To be honest it is not often that I see a skill in Tai Chi that I am jealous of these days, but I have to say that when I saw this Zhaobao master, my heart wept. Such power , such delivery and all done with such composure. Does anyone know where I can learn to do this in Taiwan?
I know that you can say that if his opponent moved in concert with him and attempted to turn and yield, then he could avoid the worst of the power, but I don't think that is the point of the demonstration. It seems to me, that if you could deliver this kind of power at short range, in a self-defense situation, it would be very effective indeed! As with the delivery of all techniques it is the speed, power, accuracy, timing and element of surprise that is going to win you the advantage, every time.
I bet that guy wished he hadn't worn his best white silk pyjamas to take part in the demonstration!
Very nice and slick!
25 February 2007
10 February 2007
Rediscovered relaxation
Things have settled down a bit now in Taiwan, I am now having a little more time to actually practice Tai Chi "properly". Recently I rediscovered relaxation! Partly inspired by an excellent performance of Chen Panling's 陳泮嶺 99 style Tai Chi form, that I saw the other day. The performance wasn't actually the complete form, but nevertheless the relaxation, control and intent were all very evident.Life has been quite stressful of late and there has been a tendency for me to forget how to relax and pace practice. When Tai Chi is "right" it feels great, total absorption, being in control, focused and most of all being able to feel the blood and qi circulate through the body and into the hands.
Right now Chinese New Year is coming so not much is going to happen over the next few weeks with regards to Tai Chi, but I have arranged to meet up with a couple of Tai Chi masters at the beginning of March, so more on that soon. I am also thinking of joining a Traditional Chinese Massage course at the local YMCA, to learn something about the use of acupoints for healing common ailments.
In the meantime back to softening up those postures and movements.
Happy Year of the Pig to you all!
4 February 2007
Chen to Yang or...?
I often wonder about the transformation of Chen style to Yang style and why would Yang Luchan bother to change what he had learnt from Chen Changxing so dramatically, including most of the names of the styles and the whole essence of movement and application etc. After much reading from Chinese sources, I came to this conclusion (based on the fact that Chens openly admit to mixing and matching in a book published in the 1930s).
Some of the Chens knew Taijiquan (Chen Changxing and Chen Qingping, but of course others too) and then mixed it with some of their other styles Paochui, Red Fist etc, creating some styles unique to themselves (this work was most likely carried out by Chen Qingping, but may have started earlier by others, it's impossible to say).
When Yang Luchan's descendants became more famous during the 1920s and 30s, the Chens were no longer able to produce a master of the original Taijiquan style in order to make the claim of authenticity, so claims were later made that it was Yang Luchan who changed everything to suit himself and the teaching environment of the Imperial Palace.
This theory would also go some way to explain why the Song Shuming lineage was considered legitimate during the 1930s (it is actually written into the same Chen book of that period), but was later refuted by some researchers closely associated with the Chen style, primarily Tang Hao and Gu Liuxin.
With regards to Song Shuming, it is claimed that he taught both Xu Yusheng and Wu Jianquan, during the early 1900s. Song Shuming's Taijiquan system did not come via the Chens and was considered at the time to be very powerful (he was able to beat Wu Jianquan very easily, despite being in his 70s). Something interesting to note also, is that the individual names of the form postures that he taught correspond closely to the Yang's (unlike the modern Chen forms), although the teaching and practice methods were said to be somewhat different. It is also plausible that Song Shuming inspired Wu Jianquan to evolve the Taijiquan system that he learnt from his father into something somewhat different from the Yangs, but of course that is purely conjecture.
Song Shuming was dismissed as a fake by Tang Hao and Gu Liuxin on the grounds that his family boxing manual was not written in the style of the Tang dynasty, the time at which Song Yuanqiao (the first in line to receive the transmission) learnt Taijiquan from Xu Xuanping. It is of course perfectly plausible that the family boxing manual could have been re-written many times over the centuries, thus losing its original form and style, but this was never questioned by the so called researchers Tang Hao and Gu Liuxin.
I am still a great believer in the Jiang Fa transmission theory, but lean more towards the Zhaobao lineage view that he was contemporary to Chen Wangting and that Taijiquan was introduced into the Chen clan (and taught to others) at that time. The Zhaobao lineage is interesting in the fact that it shows that the transmission was passed down from Jiang Fa from master to disciple and not as a family style. I feel that the Yang's claim that Taijiquan was taught directly to Chen Changxing by Jiang Fa is erroneous, and is probably an attempt to prove that they are the only ones to receive a proper transmission of Taijiquan, but of course that is highly unlikely.
So the Chen's new and practiced Taijiquan until the late 19th century, but later lost the original system probably for two reasons:-
There are some interesting references to Song Shuming in the latter part of an article written by Xiang Kairen "A study of Taiji Push Hands".
Some of the Chens knew Taijiquan (Chen Changxing and Chen Qingping, but of course others too) and then mixed it with some of their other styles Paochui, Red Fist etc, creating some styles unique to themselves (this work was most likely carried out by Chen Qingping, but may have started earlier by others, it's impossible to say).
When Yang Luchan's descendants became more famous during the 1920s and 30s, the Chens were no longer able to produce a master of the original Taijiquan style in order to make the claim of authenticity, so claims were later made that it was Yang Luchan who changed everything to suit himself and the teaching environment of the Imperial Palace.
This theory would also go some way to explain why the Song Shuming lineage was considered legitimate during the 1930s (it is actually written into the same Chen book of that period), but was later refuted by some researchers closely associated with the Chen style, primarily Tang Hao and Gu Liuxin.
With regards to Song Shuming, it is claimed that he taught both Xu Yusheng and Wu Jianquan, during the early 1900s. Song Shuming's Taijiquan system did not come via the Chens and was considered at the time to be very powerful (he was able to beat Wu Jianquan very easily, despite being in his 70s). Something interesting to note also, is that the individual names of the form postures that he taught correspond closely to the Yang's (unlike the modern Chen forms), although the teaching and practice methods were said to be somewhat different. It is also plausible that Song Shuming inspired Wu Jianquan to evolve the Taijiquan system that he learnt from his father into something somewhat different from the Yangs, but of course that is purely conjecture.
Song Shuming was dismissed as a fake by Tang Hao and Gu Liuxin on the grounds that his family boxing manual was not written in the style of the Tang dynasty, the time at which Song Yuanqiao (the first in line to receive the transmission) learnt Taijiquan from Xu Xuanping. It is of course perfectly plausible that the family boxing manual could have been re-written many times over the centuries, thus losing its original form and style, but this was never questioned by the so called researchers Tang Hao and Gu Liuxin.
I am still a great believer in the Jiang Fa transmission theory, but lean more towards the Zhaobao lineage view that he was contemporary to Chen Wangting and that Taijiquan was introduced into the Chen clan (and taught to others) at that time. The Zhaobao lineage is interesting in the fact that it shows that the transmission was passed down from Jiang Fa from master to disciple and not as a family style. I feel that the Yang's claim that Taijiquan was taught directly to Chen Changxing by Jiang Fa is erroneous, and is probably an attempt to prove that they are the only ones to receive a proper transmission of Taijiquan, but of course that is highly unlikely.
So the Chen's new and practiced Taijiquan until the late 19th century, but later lost the original system probably for two reasons:-
- over propensity for mixing and matching (but they have produced some excellent stuff from that)
- no surviving Taijiquan masters due to disinterest or early death etc (life was tough for most Chinese during the late 19th century and the early 20th century, with life expectancy right down to 40 years or so)
There are some interesting references to Song Shuming in the latter part of an article written by Xiang Kairen "A study of Taiji Push Hands".
3 February 2007
An impromptu visit
Today we made an impromptu visit (introduced by another friend) to a small martial arts school for kids out in the suburbs of Taichung. Expecting to just go along to watch our friend's kids practice their Wushu, I had not prepared myself in anyway to demonstrate a form. But, more importantly, I learnt something new today, or at least you could say that the situation here in Taiwan has became more clear. There is no Wu style Tai Chi here to speak of, and even less Dan Docherty style Tai Chi, in fact I believe that I am the only one from that school!
I met a father of a couple of the kids that were hoping to learn Wushu at the above school, who on discovering that I practiced Tai Chi, promptly demonstrated his Chen style Tai Chi sword and hand form to us all. After asking me which style I practice, his response was pretty much the same as others that I have spoken to here, and that is Taiwanese mainly practice Chen style and Yang style and they are very clear that the former evolved from the latter, therefore developing a strong kinship between the two.
He also described that as Taiwanese Tai Chi competitions are dominated by Chen style and Yang style, all else is more or less slotted into the "maverick/miscellaneous" group. This essentially makes all other styles unimportant in the grand scheme of things, and therefore makes my own style unimportant here too, hrm!
I can now see that being the "lone ranger" here may not be conducive to making a lot of new Tai Chi buddies, but is more likely me to make me an outsider and plonked into the "maverick/miscellaneous" group, not a happy place to be I feel, especially being a foreigner.
Should I consider finding a new Tai Chi group and learn something new? Or should I persist with my own Tai Chi and try to make others believe in me?
This is a conundrum that I need to think through.
I met a father of a couple of the kids that were hoping to learn Wushu at the above school, who on discovering that I practiced Tai Chi, promptly demonstrated his Chen style Tai Chi sword and hand form to us all. After asking me which style I practice, his response was pretty much the same as others that I have spoken to here, and that is Taiwanese mainly practice Chen style and Yang style and they are very clear that the former evolved from the latter, therefore developing a strong kinship between the two.
He also described that as Taiwanese Tai Chi competitions are dominated by Chen style and Yang style, all else is more or less slotted into the "maverick/miscellaneous" group. This essentially makes all other styles unimportant in the grand scheme of things, and therefore makes my own style unimportant here too, hrm!
I can now see that being the "lone ranger" here may not be conducive to making a lot of new Tai Chi buddies, but is more likely me to make me an outsider and plonked into the "maverick/miscellaneous" group, not a happy place to be I feel, especially being a foreigner.
Should I consider finding a new Tai Chi group and learn something new? Or should I persist with my own Tai Chi and try to make others believe in me?
This is a conundrum that I need to think through.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
