The Deadly and Deceptive Hands of T'ai Chi Ch'uan

[ahgao]

what is tai chi focus on

Sphere Force

[Epanchin]

Erle Montaigue has a rather different approach to martial Tai Chi than what I'm used to, but nevertheless his system is efficient (through its use of Fa-Jing).

 

Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan) is one of the three internal martial arts of China (the other two are Hsing-i Chuan (Xinyiquan) and Pa-kua Chang(Baguazhang)). Tai Chi is often associated with the idea of softness while Hsing-i is associated with hardness and Bagua with change between the two. Tai Chi focuses on using jings, or "energies" (more accurately, a type of intention, body type, or something similar) to build root and immense power. Ultimately the goal of the master of tai chi is to be able to project chi through strikes into the opponent to disable or kill swiftly (On a side note, for those who think I'm getting too "mystical" or something with my reference to chi, please go to the Internal Arts forum and read my explanation of chi).

 

The internal arts are powerful, there is no doubt. Perhaps they are the most efficient means of producing great internal power. But they are slow going, and usually very difficult and tedious. The old masters thought it took 20 years to really get a handle on any of the three arts (Bagua being the most difficult due to its circular movement and constant changing of direction). Even now though it takes several years to really have a good feel for an internal art martially. Every subsequent year it gets better, and ultimately there is no peak as the source of power for the internal practitioner is chi and the mind, not the muscles and the bones.