Dear Shaolin Wahnam Family and Friends,
What a gift it is that Sifu/Sigung/Sitaigung has agreed to teach Northern Shaolin Tantui from the 24th of July to the 5th of August this year! In this course, he will teach what is not taught elsewhere, with a special focus on internal force development and combat application - it is certainly not an opportunity to be missed!
For those who do not know anything about Tantui, I would like to open this thread to share some information on this wonderful art. I would also like to invite fellow Shaolin Wahnam members and friends to share their experiences and perspectives here.
Tantui is well known and valued throughout the world today as a foundational style, and it is often considered a prerequisite before learning any other style of Chinese martial arts (kungfu). However, many exponents are not aware of how Tantui is much more than just a basic art, and that it is, in fact, a comprehensive style containing all the four categories of:
a) hand strikes
b) kicks/leg work
c) felling
d) chin-na (grips).
Before going any further, it is worth taking a moment first to consider the origin of the term 'Tantui'. This term comes from two sources:
a) from 'spring kicks', meaning 'to be released from a compressed situation', and not 'one of the four seasons of the year in a temperate country';
b) and from 'long tan si' which is word-for-word 'dragon-pond-temple', or the 'Temple of Dragon's Pond', where Tantui was first developed.
The word 'Tantui' is in Mandarin pronunciation. In the Chin Woo Association in Penang, where this is the first set practiced, regardless of what kungfu style students may specialize in later on, it is called and also spelt as, 'Tham Thui', which is in Cantonese. 'Tham' refers to 'pond' in Cantonese. The Temple of Dragon's Pond in Cantonese is 'Long Tham Chui'. In Cantonese, 'spring' in 'spring-kicks' is also pronounced as 'tan', or more precisely as 'than', just as it is written in English.
In Mandarin, 'tan' in 'Tantui' is also pronounced as 'than' as the Chinese pronounce it, and not as 'tan' when written in English spelling. Just as 'qigong' is pronounced as 'chi kung', and not as 'qi gong', in Spanish, 'Jose' is pronounced as 'ho say' and not as 'jose'.
I would like to invite forum visitors and fellow Shaolin Wahnam members to post here and share their opinion on which version of the origin of the term 'Tantui' they think is correct. Also, which version is preferred?
Thank you for your kind attention so far.
My deepest gratitude goes out to Sifu (Sigung/Sitaigung) for his great generosity in agreeing to teach the wonders of this profound art this summer.
Shaolin salute from the heart,
Emiko
What a gift it is that Sifu/Sigung/Sitaigung has agreed to teach Northern Shaolin Tantui from the 24th of July to the 5th of August this year! In this course, he will teach what is not taught elsewhere, with a special focus on internal force development and combat application - it is certainly not an opportunity to be missed!
For those who do not know anything about Tantui, I would like to open this thread to share some information on this wonderful art. I would also like to invite fellow Shaolin Wahnam members and friends to share their experiences and perspectives here.
Tantui is well known and valued throughout the world today as a foundational style, and it is often considered a prerequisite before learning any other style of Chinese martial arts (kungfu). However, many exponents are not aware of how Tantui is much more than just a basic art, and that it is, in fact, a comprehensive style containing all the four categories of:
a) hand strikes
b) kicks/leg work
c) felling
d) chin-na (grips).
Before going any further, it is worth taking a moment first to consider the origin of the term 'Tantui'. This term comes from two sources:
a) from 'spring kicks', meaning 'to be released from a compressed situation', and not 'one of the four seasons of the year in a temperate country';
b) and from 'long tan si' which is word-for-word 'dragon-pond-temple', or the 'Temple of Dragon's Pond', where Tantui was first developed.
The word 'Tantui' is in Mandarin pronunciation. In the Chin Woo Association in Penang, where this is the first set practiced, regardless of what kungfu style students may specialize in later on, it is called and also spelt as, 'Tham Thui', which is in Cantonese. 'Tham' refers to 'pond' in Cantonese. The Temple of Dragon's Pond in Cantonese is 'Long Tham Chui'. In Cantonese, 'spring' in 'spring-kicks' is also pronounced as 'tan', or more precisely as 'than', just as it is written in English.
In Mandarin, 'tan' in 'Tantui' is also pronounced as 'than' as the Chinese pronounce it, and not as 'tan' when written in English spelling. Just as 'qigong' is pronounced as 'chi kung', and not as 'qi gong', in Spanish, 'Jose' is pronounced as 'ho say' and not as 'jose'.
I would like to invite forum visitors and fellow Shaolin Wahnam members to post here and share their opinion on which version of the origin of the term 'Tantui' they think is correct. Also, which version is preferred?
Thank you for your kind attention so far.
My deepest gratitude goes out to Sifu (Sigung/Sitaigung) for his great generosity in agreeing to teach the wonders of this profound art this summer.
Shaolin salute from the heart,
Emiko
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