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Radical Taiji
Author: Gene Ching
Sun taiji quan combines three internal styles into one powerful art.
Imagine if the government decided to ban martial arts, including taiji quan. They could cite a variety of reasons: It is too subversive or too dangerous for civilians. Imagine the great masters being imprisoned and tortured, and the young rising champions forbidden to practice their art
In the United States, this is inconceivable. After all, we Americans cal legally won guns, what difference is a little taiji going to make? However, in China, the birthplace of taiji, this is not a fantasy, it is history. In 1966, the Cultural Revolution shook China to its core, crushing many aspects of traditional life. Ancient sacred places were destroyed without remorse. Places like the magnificent library of the Shaolin Temple, which housed countless treasured books on the martial arts, were burned to the ground. Those heroes who dared to maintain their martial practice did so secretly to avoid the prying eyes and punishing hand of the emerging police state. Martial skills were hidden from the people.
When the fires of the revolution burned down and the people realized the value of martial arts, taiji quan rose from the ashes in a new incarnation. All Chinese martial arts were repackaged by the People's Republic of China under the new name of wushu. The old masters dusted off their rusty swords and made them shine. Those teachers who survived tried their best to adapt their schools to modern China. In an attempt to conform to the government's imposed regulations on wushu, the masters created new forms, including standardized competition forms and combined forms. Currently, four schools of taiji quan dominate: Yang, Chen, Wu, and Sun. Only these four schools were deemed significant enough to be standardized for competition. Furthermore, they were all combined into a new single form (the combined form) that has become a common component in the practice of wushu.
The Sun with Three Fathers
Sun taiji is the youngest of the current four taiji quan schools, and perhaps the most radical. Created in the last generation by Sun Lutang (1861-1932) in the autumn years of his life, Sun taiji quan is unique in that it fuses the three major internal styles: taiji quan, xingyi quan (form and mind boxing) and bagua zhang (eight-diagram boxing). This fusion is quite a different concept from the new wushu combined form. In the combined taiji form, a small section of each of the four styles of taiji is practiced. These four sections are patched together, so that one fourth of the form is Yang, one fourth is Chen, one fourth is Wu and one fourth is Sun. Every quarter of this new form looks exactly like one of the four schools that are represented. Sun taiji, on the other hand, actually fuses xingyi and bagua into its taiji, so that qualities of each of the three styles appear throughout the form. This makes Sun taiji appear completely different from any previous school. While it is influenced by xingyi, bagua, and taiji, it is separate from each style. It is something totally new.
Xingyi quan (or simply xingyi-"quan" means "fist" and is can be omitted as in taiji) was the first influence on Sun Taiji. It has penetrating footwork, advancing with quick, powerful stances and devastating strikes. The system is based upon three main stances and five main striking methods. It also imitates animals' movements, such as the dragon, tiger, monkey, and snake. These animals vary depending upon the school of xingyi; they usually number twelve, but some schools, like the school from Henan, have ten. Sun taiji only adopted the stance work of xingyi. Unlike most other schools of taiji, with long and low horse and bow stances, the stance in Sun taiji is seldom wider that shoulders-width. The knees stay crouched, like in xingyi, ready to spring forward or backward.
Bagua zhang (or bagua-"zhang" means "palm" and can also be omitted) was the second influence on Sun taiji. Valued for its agile footwork and dexterous hand techniques, it is based on the eight diagrams of the Taoist divination system of I Ching. These eight diagrams (sometimes called trigrams since they consist of three lines) are arranged in a circle around the yin-yang (also known as the taiji, the same root work as taiji quan). Each diagram can be combined into sixty-four arrangements, each of which has a meaning like the cards in a tarot deck. Bagua reflects this pattern with a system of eight palm techniques that can be combined into sixty-four arrangements of attack. Furthermore, the bagua footwork circles the opponent just like the trigrams circle the yin-yang. This circling footwork requires precise weight transitions that alternate emphasis between the heel and the toe; Sun taiji absorbed this bagua method of weight transition into its school. Although Sun taiji does not walk a circle like bagua, the essence of the footwork is the same. Sun taiji pivots at the corners of its floor pattern using the bagua method.
Sun Lutang considered his newly created art a form of taiji-instead of xingyi or bagua-since the overall use of qi flow is firmly rooted in taiji. The movements of Sun taiji are fluidly linked, like flowing water, just as in all taiji. The emphasis is on softness. Daily practice is critical. One must practice with a quiet heart. Just like the other schools, Sun taiji aspires to the classic adages of taiji, such as using one pound to deflect a thousand pounds.
The overall composition of the Sun taiji form reflects its taiji heritage. The form contains three sections of "wave hands like clouds" and a large repeated section just like the long form of Yang taiji. Many of the names of the movements in Sun taiji are familiar to all taiji practitioners, such as "too lazy to tie coat," "fair maiden weaves with a shuttle," and "pat the horse's mane." The time required to execute the form is about the same as any other long form to taiji.
The Sun taiji system is comprised of the empty hand form and four weapons forms: staff, straight sword, spear and broadsword. The straight sword from has the unique composition of a shang (up) and xia (down) pattern. Once two students master the solo sword from, they can split the form into two sections. Then the first section and the second section can be woven together into a two-person sword sparring form. However, the movements are not one-to-one, so it is extremely important that both partners completely understand the meaning behind the movements before attempting this. Furthermore, many students also study xingyi and bagua. These styles both have their own weapons forms, including straight sword, broadsword and spear.
Variations from Classical Taiji
Even though the Sun taiji form contains movements that are the same as other schools', these movements appear very different than its predecessors. The influence of xingyi and bagua has shortened the techniques, making the movements more compact. While the movement's spirit remains true to its name, it may seem totally different to the untrained eye.
This is most apparent in the universal taiji movement known as "single whip." In the other taiji schools, "single whip" is performed with one hand extended in an open palm, and the other hand bent into a hook. The eyes look to the front hand with the open palm. In Sun taiji, both hands are extended with the palms facing out. The eyes look to the rear hand.
Furthermore, "single whip" always follows a sequence of two movements called "open hands" and "closed hands." In this position, the body is posed similar to wu ji (empty stance)-a basic posture in xingyi. The palms face each other, as they open then close. These movements are used to cultivate the qi, center the practitioner and harmonize the movements with the breathing. This movement is a variation on taiji practices that visualize the "energy ball," the sensation of qi in the hands. During "open hands" the energy ball is expanded with an inhalation; during "closed hands," the energy ball is compressed and made denser, like a collapsing star. "Single whip" expands the energy ball once more, so that it engulfs the entire body.
Chinese Renaissance Man
Sun Lutang was an extraordinary master of the arts. To create his own style, he first had to master all three internal styles. He was fortunate to have some of the finest teachers of his time. His first xingyi quan teacher was Li Kuiyuan. Sun quickly mastered all that Li could offer, so Li sent him to his own master, Guo Yunshen. It was through Master Guo Yunshen that Sun was introduced to Chen Tinghua, the disciple of the founder of bagua zhang, Dong Haichuan. Finally, Sun trained under Hao Wizhen, another innovator in the world of taiji, who had created his own style, Hao style. Hao was trained in a variation of Yang style named after its founder, Wu Yuxinag. Wu was a contemporary of the Yang style founder, Yang Luchan. With such an illustrious lineage, Sun Lutang was destined for greatness. Perhaps it was that same destiny that led him to seek out such qualified masters.
Beyond his amazing martial prowess, Sun Lutang was an accomplished writer and calligrapher-his skill at the latter earning him his first internal style master, Li Kuiyuan. Sun had some previous training in the external martial arts of shaolin, baji quan and hong quan, but surrounding circumstances were such that he could not continue his training. When Sun was only fifteen years old, a friend of Li Kuiyuan was so impressed by Sun's calligraphic skill that he made the proper introductions and convinced him to teach Sun. During his lifetime, Sun completed five books on the martial arts, one on each of the three internal styles, one on boxing and one on bagua sword. These books are still highly regarded for their depth and insight.
The Daughter of Sun Lutang
Another significant contribution of Sun Lutang was to open a martial arts school for women during a time when this was frowned upon. Overwhelmed with the number of eager students, he brought his daughter, Sun Jianyun, to teach at the school. Sun Jianyun is still alive and well, residing in Beijing. Now in her eighties, she is acknowledged not only as the grandmaster of Sun taiji quan, but as the reigning queen of taiji quan. No other Chinese woman is a prominent in the public eye as Grandmaster Sun. Last year, she was honored as one of the top 100 living martial arts masters in China, a national treasure.
Currently, outside of China, Sun taiji is one of the least recognized schools of taiji. However, Sun Jianyun has actively campaigned throughout her life to promote and sustain her father's teachings. She continues to teach, travel and demonstrate inside China, and her disciples are spreading across the globe. Through her students, she has opened Sun Taiji Quan Research Institutes in the United States (the US branch is located in California's "Silicon Valley"), Hong Kong, Japan and throughout China.
Recently, Sun taiji has followed the example of Yang taiji by publishing a shortened form in the Chinese martial arts journals. This new short form is 37 movements, while the original form is 97 movements. Modern revisionists say that shortened forms are more popular among the casual practitioners; this way the teachings can spread farther and benefit everyone. Traditionalists argue that much of the discipline comes from practicing the complete form. They believe that the new short forms omit critical elements, such as endurance and prolonged concentration. Ultimately, time will tell.
Sun taiji quan continues to rise in popularity around the world. As a fusion of the three internal schools, it is appealing to the growing community of internal stylists. It is hoped that Sun taiji quan will make all the internal arts more assessable to each other and to the general public. ...
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