Martial arts practitioners are fortunate in that they don’t just have access to learning a physical skill when they begin training. They are also exposed to the emotional, spiritual, cultural, and wellness aspects of their chosen martial art. This article provides foundational information about Taijiquan and Chinese medicine, courtesy of Shaolin Shi Yanhao, co-founder of the Taizu Shaolin Kung Fu School. For more information on the school and its founder, see the end of the article.
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Taijiquan is an evolution of the ancient Chinese art of guiding and exhaling combined with the art of fighting, which is the crystallization of traditional Chinese martial arts, medicine and culture. Especially after the systematic organization by Master Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang Mountain, it has been handed down to the present day and has become a traditional health care method widely accepted by people all over the world.
Taijiquan is an evolution of the ancient Chinese art of guiding and exhaling combined with the art of fighting, which is the crystallization of traditional Chinese martial arts, medicine and culture. Especially after the systematic organization by Master Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang Mountain, it has been handed down to the present day and has become a traditional health care method widely accepted by people all over the world.
Master Wu Tunan, a famous Taijiquan master in modern times, once said, “Life lies in movement,” and “My movement is practicing Taijiquan,” and also said
“When we study the science of health and longevity, we are using ourselves as an experiment, using the method of exercising taijiquan to get closer to the ‘year of heaven’.” Master Wu insisted on taijiquan exercise every day until he died at 105 immortal years.
Not only that, Mr. Wu’s wife, Mrs. Liu Guizhen, practiced taijiquan with her master after her marriage and persisted in it until she passed away at the beginning of this year at the age of 104. Their practice proves that by adhering to the exercise of Taijiquan, one can achieve a long and healthy life for the human body.
Among the creators and developers of Taijiquan, there are many Taoist priests and health practitioners, who are well versed in medical science and I Ching, and have integrated them in the process of practicing Taijiquan. Moreover, the basic theories of Tai Chi and Chinese medicine are closely related to the basic ideas of the I Ching, so there are many similarities between the two.
In the future, we will discuss one by one the understanding of the two in terms of yin and yang, qi and blood, organs and images, and the prevention and treatment of diseases.
Yin and Yang
Taijiquan masters say: “Yin and Yang are divided, heaven and earth are judged, and then Taiji is formed”. The so-called yin and yang refers to yin static and yang dynamic, yin rests and yang is born; the judgment of heaven and earth refers to the division of clear and turbid two qi, and the intersection of yin and yang to produce all things. This shows that Chinese medicine and taijiquan theories are consistent in revealing the basic laws of the universe.
In the theory of Chinese medicine, it is said that yin and yang are opposed to each other, yin and yang are growing, yin and yang are rooted in each other, and yin and yang are transformed, and these laws are used to explain the organization and structure of the human body, physiological functions. These laws are used to explain the organizational structure, physiological functions and pathological changes of the human body, as well as to guide clinical diagnosis and treatment.
The theory of Taijiquan is centered on the Taijiquan diagram, in which black and white are the respective attributes of yin and yang, and the S line represents the balance between yin and yang, in which the white eye in black and the black eye in white represent yin in yang and yang in yin, and metaphorically, yin and yang have infinite divisibility.
In Chinese medicine, there are diseases with different attributes of yin and yang, such as cold and heat, deficiency and solidity, surface and inside, etc., and there are corresponding treatments, such as warming, clearing, tonifying, diarrhea and relieving the surface and treating the inside.
In Taijiquan, there are different attributes of yin and yang such as movement and static, opening and closing, rigidity and flexibility, emptiness and realism, and there are different attributes of yin and yang such as movement and static changes, opening and closing, emptiness and realism, rigidity and flexibility and other internal and external changes of the human body.
In Chinese medicine, the five elements doctrine is used to take the analogy for deduction, categorization of the body’s internal organs between the physiological functions of the pathological effects of the interrelationships, as well as used to guide the clinical diagnosis, the formulation of the rules of treatment. Its specific method is to wood, fire, earth, gold, water, the five elements of the relationship between the birth of grams and insults for deduction. In Taiji Boxing, the eight doors of arrow-quiver, stroking, squeezing, pressing, adopting, holding, elbows and leaning, and the five steps of advancing, retreating, guiding, looking forward to and fixing are also differentiated according to the five elements and mastered by the law of the change of birth and death.
From this, it can be seen that Chinese medicine and Taijiquan are similar in the theory of yin and yang and five elements. The purpose of health maintenance and treatment is also the same. Both of them emphasize the need to constantly adjust the relationship between yin and yang, and the relationship between the five elements of birth and death (only one of them is to use medicines, and the other one is to use movement guidance), so as to achieve the balance of the environment within the human body, i.e. the so-called “yin and yang secret”.
The so-called “yin and yang secret, the spirit is cured”.
Chi and blood
Chinese medicine believes that gas and blood are the basic substances that make up the human body, and are the material basis for the activities of the internal organs, meridians, tissues and organs of the human body. Gas is the commander of blood and blood is the mother of gas, and the harmonization and smoothness of gas and blood is the key to human health.
Taijiquan focuses on the cultivation of essence, gas and spirit, especially when exercising, it requires that the body be guided by the intention and the body be guided by the gas, so that the gas and blood can run smoothly and peacefully. Therefore, it is common that people who have been practicing tai chi quan for years do not need to wear gloves even if they fight outdoors in winter, and their hands are still warm after practicing. This only shows that practicing taijiquan can promote the operation of qi and blood.
Chinese medicine summarizes qi into: yuan qi, zong qi, ying qi and wei qi; among them, yuan qi is the driving force of human life. Zongqi is a mixture of water and grain essence and nature’s air, which accumulates in the chest to replenish Yuanqi. Ying Qi travels in the veins and nourishes the five viscera, six bowels, limbs and bones. Wei Qi travels outside the veins and has the effect of warming the flesh, fertilizing the zori, and opening and closing the veins. Their synergistic effect ensures the smooth flow of blood and maintains the functionality of the various parts of the human body.
Taijiquan, on the other hand, categorizes yuan qi, zong qi and ying qi into internal qi and wei qi into external qi, and practices qi to maintain health through four aspects: nourishing, storing, transporting and making. In particular, Master Wu Tunan proposed to nourish and store Zong Qi, cultivate and replenish Yuan Qi. Running the Ying Qi and developing the Wei Qi are the key points of Taijiquan health care.
Viscera and Meridians
Whether Chinese medicine or taijiquan, its prevention and treatment of disease, health care, and finally to be implemented in the function of internal organs. Chinese medicine is the core part of the doctrine of internal organs and meridians, because people are an organic whole, the five viscera and six internal organs have their own specialization, and interdependence, mutual constraints, mutual coordination. And in the five viscera and the body between the external organs, the five viscera and emotional activities are closely linked.
So the health of the five viscera and organs between the physiological functions of the balance and coordination, is to maintain the body’s internal and external environment is relatively constant key. At the same time, maintaining a good emotional state can stabilize the normal activities of the five organs and six bowels.
Taijiquan movement that is the use of movement guidance, regulating the breath, Shen Yi exercise, etc., the normal function of the internal organs, internal and external relations to coordinate the health care to prevent disease.
Taijiquan uses the method of intention to control the movement of the human body and internal and external operation, to exclude distracting thoughts, and to seek virtual silence. According to research, when practicing boxing, the cortical motor center of the brain is in a state of excitement, and other areas are in a state of relative inhibition, and this relative quietness makes people leave all the troublesome thoughts behind when practicing boxing, and concentrate fully on boxing, so after practicing boxing, it not only makes people refreshed and energetic, but also allows people to be open-minded and healthy in the long-term exercise.
The above are some of our experiences of utilizing Chinese medicine and taijiquan for human health care and physical therapy for patients over the years. Although modern people do not have the conditions to live in seclusion in the mountains, green water, pines and bamboos in the middle to cultivate interest, experience the feelings of ancient hermits, but we can still use Chinese medicine theory combined with the practice of taijiquan to recuperate the body and mind, physical fitness to achieve the purpose of “longevity and longevity, not aging spring”.
The Taizu Shaolin Kung Fu school was founded in 2012 by 34th Generation Shaolin Warrior Monk Master Shi Yan Hao under the auspices of the Shaolin Temple Head Abbot, the Venerable Shi Yong Xin. The Venerable Shi Yong Xin is al so honorary Abbot to the school. Throughout the year, the academy teaches a full time Kung Fu program to students from many different countries. they also offer short term Meditation Retreats, Tai Chi retreats.
Masters Xu (Shi Yanhao) is Founder of Taizu Shaolin Kung Fu School and is a 34th Generation Shaolin Warrior Monk, & 6th generation of Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan.National Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritor; National level six martial arts, one of the top 100 Chinese martial arts masters.
Website link https://learn-shaolinkungfu.
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Keyword : Shaolin Temple
