HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF
BASIC TAIJIQUAN SET -- WHITE CRANE FLAPS WINGS
White Crane Flaps Wings
"White Crane Flaps Wing" is a fundamental set in Wahnam Taijiquan. Wahnam Taijiquan practiced in our school is different from Taijiquan practiced in most other schools. We practice Taijiquan as an internal martial art, which means we develop internal force and apply Taijiquan techniques for combat. More importantly, we transfer what we learn in our Taijiquan lessons to enrich our daily life.
"White Crane Flaps Wings" was evolved from "Cloud Hands", which was invented by me to give Shaolin Wahnam students an introduction to Taijiquan benefits, and later as a basic set in a VIP Taijiquan Course in 2005.
I discovered that while "Cloud Hands" included all important Taijiquan movements and benefits, it lacks obvious feeling and chin-na techniques (though they are hidden in "Grasping Sparrow's Tail" of "Cloud Hands"), which were consequently added to form the new comprehensive set. It becomes the fundamental set for Taijiquan practitioners in our school to be learnt at Level 2 of the Taijiquan Syllabus, and it corresponds to "Lohan Asks the Way" in Shaolin Kungfu. Being a later development, it has some advantages over its Shaolin counterpart. It includes, for example, all the four categories of attack -- striking, kicking, felling and chin-na.
It is worthwhile to note that "White Crane Flaps Wings" refers to a set. The same name can also refer to a sequence, or to a pattern, like the picture above.
"White Crane Flaps Wings" can be viewed here, the pattern names of the set here, and the set in slow motion here.
Wong Kiew Kit
18th December 2015
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