I listened to a fairly attention-grabbing remark in a podcast just lately from a Tai Chi practitioner who most well-liked to do weapons varieties fairly than hand varieties as a result of “Tai Chi is mostly a battlefield artwork” and the postures within the hand type are clearly derived from holding weapons, and it was subsequently extra genuine to observe the weapons varieties. The implication can be that the hand varieties had been retrofitted onto the artwork, whereas the weapons varieties are the true origin.
There’s some fact on this thought relying on which artwork you artwork speaking about, after all. Xing Yi for instance – there’s little question that the weapons varieties got here first. Doing a Beng Chuan (a straight punch to the stomach or chest space) barehand, as introduced within the classical 5 Parts type, leaves numerous questions unanswered – why is your head not protected as you punch ahead, for instance? Why is your different hand pulled again at your hip the place it’s not doing a lot of something? What stops them punching you within the face?
As a barehand methodology, it’s clearly sub-optimal. Put a spear in your hand, and even higher, put on armour, and it begins to make much more sense although. The hand withdrawing to your hip is pulling the spear again after a thrust, for instance.
But when we’re speaking in regards to the lengthy, elaborate weapons varieties present in Tai Chi, performed often in silk pyjamas, you then’ve obtained to ask your self – what good is all that dancing about in case your purpose is martial effectiveness on the battlefield? Do you suppose Chinese language troopers, village militia or bodyguards with spears or Guan Dao did this type of observe? I don’t suppose they did. Or perhaps they did for demonstrations on the many and frequent festivals in outdated imperial China within the Qing Dynasty, however what use is all that on a battlefield?
Whereas utilizing a spear, for instance, could be connecting your artwork again to an earlier time and utilization, I’m unsure that your 180-move spear type, with jumps, twirls and spins is any extra “genuine” than a modern-day hand type.
It’s very simple to idiot your self in Chinese language martial arts. Keep sharp!