Bao wrote:BTW, why people says that Yang Style should be less martial than other styles I have no idea about except that it can look soft. People who believe that a more external look should be more martial have completely missed the point about what makes Tai chi Tai chi and about martial aspects of Tai Chi in general.
I only wanted to say that the current expression of specifically Yangshitaijiquan is public health, relaxation and wellness only because the objective martial criteria, for all practical purposes, is lacking, missing, not really important, etc so it is not my view but it is what people have experienced. I may not agree with the MMA Xu fellow in all cases but he brings up an excellent point that there is alot of BS being marketed as 'martial' and that demeans an art in the long run.
That is the present reality! Everyone can see for themselves
I love taijiquan though at my point in life, the names of the respective style tend to get dimmer over time. I salute one of my favourite teachers (I was/am a nobody student of Prof Zhang Dungsheng) and though our meeting was short, what I learnt /rememebred from that short term experience was his transformation of Zhangshitaijiquan (actually his version of Beijing24Yangshitaijiquan into a formidalbe jibengong based on his shuaijiao experience. Perhaps the alternative name for his short form would be Zhang24shishuaijiaotaijiquan
Even without the form itself, the conditioning is /would be excellent on its own without taolou representation.
When fascism comes to US America, It will be wrapped in the US flag and waving a cross. An astute patriot