Taiji - Body consciousness Chinese style

Timo Klemola is a professor of philosophy at the University of Tampere in Finland and a long-time practitioner of the Japanese martial arts form budo. Klemola himself is trained in several forms of martial arts such as karate, taiji and yiquan and has led courses, given lectures and written about them. As a researcher and philosopher, Timo Klemola is mainly interested in the philosophy of our physical existence and activity.

Klemola has noticed that martial arts from the Orient have become more and more popular in Europe.

"Nowadays people have a wide variety of martial arts schools to choose from. The best known technique has to be taiji and its different mutations. The term kung fu groups together a myriad of different types of activities based on Shaolin," says Klemola.
Oriental martial arts are often divided into ones focusing on internal or external activity, although the boundary for defining which is which is sometimes difficult to establish.

"It is difficult to say where to draw the line between the two forms of martial arts. To put things simply, external martial arts forms activate the large muscles and require a centralized application of physical strength. Internal activity involves harnessing one's internal, or mental, powers. The latter focuses on activating the entire body and on controlling the body's physical strength. In practice, almost all martial arts schools combine the two concepts. It is said that over time, external skills develop into internal ones and internal skills also include external elements. In this sense, the line is a very unclear one."

A legend says that the founder of Zen Buddhism, Bodhidharma, developed a form of Buddhist physical exercise that also served as meditation. This gave birth to the external martial arts form known as Shaolin. The Shaolin temple is probably the world's best known monastery and the center of Chinese wushu, or martial arts. The roots of the internal martial arts schools are thought to be in the techniques originated in the Taoist Wudang Temple.

What is qi energy?

Taiji uses mental imagery to help reinforce the physical exercises (Image: Radio86)

An element which is common for Chinese wushu, traditional medicine as well as Feng Shui, is the concept of qi energy. Timo Klemola approaches this idea which is foreign to westerners from the the angle of an internal experience gained through practice.

"It is an extremely difficult concept because we don't have a similar notion in the western languages. I think that in the traditional sense the Chinese see qi as something pertaining to personal experience and growth, so in that way is is something comprehensible. By listening and training the body from within gives a person the tools to keep him in tune with his whole being," Klemola says.

Klemola goes on to explain that qi is in fact a manifestation of heightened awareness of one's own physical being attained through special training and subtle messages that it may bring to the consciousness. He says that when training, qi can be sensed in the feeling of energy flowing throughout the body where one can feel every cell in his body pulsate.

Practising taiji does not always involve physical movement. Instead, relaxation and a sense of strength are sought by standing still. To a person not initiated to the philosophy of martial arts the exercises may seem tedious as nothing seems to happen - or does it?

"I can see why people think taiji lacks excitement, but not all is as it seems. Even if the body is being held in a static position, many things are taking place inside it and within the person's mind - - All the while the the mind is active and the body is moving on the inside. The idea is to remain still and train the structure of the body, develop it and create an awareness of what a sound physical structure feels like. When you add mental imagery to the practice, such as the image of pushing a heavy object, the movement is reinforced by the thought of activating the entire body, and step by step, by the strength of the entire body itself. In this manner one can develop the entire body's capacities.”

A place of retreat

Timo Klemola is not convinced that taiji and yoga have a common historical basis although they share certain elements in practice such as the focus on breathing and mental imagery. Both also stress the connection between movement and meditation, and mind and the body. Timo Klemola thinks that an exercise that looks static on the outside can be bustling with mental activity:

“In essence the exercise looks very static but is in fact very dynamic. Of course it involves a lot of different levels of activity -- it can be carried through in utter tranquility with the mind focused on maintaining a state of harmony and serenity. But when we are talking about martial arts practice where the goal is to develop combat skills, it requires exploiting one's mental capacities to their fullest. In this case mental imagery is used to explore the different directions of power flow and make the mental practice elicit a physical response thereby unleashing the body's full strength.”

Taiji as well as other Chinese martial art forms do not carry a religious or ideological charge per say. Timo Klemola finds that most people practice taiji because of its comprehensive nature which challenges a person's physical and mental capabilities and allows them to explore the characteristics and functioning of their own mind. In a nutshell, taiji is a form of psychophysical exercise which is not tied to any particular ideological basis. But is it that makes oriental martial arts so appealing to the Europeans?

“Taiji, which is founded on controlled movement and strong mental imagery, is a way for people to achieve a feeling of harmony and inner tranquility -- in other words, certain mental states. In today's fats paced world people are looking for ways to retreat within themselves and find a place where they can spend a moment in silence,” Klemola analyzes.

Taiji looks quite simple, but many initiates of the activity may find their motivation keel over after the very first lesson -- the exercises are anything but easy! The western approach to evaluating the efficiency of physical activity involves measuring the achieved results. Exercise is supposed to raise the pulse and burn calories in order to be beneficial and efficient. Is slow paced taiji helpful in getting the blood flowing, without even mentioning getting in good shape?

“It all depends on what is meant by good shape. Taiji is certainly not as efficient in enhancing one's circulatory or pulmonary health as for example jogging, but it does have an effect on them as well as it twins a relatively slow breathing rate with a relatively demanding physical exertion,” Klemola says. It is interesting to feel a long series of exercises bring sweat beads to your forehead even though your breathing remains relatively calm. Taiji is quite a unique form of exercise,” he adds.

Who can benefit from taiji?

Professor Timo Klemola has studied extensively Oriental martial arts and published several books on the subject (Image: Timo Klemola)

The health benefits of Chinese internal martial arts have not been widely studied in the West and a person who does not speak Chinese has little hope of being able to profit from the studies conducted by the Chinese themselves. Be as it may, taiji is certain to have some positive influence -- why else would people generation after generation join the vast group of avid taiji practitioners all over the world. Some people may imagine that through taiji they will be initiated into a secret world shrouded in mystery, but Timo Klemola disavows legends of unworldly taiji masters by revealing that taiji courses are attended by ordinary men and women of all ages. What can we learn from the way the Chinese view health promoting exercises?

“The Chinese culture in general acknowledges the importance of maintaining good physical shape. Go to any park and you will see people doing exercises -- it is a part of their everyday lives. For me, the most important thing is to understand how crucial physical exercise such as taiji is for a person's general well-being!"