Martial Style Tai Chi
One of the schools of Tai Chi, it was created by Wu Yuxiang (1812-1880) from Yongnian, Hebei Province in the late Qing Dynasty. It evolved on the basis of Chen Wu's old frame and Chen style new frame Tai Chi, and was later modified and finalized by Li Yishe and Hao Weizhen. This boxing stance is compact and concise, with obvious opening and closing, smooth and gentle movements, small and flexible footwork, and clear distinction between virtual and actual conditions. The chest and abdomen should always remain centered during the forward and backward rotation, the hands should not reach the shoulders, and the left and right hands can each control half of the body. Pay attention to the transformation of virtual reality and the latent transformation of inner energy. The body techniques of Wu-style Tai Chi mainly include chest and back pulling, crotch wrapping, hip protection, top lifting, crotch lifting, elbow sinking, and tail square. When exercising, pay attention to the starting, continuing, opening, and closing of movements, and pay attention to "folding when reciprocating, and switching when advancing or retreating."
Wu-style Tai Chi - Introduction to Wu-style Tai Chi
Wu-style Tai Chi is one of the five major schools of traditional Tai Chi in my country. Its principles are rich, complete and sophisticated. Delicate, "focus on pursuing Tai Chi (inner shape), move the inner energy, use the mind to move the qi, and practice the integration of essence, qi, and spirit." The characteristic of its technique is "attacking people according to the changes of the enemy, using the change of spirit to control the movement of the body shape, emphasizing the inner strength without showing the body shape, and achieving the magical state of being controlled by others, but not controlled by others."
Wu Style (Martial Style) Tai Chi is a small and compact style created by Mr. Wu Yuxiang on the basis of Chen Style Tai Chi and Zhaobao Tai Chi based on his insights into practice. It integrates physical strengthening, self-defense, Tai Chi is a form of body cultivation that is suitable for literati to practice. Later generations called it Wu-style Tai Chi. In the practice of this boxing method, Mr. Wu Yuxiang formed a concise and concise classic without any superficial words - Wu Style Tai Chi Theory.
Martial style Tai Chi, known as Ganzhi Laomei, is simple and unpretentious. The hands are no higher than the eyebrows and no farther than the feet. Each hand controls half of the body and does not cross each other. Pay attention to the three combinations of inside and outside. There must be folds when advancing and retreating. The inner Qi controls the shape. Walking in the clouds and walking, the feet are like writing calligraphy on the earth. , strictly abide by the rules one stroke at a time, and fight with others, not focusing on moves, but focusing on continuing the effort.
Chen Guan and Wu Wenhan are outstanding representatives of martial arts Tai Chi from the Xingtai Martial Arts Research Society.
Wu Style Tai Chi - founder Wu Yuxiang
Wu Yuxiang Wu Yuxiang (1812–1880) was the founder of Wu Style Tai Chi. His surname was Wu, his given name was Heqing, his courtesy name was Yuxiang, and his nickname was Lianquan. , a native of Yongnian County, Hebei Province. Literary and martial arts were passed down from generation to generation, and there were three brothers. Both of them were Jinshi and then held positions. Yu Xiang studied literature and martial arts since he was a child. He was a filial piety, chivalrous and righteous, a local scholar, a tribute student, and a candidate for training. Around 1850, Yang Luchan (1799-1872), a fellow countryman, returned to his hometown from Chenjiagou, Wen County, Henan Province. Brothers Yu and Xiang fell in love with his skills and studied Chen's old form of Tai Chi, and gained a general understanding of it. In 1852, Yu Xiang went to Henan in person and learned Chen's New Style Tai Chi from Chen Qingping in Zhaobao Town, Wen County, for more than a month. He acquired its subtleties. He also obtained Wang Zongyue's "Tai Chi Manual" from his elder brother Wu Qingcheng, and gained enlightenment after reading it. On the basis of studying the old and new Tai Chi styles of the Chen family, combined with the essence of the "Tai Chi Book", through the experience of practicing Tai Chi and integrating them, we can create compact postures, slow movements, correct body techniques, and light and agile footwork. A Tai Chi practice that requires the inner Qi to subtly turn and use Qi to form the form. This style is different from Chen Shi's old frame and new frame, and also different from Yang's large frame and small frame. It has its own style, which is called "Wu Style Tai Chi" by later generations.
Wu studied Tai Chi and created experimental methods. Every time he invited local heroes to test his skills on his own, he repeatedly recorded and revised them. Therefore, the Chinese style of boxing can be used and no one is empty.
Although the Wu family studied Tai Chi the most profoundly, he ultimately took it upon himself to teach and read Tai Chi. Therefore, there were very few people who passed on the Tai Chi. Only his nephew Li Jinglun (also known as Yi She) passed down the most sophisticated skills.
Wu has written many works, first and then "Essential Interpretations of the Thirteen Postures", "Explanations of Tai Chi", "Essential Interpretations of Tai Chi Theory", "A Brief Introduction to the Thirteen Postures", "Essential Interpretations of the Thirteen Postures", "The Four-Word Secret", "Release the Fighter", "Eight Essentials of Shen Dharma", etc. Wu's works were all written based on his own experience. Therefore, the late famous martial artist Mr. Gu Liuxin called Wu's works "concise and concise, without any details." Floating words".
Martial Style Tai Chi - The origin, inheritance, development and combination of Wu Style Tai Chi
A photo of Wu Wenhan and his disciples. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, he taught Tai Chi in Yongnian County, Hebei Province The person who teaches Tai Chi in Nanguan is Hao Weizhen, a disciple of Wu Yuxiang, the founder of Wu School of Tai Chi. The one who teaches Tai Chi in Nanguan is Yang Zhaolin, the eldest grandson of Yang Luchan, the founder of Yang School of Tai Chi. They teach different boxing styles and have different requirements. In order to distinguish the boxing taught by the two, the local people called the boxing taught by Hao Weizhen "Hao Jia" and the boxing taught by Yang Zhaolin "Yang Jia". Hao Weizhen claimed to teach "Li Jia" (because he was a disciple of Li Yishe) or "Wu Li Jia". Because the boxing postures taught by Hao Weizhen require the opening and closing of the fists, people called them "opening and closing frames". Later, Haomen's disciples taught boxing in other places and also called themselves "opening and closing frames" to differentiate from the boxing postures taught by the Yang School. In November 1961, the successor of Tianjin Wushu Tai Chi published "Hao Weizhen's Open and Close Tai Chi Technique" (mimeographed version), which highlighted the word "open and close".
The emergence of the titles "Hao Jia" and "Yang Jia" was the beginning of the derivation of the Tai Chi school. Although "Hao Jia" was later often called "Martial Style (Martial Arts) Tai Chi", people still used to call it "Opening and Closing Tai Chi", referring to the requirements of its boxing theory and posture. Its evolution experience is roughly as follows:
Zhai Wei Chuan, the fifth generation successor of Wu Style Tai Chi. In terms of boxing theory, Wu Style Tai Chi mostly respects Wang Zongyue's "Tai Chi Theory" in the early Qing Dynasty, and deepens and sublimates it through practice. . "Tai Chi Theory" says that the way of yin and yang is "moving will separate, and stillness will combine", and movement is the Bagua. Be still. From the point of view of Tai Chi's physical application, "moving to divide" is opening, changing, and the operation of fist posture; "quiet being to combine" is summarizing and condensing momentum. Therefore, Wu Yuxiang described that a walking fighter should be "quiet as a mountain and as moving as a river" (see "Tai Chi Explanation"). At the same time, he also made the abstract opening and closing of yin and yang concrete, so that practitioners can have rules and laws to follow. He said in "A Brief Introduction to the Thirteen Movements": "In every movement, the hand should apply force first, and then release it. It is nothing more than starting, inheriting, turning, and combining. It starts with the movement of the mind. Once the movement is strong, the transition must be in a straight line." "Initiation, inheritance, transfer, combination" was a requirement for scholars to compose poems and eight-part essays during the imperial examination era. It was a term commonly used by Confucian scholars in the past. Wu Yuxiang applied it to Tai Chi walking fighters for the first time, which gave walking fighters a legal basis and was a major contribution to the promotion and development of Tai Chi.
Later, Wu Yuxiang summarized the "Four-Character Secrets of Thugs" (apply, cover, pair, and swallow), Li Yishe summarized the "Secrets of Release" (Qing, Lead, Release, Release), and Hao Yueru's "Four-Character Secrets of Thugs" "Yao" (introducing, transforming, taking, and issuing) are all specific and in-depth aspects of starting, inheriting, transferring, and combining in terms of beater techniques and operations. Wang Zongyue's academic thoughts originated from "Tai Chi Tu Shuo" written by Zhou Dunyi (1017-1073) in the Northern Song Dynasty. It takes yin and yang as the body and hardness and softness as functions. It has not yet broken away from the terminology of Zhou Dunyi's "Tai Chi Tu Shuo". With the development of the times, practical experiences vary. Wu Yuxiang was the first to put forward the theory of virtuality and reality in "Thirteen Powers": "The virtual and the real must be clearly distinguished. There is a virtual reality in one place
Wu Wenhan has a real reality, and there is always a virtual reality everywhere." Li Yishe, the master of Yuxiang's studies, emphasized in "Five Character Jue" that "the strength of one body can make a family, and distinguish between virtual and real", and "open and close properly, and distinguish between virtual and real". Therefore, the corresponding transformation of virtual and actual opening and closing, and the integration of techniques with mind, energy, and spirit, have become the technical core of martial arts Tai Chi. In order to vividly illustrate the relationship between virtual and real changes and the flow of internal energy, Li Yishe also personally drew the "Virtual and Real Opening and Closing Diagram", pointing out that "virtual and real are opening and closing." This is because the physical and mental changes of a walking fighter are mostly changes in internal energy, which can only be perceived but not easily seen; opening and closing refer to external movements, which are clearly visible. "Virtue and reality (internal) are the opening and closing (external)", which is in line with the principle that the whole body is one family.
Hao Weizhen is the successor of Li Yishe. Wu Yuxiang and Li Yishe’s boxing commentaries are simple but concise. The boxing styles they created are simple but rich in connotation. Most people don’t know its background. Only Wei Zhen can exhaust its skills. want. Its walking thugs have virtual spirits as their bodies. Follow the rules and use them. Its function lies in moving to learn stillness, and stillness does not interfere with movement. It uses both movement and stillness. Don't take sides. The method begins with keeping the center, condensing Qi, finally moving Qi, and finally concentrating the mind to the point of emptiness. Therefore, his attainments are pure and unique, and he is the first person in Li Yishe's sect. As a result, his disciples are full of disciples, and Tai Chi, a martial art school, has become popular in the world. Spread into a faction.
When Hao Weizhen taught boxing, he integrated the connotation and evolution of boxing theories written by Wang Zongyue, Wu Yuxiang, and Li Yishe, combined with the needs of the times, and used starting, inheritance, opening, and cooperation as the guiding principles for fighting fighters. Hao Yueru explained: "Each posture of the walking frame is divided into four characters, which are starting, connecting, opening and closing." He also said: "Opening means widening, not contradicting; shrinking means small, not dodging" (see Hao Yueru's "The Walking Fighter of Tai Chi"), indicating that "opening" should be stretched and the muscles, bones and joints should be relaxed. In order to facilitate the smooth flow of qi and blood, the hands, eyes, body, waist and steps can be coordinated and integrated, and every movement can move like a bow. The internal energy circulates, and the external response is ever-changing. The "joining" should be tight, with a solid spirit. Each palm should protect half of the body, and the center should be protected with the center. The footwork should be steady and the legs should be quick. The shot should be like an arrow, and it should be collected as soon as it is released. There is a closing in the opening, an opening in the closing, stretching without compromising compactness, compactness and stretching, stable center of gravity, and eight-sided support. Therefore, when walking, you should be guided by rising, carrying, opening and closing. "Arise" requires the concentration of the mind, a calm mind and a restrained energy. If the mind is not calm, it means you will not be focused. If the Qi is not restrained, there will be no subtlety, and the momentum will be easily scattered. "Inheritance" means connecting the previous and the following, connecting with nature and running through it in one go. "Open" should be sensitive, full of changes, neither grabbing nor falling, and full of momentum. "Combining" must be harmonious, the hands, eyes, body and steps must be harmonious and natural. The beginning, opening and closing of each posture must be clear and coherent. The movement of the mind must follow the movement, and the true energy must be gathered in the waist. "The source of fate is in the waist gap", and it must be flexible and flexible. The flying harrier is active in steps, body and movements, seeking inspiration and change in harmony.
Only when the movement of the walking frame can be started, sustained, opened and closed can it be full and full of changes, without being left in a slippery and sloppy form. On this basis, we can then achieve a clear vision, a clear body, a well-organized foot, a loose and rounded space, a soft exterior and a strong interior, which are neither loose nor unremitting, neither stiff nor stagnant, the inside and outside are in harmony, and the whole body is one, moving and still. The expression, external form and inner spirit are harmonious and unified. Only by mastering the "Five Essentials of Walking" of calm mind, concentrated mind, smooth Qi, restrained spirit and smooth body can you become more and more refined with practice and step into the realm of martial arts Tai Chi. Door.
Confucius once said: "Gentlemen are harmonious but different" ("The Analects of Confucius·Zilu"). The three generations of Wu Yuxiang, Li Yishe and Hao Weizhen both inherited and developed boxing theory and boxing techniques. It is in line with this profound philosophy of Confucius. There is no solid inheritance to develop. Without innovation and development, it will inevitably become rigid, and there is no need to talk about inheritance! Carefully handling the dialectical relationship between inheritance and development is the key to whether an academic school can develop healthily and maintain fresh vitality forever.