5. TRIPLICITY AND UNITY IN TAI CHI CHUAN

The final example I would like to discuss in detail for the background on the development of Triplex Unity Theory is in the soft Chinese Martial/Health art of Tai Chi Chuan. Some may say that it would only be natural to find Triplex Unity in Tai Chi, given that its an age old Chinese art, but the difficulty and the interest lies in the discovery of this fact, and how Triplex Unity is actually evident in the art itself.

Tai Chi Chuan (Supreme Ultimate Fist) is probably China's most famous form of exercise, and is practiced daily by millions of people around the world. These days it is predominantly known only for its benefits to health, though it also becomes effective as a martial art after considerable depth of study. However, there is a third, and more important purpose above all others, to studying Tai Chi Chuan, and that is to understand Tao, or "the Way", as Tai Chi is said to "manifest the principles of the Tao in physical form."[1]

This means that the movements and form of Tai Chi exhibit the philosophical principles of Taoism. The study of Tai Chi can be supplemented by an understanding of Taoist thought, and by the same token, practice of Tai Chi enables one to realise and experience within their own body and mind, the esoteric principles of Taoist philosophy itself.

Tai Chi involves the practice of a moving series of postures, each linked with a variety of transitional movements, to form a long, slow and flowing form of "dance", however it is not a dance at all. The postures are derived from a positioning of the hands, body and feet that have a martial application, and are performed in a soft, relaxed and slow manner which endows a feeling of peace and concentration on the practitioner, which ultimately has a beneficial effect on their health. Tai Chi also involves a set of partnered exercises, where two people push and yeild on each other, in order to learn sensitivity and balancing skills, which also have a martial purpose. What distinguishes Tai Chi from all other sytems of physcial movement is the way in which the movements themselves are performed. Tai Chi is known as an internal art, and this means that the movements and their power are achieved through relaxing and letting go of tension, rather than using the muscles to tense and "do" an action to create the movement. While this may sound conceptually simplistic, actually getting one's body to perform according to that requirement is another matter entirely, and can be discovered to be exceedingly difficult, since our bodies are already trained to move and act in certain ways through our cultural conditioning. The benefit of this training however, despite its physical difficulty and apparent paradoxical nature, is to create effortless physical power, become extremely sensitive to the world around you, and to allow you to remain mentally calm in the midst of physical adversity.

TRIPLICITIES IN TAI CHI

The first and most obvious three fold aspect one encounters in Tai Chi comes from the Yellow Emperor's Classic on Internal Medicine [2] which is the notion that the Intent leads the Energy, and Energy leads the Blood.

 

[1] Wee Kee-jin, book
[2] Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen, translation by Ilza Vieth