Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

Well, now that work has calmed down a bit, I can answer some of my own questions: My teacher asked me to take over a couple of his classes at a senior center and a benevolent association. I really enjoyed teaching, and found it was really fun to try and figure out how to say things so that students ...

Wow, so many great responses...I'm a bit swamped at work so I may not get to everything until next week. MLS and Anderzander: I liked what you guys had to say about listening carefully to students and tailoring what you're teaching to where they are. This was a big problem for me when I started out ...

Hi Gene, Thanks for replying. Yeah, there really is no contest if your opponent has a gun, except under exceptional circumstances. <font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"> The need for a lesson plan. I find that beginners need structure. I strongly recommend going into each class wi...

Hi Chee, You asked if Master Yang Jun is good at push hands. I don’t know if I can answer well. I have not really seen any other tai chi masters, other than his grandfather Master Yang Zhen Duo. I can tell you that Yang Jun is highly skilled, but I can also tell that his level is beyond my ability t...

Hi Chee, I don' have much time to write now, but here is a quote from the "Tai Chi Info" section of the Yang Family website. This is Master Yang Jun [in response to a question about push hands competition behavior violating principles of push hands:] "When we practice tui shou, we sho...

Hi everyone, All of us are students, but some of us are also teachers. Recently I’ve been asked to teach more than I used to and I’d like to improve my teaching style. I’d welcome any advice on the subject. This is meant to be a very open ended forum, but we can always branch outward. Here are some ...

Hi All, Bob: <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"><B> One set of drills I have not seen in the Yang family lexicon is the one where you keep your own arms out of the mix. In other words, what yo...

Hi Audi, <font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"> First, are you sure that Punch to the Opponent's Ears (Double Peaks/Winds Pierce the Ears) belongs to the list of postures with "delayed" fists? I have always thought the fists form immediately after the redirection with th...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"><B> I will do my best to avoid the next argument about this turn, which is: Do you make the hook hand before or after you complete the turn? </B></font><HR><...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"><B> In fact, he does speak of this as an attack from behing as I recalled, but there is no mention in the first explanation of the two turns we're talking ab...

Hi Bob, Thanks for your descriptions of alternate hook hands, various applications, etc. I've never used the Yang style hook hand and have never seen a real-time, striking force demonstration, but it sounds wicked. And yeah, it really is marvel how each application has so much latent potential--and ...

Hi Bob, Well, I guess even left and right are confusing when I’m not clear about what the starting point is. When I was talking about making the hook hand, I started in the middle of Single Whip, after the right toes have turned in 135 degrees, after the arms have made their large level circle and a...

I wanted a shoe I could practice in daily and wear for demos. There are several shoes out there now that are in the “martial arts” style, or even specifically marketed for yoga or tai chi that look quite sleek. Some of these have a decent flat, relatively smooth sole and might be fine, but others, l...

Hi Audi, I just asked for access to the members only areas—this was a two year old question of yours and I don’t know if it’s still a question in your mind, but I thought I’d give a go at answering. This is my current understanding, which I am still revising: after the hook hand is formed to the bac...

Hi MLS,

Strangely enough, I read that article yesterday for the first time. I thought it was interesting and useful.

Kal