XiaoXiong wrote:I've recently started learning the form after a long time of just doing ji beng gong, tui shou, and a few apps. I was wonering if you guys had any videos you really considered good of it. I've seen everything on youtube, and the best I found was Wang Shu Jin, but I know there's gotta be other really good people doing this form on the net. Thanks in advance for any help with really any video of cpl taiji you like. Anecdotes are welcome!
J
WSJ's version is the best out there right now. Even with more videos, his would still likely be the best. His version is really good, so don't dismiss it.
As far as youtube goes, the CPL taiji from the official line is being held a bit too close to the vest. I won't speculate why that is, but it does seem to be the case.
Some things to keep in mind. One, CPL never says that there is BGZ or XYQ in the taiji form, at least as far as I know. He clearly stated in his taiji book that the form is from old Yang, Wun and Chen. He never says that he put XYQ or BGZ into it. The XYQ and BGZ parts have been added by Hong Yi-xiang's and WSJ's lineages because they were primarily BGZ and XYQ guys. This changes the picture significantly.
CPL meant for this form to be a national form with NO secrets. He wanted something that everyone could do. Something that did away with the keeping of secrets, as in the past. So he didn't want people adding things to it that he didn't put in there in the first place.
Having said that, adding the BGZ and XYQ gives it a nice touch. I've done a couple of different versions of the CPL taiji at this point and can say that some of the later additions are quite nice and I can see why they were added. WSJ's "dragon walking" palm change between the reps of "wild horse parts mane" are nice as is the addition of the half-step "grasp the bird's tail" sequence that shows some XYQ influence.
On the other hand, I think that CPL's form from his sons is quite nice and adheres a bit closer to what CPL had in mind. Since it doesn't have XYQ and BGZ influences, it retains more of the original TJQ flavor IMO. IMO some of the other versions that have the XYQ and BGZ influences can lose some of what the TJQ can teach you as that possibly gets subsumed within the other influences.
But when it comes to applications, I find that HYX's and WSJ's lineages have a pretty good grasp of the usage. XYQ and the BGZ are a bit more clear on the usage so those influences bring with them some strong apps. Does having a form that every one can do, as CPL intended, mean having slightly weaker applications? Perhaps.
From this picture people can hopefully tell why CPL TJQ is a bit under-represented on youtube, etc. Some people are also holding back out of respect as well, and that's appreciated.
Complicated picture, but there it is. Hopefully I'll have video of my version up by mid-October.
Dave C.
Time to put the QUAN back in taijiQUAN. Time to put the YANG back in YANG style taiji.