Review of Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi Chuan

[TaiChiTJ]

Company: China Hand Kung Fu Academy
Tape Name: Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi Chuan Applicaitions Volume 1 & 2
Tape Cost: $54.50
Length of Tape: 80 Minutes
Number of Moves/Techniques: I'm still counting them
Experiences in dealing with this company: Excellent
The Instructor: Mr Dominick Ruggieri
Company's Web Page: www.ChinaHandKungFu.com

After getting home from a long day at work I found my order had been fulfilled and this DVD made it successfully to my mailbox. I put it in the player and relaxed into the couch to watch.

The average Yang Tai Chi player will recognize Parry and Punch, however this Guang Ping style precedes it with the arms making a clearly defined 360 degree circle in front of the body, clearly outlining what could be a parry or neutralization. There is a clearly executed slow, fully extended kick whereas the other Yang styles just suggest it.

This is clearly a very martial version of Yang style Tai Chi Chuan.

The quality of this instructional DVD is very high with everything shown
3-5 times. It is definitely directed at teaching a person. It's not like they set up camera at a seminar and forgot about it.

Multiple options are demonstrated for repulse monkey and cloud hands as well as other postures. Many Yang stylists may already know these but I was surprised 2 or 3 times. I definitely saw a few things I had not seen before. The circular routes for all portions of cloud hands were explored and demonstrated. He explored all the circular routes in enlightening ways for both cloud hands and repulse monkey, as well as other Yang style postures.

The story about this is available by googling the phrase "guang ping", and several web sites come up that discuss the history of this style. They claim that when Master Cheng-fu was ordered by the government to come to Beijing and teach he taught a watered down version. I'm sure all the Tai Chi players on this board have heard this before from a variety of sources (Earl Montaigue of course).

However this is clearly an application oriented form where nothing is hidden or "suggested". It is clear.

Identifiable fit: Anyone practicing Yang style who wants some application demonstrations.

Here is a picture from the video:
<broken link removed>

 

[arnisador]

I took a seminar on Guan Ping with Henry Look last year! Neat style.

 

[TaiChiTJ]

Arnisador, you know more about Guang Ping than I do. I would like to go to a Look seminar too.

 

[Dronak]

They claim that when Master Cheng-fu was ordered by the government to come to Beijing and teach he taught a watered down version. I'm sure all the Tai Chi players on this board have heard this before from a variety of sources (Earl Montaigue of course).

I've never heard of this style before. If I read this correctly, it's basically supposed to be the real, original form of Yang style tai chi? As you mentioned, Earl Montaigue has said something similar, that what's commonly taught now isn't the true, original style. If that's the case, maybe it would be worth looking into this a bit more. Do you know if they have any books on this style? I tend to pefer starting with books, then consider getting videos or DVDs later. Thanks.

 

[Xue Sheng]

I know little about Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi Chuan (although I seem to remember something if I remember it I will post it) I have heard it is effective. But the origins of Yang Tai Chi come from Yang Luchan who learned Tai Chi form the Chen Family.

Much later the style was changed my Yang Chengfu but there is a bit more to the Beijing story than that.

Not knowing who Guang Ping's teacher was I cannot say how close to original it is. If his teacher was Yang Banhou (Chengfu's Uncle) or Yang Shaohou (Chengfu's older brother) or from that lineage then it is closer to the original Yang style. The only person I know that is currently teaching this lineage is Yang Jwing Ming (no relation to the family) but I have heard there are a few others. And this is also a very effective CMA

But if you can find a true Yang style Teacher from the Chengfu line you are still getting real Yang family Tai Chi and if taught well it too is a very effective CMA. And many of the Yang style postures have greater than one application.

And there is a living student of Chengfu that calls ALL Yang Tai Chi contemporary and not what his master taught.

 

[Dronak]

Not knowing who Guang Ping's teacher was I cannot say how close to original it is. If his teacher was Yang Banhou (Chengfu's Uncle) or Yang Shaohou (Chengfu's older brother) then it is closer to the original Yang style. The only person I know that is currently teaching this lineage is Yang Jwing Ming (no relation to the family) but I have heard there are a few others. And this is also a very effective CMA

Which lineage is Yang Jwing Ming teaching, the Chengfu one or the older one that's closer to the original Yang style?

But if you can find a true Yang style Teacher from the Chengfu line you are still getting real Yang family Tai Chi and if taught well it too is a very effective CMA. And many of the Yang style postures have greater than one application.

It's been a few years since our teacher left the country, and I don't remember him talking that much about his lineage. I believe that Yang Jwing Ming and our teacher share a teacher a little further up the line, at least on the kung fu side. I'm not sure how much they share on the tai chi side, but IIRC, our teacher did say that what we learned was coming down through Yang Chengfu. I could be mistaken, but I seem to remember thinking that we were getting something from the original line when our teacher mentioned whatever he mentioned. Yang Jwing Ming's books on applications look pretty good, so I've seen at least some of the possible applications for the postures. And you're right, they do often have a number of applications of different types (felling, chin na, striking, etc.).

Yes, I'm at least partially familiar with the Yang style history and the 24, 42, and 48 posture combined forms. I have some books with the 24 and 48 forms. I also have one with a combined form designed to be more circular and thus more suitable for compact spaces. (I can look up the title and author if you want to know about that one.) I taught myself the 24 and 48 posture forms, but essentially forgot them after learning the Yang long form in classes at school. So when I practice, which I know isn't often enough, I do the long form I learned. It's a little different from what's in books like Yang Jwing Ming's, but not too much, so it looks like what I learned does come out of some older line. How close to the original it is, I'm not completely sure though.

 

[shesulsa]

TJ, that last link didn't work; since this is a review (not an ad), I just removed the link. :asian:

Company: China Hand Kung Fu Academy
Tape Name: Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi Chuan Applicaitions Volume 1 & 2
Tape Cost: $54.50
Length of Tape: 80 Minutes
Number of Moves/Techniques: I'm still counting them
Experiences in dealing with this company: Excellent
The Instructor: Mr Dominick Ruggieri
Company's Web Page: www.ChinaHandKungFu.com

After getting home from a long day at work I found my order had been fulfilled and this DVD made it successfully to my mailbox. I put it in the player and relaxed into the couch to watch.

The average Yang Tai Chi player will recognize Parry and Punch, however this Guang Ping style precedes it with the arms making a clearly defined 360 degree circle in front of the body, clearly outlining what could be a parry or neutralization. There is a clearly executed slow, fully extended kick whereas the other Yang styles just suggest it.

This is clearly a very martial version of Yang style Tai Chi Chuan.

The quality of this instructional DVD is very high with everything shown
3-5 times. It is definitely directed at teaching a person. It's not like they set up camera at a seminar and forgot about it.

Multiple options are demonstrated for repulse monkey and cloud hands as well as other postures. Many Yang stylists may already know these but I was surprised 2 or 3 times. I definitely saw a few things I had not seen before. The circular routes for all portions of cloud hands were explored and demonstrated. He explored all the circular routes in enlightening ways for both cloud hands and repulse monkey, as well as other Yang style postures.

The story about this is available by googling the phrase "guang ping", and several web sites come up that discuss the history of this style. They claim that when Master Cheng-fu was ordered by the government to come to Beijing and teach he taught a watered down version. I'm sure all the Tai Chi players on this board have heard this before from a variety of sources (Earl Montaigue of course).

However this is clearly an application oriented form where nothing is hidden or "suggested". It is clear.

Identifiable fit: Anyone practicing Yang style who wants some application demonstrations.

Here is a picture from the video:
<broken link removed>

 

[Xue Sheng]

Which lineage is Yang Jwing Ming teaching, the Chengfu one or the older one that's closer to the original Yang style?

Yang Jwing Ming&#8217;s lineage comes from Yang Banhou (Chengfu&#8217;s Uncle) I believe Yang Jwing Ming&#8217;s teacher for Tai Chi in Taiwan was someone named Cao Tao

It's been a few years since our teacher left the country, and I don't remember him talking that much about his lineage. I believe that Yang Jwing Ming and our teacher share a teacher a little further up the line, at least on the kung fu side. I'm not sure how much they share on the tai chi side, but IIRC, our teacher did say that what we learned was coming down through Yang Chengfu. I could be mistaken, but I seem to remember thinking that we were getting something from the original line when our teacher mentioned whatever he mentioned. Yang Jwing Ming's books on applications look pretty good, so I've seen at least some of the possible applications for the postures. And you're right, they do often have a number of applications of different types (felling, chin na, striking, etc.).

If what you teacher learned came from Chengfu it is not the same as Yang Jwing Ming as far as the Tai Chi goes. But that does not mean they do not share a teacher for Kung fu. Yang Jwing Ming had a different teacher for White crane, Gin Gsao Cheng. Yang also knows long fist, but I am not sure who his teacher was for that. He is also rather accomplished at Qinna as well. All come from Taiwan I believe.

His books on applications are very good and there are a lot of similarities in application between Chengfu and Banhou. Remember they are still the same family. Banhou&#8217;s version is higher (in stance) with more obvious fajing and qinna than the Chengfu version but the application s are still there.

Yes, I'm at least partially familiar with the Yang style history and the 24, 42, and 48 posture combined forms. I have some books with the 24 and 48 forms. I also have one with a combined form designed to be more circular and thus more suitable for compact spaces. (I can look up the title and author if you want to know about that one.) I taught myself the 24 and 48 posture forms, but essentially forgot them after learning the Yang long form in classes at school. So when I practice, which I know isn't often enough, I do the long form I learned. It's a little different from what's in books like Yang Jwing Ming's, but not too much, so it looks like what I learned does come out of some older line. How close to the original it is, I'm not completely sure though.

I started with my first sifu learning 24 and 48 but the 24 form is not from the Yang family directly 24 was made by the Chinese government based on Yang style and 48 is a combination of family styles. I no longer do 48 but I did like it and I do still do 24 but it looks very traditional these days.

All Yang style forms share the same root they all come from Chen my lineage comes form Chengfu but I do hope to learn the Banhou lineage someday. I rather like it and it does share similarities in form but it also has some fairly big differences as well.

Keep on training
XS
P.S. My apologies for going off post "Review of Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi Chuan "

 

[Dronak]

If what you teacher learned came from Chengfu it is not the same as Yang Jwing Ming as far as the Tai Chi goes. But that does not mean they do not share a teacher for Kung fu.

I'm fairly certain they do share a teacher in long fist kung fu. My teacher's older brother in long fist has a web site, and I contacted him for a little help (Chinese names of forms and such). I asked about Yang Jwing Ming because he has a book on long fist that looked similar to what we learned, but there were differences. My teacher's brother said, "Mr. Yang's teacher is my Long Fist younger uncle. His teacher was mostly taught and trained by my teacher and other senior uncles." For some reason, I still find this slightly confusing, but it does seem clear that my teacher and Yang Jwing Ming share a line in long fist. I'm not too sure about the tai chi though. The classes I had were focused on long fist.

P.S. My apologies for going off post "Review of Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi Chuan "

Same here. I didn't mean to get off topic, sorry, so we should probably continue this in another thread, if we're going to.

If someone has additional information on the Guang Ping form/style, I'd be interested in knowing a bit more about it. Pointers to web sites or something are fine.

 

[TaiChiTJ]

Thanks, Xue Sheng, for jumping in. Info about jwing-ming I do not know.

And yes, I had some trouble too, after posting that link into the message, and trying to make it work.

If, using google, you "exact phrase" with the phrase "guang ping" insisting the two words appear next to each other, the first site is a good place to start. It is the "Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi Association Homepage".

Below that link is the "Cape Cod Guang Ping Tai Ji Quan Club", and they have a long discussion of the history, as far as they know.

As far as availability of books, I think there are one or two.

This is like being a detective, trying to take in all this information about the yang forms before the Cheng-fu one. One thing for sure is that with proper guidance you can train any one martially.

http://www.capecodtaiji.org/history.htm

The above link is the history page on this style. Again, another story. It should work. :ultracool

 

[Franzfri]

The tai chi that my sifu prefers to teach is the Guang Ping. There is a school in Paris that teaches it, and another in Charlotte NC. My school is Peter Kwok's Kong Fu Academy in Emerson NJ.

The lineage is as follows:
Yang Lupchan
Yang Pan-hou (eldest son 1837-1892) Guang Ping Yang Style
Wong Jao-Yu
Kuo Lien Ying
Grand Master Peter Kwok
Sifu Randy Elia

 

[Franzfri]

Sorry for typo for Yang Lu-chan
The lineage is as follows:
Yang Lu-chan

 

[TaiChiTJ]

Great Franzfr, I did not know we had a Guang Ping student on MartialTalk. If I come up with any questions I will ask you.

I am curious about the push hands practice involved in the Guang Ping curriculum. Most Yang schools have a single push hands and a two handed push hands training. And of course there is Da Lu, the big roll back exercise. Do you know if the Guang Ping Yang Style involves other types of push hands exercises?

 

[Xue Sheng]

Great Franzfr, I did not know we had a Guang Ping student on MartialTalk. If I come up with any questions I will ask you.

I am curious about the push hands practice involved in the Guang Ping curriculum. Most Yang schools have a single push hands and a two handed push hands training. And of course there is Da Lu, the big roll back exercise. Do you know if the Guang Ping Yang Style involves other types of push hands exercises?

Not Guang Ping but traditional Yang style Tai Chi has 1 handed stationary, 2 handed stationary, 3-step (moving), 4-corner (moving), free style push hands as well as a practice of maintaining the circular hand movements while walking just about anywhere to improve stick (zhan), sticky (nian), continuous (lian), and follow (sui)

 

[East Winds]

Here is a clip of someone doing Gaung Ping form. As this is the first time I have seen Guang Ping, I have no idea whether this is good or bad. I have my own opinion as to it as a Taiji performance though.

My own thoughts watching this is that it appears to owe more to modern forms than to traditonal forms. What are others views?

Very best wishes

 

[Franzfri]

Thanks for the video. I have mixed feelings about it. I would not be watching this person to copy him in class. He has no shen or intentionand he keeps looking up and down at strange times. I'm no judge, just a beginner, but the timing confused me. I'm 62 and cannot do the kicks so athletically, or get down low, but I have good chi and intention in my movements.

I'll ask my sifu about push hands. We learn one handed and 2 handed push hands. And I have to learn the 2 handed moving push hand (Shau lu ?) to qualify for a green belt. We are working on that now in my private classes.

 

[Xue Sheng]

to qualify for a green belt.

You have a colored belt ranking system!?

 

[Taijiman]

Belts help pay the bills

 

[East Winds]

Yeh!! Even the Yang Family (Yang Zhen Duo and Yang Jun) have introdiced grading!!!:erg:

Very best wishes

 

[Xue Sheng]

Ranking and belts... in Tai Chi........ I know YMAA did this but……

Alrighty then.

Yup I can admit it; I'm a CMA dinosaur and apparently going extinct faster than I thought.