This is a distillation of previous interviews with Master Wang. Original, unedited translations are available at Formosa Neijia (in part) or from the Yiquan eBookstore (in full).
Having traveled across China, I know that Taijiquan has the most practitioners of any martial art. Upon hearing that this boxing method was handed down from Zhang Sanfeng, I despised him for a long time.
Later on, I read the collected edition of Zhang Sanfeng’s teachings, and realized that he had progressed deeply into the great Tao—and I came to believe that Taiji was not handed down from him at all! Actually, it doesn’t matter; even if one is a descendant of Sanfeng, he is not worthy to talk about this method without first gaining its essence.
Taijiquan is far from the art of actual combat; they have nothing in common with each other.
Bad for Health, Worthless in Combat
As masters of the original Taijiquan, I should recommend the Yang brothers Shouhou and Chengfu. They are my friends, and I know that their Taiji has some knowledge of mechanics. But out of one hundred students, not even one gains its essence…and even then, it is still one-sided, because the skills of intuitive perception died out a long time ago. Originally, Taiji consisted of three fists, Wang Zongyue changed it into thirteen postures, and it was later embellished into as much as one hundred and fifty postures. This is the cause of the distortion.
Sticking to mechanical movements, seeking beautiful postures and mistaking it for the glory of martial arts…that is terrible. Such a person cannot comprehend boxing for life. If a man of insight sees such a performance, he will feel sick for ten days.
As a means of health preservation, Taijiquan restrains the spirit, and brings discomfort to its practitioner. For combat, it harms the practitioner’s limbs and trunk, and causes a useful body to become a mechanical and stiff thing…it’s nothing more than a waste of time.
As for the training method—a punch with the fist here, a slap with the palm there, a kick to the left, and another one to the right—it is pitiful and laughable.
As for dealing with an enemy in a fight: please do not even consider it. So ruined is this boxing that it has become useless. There are many more things, but I feel embarrassed to say them.
The Essence of Combat Science
Among the world’s countless martial artists, those who know the essence of combat science are as rare as a unicorn’s horn.
The correctness of a martial art cannot be judged merely by victory or defeat. If one does not thereby achieve comfort, gain strength, and enhance their quality of life, then it cannot be called a martial art.
The value of combat science is not merely in attainment of relaxation and other trifling achievements. Combat science is persistent learning…and it cannot be completed in a very short time. This is why Zhuangzi said, “Martial arts do indeed enter the Tao.”
I don’t understand why other boxers avoid contacting me; I have always respected martial morals. I really hope that fellow martial artists will question me; and if anyone can instruct me, I will sweep the pathway to welcome him.
What questions do you have for this “Master Wang”? Do you agree or disagree with his statements?
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15 responses so far ↓
1
Dojo Rat
// May 8, 2008
My experiance is that I have met so,so many Taiji form students that have no clue about what they are doing. Many were trained in form by a renound Chinese master I have met. I mean clueless.
I also understand that all of the best Tai Chi Chuan instructors in old days also had experiance in Shaolin or other hard styles.
I think that broad study allows to pick up the details found in internal styles and how practical application really works.
D.R.
2
Formosa Neijia
// May 8, 2008
What struck me was that Wang was criticizing taiji as being defective regardless of who was teaching it. He said the forms AND the way they were done were both detrimental. In fact, he basically said everything about taijiquan, period, was wrong.
It read like some screed on bullshido. I dismissed the entire thing. Rubbish.
3
Faik
// May 9, 2008
Well, the old man must have been right. He really wanted to change the way of thinking many still nowadays have. BTW, that Yiquan e-book is translated by my Yiquan teacher from Finland.
4
rudra
// May 16, 2008
You seem to have no idea about Tai Chi. Go meet Master Waysun Liao of Oak park, IL if you want a demonstration of the power of Tai Chi.
5
Faik
// May 21, 2008
According to Master Liao, the great power of T’ai Chi cannot be realized without knowing its inner meaning…” The texts are introduced by three chapters explaining how to increase inner energy “(ch’i), “transform it into inner power “(jing), “and project this inner power outward to repel an opponent without physical contact. ..
What a bull!! Rudra get a life and wake up a little!!
6
Chris
// May 22, 2008
Faik, what source are you quoting?
7
Faik
// May 23, 2008
I’ve found that from the description of Liaos book ” T’ai Chi Classics (Shambhala Classics) ” on the book cover. Btw, I have great thoughts about tai-chi and Ch’eng Man Ch’ing style. That because it’s very applicable and not delusional as many other styles of tai-chi. But that quote is quite too much for me to apprehend.
8
orb
// Jun 2, 2008
Finally some indications that people start waking up. Taiji can’t be used in combat ever. There’s also a very easy way to test yourself for free! Get in a real fight. Just be ready to run…don’t get killed.
Thx Master Wang – u r wise.
9
Chris
// Jun 2, 2008
Faik, I wouldn’t be surprised if the cover text was written by its publisher. I actually have a copy of the book, and this is what Liao himself wrote inside:
I believe this paragraph is the only discussion of “empty force” in the entire book.
10
Sat
// Jun 13, 2008
I’ve been practicing Chen Style Tai Chi for some time now, and I can tell you that the principle, the mechanics and the theory behind Tai Chi is far from being bull shit.
The wide difference in opinion arises mainly due to the fact that it is radically different from other forms of martial arts, where the emphasis is on hard training, kicks, blocks, punches, etc and also on the techniques.
Tai Chi on the other hand, views all attacks simply as a flow of energy. Now, how do you intercept that energy? Do you stop it with an equal amount of force? Do you evade and simply let the energy run its course and exhaust itself? Do you channelize it in such a way that the attacker loses balance or ends up hurting himself? This is where Tai Chi differs from other arts.
When an attack happens, you don’t need the same aggression of the attacker to stop it. Neither the aggression, nor the force. Tai Chi emphasizes on soft energy. Now most people seem to confuse soft with weak, which is not true. Soft means less physical strength and more of a flow. It means the mind does not lose its tranquility. It means that your strike is more of a proper channelizing of your energy which penetrates into your opponent, than a hard strike which hurts on the surface.
Do you understand it? Perhaps not. And most people don’t. Not because the theory is flawed, but because it takes time. A lot more time than a hard martial art like Karate, Wusu or Judo. It is more difficult because the practitioner cannot immediately gauge his prowess like in other arts where he can show off a well practiced kick.
Tai Chi involves a deep calming of your mind, a sound understanding of your balance and centre of gravity, a natural softening of your movements which make your punch or strike more flowing than a hard muscle filled exercise. It’s like a Tiger Woods teeing off. There’s very little force or strength. But there’s a beautiful, uninterrupted flow. There’s optimum use of body mechanics. Thats what Tai Chi is about, and it takes years to master.
And one final word: Tai Chi isn’t separate from every other art. The principles of Tai Chi can be applied to any activity, any sport and any martial art. And thats also the reason you will find that most authoritative practitioners of Tai Chi usually have a prior martial arts experience of over 10 years.
Tai Chi isn’t crap; the understanding that people have about it is.
11
Deyan
// Aug 1, 2008
A principle in Tai Chi: “Use your mind, not strength” (If I remember it correctly in Chinese: “Pyong yi, pu pyong li”
Yang Luchan was appointed to teach the Imperial Guard in Beijing – who are you to say “Taijiquan Sucks”? He fought many times with masters in China and was never defeated. That’s why he was called Luchan (The Invinsible).
I practice Yang style Tai Chi, and my source is the most genuine there is – Master Yang Jun, 6-th generation of the Yang family. Tai Chi is both an effective defence method and useful for your health. How many martial arts there are which old people can practice? It literary prolongs life! Can you see and old grandma doing Karate? I don’t think so. But you can see 70-year old people with black hair and soft skin doing Tai Chi everywhere in China.
Quote: “Originally, Taiji consisted of three fists, Wang Zongyue changed it into thirteen postures, and it was later embellished into as much as one hundred and fifty postures.” This is bullshit. Tai Chi has 13 postures. 150 is ridiculous.
12
Karate_and_Taiji_student
// Aug 1, 2008
I am always a little – actually, a lot – skeptical if someone claims “Martial Art X is better than Martial Art Y”. Usually, what they are saying is “I practice Martial Art X (and I have never practiced Y seriously)”.
Beyond that, absolute statements about any martial art are always very questionable – so much depends on the reasons why people practice in the first place. I wonder if someone who claims “Taiji is bad, because it looks good without being good for fighting” would despise Belly Dancing for the same reason. If he does not, how come he criticises students of Taiji in the first place? Can he know for sure that there is not a single student who learns it simply because it looks good? If he doesn’t know that for sure, then such an absolute statement is at the very least patronizing and presumptuous.
I don’t mean to say that Taiji “just looks good”. I just wanted to point out that students are in it for different reasons. You probably won’t ask a 70-year old to start practicing 100 knuckle-push ups so that he can hit really hard and compete in an MMA competition. So before even starting to make recommendations of teachers or styles, a student should find out what he is looking for. Any good teacher respects that. Bad teachers don’t.
So I wondered who this “Master Wang” is to begin with. There is limited material on the web, but from what I have read so far I tend to believe that what he teaches seems to be about standing meditations. So that is more “effective” for health and for fighting? Yeah, right. (Maybe there is more to it, but given his moronic statements from before I don’t care to find out more.)
It is quite annoying that so many fakes open their business these days. Frank Dux got a movie about his alleged legendary victory. There are people teaching how to knock out others with a kiai alone. And he we have a guy calling himself “Master” and teaches standing meditation.
It isn’t easy finding reputable teachers these days with so many frauds and fakes around. Admittedly, finding good teachers is difficult. But recognizing certain types of bad ones is easy – just avoid everybody who says “System X sucks” (without even asking what a student is seeking) and who claims to have superior, secret knowledge that other teachers don’t have.
13
UGK
// Jan 16, 2009
Silly article,
You dont throw the baby out with the bath water. Tai Chi suffers from alot of fake masters and students who never really grasp the real meaning of its ’softness’.
But it is a lethal art form when developed correctly.
It is very similar to an ancient martial art in India called Varmam. Varmam utilises the ’softness’ philosophy and utilises nerve damaging techniques. But in the past some students turned bad and abused its powers. After that the masters became so secretive that they rarely teach anyone and deliberately avoid teaching the lethal techniques except to the most spiritually evolved and disciplined people. And it takes too long for most modern fast paced people to learn.
Tai Chi may have a similar situation to this. You may not see masters like Chang Sanfeng, Yang Lu chan etc these days because nobody is willing to endure the deep focus and discipline required to learn it.
14
UGK
// Jan 16, 2009
Also,
NEVER dismiss the supernatural powers that real masters have. There is far more going on in this universe than the arrogant scientist thinks. I have personally witnessed what Chi (prana) can do. It is not a myth. It is a real power which can be used to do some shocking things!
15
joshuahyoung
// Feb 27, 2009
I enjoyed this article.
It inadvertently addresses changes in the teaching methods of taijichuan that took place around a hundred years ago that have failed to live up to the result of previous training methods.
I am reminded however that our progress and skill is not a sign of the veracity or prowess of a martial art so much as a sign of how we have worked and applied ourselves to it. Judge the effort, not the art and we can then transcend the petty opinion based consensus that has in reality; no bearing upon martial reality.
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