Yap Sue Ting

[willywrong]

Filmed sometime in the late 50's or early 60's I think. As I don’t own this footage and have no idea who does, have a look quick as I might be asked to remove it. It also has footage of Yap doing the 37 step modified Yang 108.

Yap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OUqbf9eCLk

For more information on Grandmaster Yap go to http://zhong-ding.com/index.php/article ... rtial-arts.

[AJG]

Hi Willy

May I ask what you see as being good in this performance (that is if you think its good)? To me it looks like tofu taiji.
Any specific insight you can provide would be much appreciated.

Regards
Alex

[Bao]

To me it looks like tofu taiji.

According to the end of the clip, tofu apparently absorbs punches well.

And personally, I am not against tofu taiji. Tofu sure goes well together with noodling.

[Michael Babin]

it's done a bit quickly for my taste but that may have just been for demo purposes to get back to the serious business of having a good party. He actually moves much like William CC Chen did when I did workshops with over a number of consecutive years in the late 80s and early 90s. That kind of "softness" is not the same thing as being over-cooked or too soft like cheap tofu... at least not in martial terms with the right practitioner from the Cheng Man-Ching lineage.

Some decent punching going on at the end of the video for a change in a taiji youtube clip; I particularly liked the shots issued by the woman at the start of that segment. Nice to see a well-dressed young lady from that time period able to "issue force."

[AJG]

I had a second look at the clip as clips like these can be a little misleading if you don't look at them carefully. You can see the coordination of the body, it's just a lot more subtle and is not helped either when they are wearing loose clothes.
Regards
Alex

[willywrong]

Hi Willy

May I ask what you see as being good in this performance (that is if you think its good)?

To me it looks like tofu taiji.

Any specific insight you can provide would be much appreciated.

Regards
Alex

Its a piece of history and I would hate to see it lost. Good or bad make of it what you will.

[Hakkesho]

Ye Xiu Ting broughtCMC TJQt o Malaysia.He was small and thin and he got challenged in Penang by 3 very strong martial artists (among them Pong Chye Khim) and he beat them several times.After that they started studying with him. To some it might look like Tofu taiji... but a vid is vid.
Michael

[Strange]

per what i said in the Mace thread in BTDT
the vid shows no form
there is no need for slowness or deliberation or intent
as the meaning has been fully understood and digest.

so it looks very "normal" , like a guy walking, chatting with a friend,
waving at you to say hi... etc.
there is no need for form

[wayne hansen]

U both got it right
The other two he defeated were chock seng kam and Lou tong bao
He was 5'4 chock was 6'4

[nicklinjm]

Ye Xiuting (Yap Sueting)'s exploits are described in detail in Nigel Sutton's book "Searching for the Way", anyone thinking this guy did tofu taichi needs to do some homework - a lot of his students were won by challenge matches, and as Wayne says, a lot of them were a lot bigger than him to boot!

[willywrong]

Ye Xiuting (Yap Sueting)'s exploits are described in detail in Nigel Sutton's book "Searching for the Way", anyone thinking this guy did tofu taichi needs to do some homework - a lot of his students were won by challenge matches, and as Wayne says, a lot of them were a lot bigger than him to boot!

Yap with CMC https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4nFTZ ... view?pli=1

Yap in Penang https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4nFTZ ... view?pli=1

Another one https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4nFTZ ... view?pli=1

In Spirit
Eric

[GrahamB]

CMC tai chi has such a distinctive look, doesn't it?

[wuwei sifu]

Usually i try not to look at comments before watching so not to be influenced by the comment. this time i read the 1st. reply, and thought maybe this clip was going to be crap. then as soon as i realized he was doing cmc and very well i might add; i realized it was a simple lack of knowledge/experience that cause the comment.

as for what another poster said about no form, intent etc.; and with not knowing the information he had referred too i will say this.
his form had it all, and was natural imho. which to the disparaging comment appeared to be tofu tcc .

i have seen other cmc students, but his form is up there with the best. I do know that his teachers in areas like panang were all challenged & did their style no disservice, quite the contrary. I also know that Cheng himself taught folks at different levels; but only a few were taught martial specific for practical use.

there are cmc students that come from the bethesda md. groups of robert smith who new all the movements in te form and did them well while doing the form. However, they did not know how the applications to those postures. I'm not saying there was no one in their group who didn't but i am saying most of them did not.

My senior John W. Oden was a member of that group many years ago before learning from Dr, Chang. I played tui shou with another member form that group. i think he is still around he used to live in my old neighborhood. he has a real old sign in his window about learning tai chi. he calls himself the running lightning man or something like that on the small window ad. lives on druid hill ave. in balto. between the 1300-1700 block if i recall. stop in and ring him up. real nice guy, real soft/sensitive good form etc. ; but he didn't know gbt application in tuishou. other than to go through the motions of the play.

The Cmc players from David Chen's group were very soft, and sensitive too in the proper way. they always did better the next time we met. One day a player tossed somebody and they landed with a big bang. Mr. Julian quickly went over to them an admonished the player who did it severely. basically saying don't do that here, and we don't show that at these type of gatherings etc. etc. he was visibly pissed though still maintaining is cool. you can check them out via : http://wuweitaichi.com/class_event.htm

[wayne hansen]

I don't quite get your point are you saying some cmc schools have the goods but keep them hidden

[Pennykid]

"Yue Shu Ting came from a martial arts family. His father Yue Lian Fang was the head of Fujian Province's martial arts association."
How much of Yue Shu Ting's art that he passed on to his dearest disciples came from Cheng Man Ching? He would have been exposed to many good teachers growing up through his father.
The list of his curriculum is:
-37 posture form
-Meditation
-Golden Bell
-Iron Cloth(shirt?)
-Tun Na Qigong
-Hu Xing Qigong also called Ying Man Ren Shi

"Yue Shu Ting's main skill was his "folding hand" which contained six martial techniques, executed continuously without any breaking of power. In addition he had one taijiquan killing method called gold and steel qigong. Only a few of his disciples received this secret."

I haven't heard of these in anyone else's CMC curriculum.


Scott