Hi Does any one know any thing about Wuji/Wu Chi, Its a internal Buddhist art that has a few similarities with Taiji. I’ve been studying it for a fair few months now and have not been able to find much info on this art. I play the wuji characters/(forms) in conjunction with WuZuQuan. This helps the WuZu to be softer and balanced. Thanks
You probably know more than anyone here seeing as you study it. can you say a bit more about it, sounds interesting. i see you're in UK. Who you train it with ? Just curious. I've only heard it mentioned here and there, not seen any info either. Nothing like a good mystery.. Is it taught with the Wuzuquan, i've seen a couple of clips of that and it looks very cool.. regards.
Wuji is has some similarities with Taiji but on some aspects is completely different. The wuji palm is kept straight with a slight backwards bend at the fingers, very unlike taiji in which the palm is slightly cupped. The main stance in wuji is the Sanchin stance which is 50/50 with the back kept straight at all times, no leaning whatsoever. I have noticed Peng, An and Gi in the form but as of jet found no Lu. But, I have only learnt the first 5 characters. I’m not sure how many there are. I think the first character is called Yin. The third, fourth and fifth characters are somewhat the same. As the characters movement is repeated with some stance changes. The Fourth character looks like a low solar plexus block with the forearm then sit back into Play The Lute. I train at the Kixx gym in Maidstone under Nigel Gilham and Kim Sen Han, Where I also study WuZuQuan. I wouldn’t say the opposite, as a lot of the Chinese philosophies did influences each other. But the Wuji I believe is a Shaolin art. And Shaolin is Buddhist.
I’m not sure if you understood what I meant to say. I was just talking about the philosophical basis of wuji/taiji. In Taoist philosophy Wuji symbolizes the void, emptiness, nothingness. Taiji is what came out of the nothingness. Taiji in some sense is the differentiation of phenomena, or phenomena itself, i.e. the opposite of nothingness. In other words, taiji and wuji are both part of the same Taoist theory/principle, much like yin and yang, which is what taiji is, i.e. two polar opposites and everything in-between.
I've sen films of Wu Chi from different people, and the forms looked somewhat different.The version Liang,Shou-yu in Vancouver,B.C. Canada does struck me as somewhat more akin performance wise to Chen style, not that they're necessarily related.Not too much info out there on it/them.Some folks will call it Wu Chi T'ai Chi,same as some folks will call Hwa Yu/6 Combinations 8 Methods a TC, even tho' it's something else. I would doubt whether it's a "Shaolin" system,other than the usual generic usage of the name, but this matter has been covered in depth over the decades by the historians of the CMAs. Maybe you should contact Liang,even if your stuff looks different.He might know some background of it, whether real or the usual "ancestor" type tales. I do remember seeing a film of a practitioner from the east coast of the US, possibly New York City, and his version was quite compact, short stances,arms, etc.He did incline a bit as I recall.Really sorry I can't remember his name, an older Chinese.
Thanks for the info El Medico, I had a look at Liang's website. His style of wuji is his own. A combination of internal and external arts. The pics look very unlike the Wuji I practice. I will try to find out more when Kim Sen Han comes to the gym later this month. Ill post up anything I find out.
Sorry to misdirect you re Liang.I just saw a performance on a tape I have, didn't know any thing about it. I think Choi may have been the name of the teacher on the east coast I mentioned.If I knew where the tape was I'd look it up for you.
From what I know of WuJiQuan. It was a style taught to those who had previously mastered a style. The style of WuJiQuan itself is more about the feeling and effect of a move, in which the student would use the movements of their mastered style, to achieve the feeling and effect desired in WuJiQuan. Hence, one practitioner of WuJiQuan would be practising a different set of movement than another practitioner depending on their background style/system. Yet they would both arrive at the same desired effect. In short, two different practitioner of WuJiQuan can in effect practise the same thing, but their movements look different. Today, WuJiQuan isn't just taught to those who have mastered an art previous, most probably due to the absence of masters, aswell as the desire to keep the art alive. In some cases it is taught to those with a back ground in TaiJiQuan, or as a complimentary system for example with WuZuQuan. The philosophy of WuJi predates that of TaiJi, and although uncertain, evidence can be found that WuJiQuan predates TaiJiQuan. It is thought of as the 'Mother of TaiJi' in some circles. WuJiQuan originated at the Shaolin temple, and although WuJi belongs to the Daoist philsophy, it doesn't mean someone practising the Buddhist faith could have come up with it (assuming some degree of knowledge in the WuJi idea). Interestingly Buddhism had a hard time coming into China, it was very unpopular at first, as are most foreign ideas. And one way it has been noted for gaining popularity, is riding with other ideas, such as with Daoism, via, becoming to a certain degree compatible. With that in mind, it may be shown that aspects of Daoism were present at the Shaolin temple. To all extents, the history isn't that import, but it can be interesting. I'm am by no means, any authority on WuJiQuan.
Found a bit on WuJi Quan. http://www.baguaquan.co.uk/TaijiQuan/BaguaquanandTaijiquan/tabid/441/Default.aspx
Hi Sifu Ben, If you have any contact details of practitioners who are happy for me to contact them could you send them in my direction please?
This kind of thing winds me up. Who can understand a word of it? So many times I've seen people nod at such gibberish and say "oh - it's true is that..." OK then so what does it mean? If the first line means Bagua employs a lot of coiling and then uncoiling movements whereas Taiji uses lots of opening and closing, then why doesn't it say so? Does "entering the Taiji" mean differentiation between opposing states, such as coiling and uncoiling movements, high and low movements etc. ? Does "find out your own Bagua" mean that from a starting point of differentiation, you discover more complex permutations of multiple differentiations, such as a high, coiling, attacking movement (yang, yin, yang = fire) followed by a low, uncoiling, defensive one (yin, yang, yin = water)? What? And what is this unifying flavour that both styles are supposed to share? Any suggestions?
Alan Tinnion in Bournemouth had a site which has mysteriously disappeared from the BCCMA links page in the last couple of weeks. He has an acupuncture site here http://www.acupuncture.qi-china.com/
I am always perplexed when people come to this forum to ask questions about the art they are practising instead of asking their instructor. I know Nigel Gilham. He is an excellent practitioner and instructor. Why don't you just ask him? The style of Wuji practised in Grandmaster Han's school is rare. You won't find information about it on the Net. Post less here and practise Wuji more. You won't get to understand it by reading anything here, but you will by doing it. Kind regards, Declan
Some of us here study additional MA's without an instructor, which is why the original poster was asking for additional info. Carys
