HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF
WU CHUAN YOU STYLE TAIJIQUAN
There are two Wu styles Taijiquan, one from the Wu Yu Siang lineage, which is slightly older, and the other from the Wu Chuan You lineage.
In Chinese characters, the two "Wu" are written differently though the sounds are the same in Mandarin pronunciation, with some slight difference in tone which may not be noticeable to non-Chinese speaking people. However, in Cantonese pronunciation, the sounds are different, "Mo" for Wu Yu Xiang lineage, and "Ng" for Wu Chuan You lineage. The description here is for Wu Chuan You Style Taijiquan.
Wu Chuan You was a Manchurian and military officer in the 19th century during the Qing Dynasty. He learned Taijiquan from Yang Ban Hou, the son of Yang Lu Chan. Hence, Wu Chuan You Style Taijiquan is very similar to Yang Style.
A noticeable difference is the pattern, "Single Whip". In Wu Chuna You Style, "Single Whip" is performed at a Horse-Riding Stance, whereas in the Yang Style it is performed at a Bow-Arrow Stance. Interestingly, in many other styles of Taijiquan, such as the other Wu Style, the Sun Style (except the set in our school where I made some modification to bring out the essence of Xingyiquan), and even Wudang Taijiquan, "Single Whip" is performed at the Horse-Riding Stance. It was probable that in Yang Style Taijiquan, Yang Deng Fu used the Bow-Arrow Stance in "Single Whip" for combat purposes.
Today, irrespective of its style, Taijiquan is usually performed for health, although ironically many Taiji practitioners, especially in Western societies, sustained knee injury as a result of Taijiquan performance. In our school, Shaolin Wahnam, while we give top priority to health as well as vitality and longevity, we pay much attention to combat efficiency, which interestingly and naturally enhances our health, vitality and longevity. Hence, many unnecessary but flowery frills are omitted.
Wong Kiew Kit
8th January 2016
Wu Chuan You Style Taijiquan in Pictures
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