Yang taichichuan

[Ma_Xu_Zha]

After seeing many various styles and teachers of yang tai chi chuan such as lineages from Yang jian hao (yang chen fus father) yang pan hao (yang chen fus uncle) and yang shoa hao (yang chen fu older brother) as well as ynag lu chan (founder of yang tai chi chuan) do you think the yang family ought to expand their training cirruculum or at least researcha dn accept these various branches?

[Brad]

Not unless the person can be verified as legit and if the style offers something new... most of this stuff is unverifiable(as far as lineage goes) and really doesn't offer anything different than the mainstream stuff. If they want to research authentic taiji that comes from someone previous to Yang Cheng Fu, then they should just look into the Wu or Chen branches.

[David Jamieson]

my training partner and i have been sipping on the tai chi cup for a couple of years now. each of us has of course had some taste of it for many years but here's my spin.

lineage is unimportant except to those who have that as their focus. The only Tai Chi that realy stands apart from all the other styles is Chen. It is decidedly different in form and expression.

the two Wu styles, Sun and Yang actually have more similarities than differences. But Chen looks more and is expressed more like a NOrthern style of Kungfu.

[Walter Joyce]

I'm not trying to stir anything up, but I have trained in Wu, Yang and Chen.

I see more similarity between Yang and Chen than Wu and Yang, but having said that I see similarity between all three.

I have also studied northern styles of kung fu and see no similarity whatsoever between the way that Chen taiji is done and northern styles of kung fu. I do see some similarity with the external expression of some of the movements, like single whip.

And not to confuse things too much, while I grasp (I think) the distinction you are trying to make by saying "northern kung fu" all three styles, Wu, Yang and Chen, are technically "northern kung fu" systems, originating from the north of China. I see the distinction you are making as the crusty waijia neijia distinction that starts so many pointless arguments.

To the original question raised, I agree with wht Brad siad, and would add that the Yang family might have their own criteria and motives for structuring their curricullumm as they see fit. History and marketing come to mind.

[Ma_Xu_Zha]

great posts-

I can see how if someone wanted to dig deep into yang style to go into chen style or even wu style of wu jian chien. the other 'wu' also called 'hao' has no resemblence to yang for me. the wu style of wu jian chien on the other hand is very similar to yang and what yang pan hao and yang shao hao taijiquan may have looked liked and now called 'small frame'.

personally i am curious of the style known as Imperial Yang taijiquan which looks like an earlier version of wu jian chiens taijiquan. it is suppose to be what yang lu chan was teaching in beijing at the time of his arrival and before it was standardized. the form is called lao jia, (which is same name as first form in chen) it has fajing, jump kicks, and more spiriling energy. there is also a small frame form, big frame form and long fist form.

i am just an observer of the style and see it as a transition phase between chen and the current yang long form much like the guang ping style of taijiquan. there are several people in china teaching this and the dvd's can be purchased at www.chinafrominside.com if you dare to have a observation in the way i was curious. they also have spear which i am very fond of. yang family doesnt teach spear which alot of taiji school include as power training.

i already chose to study the chen taiji lao jia and pao chui , chen sword and long pole as something closer to the orgin of what yang lu chan may have originally learned. chen taijiquan is very unique and we are fourtunate to have great masters like chen zhen lei, chen xiao wang, wang xian and zhu tien cai to teach annualy in usa.

[bamboo_ leaf]

(I'm not sure how to answer that but here goes. Yang Zhenduo is nearly 80 now. He's been practicing and teaching most of his life.

He teaches what he learned from his father, Yang Chengfu, his 'uncle' Yang Zhaopeng (Yang Banhou's son, who was put in charge of training Yang Zhenji and Yang Zhenduo when they were young), his elder brother Yang Shouzhong, as well as a few of Yang Chengfu's disciples, and interestingly, his mother.

So as such Yang Zhenduo feels that he has had very rich and unique opportunities to learn his father's style and his desire is to pass on what he learned. He and Yang Jun are very supportive of other branches of the family, such as Yang Shouzhong, Fu Zhongwen, and his father's many disciples.

They feel that taijiquan is one big family, and all taiji practice is good practice. Given this unusual and rich background, it does not surprise me at all that Yang Zhenduo and Yang Jun are not shopping around for more knowledge, but more intent on practicing, deepening and passing on what they already have.

You have only to talk to them to understand the profound respect they have for all practitioners and teachers.


Yang Jun has made a special point of instructing us that the website and the Association Journal are not to be used to disparage any teachers or practitioners.

Not only are Yang Zhenduo and Yang Jun supportive of Yang style, they are also respectful and supportive of all other styles, such as Chen, Wu, Wu, Sun, and so on, and have good relations with the representatives of these styles.)

http://www.yangfamilytaichi.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000094.html

from the yang family site, some really good thoughts expressed