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Taiki-ken: Characteristics
The principle of ki, without which there could be no Taiki-ken, is not
especially difficult. Though there are differences in its strengths,
ki is found in every one. Students of the martial arts attempt to
train their ki to the point where, upon coming into contact with an opponent,
they can give full manifestation to it. This is only as it should be, since
there would be no meaning in training, no matter how assiduous, if the
individual found himself incapable of bringing forth his ki at the moment
of need.
There is no method for ensuring the ability to call upon the strength
of ki, but standing Zen as practised by specialists in the martial arts
in China and as employed in Ta-ch'eng-ch'uan and Taiki-ken, can develop
a capability to do so. Standing Zen calms the nerves, sharpens the
perceptions, and regulates the breathing. When a person begins standing
Zen, his mind is clouded with all kind of thoughts. Soon, however,
he will experience pain in his hands, feet, or hips. When this happens,
all of his thoughts concentrate in the part of the body that hurts, and
he is unable to think of anything else. The pain figuratively removes
the hurting part of the body from the realm of sense perception.
As one continues to suffer discomfort of this kind for a period of years,
one cultivates the ability to derive great refreshment from standing Zen.
Before one is aware of it, the power of ki begins to grow to maturity.
I suffered when I practised standing Zen with my teacher Wang Hsiang-ch'i
and wonder what good such practice would ever do me. When 1 felt
this way, Wang would tell me, "Even if 1 explain it to you hundreds of
times, you will not understand ki;' it is something that you must experience
yourself." Today I tell my own students the same kind of thing. I one finds
it impossible to cultivate ki in himself through Zen training he will never
be able to cultivate it in himself. It is because ki is not mastered
easily that it is of immense value.
In spite of the difficulty of explaining the profound meaning of ki
in words, 1 think 1 can make something of its nature clear by referring
to the spinning of a child's top. A top that turns rapidly about
its axis, seems to be standing still, but anything that comes into contact
with its whirling sides is sharply and forcefully dashed away. . A practitioner
of the martial arts who generates the power of ki is like the spinning
top. Though from the outside he seems perfectly calm and still, an
opponent who comes into contact with him is immediately driven away by
the force of the man's ki.
There are no fixed forms in Taiki-ken. Although this book presents
methods of defence and attack they are only examples of the kinds of attacks
and defences that are possible. Practising to perfect Zen and hai
(see p.24)) constitute the basis of training. When one comes into
contact with an opponent, one's body must be able to move with complete
freedom. Forcing large and small people to practice the same forms
is meaningless. Furthermore, excess attention to forms only kills
freedom of motion. Taiki-ken aims at allowing each individual to
use the body motions that suit him. This is both the outstanding
merit and one of the greatest difficulties of Taiki-ken. A person
only begins to bud as a true practitioner of martial arts of the inner
school when he is able to employ the movements that are
Inherent in his own body. It is because Taiki-ken allows the
person to evolve his own forms of motion that it is sometimes referred
to as lacking, yet having, forms.
One of the important points in Taiki-ken training is the disassociation
of the body parts; the arms must be trained to act on their own and alone.
The same is true of the feet and legs. This is connected with the
lack of fixed forms in Taikiken. For instance, there are no such
things as right positions or left positions in Taiki-ken. The arms
are antenna constantly sensitive to what can be done for the sake of protection.
The hips are like the earth in that they provide stability. It is,
true that sometimes we employ training in lowering and raising the hips,
but this is only for the sake of developing flexibility. There are
no definite hip techniques, because a person whose body is trained and
flexible can use his hips as he needs to. Generally, the steps taken in
Taiki-ken are small; it has been said that among the great men of Taiki-ken
there are none with wide strides.
Defence and attack constitute all of the hand work in Taiki-ken.
The two techniques for the hands are called mukae-te. and harrai-te.
In the former, one uses the inside of the arm to block the opponent's arm
and to pull it inward. In the latter, one uses the outside of the
arm to parry the opponent's techniques. It is further important to
know how to move from mukae-te to harai-te.
For the sake of discussion, I assume that the word arm means everything
from the shoulder to the fingertips. When a person stands as shown
in Fig.A,, Taiki-ken practice assumes that the arm will move like the antenna
of an insect. Whether to defend oneself by blocking with the innerside
or with the outerside of this antenna will be determined naturally when
the opponent attacks. The arm must act independently on its own;
the defence involving it is not a matter of the eye or the head.
It is important to remember that, when the right hand rises or lowers,
as in Fig. A, the left hand must move with it as reinforcement (what
is called soe-te). For example, if the right hand is unsuccessful
in blocking the opponent's attack, the left hand must be ready to block
on its own.
Of course the entire body must respond to the motions of the arm-antenna
If the arm lowers, the hips must be lowered at the same time. If
the arm advance, the hips must advance too. Allowing the motion of
the body to follow the motion of the arm, greatly increases the power of
the arm. All people who practice Taikiken must constantly keep this
characteristic use of the arm in mind as they train.
It is good to conduct Taiki-ken training out of doors. A training
hall is unnecessary. It is wrong to feel that facilities of this
kind are prerequisites of practice. Out-of-doors training, especially
in the woods in the morning is best because a setting of this kind enables
one to learn many things from nature. Since martial arts are matters
of gradual, personal growth, daily training in a natural setting is the
one and only way to true progress.
I sometimes compare a life of training in the martial arts to a tree.
When a person is young, strength fills his body and enables him to withstand
any amount of training. This is like the thick, strong trunk of the
tree, But as one grows older, one becomes less durable, just as the branches
of a tree grow smaller toward the top and finally become slender twigs
that shake in the wind and that can be easily broken.
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F.T.C.C.G. |