Spencer

With regards to Chinese Martial Arts (CMA) lineage only matters to those that wish to learn the complete system. Of course this depends on the age of your chosen CMA. The further from the origin (as already stated) then the more it will have changed. However, lineage doesn't mean that you can't be an effective fighter or learn from a good teacher (at teaching how to be an good fighter) But to learn a complete martial art generally lineage counts. There are two types of student of a lineaged master. Outdoor Students. These pay the bills. Can learn how to be effective fighters. Indoor Students. These learn everything they wish to know from the Master (at the Masters pace of course) They can also learn how to be effective fighters. The first thing everyone seems to misunderstand is that lineage does not mean that you WILL be a great fighter or teacher. It just means that you have the knowledge to be an effective fighter in the chosen style, because it is (usually) taught to you with no reservations. Something to also bear in mind, There are two types of lineage. Family Heirs and those that have just learnt from someone who does have a lineage. To be part of the "family" you go through a Bai Si Ceremony. A confucian ancestor worship ritual pledging fealty to the ancestors of the style. Those that do not go through this can claim to be taught by someone who has but this is obviously not as good as actually being one themselves. Unfortunately people not in the know, understandably don't know the diffference and many people list lineages without stating categorically whether they are disciples (faimly members) or not. Those potential students who see the lineage think "My they must be good" (sneaky of those that post the lineage) This I believe is the second reason why people disparage lineages. Postscript. Analogy. Imagine going to University to get a degree and finding out that other students in the course get to learn more of the syllabus in your chosen field. Will it make them better? Possibly not but will it given the statistically the chance to be better. Yes.

Fallen Milkman I'm not intending on being rude bu I dont know where you get your information from, but it certainly isn't from any credible historical evidence. A better record of the history and legend of Taijichuan go here http://www.zhenwei.org/History/HistoryTaijiquan.htm For those that are going to quote the Da Mo himself "Bodhidharma" and state that he is the creator of Zen Buddhism let alone martial arts I shall feed you a piece of a thesis that I have that delves into the origin of chinese martial arts and some of the myths behind it.

Taijiquan = Ultimate Fist In the context of Chinese martial arts, this does not mean that it is talking just about the hand at the end of your arm. Traditionally you refer to a style as a "fist" The implication (rather arrogantly actually I guess) is that Taiji is the best. You could roughly sum up three theories of blocking (and I mean roughly) The first is to take the punch or kick (as you would lets say, in Muay Thai or Boxing) with the least effort to avoid getting thumped. (The amount of force taken by the defendant is high (as much as the attacker is spending) The second is to apply force at an angle to the oncoming punch or kick (or whatever). (the amount of force taken by the defender is medium and half of the force the attacker is spending) The third is to apply force in the direction of the attackers punch or kick, changing the angle slightly to avoid taking the punch or kick. (the amount of force taken by the defendant is low (about ten percent of what the attacker is spending) Now these three principles are real basic generalisations but simply put I would place Muay Thai and Boxing in the first Karate, Taekwondo and majority of Chinese MA in the second and Taijiquan in the third. Simple put if someone punches you in taiji you pull his punch not block his punch. This does require you to move as well (else you'll pottentially pull them in to hit you) but I'm sure you get the gist. Now thats not to say that thats the only thing you do if someone punches, just an example of a generic response that highlights the difference. Let the attacker do all the hard work! Its one of the reasons why Taijiquan has links with Taoism and the theories of Ying and Yang. Unfortunately there are an excessive amount of people just teaching Taiji for health reasons because they do not know the martial aspect of Taiji. I'm lucky that my teacher teaches the traditional yang style two man form amongst others and knows the applications and can use them. Oh and monkeygirl is right.. her general principles hold true amongst all martial arts.

Chang quan is classed as Modern Wushu. The styles that were used to make up this style are traditional. But Chang Quan is one of the definitive modern wushu styles. http://In 1959 it was announced that a state controlled martial arts program had been created that no longer recognized styles or systems. Instead, all martial arts were divided into five basic categories, "Long Fist" (referring to all empty hand techniques), broadsword, straight sword, staff and spear. After some protests, a category referred to as "South Fist" was also introduced to represent the martial arts of Southern China. This state controlled martial arts program is the basis for what is today referred to as "contemporary Wushu".

Think I've already answered several threads that you have been on however, at any rate https://www.zhenwei.org Its a Northern Shaolin Mizong School in London England.

http://www.zhenwei.org/History/HistoryMartialArts.htm This article can tell you quite a bit about the history of martial arts in China. I think that one of the first lines in the text is quite revealing. Jet Li has previously explained that when he went to film Shaolin Temple in the early seventies there were only three people there. The gardener, the janitor and an elderly abbot who had no martial training whatsoever. However, shortly after the film came out, all of a sudden monks appeared to welcome the inevitable tourists. This is much the same as when people travelled to Canada to place flowers at the grave of "Jake Dawson" the fictional character in the film Titanic! Sure martial arts and Shaolin have a basis in history. However as I have mentioned on other threads I've answered today, the history is not so sweet as most nowadays make it. Thieves, Bandits, murderer's and rapists are more than likely the originators of any fighting system from the Shaolin area. (as explained in the above linked article) (this doesn't mean that its not a good system just that those that purport to be fighting monks are lying)

In its heyday and beginning Taijiquan stood up to a lot of external based martial art systems. (ie won in fights) If someone has told you that you fight without strength in Taiji then you are asking the wrong person or you are in the wrong school! (saying that I agree that Taijiquan is not about strength..ie overriding strength) (see https://www.zhenwei.org for info on taijiquan)