A verification of Shaolin and Wudang by Tang Hao (1930)

[Yeung]

A verification of Shaolin and Wudang by Tang Hao (1930)

Táng háo “shàolín wǔdāng kao”
唐豪 《少林武當考》

There is no evidence suggest that Taijiquan is connected to Shaolin, Wudang, and Internal Martial Art back in the 1930s.In more recent discoveries, the idea of Dao Yin 導引 (guided stretching) in martial arts that are not using brute or dead force can be traced back to the Warring State Period (475-221 BC) in China, and the idea of flexible and weak can defeat stiff and strong (Dao De Jing 36) is deep rooted in the Chinese culture since then. And Shaolin, Wudang, and Internal Martial Arts were not around at that time. Liu Pu (2008) worked out the 41 ways of stretching exercises from bamboo slips named as Yin Shu 引書 (book of stretching) in Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). The Translation of Yin Shu in 127 pages (2014) is available in the following link:

http://www.nri.cam.ac.uk/yinshu.pdf

And posted by RobB on Sep 18, 2014 in RSF:

https://rumsoakedfist.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=22286

[jbb73]

Hi

Thanks for the Link, interesting.
But I don´t understand the concrete reference to Tang Hao or what exactly the connection between the Yin Shu and Wudang/Shaolin/Taijiquan shall be. Could you elaborate a little bit on that?

Thank you,
jbb

[Yeung]

May be the following abstract and references will help with the application of stretching in Yin Shu to Taijiquan and other martial arts:

Shen Jiazhen 沈家桢 (1963) suggested that one of the unique feature of Taijiqaun is springiness by the elongation of the limbs. From the biomechanics point of view, Yeung (2012, 2013) suggested that this is similar to eccentric muscle contraction and muscle elasticity. The aim of this study was to identify and verify this principle in the basic movements of Taijiquan in both Chen Shi and Yang Shi including push hands.

This study was carried out by a focus group of long time practitioners and teachers of Taijiquan, Qigong, and martial arts for more than 20 years. The panel consisted of 7 males and 3 females, and two external advisers, age ranged from 55 to 80 years old in the East Midlands, United Kingdom. They compare Taijiquan with eccentric exercise by reviews of literature, videos, and Internet-resource; performed the various movements, observation by multi-dimensional kinetic chain analysis, palpation, and discussion to ascertain whether the activation of the elastic components of the body can be generated by eccentric muscle contraction and otherwise.

The results were positive. The reviews suggested that eccentric exercise has many similar health benefits as in Taijiquan such as: creating greater strength, consume lesser energy, well preserved with age, and lower stress on heart rate and body metabolism. It is possible to activate the elastic components of the body through stretching actively and passively (Lai et al 1996) when practitioners did not resist by concentric muscle contraction (shortening of muscle fibres). It is possible to differentiate between very light eccentric and concentric movement by observation and palpation. The result also provided the reason for higher electromyographic reading in the study of Chan et al (2003) on the rectus femoris of the rear leg when moving to a rear stance in a push movement.

The focus group noted the difficulties in mastering the skills in utilizing the elastic components to enhance performance which can be a pedagogical problem. There is no published study on the stretch-recoil cycle in performant enhancement, thus further research is needed.

Reference:

Chan S. P., Luk T. C. and Hong, Y, Kinematic and delectromyographic analysis of push movement in Tai Chi, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2003, Vol. 37, pp. 339–344

Lai S., Yeung Y. and Xie D., "Exercise Your Spine For Health", Guangzhou, Ling Nan Arts, 1996 (in Chinese)

Shen J., Chen Shi Taijiquan (1963), Chapter 1, pp. 5-60, in the Complete Book of Taijiquan, (2nd Edition), complied by the People’s Physical Education Press, Beijing, 1995 (In Chines)

Yeung, Y. C., The Art and Science of Taijiquan, IMAS Quarterly, Vol.1 Issue 3 Summer 2012

Yeung Y. C., “Non-concentric Exercise Model from Chinese Martial Arts”, Institute of Martial Arts and Sciences, IMAS Quarterly, Vol.2 Issue 2, Spring 2013

[robert]

That's interesting - thanks for posting that.

[Appledog]

Hello, I'd like to maintain a 'cool post count' of 108 posts. This particular post has gone beyond that number and has therefore expired.

I'm sorry if you were looking for some old information but I'll do my best to answer you if you send me a DM with a question in it.

[salcanzonieri]

Umm, the Shaolin temple was burned down in 1925, the monks were dispersed to the countryside. The martial arts and scriptures library was evacuated and much of it had been copied before then in case of such a thing happening.
Once the temple was reopened in 1980, the materials from the Shaolin library were returned and they began publishing it book by book. I was able to purchase these books.
Ultimately In 1992, Shaolin monk Shì Déqián (釋德虔) completed the "Shàolín Sì Wǔshù Bǎikē Quánshū" (少林寺武術百科全書), known as the Shaolin Encyclopedia.
It collected together all the preserved information they had. I was contacted to help sell these into the US through various outlets, because of all my articles that I had written about the true history of the Shaolin martial arts (which eventually helped them receive World Treasure status by the UN and they have since made a fortune teaching martial arts).

Anyways, there is a huge amount of information that was not available in 1930 by Tang Hao. I have used his research material extensively and he contradicts himself a lot. to be polite, So I have had to go to his sources. Or go around to side sources.
Anyways, much more is known now than back in 1930 that is for sure, especially with the discoveries of the Li documents and the discovery of the temple documents.
(By the way, I was the person who discovered that the salt store was owned by a member of the Li family, hence the reason why the Tai Chi Classics would be there, another martial art document was discovered there as well.)

It is not theory but fact the TJQ is derived from both Taoist 13 Postures Tong Bei (which in turn has roots in Shaolin Long fist via its founder who studied Hong Quan, Pao Quan and Tai Tzu Quan and Tong Bei Quan) and from Shaolin (which is only 50 miles from Chen village) martial arts. Which the Chen family has openly acknowledged has roots in their style from its earliest days. The Li family, cousins of the Chens, were famous for the Shaolin Long Fist,

And, Shaolin Qigong can actually be used for self defense, with open hand and with weapons, esp, the staff.
It is old news in China, very old news, read my book on Amazon, if you want the whole history.

[Yeung]

Paul Brennan (1990) translated Dao De Jing, Chapter 78, Section 1 and 2, as follows:

“Nothing is softer than water, yet it defeats the hardest thing through its patient persistence.

“Weak beats strong, soft beats hard. Everybody comprehends this but nobody makes use of it.”

Martial artists have worked out techniques to utilize the elastic components of the body to generate power from stretching and recoil connected to Laozi’s ideas. It is fascinating to identify the various developments from historical documents, and put them into practice. The current research interest in sport science is the stretching and recoil cycle in human movement.

[jbb73]

Okay, I still don't get the point. Let me try to get it in order:

1) There are old exercises for a flexible body and health, like Baduanjin and the Yin Shu.
2) These exercises have been practiced for a long time in Shaolin and have roots in taoist Wudang circles.
3) They influenced in a significant way the genesis of Taijiquan.
4) Tang Hao in his Shaolin Wudang Kao neglected the influence of Wudang and Shaolin on the genesis of Taijiquan.
5) These statements in the book of Tang Hao are wrong.

Thats it?

[suckinlhbf]

Martial artists have worked out techniques to utilize the elastic components of the body to generate power from stretching and recoil connected to Laozi’s ideas. It is fascinating to identify the various developments from historical documents, and put them into practice. The current research interest in sport science is the stretching and recoil cycle in human movement

Yeung,
I would say the techniques to train to generate power from stretching and recoil have already been existed long time ago in Chinese martial arts. They are kept from public as they make people to swore to limit the pass on. Some of the old books tell the concepts that contribute to the developments of training techniques from historical documents. Fortunately, the research in sport science is getting into the regime of the lost arts.

[Yeung]

Here is a list of benefits of from Wikipedia on eccentric exercise which is very similar to the claims of Taijiiquan:

Several key findings have been researched regarding the benefits of eccentric training:

Eccentric training creates greater force owing to the "decreased rate of cross-bridge muscle detachments." Patients and athletes will have more muscle force for bigger weights when eccentric training.[1]

Eccentric contractions use less energy and actually absorb energy that will be used as heat or elastic recoil for the next movement.[1]

Increased DOMS leads to more tenderness in eccentric, rather than pure pain or tendon swellingamongst patients.[1]

Repeated-bout Effect markedly reduces DOMS. "Completing bouts of eccentric training and then repeating the workout 1 week (or more) later will result in less DOMS after the second workout."[1]

Older individuals are less vulnerable to injury from eccentric exercise, primarily because of the reduced strain on muscle-tendon groupings as compared to traditional concentric exercise.[1]

Stretching of the muscles and eccentric training provides protection from injury or re-injury.[1]

Eccentric training has proven to be an excellent post rehabilitation intervention for lower-body injuries.[1]

Subjects report less weariness from eccentric training than from concentric training.[1]

Total body eccentric training can raise resting metabolic rate by about 9 percent, with the greatest magnitude in the first two hours.[1]

While energy costs remain low, the degree of force is very high. This leads to muscles that respond with significant increases in muscle strength, size and power.[1]

[Yeung]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl ... 5832/?tool
A Comprehensive Review of Health Benefits of Qigong and Tai Chi
Roger Jahnke, OMD,1 Linda Larkey, PhD,2 Carol Rogers,3 Jennifer Etnier, PhD,4 and Fang Lin5

Abstract
Objective
Research examining psychological and physiological benefits of Qigong and Tai Chi is growing rapidly. The many practices described as Qigong or Tai Chi have similar theoretical roots, proposed mechanisms of action and expected benefits. Research trials and reviews, however, treat them as separate targets of examination. This review examines the evidence for achieving outcomes from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of both.
Data Sources
The key words tai chi, taiji, and qigong were entered into electronic search engines for the Cumulative Index for Allied Health and Nursing (CINAHL), Psychological Literature (PsychInfo), PubMed, Cochrane database, and Google Scholar.
Study Inclusion Criteria
RCTs reporting on the results of Qigong or Tai Chi interventions and published in peer reviewed journals published from 1993–2007
Data Extraction
Country, type and duration of activity, number/type of subjects, control conditions, and reported outcomes were recorded for each study.
Synthesis
Outcomes related to Qigong and Tai Chi practice were identified and evaluated.
Results
Seventy-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. The 9 outcome category groupings that emerged were: bone density (n=4), cardiopulmonary effects (n=19), physical function (n=16), falls and related risk factors (n=23), Quality of Life (n=17), self-efficacy (n=8), patient reported outcomes (n=13), psychological symptoms (n=27), and immune function (n=6).
Conclusions
Research has demonstrated consistent, significant results for a number of health benefits in RCTs, evidencing progress toward recognizing the similarity and equivalence of Qigong and Tai Chi.
Keywords: tai chi, taiji, meditation, qigong, mind body practice, meditative movement, moderate exercise, breathing

[LaoDan]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3085832/?tool
A Comprehensive Review of Health Benefits of Qigong and Tai Chi
Roger Jahnke, OMD,1 Linda Larkey, PhD,2 Carol Rogers,3 Jennifer Etnier, PhD,4 and Fang Lin5

While there have been a few scientific studies that examined long term TJQ practitioners, who presumably learned in depth, most studies are looking for clinical applications and only teach novices a short and modified sequence of movements. While these movements are based on TJQ, the simplification and shallow depth of the instruction, required for studies lasting only several months, means that they are better considered as Qigong rather than TJQ. How much depth can one remove and still consider it to be TJQ?

Also, considering that TJQ is a “holistic” practice that incorporates posture, strength, flexibility, efficiency, breathing, concentration, attention, mindfulness, imagery, visualization, intention, as well as psychosocial interactions, rituals, and much more, scientific studies rarely have satisfactory controls. Most studies can only provide preliminary indications and it is not certain which aspects of the practice are contributing to the results (or even if the benefits are, instead, primarily attributable to the “placebo effect”).

[Yeung]

Have a look at: Chan S. P., Luk T. C. and Hong, Y, Kinematic and delectromyographic analysis of push movement in Tai Chi, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2003, Vol. 37, pp. 339–344

This a qualitative study of a long time practitioner and instructor of Taijiquan in Hong Kong, and they got interesting electromyographic reading but they do not know why because they fail to standardize the input variable.

[LaoDan]

Have a look at: Chan S. P., Luk T. C. and Hong, Y, Kinematic and delectromyographic analysis of push movement in Tai Chi, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2003, Vol. 37, pp. 339–344

This a qualitative study of a long time practitioner and instructor of Taijiquan in Hong Kong, and they got interesting electromyographic reading but they do not know why because they fail to standardize the input variable.

Well, since their stated purpose was to “START” an analysis..., I guess it is OK, but a sample size of one with no control subject(s) and no tested variables does not provide anything that can provide conclusions. Still, what they observed is unsurprising, so it is probably fine for one data point. This study merely serves as a descriptive analysis of one person doing one version of TJQ, with no variables being examined for comparisons.

They seem to assume that the TJQ push movement that they present (as well as peng, lu and ji, which they also recorded but did not present data on) are special to TJQ because they are a part of the shisanshi, and the eight jin as defined by the art. But they do not establish that they are special relative to anything else, since they do not compare this one master to anybody else (sample size of one with no control subjects).

They did not compare the slow form push with the same master doing the move at application speed. They did not have the master do the push slowly against resistance. They did not have the master push fast (application speed) against resistance. They did not have a novice try to imitate the master for comparative purposes. They did not have a professional dancer try to imitate the master for comparison. They did not compare the eccentric data to someone just walking slowly down stairs. They did not compare this Yang style to Chen style, or Wu style, etc. pushes. They did not compare the TJQ push with pushes from other styles of martial arts, or even pushes by non-martial artists. Etc., etc., etc...

They erroneously state that “The path of the CG [center of gravity] during the retracting and pushing movements was unique, and the sway or deviation from this path was small.” Since they did not study anybody else’s movements, they CANNOT establish the “uniqueness” of the movement! It MAY be unique, but this study cannot establish this.

They discuss potential health benefits without having used any control subjects:
“...may help to increase the strength of the lower limbs.”
“Lower limb strength has been shown to affect balance.”
“”Several other studies have shown impaired balance to be associated with falls in this [elderly] age group.”
And then state “Therefore, if tai chi directly increases the strength of the lower limbs and improves balance, it may be a good form of exercise to use for health maintenance and fall prevention.”
This study, however, does not establish anything other than there being the expected concentric and eccentric contractions, and cannot provide evidence for their speculations since no comparative subjects were studied! They cannot even establish that TJQ improves strength (even though it most likely does) since they do not conduct any before and after comparisons of individuals being taught TJQ...

To be useful therapeutically, one needs to establish that the proposed treatment is in some way superior to whatever else is available to patients. Is TJQ better at strengthening the lower limbs and improving balance (and preventing falls) than having untrained patients merely walk slowly downstairs, for example? There is no way of knowing from this study since no control subjects were used.

[Yeung]

“Eccentric contraction occurred mainly in the anti-gravity muscles such as the rectus femoris and the medial head of gastrocnemius. Tai chi requires the lower limbs to move bent and in slow motion. This entails a considerable workload, especially for the lower limbs. The frequent bending of the hips, knees, and ankles by eccentric and concentric contraction of the muscles may help to increase the strength of the lower limbs” (S P Chan, T C Luk, Y Hong, 2003).

In this study, they examined the variables of anti-gravity muscles, eccentric contraction, and concentric contraction in a Taijiquan practitioner. The problem is that electromyography cannot differentiate between eccentric, concentric, and combined muscle actions. From Taijiquan, we do learn about passive action, stretching, no brute force, and double weighted.