new generation Taijiquan and the cults of non-sense
Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2017 12:40 pm
While I can understand the importance of Standing and holding postures, there is one thing I cannot understand. reinvention of the wheel and some of the marketing I'm seeing these days with young guys who teach Taijiquan.
for example: back in the day we had to do a ton of basics that involved classical chinese stances, punch and kick combos using those stances, stamina and endurance work, various kicks, combination of movements and sections of forms over and over. this was more Kung fu classes as teacher thought "Taiji is NOT enough".
Later on when he introduced Taijiquan: we had to do hundreds of repetitions of Taiji walking without arms: legs only: walking forward, back, sideways, drop stance work, etc. Later we added hands like part horse mane, brush knee, repule monkey, cloud hands. class was 80% basics. We did from and held postures as teacher corrected us. this is critical in development of moving the jin through the feet to waist and spine to the fingers, coordination of upper and lower body, continual movement and basically all the other "10 principles" of Yang Chenfu. (we do Yang style Taiji).
Nowadays there is way to much fancy talk about jin and having to hold postures and very little talk of the other basics. Everyone want to talk about how long that can stand in "Holding the Tree" and other waste of time non-movement type of training.
As for marketing, the whole thing I'm seeing with these full time Taijiquan guys who dont have real jobs, is to come up with something new and gimmicky and act like "I have something nobody else has".
I'm sorry to say but all the gimmicky stuff has been done. what are the gimmicky stuff in Taijiquan: people flaunting they have something so rare you will want to buy it.
Selling:
1. Fast form (claiming to have the real one)
2. Yang Small frame or Old Yang form
3. Middle frame form.
4. Rare weapon sets.
5. Rare push hands techniques.
6. Rare meditation techniques.
What is sad about the whole thing, is the lack of integrity, stating where and who they got it from, claiming "family" this or that. Most of these guys have not or will not ever step in the competition scence or else lose face.
What can remedy the non-sense in Chinese Martial arts?
for example: back in the day we had to do a ton of basics that involved classical chinese stances, punch and kick combos using those stances, stamina and endurance work, various kicks, combination of movements and sections of forms over and over. this was more Kung fu classes as teacher thought "Taiji is NOT enough".
Later on when he introduced Taijiquan: we had to do hundreds of repetitions of Taiji walking without arms: legs only: walking forward, back, sideways, drop stance work, etc. Later we added hands like part horse mane, brush knee, repule monkey, cloud hands. class was 80% basics. We did from and held postures as teacher corrected us. this is critical in development of moving the jin through the feet to waist and spine to the fingers, coordination of upper and lower body, continual movement and basically all the other "10 principles" of Yang Chenfu. (we do Yang style Taiji).
Nowadays there is way to much fancy talk about jin and having to hold postures and very little talk of the other basics. Everyone want to talk about how long that can stand in "Holding the Tree" and other waste of time non-movement type of training.
As for marketing, the whole thing I'm seeing with these full time Taijiquan guys who dont have real jobs, is to come up with something new and gimmicky and act like "I have something nobody else has".
I'm sorry to say but all the gimmicky stuff has been done. what are the gimmicky stuff in Taijiquan: people flaunting they have something so rare you will want to buy it.
Selling:
1. Fast form (claiming to have the real one)
2. Yang Small frame or Old Yang form
3. Middle frame form.
4. Rare weapon sets.
5. Rare push hands techniques.
6. Rare meditation techniques.
What is sad about the whole thing, is the lack of integrity, stating where and who they got it from, claiming "family" this or that. Most of these guys have not or will not ever step in the competition scence or else lose face.
What can remedy the non-sense in Chinese Martial arts?