Tri Thong Dang - Pocket Tai Chi for Beginners: Simple Steps to a Healthy Body & Mind

Pocket

Tai Chi

for Beginners

I very much appreciate the advice of my friend and editorial consultant Dr. Jonathan Pearce in the preparation of this book.

Pocket

Tai Chi

for Beginners

Simple Steps to a Healthy Body & Mind

Tri Thong Dang

Disclaimer: Please note that the publisher and author(s) of this instructional book are NOT RESPONSIBLE in any manner whatsoever for any injury that may result from practicing the techniques and/or following the instructions given within. Martial Arts training can be dangerousboth to you and to othersif not practiced safely. If youre in doubt as to how to proceed or whether your practice is safe, consult with a trained martial arts teacher before beginning. Since the physical activities described herein may be too strenuous in nature for some readers, it is also essential that a physician be consulted prior to training.

Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

www.tuttlepublishing.com

Copyright 2019 Tri Thong Dang

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019938850

ISBN 978-1-4629-2113-3

(Previously published as ISBN 978-0-8048-2001-1)

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Acknowledgments

I have been privileged to study the martial arts from my youth with many fine teachers, some of them internationally celebrated, others almost unknown but equally elegant in their simplicity, integrity, and devotion to their arts.

I am eternally bound in love and gratitude to the late Grand Master Chiu Chuk-Kai, the eighth-generation master of the Chinese Tai-Mantis system.

He is gone from this world after more than ninety amazingly productive years, but his benevolent spirit lives on in teachings that have blessed and benefited thousands throughout the world.

An Introduction to the World of Tai Chi

Tai Chi, once an exercise practiced by only a handful of devoted disciples in China, has now become an internationally recognized and practiced art form. The international popularity of Tai Chi has. prompted me to create a text for beginners that would help familiarize them with this holistic art before beginning more formal instruction.

In the following section, I will present the information that one should know before beginning the practice of Tai Chi. I will begin by describing the reasons why one should study Tai Chi and illustrating the many benefits of its regular practice. Next I will briefly describe the history of Tai Chi and why I chose to present the Simplified Tai Chi Form in this book. Lastly, before beginning description of the form, I will describe how to best make use of this book as an aid in studying Tai Chi.

Why Tai Chi?

Perhaps you have begun this book because you have heard something about Tai Chi and believe that reading this manual and practicing its exercises will help you become more healthful, flexible, and freer in movement and mind. Congratulations! You have made the right choice!

The graceful and lithesome movements of Tai Chi recently have attracted worldwide attention, not only by the sports and recreation community but also by the medical profession and business persons. This is because Tai Chi is both medicinal and practical in its effects. Whether you are seeking an exercise regimen, a path to better health, or simply a way to relax and find your center, Tai Chi fits the need. The movements of Tai Chi are forms of kung fu, but the Tai Chi forms are very different from the more combative forms of kung fu in their execution. Whereas kung fu techniques are usually swift and sometimes sharply defined, the Tai Chi movements are part of a routine that when well executed may appear almost dreamlike in its flowing smoothness.

A Glimpse into the History of Tai Chi

Although no official records have been found to document the origin of Tai Chi, according to Chinese legends a man named Zhang San Feng founded the art almost eight hundred years ago. Most of our available information about the origins of Tai Chi has been passed on orally from generation to generation, and errors and exaggerations have of course crept into the many versions.

The most interesting tale is a product of the Song dynasty (9601279). According to this story, Zhang one day came upon a fight between a magpie and a snake. Zhang was wonder-struck at the constant repositioning of the two creatures who shifted effortlessly from attack to defense and back again, finally breaking off, as if by mutual agreement, and going their separate ways.

For days Zhang marveled at the clinging fluidity of those movements and the wonderful appropriateness of their ever-changing attitudes. Suddenly enlightened, he saw a previously unidentified source of strength within the human body. Zhang recognized that the quality present in the martial dance of the snake and the magpie was nothing more than softness. Zhang saw that softness, this mysterious and powerful element, could be developed in human beings. He decided to find out how to do so. To prove that softness overcomes hardness in the fighting arts, Zhang withdrew from the world for several years to think and to test his hypothesis. He experimented in various ways until finally he achieved success.

Today Zhangs outstanding principles and method of training have been handed down as Tai Chi Chuan together with its offspring Xing-yi Quan (sometimes rendered Hsing-i Chuan) and Ba-gua Zhang (Pa-kua Chang). To differentiate Shaolin martial arts and other systems, masters down through the ages have classified Tai Chi Chuan, Xing-yi Quan, and Ba-gua Zhang as soft fist schools distinct from the earlier-mentioned hard fist kung fu schools.

Ingeniously incorporating techniques and attitudes from Shaolin temple boxing and Daoist breathing, Zhang succeeded in creating a wondrous style that differed from all the other systems of martial arts in his time. Today Zhangs principles and method of training have been handed down as Tai Chi.

Why This Form for the Beginner?

Conventional forms of Tai Chi consist of eighty or more movements. These forms take a considerable amount of time to learn and perform. Many people today find it difficult to devote the time necessary to learn such lengthy routines. They exhaust their patience trying and give up. Many people are thus lost to the art.