Return to Traditional Yang Style

[Xue Sheng96]

It has been awhile since I have done all of the forms from my traditional Yang style days. Since all the knee issues and other health issues all I have left, if I work at it, is the long form. Saw my shifu at a funeral a few years back, when I was recovering from knee replacement, and talked with him about returning, and he did not seem all that keen on my return. We had had a couple falling outs in the past, one a misunderstanding the other I could have been more tactful, so I figured he would prefer I did not return to class because of those.

Went to see my Yang Shifu this evening, at the end of his class and talked with him for a bit and with a couple people who were still there from way back when I was last there, and both asked me if I was coming back. I told them I needed to talk to Shifu first.

Class ended, Shifu was getting ready to leave, when one of them told him I wanted to talk to him. He sat down, I went over told him what I had forgotten, and asked him if it was ok if I returned to class. to refresh my forms.... he actually smiled, seemed rather happy about it, and said it was ok. After that, I stayed there, like I always use to, and walked with him out to his car, after everyone was gone..... I started training with him over 30 years ago... walked with him out to his car many times, had a lot of later in the evening taks and push hands sessions too it those days. He had told me, years ago on one of those walks out to his car, after I realized I was the last of his old war horses left standing, that I was his last serious student. Now, it seems to be I may still be.

The class is on hiatus now, So I will start back the end of the month.

So...now I have to work on refining my long form, probably get the short dao form back easily... but the long Dao and the fast forms, not without some help. And the Jian, will take time. But then the Jain was my least favorite form. But I was surprised this evening, while watching the Jian, how much of it I remembered. However I did not have the slightest clue as to the order of the things I was remembering.

Sadly, no one does push hands any longer, that seems to have stopped shortly after I left. But it looks like I will start working on push hands again next week with another Taiji friend (from.a different style).

Just a bit of taijiquan news form an old (older...much older) war horse...

 

[Xue Sheng96]

Went, to my basement (馆) guǎn to do a couple things I have not done in awhile... the entire Yang Long form. And take my Dao out, see what condition it is in and work with that a bit too. Took a look at my Jian as well while I' was there, but I had no plan to work with that at all at that time.

Did the entire long form from beginning to end and did the first part of the dao for. Then went on to see how much of one of the fast forms I could remember. I think I got the first few postures. Even took out the jain, but did not work on anything. I have a little time until I return to train with my shifu.

Felt pretty good. But I am also approaching it a bit different, and I will not tell my shifu how, it comes from Wu style (吳氏太极拳) and he hates Wu style. I am working more with their approach to internal and usage of the core. Which I don't think is really all that different than any other taijiquan style, it is just the Wu style guy that wrote the book explained thing better. More that simply saying focus on the dantian..

 

[Same Trick48]

Went, to my basement (馆) guǎn to do a couple things I have not done in awhile... the entire Yang Long form. And take my Dao out, see what condition it is in and work with that a bit too. Took a look at my Jian as well while I' was there, but I had no plan to work with that at all at that time.

Did the entire long form from beginning to end and did the first part of the dao for. Then went on to see how much of one of the fast forms I could remember. I think I got the first few postures. Even took out the jain, but did not work on anything. I have a little time until I return to train with my shifu.

Felt pretty good. But I am also approaching it a bit different, and I will not tell my shifu how, it comes from Wu style (吳氏太极拳) and he hates Wu style. I am working more with their approach to internal and usage of the core. Which I don't think is really all that different than any other taijiquan style, it is just the Wu style guy that wrote the book explained thing better. More that simply saying focus on the dantian..

I too mix in things from Wu style into my Yangtjq . Also I do Wu style - brush knee twist step, repulse monkey and parting horse mane separately for several rows - as you point out, there’s a specific core strengthening to Wu style, and at least how I feel, those three specific techniques out of the form work pretty well on the core.
But for overall flow(on multiple levels) and focus Yang TJQ offer the best method for me

 

[Xue Sheng96]

I too mix in things from Wu style into my Yangtjq . Also I do Wu style - brush knee twist step, repulse monkey and parting horse mane separately for several rows - as you point out, there’s a specific core strengthening to Wu style, and at least how I feel, those three specific techniques out of the form work pretty well on the core.
But for overall flow(on multiple levels) and focus Yang TJQ offer the best method

The form that I came up with combines Yang, Wu, Sun, and a bit of Chen and a dash of Xingyiquan . The Wu I have in it is brush knee twist step and repulse monkey. But as far as traditional forms go these days only Yang and Sun. But I keep getting this nagging urge in the back of my head to revisit Xingyiquan….

But there are things I came across over the years that I only get from Yang style and did not get in Chen. But then there was something in Chen I never got with Yang.

 

[Xue Sheng96]

Been working on my Yang Long form and that I have back. However the 2 Dao forms, the Jian form and the 2 fast forms, not so much. The first part of the short Dao form, the first prt of 1 fast form and that is it.

This Tuesday I return to training with my Shifu, not the training I use to do with him, he is in his late 80s now, but hopefully get all the forms back.

 

[windwalker099102]

This Tuesday I return to training with my Shifu, not the training I use to do with him, he is in his late 80s now, but hopefully get all the forms back.

They say the best time to train with a Shifu is either early on — while they’re still developing and proving their method — or later, when they’ve refined and distilled it.

Creates an interesting dynamic.

Students from earlier periods may feel something is being lost…
while in reality it may be the method becoming more condensed, based on where the teacher is in their own development.

What looks like less can actually be more — but only if you’re able to recognize it.

In the end, it comes down to the relationship and timing.

If a student has reached a point where they can understand the more condensed corrections, the later stage can offer a much clearer view of the method.

If not, it can be easy to miss what’s being shown.
…

 

[Xue Sheng96]

They say the best time to train with a Shifu is either early on — while they’re still developing and proving their method — or later, when they’ve refined and distilled it.

Creates an interesting dynamic.

Students from earlier periods may feel something is being lost…
while in reality it may be the method becoming more condensed, based on where the teacher is in their own development.

What looks like less can actually be more — but only if you’re able to recognize it.

In the end, it comes down to the relationship and timing.

If a student has reached a point where they can understand the more condensed corrections, the later stage can offer a much clearer view of the method.

If not, it can be easy to miss what’s being shown.
…

Trained with him for many years, started 31 years ago, solidly for 20 years, use to meet him for private lessons that only cost me cup of tea. Then intermritant an last several years not at all. Now he's in his late 80s, I will see how it goes.

 

[Xue Sheng96]

Went to class for the first time in a long time today. I forgot the order of somethings, abd completely forgot others. Long form was good, but fast form, 2 dao forms, and Jian form, not so much. But i think they’ll come back fairly quickly. And push hands tomorrow morning.

 

[Xue Sheng96]

Interesting thing.
Working on Yang Taijiquan again, feels right. Also, it appears, others in the class are rather intrigued by all the history I know about the style, the lineage and my teachers background. To me it is just part of it, but then I trained with him an long time, hd many a late night push hands session with him (where at times, I spent most ot the time getting up off the floor), and I use to meet with him on weekend to do taijiquan and drink tea.

One student, who now teaches, and has been there a while, reminded me that I taught her, and asked me how I knew all this stuff. I pointed as shifu and said its all his fault, most of it, he told me.

And at the end of class, it is the same as it was before, just happened this way. He locks up and we walk out together, talk a bit, and then leave. Just not staying for push hands anymore... in his late 80s, he is no longer doing push hands. However the other person who is doing much of the teaching now, did tell me he wanted to get back into it, and wanted to know if I'd work with him......

 

[Xue Sheng96]

Got the Tung Ying Chieh fast form back.

One move was hanging me up, got shifu to show it to me last night. Then on the ride home the entire thing fell into place as i was driving.

3 down, 3 to go. But i am not sure about the Yang fast form from Tung Ying Chieh. No one there, other than Shifu, knows it, and i am not sure i can get him ro show it to me again. I will say he seemed pretty happy about showing me the part of the fast form i was getting hung up on.

I will get the jian and long Dao form back, and then talk to him about it. If he shows me again, great, if not, it’s still good.

 

[Xue Sheng96]

Note: there is a lot of qinna in the fast form, as well as some shuaijiao