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How to Make the Transformation from Shaolin to Wudan
One of the oldest of the planetary martial arts is Shaolin. It was brought from India by a fellow named Bodhidharma, and has been pivotal to martial arts the world over. Interestingly, Shaolin eventually changed into an internal art atop Wudan Mountain.
One of the oldest of the planetary martial arts is Shaolin. It was brought from India by a fellow named Bodhidharma, and has been pivotal to martial arts the world over. Interestingly, Shaolin eventually changed into an internal art atop Wudan Mountain.
I know there will be those who disagree with the concept I present here, but I hold to it, as I have watched students evolve, and the evolution of art from Shaolin to Wudan mirrors what I have seen students go through on a personal level. Indeed, as students peel layers off the art, so do they add layers of awareness within themselves, and attain the truly miraculous.
The student new to Shaolin learns to explode energy from the tan tan, to spread that energy throughout his frame and make his body like a rock. Arms become iron windmills, stances attach him permanently to the planet. This, however, is all based on exploding energy within the the body.
As a student explores the varieties of martial art he may encounter the concept of absorbing energy. The act of guiding a punch, instead of blocking it, brings awareness of the concept of drawing energy in, instead of just putting it out. This progression of art often starts with a hard Shaolin art, goes through a softer art like Wing Chun Kung Fu, and, eventually, ends up with Wudan Tai Chi Chuan.
And, even if the student stays within one art, he will evolve into the soft. The unfortunate fact of aging, of the body no longer being able to expel the tremendous force of some of the hard arts, will draw the student into the softer arts. He will punch so that he doesn't get whiplash, he will use his legs so he doesn't suffer hip injury, and he will become softer in his approach to the art.
As these progressions of age and art occur, students learn to be softer, using their minds and their bodies to use less effort, and yet retain the abilities they have gained from the hard arts. Instead of violently thrusting energy through their bodies, they use the energy slowly, and focus it. Thus, the blinders slowly come off, and awareness seeps in.
Instead of exploding energy brutally through their bodies, the students learn to channel and guide energy through their bodies. They learn to manipulate energy easier as their awareness builds. They learn that the body energy they were so proud of when they were young and robust was a mere shadow of what they were capable.
Finally, they make the change from hard to soft, from inner to outer, from internal to external, and the Shaolin adept becomes the Wudan sage. Instead of using violent art, the Wudan master moves with an opponent, drawing in the energy of the attack and transforming as he wishes. Yet, though there is wisdom in the Gung Fu of the Wudan variety, there is no disdain for the hard, for the true sage knows the need for his early Shaolin training, he knows the benefit of understanding energy on hard levels if the student is to make the transition to the softer Wudan intelligence.
by AlCase
One of the oldest of the planetary martial arts is Shaolin. It was brought from India by a fellow named Bodhidharma, and has been pivotal to martial arts the world over. Interestingly, Shaolin eventually changed into an internal art atop Wudan Mountain.
I know there will be those who disagree with the concept I present here, but I hold to it, as I have watched students evolve, and the evolution of art from Shaolin to Wudan mirrors what I have seen students go through on a personal level. Indeed, as students peel layers off the art, so do they add layers of awareness within themselves, and attain the truly miraculous.
The student new to Shaolin learns to explode energy from the tan tan, to spread that energy throughout his frame and make his body like a rock. Arms become iron windmills, stances attach him permanently to the planet. This, however, is all based on exploding energy within the the body.
As a student explores the varieties of martial art he may encounter the concept of absorbing energy. The act of guiding a punch, instead of blocking it, brings awareness of the concept of drawing energy in, instead of just putting it out. This progression of art often starts with a hard Shaolin art, goes through a softer art like Wing Chun Kung Fu, and, eventually, ends up with Wudan Tai Chi Chuan.
And, even if the student stays within one art, he will evolve into the soft. The unfortunate fact of aging, of the body no longer being able to expel the tremendous force of some of the hard arts, will draw the student into the softer arts. He will punch so that he doesn't get whiplash, he will use his legs so he doesn't suffer hip injury, and he will become softer in his approach to the art.
As these progressions of age and art occur, students learn to be softer, using their minds and their bodies to use less effort, and yet retain the abilities they have gained from the hard arts. Instead of violently thrusting energy through their bodies, they use the energy slowly, and focus it. Thus, the blinders slowly come off, and awareness seeps in.
Instead of exploding energy brutally through their bodies, the students learn to channel and guide energy through their bodies. They learn to manipulate energy easier as their awareness builds. They learn that the body energy they were so proud of when they were young and robust was a mere shadow of what they were capable.
Finally, they make the change from hard to soft, from inner to outer, from internal to external, and the Shaolin adept becomes the Wudan sage. Instead of using violent art, the Wudan master moves with an opponent, drawing in the energy of the attack and transforming as he wishes. Yet, though there is wisdom in the Gung Fu of the Wudan variety, there is no disdain for the hard, for the true sage knows the need for his early Shaolin training, he knows the benefit of understanding energy on hard levels if the student is to make the transition to the softer Wudan intelligence.
About the Author:
Al Case has taught the martial arts for 4O years, he began his Wudan training in 1974. You can see how soft he is by picking up a free ebook at Monster Martial Arts.