particular shape or order, apart from starting with Wuji.  In T'ien Ti Tao we have Ching-chuan Shih T'ai Chi Ch'uan (Wellspring Style). This follows the true principles of T'ai chi Ch'uan using the 13 Principles, Eight Directions and Five Elements, blended with some very effective translations of their traditional techniques but using Natural Form, so not directly copying any other style; the first technique, 'Rolling the Boulder' is a tribute to Lee/Li Style and there are a few others which have been ported, but may look different as they are performed according to their purity of application, rather than blind copying.

* Original article had extracts which came from a Lee Family Instructor in the South of England. These have now  been replaced by new text as it has been claimed that they were "in breech of copyright" and we apologise to those concerned if any harm has been inadvertantly caused.