My old teacher doing Taiji 88 move combat form

[Joe L.]

Always interesting for sure to see her when she was in her younger days, even if I don't practice the same material anymore.

What do the TJQ heads here think about it?

[oldtyger]

Since I have never learned this form,( Yang style, right?), I can't comment on the form itself. However just based on the postures it seems like neither one is that rooted and there are slight body leans that appear distinctly unrooted. I just have this feeling that I could knock either one of them around pretty easily. But then I may be biased due to my background in bagua, which has specific stepping methods that are vastly superior to any other internal art I have personal experience in, including my current Wu style, which is one of the most complete styles of taijiquan I have come across.

The form is obviously a choreographed sequence and both people do move very smoothly from one movement to another. In the bagua 2-person forms I have seen, each person uses more actual live skill and if you're not that good, you end up getting hit or pushed off your root( possibly swept if you don't evade or jump correctly). I've only ever learned one 2-person taijiquan form--not sure of the origin--but it was much shorter, involved similar choreographed sequences but had more realistic applications such as A into shoulder hit, B counters by guillotine choke, etc. This form also did not have the type of stepping found in bagua.

Rich

[Joe L.]

Cool, thanks for the detailed reaction, Rich. I appreciate the honesty.

[Ralteria]

I'd really like to see this form with intent.

[neijia_boxer]

They have good flow, I learned the form as well, but like the bagua two person form better since it is formless. The xingyi AN SHEN PAO is just as structured as well, but develops good reaction skills. two person form choreographed do have their place but is not a means to an end.

thanks for sharing, i like your teachers motivation to learn all aspects of the art.

[GrahamB]

Hats off to any guy who can stand on a basket ball court full of youths playing basketball while wearing those bright red silk pyjamas without a hint of embarrassment. I'm impressed. That's serious gong fu.

[Joe L.]

I do wish I would have recorded her doing this form while I was still with her, since I'd imagine this was her recording it while still learning/getting it down pat.

Any chance someone has a clip of the bagua two person form mentioned?

[Methods]

Hats off to pajamas, people who call the two man form combat taiji and whom practice the two man form slow like the solo form - yeh....

[DaDa]

You know deep down that everybody would just love to wear their pajamas everywhere if they could. The Chinese were just smart enough to actually make it popular. xD

j/k

[Ron Panunto]

You know deep down that everybody would just love to wear their pajamas everywhere if they could. The Chinese were just smart enough to actually make it popular. xD

j/k

I thought Hugh Hefner did that.

[Michael Dasargo]

Nice. It's less flowery than the way most people play the set. If I'm not mistaken, is the earliest verifiable person to teach this set Xiong Yang He? I learned it via Abraham Liu lineage, and as I understand it, Liu has no idea who created it.

Just geekin out,
Mike D.

[Bhassler]

I don't like any kind of stepping around the opponent without controlling them somehow. I tried doing that to my teacher once. Once.

[taiwandeutscher]

Nice. It's less flowery than the way most people play the set. If I'm not mistaken, is the earliest verifiable person to teach this set Xiong Yang He? I learned it via Abraham Liu lineage, and as I understand it, Liu has no idea who created it.

Just geekin out,
Mike D.

Yes, it has some similarities to what we do here in Taiwan, under Ju Hongbin and officially comming from Xiong Yanghe. But we use much more active stepping, lots of hua, na, da and prefer much more direct contact to the partner. Took some time to get the choreography of both parts, but now we can concentrate on certain parts of those forms and play it more realistic, looking for the different Jins a.s.o.

[RobP2]

Nice. It's less flowery than the way most people play the set. If I'm not mistaken, is the earliest verifiable person to teach this set Xiong Yang He? I learned it via Abraham Liu lineage, and as I understand it, Liu has no idea who created it.

Just geekin out,
Mike D.

Very close to the set I learnt from the Boston Chu's. I think I heard form them that it was put together by one of Yang Cheng Fu's top people.

I'd prefer to see it done with more intent - but then again when we learnt it it never really went beyond just doing the routine

cheers

Rob