Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan)

I won't repeat the waffle, about my love for Taiji, from the Capoeira thread lol.

Here are some of my fav Taijiquan videos.

I want to be this good!

I love these guys......doing Yang Style in the park

I'll post some more when I get time to look them out........I bet you can't wait lol.

Solerina

Ooh.....I've just found THIS.......isn't she wonderful?

She'll be as good as me if she keeps practicing....lol.

Solerina

Yang style tai chi mixed with Hendrix was a new one on me! Cool vid tho.

The two Chinese vids were incredible, nice to watch & an inspiration. I cant imagine seeing anything close to that in the west, the Chinese just take it to another level, live it & breathe it. For me in the west there is so much badly taught Tai Chi & Shaolin Kung Fu which seems to be more about ego & money & far removed from what is taught out there & performed by Shaolin monks. Brilliant!

sohotnot wrote:Yang style tai chi mixed with Hendrix was a new one on me! Cool vid tho.

The two Chinese vids were incredible, nice to watch & an inspiration. I cant imagine seeing anything close to that in the west, the Chinese just take it to another level, live it & breathe it. For me in the west there is so much badly taught Tai Chi & Shaolin Kung Fu which seems to be more about ego & money & far removed from what is taught out there & performed by Shaolin monks. Brilliant!

Thanks SHN.....glad you liked the vids : )

I get what you're saying about the teaching of Tai Chi in the West but I'm very lucky to have found two wonderful teachers, locally, they are totally dedicated and much more interested in teaching good Tai Chi than making money.

I've also been fortunate enough to have attended workshops with Karel and Eva Koskuba.
I'm looking to book on a workshop with Grandmaster Chen Xioawang at some point in the not too distant future, he's the head of the Chen style and often visits Britain.

I also love QiGong..... a friend suggested I learn some QiQong exercises before starting learning Tai Chi.
I found this to be excellent advise as I really felt the benefit when I began learning the Tai Chi Form.

I love QiGong.....especially standing QiGong....here's an interesting article about it Zhan Zhuang

There is so much to Tai Chi Chuan and QiGong, so many different forms,.......I've only been learning it for just over two years........I'm crazy about it......I had a total of about 5 hours tuition last week lol ( it's normally two or three) and I practice it most days.
You never fully learn it....it's always a work in progress.....I've only just scratched the surface.......maybe in about 10 years time I'll be able to say I'm quite good at it.

I've got a lovely pink tai chi suit lol, which I wear for public demonstrations.....of which I have only done one so far ......but I've another one coming up very shortly.

Sorry for the boring waffle but I absolutely love Tai Chi and QiGong.......the health benefits for the body and mind are simply amazing

Solerina

Solerina Tai Chi looks exceptionally graceful to be sure, a beautiful art to behold; however I am wondering about its practical application in a real combat situation? Is its grace and poise similar to the philosophy of Aikido, with its spiritual undertones where the emphasis is not on inflicting pain but on defending yourself with the least amount of damage done to your attacker?

@Talkingpoint

This is the million dollar question really, heard it many times before & will here it many times in the future. As I & many others have said on various posts on various forums its the martial artist/fighter not the martial art that counts at the end of the day. Every style has beaten every style in competition whether its MMA or K1/Kickboxing. Many people train in more than one style & are able to incorporate new styles into their original style. Most that do Tai Chi are not looking to fight or use it for self defence. Many use it it as a way of keeping fit, supple, controlling, raising & sustaining energy levels or even changing their lives

@Solerina

Its often some Tai Chi & shaolin or tdm teachers & practioners that annoy me when they state there style is the true/real & the best style, and that they are not into using it but if they did it would be the best whether for self defence or combat sports! Good luck with your Tai Chi workshop & your demo in pink!

sohotnot wrote:@Talkingpoint

This is the million dollar question really, heard it many times before & will here it many times in the future. As I & many others have said on various posts on various forums its the martial artist/fighter not the martial art that counts at the end of the day. Every style has beaten every style in competition whether its MMA or K1/Kickboxing.

I understand that, I wasn't trying to suggest that Tai Chi is not practical in self defence, or that another style is better, but my point was more what is the primary purpose of Tai Chi? Was it created primarily as a form of self defence or is it more recreational with applications for self defence? When people train in Tai Chi do they train with self defence in mind or as a way to exercise body and mind? I know there are 'soft' and 'hard' styles of martial arts - Aiki Jutsu, which I practice, is a 'soft' form because it does not rely on strength or aggression. I am just trying to understand the art.

@Talkingpoint

fair point & a good question. I dont actually know the answer, although friends of mine ( & there aren't many) who have & still do practice it say there are two sides to there style, to exercise body & mind as you put, using/creating 'chi' energy, using it as a form of internal massage & the other side a martial art/form of self defense. I have been lead to believe that it is very close to shaolin Kung fu & that its the way they teach you that separates it. The theory seems to be to learn/practice it slowly so that the mind absorbs it & that in time it will become 2nd nature as in you won't have to think what to do that you will naturally do it. If you are ever in a situation you just adapt it. Also as I have mentioned its about chi energy & using it correctly. Friends have said that if you learn Tai Chi then you can in theory do Kung Fu but not vice versa. I think it does take a long time to become good at it & to use it for self defense, longer than doing Kung Fu & a lot longer than some of the more basic fighting arts that are available. I dont think many martial arts particularly rely on strength but some definatley on aggressio but then some people may consider them combat sports. What is Aiki Jutsu? I have heard the name but know nothing of it.

Aiki-Jutsu is a Japanese martial art and is a cross between Aikido and Jiu-Jitsu. Basically aiki means 'harmonious' or something to that effect. In Japanese 'do' refers to way (as in philosophy) and 'jitsu' refers to technique. Aiki-Jutsu is very similar to jiu-jitsu only it emphasises more taking an opponent off balance and redirecting their energy in order to defend yourself. It is a very old martial art, created by the Samurai. Aikido, which derives from Aiki-Jutsu, basically takes these principles a step further, emphasising the 'do' or the philosophy of aiki.

Aiki-Jutsu focusses a lot on wrist locks and arm locks because originally it was created as an unarmed form of self defence against an armed opponent on the battle field. In Aiki-Jutsu there are two types of Kata - standing and kneeling. The standing kata comes from scenarios from the battlefield where a hypothetical attacker is about to strike you with their sword and you must disarm them - hence the emphasis on wrist locks and arm locks. Aiki-Jutsu also incorporates throws, chokes and strikes. Although the art is very old and some people might find the Kata 'impractical' for street fights there are many ways in which you can adapt it for bar fights etc against bottles or knives. My instructors always teach me that the Kata is to teach you technique and posture but should only be used as the foundation for self defence. Adaptability and flexibility are encouraged and indeed 'variations' play a big part of the higher grade syllabus.

I like the balance in Aiki-Jutsu between the grappling techniques of jiu-jitsu and the use of aiki as a method of absorbing and redirecting your attackers energy.

@Talkingpoint

Interesting stuff, & with the arm & wrist locks would definitely be useful in a bar fight. I was always under the impression that jiu jitsu taught this as well. Many years ago I was doing contact karate/kick boxing & one of the black belts also practiced something very similar & he showed us some block & lock techniques which seemed effective & quite nasty!

Did practice some shaolin kung fu which was kata based & although I wasn't a big fan of the kata's I do understand the point/principal of them, seems its the core of shaolin kung fu & as you have mentioned teaches you the foundation, posture as well as improveing flexability & strength, just wasn't for me. As for grappling its always going to come in useful, big in MMA aswell

btw don't the police learn something similar? They're always good at twisting people up & restraining them.

aiki-jutsu as I said is very similar to jiu-jitsu and really is just another way of doing jiu-jitsu. I actually started doing aiki-jutsu by accident! I wanted to do jiu-jitsu and was looking around for clubs locally; I eventually found a club about 20 minutes away from where I live so went along. When I got there I found out that it was actually an aiki-jutsu club; but as there were so many similarities and there wasn't any jiu-jitsu clubs closer to me I decided to join. The confusing thing though is that aiki-jutsu doesn't have its own 'governing body' in the UK and so its affiliated to the Aikido Research Foundation!

Solerina wrote:
I'm looking to book on a workshop with Grandmaster Chen Xioawang at some point in the not too distant future, he's the head of the Chen style and often visits Britain.

I'm going on a two day seminar with Grandmaster Chen on 5/6th June.....I booked it a few weeks ago.

It's being held in Reading..........I'm going down there on my own.....I love going places on my own : )

This is one of his seminars

And here he is demonstrating Fajin

I had my second Cannon Fist training day on Saturday....it was completely exhausting......I want to be able to do it like This

I can't believe I'm actually going to meet Master Chen....... I've been told he's a lovely man : )

I'm having six and a half hours of tuition this week with my teachers.

My friends think I'm quite mad, but I love this stuff! Lol

Solerina

have a fantastic time at the seminar with Grandmaster Chen, I bet it will feel like a real privilege being tutored by such an accomplished Tai Chi expert.

Funnily enough I also am going to a two day seminar in June - Sensei Roy Hobbs founder and head of the Dentokan organisation that my club is affiliated to is coming for a week to England to give seminars on Aiki-Jutsu and Kokamishin Ryu, which I'm told is meant to be a more lethal version of Aiki-Jutsu! I'm really looking forward to some intensive sessions, which I'm sure will help me improve my Aiki-Jutsu a great deal. I've never been on a martial arts seminar before so really looking forward to the new experience.

talkingpoint wrote:have a fantastic time at the seminar with Grandmaster Chen, I bet it will feel like a real privilege being tutored by such an accomplished Tai Chi expert.

Funnily enough I also am going to a two day seminar in June - Sensei Roy Hobbs founder and head of the Dentokan organisation that my club is affiliated to is coming for a week to England to give seminars on Aiki-Jutsu and Kokamishin Ryu, which I'm told is meant to be a more lethal version of Aiki-Jutsu! I'm really looking forward to some intensive sessions, which I'm sure will help me improve my Aiki-Jutsu a great deal. I've never been on a martial arts seminar before so really looking forward to the new experience.

Thanks talkingpoint.

Your seminar sounds great......we'll have to compare note : )

Solerina

hey Solerina how did your seminar go?

talkingpoint wrote:hey Solerina how did your seminar go?

Hi talkingpoint,

My weekend with Master Chen was brilliant! Thanks for asking.

He is an incredible man.....he has a great sense of humour....his English was better than I expected.....so communication was no problem.

We trained for 10 hours in total over the two days.....it was exhausting.....we did quite a bit of Zhang Zhuang (pole standing)...that was a killer lol.

The others who attended the seminar were either teachers or people who'd been practicing it for years, and it was their life, there were lots of guys who did other martial arts too...karate mainly.

My teachers here on Button Moon have done a very good job teaching me.......for me to be able to attend a seminar such as this after only two years and not feel out of my depth.

It's an amazing feeling when you do Tai Chi....kinda freaky...... like someone is moving you, rather than you moving yourself. It becomes addictive...you keep having little light bulb moments, as you continue learning, which feeds the addiction lol.

It was lovely to be in the company of so many others who are into this stuff as much as I am.

Anyway...Master Chen was a lovely man.......he totally blew me away

Solerina

fantastic! I'm glad you had a good experience - I know exactly what you mean about the light bulb moments, it's the same for me, which is one of the reasons I love doing martial arts: I just love to keep learning and improving myself.

It's also really cool when the people you look up to turn out to be decent human beings, Master Chen sounds like the real deal. Do you think the intensive sessions over the two day period have improved your technique? Or did you end up feeling burnt out or frustrated?

talkingpoint wrote:fantastic! I'm glad you had a good experience - I know exactly what you mean about the light bulb moments, it's the same for me, which is one of the reasons I love doing martial arts: I just love to keep learning and improving myself.

It's also really cool when the people you look up to turn out to be decent human beings, Master Chen sounds like the real deal. Do you think the intensive sessions over the two day period have improved your technique? Or did you end up feeling burnt out or frustrated?

Hi talkingpoint,

My life in general leaves me feeling burnt out lol......I just fight the feeling.

No....I try not to feel frustrated over my Tai Chi practice.....if I'm struggling with something I don't stress about it because I know I will get it eventually.

I did improve over the two days but more than anything it made me realise where I want to go with all this.

I'm so lucky that I've got two fantastic teachers, and they in turn have two fantastic teachers, who are lineage disciples of Master Chen and I've attended a couple of their seminars. It was they who organized the weekend I've just been on.

Anyway talkingpoint, when's your seminar? .....I'll want to hear all about it,

Solerina

it's next weekend - the 25/26th don't worry I'll let you know how it goes

talkingpoint wrote:it's next weekend - the 25/26th don't worry I'll let you know how it goes

I'll look forward to hearing about it : )

Have a great time!

Solerina

Got back about an hour ago from my seminar - my upper body is full of bruises after practically two whole days of JuJutsu training. The style we were practicing was Kokamishin Ryu, which though very similar to Aiki Ju-Jutsu is a little more pragmatic...and painful! Kokamishin Ryu is a style I wouldn't mind grading in but for now I think its sufficient just to have some irregular training, such as at seminars like the one I've just attended, to compliment my Aiki-Ju-Jutsu as they are very similar.

It was a fascinating two days as there were many Karateka also training with us. Saturday we focussed a lot on defence against punches and knife attacks, with a variety of arm, elbow and wrist locks. Today we concentrated on throws, leg locks and chokes from the ground. I have to say that it was very refreshing to learn something totally new as my club doesn't really do any 'ground' fighting.

However I also learnt that putting on a foot lock is trickier than it looks and of course everything I've learnt this weekend will require months more practice to get good at. I did, however, feel I made progress; just today we spent about 20-30 mins on a foot sweep into a leg lock that to begin with I was embarrassingly unco-ordinated at, but by the end I was able to do it with much more proficiency. The same goes for a wrist lock we were practicing this afternoon. When you can actually see yourself making progress it feels great and encourages you that one day you could be as high ranked as some of the other people you're training with!

Even though I am now quite sore and was glad when the seminar had finally finished as my body was starting to quit on me, it was a fantastic experience. Sensei Hobbs, the founder and head of our organisation was a really cool guy, he had a good sense of humour and made people feel at ease. I felt very privileged to be taught be such high ranking and experienced teachers. It's definitely something I'd like to do again but next time I'll try and be a little more mentally prepared for the intensity of the training.

Hi talkingpoint,

thanks for that : )

I'm really glad you've had a good time...apart from the bruises lol

talkingpoint wrote:When you can actually see yourself making progress it feels great and encourages you that one day you could be as high ranked as some of the other people you're training with!

Yes, it's very inspirational training in the company of people more advanced than yourself.

You stick at it, talkingpoint....it takes hardwork, sweat (yes, sweat, even in Taijiquan) and dedication to learn a pure Martial Art....but it's so worth it.

Learning a Martial Art is totally life changing, wouldn't you agree? : )

Solerina

Solerina wrote:
Learning a Martial Art is totally life changing, wouldn't you agree? : )

Solerina

I was speaking to one of my instructors over the weekend about what it must feel like to achieve your 1st Dan and he said the day you get your black belt is a pivotal moment in your life - he said it was one of the happiest days of his life and totally life changing. To achieve my 1st Dan is one of my life goals and I am confident that as long as I stick at it in a few years time I will achieve it! Training with so many Dan grades over the weekend really inspired me to achieve my full potential.

I also learnt a lot yesterday about humility.I loved the mutual desire to learn and improve yourself that I experienced from everyone I trained with, no matter what their grade or belt level. Black belts were learning amongst yellow and orange belts, everybody coming from different MA backgrounds. Not only was training with Dan grades humbling but also seeing so many Karateka train and seeing how we all have different strengths and weaknesses, the goal of MAs is to make you a better person, to teach you patience, self control and imo to be more compassionate. A lot of the stuff we learnt was actually very dangerous and you don't want to go around using that knowledge irresponsibly. Considering you can do a lot of damage to someone if you know how it makes you think twice before using it in a street situation.

Great post, talkingpoint

talkingpoint wrote:Training with so many Dan grades over the weekend really inspired me to achieve my full potential.

That's exactly how I felt : )....tho' of course there's no grading system in Taiji.

I'm planning on going to China next year, staying in Chenjiagou (Chen Village).

Master Chen did a six day seminar there, this year, in March.
He'll more than likely do another one next year. I'll probably stay for about 2 or 3 weeks....most people stay with the locals in their houses. It's very basic out there, apparently, tho' they do now have electricity, and the Internet!

It will be an awfully big adventure for me....on my own.....as I've only ever been as far as Jersey lol

Solerina

that is an awesome adventure - I wish you all the best for it!

Just out of interest how do you assess progression and skill level in Tai Chi if there is no grading system? One of the things that motivates me is the clear distinction between different belts - it is a great feeling to be awarded a new belt. That's not to say the art doesn't have intrinsic value in itself to learn - I would still do it even without the belt system, but it does help keep you motivated.

talkingpoint wrote:

Just out of interest how do you assess progression and skill level in Tai Chi if there is no grading system? One of the things that motivates me is the clear distinction between different belts - it is a great feeling to be awarded a new belt. That's not to say the art doesn't have intrinsic value in itself to learn - I would still do it even without the belt system, but it does help keep you motivated.

Hi talkingpoint........sorry I've been so long in responding......it's a very interesting point that you made.

I found this article just now.

It explains it far better than I could : )

Solerina

Thanks for the article Solerina, it was very insightful. I understand that the more spiritual aspects of the martial art shun the concept of grading and competition but it all seems very subjective to me - however, I appreciate the article does acknowledge that the Tai Chi philosophy is not fit for all MA practitioners. But if it works for you then that's cool.

Tai Chi Fan

Pretty good eh?

Solerina

Well....next up for me is learning the Single Sabre

I hadn't intended learning weapons till I'd been doing Laojia for another couple of years, and had also got to grips with Cannon Fist (Cannon Fist is so hard!).....but one of my teachers is going to tag single sabre on the end of my two hour class I do with him each week....just as an introduction
I was handed a sabre once, just to get the feel of it...I was worried I might end up taking someone's head off. You could do some serious damage with one of those things.

I've been doing a Tai Chi demonstration on Button Moon this morning (that sounds more impressive than it actually was lol).
I've been having real problems with one of the turns, in the form.
Last week my teacher spent the best part of a lesson helping me with it, so, too, did my other teacher the week before.....and it was beginning to look something like.....then, this morning, I completely c*cked it up

But I think I got away with it as most people watching hadn't a clue what it should have looked like

My teachers, as always, were sensational in their demo's

BTW....we were talking earlier on this thread about there being no grading sytem for Tai Chi.

Well, from this November, Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang is starting a certification system for Chen Style Tai Chi

Changing the subject.....I went on a QiGong weekend a couple of months back and we did some Yiquan (just a little).....anyone here done any Yiquan?

Anyway, I really hope you guys are getting on well with your various martial art forms....it's bl**dy hard work, isn't it?

Solerina

Them videos are brilliant and I wish I could move as graceful as that.

I used to do Chen style, but the classes closed in my area and i'm now stuck with Sun style which is okay, but not as exciting as Chen for me.

What other styles do you reccomend?

Phoenix wrote:Them videos are brilliant and I wish I could move as graceful as that.

I used to do Chen style, but the classes closed in my area and i'm now stuck with Sun style which is okay, but not as exciting as Chen for me.

What other styles do you reccomend?

Hi Phoenix!

Very pleased to meet another Taijiquan fan on here

That's an awful shame, your Chen classes closing.

I haven't practised any of the other styles so can't really recommend any to you.

I believe Sun style is more like Yang than it is Chen.....we have a guy who teaches Sun round here....he did a demo in the park last summer...he was amazing.

I don't think I'll ever go on to learn any of the other styles...like you say Chen is exciting....we're completey kn*ckered after some of our classes lol.
It can be relaxing too, of course, it depends what mood I'm in.

My teachers are very much into the martial applications of Tai Chi...we're always taught the self-defence element (if that's the right word) behind each move.

I want to do more Cannon Fist, later this year, and Single Sabre.

Taijiquan...especially Chen Style is very toning and strengthening...and should never be underestimated as part of a fitness programme.

I was recommended to it 3 years ago by someone.....it's now my biggest passion in life.....I try and fit in 5 hours of lessons a week, when my work schedule permits.

I do loads of other fitness stuff, including weights, boxing training, body combat (and zumba lol) but if I could only do one thing it would be Taijiquan....I will be an addict for life! It gets in your blood and stays there.

Well, Phoenix, hope you eventually find someone to start teaching you Chen Style again, if not then enjoy your Sun.
I'm going to have a look on Youtube now for some Sun vids to put on here.

Personally I would rather do Yang than Sun....is there anyone in your area that teaches Yang?

Ooh.. you've got me all excited now, talking about Tai Chi

Sun Style Tai Chi - 38 Step

Sun Taijiquan Competition Form

I love the guy in the second video

I've changed my mind I'd rather do Sun, than Yang