We are talking about Wu Ji Quan as a martial art and lineage teaching of the southern (Nan) Shaolin Monastery based in the area of Putian in the Fujian Province. This happened because the first patriarch Bodhidharma / chin. Damo, (440–528 AD) alongside other arts and treasures, integrated this unique art deriving from the folk tradition of China into the monastic shelter of Shaolin Monastery to preserve it for further cultivation, especially for inner development by the monks and abbots of the lineage and rich tradition.
If you look into the World Wide Web and YouTube, you will find some more content presented as Wu Ji Quan. First, it’s a matter of meaning, the background, and interpretation of these important terms and signs in Chinese history and philosophy. First, let’s have a look at the term WU JI from the perspective of our tradition and Grandmaster Chee Kim Thong.
The background featured here is covering the vast philosophical background as well mentioned in the book of changes, the I Ching, from early Chinese Daoist and Buddhist philosophy defining the term WU as primordial void or emptiness. The term JI also written as CHI or QI can be interpreted here as life force, seed, potential, or just universal energy. Therefore, we can define the meaning of the term WU JI (無極) as ULTIMATE POTENTIAL, which I prefer mostly. It’s an unborn state simultaneously bearing unlimited possibilities and potential for creation. The meaning of QUAN means fist or boxing and is pointing to the martial purpose of the art.
You can train Wu Ji Quan, even a bit of the forms, as a constant perfect daily practice for regeneration, stress management, as movement meditation, or as a profound internal martial art with others. It’s good to know that our Grandmaster defined Wu Ji Quan as the inner essence of the Shaolin tradition, covering an art featuring the core of internal martial arts, healing, and highest spiritual cultivation.
By this, it’s important to take a closer look and compare the differences in the meaning of Wu Ji Quan featured openly, deriving from different sources. If you like to look deeper into the meaning of the term WU and its contextualization, just do some internet research and you’ll find a variety of different options.