OP
Matt Bernius
Guest
- Thread Starter
- #41
It's no prob. Erle tends to have a polarizing effect on people so I just assumed his reputation preceeded him.
- Matt
It's no prob. Erle tends to have a polarizing effect on people so I just assumed his reputation preceeded him.
- Matt
"Flowing Combat is a careful synthesis of the Chinese Neija arts.. taijiquan, hsing i chuan and baguachuan..."
I think he's a student of Erle's.
Any comments? I saw one movement that was new to me. Darn, thought i knew everything!
http://www.flowingcombat.com/demos.php
once you have clicked on a clip at the left, you still have to click the little arrow button to make it play.
I think he's a student of Erle's.
Any comments? I saw one movement that was new to me. Darn, thought i knew everything!
http://www.flowingcombat.com/demos.php
once you have clicked on a clip at the left, you still have to click the little arrow button to make it play.
OP
Hammer Head
Guest
- Thread Starter
- #44
Interesting topic.
In terms of terminology, kung-fu means skill and effort, the chinese term for martial art is wu-shu and the term for fist art or method is chuan-fa. Taijiquan could be considered a form of wu-shu and of chuan-fa.
I am a practitioner of Chen Style Taijiquan (15 years) and I would say it is a very effective martial art. I am not so familiar with the Yang Style but have seen Yang practitioners demonstrate practical applications of their art and it seems to be very effective too.
www.chenzhonghua.com
In terms of terminology, kung-fu means skill and effort, the chinese term for martial art is wu-shu and the term for fist art or method is chuan-fa. Taijiquan could be considered a form of wu-shu and of chuan-fa.
I am a practitioner of Chen Style Taijiquan (15 years) and I would say it is a very effective martial art. I am not so familiar with the Yang Style but have seen Yang practitioners demonstrate practical applications of their art and it seems to be very effective too.
www.chenzhonghua.com
Hammer Head, it does indeed appear you are part of a great school!
Does the 24 Hunyuantaichi form flow like Chen style or Yang style? I'm assuming like Chen.
Do you practice this form? Are the applications both striking and grappling?
Any throws? I would be interested in any comments you might have on it.
Does the 24 Hunyuantaichi form flow like Chen style or Yang style? I'm assuming like Chen.
Do you practice this form? Are the applications both striking and grappling?
Any throws? I would be interested in any comments you might have on it.
OP
Hammer Head
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- Thread Starter
- #46
Hi TaiChi TJ:
Yes, it is a great school! The Hunyuan 24 form is an interpretation of the "new frame" chen style taijiquan. It was developed by Master Feng Zhiquian, who is the last living disciple of Chen FaKe.
The way the form flows is definitely Chen. It is very good for health and self defense as well. In general, techniques found in Chen style taijiquan include strikes, locks and trows. I guess this is true of all styles of taijiquan.
Keep on training!
Yes, it is a great school! The Hunyuan 24 form is an interpretation of the "new frame" chen style taijiquan. It was developed by Master Feng Zhiquian, who is the last living disciple of Chen FaKe.
The way the form flows is definitely Chen. It is very good for health and self defense as well. In general, techniques found in Chen style taijiquan include strikes, locks and trows. I guess this is true of all styles of taijiquan.
Keep on training!
What caught my eye about your school was that in reviewing the cd for the 24 posture form, Plum Publications' Ted Mancuso suggested the master had almost created a new style! That's why I asked if it looked like Chen or not. You have informed me it does, but Mancuso is noticing a "loose" quality to it. That, in my book anyway, is a positive.
Here is Shifu Manucso review of the 24 posture form:
[font=Palatino, AGaramond, Arial][/font]
[font=Palatino, AGaramond, Arial]Hun-Yuan Tai-Chi Er Shi Si Shi. Feng Zhi Qiang's earlier VCDs show a loose, powerful Chen style Tai Chi. Here his work on Hun Yuan (Primoridal) Chi Kung is melded into almost a new style. Loose and powerful with even more Reeling Silk energy and a natural series of moves highly inspired by Taoist Hun Yuan breathing techniques. Both Feng and his top female student demonstrate the postures and actions.[/font]
Here is Shifu Manucso review of the 24 posture form:
[font=Palatino, AGaramond, Arial][/font]
[font=Palatino, AGaramond, Arial]Hun-Yuan Tai-Chi Er Shi Si Shi. Feng Zhi Qiang's earlier VCDs show a loose, powerful Chen style Tai Chi. Here his work on Hun Yuan (Primoridal) Chi Kung is melded into almost a new style. Loose and powerful with even more Reeling Silk energy and a natural series of moves highly inspired by Taoist Hun Yuan breathing techniques. Both Feng and his top female student demonstrate the postures and actions.[/font]
OP
mwelch
Guest
- Thread Starter
- #48
In the old days, when money meant coins and precious metals, some "enterprising" souls, some of them kings, found ways to debase the coinage in such a way that it resembled the original, full-value coins of the realm, but which were not as valuable owing to their gold or silver being alloyed with base metals. This led a man of the day named Gresham to propound Gresham's Law, which states bad money drives out good. If you possess gold coins, why would you spend them in an economy that is full of debased or "bad" money. What one did, of course, was simply keep his "good" money while the circulating money became increasingly worthless.
We live in a time and place that permits people with very little in the way of skill, knowledge or experience to spend a little time learning "t'ai chi" and then setting themselves up as teachers, masters, sifus, whatever. pretty soon these people teach others who then go on to become "teachers." And so it goes.
The truth is there is a variant of Gresham's Law at work in the world of martial arts, and especially with respect to the so-called "internal arts." Good teaching is being driven out by the bad.
There are world- famous teachers, students of people like Cheng Man-Ching and other notables, who are teaching forms that bear no resemblance to the fighting forms of Yang Cheng-Fu or his brother or anyone of that ilk. Because the forms are meant to be performed slowly, the "players" adopt these silly, rubbery, "tofu" movements as legitimate and somehow potentially powerful techniques.
The truth is there are few, very few, teachers of T'ai Chi Ch'uan who could use their art and skill in a fight. And I believe after 30+ years of studying and practicing, this simple criterion is the only one you should apply when looking for a teacher. Ifr the person cannot show you simply and directly how he/she has evolved fighting technique out of the practice of the forms, then the person is a fraud. In my own personal experience -- which includes studying in Cheng Man-Ching's school in NYC and with a number of the so-called "masters" mentioned on this board, I have found exactly one person who fits the description of martial artist. the rest of them remind me of the log-rolling literary critics who give rave reviews to each other's books.
The T'ai Chi Ch'uan form is a rigorous, exacting, powerful exercise that cannot be done in just any old way. There is only one correct way. Period.
We live in a time and place that permits people with very little in the way of skill, knowledge or experience to spend a little time learning "t'ai chi" and then setting themselves up as teachers, masters, sifus, whatever. pretty soon these people teach others who then go on to become "teachers." And so it goes.
The truth is there is a variant of Gresham's Law at work in the world of martial arts, and especially with respect to the so-called "internal arts." Good teaching is being driven out by the bad.
There are world- famous teachers, students of people like Cheng Man-Ching and other notables, who are teaching forms that bear no resemblance to the fighting forms of Yang Cheng-Fu or his brother or anyone of that ilk. Because the forms are meant to be performed slowly, the "players" adopt these silly, rubbery, "tofu" movements as legitimate and somehow potentially powerful techniques.
The truth is there are few, very few, teachers of T'ai Chi Ch'uan who could use their art and skill in a fight. And I believe after 30+ years of studying and practicing, this simple criterion is the only one you should apply when looking for a teacher. Ifr the person cannot show you simply and directly how he/she has evolved fighting technique out of the practice of the forms, then the person is a fraud. In my own personal experience -- which includes studying in Cheng Man-Ching's school in NYC and with a number of the so-called "masters" mentioned on this board, I have found exactly one person who fits the description of martial artist. the rest of them remind me of the log-rolling literary critics who give rave reviews to each other's books.
The T'ai Chi Ch'uan form is a rigorous, exacting, powerful exercise that cannot be done in just any old way. There is only one correct way. Period.
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
mwelch said:
I agree with much of what you are saying here. I do have one question: who is this one person that you feel fits the bill?
I take a guess that its William CC Chen. Youngest student of CMC and respected as a full contact fighter in his youth and based out of NYC. He continuously does seminars around the country. Worth going just to see how a fighter likes to do Tai Chi.
Its always refreshing to see a real tai chi fighter.
7sm
7sm
Received a message from mwelsh. He was reffering to somone other then William CC Chen. Somone I'm not familiar with, but some of the best teachers are the ones not spouted about everywhere (My old WC teacher being an example)
I'll leave it to mwelsh if he wants to let everyone know who he was talking about.
I'll leave it to mwelsh if he wants to let everyone know who he was talking about.
OP
mwelch
Guest
- Thread Starter
- #53
My teacher's name is Yu Cheng Hsiang, and he lives and teaches in NYC. His background includes a lot of different fighting disciplines, and his approach to Taiji Quan is colored by his firm opinion that it is meant to be part of a total approach to martial training, that you could never derive effective fighting technique from the Taiji Quan form alone.
On the other hand, you will never find anyone with more respect for the form than Master Yu. His form is impeccable, and he demands nothing but perfection from his students. I have studied with him for 15 years and learn something new every class.
In Taiwan Master Yu studied with two different TAiji Quan teachers, Li Su Chin, who studied with Yang Cheng Fu's brother, and, after Master Li's death, with Cheng Man Ching, who studied with Yang Cheng Fu.
Master Yu teaches every class and every student himself because he feels a heavy responsibility to transmit what he knows directly. He teaches several times a week, but the group I belong to has 3 sessions per week. If you are within reach of NYC on a weekend, I suggest you check him out. 380 Broadway fifth floor from 10am to 1pm. That is a complete class, icnluding the 108-posture form, Shaolin Temple boxing (3 different sets), Taiji Sword, Shaolin staff, lecture and pushing hands.
On the other hand, you will never find anyone with more respect for the form than Master Yu. His form is impeccable, and he demands nothing but perfection from his students. I have studied with him for 15 years and learn something new every class.
In Taiwan Master Yu studied with two different TAiji Quan teachers, Li Su Chin, who studied with Yang Cheng Fu's brother, and, after Master Li's death, with Cheng Man Ching, who studied with Yang Cheng Fu.
Master Yu teaches every class and every student himself because he feels a heavy responsibility to transmit what he knows directly. He teaches several times a week, but the group I belong to has 3 sessions per week. If you are within reach of NYC on a weekend, I suggest you check him out. 380 Broadway fifth floor from 10am to 1pm. That is a complete class, icnluding the 108-posture form, Shaolin Temple boxing (3 different sets), Taiji Sword, Shaolin staff, lecture and pushing hands.
