tai chi question.

[BAI HE]

In my area there are two places I am considering
studying.

One offers Wu style the other is William C. C. Chen's
branch (Yang style?)

If someone could explain the basic difference, principles and
focus of these arts I would be most appreciative.

Thanks, Peter.

P.S. I finally got my PM to work. I didn't realize It wasn't turned
on . My apologies to anyone who has tried to PM me in the past.

[Kumkuat]

William Chen's is CMC style (Cheng Man Ching). Which Wu style is it?

[BAI HE]

I didn't know there was more than one. Forgive my ignorance.

[Water Dragon]

Who's teaching the William CC Chen system? Alan Shapiro? If so, he's good but his students have a "health" emphasis as far as I understand. You can definately learn the martial (especially being so close to NYC) but you'll have to take that into consideration.

[BAI HE]

Yes. Shapiro has a group at South Shore Internal arts they also have Jiulong Ba Gua.
Recently I came a cross a guy named Buddy Tripp at Lungmen.org
who I think teaches the Wu style along with Gao Yisheng Ba gua.
I'm thinking about checking him out.
But I need to do some homework first (ie: get an idea of how
to judge what I see and what to look for.
I'd like to study both Tai Chi and Ba gua and maybe
someday Hsing-i.

I've been doing some research trying to sort out all
the different internal styles before I go jumping in somewhere.
My only internal experience is the Mee Li Jum set from
Bak Hok.

[Walter Joyce]

As I understand Buddy no longer teaches Wu publicly, although he may teach you privately. His group classes are in ba gua, Gao through Luo de Xiu, and Penjat Silat, through Uncle Vic DeThoeurs. Buddy was my first internal teacher, and 4 years later I still study with him. Check your private messages.
Walter

[Water Dragon]

If "Buddy" is teaching Kun Tao and recognized by Uncle Vic, you simply MUST check that out.

[BAI HE]

What is Kun Tao? Silat?

[Wingman]

Kun tao and silat are Muslim martial arts found in southern Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Kun tao is said to have Chinese martial arts influence.

[Le nOObi]

I see you are in boston. If you have the $$$ you could consider private lessons with kay chi leung. He is very knowledgable but doesnt teach much in public lessons.

[BAI HE]

Unfortunately I can't study in Boston due to
my commute (me and my wife share a car).
Being a slave to the commuter rail Socks.

I'm chained to the south Shore for awhile.
But maybe in the future...

[Ky-Fi]

Since the subject of Boston martial arts is up, I have to put in a plug for YMAA. They have a lot of different class options----the 3 day seminar series in June/July and January/February, which consists of various seminars of 4 or 5 different Taiji subjects, chin-na, white crane or qigong. Then there's also a few 16 week classes (once a week) on specific subjects, like Taiji Chin na, White Crane qigong, etc. And then there's the regular weekly classes too.

I've found Dr. Yang to be a very impressive guy, very humble and willing to answer questions and give examples no matter whether it's your first time at the school or if you're a long time student. Especially with the 3-day seminars, he starts off Saturday morning with a lecture on theory, and this has probably helped me more than just about anything--he gives great examples for what he's talking about. And if you want an example of his ability, or if you're just looking for new experiences in pain, you can volunteer to be his chin na dummy :).

The school's pretty easy to get to, too-----just across the street from the Forest Hills stop on the Orange line.

[n0rmann]

KyFi

I was wondering about the YMAA seminars. I know a Chin na seminar is coming up. I haven't read any of the books referenced on the YMAA web page, how important is it to have read the books before taking the seminar. Thanks for any info.

[BAI HE]

CAUTION: His Chin-na is VERY PAINFUL.

[Ky-Fi]

n0rmann,

The chin-na I've taken from him was Taiji chin-na--one of those 16 week classes. I haven't actually taken one of the chin-na seminars. But, I think in the descriptions of the seminars he lists the exact reference #s of the techniques in the books that he'll be covering. It certainly wouldn't be necessary(and probably not even possible) to completely learn the techniques from the books before you go--but with some of the other seminars I've been to there, I've tried to be somewhat familiar with the material from the books before I go. That way, while he's right there you can spend slightly more time picking up the subtleties of the stuff if you're already familiar with the general technique. On the other hand, I suppose if you've learned the stuff from the books wrong, it's going to put you behind---I guess it doesn't really matter :).

Yes, as Bai He said, it can be painful---just remember to tap when it hurts! I've never seen him actually injure anyone, though, so it's not that bad. That's how we would always harass each other in class : "Master Yang, I can't quite get this lock to work, can you apply it to my partner so I can see how it's done?" :)

[dfedorko@mindspring.com]

Bai He -

It is great that all of the MAs gave their two cents but only you, alone, can make the decision. So go to both of the schools, check them out personally, and see how things are done, the costs, etc. and go for it.

Damian