WTBA Tai Chi History
Chang San-feng was a famous acupuncturist and martial artist of the Shaolin style in China. Shaolin simply depicting the area in China from whence this great external system came
(Little Forest). Chang was obsessed with the martial arts and wanted desperately to invent the ultimate martial system based upon what he then knew about the body and the energy (Qi)
system. Chang lived (give or take a few tens of years!) From around 1270 A.D. So it is my estimation that he invented what he did at around 30 years of age around the turn of the century into the 1300’s.
Chang and two of his acupuncturist friends set about to find out what effect trying to damage the acupuncture points would have rather than trying to heal diseases using the same points. They already knew from trial and error that when certain points were perhaps needled too much or if the needle was pushed in too far, that people either died or became very ill from Qi stagnation resulting in eventual death!
But Chang wanted an even more scientific approach to know exactly what each point in the body did when either struck, twisted or pressed violently and more importantly what other points when used with these points did to the body's energy system. So they set about using these strikes on people! It is my knowledge that they bribed the jailers to give them the bodies for experimentation. And our knowledge of the deadly art of Dim-Mak (Death Point Striking) comes from these experiments by Chang San-feng.
Dim-Mak
Upon discovering the devastating effects upon the Qi system of the body, Chang did not wish to document it as others would try to steal his discoveries claiming it as their own (as is exactly
what happens today! It=s amazing the amount of articles that come out on the use of Taijiquan as Dim-Mak after I introduced it to the world!), or worse still, would gain this knowledge and use it back on he and his family. You have to remember that China back then was feudal and it was
dangerous for anyone to even go out into the countryside for fear of being killed! So he set about inventing a set of movements that would act as an encyclopaedia to teach his children and main students and those to come in future generations, what each point in the body represented in the
fight art.
Chang discovered that he needed many sets of movements to depict the various groups of points in the body and also worked out (he was a genius) exactly what movements worked upon what meridians and consequently upon what organs. So what he eventually invented was a series of 12 sets of movements called forms, or kata in Japanese. Each set was made such that it worked on a set or one main acupuncture meridian such as the Spleen meridian. Each set of course worked upon all of the 12 main acupuncture meridians and 8 extra meridians, however, each one of the 12 had its main meridian that it worked upon.
He even went so far as to work out not only what physical organs each set worked upon but also what emotional state each set worked out. So that we have his 6th form which works upon ridding oneself of built up unwanted emotions. It works upon the heart. And as we have found through our own experimentation, this one in particular when learned correctly has an amazing effect upon the emotions and getting rid of those unwanted and hidden emotions from years back!
Taijiquan (T’ai Chi Ch’uan or Tai Chi)
But this was still not Taijiquan as the word Taijiquan was not invented until the later part of the 19th century! In fact Taijiquan was not even performed on Wudang Mountain (the birthplace of Taijiquan and all other internal systems). Only what we now call the Wudang Qi Disruptive System, was performed on Wudang Shan. So people who claim to be teaching Wudang Taijiquan are usually simply teaching a version of the Yang Cheng-fu form which was not even invented until many centuries after Chang San-feng! Because Taijiquan was not even invented back then! Only a set of 12 forms was invented on Wudang Mountain. These forms I teach the first nine as the last three are just too powerful until the first 9 have been thoroughly mastered! I learned these forms from the keeper of the system having already known the first 4.
One of Chang's main students, Wang Tsung-yeuh was a scholar and wrote down what he had learnt. This treatise was then put away and handed down through his family as a piece of funny
old writing until a man called Yang Lu-ch'an who had been studying at the Chen Style Martial Arts village came across it and also had the good fortune to study with a direct lineage family member of Chang San-feng called Zhiang-fa. From Zhiang, along with the other members of the Chen clan learned what Zhiang knew. Because of Yang=s eclectic martial arts learning, he was able to take exactly what Zhiang had taught him and when he either found or was given a copy of Wang=s
treatise, worked out an eclectic form of martial art of the internal style combining all that he had learnt from Zhiang and incorporating the 12 main Qi Disruptive forms of Wudang Shan. He finally invented what we now know as the Yang Lu-ch=an form of Taijiquan. However, even yang would not know what it was that you were talking about if you said Taijiquan as his system was simply known as Ha'o Ch'uan, or, roughly translated as "Loose Boxing". It was not until later
generations that the Yang's adopted the name of Taijiquan.
Many still disagree with me about the above, preferring to believe the Chen family's version of the history in that it was they who taught Yang and they alone! Because of the inherent and great differences between the two systems, I have to believe in my own theory. In any case it does not really matter as the Old Yang Style is indeed the Supreme Ultimate Boxing of the Internal Systems.
Yang Lu-ch’an’s Old Form Taijiquan
I will be presenting for the first time the basic Yang Lu-ch'an form in as much detail as possible in a book. And although those who already study a style of Taijiquan might be able to learn the form from this book, it is advisable to get also my basic tape, MTG2 and/or the new series, Yang Lu-ch'an Corrections as this is the only way to really know that you are doing the exact movements.
The beauty of Taijiquan, especially the Yang =an form is that it was very carefully thought out by its founder. He saw a need for a martial system that not only contained the most deadly
self-defense applications but also self-defense against disease and depletion of Qi and a Qi system that was out of balance. So he built into the whole form a way of manipulating each
acupuncture meridian in turn, the way that it is activated throughout a 24 hour period. In this way every organ in the body is bathed in life-giving Qi with this manipulation emulating the exact activation periods of the meridians during each day. This is how Taijiquan works in the self-healing area as a preventative as well as a healing application for many disease states.
Source: "Tai Chi: The Old Style Of Yang Lu-ch'an"
WTBA Bagua History
Baguazhang, is said to be the sister of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, the mother of the three 'internal systems'. It is one of the newest Chinese healing/martial arts of the internal system and contains the very best of the Shaolin Martial arts as well as the very best of the Buddhism or Taoism fighting arts. Its intricacies are great and one is able to continually discover new techniques from within the complex postures and movements which go together to build the framework which we call the Baguazhang form or kata. Invented by one man, the form has been slowly added to and taken away from until we have come to a highly evolved form of healing or self-defense which only relies upon the palms and feet for attack and defense. With mainly circular foot movement, the form lays stress upon the
stability of the stance and the flexibility of the waist which is complimented by the vigorous movements of the arms and palms while always being coordinated in legs, waist and upper body. Bagua is said to have the fastest footwork of any martial art.
The true history of Baguazhang is vague. This is due to a person called Tung Hai Chuan (1796-1880) who was wary of telling anyone about his martial art's origins. Some people, including myself believe that it was Tung himself who founded the internal system known as Baguazhang
but was afraid to tell anyone of his' invention' for fear of losing face. It was and always has been popular to tell people that one's art has been learned from some ancient monk on top of some mystical mountain and that the art is thousands of years old rather than admitting that it was invented by oneself.
Tung Hai Chuan lived in Wen An district in Ho Pei Province about three centuries ago during the beginning of the Ching dynasty. The style came to be noticed in Beijing when a eunuch, Tung Hai Chuan, gave demonstrations (of the art) to the court of the imperial prince where he lived. At one
time the prince held a very large banquet for many quests causing the lesser-experienced waiters to not cope too well. The prince and other high officials noticed the young eunuch, Tung bobbing and weaving in and out like a butterfly. Tung was asked why he was so nimble and it was found
that he was a practitioner of wushu or war arts. Tung was then asked to demonstrate his art and the ensuing exposition thrilled the court no end. When asked what style of wushu he was practicing, Tung would always say that it was a combination of the very best of the Shaolin (a place in China
translated as the little forest where a very famous temple once existed. The monks of this temple were taught the original Chinese martial arts all grouped together and called 'SHAOLIN TEMPLE BOXING') and the Wudang (named after a sacred mountain in China, Wudang Mountain
where the internal martial arts were said to have emanated) or Buddhism and Taoist martial arts.
TUNG THE FUGITIVE
Many people believe that Tung Hai Chuan was a fugitive from the law, which is the reason for his not telling from whom he learnt his art. It is told that Tung escaped being captured by seeking refuge in the Buddhist monastery. Because of his inherent nature, he soon breached the rules of sexual abstinence and was asked to leave. He then performed his own operation (or so we're expected to believe), of cutting out the old crown jewels causing him to become an eunuch so that he could lose himself in the court as said eunuch. I think I would have preferred capture! Some sources say that Tung learnt the art from Pi Teng-Hsia.
Tung was apparently once heard to say to a master swordsman called Tsung Wei-I that his teacher and Tsung's teacher were fellow students andthat teacher was Pi Teng-Hsia. Another master called Jen chi-Cheng believed that Tung learnt the art from Tung Meng-Lin as Jen's teacher also learnt from him and there was a great similarity in the two arts. Tung died in the sixth year of the Emperor Kwong Hsu at the age of 84 and was buried a mile from the East gate of Beijing.
The art was proliferated by Tung's disciples. Cheng Ting-Hwa was said to have been personally involved in the 'BOXER REBELLION' in 1900. The story goes that Cheng Ting-Hwa died from multiple bullet wounds when he attacked a group of foreign troops during the rebellion. Armed
with only two small knives he took out ten of the soldiers before he died. Cheng's most famous pupil was SUN LUC-TANG while his son, CHENG YU-Lung (1875-1928) popularized the art throughout Beijing and Tientsin.
Sun Luc Tang (1860-1932) learnt the art from Cheng Ting-Hwa and gained the name of 'SUN THE COWARD' because of his aversion to competition fighting. He could see no reason for a man to have to prove his art. His idea was that Baguazhang should only be used in defense of
oneself or one's family etc. Because of this, Sun had very few students, however, at one time a very large Chinese wrestler challenged Tung and Tung turned him down. The wrestler decided to have the fight anyway and began to strike Tung with heavy blows. Tung took a few of these attacks
and then with only two palm strikes put the man into hospital. After this many students wanted to join Tung but he turned to them and said that if he had to almost kill another human being to gain students then he would rather not. He disappeared for many years preferring to refine his art. He
wrote four books on Taiji, Bagua, H'sing-I and one called "The Esoteric Baguazhang Way Of The Martial Arts", which, until now no-one has been able to translate because Tung tried to put onto paper what his inner mind knew about martial arts and of course only he knew what he was trying to say. YIN FU (1842-1911) was another of Tung's students. Tung only accepted him after
many months of Yin Fu trying to sell him cakes! Yin Fu popularized the style of Bagua known as 'OX PALM'. He was also the first to use the 64 palm changes as we know them today.
FU CHEN-SUNG either learned the art from Sun Luc-Tang or from Cheng Ting-Hwa. Sun's daughter, SUN Jianyun is now very old (1987) and still gives demonstrations of her father's SUN style Taiji and Bagua.
Chang Chao-tung learned the art from Tung Hai-Chuan and passed it on to Chiang Jung-Chiao (1890-?). Chiang Jung-Chiao taught Master Ho Ho-Choy and that is where my lineage comes from.
Chang Chao-tang was the first to formulate a formal long circular form which flowed from one movement to the next until the whole eight palm changes were performed. Before this as with Sun Luc-Tang we only had separate palm maneuvers plus the twelve animal forms.
Nowadays we have three forms of Baguazhang. The Animal forms, the Original Form (taught by Chiang Jung Chiao) and the 'Body Swimming Form' which is the Chinese Government style taught in the wushu colleges and performed in the many tournaments each year in China. The style that
is presented in this book is the 'Original Form' of Chiang Jung-Chiao.
As well as the classical circular form, Yen Te-Hwa who learned from Chou Hsiang (1861-?) who in turn learned from Cheng Ting-Hwa, formulated a fighting or linear form which placed more emphasis upon the fighting aspects of the art. Here we are able to see how the martial techniques work and we are able to put them together with a partner to form a two person learning aid, something akin to Kumite from karate. This form is also presented in this book along with some of the main applications of the postures.
Source: Bagua Complete: Volume One