What is Wahnam Taijiquan?

By Sifu Jeffrey Segal

Grandmaster Wong observes as Sifu Jeffrey and Sifu Robin Gamble from Shaolin Wahnam England train the Three Circles Stance, an excellent way of developing internal force.

 

People often ask me to describe Wahnam Taijiquan. Put most simply, Wahnam Taijiquan is the Taijiquan that is taught by Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit and the certified Wahnam Taijiquan instructors of the Shaolin Wahnam Institute.

The word Wahnam comes from the names of two of Sifu Wong’s beloved masters (my beloved Sigungs) Lai Chin Wah and Ho Fatt Nam.

In practical terms, Wahnam Taijiquan is Taijiquan as we sincerely believe it was trained by past masters. This is based on Sifu Wong’s profound understanding of various Taijiquan Classics including works by Wu Yu Xiang, Li Yu Yu, Wang Zong Yue, Zhang San Feng (attributed or real, depending on your belief/perspective) and others. I would also include the Daode Jing as having influenced Wahnam Taijiquan.

I don’t think it’s unfair to say that Wahnam Taijiquan has benefitted greatly from Sifu Wong’s lifelong involvement in Chinese martial arts, as a practitioner, teacher and scholar. I find it very interesting that some of my Shaolinquan brothers often utilise Taijiquan principles in their life and training.

In relation to well known styles of Taijiquan, I’d say that Wahnam Taijiquan contains elements of both Yang and Chen style Taijiquan.

Students training Wahnam Taijiquan at a course
taught by Sifu Jeffrey in Ireland

 

Some of the hallmarks of Wahnam Taijiquan include:

Wahnam Taijiquan is always qigong and always spiritual cultivation

In all aspects of their training, Wahnam Taijiquan practitioners are cultivating energy and liberating their spirit. We make no separation between training Qigong and training Taijiquan.

Taijiquan principles including yin-yang harmony are trained from the first lesson.

Students are taught to differentiate between yin and yang in their very first Wahnam Taijiquan lesson. To quote Grandmaster Wong’s translation of the first verse of the Treatise on Taijiquan by Wang Zong Yue

The Cosmos is born of the void; is the source of motion and stillness and the mother of yin and yang. Because of motion there is separation: because of stillness there is integration.

These profound words are a description of the origin of the Cosmos as well as being a description of how we move from the Wuji (Infinite Ultimate) Stance to the Taiji (Cosmos) stance. They also give an indication of how internal force can be developed using stance training.

The importance of stance training (both Zhang Zhuang and moving in stances) is emphasised

Stance training provides the solid basis for future progress. Wahnam Taijiquan stances are the crystallisation of generations of Masters’ experiences. They enhance qi flow and when used in Pushing Hands and sparring, they give tactical and technical advantages whilst minimising innate weaknesses.

A great deal of emphasis is placed on training internal force

Wahnam Taijiquan is an internal martial art. The radiant health and martial capabilities of a Wahnam Taijiquan practitioner depend on developing internal force which is trained using a combination of stance training, dynamic Taijiquan patterns, spontaneous qi flow and standing meditation

The use of a comprehensive sparing methodology

In order to be able to use the Taijiquan they have learnt in sparring, Wahnam Taijiquan practitioners train using a systematic sparring methodology. Step by step, students are taught to apply their Wahnam Taijiquan skills and techniques in training. Sifu Anthony Korahais from Shaolin Wahnam USA has written this excellent article on the Shaolin Wahnam Sparring Methodology. In Wahnam Taijiquan, the methodology is similar except that we also use pushing hands as an important bridge between solo training and sparing with partners. It's important to remember that Taijiquan is a style of Kungfu.

Sifu Jeffrey training Pushing Hands with Sifu Emiko Hsuen
from Shaolin Wahnam Canada

Taijiquan forms are seen as a means and not an end

In Wahnam Taijiquan, learning the patterns, techniques and sets whilst important is seen as a step towards being able to use these patterns to develop skills such as generating energy flow, cultivating internal force and liberating the Spirit. In other words, once the patterns themselves have been learnt, the journey has only just begun. That said, Wahnam Taijiquan patterns are beautiful and graceful, sometimes described as poetry in motion.

Taijiquan patterns are used not only in form practice but also in sparing

Wahnam Taijiquan patterns are the way they are because, like the stances, they offer tactical and technical advantages just as they minimize innate weaknesses. That’s why we believe in using the same techniques in solo practice that we use when sparring.

So, training Wahnam Taijiquan is a wonderful way to receive all the benefits of training Qigong with the added bonus of learning an internal martial art. Even if you aren't interested in fighting, training Wahnam Taijiquan is an enjoyable way to attain and maintain radiant health. If you'd like to know more about learning Wahnam Taijiquan, please click here.

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