everything wrote:At the opposite end of the spectrum, what did Sun change from Hao? And why?
What he changed is little. But IMHO, it would be better to ask if something today is practiced as it was intended. Are the vital principles taught and preserved properly?
He mentions the same kind of theory in his books. For instance, in his Bagua book, he speaks about developing and using pre-heaven /premortal qi. So it seems like he wanted to focus his arts on traditional health and long life concepts.
But you should understand that modern Hao was not standardized until later, so the Sun style is based on a somewhat earlier expression of Wu Yuxiang's tai chi compared to what you commonly see today in Hao.
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These are all good examples, IMHO. They all look very active and they all have a certain tension, or stretching quality, in their frame. You can see something similar if you look at the pictures of Sun Lutang as well. Most of what you see today from stylists from both Hao and Sun looks more sloppy and lazy.
Sun
https://youtu.be/3AuGupAIUds[youtube]https://youtu.be/3AuGupAIUds[/youtube]
Hao
https://youtu.be/BPvAFPD8x4E[youtube]https://youtu.be/BPvAFPD8x4E[/youtube]
Old Wu (Hao) Coiling Frame
https://youtu.be/ELEPd-GyyhI[youtube]https://youtu.be/ELEPd-GyyhI[/youtube]
Old Wu (Hao) Old Frame (+ "Striking the Eight Gates")
https://youtu.be/PHRgnQmo3a4[youtube]https://youtu.be/PHRgnQmo3a4[/youtube]