They can also punch, kick, knee and elbow. There are many sides to tai chi.Originally Posted by Edmund
Banned
They can also punch, kick, knee and elbow. There are many sides to tai chi.
Banned
Tai chi has blocks and evasive tactics as well as hand and leg strikes.
Resigned
regardless of what taiji "has", unless it's trained in a manner that taps its resources, it really doesn't mean squat; that said, as far as technique per se, it doesn't have anything particularly unique that you aren't going to find in other TCMA styles that work standing clinch / grappling / take-downs / throws; same w/striking / kicking, although as far as how these are applied, I'd say that they come from a perspective that is relatively "real" (e.g. - in the form, the way it uses most kicks is low-line and from angles that make sense - that is, whoever put the forms together did understand about what would be advantageous in a "real" fight when using the legs);
the other thing that it "has" is the way it trains sensitivity, structural fluidity and power issuance, but again, it's a question of how these things are trained: most (Yang) taiji was, by design, eviscerated some time ago;
it is possible to "reverse engineer" the form, and when you do, you can see the remnants of what was once there - but you need to do some research into parallel systems (e.g. - Chen); for example, you need to look at footwork - as it stands, directly applying things the way they are in the Yang 108 is going to be an exercise in futility - a lot of the oblique angles have been straight-lined, a lot of the techniques have been devoid of those little details that make all the difference in terms of "training" things like listening, sticking, etc.
taiji is, mostly, an empty husk from a martial perspective; when you encounter the essence of it, it certainly has things of value - but you can find these things in other TCMA styles without having to do nearly as much archaeological leg work...
Registered User
They would probably claim some uniqueness but as the clips show when push hands is done against realistic resistance it is a form of wrestling that most grapplers would identify with.
Resigned
ding ding ding! give that man a kewpie doll!
actually, if you look at skilled sumo, you will see a lot of the same attributes...
Glorified TCMAist
taai gihk yan, check your pm's
"My Gung-Fu may not be Your Gung-Fu.
Gwok-Si, Gwok-Faht"
"I will not be part of the generation
that killed Kung-Fu."
....step.
Banned
Tai chi has blocks and evasive tactics as well as hand and leg strikes.
Ah, was that your 'secret' kungfu in London?
詠春係一個家庭
Your profile says that you're in NYC. I offered to show you my effective approach to WC. I haven't heard anything from you yet. I'm in the city every Sat around 3:30pml. I can be reached at sifu@wingchunkwoon.com.ok im hoping to not start a flame war or anything here, if that happens i will erase this thread. ok for the past five years i've studied xing yi chuan, and i freaking love it, its one of the most effective forms of fighting i've trained in. it has its drawbacks which alot of my previous training has compensated for but its a good system for me and it works for me. ok now that thats out of the way.
i recently been training in wing chun just to see what is it all about, why so many people swear by it like it was jesus christ or something. and you know what i just dont see it. while it is a practical and effective art. it has tons of weakness's. and im not talking about ground fighting or any of that. cause in reality the floor is not someplace you want to be at in new york city. anyway without getting to specific, i just dont see it. yes its a good art but no it is not the grand ultimate martial art. now there are guys on here who are gonna come at me with all sorts of crap, like oh you havent learned enough yet yadda yadda yadda yackity shmackity, just know also i have two friends who are really good sifus in wing chun. and lets just say what i said before, while i see its efectiveness especially in close range combat, there are alot of places where it needs to be compensated where things need to be added to make it more of an effective fighting form. just my opinion.
P Redmond
詠春係一個家庭
黑暗的水的孩子
hey phil, actually i practice wing chun privately with a friend of mine on sunday for four or five hours in Brooklyn, never said that wing chun wasnt effective or a good art. i was just saying there is this stigma i run into with wing chun guys(my friend not included) that wing chun is the greatest their is and thats that. its like BJJ people they are the same way.
Registered User
taai gihk yahn
It's true what you say about Yang Style. But actually, going back to it's inception it was always a fully functional martial art. I remember after learning the "easy" way of doing it that focused more on the health benefits, my Si Hing taught me the original way to do it that our sifu used to teach. The Fair Lady Works The Shuttles are different (or there's more of them), more clearing movements, an extra crescent kick and other aspects of it that seem to emphasis the fighting techniques of the system. Of course, it can be trained in such a way that you're using it for fighting too.
As far as the stigma with Wing Chun guys, there generally is one. Most Wing Chun classes I've visited have all these guys who seem to immediately size me up when I tell them I practice kung fu. They seem to want to convince me of the "superiority" of their system or something. This is a lot more prevalent in Wing Chun schools than others I've noticed. I generally don't get this when I walk into, say, a Hung Gar school or a Choy Lay Fut school. Maybe it's because my Northern Shaolin is more similar to theirs, I don't know. I think these guys pick this stuff up from their teachers and the mass media. I guess it's 'cause it's "The greatest fighting system in the world!! Also, the most effective!!"
The three components of combat are 1) Speed, 2) Guts and 3) Techniques. All three components must go hand in hand. One component cannot survive without the others." (WJM - June 14, 1974)
Registered User
Because Wing Chun in general has become a religion which have many cults.
and every cult believe they know "God" better then others and other cult within Wing Chun.
The mentality is sick and will continous to produce sick minded people if not cured.
I really hope the Movie Ip Man brings people back to reality to know what is the vision behind the art.
I expect those who disagree and those who always believe WCK is fighting and fantasy human are like animal just to keep survive cult to verbally attack me.
That is fine for me. because this question needs to raise to lead to a balance mentality and not produce tons of extremist WC cultis.
Watch the Ip Man the movie, learn what is WCK is about. For me, the point make is not towards Japanese but toward any race or nation who mis applied power or thinking fighting is the ultimate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7OGK...eature=related
and Stop the stupidity and ignorance like a frog sit under the well and thinking the sky is only as big as the well's opening which trapping the frog.
ofcause the frog never realized it is within the well, trap, and close minded.
Last edited by Hendrik; 04-25-2009 at 01:06 PM.
Registered User
Nice clip. But how come every time there's some fight on a lei tai in a big budget action movie, the hero just barely keeps from falling off by defying the laws of physics some how. I noticed this in the movie Fearless too.
Besides that, it's a good movie though. Speaking of Donnie Yen (and Tai Chi), here's one of my favorite all-time roles of his (the training scenes in part six are friggin' hilarious too):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd_08...eature=related
Oh, the voice of the teacher is Casey Kasem which also makes the over-dubbed version of this one a gem.
Last edited by Siu Lum Fighter; 04-25-2009 at 01:51 PM.
The three components of combat are 1) Speed, 2) Guts and 3) Techniques. All three components must go hand in hand. One component cannot survive without the others." (WJM - June 14, 1974)
Registered User
Nice clip. But how come every time there's some fight on a lei tai in a big budget action movie, the hero just barely keeps from falling off by defying the laws of physics some how. I noticed this in the movie Fearless too.
Besides that, it's a good movie though. Speaking of Donnie Yen (and Tai Chi), here's one of my favorite all-time roles of his (the training scenes in part six are friggin' hilarious too):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd_08...eature=related
Oh, the voice of the teacher is Casey Kasem which also makes the over-dubbed version of this one a gem.
It is not about the movie but the message get across. right?
and, one must be able to differentiate between reality and the movie idols, IMHO.
Resigned
that's because Yang Lou Chan actually had to fight for a living working as a security guard;
yes, we have different "versions" - the "sanitized" one that resembles the typical 108; then there's the one w/the jump kicks and spin sweeps...
most forms have 4; we have 8, although we call the move Four Corners (well, how many corners does a 4 walled room actually have?)- it is supposedly derived from staff / spear work;
meaning?
where is your "extra" crescent kick? (we have two that you don't usually see in other forms: one after White Snake Spits out Tongue and one in Twin Lotus Kick - which most forms do w/only one kick but still call "Twin"...)
true, although the "fighting" training that my teacher has shown me (which he doesn't emphasize given the nature of the student body being more "health" oriented), is more "resistance" oriented, both in terms of pushing against things like a heavy bag and the wall, and in terms of partnered work as well: from a contemporary perspective, it's training fast twitch explosiveness in response to tactile perception of what the opponent "gives" you;
what is your Yang lineage / background? ours is a non-familial (non-Cheng Fu, basically) "unofficial" version;
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