Wudang Style Tai Chi Chuan

[bushido_man96]

Well I finally tracked down the instructor. He told me that although he himself practices Tai Chi Chuan as a fighting art there is no market for this, and as such all his classes are taught for therapeutic benefit with the application of techniques not being discussed. He has also told me that he doesn't think I'll find anywhere that will do in the area which is a shame.

Sorry to hear that.

[Bajifan]

That sucks. If he really does know taiji quan as martial art though, you still might be able to develop some good basics through the form and qigong work. The basic training and qigong from taiji quan are what will really keep you healthy long term, and could maybe allow you last longer with your "hard" styles.

[NightOwl]

Bajifan, do you study it as a Martial Art? I want to see that sometime..it's certainly hard to find around these parts

[Bajifan]

I partly studied it as a martial art, but unfortunately previous injuries from a competition accident prevented me from progressing too far. When I got to doing some more active push hands (getting knocked around abit) the pain in my knee was just too much and I couldn't continue. So I never got to the proper level. It would swell up, etc. so it's been about 3 years now since I've done any live application work and attended class. It's my own fault though, for not listening to my teacher. My main teacher and another teacher had been sharing a space, and sharing some of the teaching duties on occasion. My main teacher felt I need to concentrate on form work and qigong and wait about 1.5 to 2 more years until I was better healed. The other teacher (who owned the school) felt I was healthy enough to get into the rougher training right away, and be ready for full contact fighting within 6 months. Well, I listened to the wrong guy. I'll be going back to my teacher soon though, so I'll get a second chance

I was around it long enough though to see how it should work. Basically, the training process would go something like this:

1.Qigong and jibengong (basic training): Standing and moving qigong/meditation, line drills of individual techniques and combinations (going back and forth across the floor).

2.Learning the main bare hand form

3.Fixed step push hands: A partner application "game" to help train the major types of techniques found in taijiquan done from a stationary position (pushing, deflecting, sticking, and so on). Starts off in pre-coreographed sequence of actions and counters, but you move to free style pretty quickly.

4.Moving step push hands: Same idea but more active. Sometimes it'll start resembling shui jiao or judo with guys getting tossed around. It's rushing through this and the previous step 3 where I aggravated my injurey. Chin Na (joint locking, cavity pressing, etc. can also be trained within push hands, though often isn't really legal, I don't think, in formal competitive push hands).

5.San Da or San Shou (whichever term you prefer): Basically, full/hard contact free fighting to bring all your skills together.

And of course, it all builds on each other, so you never stop training any individual step. And other schools have their own unique training methods. For example, Chen taiji quan contains more forms for different purposes, long pole training for developing power.

And Sun style was created from Xingyi Quan, Bagua Zhang, and Taiji Quan, so you'll see more of those guys cross training in those arts and possibly adopting some of that training into their taiji quan. So as you can see, there's lots of variations on what you could find

Different taiji styles also have different weapons, though they're usually not trained for combat the way empty hand forms were. My teacher talked about weapons sparring when he was a teen (they created their own "safety" weapons), but hadn't really taught anyone that sort of thing beyond general theory and showing brief applications on how a weapon is used. Maybe if we get more interested though.

[lordtariel]

Well I finally tracked down the instructor. He told me that although he himself practices Tai Chi Chuan as a fighting art there is no market for this, and as such all his classes are taught for therapeutic benefit with the application of techniques not being discussed. He has also told me that he doesn't think I'll find anywhere that will do in the area which is a shame.

That's just kinda sad because I could name at least six people down here just off the top of my head that would jump at a chance to learn more of the martial aspects of Tai Chi(myself included).

[Bajifan]

Man, people need to come to Columbus, Ohio. I can name at least 4 teachers off the top of my head who would teach this There was also some Chen style guy (trained in Chen villiage) wondering around the parks at one point. You don't really think of Columbus or Ohio in general as being a hotbed of martial arts, but we've got Chen, Yang, Old Yang, Sun, Chen Man Ching, Chang (shui jiao taiji), and even non taiji internal arts like Bagua, Xingyi, Liu He Ba Fa, etc. If only the rest of the city weren't so boring, and the Ohio economy didn't suck so bad [/i]

[Bajifan]

Here's a little documentary (or part of one at least) on Wudang. "Madame Li" is a very interesting story

[Bajifan]

A Wudang version of Da Baji Quan (Large frame eight extremes boxing):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57W6L792yGY&mode=related&search=

A couple Wudang sword videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5RSYRGhvWM&mode=related&search=

And one more "straight forward": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP32brEuhCg&mode=related&search=

And one of the versions of Wudang style taiji quan out there:

[TheIaidoWay]

I joined this forum 5 or 6 months ago and made a few posts about looking for a martial art and asking advice about what art might be good for me...

I just started taking classes in Taijiquan, and I do believe it is Wudang Taijiquan. The Instructur usually just refers to it as Taijiquan, but before my first class I talked to him and he told me that it was Wudang and explained all about how it was a soft style martial art, and how it was neigong or internal gonfu. I've only been to two classes (technically you could say three). Last Wed. evening I took part in a hour or so long weapons class (followed along during opening postures and brocades), after that first hour or so of the weapons class they had a push hands class as well that lasted another hour and a half or so where I followed along. And then on this last Thursday I attended another push hands class (which I should be attending weekly from now on and the Weapons class periodically when I can).

After only 2 classes, I'm no expert. But I can vowge for its' effectivness health and body movement wise, I can already walk better (I broke my leg and dislocated my ankle about 6 years ago, and since then my left leg hasn't walked with the same straight motion it used to, I'd walk with it sometimes swinging outwards more than it would normally), but since the classes I'm already walking more normaly on my left leg without muscle stress or tension in it.

Along with that, I can say that the kind of Taijiquan I'm begining to be taught definately has fighting/combat orientedness about it. The different steps and motions (which are done slowly) are training for blocking and throwing and stuff. I was standing their following along with the Instructor, Lao Ma, as he explained the importance of the hand movements to one of his Senior Students and how they're used to capture an in coming punch and then throw the attacker away and off balance. So the Wudang Taijiquan I'm beginging to learn is definately combat oriented, it's just a different kind of training from Hard style.

My Instructor has studied the art for over 40 years I think, he said he traveled to China 20 years ago and learned from someone (don't remember his name) the ancient Wudang forms there (He learned the stuff here in America first, and then traveled to China to Really learn and get cretiqued). What he teaches is Breathing Tehcniques/Qigong, Push Hands, and Weapons (he might teach more but I don't know yet because I just started). The basics of it is just about strengthing your Dan Tian (center) and using that internal power.

There are mostly older people in the classes I've been to, so if your looking for something to do into your 60's D+C Taijiquan would seem to be it.