maybe he liked the YCF's version more and stuck with that. if go into the internal mechanics its the same.
This. This is not directed at you PennyKid but just as a larger general observation.
I do find it interesting that most Taiji people constantly talk of principle, concept and the fact that its whats going on inside that matters .... but then proceed to critique the external appearance of forms etc. The two viewpoints always seemed at odds to me.
Ultimately if Niu Chunming were to just make stuff up and move about in a random way, i think it would still be a valuable demonstration of Taiji, if we accept the body method, concept and principle approach. YMMV.
Thanks.