Lower Providence Aikido

I love the question as to which is better, Karate or Tai Chi Chuan, because it is a bogus question. The fact of the matter is that they are two sides of the same coin. This is one of those things that most people don't understand.

To define the art of Karate one would first describe it as linear, for everyone has the rather erroneous idea that Karate is straight lines. Second, one would think of explosiveness, for the violence of Karate explodes outward from the center of the body. And, there isn't a clearly definable third point to be discussed here.

To define the gentle Tai Chi internal art one would say circular, for the movements of the art loop and twine like a snake in love with itself. Secondly, one would say slow, and here is the first point of comparison to be made between the two arts. For people usually miss out on what an explosion actually is.

An explosion is a rushing out of energy in all directions from one central point. The question I pose here is...what is the speed of an explosion? We have set ideas, probably established by the violence we expect from such an event, but the truth is, there is no set speed to define an explosion.

Thus, in TCC there is an explosion, but it is slow, sustained, and controlled. Now, both arts get their power from the explosion. Both have power, you see, but it is in the function where we have the seeming divergence of arts.

Tai Chi absorbs the violence, and circles it back into itself, or otherwise handles it. Karate just destroys the attack. This type of fighting might be considered bad manners, but we don't care about that; we care about the notion that real karate is not sharp angles. Bad Karate is sharp and established angles, but the real and good stuff is silky smooth and liquid, and the motions of the body are filled with subtle nuances and circles.

The real problem here is that people tend to set their ideas and not be able to change them as to what a Martial Art is, and they categorize and label, and they usually miss the point. The best martial arts I ever saw was my Korean Karate instructor, who was as liquid as greased oil in a mud pit. He used the explosions and angles like a master of TCC, but in a different method.

The real point here is to understand the direction of the incoming force, and then decide which art is appropriate to your whim. And, here is something to consider, can you utilize your Tai Chi Chuan with violent explosiveness? Or, can you utilize your Karate explosiveness with harmony?