Tai Zhang Dao
WHAT IS A “WINDMILL WARRIOR?”
This is the symbol of one who has passed the course and now eligible to wear this symbol designating them as a “Windmill Warrior.”
“Tai Zhang Dao” (pronounced tie-jung-dow and in Chinese translates to “The Extreme Cane”) is a method or style of martial art stemming from Tai Chi that effectively employs an ordinary cane for fitness and personal protection in a proactive manner that is unavailable elsewhere.
In Chinese, the word “Tai” is taken from the word “Tai Chi” (aka Taiji) and means “The Extreme.” The word “Zhang” means “Cane.” And the word “Dao” indicates “The Way Of” which we include because it signifies a “road, path, or method” instead of describing a static object.
Tai Zhang Dao (TZD) builds on the “Cane Fu” concept of using the cane for pesonal protection and adapts it to be more effective in actual street encounters. The proactive style incorporates effective methods and successful techniques from a number of various disciplines such as Tai Chi, Hapkido, Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do, Krav Maga, and Kung Fu.
This course is not just another self-defense course but one that can be used in conjunction with a self-defense course. TZD concerns itself with using a cane to deal with an opponent at a distance before they have a chance to get close enough for you to need to use your hands and feet. If they are lucky enough to get through your first line of “TZD offensive defense,” then a self defense course would come in handy.
Stopping opponents before they get close
enough to harm you is the goal of TZD.
It was developed initially to fill a need lacking in present disciplines that addresses the ability of novices and especially for older students to rapidly learn how to protect themselves without years of study and practice.onents before they get close
enough to harm you is the goal of TZD.
TZD is not just for men….it is ideal for women as well as men and responsible young adults. However, it is more practical for individuals who have some degree of mobility.
It goes on the concept that there are “no rules” in street altercations and focuses the training accordingly. It takes into account that most people don’t want to waste a lot of time learning to protect themselves with complicated forms of defense techniques but want to get down to the “nitty-gritty” hardcore self-protection forms to immediately dispatch an opponent confronting them. It is based on the creator’s rule that:
“You don’t have to be fast…you only need to be first.”
It is well known that older people do not have speed, strength, endurance, or agility of younger people whom they might encounter and as a result, the program is designed such that opponents are dealt with rapidly and effectively utilizing a “KISS” [Keep It Simple Stupid] system developed by the creator. This applies whether the individual is dealing with one or multiple opponents.
Training for the style utilizes simple, natural movements that are easy to learn and remember. It has a short learning curve and is unlike the formal training required in normal martial arts which can take years to master. Like any other endeavor, mastery takes a bit longer and depends on how much the individual practices it.
Students passing these training courses become members of “The Windmill Warriors” and are qualified to wear the windmill symbol shown above.
“Tilting at Windmills” means attacking imaginary enemies or fighting unwinable or futile battles. In the illustration, most people would pick the knight (a/k/a Don Quixote) on horseback as one of the Windmill Warriors, where in reality, the Windmill Warriors are the windmills and opponents are fighting an unwinable battle with them.
