Taiji Mistress

The taiji form is always performed slowly, this is how we test and correct our posture. Speed is obtained by studying the applications and the practice and training of partnerwork. It all takes a very long time

ALL Taiji styles are, first and foremost, martial arts. The fact that too many schools around the world teach the *hippy, health* rubbish tai chi is because it takes at least ten years of training to fully understand and utilise this deadly martial art and most of the 'teachers' are inept at best and ignorant at worst. A true taijiquan teacher knows all aspects of taiji from martial to health. If the general public were more aware of true taijiquan the standard of training would improve. I have sparred with much younger men who have studied external martial arts for years and have witnessed first hand how taiji leaves them standing. Any teacher who tells you there are secrets is either lying or is covering up limited knowledge. Taijiquan is a profound martial art that can be fully learnt from a competent teacher. All it takes is many years of training and practice.

Lineage is of no importance to me on my taijiquan journey. The more I learn the more I realise that no-one has the complete system. It is fragmented but fortunately there are some very talented people out there training hard and bringing it slowly back together. The likes of B.K. Frances and Alex Kozma spring to mind. During the time I have been doing the long form it has changed out of all recognition as newly aquired principles are applied and refined. When doing my private practice I often spontainiously *dance* utilising taiji principles instead of set practice. Given that all taiji forms were created, refined, handed down refined etc. etc. for countless generations nobody can claim to practice a pure form. I am very happy to have *let go* of lineage as I continue to practice and question the form I do...yang style long form, butterfly variation. Or as we all call it.... mongrel taiji quan.

With much practice you will eventually be able to transform chi energy into jing energy (fa jing). The first time it happens it is so explosive it is scary Then more practice to be able to issue fa jing at will. During sensing hands practice I occasionally receive/emit low controlled levels of fa jing. I would never want to be on the recieving end of a full fa jing punch/kick/push.

I was always taught that, with the exception of internal iron shirt chi gong, all other chi gong was to be done with quiet breath. There are probably as many conflicting views on this as any other MA topic! What I always do is experiment and find what works best for me and discuss it with my teacher.

I attend an informally structured outdoor class once a week here in Kent. We do a lot of sparring and cross training as it is open to people from any MA background. I know that sparring has helped my Taiji form immensely and would recommend it to everyone.

You betcha!! Push hands is used for sparring. It is the best way to pinpoint innacuracies in your Taiji stance and remedy them. At high level, there is nothing slow about push hands. I love this aspect of training. I mostly train push hands freestyle and quite often both people are blindfolded. We practice slow to excecute at very high speed when necessary. By practicing slowly, we test the correct alignment of our bodies at a very minute level. Every nanosecond we are moving and attuning our bodies to the correct position, that way, in combat, we are always rooted and balanced and can launch from anywhere and are never off balance. Try doing pressups very very slowly and you get the idea!!

I love this thread!! I agree that there is a lot of poor Taiji being taught in the UK and most of it is based firmly in the 'Taiji is a health excercise' twaddle. I met a young man recently who had spent the past 10 years training in several external martial arts...it was a big part of his life. He joined in one of our regular, weekly, cross training sessions. He showed us his stuff, we showed him ours. The most noticable thing I found was that, despite his vast knowledge which included partner work, his pushing hands skills were limited - which I put down to it's inherant linear nature. He continues to train with us, and has stopped going to all his other classes and is currently learning our Yang long form, applications and push hands. That, in a nutshell, shows what we Taiji players already know...... You can't beat TaijiQuan when taught comprehensively!!

I feel that applications should not be taught until a certain level of understanding of the form has been attained. Unfortunately, a lot of students assume they can assimilate applications when it is clearly not the case. Taiji is a lifelong learning experience imo, and I am happy to walk my path learning as I go. I alternate my private practice between pure form and form with an imaginary opponent/applications. There is so much to learn that it is easy to get swamped, at which time I always go back to basics for a while.

Hi dtstaichi, Yes, I'm currently studying the Yang long form and am finding it an incredible experience. I have previously learnt, and still practice, Yang short form and Wild Goose form. How about you?

I all depends on finding a competent teacher and devoting a lot of time to training. imo,six years of training should start producing results and from what I have experienced so far I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end for real.lol External MA's can produce fast results for self defence, whereas Internal MA's take much longer by their very nature. I personally would rather face someone with EMA skills, having had first hand experience of Qi disruption, (embarrasingly I did it to myself and it took over three weeks to get back to normal!!!!) No way would I want to face a Taiji Master in combat!

Hi TF, I practise Yang style, I previously learnt Chen Man Ching's short form. How about you?

Hello to you all, This is a very interesting forum site with many topics of interest for me. I look foreward to many interesting debates and am sure I will learn a lot. I have been learning TaijiQuan Long form for a while now and am primarily interested in expanding my Internal MA knowledge and sharing what I have picked up on the way. I also am lucky enough to cross train once a week with people who train in External MA and want to learn much more...I just hope I don't ask too many daft questions at first! I hope everyone out there is enjoying their weekend....have fun.

My twopence worth I take off all jewellery before training for two reasons. Firstly because I don't want it broken or ripped off, secondly, all elements and crystals channel energy in different ways and I want to be in full control of my energy at this time. Btw, I have practised naked many times (on a secluded beach and at home) and much prefer it....however I don't think my classmates would agree! I don't believe that clothes do anything detremental to Qi flow.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. There are too many people setting up Taijiquan classes without the depth of knowledge needed to teach the martial side and cloak it in the old myth of 'inner door secrets'.