In a way, taiji is very similar in principle to the Japanese martial arts of daito-ryu aikijujutsu 大東流合気柔術 (and its better know derivative, aikido 合気道). Taiji is based on neutralising your opponent's force, and so are the other two. Taiji has 化劲 while the other two has 合気. Both are 化劲 and 合気 based on not using the instinctive reaction force (aka resistance) but through giving up on this instinctive reaction force, you gain another type of force (which is 化劲 or 合気).
The means to achieve this force is slightly different, but has similarities as well. Daito-ryu/aikido focuses on partner training, in which two persons will help each other to apply movements. Through the practice of these movements, they seek to understand how to give up on this instinctive reaction force. For taiji, routines are practised by one person alone, yet a partner can also help to train up in the application of the movements (similar to how daito-ryu and aikido do their training), as well as pushing hands to build a foundation in the skills of taiji.
The end result is the same, to gain the ability to use 化劲 or 合気.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Taiji and Aiki 合気
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
You got it all wrong.
The aikido and the rest are derived from Taichi and other chinese martial arts.
How can you say Taichi is similar to aikido?
It is the other way wrong.
Please do not confuse us with your posting.
Aikido is derived from daito-ryu aiki jujutsu, which was derived from daito-ryu jujutsu. The modern founder of daito-ryu jujutsu is Takeda Soukaku. There is no evidence to show that Takeda Soukaku had access to taiji principles, so even though they are similar, I do not have the evidence to show that these Japanese martial arts are derived from taiji. My aim of this post is not to show the roots of these arts, but to highlight the similarities between the two. Maybe a scholar researching into the roots of taiji and aikido and shed some light into this issue.
One thing for sure. Taiji has a longer history than aikido. So maybe aikido has its roots in taiji. Or maybe they are just two different parallel developments that ended up with similar results?
I'm planning to join a taijiquan school in Tokyo soon, and found your article very interesting. Because my friend studies aikido, I was also taking a close look at aikido, but I finally decided to study taijiquan because I think that taijiquan has a stronger theoretical foundation and clearer instructional methods for developing internal power.
In taijiquan, the carefully designed forms, exercises (like silk reeling), and the non-cooperative push-hands practice, all seem ideally suited to developing both "listening" ability to read the partner's intent, and the "fa jin" ability to emit internal power based on your own rooted stance and your own dantian-originated motion.
On the other hand, in aikido, the cooperative and choreographed nature of the partner practice seems to lead to situations where the receiving partner (uke) offers a weak and non-committed attack, then yields on-cue to the throwing partner (tori), even if the throwing partner has not necessarily correctly applied the technique at the correct location and timing. This style of cooperative practice, plus the lack of explicit instruction in internal power generation, would seem to make it more difficult to develop "listening" ability and "fa jin" like power emitting ability from a stable root, both of which I think are needed for "aiki". Although the great Japanese masters of aiki-based arts seem to have understood and achieved internal power, it seems that the knowledge was not carefully preserved and not structured enough to have been passed down completely and correctly from generation to generation. This is based mostly on reading recent online articles and discussions from aikido practitioners; I don't know if other aiki arts like Daito-ryu aikijujutsu may have different teaching methods and practice methods for developing aiki.
For me, when comparing these two internal martial arts, taijiquan seems to have more breadth, more depth, and better instruction than aikido. As you said, taijiquan has a much longer history than aikido -- so it makes sense that taijiquan also has a higher level of refinement, both of knowledge and of teaching practices.
Post a Comment