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HISTOIRE |
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F.T.C.C.G. |
History of Taiki-ken
The tradition that the Chinese martial arts began with the practices
of the Indian Buddhist priest and mystic Bodhidharma, who came to the Chinese
temple Shaolin-szu in the sixth century and who is considered the founder
of Zen, is without substantiation. Nonetheless, since many martial
arts are still called by the name Shao-lin-szu, it is likely that martial
training at that temple is of great antiquity.
Hand-to-hand combat (ch'Uan-fa in Chinese and kempo in Japanese) is
one of the most important of the many Chinese martial arts, The minor varieties
of kempo are virtually numberless, but some of the most famous of the schools
into which it has gradually been divided are Shao-lin-ch'uan, T'ai-chi-ch'uan,
Hsing-ich'iian, and Pa-kua-ch'uan. Taiki-ken, the subject of this
book, has developed from Hsing-i-ch’uan.
Chinese hand-to-hand combat schools may be divided into two major categories:
the inner group and the outer group. Hsing-i-ch'iian, T'ai-chi-ch'iian,
and Pa-kua-ch'uan belong to the inner group, whereas Shao-lin-ch'uan belongs
to the outer group,. Though there are problems inherent in the very
act of making such a division, an understanding of the difference between
the inner and outer groups is of the greatest importance to an understanding
of Chinese hand-to-hand combat in particular and of all the martial arts
in general.
In the schools of the outer group, practice is devoted to training
the muscles of the body and to mastering technical skills. On the
surface, this method seems to produce greater strength. Since the
techniques themselves can be understood on the basis of no more than visual
observation, they are comparatively easy to learn. The schools of
the inner group, however, emphasize spiritual development and training.
They develop progress from spiritual cultivation to physical activity.
In general, the inner schools give a softer impression than the outer schools;
but training in them requires a long time, and mastery of them is difficult
to attain.
It is generally said that Hsing-i-ch'uan was originated by a man named
Yueh Fei, but there is nothing to prove this attribution. Later a
man named Li Lo-neng of Hupei Province became very famous in Hsing-i-ch'iian
combat. His disciple Kuo Yun-shen became still more famous for his
overwhelming power. It is said that of all the men who participated
in combat bouts with him only two escaped deaths. These two were
his own disciple Ch'e 1-ch'i and Tung Hai-chuan of the Pa-kua-ch'iian School.
Kuo Yun-shen himself killed so many martial-arts specialists from various
countries that he was imprisoned for three years. While in prison
he perfected the mystical technique that is known as the Demon Hand.
With the appearance of Kuo Yiin-shen, the fame of hsing-i-ch'uan spread
throughout China. Other outstanding specialists in this tradition
include Kuo Shen, Li Tien-ying, and Wang Hsiang-ch'i. Wang was the
founder of Ta-ch'eng-ch'uan in this capacity he is known as Wang Yii-seng
~ and was my own teacher. Sun Lu-t'ang, a disciple of Li Tien-ying,
saw the elements shared in common by Hsing-i-ch'uan, Pa-kua-ch'uan, and
T'ai-chi-ch'uan and developed a school consolidating all of them.
Lu Chi-lan, who was a student at the same time as Kuo Yun- shen, accepted
the teachings of Hsing-i-ch'iian in their pure form, passed them on to
his disciples Li Ts'un-i, who in turn passed them on to his disciple Hsiang
Yunhsing. In this way, a conservative school was established.
Three strains have developed since the time of Kuo Y5n-shen within
the larger Hsing-i-ch'uan school: the conservative strain of Li Ts'un-i,
the Hsin-i branch of the Ta-ch'eng-ch'uan of Wang Hsiang-ch'i, and the
conservative strain of Sun Lut'ang. In a two-volume work entitled
- Hsing-i-ch'uan, Sun Lu-t'ang has written in detail about Wang Hsiang-ch'i.
The Hsin-i group, as 1 have indicated, is another name for the Ta-ch'eng-ch'uan,
which is a subgroup founded within Hsing-i-ch'uan by Wan Hsiang-ch'i. 1
can explain the origin of the name Ta-ch'eng in the following way.
Wang Hsiang-ch'i believed that the power of the mystical techniques of
Kuo Yiin-shen was to be found in a force called ki in Japanese (the word
is pronounced ch'i in Chinese; for further explanation, see p. 1 4).
He also believed that, unless a person learns to control and use ki, he
cannot master any of the combat techniques. In order to develop the
needed mastery, Wang concentrated on standing Zen meditation. In
combat with another person, the man who can control ki and manifest it
to the extent reuired has attained and understanding of the kempo of Wan
Hsiang-ch'i. Such attainment is called ta-ch'eng in Chinese (the
same characters are read tai-sei in Japanese). This is the reason
for using ta-ch'eng in the name Ta-ch'eng-ch'iian. 1 met Wang Hsiang-ch'i
while 1 was working in China. He was a small man with a most ducklike
walk. But he was extremely difficult to study with. When people
came wanting to learn his system, he ignored them. They had no recourse
but to observe his actions and, practicing together, try to imitate his
techniques. Fortunately, being a foreigner, 1 was able to ask questions
and do things that would have been considered very rude in another Chinese.
Since at the time 1 was a fifth dan in Judo, 1 had a degree of confidence
in my abilities in combat techniques. When 1 had my first opportunity
to try myself in a match with Wang, 1 gripped his right hand and tried
to use a technique. But 1 at once found myself being hurled through
the air. I saw the uselessness of surprise and sudden attacks with this
man. Next I tried grappling. 1 gripped his left hand and his right
lapel and tried the techniques 1 knew, thinking that, if the first attacks
failed, 1 would be able to move into a grappling technique when we fell.
But the moment we came together, Wang instantaneously gained complete control
of my hand and thrust it out and away from himself. No matter how
many times 1 tried to get the better of him, the results were always the
same. Each time I was thrown, he tapped me- lightly- on my chest
just over my heart. When he did this, 1 experienced a strange and
frightening pain that was like a heart tremore.
Still 1 did not give up. 1 requested that he pit himself against me
in fencing. We used sticks in place of swords; and, even though the
stick he used was short, he successfully parried all my attacks and prevented
my making a single point. At the end of the match he said quietly,
"The sword- or the staff- both are extensions of the hand."
This experience robbed me of all confidence in my own abilities.
My outlook, 1 thought, would be Very dark indeed, unless 1 managed
to obtain instruction
from Wang Hsiang-ch'i. I did succeed in studying with him; and,
acting on his advice, 1 instituted a daily course in Zen training.
Gradually 1 began to feel as if 1 had gained a little bit of the expansive
Chinese martial spirit.
Later, after 1 had mastered Ta-ch'eng-ch'uan, I founded another branch
of combat training, which 1 call Taiki-ken. (This is the Japanese reading
of T'ai-ch’i-chuan. Since I am Japanese, I shall use the Japanese
reading throughout this text.) As a foreigner, 1 was able to gain the permission
of Wang Hsiang-ch'i to substitute characters in the name of his school
of kempo to form the name for my own school. And this is the way
the name Taiki-ken came into being.
I am proud to be part of a martial-arts tradition as long as that of
Ta-ch'eng-ch'uan. Whenever 1 think of the past, 1 see Wang Hsiang-ch'i
and hear him saying, "No matter if you hear ki explained a thousand time,
you will never understand it on the basis of explanations alone.
It is something that you must master on your own strength."
My course of training in China was arduous and long- eleven years and
eight months. When World War II ended, I returned to Japan.
Once in my training hall in Japan, I was suddenly surprised to feel something
that I suspected might be the ki of which Wang Hsiang-ch'i used to speak.
This surprise was the rebeginning of Taiki-ken, to which I intend to devote
myself for the rest of my life.
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F.T.C.C.G. |