Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

Well, you have gone through a lot of work searching through modern knowledge for things that seem to support the ideas that you hold, but I think that you have a rather simplistic understanding of your sources, and a rather unrealistically idealized view from Taijiquan. You are attempting to strengt...

Siahn, Part of the problem in pressure tested “proof” of the ability to fight with Taijiquan, is that even when someone tries to show this, observers always seem to doubt that they are solely fighting with Taijiquan. For example, William C. C. Chen’s son Max, and daughter Tiffany, have fought in MMA...

Siahn, My posts were not meant to prove Taijiquan’s effectiveness, just to state that for me the process was enough – no proof or faith required. Proof or faith, to me, is irrelevant. You seem to also acknowledge benefits from practice, but they do not seem to be enough for you. I guess we just appr...

Perhaps “Global Village Idiot” will respond to your post, since he is (was?) military and has tried some of the Taijiquan approach vs. his military group in some of their training. If not, then you may at least want to look at some of his past posts since they sometimes relate his experiences using ...

Many martial arts seek to increase their power. To do this, they practice punching, weight training, cardio so they can continue using this energy intensive strength longer; training ways to be stronger longer by using better mechanics, etc. This is increasing what they already have; the conventiona...

Since the use of guns became prominent, fewer people practice Taijiquan for fighting, so those that can do so are not common today. This appears to be true even in China, since the Boxer rebellion (~1900) showed that unarmed combat skills, that require long training, could not stand up against even ...

GVI, I think that your skeptical instincts are correct. As a part of Chinese culture that is thought to encompass everything, the Yijing (I Ching) should, in theory, be able to describe aspects of Taijiquan. But any attempt to do so would likely only be of value as a mental exercise for that person ...

There are numerous difficulties with trying to study Taijiquan scientifically. True, knowledge of, and interest in, Taijiquan are obstacles, but the difficulty with valid experimental design also complicate things. It is not very easy to design experiments with appropriate and rigorous controls, and...

Opinions on footwear come up from time to time, but to me the more important issue is “rooting”. We want to develop a root that is more vertically oriented (down into the earth) rather than horizontal (friction with the floor). If vertically rooted, then slippery socks or shoes (e.g. cotton soles) s...

I agree with Audi concerning the numbering of the form. There is a numerological significance to the number 9, and the multiples of 9. Here is what I wrote in the following thread: http://www.yangfamilytaichi.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1984&p=13287&hilit=outlaws#p13287 The 72 Stages ...

Matt, Sorry, not being an Association member I am unfamiliar with the official curriculum, and I did not realize that it was just the 18’ length that you were objecting to rather than any pole longer than standard. The two poles that I train “pole shaking” with are both about 10’ long, but are longe...

I call what I practice and teach “Yang style” or a “Yang style variant” so this naming convention issue does not really concern me. But I wanted to point out that you will not be able to control what others call their versions. You can only control what you call your own style; perhaps “Yang Family ...

"Intuition" cannot be called "empirical"; it needs to be objectively testable.

I am not all that familiar with the “flow state”. I think that in sports, as well as in TJQ, it would depend on being so proficient at what you are doing that you do not need to spend the extra concentration on yourself, and therefore can instead be “in the moment.” If so, then practicing your form ...

GVI, If you are using racket sports for an analogous “flow state” or “being in the zone” type of experience, then it is probably OK. But the dynamics of how one uses a jian or dao for TJQ are different than swinging a racket! Training racket sports will not be analogous to Taiji jian or dao (althoug...