Traditional Chinese Martial Arts ~ Tai Chor
Ancient-day China was a land of strife and feudal wars. It was a necessity for people to learn Kung Fu to defend themselves. Inevitably, martial arts styles differed from region to region, but amongst all the styles, those that came our of the Shaolin Temple was so prominent that the word ‘Shaolin’ became synonymous with Kung Fu. And from Shaolin emerged the numerous styles of Kung Fu that still exist and thrive today.
One of the most controversial categories of Kung Fu from Shaolin is the Ngo Chor, meaning “Five Ancestors”. We’re not going to go into the history and arguments about the origin of the “Five Ancestors”. Let’s just say that some theories claim that the “Five Ancestors” signify the five groups of survivors who survived the razing of the Shaolin Temple during the peak of the Ming dynasty. Others believe that Ngo Chor is a combination of five of the more famous Shaolin Kung Fu styles. Let’s not argue the semantics of origins. Everyone agrees that Ngo Chor is composed of five systems: Tai Chor, Crane, Lohan, Monkey and the Fighting Nun.
Of these, you can learn Tai Chor and Lohan at MYMA Center. We’ll take a brief look at Tai Chor in this post.
Tai Chor means “Grand Ancestor”, and was developed by Emperor Sung Tai Chor (or Zhao Kuan Yin), who founded the Sung Dynasty around 500B.C.. It is said that Emperor Sung brought together the best fighters of his time to teach him Kung Fu. He then incorporated the various styles from these masters and developed what he called Tai Chor Kung Fu. Tai Chor was meant to be a battlefield technique, and was taught to nobles, court officials and military officers at first. But over time, it was taught to common folk as well.
The Tai Chor characteristic is to have tight defenses, meaning elbows are very closed-in; with tight stances – front knees turned. Forearms must be kept rigid; and the motions are kept very linear, with powerful slashing/slicing action from the arms and hands. The kicks are usually low, and hard foot stomps are typical of the style. Overall, it is a strong, hard style, although, as with many other styles, the more advanced the student, the more use of internal qi is used to generate power.
It is a powerful, confident style to behold, and is one of several styles taught at MYMA Center. Call us for further enquiries or come watch us train. You’ll get to see Tai Chor in action.
