Taiji Forum: Interviews with some notables

[Gus Mueller]

.... Trolls ...

Doogie Howser.

Have you even read the interview? Doogie Howser? I think you just might be a moron.

Pobably you are very young. You write that you have studied arts for 30 years, so you should be at least 40. But you act more like you are 14 years old. You are probably not that young, Hard to tell.... . But you are certainly not much more than a troll.

When I went to secondary school, my grandfather would ask us to practice Xing Yi Quan which involved daily Zhan Zhuang (pole standing) and Wu Xing Quan (Five Element Fist). This training was repetitive and intensive. We would practice the same movements over and over for more than 20 or 30 repetitions.
...
I started formal Taijiquan training before moving to High School. [And Taiji equals Xingyi because WHAT??? Is Driver's Ed also the same as Xingyi?]

In China, the only second grade before High School is the second year of primary school, which means approx. 7-8 years old.

Chinese people would disagree. Secondary school in China is our junior high or middle school.
http://www.chinaeducenter.com/en/cedu/psedu.php

So if it means that Li Deyin started XY when he was 8, at the same time as he started practicing CMA or if he means after those 4 years when he was 12 yrs old. I'm not perfectly sure about what, but I would guess he meant 12. Anyway, how much did you practice when you started your arts, regardless when? Are you afraid to answer that question? I can tell you about myself. From 11 years old to many years later I practiced 2-3 hours regularly every day.

That's totally not a lie, obviously. I was mowing lawns, watching TV, realizing I had no talent for art and dreaming about kissing girls when you were spending 2-3 hours regularly every day not lying about how much you trained. Too bad you could never learn to hop or jump backwards because those normal human skills require a special course of instruction.

Anyway, write whatever you want. I won't reply to or comment your posts anymore. I don't deal with trolls.

Translation from Internet to English: "Look for my next post on this topic." The record is less than one afternoon. Can you break that record?

[Gus Mueller]

Perhaps something got lost in translation here? Maybe he meant 20-30 lines across a field.

For my own practice, well... first you have to understand [No, no one has to understand, you're being self-serving here] I do a very active step version of xingyi, so each single posture can cover up to about 10 feet depending on how aggressive you want to be.

Learning the elements, you would do nothing but that element for the hour of class time. The number of repetitions was.... man I have no clue. Hundreds?

After learning the elements, usually each class would start with the whole class doing lines across the studio, each element from one side to the other then back, before beginning instruction in other things. That would be between 20-40 full iterations of each posture, so somewhere between 100-200 total.

At the risk of saying something positive, and just because I can, you've described normal xingyi practice.

[origami_itto]

Perhaps something got lost in translation here? Maybe he meant 20-30 lines across a field.

For my own practice, well... first you have to understand [No, no one has to understand, you're being self-serving here] I do a very active step version of xingyi, so each single posture can cover up to about 10 feet depending on how aggressive you want to be.

Learning the elements, you would do nothing but that element for the hour of class time. The number of repetitions was.... man I have no clue. Hundreds?

After learning the elements, usually each class would start with the whole class doing lines across the studio, each element from one side to the other then back, before beginning instruction in other things. That would be between 20-40 full iterations of each posture, so somewhere between 100-200 total.

At the risk of saying something positive, and just because I can, you've described normal xingyi practice.

And you didn't spontaneously combust! Wonders never cease.

I don't know what other people do, just what I do myself, which is part of the point of talking about it in a place like this where practitioners gather and trade notes.

Are you aware of any other styles/branches/lineages that do the standing/stationary/wuji elements?

Regarding the "self serving" most people are not familiar with our stepping. We move another few feet further than most of what else I've seen per posture, like an additional step further than what you see here. It's footwork unique to the lineage (within the context of xingyi, at least).

[Gus Mueller]

Are you aware of any other styles/branches/lineages that do the standing/stationary/wuji elements?

Sorry, don't have an effing clue what you are talking about. I don't know what "wuji elements" is and I don't know what a non-stationary "wuji" would be. You don't think the "wu" there means "five" do you? Because that would be so entertaining.

[origami_itto]

Are you aware of any other styles/branches/lineages that do the standing/stationary/wuji elements?

Sorry, don't have an effing clue what you are talking about. I don't know what "wuji elements" is and I don't know what a non-stationary "wuji" would be. You don't think the "wu" there means "five" do you? Because that would be so entertaining.

Wuji is a stance. Both feet parallel to each other about hip width apart. The weight will shift between the legs according to the specific needs of the movement.

The standing (aka stationary, aka wuji) five elements (as opposed to the moving, aka active, etc) is practicing the upper body movements of the xingyiquan wu xing in a wuji stance, without stepping.

ref: my original post that you were responding to.

In personal practice, after San Tsai Sek/Zhaun Zhang I would do 100 each of the elements while standing in wuji before starting the rest of my practice. This might be a practice particular to the flavor I study. For additional practice I would do a couple hundred of each with jailhouse steps and resistance bands strapped to the wall.

[Gus Mueller]

Are you aware of any other styles/branches/lineages that do the standing/stationary/wuji elements?

Sorry, don't have an effing clue what you are talking about. I don't know what "wuji elements" is and I don't know what a non-stationary "wuji" would be. You don't think the "wu" there means "five" do you? Because that would be so entertaining.

Wuji is a stance. Both feet parallel to each other about hip width apart. The weight will shift between the legs according to the specific needs of the movement.

The standing (aka stationary, aka wuji) five elements (as opposed to the moving, aka active, etc) is practicing the upper body movements of the xingyiquan wu xing in a wuji stance, without stepping.

That's a training method I've never seen. Could you do it seated? Could a double amputee do it? The point being that I'm questioning (not mocking) the value of just doing the upper body movements.

In personal practice, after San Tsai Sek/Zhaun Zhang I would do 100 each of the elements while standing in wuji before starting the rest of my practice. This might be a practice particular to the flavor I study. For additional practice I would do a couple hundred of each with jailhouse steps and resistance bands strapped to the wall.

[edededed]

Stationary wuxing: Many xingyi lines have this (including mine), but the particulars might be different.
Extra step: Not sure about this one! Some xingyi lines have interesting stepping methods, though.

[GrahamB]

You all have it lucky. I have to do 1,000 repetitions of each of the 5 elements before I've even got up, while standing in a freezing pond, while having one leg bitten off by an angry crocodile.

Bah, kids today have it easy.

[origami_itto]

The standing (aka stationary, aka wuji) five elements (as opposed to the moving, aka active, etc) is practicing the upper body movements of the xingyiquan wu xing in a wuji stance, without stepping.

That's a training method I've never seen. Could you do it seated? Could a double amputee do it? The point being that I'm questioning (not mocking) the value of just doing the upper body movements.

You can partially do it seated, sure, but you're missing half. A double amputee would probably be better served practicing Taekwondo.

The value? Well it's not "just doing the upper body movements", you're still using the spiraling power of the whole body, you're just not moving your feet. 9 joint harmony is still maintained.

In a sense it's like silk reeling, you're developing smooth and coordinated power. Not stepping allows you to better understand how the rest of the body is involved without having to focus on additional details like stepping and turning. It also makes it easier to integrate training aids like resistance bands to help further develop power.

Extra step: Not sure about this one! Some xingyi lines have interesting stepping methods, though.

Choi Sifu studied Lama, Judo, Thai Boxing, Ma Jow Lau Horn, Northen Shaolin, and then Master Chen Yik Yan's Tai Chi, Pa Kua, Hsing-I, and Liu Ho Ba Fa.

He made some tweaks to things.

A friend who teaches Southern Dragon, Southern Mantis and NG Mui was blown away by the Xingyi stepping methods when I showed him because they were so similar to what he thought was unique to his styles.