Post by Bailu Taijiquan on Apr 20, 2008 13:18:43 GMT 1
The "Big Three" Internal Martial Arts:
There are many hundreds, if not thousands of styles of Chinese martial arts, Shaolin, Wing Chun, Choy Lay Fut etc etc. But what are the "Big Three" internal styles?
The Internal family is primarily made of ;
Taiji Quan (Tai Chi Chuan)
Bagua Zhang (Pa Kua Chang)
and
Xing Yi Quan (Hsing I Chuan)
The are also other "minor" styles in the family, which are lesser known, however the above styles make up what we know as the "Big three".
In both essence and application, each style is uniquely different to the others.
Xing Yi, often said to be the simplest of the IMA to learn, appears to be a very linear, direct and outwardly "hard" style of martial art. However, this "hardness" is rooted in softness; that is, the body is never tense, and the mind is always focused forward.
The intention of Xing Yi is to occupy your opponents space, thus forcing him backwards, and again you storm forward to take his new space.
Bagua is a rapid, constantly changing style. Characterised by its hypnotic circling forms, and sudden changes, in combat, a Bagua fighter will lead his opponents force in one direction, then change that direction, having the effect of drawing an attacker in, like a whirlpool dragging a ship under the ocean. Not as hard as Xing Yi, and not as soft as Taiji, Bagua is a fast combat style, often compared to guerilla warfare.
Taiji Quan is probably the most well known of the IMA styles worldwide. Famous for its graceful, slow moving forms, and vistas of groups of elderly practitioners exercising out in parks in the early mornings, Taiji's fighting techniques are as subtle as they are effective. A Taiji fighter will absorb his opponents force, and literally return the force back onto the attacker. Often considered to be the softest, and hardest to master of the internal fighting styles, it is a sad fact that a skilled Taiji Quan teacher is a rare thing to come by.
Hopefully, this short introduction will have been of some use to anyone who is looking to start out on the Journey of IMA practice.
What will follow is a series of threads, going into more detail on each of the Big Three styles, as well as some of the lesser known systems.
There are many hundreds, if not thousands of styles of Chinese martial arts, Shaolin, Wing Chun, Choy Lay Fut etc etc. But what are the "Big Three" internal styles?
The Internal family is primarily made of ;
Taiji Quan (Tai Chi Chuan)
Bagua Zhang (Pa Kua Chang)
and
Xing Yi Quan (Hsing I Chuan)
The are also other "minor" styles in the family, which are lesser known, however the above styles make up what we know as the "Big three".
In both essence and application, each style is uniquely different to the others.
Xing Yi, often said to be the simplest of the IMA to learn, appears to be a very linear, direct and outwardly "hard" style of martial art. However, this "hardness" is rooted in softness; that is, the body is never tense, and the mind is always focused forward.
The intention of Xing Yi is to occupy your opponents space, thus forcing him backwards, and again you storm forward to take his new space.
Bagua is a rapid, constantly changing style. Characterised by its hypnotic circling forms, and sudden changes, in combat, a Bagua fighter will lead his opponents force in one direction, then change that direction, having the effect of drawing an attacker in, like a whirlpool dragging a ship under the ocean. Not as hard as Xing Yi, and not as soft as Taiji, Bagua is a fast combat style, often compared to guerilla warfare.
Taiji Quan is probably the most well known of the IMA styles worldwide. Famous for its graceful, slow moving forms, and vistas of groups of elderly practitioners exercising out in parks in the early mornings, Taiji's fighting techniques are as subtle as they are effective. A Taiji fighter will absorb his opponents force, and literally return the force back onto the attacker. Often considered to be the softest, and hardest to master of the internal fighting styles, it is a sad fact that a skilled Taiji Quan teacher is a rare thing to come by.
Hopefully, this short introduction will have been of some use to anyone who is looking to start out on the Journey of IMA practice.
What will follow is a series of threads, going into more detail on each of the Big Three styles, as well as some of the lesser known systems.