Tai Chi Chuan Martial Power. Jwing-Ming Yang

      The directions of the five elements according to A Study of Taijiquan by J. J. Soong.

      Before going further, the reader should first know the general rules and relationships of the five elements. This is shown in the diagram below. There are two main cycles of relationships: production and destruction. One can see from the diagrams that metal generates water, water produces wood, wood produces fire, fire leads to earth, and the earth gives metal. In the Yi Jing, metal belongs to heaven and generates water and rain, rain will make wood grow, wood can generate fire, fire generates ashes (earth), and earth includes and produces metal. It can also be seen from the figure that water conquers fire, fire conquers metal, metal subdues wood, wood defeats earth, and finally earth defeats water. In the real world, water can extinguish fire, fire can melt metal, metal can cut wood, wood (roots) can break up earth (rock), and finally dirt can dam the flow of water.

       The five elements and the cycles of production and conquest.

      As with the eight trigrams and techniques, we will only discuss the five elements and directions as they are delineated in the Taiji-quan Treatise by Chang, San-feng (see previous diagram) (see also appendix A-1). Water conquering fire corresponds to beware of the left defeating look to the right. This means that if the opponent attacks from your right, you go to the left to avoid his attack and at the same time, you can attack his right from your left. Fire conquering metal matches look to the right defending against an attack from the front. That means if your opponent attacks from your front, you can defend against him by sticking to his hand and pulling to the right to immobilize him. Metal conquering wood matches forward defeating backward. This means that when your opponent withdraws, you want to move forward and use adhere-connect and stick-follow to follow his retreat and immobilize him aggressively. Wood subduing earth corresponds to using backward to defeat central equilibrium. This refers to using backward pulling power to destroy the opponent’s stability and root. Finally, earth conquering water matches central equilibrium defeating beware of the left. This means that in order to defend against force from the left, you have to find your center and stability.

      As one can see, trying to fit the five directions into the pattern of the five elements can be even more frustrating and unsatisfactory than is the case with the eight trigrams. It may very well be that the masters of old did not ever intend these philosophical explanations to be taken literally. If you train yourself to always respond a certain way to a certain attack, you are depriving yourself of flexibility and perhaps setting yourself up to be countered. The key point this philosophy teaches is probably that one must always remain mobile and flexible in both hands and footwork. There are many ways to respond to each and every attack, and the more thinking and research you do, the better off you are. The various interpretations of the philosophy reflect different points of view and give the practitioner different ways to train. The philosophy may give you ideas, but all ideas must be tested out. In the final analysis, it is not the philosophy but the practical experiences that are the foundation of taijiquan.

      In addition to the thirteen postures, taijiquan is also commonly called soft sequence (mian quan, 綿拳). This is because when taiji is practiced, the forms are soft and smooth, the mind is calm, the qi is round, and jing (勁) is fluid. Taijiquan is also called long sequence (chang quan, 長拳). Chang, San-feng’s Taijiquan Treatise says, “What is the long sequence? It is like a long river and a large ocean, rolling ceaselessly” (see appendix A-1). That means when taiji is practiced, the forms flow smoothly and continuously. The qi flow is also smooth and continuous, and the jing is unbroken. There is another martial style also called chang quan. However, this Shaolin Style should be translated as “long fist” because it specializes in long-range fighting.

1-5. What Does Taiji Training Include?

      Taiji has been evolving for more than seven hundred years, and it is very difficult to state just exactly what makes up the art. The content of the art has varied from one generation to the next. For example, one generation might specialize in the taiji spear, and gradually come to ignore other aspects of the art, such as the sword or saber. The contents of the system can also vary from one teacher to another. One might have learned only the sword from his master, and so naturally the sword would be the only weapon he could teach. Some masters will emphasize a particular principle or training method because of their experience, temperament, or research, or perhaps create a new training style for a new weapon.

      Since the beginning of the twentieth century, taiji weapons practice has been increasingly ignored. Frequently, only the bare hand solo sequence is taught. In some cases the solo sequence has been modified to make it simpler and shorter, and therefore more accessible to a greater number of people. Although a number of techniques have been eliminated, the sequence still serves the purpose of improving health. However, a simplified sequence may not be enough if one is interested in deeper research and practice. Additionally, the coordination of breath and qi circulation is often ignored. Most people these days learn taiji without ever being exposed to the martial applications of the postures, the concept of jing, bare hand fighting sets, or taiji sparring. Taiji sword and saber sequences, because of their beauty, are practiced in the United States, although the applications of the techniques are seldom taught. Qi enhancement and extension training seems almost to have disappeared. Taiji spear, staff, and ruler can hardly be found in this country.

      The reason for this is nothing new. The practitioners today are usually looking for a relatively quick and easy way to improve and maintain their health. Very few are willing to sacrifice their time for the long, hard training required to develop the other aspects of the art. Because of this, both in China and the rest of the world, even if a master is qualified to teach the whole art, he may be reluctant to pass it down to an unappreciative, if not actually doubting, generation. It seems very possible that the deeper aspects of taijiquan will die out in the near future.

      The various aspects of taijiquan that are still available are listed below for reference: