The Rising Sun School of
T'ai Chi Ch'uan

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The Art of T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Many people come to T'ai Chi for the benefit of exercise and relaxation. One of the most common remarks that students make with time is, "I had no idea there was so much to this!" As we progress to discover Tai Chi's deeper dimensions it becomes clear that it is more than just a physical exercise or mental relaxation technique, Tai Chi is an Art.

The Art of Zen Archery is a study similar to T'ai Chi Ch'uan. As a student of Zen you may spend months studying the proper form of stepping up and drawing the bowstring before your teacher ever allows you to release an arrow. Your foundation practice is to learn to join the bow to the arrow harmoniously, as you stand firmly on the earth. In the Art of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, there is no external tool like a 'bow' or 'arrow' to apprentice to, rather you learn to 'draw the bow' of each limb. As in Zen Archery, your teacher meticulously adjusts the placement and timing of each limb in each posture so that the ultimate potential of the body is released. Like Zen Archery, a student of T'ai Chi Ch'uan is on a path towards mastery. With time, as each level of proficiency is attained, the next level of study reveals itself.

Today, T'ai Chi is practiced mostly for its wonderful qualities of deep relaxation and thorough exercise. It is both meditation in motion and a martial art. Yet the roots of T'ai Chi Ch'uan are ancient. Its origins can be traced back to 13^th century China on Wu Tang Mountain, to a Taoist Monk named Chang San Feng. According to legend, Chang San Feng forever transformed the martial arts in China. His revelations invigorated martial practice with a new perspective based upon the Taoist principles of non-resistance and harmonious flow. As your studies and meditations progress you will explore and question these same principles.

The Wu Tang Martial Arts that sprang from Chang San Feng's influence became known as the 'Internal School of Boxing' due to their subtlety of practice. They sought to cultivate yielding and suppleness before any show of strength or thought of attack. As a martial system, T'ai Chi Ch'uan seeks to mirror the free flow of abundant energy that is apparent within a balanced healthy state.Woven into the fabric of T'ai Chi is the Taoist understanding of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the concept of internal energy, or Qi. The Taoists knew that the abundant free flow of Qi in the body was crucial to all health and well-being. The depletion or stagnation of that flow, whether due to mental or emotional constraint, bad diet, over-work, lack of exercise, and so on, leads to imbalance and eventually to disease. A student begins to see that when the mind and body are in harmony, a sense of well-being follows.

Master Lee's teaching on the Four Aspects of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, addresses the multi-dimensionality of T'ai Chi Ch'uan and its many benefits. For example, many students are attracted to Tai Chi for it's meditative and healing qualities, and then discover that Tai Chi is also a martial art. Through the martial exercise called Push Hands, students learn how to yield to and neutralize the force of a partner's push. With practice, the fear and resistance of being pushed is transformed into a capacity to adapt harmoniously. Once cultivated, this capacity to adapt may enhance your ability to deal with stressful situations as much as it will improve your practice of Tai Chi.

Overall, T'ai Chi Ch'uan can teach us to have an inclusive, multi-dimensional viewing point. As the insights of Form, Medicine, Boxing, and Philosophy become part of the tapestry of consciousness, we learn to move skillfully within an ever-changing universe. So when you begin your study of the Art of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, take heart, for you are embarking on an exciting journey, both within yourself and within an Art that will nourish you and challenge you to be larger. If you wish to embrace life more fully, the Art of T'ai Chi Ch'uan is well worth your commitment.

"Formless and imageless, the whole body completely relaxed, and forgetful of everything returning to the natural way."

- Song of True Interpretation of T'ai Chi
from the T'ai Chi Classics as translated by T.T. Liang
in T'ai Chi Ch'uan for Health and Self Defense