Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

Greetings Bob46, What do you mean by unstable ground"? Also, what would be your objective? "Dragon slippers"? Personally, I practice on whatever surface is in situ, wherever I am at, when I want to practice and am not at home. Also, I practice wearing whatever footwear I have on, be t...

Greetings Phil (aka GVI), It was interesting reading of your exercises in Push Hands and how by coming at it from different directions can result in Eureka moments, for both student and teacher. On this note, I will relate to you something that I tried just yesterday in my more advanced class, follo...

Hi GVI, How very true. In the effort to better articulate and inform my students on the various aspects of Taiji, both the civil and martial, I have delved much deeper into and developed a greater understanding of the practice and principles of Yang Taiji. It has certainly made me a far better teach...

Greetings, This is an old post but it is something that I have been looking at more closely of late. In particular, it is about the "forms" or "exercises" that might form part of a set for training or development purposes for push hands. I've been taught and continue to practice ...

Greetings, In recent times, I have been considering how some translations into English can be misunderstood, when just taken as is without context and without thoughtful inquiry. I like to remove abstraction in Taiji sayings and descriptions wherever possible, so that it not only makes sense to me b...

Greetings GVI, It is great to hear from you and the advice you offered. You have given me a perspective that I have mislaid and forgotten. I have been hoping for more than the 1 percent, but the reality check you have given me is quite timely. I will have to reconcile to myself that I will not be ab...

Greetings, I have decided to return to this Discussion Board to get feedback from like-minded Taiji practitioners. I got quite frustrated with the Facebook group site, as it seemed to have all sorts of members, many of whom seem to post matters irrelevant to improving one's practice or understanding...

Hi gvi,

Good on you. It is also similar to the rationale that artists use in flipping and doing a painting upside down.

Take care and stay safe.
Frank

Greetings, Just thought that I might share some of my thoughts on the value and benefits I see in practising the Long Form in Mirror Image. I don't practice any other forms in mirror image, but regularly do so in the Long Form. Why do you ask? From my perspective there are quite a number of very cog...

Greetings. The board has been rather silent of late. Perhaps we are all a little worn out and jaded from COVID lockdowns and restrictions. Just going back to how long it takes to do the Long Form? There is generally going to be some variation in timing based on the person's interpretation and hence ...

Greetings, I couldn't resist throwing in my two bobs worth. Sorry for the pun. As with GVI, I also use qigong forms for my warmups. However, when I do the qigong form, I also focus on stillness and immersing myself in the 'Dao'. So, it is not just physical warmup but also mind/spirit warmup (?). So,...

Hi Gvi, I have seen posted a form called Yang Family Taiji Qigong, 10 Movements. However, it seems to be a compilation of some typical postures done in repetion to the left and right. There are Taiji instructors who teach abbreviated forms such as 8 Postures Form, etc., which has a very similar appr...

Greetings, Due to COVID-19 and the need to physically distance, I have had to cease/suspend my class in Push Hands and the 2-person sparring form. So, presumably until a vaccine is available and/or the infection rate is almost zero, and there is no risk of transmission, will we be allowed to do cont...

Hi Louis, Many thanks for your thoughts and advice. I have since contacted Lee Fife and he has informed me of the origins of the saying. According to Lee, he was orally given these words by a former teacher of his from Yang Jianhou's lineage. He also acknowledges that there is no relationship to Yan...

Greetings, I came across this some time ago, which was titled the "Yang Family 8 Words". It was from a translation by Lee Fife, I understand. Can anyone tell me if this is actually from the Yang Family, and when/who originated it? Below is the translation attributed to Lee Fife. 中正安舒 轻灵圆活 ...