wayne hansen wrote:Not perfect but rudimentary might be nice
Cause the change you want to see, share some of that knowledge in the spirit of magnifying the light.
It's hard to point to a definitive interpretation. T. T. Liang says if it works then do it. Others say to avoid falling prey to the near enemy of clumsy force. I suppose it's a matter of context. If I'm fighting for self defense I'll do whatever it takes to protect myself, maybe sometimes that's strength and gripping. Miyamoto Musashi said the only dishonor is falling with a weapon left unused.
In training, though, definitely invest in loss. Where it's safe to insist on proper methods to develop those mysterious and subtle skills.
Yang Cheng Fu says GST is a series of postures that represent the "Chief Hand" of the system, Yang Jwing Ming says GST is a single posture that occurs between preparation and ward off right. GM Chang says it's got a backfist in it.
Who can say what's a priori the true art? All we have is the telephone game through lineages of varying quality control. The classics are fundamental but open to many interpretations. All I can say for certain is whether something accords with my personal experience of the truth or not.
Take for example GM Chang, his taijiquan is correct according to his understanding and it seems to have served his shuai jiao well, but watching his clips and reading Sifu Wang's descriptions of the use of the art it doesn't appear to function the way I understand my own taijiquan to function. In form and function I believe his calisthenics are more similar to shuai jiao shadow boxing than Taijiquan, simply based on the wide divergence from my understanding of principle it represents.
But I don't claim the authority to sanctify or condemn another's practice or understanding. I clearly still have plenty to learn about taijiquan and currently have limited opportunity to expand that study. I hope I never do get to that point where I feel so entitled. It seems it would represent a loss of something precious and valuable.
So I'm open to these interpretations and consider them as I refine my own practice. Maybe I pick up a wrong idea or two, maybe not. Maybe I drop it when it proves less useful. There's no rush, no end goal, just refinement and practice and testing. The method is the reward.
So to that end I welcome any insight you can offer, in hopes it's more useful than "everybody sucks".