Prelude #37
 
Theme: Hexagram:
  D major    Kia Zhan "the family type"

During the discussion in Prelude #9 of the various styles of secular Tai Chi Chuan sacred or monastic Tai Chi Chuan was briefly mentioned. It is not clear when, where and from whom Chen Wangting learned martial arts, let alone which ones. The legendary founder of Tai Chi Chuan is thought to be Zhang Shanfeng (sometimes spelled Chang San Feng) who was thought to have been a Taoist priest who trained and later lived near or in the Wudang Mountains in the northern part of Hubei Province somewhere between the 8th and 15th century. Currently, we know of the following Wudang style sets: 18 Postures, 36 Postures, single sword, single saber, staff, spear, fan, whisk and sword sets. The Wudang styles that we have seen have a unique Qigong and a distinct version of Iron Palm. There seem to be at least eight Wudang styles: tracing their relationships and history is not easy.

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