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Taoist Tai Chi |
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The original Tai Chi was also a Taoist way of life that Chang San Feng
followed.
The word ‘Tao’ (sometimes spelled as Dao) has the literal meaning of path,
way, or truth. Tao is primarily associated with Taoism (hence the word), but
Confucianism also refers to it since the social ethics and moral teachings
of the two are blended together.
Tao or Taoism is the based on the principle that change is inevitable,
regardless of the effort to stop it. And to properly harmonize oneself to
the changes, changes within the self is imperative. Change is eternal; there
is no end in that change. The symbol of Tao is two opposite teardrop, wedged
together to form a circle, one called the Yin and the other the Yang.
Traditional Tai Chi can be considered a Taoist way of life, or Taoist Tai
Chi, evidently since combat and health qualities of Taoist Tai Chi are
founded in the teachings of religious Taoism. Its conception started when a
Taoist monk Chang San Feng dreamt about two divine spirits of a crane and a
snake fighting. Feng was amazed at the skills of the combatant that he
created an art of fighting based on the divine spirits movements.
Chang San Feng was an astute follower of the Taoist philosophy. He was
honored by the Emperor Ying-Tsung as “a Holy man who achieved the Tao”.
Eventually, Chang San Feng’s teachings of Tai Chi were influenced deeply by
his Taoism nature. The principles of yielding, the soft over hard, slow over
fast, wrong over right are all principles of Taoism. But don’t get the false
idea. The Tai Chi Chang San Feng created was still a fast fighting Tai Chi
which may contrast the Tai Chi today which is soft, flowing and graceful
version.
Taoism teaches about contemplation and appreciation of nature. And it is
quite apparent too that the Taoist Tai Chi movements are reflections of
nature, the natural action of animals in their habitats, and the beauty that
amazed the author of Tai Chi during his wanderings.
Chang San Feng was from the Wudang sect of the Taoism religion, a renowned
sect within the streams of Taoism. The Wudang sect advocates the ‘return to
origin’ principle of Tao, which means ‘returning' ones body to pure health,
like that of a child, which is the origin. Naturally, Feng injected some of
this Taoist principle in Tai Chi.
Taoist Tai Chi has evolved since that day, and its applications have been
made to more practical uses. Very few were those Tai Chi practitioners who
follow the Taoism lifestyle. But the vestige of Taoism in Tai Chi still
remain intact, its principle is still the driving force of the art even
though the Taoist living has long but gone. |
| This article
is provided courtesy of Roxanne Courtmanch. Please visit
www.thehelpingcircle.com for more articles on
Tai Chi as well as many other topics that may be of interest to you. |
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