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Tai Chi Webpage

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Tai Chi Webpage
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TAI CHI WEBPAGE

Introduction

I decided to create this webpage to share my discovery. I have written about the subject of Tai Chi as succinctly as possible. I have also distilled the philosophical and spiritual aspects of the art to its most fundamental concept. Wisdom, I believe, has to be discovered through one's own experience. Therefore, what I have written should only confirm what you have already discovered.

Tai Chi is a beautiful art that is rooted in Eastern philosophy. I hope this website is helpful to you in your journey into the art of Tai Chi.

Tuan Tran

Philosophy of Tai Chi

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao."
-Lao Tzu

Tai Chi is a method of physical and spiritual cultivation based on the philosophy of Taoism. The source of Taoism is from the book Tao Te Ching, written around sixth century B.C. by Lao Tzu. The Tao Te Ching is a collection of eighty-one short and profound poems, consisting of only about five thousand words. It is only with personal experience that one can grasp the profound wisdom hidden within these concise poems.

Taoism of Lao Tzu is not any different from Buddhism of Siddhartha, for enlightened beings speak the same truth. Let us examine the essence of these two philosophies.

Siddhartha's key insight is that attachment leads to suffering, and there is a way to move beyond suffering. To understand this simple truth, it is helpful to look at a metaphor.

A gardener is planting a rose bush in winter. As spring approaches, a rosebud begins to form. Within the span of several weeks time, the rosebud blooms with radiating beauty and intoxicating fragrance. As fall approaches, the rose begins to wither then dies, as with all things in nature. The gardener knows this truth of nature well, so he is not attached to the rose at any moment in time.

Impermanence is the nature of all things in the universe. Thus, attachment to anything at all means that one is attached to that particular object at that particular moment in time, which means that one is not able to accept change as the inherent nature of all things.

The essence of Lao Tzu's Taoism is in "non-action," which means to accept things as they are without wanting them to be different. To put it in a more cliché form, one is: "to go with the flow." The following poems, from the Tao Te Ching, exemplify this concept.

Eight

The highest good is like water
It gives life to all things
and reaches for the lowest
It flows in places men reject
and so is the Tao

Twenty-two

Yield and overcome
Bend and be straight
Empty and be full
Wear out and be new
Have little and gain
Have much and be lost

Thirty-three

Knowing others is wisdom
But to know oneself is enlightenment
Mastering others requires force
But to master oneself requires courage

Thirty-seven

The Tao abides in non-action
Yet nothing is left undone
For without form
there is no desire
Without desire
there is tranquility
And all things would be at peace

Forty

Returning is the motion of the Tao
Yielding is the way of the Tao

Forty-three

The softest thing in the universe
Overcomes the hardest thing in the universe
For without substance
One can enter where there is no room
Thus, one should know the value of non-action
Teaching without words
and work without doing
are understood by very few

Forty-four

One who is attached to things will suffer much
One who saves will suffer heavy loss
A contented man is never disappointed

Forty-six

There is no greater sin than desire
No greater curse than discontent
No greater misfortune than wanting

Forty-eight

In the pursuit of learning
every day something is acquired
In the pursuit of the Tao
every day something is dropped
Less and less is done
Until non-action is achieved
When nothing is done
Nothing is left undone
The world is ruled by letting things take their course
It cannot be ruled by interfering

Seventy

My words are easy to understand
Yet no one practices them
My words have ancient beginnings
And my actions are disciplined
But few know me
Therefore a sage wears rough clothing
and holds the jewel in his heart

Seventy-six

A man is born gentle and soft
At death, he is hard and stiff
Green plants are tender
At death, they are withered and dry
Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death
The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life
An army without flexibility never wins a battle
A tree that is unbending is easily broken
The hard and strong will fall
The soft and weak will overcome

Seventy-eight

Nothing is more soft and yielding than water
But for attacking the solid and strong
nothing is better
It has no equal
The weak can overcome the strong
The supple can overcome the stiff
Everyone knows this
But no one puts it into practice

Principles of Tai Chi

"Yield and overcome."
-Lao Tzu

1. Substantial and Insubstantial: Substantial is yang and insubstantial is yin. In the beginning, it is critical to be aware of the shifting of the weight from one foot to the other. When the weight is on one foot, then that foot is yang and the other foot is yin. This is the foundation of establishing rooting. At a higher level, be aware of the substantial and insubstantial of the hands as well. Thus, when one hand is yang, then the other hand is yin. At the highest level, there is also substantial and insubstantial of the opposite hand and foot. For example, in "brush knee twist step," the forward striking hand is substantial or yang, and the same foot (rear) is therefore yang also.

2. Chi is moved like a curved thread through nine pearls: The body has nine curves (the fist joint, the wrist joint, the elbow joint, the shoulder joint, the spine, the waist, the hips, the knee joint, and the ankle joint). The chi is moved through these nine joints, so that when one part of the body moves, the entire body moves.

3. Relax "Sung": Tai Chi is known as movement meditation. Thus, the mind (awareness) and chi (breath) are united with movement (in the present moment). The movement is effortless because there is no self. One becomes a detached observer. The muscles are relaxed, and the chi is moved through the ligaments. Beginners need to pay particular attention to the shoulders since the muscular tension is most profound at this point. One needs to relax the shoulders, and drop the elbows while practicing the form. Sung is closely related to Peng Ching.

4. Keep Alignment: The body must be upright, keep the neck and the back straight. The tail-boned is tucked in so that the buttocks are not sticking out. The chest is not sticking out, nor the upper back hunched forward.

5. The source of movements is in the waist and spine as in a wheel revolving around an axle: The waist is rotated around the spine like a wheel revolving around an axle. In this case, the axle is perpendicular to the ground. Thus in movement, the waist is moved horizontal to the ground and rotating around the spine.

6. Stay at the same height: Except for movements such as "Single Whip Squatting Down," stay at the same height while doing the form.

7. The step is light like a cat: When one is aware of substantial and insubstantial, the step will be empty and light. In Tai Chi foot-worked, the step forward is first with the heel then the whole foot. In the step backward, the ball of the foot then the whole foot.

8. Peng Ching: It is potential energy. The whole body must have peng ching at all times while doing the form. It has the sensation of fullness or extension through the joints. It is the culmination of correct postures of three parts: arms, legs, and back. The correct posture for the arms is to drop both shoulders and elbows, and the wrists are straighten. The correct posture for the legs is to keep the buttocks tucked in and the knees bent, the step is light with distinction between solidity and emptiness. The correct posture for the back is to keep the back straight, so that the rotation is around the spine, with the receiving points at the two shoulder joints and the two hips joints. Peng ching's eight gates or positions are as follow: Peng, Lu, Chi, An, Tsai, Lieh, Chou, Kao.

9. Fa Jing: "The root is at the feet, 'Jing' is generated from the legs, controlled by the waist, and expressed by the fingers." It is striking energy. This is preceded by collecting energy through the nine joints equally, with the spine as the main point of collecting and striking. The strike is through the hands, one solid and the other empty, and focus on the opponent's center. Collecting energy is like drawing a bow, and striking energy is like releasing an arrow.

10. Spirit, Mind, and Chi: The mind moves the chi, thus there has to be a mind intent before the chi arrives. At the highest level of the spirit, the mind intent and chi arrive at the same time.

Biography

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain
-Emily Dickinson

I attended high school in Olympia, Washington, undergraduate school in Business Administration at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, and graduate study in Teacher Education at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.

I began Tai Chi training in 1990. I studied with Master Abraham Liu, a student of Cheng Man Ching, and continued my study with Master Liang Shou-yu. I learned the Yang style with Master Liu, and the Chen style (as well as Bagua and Hsing Yi) with Master Liang.

I started teaching Tai Chi in 1995. I taught at Bastyr University in Seattle, in addition to other various locations such as: community centers, health clubs, and churches. Although Tai Chi is a martial art, my interest has always been on the health and spiritual aspect of the art.

My advice to current Tai Chi practitioners, as well as people who are interested in learning Tai Chi, is to seek out a Master who is willing to teach you and give you form correction. Otherwise, you will not be able to learn the art properly.

Video Clip

Watch Video Clip of 24-Form Yang Style by Tuan Tran. You need a RealPlayer to watch the video clip. You can download a free RealPlayer 8 Basic from RealNetworks.com to watch the video clip.

Movements in 24-Form Yang Style
1. Opening
2. Part Wild Horse's Mane (L,R,L)
3. White Crane Spreads Wings
4. Brush Knee and Twist Step (L,R,L)
5. Play the Lute
6. Repulse Monkey (R,L,R,L)
7. Left Grasp Sparrow's Tail
(Left Ward Off, Roll Back and Press, Withdraw and Push)
8. Right Grasp Sparrow's Tail
(Right Ward Off, Roll Back and Press, Withdraw and Push)
9. Single Whip
10. Wave Hands Like Clouds
11. Single Whip
12. High Pat on Horse
13. Right Heel Kick
14. Strike Ears with Both Fists
15. Left Heel Kick
16. Left Snake Creeps Down and Stand on One Leg
17. Right Snake Creeps Down and Stand on One Leg
18. Fair Lady at Shuttle (L,R)
19. Needle at Sea Bottom
20. Fan Through Back
21. Turn, Deflect, and Punch
22. Withdraw and Push
23. Cross Hands
24. Closing