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. |