What styles of taijiquan have you studied?

[edededed]

All this taiji-talk is getting me excited... about learning taijiquan! Lots of it seems interesting, but what should I get into?

1. Wu style - attractive in that it seems to have preserved a lot of material, but the movements have a bit of a characteristic "roboticness" to them (even the great Ma Yueliang).
2. Yang style - from the guy who made taiji famous in the first place, but infested with too many low-level teachers who just learned form. Also, too much controversy with who has "the true old Yang style" (everyone's seems to look different).
3. Chen style - the most athletic-looking one, but something about it always looked a bit strange to me...
4. Wu/Hao style - the rarest of them all, a very "internal," small-framed one that seems very interesting.
5. Sun style - a variation on Wu/Hao that emphasizes opening/closing, from the famous Sun Lutang (as such, it often comes with baguazhang and xingyiquan in a sort of set deal ).
6. Zhaobao style - a "new" style that has popped out that seems to be very soft, large-framed, and flexible (with the famous "low kao" technique representative of this).
7. Huleijia style - an interesting Chen variant/relative that seems to have a very detailed system of 10+ levels.
8. Zheng style - the popular style from Zheng Manqing, very soft and known for its "meirenshou" (beauty hand).
9. Chen Panling style - a style mostly confined to Taiwan, from the famous Chen Panling, a blend of Wu, Yang, and Chen.

Unfortunately, I have had the opportunity to learn only the following:

1. 24 step simplified taijiquan
2. A bit of Yang style (but not a great source)
3. A bit of what seemed to be Zheng style (a loooong time ago, my first taiji experience)

I guess a lot of you have tried more than one style of taiji - how did they compare, and what did you like best?

[qiphlow]

i've been plugging away at yang chen fu's taiji for about 10 years now (ours is very close to dong ying jie's variant). not a fan of cheng man ching's stuff, but ben lo seems to have made it work for himself.
personally, i think yang will be easiest to get the choreography and you can dig in to the details as you go. if i had the time and money available, i'd like to study some chen style.
since you've got a bit of yang style under your belt, why not dig a bit deeper into that and see if you like what you find?

[cerebus]

Dong Hai Chuan's variant of Yang Cheng Fu Tai Chi??? You're gonna hafta talk to me more about that in person...

PS: I like the Cheng (Zheng) Man Ching version of Yang Tai Chi myself. And also the Chang (Dung Sheng) Tai Chi, both of which are basically Yng Tai Chi, though VERY different in their own ways...

[edededed]

Yeah, what do you mean, Dong Haichuan's variant? I'd like to hear more about that...

As for my own Yang style, I have already completely forgotten it all The 24 step in particular I learned separately at least 3 times under 3 different teachers (one in America, China, and then Japan each) (and forgot it 3 times subsequently)... I guess I vaguely remember certain movements, though (lanquewei, louxiaobu, banlanchui, etc.).

[edededed]

Qiphlow:

I found a trail to your teacher's site that has a very interesting list of Yang style forms! In particular:

Yang Small Circle Fast Form 楊式太極小架快拳
Yin-Yang Five Elements Palm Form 隂陽五行掌
Traditional Yang Tai Chi Chang Chuan Form 傳统楊式太極長拳
Tai Chi 13 Chi-Kung Stances 太極十三氣功樁

Some of these things have correlates in the aforementioned Shanghai Wu style (the fast form and the five elements form), at least in name. (The longfist form seems to have correlates in Chen style.) If you are familiar with these forms, have you seen similarities with what is on YouTube of Wu style?

I also wonder what the Five Elements Palm form is about...

Anyway, sounds like some interesting material, wonder what it is all about...

[Chanchu]

Forrest Gump Tai chi is the only one I know.....

[chud]

Lots of it seems interesting, but what should I get into?

Ahh, if I had a nickel for every time that question was floated on this forum. Seriously though, the answer as usual is check out the teachers in your area and go with the one who fits you best.
Taiji is great, it'll change your life.

[DeusTrismegistus]

I really want to learn Chang 108 form from my teacher. Other than Yang and Chang I really want to learn Sun style.

[SPJ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9rkhcv-xzc

learned and practiced some materials from Du Yu Zhe in college.

theory parts;

I like Ma Hong books on Chen Fa Ke-> Chen Zhao Kui-> Ma hong notes. (like bibles for old and new frames)

I like Wang Xi An books and notes on Chen Tai Chi Lao Jia. (including saying and songs about requirements and apps of lao jia)

I also like Wang Pei Sheng books on Wu Tai Chi. (Wang used a more common lingo to explain hard to understand principles and theories)

--

agreed that whatever is available to you and start there.

[Frank Bellemare]

Regardless of whether your teacher is knowledgeable, learning taiji can be always be fun, you just won't get the full benefits of the practice if you get a lousy teacher. I started out with a teacher who knew little about taiji, but I still had fun learning the movements and making them round and smooth while breathing slowly and relaxing. Then I found out what I was doing was crap, but it was still fun, relaxing crap.

Style-wise, I've studied Yang style for a few years and moved on to Chen style last year and I must say that Yang Cheng Fu-type Yang style still feels the most natural to me. That being said, I like the intricacy of Chen style (xinjia), the harder physical work required and the fact that the classes are more "martially-minded" than Yang style classes and attract a more energetic kind of crowd. Eventually, you get used to the weird postures.

[fisherman]

I recently picked up the first 4 sections of the Chen Pan Ling, and I really dig it. I have only had about three weeks to work with it at this point, but I really like how it feels - the circles flow quite well.

[Muad'dib]

Ed, I'll be back in a week. We can talk then. As you know, I have some pretty strong feelings on this. In all honesty, before you get into any taiji, I think it's best you simply do stance work for some time. We can go over that as well.

[chicagoTaiJi]

dont think about style, think about the teacher.

if you want a REALLY good meal, dont ask what style of food is best, ask where the best chef in town is.

[Ian]

you forgot vasiliev/ryabko style taichi

[qiphlow]

i've been plugging away at yang chen fu's taiji for about 10 years now (ours is very close to dong hai chuan's variant). not a fan of cheng man ching's stuff, but ben lo seems to have made it work for himself.
personally, i think yang will be easiest to get the choreography and you can dig in to the details as you go. if i had the time and money available, i'd like to study some chen style.
since you've got a bit of yang style under your belt, why not dig a bit deeper into that and see if you like what you find?

OOOPS!!!! i just realized i fucked up...

i meant to say dong ying jie (tung ying chieh). my apologies for any confusion or offense!
original post edited...

must've had bagua on the brain...