Finally a teacher....

[Nebuchadnezzar]

WOW, the leasson with the second teacher was really great.
We started with a nice warm out which really warmed me "hot" LOL. Then all the class did the 8 form together and told me to follow the more I could, since they repeat (don't know if it is all 8 form like this) each movement 4 times he told me to try to look at the first one or two and follow with the rest.
After the 8 form was done another teacher who goes to class to practice took me aside to teach me privately. He explained me that we start we two deep breathing more for a "getting used to it", because (as Xue already told me) to include real breathing in the form is a long process.
He worked with me with the first two movement (the commencement, sun rise-sun set or whatever people call it...hee hee and heavy hands move like cloud). He worked with me with my posture (which he said he could tell it was laready very good) and feet positions. He showed me well the movement of the hands and transictions.
We closed the day with few exercises of Qi Gong, thing that yesterday we didn't even talk about.

I admit that after yesterday I was a little bit depressed about this and almost thought about going to Aikido, but after today I am very positive on the whole thing.

The air smell clean in this place. This sounds more like it. Good luck!

 

[Xue Sheng]

WOW, the leasson with the second teacher was really great.
We started with a nice warm out which really warmed me "hot" LOL. Then all the class did the 8 form together and told me to follow the more I could, since they repeat (don't know if it is all 8 form like this) each movement 4 times he told me to try to look at the first one or two and follow with the rest.
After the 8 form was done another teacher who goes to class to practice took me aside to teach me privately. He explained me that we start we two deep breathing more for a "getting used to it", because (as Xue already told me) to include real breathing in the form is a long process.
He worked with me with the first two movement (the commencement, sun rise-sun set or whatever people call it...hee hee and heavy hands move like cloud). He worked with me with my posture (which he said he could tell it was laready very good) and feet positions. He showed me well the movement of the hands and transictions.
We closed the day with few exercises of Qi Gong, thing that yesterday we didn't even talk about.

I admit that after yesterday I was a little bit depressed about this and almost thought about going to Aikido, but after today I am very positive on the whole thing.

Glad to hear it.

As always, keep us posted.

 

[charyuop]

Xue I have a question. I was told by the teacher that the way their master wants them to do the beginning (sunrise/sunset) is with feet wider then shoulders width and feet not parallel because this way it is more useful for health since it allows the body to go lower and work better hip/legs. I admit that I like it this way coz I really feel the work done on my legs. After months of long form I had never felt the same effort that I feel this way.
I was just wondering if it is really something their master wants and maybe introduced or it is used in 8 form also from other masters.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Xue I have a question. I was told by the teacher that the way their master wants them to do the beginning (sunrise/sunset) is with feet wider then shoulders width and feet not parallel because this way it is more useful for health since it allows the body to go lower and work better hip/legs. I admit that I like it this way coz I really feel the work done on my legs. After months of long form I had never felt the same effort that I feel this way.
I was just wondering if it is really something their master wants and maybe introduced or it is used in 8 form also from other masters.

I really cannot say, I never have done the 8 form (Yang Style: Traditional long form, Traditional fast form, 24 form, 48 form, weapons, Qigong, etc but not the 8), and it may depend on who their master's teacher was.

My Yang style Sifu does his long form a little different than Sifu Chu in Boston because they have different teachers but their teachers both had the same teacher (Yang Chengfu). I also have done some Cheng Manching style, and I rather liked it, but it very different from both of my teacher and Sifu Chu in Boston and Cheng's teacher was also Yang Chengfu. All 3 are good all 3 have their advantages and disadvantages. However I do not see anything wrong with any of these ways of doing the form.

As to the wider stance, if you feel it is working for you then go with it at least for now. As a side note; this is one of the things I like about Chen style; its stance tends to be lower and wider than Yang style. And at least for me easier to develop the internal side, but this is just me. Many feel the same way about Yang, Sun, Wu, Zhabao and Wu/Hao. It basically comes down to which style you feel is best for you.

And another note on stance which one is better depends on whom you talk to: My Yang Style teacher says Chen is to low and a member of the Chen family I talked to says Yang is too high.

 

[charyuop]

Great day today at the class
Master Judy Fu was there to test old students and she wanted to see our teachers too so she did parts of the form with them...wow she got excellent skills.
I talked to her after class a while and she said she teaches 8-24 and 48 forms traditional Yang style. She said people told her that her 48 looks alot like Chen style. After the 48 if someone interested she also teaches the Chen style. When you are done with the 48 she also introduces the sword form. She said she knows something called "tao Sword"? (her accent was heavy and couldn't understand well) and she said usually Master teach that form only to 2 students or at least it used to be like that.

But the best part of the daywas when I asked if she teaches push hands. She said she used to 10 years ago, but she would find problems from students in understanding it. They couldn't feel it and do it right so she quit. Since I couldnt understand what she meant she showed it to me (WOW first push hands done ever YAYYYYYYY). She told me to push as hard as I could and at first I didn't (she is a small woman and didn't want to hurt her), but when she said is that all you can I pushed hard. She asked me if I couldn't harder and I said yes, but I wanna keep my balance and she said that is the point. You have to be able to feel when I am the one coming in to youand receive my energy, thing that she had trouble to get through to people. So maybe in a couple of years I might ask her to teach me push hands hee hee.

(For the records, after a while of showing me push hands and her trying to make me understand the receiving part...she made me fly back hee hee).

 

[Xue Sheng]

Great day today at the class
Master Judy Fu was there to test old students and she wanted to see our teachers too so she did parts of the form with them...wow she got excellent skills.
I talked to her after class a while and she said she teaches 8-24 and 48 forms traditional Yang style. She said people told her that her 48 looks alot like Chen style. After the 48 if someone interested she also teaches the Chen style. When you are done with the 48 she also introduces the sword form. She said she knows something called "tao Sword"? (her accent was heavy and couldn't understand well) and she said usually Master teach that form only to 2 students or at least it used to be like that.

But the best part of the daywas when I asked if she teaches push hands. She said she used to 10 years ago, but she would find problems from students in understanding it. They couldn't feel it and do it right so she quit. Since I couldnt understand what she meant she showed it to me (WOW first push hands done ever YAYYYYYYY). She told me to push as hard as I could and at first I didn't (she is a small woman and didn't want to hurt her), but when she said is that all you can I pushed hard. She asked me if I couldn't harder and I said yes, but I wanna keep my balance and she said that is the point. You have to be able to feel when I am the one coming in to youand receive my energy, thing that she had trouble to get through to people. So maybe in a couple of years I might ask her to teach me push hands hee hee.

(For the records, after a while of showing me push hands and her trying to make me understand the receiving part...she made me fly back hee hee).

Glad to here it and I have to admit 48 form, although not considered traditional Yang, does look a bit like Chen. It sounds good so far so stick with it.

And my Yang style sifu was considerably smaller than me and he had little problem moving me around as well.

 

[charyuop]

I have a question about breathing. My teacher said not to worry about that in the beginning coz it will fix itself, but I don't see how it can happen.
While doing the forms the teachers says breathe in and breathe out when we are supposed to, but for the speed of the form I finish breathing in or breathing out long before the movement is done. I tried to slow down the breathing but in doing so all I get is getting a heavy breathing (like after you run) thus I need to breath faster. Is it normal?

 

[East Winds]

Charyuop,

Your question regarding breathing is very much tied in with a question you asked earlier about Fa Jing. Breathing is also a very contentious issue in Taijiquan, particularly in beginning classes. Many teachers believe that beginners have more than enough to contend with co-ordinating hands and feet, shoulders and hips, elbows and knees without also having to co-ordinate the breathing!!! In any case, particularly in Traditional Yang, it is not as simple as breathing in at the beginning of a posture and then breathing out at the end of it!!!! Breathing out is of course co-ordinated with the issuing of Fa Jing. Therefore theoretically, every time you wish to issue Fa Jing you breath out - during the transitions you breathe in.

As to 48 step, it is a modern Wushu competition form and cotains the most difficult of the postures from Chen, Yang, Wu and Sun styles. It is a very demanding form and the best I have seen is by an American girl called Kelly McLean. She is featured on a video by Liang Shou-Yu.

The 8 Form is an even more modern form developed in Beijing in 1998 and approved by the International Wushu Federation. It is called Yang style, but like so many of these forms the Yang Family themselves had absolutely no input it them.

Sounds like you are enjoying your training. Keep at it

Very best wishes

 

[Xue Sheng]

Charyuop,

Your question regarding breathing is very much tied in with a question you asked earlier about Fa Jing. Breathing is also a very contentious issue in Taijiquan, particularly in beginning classes. Many teachers believe that beginners have more than enough to contend with co-ordinating hands and feet, shoulders and hips, elbows and knees without also having to co-ordinate the breathing!!! In any case, particularly in Traditional Yang, it is not as simple as breathing in at the beginning of a posture and then breathing out at the end of it!!!! Breathing out is of course co-ordinated with the issuing of Fa Jing. Therefore theoretically, every time you wish to issue Fa Jing you breath out - during the transitions you breathe in.

Agreed, as I have said many times before when asked by new students about how to breathe and coordinate that with the form Tung Ying Cheih generally answered "Yes you should"

Coordinating the form is enough for now.

As to 48 step, it is a modern Wushu competition form and cotains the most difficult of the postures from Chen, Yang, Wu and Sun styles. It is a very demanding form and the best I have seen is by an American girl called Kelly McLean. She is featured on a video by Liang Shou-Yu.

Also agreed. I have to admit Kelly McLean is very good at 48.