Take out your notebooks

posted by Melissa

statue on Westlake, Seattle

I am just starting the movie "The Curse of the Golden Flower" by director Yimou Zhang.  (a visually stunning movie)  I know all these martial arts movies I am watching this month, like the Bruce Lee one I started the other night, "Enter the Dragon", aren't about tai chi.  But these are movies I never would have watched and from what I can tell tai chi has it's place in martial arts, so I do feel like I am expanding my cultural horizon, in a way.  

I composed this the rest of this post earlier, taking notes from a tai chi book while listening to Jamie play some jazz music at a cafe, Forza, near the University district.  It was a family event, all three kids were there doing homework and the like....even Amy's husband, Bob, was there helping Tallulah with her workbook.  

As promised, I am going to offer my rendition of the history of Tai Chi, as well as some other important factors about the practice.  I stopped into one of the Seattle Public Libraries today to get some books on tai chi, and the only one they had at the branch was “The New Life Library Tai Chi, Flowing Movements for Harmony and Balance” by Paul Tucker. 

Since I am a novice at tai chi, I claim no authority as to the knowledge found in this book.  I assume since it is a published book with the title it carries that it does have some pretty accurate information…but you never know.  I am sure some hard-core tai chi-er (is there such a thing?) out there may have some better information.  Nevertheless, here you go:

Tai chi purports to give many benefits that bring people worldwide to its practice.  It gently tones and strengthens the organs and muscles.  It improves circulation and the posture.  Tai chi also relaxes the mind and body.  These wide benefits, along with its slow movements make the practice not only accessible to a wide range of people, but attractive to those people as well. 

The practice that Amy and I participated in on Saturday was Yang style short form.  This practice was developed by Cheng man-Ch’ing (1901-1975) and is the most common form practiced in the west.  But tai chi was around for much longer than just the past century. 

Some sources claim that tai chi started 6000 years ago.  More conservative estimates say it goes back a few centuries, and most people believe that Chang San Feng (b. 1247), of the Sung dynasty, was the founder of tai chi. 

The story quoted in many sources, not just the book I am citing this evening goes like this:

            “As a Taoist monk, Chang San Feng saw a crane attacking a snake.  He was inspired by the soft yielding nature of the snake, which out-maneuvered the hard attacking beak of the crane.”