salcanzonieri wrote:By the way, there seems to be an implication in that article that there is not really a New Frame...
That is the accepted understanding. New frame is just a variation of the old frame, particularly with more obvious coiling, the applications less hidden and, often, with more fa jin expressed. It tends to be more "dynamic" or "showier".
that the Old Frame that Chen Zhaopei taught was like what he could muster to teach and that when they saw the full version of Chen Yi Lu and Er Lu from Chen Zhao Kui they thought it was something New, hence they dubbed it the New Frame in comparison to what they were practicing, but in reality, it was the Original version all along, that Chen Fake learned from his father, Chen Yan Xi.
One thing to keep in mind is that form practice is not static. Often, as one gets older, and as one's understanding deepens, how one performs the form often changes. For example, older practitioners often show less fa jin and often less small detail: the form becomes "rounder" and "softer". People often add little bits here and there, or remove bits here and there to suit the preferences of their practice. Sometimes, "changes" to forms, are simply the practitioner's preferences as they "grow-into" their form and as they age. There are many examples of that. For example, if you look at performances of er lu by a young CXW or CZL or FZQ, and compare that to performances of their older selves, there are lots of changes in how they perform the choreography and, in some cases, some changes to the choreography itself.
Also keep in mind that one often varies how one practices a form from one day to the next. One day, one might emphasize one aspect, another day a different aspect. What is captured on film might only reflect what was done that particular day, particularly if you don't want to reveal too much captured on film.
The story goes that Xin Jia was CFK's expression of his forms later in his life, carried on by his son, who made it his own, adding his own interpretation/flavour. Hong had his own interpretation, as did Feng: they each had a common starting point - CFK's teaching - but are recognized as their own sub-styles, as "Xin Jia" is.
If you look at the New Frame versions of the sets they are closer to Du's versions in Taiwan, especially their Pao Chui. Look at that Taiwan video showing Du's Pao Chui, has much more moves in it like the New Frame does.
What one learns from one's teacher often depends upon when you studied with him or her. For example, if one studied with Feng prior to the early 90's, one learned something quite different from what later students learned from him. It looks different, it feels different, it has different things emphasized and some of the choreography is different. Feng eliminated from his practice and his curriculum the yi lu form, replacing it entirely with other forms of his own, such as his 48 form. If you were a student of his in the early '80's, you learned yi lu: if you were a student of his in the 90's, you learned one version of the 48. If you studied the 48 with him - or his students - in the 2000's, you learned a very different expression of the 48. Ditto for his 24 form, qigong, weapons...
Sometimes - maybe often - changes to the choreography of forms are simply one person's "evolution" of their practice of forms. In some cases, those changes might be due to other influences from other practices, but not always.