Flowing Shadow Boxing

As one of the main sports to help people stay fit, taiji quan, or shadow boxing(known internationally as “tai chi chuan”) is very popular with Chinese people. It used to be a martial art, but since it aids both self-defense and health, it quickly developed to become a main method of physical exercise. Shadow boxing can adjust the neural, respiratory, digestive, coronary, brain, and circulatory systems of the human body, functioning as a method for disease prevention.

“Taiji”(the Supreme Ultimate) is a Chinese philosophical term, to which The Book of Changes(Yijing) attributes the origin of the Eight Trigrams. Explanation of the Taiji Diagram(Taiji tushuo), written by Northern Song(960-1127) philosopher Zhou Dunyi(1017-1073), regards Taiji as the source of all things on Earth. The Taiji is circular in shape, including the yin and the yang, and shadow boxing was created exactly on the basis of this theory Being “circular”is one of the important characteristics of shadow boxing. Performing shadow boxing is just like drawing circles again and again, while being smooth and round is a major criterion in judging the quality of its performance. Heaven and Earth have energy circulating around them, while inside a human body circulates the vitality of life. Shadow boxing draws the circle of life through moving, jumping, dodging, unfolding, etc., so as to turnexterior circles of energy into interior circles of energy. Another characteristic of shadow boxing is its pursuit of flowing rhythm amidst the changes of yin and yang, which accords with the Taiji philosophy that yin and yang interchange, infuse and change. On this basis, shadow boxing emphasizes the infusion of the hard and the soft, and expresses the constant changes of the universe through gentle and flexible, and even and slow movements. In general, shadow boxing displays the beauty of soaring clouds and flowing waters.

In the course of its development, shadow boxing has incorporated the theory of main and collateral channels in traditional Chinese medicine, along with the idea of guidance advocated by Daoism. Shadow boxing is a combination of the interior and the exterior, and people practice it to improve physical health and to achieve evenness in breathing and calmness in mind. When practicing shadow boxing, one needs to pay particular attention to breathing air out through the mouth when making outward movements and inhaling fresh air through the nose when making inward movements, so as to keep fresh energy in the body. This is why people prefer to practice it in the early morning.

Shadow boxing and Shaolin martial arts both have deep and profound philosophical connotations; they embody the unique wisdom of the Chinese people, and reflect the identity of Chinese culture.

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