Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

"The most scholarly-appearing treatments of the origins of Taijiquan tend to raise quite complex and perplexing historical questions" Indeed! That is the one consistent thread I've noticed about scholarly histories of T'ai Chi. Before Yang Lu-ch'an is in Beijing there is no relibale docume...

I believe that we can only speculate what was going on back then. There is a tradition handed down by my teacher's family that before the time of Yang Ch'eng-fu and Wu Chien-ch'uan (who famously standardised their forms in order to facilitate more consistently teaching large numbers of people) the T...

Also, I have seen interviews with Yang Zhenduo Laoshi where he describes having to repeatedly train painfully slow forms (40 minute plus) throughout his youth.

We have this s-l-o-w training in Wu style as well, but it is rare nowadays, usually only done in winter (for the heat!)

Well, actually, zhanzhuang is a part of it. Each of the variations of each of the 24 forms takes an aspect of the form and works it in a specific pattern to be able to generate a specific result. There are four main states involved in our style of training: 1. Stillness inside, stillness outside (zh...

Yes, the Wu family teaches 24 forms of ch'i kung or qigong for "power generation" in martial coordination and general health. This was said to be inherited from Yang Pan-hou and, until very recently, it was kept absolutely secret and only taught to family members and the most trusted senio...

In our school, we try to work the first classes at two levels, simultaneously. Besides the technical information associated with the basic posture of the body, footwork relationships and breathing, we also work at subtly (or not) setting up our expectations for the student. We want them to get used ...

I agree that like any other idea that ends up becoming state orthodoxy, Neo-Confucianism ended up becoming an instrument for political and social control instead of self-cultivation. It is their original non-sectarian conception of "The three teachings are not separate schools, But all speak of...

Well, as far as the theoretical basis for T'ai Chi, in my opinion a good palce to start would be: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-confucianism The Neo-Confucians synthesized (consciously or not) many strands of Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian thought into a coherent structure that eventually became ...

We shouldn't forget that Sun Lu-t'ang respected and studied T'ai Chi to the point that he is recognized as the founder of his own distinct style. He had learned Hsing-i first, yet studied T'ai Chi later. That should tell us something.

I don't know about the quality, good or bad, of the Funei group, so I can't say, my observation only is on that I don't believe their assertion that there is some secret teaching that somehow bypassed Pan-hou's students. My teacher's ancestors were Imperial bannermen, officers of the elite palace ba...

"Yang Ban Hou was upset that his father taught the complete art openly and decided to spread a trimmed version that had only one "Large Frame" set." I can't answer the other questions, but the above quote caught my eye. I'm somewhat suspicious of groups that would use a story lik...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Anderzander: <B>Mr Britt I feel you have no reason to be concerned. I don't think anyone reading in here would mistake the views posted ...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Bamenwubu: <B>I don't want to make any assumptions, so I'll ask the question rather than do so. In the school of TCC in which I used to ...

Well, each instructor has their own variations. The fast form is very idiosyncratic; it is based upon body type, understanding of the basics and personal preference (does a person want to express "three method" na, or p'eng, lu, chi and an in Grasp Bird's Tail, for example). Untilthe tape ...

I am hesitant to second-guess the Yang Ch'eng-fu lineage teachers on the form that they teach. As well, I would not say that there is anything missing from their training. Different energies of T'ai Chi are expressed in every motion of a good form; regardless of style good T'ai Chi is good T'ai Chi....