THE CHI KUNG BIBLE:  MASTERING PERSONAL POWER by Gary J. Clyman

CHAPTER #11 - TAI CHI CH'UAN

WHAT IS TAI CHI CH'UAN?  Some Commonly Asked Questions: 

What is Tai Chi Ch'uan? -- A Chinese internal martial art, 
meditation in movement, and a health maintenance exercise system. 

What are some of the benefits?  -- Practicing Tai Chi Ch'uan stim-
ulates the body's various organs and systems to help achieve a natural 
balance within the body.  When the body operates more efficiently, health 
problems such as low back ache, stiff joints, obesity, hypertension, poor 
circulation, poor posture, sluggish digestion, insomnia, and arthritis many 
times show remarkable improvement. 

Who can practice Tai Chi Ch'uan? -- Anybody, regardless of age or physical 
condition.  Tai Chi not only improves current ailments, but is an excellent 
preventative measure.  It is non-exertive, noncompetitive, gentle, and all 
the movements are circular. 

What is required? -- Strong legs, an open mind, a willingness to learn, 
and a desire to take responsibility to improve your health. 

Losing weight as a by-product, how? -- Long, constant movements make 
your muscles work in a different way than ever before, just watch. 

What makes this Tai Chi system, "Temple Style," unique? -- "Temple 
Style" teaches you each form or movement individually.  They are 
practiced until your body has undergone the necessary transformations.  

Different aspects develop muscular strength, looseness, circularity of 
movement, whole-body awareness, improved breath control and continuity 
in movement.  These are all developed by practicing Tai Chi Ch'uan.

TEMPLE STYLE TAI CHI

Tai Chi Ch'uan is being practiced all over the city, in parks, schools, 
and in store fronts.  Ten years ago few people knew what Tai Chi Ch'uan 
was, yet today there is a plethora of schools and styles for the student 
to choose from.  There is the "Public" style of Tai Chi and its traditional 
counterpart, "Temple" style.  Temple Style Tai Chi emphasizes all aspects 
of health and self-defense which include form, sensitivity training, 
pushing and rolling hands, meditation, yin-yang applications, and diet, 
with special emphasis on practical applications and internal "Jing" 
development.  The philosophy of Tai Chi is consistent with the whole of 
Chinese thought, including Taoism and The I Ching.  These subjects are 
integrated into the system.  

Many years ago, Tai Chi Master Yang Lu Chan was summoned to the palace 
of the Emperor, because of his reputation as "The Unsurpassable in 
Combat."  He was coerced into teaching the Emperor's family Tai Chi.  
The story that he gave the Emperor was that "it would take many years of 
practice before they could expect to show any ability."  They were taught 
the external form, with gross details and no "internal" training.  Temple-
style Tai Chi lived in some of the monasteries and underground, being 
preserved until this day.  Most of the Tai Chi being taught in the United 
States is of the "Public" Style.  Few schools offer classical, traditional, 
Temple-style Tai Chi Ch'uan.  I am still willing to take new students 
through "The System."  As far as I know, I am the only one left still 
doing it.  It is up to the student to ask, not the teacher. 

In the words of a dying Tai Chi Master, Yang Lu Chan: "Tai Chi should by 
practiced primarily for health, happiness, and longevity, and only 
secondarily for self-defense."  Yang Lu Chan is the father and creator of 
"The Yang Style," the most well known Tai Chi style.  Tai Chi is an 
excellent way of promoting, maintaining, and preserving health and 
youthful vitality.  Many of the health benefits of Tai Chi are derived 
from the increased performance of the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, 
and musculo-skeletal systems.  Illnesses including arthritis, rheumatism, 
ulcers, heart disease, asthma, allergies, and nervous disorders are relieved 
as a by-product of the practice of Tai Chi.  As the body becomes healthy, 
the mind becomes free of the harmful effects of daily stress and is able 
to focus on more subtle things, promoting happiness and direction.  

Tai Chi practice exercises and balances the "meridians" of the body used 
in acupuncture therapy.  In this system, the form is taught in a specific 
order, piece-by-piece, so that the student's foundation is solid and 
secure.  After practicing piece-by-piece, the form is put together in 
three sections at the appropriate stages.  In the process of learning 
the form, pushing and rolling hands, the major two-person practices, are 
introduced early in the training.  These two-person practices are an 
integral part of the basic "sensitivity training" program.  The med-
itations taught in this system are unique to Tai Chi Temple style, and 
are not found in yoga, Zen, or other related systems.   

The practical applications in Tai Chi differ greatly from similar arts in 
that they are not simply punch & kick exchanges.  Tai Chi deals with the 
direction of energy, rather than with specific "matching" technique.  It 
utilizes a "yielding principle" of yin-yang by not resisting force with 
force.  Using the yin-yang principle, a Tai Chi practitioner can interpret 
the moves of his opponent before he completes them.  

Tai Chi develops internal power rather than physical strength, so it can 
be practiced until advanced age without loss of flexibility or proficiency.  
When applying the forms in Tai Chi to practical situations, they are 
performed without effort, effectively neutralizing any attack. 

Whether you are studying meditation, yoga, dance, or martial arts, Tai Chi 
may provide that something that is missing in other disciplines.  Wouldn't 
you like to reach your physical peak at age 65 instead of being old at 40?  

This is possible to anyone who is willing to practice.  Tai Chi can be 
practiced by anyone, at any time, at any age, without special equipment, 
independent of season or climate.

IN THE BOOK, MY MAGAZINE ARTICLES ARE HERE. 

This is the end of my book.  Thank you for reading it.  Gary J. Clyman