Wudang Mountain is considered as a center
of “internal” or “soft” martial arts .Tai Chi Chuan , Ba Gua and Hsing Yi , to
mention just the most famous ones are “trade mark” of Wudang ,Taoist martial arts . Most of the people,
taking creation myths as an actual history , believe these martial styles are
founded on Wudang . Popular story about Wudang Mountain have a lot of
similarities with Shaolin story . In short, Toist immortal,,Chng San Feng lived
in a monastery complex and created a set of exercises in order to achieve
eternal life , today known as Qigong and he also created first “internal”
martial art – Tai Chi Chuan .
Just like the Shaolin legend , this story
is completely false with one exception , Taoist do practice Qigong .First , It
is impossible to prove that Chan San Feng really existed and second , histories
of Tai Chi , Ba Gua and Hsig Yi are very well known and documented . All these
arts were created somewhere in the second part of the 19 century . Tai Chi was
created in Chen village , Ba Gua is a creation of Dong Hai Chuan and creator of
Hsing Yi was Ji Longfeng .
Before we continue I have to say couple of
words about one very important person who influenced modern martial arts
greatly . Sun Lu Tang is the most significant martial arts author and theorist
ever . He was born in such a poor family that he tried to commit a suicide
while he was a child .Later , he mastered Tai Chi , Ba Gua and Hisng Yi and
also gained the highest possible
education . Sun Lu Tang was very well respected and feared because of his
martial abilities and he was a talented writer .
Through his most important books he shaped
the way how people perceive “internal” martial arts today .Today , Tai Chi
practitioners will quote Sun Lu tang when they say their art is a way to
preserve health by harmonizing and aligning internal body energy with energy of
the universe . Ba Gua practitioners will say their forms are physical embodiment
of I Ching not knowing these words are taken from Sun Lu Tang’s books , Hisiing
Yi practitioners will say their five forms interacts like five basic elements
of Taoist cosmology not knowing they are parroting Sun Lu Tang .
From 1915 to 1927 in his five books Sun Lu
Tang forever changed the way how people perceive “internal” systems. Before his
time not even one martial system had any theory connected to Taoism . Term “Internal” was his invention .He is also responsible
for one more thing , dividing martial style to Wudnag and Shaolin arts . This happened
in 1928 on first martial tournament organized by “Goushu” martial academy . Goushu” martial academy was a government
institution for development and research of Chinese martial arts during the
republican period . On the first tournament , some martial teachers led by Sun
Lu Tang wanted to separate their arts from others so they called their arts “Wudang”
styles , while all other styles were called Shaolin styles. Before 1928. this divide
to Shaolin and Wudang arts didn’t exist .
Now back to Wudang . Before 1930”s there is
no evidence that any of the “internal” martial styles were practiced on Wudang ,by
internal I mean Tai Chi , Ba Guan ad Hsing Yi, and there is good reason for
that. In the late 1920’s delegation from Goushu academy traveled to Wudang to learn
sword fighting and in exchange they taught Taoist monks their arts .Wudang
sword fighting was incorporated in most of the modern ”internal “ styles as a result of this
exchange . It is important to notice that Wudang was famous for its sword
fighting techniques but before 1930’ Tai Chi and other “internal” arts were not
practiced there .
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