Origin of Authentic Synthesis Tai Chi Chuan
Synthesis Tai Chi Chuan was originally created by a committee of experts from the schools of Chen, Yang, Wu and Sun. The committee was chaired by a major figure in the Tai Chi Chuan of that period, Master Ch'en P'ang Ling (1892-1967), who in 1936 was assistant director of the National Institute Of Martial Arts Of Nankin. By that time, China was already experiencing the degradation and dispersion of the practical knowledge of Tai Chi Chuan, and for that reason the committee was formed to develop a combined form that would unify the positive aspects of the different schools. The resulting form was called Unified Tai Chi Chuan.
Ch'en P'ang Ling was a distinguished martial artist who excelled at boxing, and he used his extensive knowledge to develop a unified tai chi chuan form in a rational way.
His father, who had undergone thorough Shaolin training, selected the very best teachers for his son, and Ch'en P'ang Ling eventually studied Tai Chi Chuan in the village of Chen Jia Gou.
The form that we practise has undergone certain modifications thanks to the contributions of Master Wang Shu Jin (1905-1981). Wang Shu Jin was practically the only heir of the art of combat handed down from Mount Zhong Nan in the province of Shanxi, in Mainland China. Mount Zhong Nan was known as the cradle of Tsing I Chuan, the boxing of form and thought.
The school of Zhong Nan Men was famous for the practice of Tsing I Chuan, but also of Ba Gua Chuan, or eight palms boxing. Wang Shu Jin, who studied for a time with Ch'en P'ang Ling, had long experience with combat against followers of different schools. In his opinion, tai chi chuan training was flawed by shortcomings and insufficiencies from the standpoint of its internal work and combat logic. He therefore modified his art of Tsing I Chuan and of Ba Gua Chuan as well as the philosophy of Yi Ying to create a more effective and realistic tai chi chuan incorporating all the fundamental principles of this Martial Art.
The Tai Chi Chuan of Wang Shu Jin fully reflected the values of the Zhong Nan Men school, and was called Zheng Zhong Tai Chi Chuan, or Authentic Synthesis Tai Chi Chuan.
This new combined Tai Chi Chuan is based on the reality of combat and features a large number of subtle techniques. Each movement teaches the principles of tai chi chuan and recalls the essentials of Tsing I Chuan and of Ba Gua Chuan.
This 'kata' is a synthesis not only of the different schools of Tai Chi Chuan but of the three major internal schools. Master Wang Fu Lai of Taiwan, a disciple of Wang Shu Jin, taught this form to Kenji Tokitsu Sensei, who has made it one of the pillars of his school Jiseido.
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