“Hmmm, so in essence, what you’re saying is that they created a wudan version of Tai-Chi, etc and called it wudan tai-chi. This is understandable. If I wanted my own version, I would do likewise. The Chinese Gov’t has access to many Martial Artisits who can provide input. They already have standardized forms, so to combine methods from these is quite simple.”
No, that is not what I said. I said that the wudang bagua and the xing yi were created by a wudang master off the blueprints of previous bagua and xing yi system. wudang taiji is the first formalized art of wudang. (In san feng pai it goes back 16 generations) I honestly don’t care when or who created taiji, i only stated that zhang san feng is regarded as the founder of it in wudang and by people all around china. Most people that discredit wudang, i find, have never even been to china. because it is only now starting to open up in the west doesnt mean it is fake. It just means you should do more research. I like to see things for myself before i believe them but thats me. There are way too many B.S. artist, especially in martial arts, watering down systems or just trying to be business men off the name of something once thought special. Just because Shaolin is now a very popular tourist attraction doesn’t mean that traditional shaolin arts are not taught any more. and in this country alone the spirit of shaolin is strong. If i am correct your art is considered shaolin. The same goes for wudang. there is real stuff and there is fake stuff. and that is with any style. --You should create your own form or at least do something to contribute your knowledge to your system. It shows personality, broadens the system, and helps it evolve.
“However your saying that,
“it is also held in High regard from common folk and the Chinese government.” is not any indication of quality or authenticity. The Common folk are uneduacated, illiterate, non-Martial Artists, and the Chinese Government perpetuates myths, legends, and capitalizes on anything and everything they touch. Look at Shaolin-it is nothing more than a tourist trap, with guys dressed up as monks, just like Disney has people dressed up as Mickey and Donald. I already know of a guy who paid three grand to live and train at wudan, and he learned standardized wu-shu sets.”
loop hole in wording–common folk, middle class and up to the government. I agree with you on the shaolin thing. and maybe wudang will be made into the next shaolin, but that is why it s starting to open up the doors. to get the real stuff out. its a shame that close minded people cant see this. There are kung fu practitioners that live on hua shan but there is no hua shan kung fu. but if it came out and was a respectable system created by someone who spent more than a week creating it, who are we to discredit it. Wudang has a complete system of fighting drills, applications, forms, weapons, medicine, qigong, meditation, blah blah you get the point. its a shame you are quick to implyu it is fake and government created. its too old to have been government created.
“In the Liang Dynasty (502-557AD) and Tang Dynasty(618-907AD) there were already techniques resembling Tai-Chi, called Thirty-Seven Postures, Post Heaven Techniques, and Nine Small Heaven.
Some records indicate that Zheng San-Feng was made an immortal figure to cover up the assination plot against Emperor Jian-We by Yong-Le. Yong-Le sent assasins all over China, claiming they were searching for the immortal Zheng San-Feng, and to further cover up his plot, and lies to the people, he commanded a Temple be built to honor Zheng in Wudan Mountain, thus Zheng and Wudan Mountain became legendary in China.
Wang Zong-Yue’s Tai-Chi classics are well-known by Tai Chi practitioners. He sysetematically summerized the priciples of Taichi using the Yin-Yang theory, and was the first to call this Martial Art, Tai Chi Ch’uan.
Wang Zong-Yue is also credited for teaching General Jiang-Fa in the Later Ming Dynasty, who is also credited for teaching the art in Chen village.(Taijiquan Xiaoxu, written by Li Yi-Yu(1832-1892AD).”
the Chinese Government perpetuates myths, legends, and capitalizes on anything and everything they touch. – you said it. why is your story valid?
“There doesn’t seem to be any indication that there were any Martial Arts created at Wudan until recently, and most likely as a result of popularising the Temple and creating yet another means of tourism.”
even yang jwing ming discusses wudang in some of his books. they werent written a hundred years ago but they werent written last month either. I doubt he is writing that on behalf of the chinese government either for the sake of tourism. There are other sources. I dont think you will believe me anyway, but thats good. do your homework.
“That being said, the forms taught at Wudan are quite beautiful and breathtaking, and they have collected quite a number of them as well as chi-kung exercises. Is it real? Sure. It’s all real. If you create a form, it would also be real. So it is not exactly a hoax. But it is funny how all of a sudden Wudan forms, styles, sword sets are springing up all over the place, and there are training tours at Wudan.
Mark my words, the next flavor of the week will be Hua=Shan, and you will see Taoists coming out of the woodwork teaching all sorts of longevity chi-kung “secrets”. The time is ripe for this. The Western public is finally getting concerned about health, nutrition, and longevity. Depak Chopra, Andrew Weil, and others have paved the way. It’s like foreplay. I’m waiting for Taoist Pilates.
(if I were really smart, I’d keep this to myself and put out DVD’s-look out Billy Blanks, here comes Tao-Bo!)”
Your on to something with Tao-Bo…lol. I agree with many things you have said. But Wudang is not fake as some might believe. not exactly a hoax, but your implying it is …in a nice way. as i said there are many fakes out there that will try to cash in on the wudang name. This discussion has been very interesting, but i have no further interest on trying to prove the authenticity of wudang. I can speak only on san feng pai. which is the biggest traditional system to come out. (according to my knowledge so far). The academy on the mountain is san feng pai but I will not get into the politics about it. my master left teh academy and teaches at a school at the base of the mountain. he is still apart of their association, but does not agree with teh forms for sale idea, training tours and all that jazz. theres nothing wrong with making money but there are quite a few things that you can not buy either. those are the things that people dont know about. and thats whats real.
wow, these posts are getting longer…cant wiat to see your response..lol..
