A proud martial arts heritage

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TAICHI chuan was a subject that constantly hovered in the background of my childhood but, somehow, never made it to the centre of my consciousness.

IN UNISON: Yek leads the group through a taichi form.

None of my immediate family practised martial arts but like many of my peers, I grew up on a steady diet of Hong Kong-produced Chinese martial arts movies.

I vaguely understood terms like ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ and ‘chi’ — enough to comprehend the plot of your average kung fu movie but woefully inadequate to fully appreciate the humble discipleship, strict physical and mental discipline, and immense depth of careful thought and patient understanding needed to master taichi chuan and pass it on to the next generation.

Thus, I committed the grievous mistake of assuming all Chinese martial arts are the same, carelessly lumping taichi chuan together with what I thought were its so-called more glamourous cousins like Shaolin kung fu, wing chun and wushu.

This yawning chasm between my understanding of taichi chuan and what it actually is and the passion it evokes in its followers was painfully apparent during recent interviews with two remarkable individuals who have dedicated their lives to studying and practising this martial art — Professor Yek Sing Ong and instructor Wong Wee Choon.

Professor Yek is the founder of Sing Ong taichi and currently based in Auckland, New Zealand. He trained under Grandmaster Huang Sheng Shyan (a notable taichi master) for 33 years until the latter’s passing. Yek was recently in Kuching together with a small group of instructors and students from New Zealand.

Wong is the chairman and instructor of the Sarawak Tai Chi Chuan and Nai Wai Dang Gong Association in Kuching. He has been studying taichi under Professor Yek for over 20 years.

What is taichi?

Yek explained that according to ancient Chinese philosophies, everything in the universe depends on yin and yang and the balance between these two forces. Without yin and yang, the ancient Chinese believed life would not exist and there would be no growth.

In the same way, yin and yang is believed to the basis for all martial arts, including taichi chuan.

“When a person is in balance, he will be healthy. If not, he would have lost his health. Taichi chuan is about balancing yin and yang, the substantial and insubstantial and keeping the balance and equilibrium.

“As far as martial arts goes, it’s all about balance. If there is no balance, it will be difficult to be successful,” Yek said.

Wong added that among taich chuan’s main characteristics are its emphasis on using mind over force, and slow, precise and controlled movements to counter fast movements and brute force.

To the uninitiated, it appears soft and relaxed compared to the forceful tactics of most martial arts. However, taichi chuan requires a lot of mental concentration and physical training to raise one’s skill and physical conditioning — to the extent that the movements appear effortless.

Taichi chuan also places importance on utilising non-physical characteristics such as ‘chi’ energy, intent and spirit, the five elements and eight trigrams — these form the fundamentals of internal martial arts.

In contrast, many other martial arts are what can be called external martial arts, emphasising physical characteristics such as power, strength, speed, tendons and bones.

Effective martial art

Sing Ong taichi was founded by Professor Yek but it essentially follows the same principles and forms of Yang style taichi, one of taichi’s five main classical forms.

A most common misconception about taichi is that it is less deserving of respect as a serious martial art form compared to, say, Shaolin kung fu. Many people tend to perceive taichi chuan as more befitting of the older generation because of how they most often see it practised — usually for health and recreation and by groups of senior citizens moving slowly in unison in open public spaces like car parks.

However, Yang style taichi’s effectiveness as a martial art can be traced back hundreds of years to the Chinese imperial palace where it was used by elite guards to protect the imperial family   (See box above).

Time has not diminished taichi’s usefulness — it still retains its appeal — even to students from other martial arts schools.

Wong himself is one example of this. He trained in White Crane martial arts for five years, competing in tournaments in Kuching, Singapore and Taiwan until 1975 when he was defeated by an opponent skilled in judo.

This prompted him to take up judo to better his own skills. For over 10 years, he studied judo, mastering it to the extent that he also began winning competitions.

Then, as fate would have it, he came across several video recordings of Grandmaster Huang Sheng Shyan (Yek’s teacher) using taichi to soundly defeat a number of opponents, seemingly without great effort.

Greatly impressed, Wong wanted learning more about taichi. But he also had doubts about whether what he watched on the videos was actually for real.

Some time later, a friend brought Wong to meet Yek and Wong got to witness with his own eyes how taichi could be used effectively for self-defense without relying on brute force.

Wong was mesmerised by Yek’s skilfull use of ‘very light hands’ to neutralise his opponents. His doubts quashed, Wong became convinced of taichi’s inherent value and began studying under Yek in 1990.        He remains a student of Yek’s       to this day, determined to carry on the Sing Ong taichi tradition    in Kuching and pass his knowledge and skills to future generations.

From Sarawak to NZ

For Yek, there is no question taichi is his lifelong passion.

Born in Sarikei in 1942, he started learning the fundamentals of martial arts from his father at a young age, then from a Mr Wong from his village who taught him Shaolin martial arts.

In 1961, Grandmaster Huang opened a taichi school in Sibu where Yek was living at that time. A year later, Yek enrolled at the recommendation of his martial arts teacher and quite simply, fell in love with taichi chuan.

Previously, Yek only thought of martial arts as physical activity for fighting but as he got to know taichi chuan, he realised it was much more than that.

Huang told him having a background in martial arts was already quite good but if he wanted to learn taichi chuan,         he had to start from the very beginning, work on the foundation and develop one stage at a time.

Yek was a fast learner and his skills and knowledge blossomed under Huang’s watchful eye. By 1964, Yek was helping to teach taichi at the school. In 1974, he won the first Southeast Asia Open Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands competition in Taiwan.

As Yek advanced in his taichi chuan skills, Huang also taught him other skills such as White Crane and kung fu, as well as mastery of various weapons, including the sword, cane, staff, and broadsword.

In 1980, Yek moved to Kuching where he continued to train every morning with the other students at Huang’s home. After sometime, Yek began teaching taichi from his own home.

Later, he, together with Wong and a group of enthusiastic taichi students, decided to formalise the      teaching of the martial art and formed the Sarawak Tai Chi Chuan and Nai Wai Dang Gong Association.

Yek was one of 13 students studying with Huang and the group later became known as the 13 Vanguards, comprising Huang’s closest and most senior students who often trained at his house and tirelessly supported Huang in his business and personal life.

As a token of gratitude, Huang honoured these students with a special certificate to recognise the group. It was  the highest certificate of all the qualifications issued by Huang. This certificate is among Yek’s most prized possessions.

In 1991, Yek emigrated to New Zealand along with about half of the Vanguards. Originally, Huang had planned to move  there as well but fell ill and decided to return to China. Soon after, he passed away.

In New Zealand, Yek discovered Kiwis of all ages      were very interested in physical health and activities. Since they were so keen on exercise and keeping fit, he felt taichi would really benefit them and began teaching classes. The number       of students grew.

From NZ to the world

In 1995, Yek founded Sing Ong taichi. He selected this name partly to differentiate his teaching from Huang’s other students also teaching taichi, and also because of what the name means personally to him.

“Sing Ong means ‘God’s grace’,” said Yek, a Christian.

“It’s really a coincidence we share the same name. Only when you have God, you have grace, and when you have grace, you have success as God gives you the grace to be successful.”

Today, about 80 per cent of his Kiwi students are of European-Caucasian ethnicity while the rest are of Asian descent.

Sing Ong taichi is now taught in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Kuching and London — not bad for a martial art founded only 15 years ago.

Yek credits this success to a group of students who take their training very seriously and to the organisation’s systematic approach to training which provides the follow-up and know-how to support the students’ technical development and interests.

The organisation also conducts regular seminars and comprehensive training camps for students, instructors and senior instructors to increase their knowledge and skills and add depth to its leadership and teaching ranks.

Final questions

On the perception taichi is only for older people or healthy exercise, Yek believes the responsibility falls on practitioners and instructors to educate the public and students properly on the nature of the martial art.

The balance of health and martial arts cannot be separated as the presence of one complements the other. The absence or lack of one can severely limits the full expression of the other’s benefits.

“We need to have a very correct method to train the student and develop taichi chuan in the proper way,” Yek explained.

“If you don’t have a healthy body, even if you’re a great fighter, it’s still very limited — so, you can have male, female, young and old training taichi chuan for health but it is also an extremely high level martial arts.”

To master taichi, Yek believes not only is it important to practise diligently and patiently but the individual must really love taichi.

“If the person loves to train, we will be able to teach them. If they really want to learn, and we really want to teach, that person will succeed. It takes two to tango,” he smiled.

I asked Yek whether he thought taichi chuan students from the west would outnumber their eastern counterparts in the future.

He replied: “My teacher used to say to the students, if you don’t work hard, one day you will have to go overseas to learn taichi chuan. Who wants to learn will get it. It’s very fair, very equal.”

However, Yek is optimistic about the future of Sing Ong taichi in Kuching, believing it is in good hands.

“They are a group of people who really love taichi. If people love taichi, it will naturally develop and grow.”

For more information on Sing Ong taichi classes in Kuching and the Sarawak Tai Chi Chuan and Nai Wai Dang Gong Association, email [email protected] or visit http://taiji-dangong.blogspot.com.