How will Tai Chi help me become a better martial artist?

[Ironbear24]

By better martial artist I mean better fighter, I want to be a better fighter. I am mostly a kenpo practitioner and I also do a lot of weight lifting, I have heard many things about tai chi and I am wondering if I should take the tai chi classes hosted at the gym I often go to.

 

[Touch Of Death]

By better martial artist I mean better fighter, I want to be a better fighter. I am mostly a kenpo practitioner and I also do a lot of weight lifting, I have heard many things about tai chi and I am wondering if I should take the tai chi classes hosted at the gym I often go to.

Most kenpoists don't understand center line. I do Kenpo, so I say this with every confidence. It is a mess. You Sir, are poised to help.

 

[Ironbear24]

Most kenpoists don't understand center line. I do Kenpo, so I say this with every confidence. It is a mess. You Sir, are poised to help.

I know of it, I know that much of of the center of the body is where the vitals are and about center line gaurd. Of course that's what I think when I hear the term center line, is this what you mean?

If not then I don't know what you mean, I would like to learn what you are talking about.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

Since you are doing Taiji in slow speed, the "6 harmonies" principle can be learned through the Taiji movement quite easily. When you are doing Taiji "brush knee". you can concentrate on the coordination of your

- shoulder with your hip,
- elbow with your knee,
- hand with your foot,
- ...

After you have developed that "full body unification", if you go back to your original style, you will find out that you can do your original style much better than before. When you make a move, you will start to pay attention on which hand should coordinate with which leg that you may not have paid enough attention in the past. You will find out that your ability to learn a new move, your learning is much faster because you can always think about arm and leg as one item instead of 2 different items.

 

[Buka]

and I am wondering if I should take the tai chi classes hosted at the gym I often go to.

If it's there, and you go there, I mean, why not? Give it a year and let me know what you think.

 

[Zeny]

To be a better kenpo fighter it is best that you practise more kenpo.

Taichi will only provide you with limited gains and will not be worth the time spent.

 

[Touch Of Death]

To be a better kenpo fighter it is best that you practise more kenpo.

Taichi will only provide you with limited gains and will not be worth the time spent.

Lies!

 

[Touch Of Death]

I know of it, I know that much of of the center of the body is where the vitals are and about center line gaurd. Of course that's what I think when I hear the term center line, is this what you mean?

If not then I don't know what you mean, I would like to learn what you are talking about.

It is a great source of power.

 

[Goku2]

Taiji will definitely help you to become a better fighter. Having said that, I would start with the gym class, but, most gym classes are not designed for application. As a beginner, this class hopefully will have the corrections and basic principles. My experience in such a class has been one of following the instructor only - you'll enjoy the movement and the serenity, (and to be a better fighter you do have to be calm) but really not much else.

 

[Hanzou]

Honestly, if your goal is to be a better fighter you should probably seek out styles that fighters tend to gravitate towards; Boxing, Muay Thai, Bjj, Wrestling, etc.

If you're looking to center yourself, or find some form of relaxation, Yoga would be a better option than Tai Chi.

 

[Goku2]

Honestly, if your goal is to be a better fighter you should probably seek out styles that fighters tend to gravitate towards; Boxing, Muay Thai, Bjj, Wrestling, etc.

If you're looking to center yourself, or find some form of relaxation, Yoga would be a better option than Tai Chi.

Taiji can only help ALL styles of fighting. Yoga is not a better option. In taiji one learns what 'centered' really means, and must maintain that feeling throughout all movement, not it static poses.

 

[Goku2]

Taiji can only help ALL styles of fighting. Yoga is not a better option. In taiji one learns what 'centered' really means, and must maintain that feeling throughout all movement, not it static poses.

In the west, taiji has been promoted for health, and that is only what most people think of it. Studying with a master who knows the applications and the philosophy will open one's eyes tremendously. Simply put, what one views in the forms are only the tip of the iceberg!

 

[Hanzou]

Taiji can only help ALL styles of fighting. Yoga is not a better option. In taiji one learns what 'centered' really means, and must maintain that feeling throughout all movement, not it static poses.

Flexibility and balance doesn't help ALL fighting styles? I would also argue that you'll get the benefits of Yoga quite a bit faster than you will in Tai Chi.

And keep in mind, I only suggested Yoga if he's trying to meditate or center himself. If he's really trying to become a better fighter, he should seriously consider more fight-centric systems.

 

[Goku2]

Flexibility and balance doesn't help ALL fighting styles? I would also argue that you'll get the benefits of Yoga quite a bit faster than you will in Tai Chi.

And keep in mind, I only suggested Yoga if he's trying to meditate or center himself. If he's really trying to become a better fighter, he should seriously consider more fight-centric systems.

I'm not implying that flexibility and balance are not found in yoga. A full taiji curriculum includes all that and more. The centering done in taiji also includes rooting as well as finding and maintaining your own center of gravity - and finding the opponent's center.

 

[Zeny]

A full taichi curriculum takes a long time to learn, not to mention its methods often contradict what is taught in kenpo. Thus a kenpo practitioner ought to just improve his kenpo rather than mix it with taichi.

 

[Xue Sheng]

As Kung Fu Wang stated, it will help you with the 6 harmonies, depending on the style it will also help you qinna and with relaxation and patience in confrontation but if you are looking for a quick fix I suggest you look elsewhere

And for the record, I do taiji and I do Yoga and although they have some similarities, they will not teach you the same thing, and anyone who tells you otherwise has little or no experience in either one or the other or both....seems to be a lot of that going around on MT these days

 

[mograph]

It really depends on the class: the teachings in tai chi classes vary widely because there's no official governing body. In my opinion, all they (all) have in common is that the students (mostly) move slowly and look sort of martial.

Now, in a good class, under a good master, you'd learn balance, sensitivity, power without unnecessary tension, moving and expressing force from your core ... all sorts of good things that could help you anticipate, move with flow and develop a root. Good taijiquan works well when you are in contact with the opponent: touch is important. You'd also learn applications in a good class.

However ... in an average class, you'd probably just learn some calming choreography.
In a really bad class, you might injure your knees!

I think you'd improve your flexibility in a yoga class, starting with gentle Hatha, moving up to Vinyasa. In the latter, you might also get some strength benefits, since you have to hold stuff like leg-up-in-the-air poses for a while. Meditation & centering? It depends on the class.

Would a good taijiquan class make you a better fighter? It depends on where you feel your fighting skills are deficient now, and how you define the idea of a better fighter. But from what I've seen and heard, a good tiajiquan teacher can help you sense an opponent's intentions better (when touching), improvise more (because you're watching/sensing what the opponent is doing rather than sticking to a script), be more sneaky (part of taijiquan is about fooling the opponent) and maybe help you appreciate your own art from a different point of view.

The taijiquan class would probably act as a complement to your kenpo. You're not likely to get more sparring in a taijiquan class, so to be a better fighter, I'd imagine you'd need to keep up your sparring in kenpo: "pressure-testing," as it's called.

Xue Sheng could chime in here: while teachings vary widely, there's a general consensus that Chen classes tend to be more martial than Yang classes. But that's a broad generalization. If you have martial needs, ask what style they teach in the class you're investigating. If they can't address that question with confidence, you're in a feel-good-comfy class, probably not for you.

My 2 cents.

 

[Goku2]

Nicely put mograph! I practice Chen taijiquan.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Xue Sheng could chime in here: while teachings vary widely, there's a general consensus that Chen classes tend to be more martial than Yang classes. But that's a broad generalization. If you have martial needs, ask what style they teach in the class you're investigating. If they can't address that question with confidence, you're in a feel-good-comfy class, probably not for you.

My 2 cents.

You will likely find more "Chen style" classes that are geared towards the martial arts of it than "Yang style" classes, but there are some Yang style teachers that teach the martial arts of it, they are just hard to find. But I have seen a few "Chen" schools, of late, that are also not doing any of the martial side at all, which I was rather sad to see. The only style, I believe, that would guarantee you the martial arts of it at this time is Zhaobao, but finding a real Zhaobao sifu is incredibly difficult outside of China. Last I knew in the US, and this is going back a few years, there was one in the country that was teaching, and he taught on the west coast and, at that time, had another group of students in NYC.

 

[Goku2]

You will likely find more "Chen style" classes that are geared towards the martial arts of it than "Yang style" classes, but there are some Yang style teachers that teach the martial arts of it, they are just hard to find. But I have seen a few "Chen" schools, of late, that are also not doing any of the martial side at all, which I was rather sad to see. The only style, I believe, that would guarantee you the martial arts of it at this time is Zhaobao, but finding a real Zhaobao sifu is incredibly difficult outside of China. Last I knew in the US, and this is going back a few years, there was one in the country that was teaching, and he taught on the west coast and, at that time, had another group of students in NYC.

You are correct about Chen. Took me sometime to find a teacher knowing (and willing) to teach applications.