The TaiJi vs Wing Chun problem I think I have an answer.

[dre_doggX]

alright will its only a problem if you choose to make it one, but anyway I not the only one with this concern. Wingchun is said not to be a style but a library of pratical techniques, theories and principals. Will Taiji peps say that their isnt anything in wingchun that cant be done in Taiji, while then I tried useing the Silk Reeling of the Chen style as the core of my movements but did Wing CHun movements, they where continueist like Tai Ji but were style of the Wing CHun Sil lum tao library.

[CanadianBadAss]

Taiji is just a collection techniques along with some theories and principals they like to rattle off. Wing Chun on the other hand is a style, it's not just about techniques and funny postures, its about structure, rooting(ect...) and at the core it's basically a way of moving. I could use my Wing chun and do the movments from the tai chi forms and it would be much more powerfull(And not in the way you stiff taiji people understand power). I kinda feel sorry for them. All they really have going for them is there library of techniques. And even those seem pretty silly, maybe they should all start practicing the SLT.

[rogue]

How far did you get in Tai Chi CBA?

[CanadianBadAss]

Far enough. I had to leave tho, I was just to weak, i wanted an art that didnt depend on size and strength

[yuanfen]

dre_doggX


The mechanics of wing chun are simply different from taiji

[Serpent]

Originally posted by CanadianBadAss
Far enough. I had to leave tho, I was just to weak, i wanted an art that didnt depend on size and strength

What? Like Taiji? :rolleyes:

[vingtsunstudent]

i'm so impressed at the quality of these topics lately.

dre_doggX, dude why waste time trying to mix something like this, just pick one and become good at it, if you still love the other style that much you might start practicing it in at least 5 years time, once you have some sort of at least half decent grasp of the first one and you may be able to at least learn something without being confused.
na **** it, just do them both and in 8 months time you can come back as the newly born red5angel THE 2nd and tell us all how we've all been doing it wrong for so many years.
vts

[Kaitain(UK)]

"Wing Chun on the other hand is a style, it's not just about techniques and funny postures, its about structure, rooting(ect...) and at the core it's basically a way of moving."

as opposed to Taiji? roflmfao where the hell did you study?

I bet your dad's bigger than mine too - jeez

dre_dogg - if you were doing the movements of SLT with silk reeling then you were doing Taiji, not WC. The gross outer movements are not what's important - it's how you generate and use your energy/power that counts and WC and Taiji do it differently. You could do the a Taiji form using WC principles and it would be WC rather than Taiji. I train with a guy who's been doing WC 4/5 years - he does some Taiji as well to unwind and push hands with a different 'feel'. He can do Chum Kiu (sorry for spelling :)) the WC way and then in a Taiji way - they look utterly different because the power generation is different.

Last point - how do you define a 'style' other than by it's techniques, principles and theories? Seems a bit semantic to me.

[urban tea]

I agree that wing chun is a style. Tai chi is also a style.

EVERY STYLE OF KUNG FU is a library of techniques!

canadian,

where did you learn your tai chi!??#!@# Since when does tai chi depend on strength and size?!


wing chun has stronger elbow energy though.

[red5angel]

Hey CBA, I have never taken Taichi myself but if you get the chance, read a book called "There Are No Secrets" By Wolfe Lowenthal. Its about Professor Cheng Man-ch'ing and his insights into taichi. The things you describe about taichi seem to be way off from what I am understanding it to be about!

[Kaitain(UK)]

to be honest that book seems to be more an account of how a syphilis ridden hippy idolises CMC rather than a meaningful analysis of martial ability

lots of 'he showed me this exercise and now I don't need glasses' type stuff in it.....

[CanadianBadAss]

...I was joking there. I thought it was dumb to say WC was simply a library of hand movements. I was just trying show that if I were also an ignorant fu(k I could say the same about tai chi.

[red5angel]

kaitan, although he obviously liked his teacher it is anaccount of a taichi masters view of the world and taichi. It wasnt necesarily a manual on how to do taichi but a series of stories filled with insights from someone who obviously understood the art very very well. Often times its not just MA "manuals" that we can get important information out of. As a matter of fact most manuals are pretty much worthless unless you are studying the stuff anyway.

[yuanfen]

Now our prolific poster is venturing into taichi literature.
Chen man Ching has a following and Robert Smith has pushed him a lot. But most top flight taichi/taiji people pay little attention to what he had to say. Good Chen stylists ignore him completely.

[dre_doggX]

What I should of said was wingchun isnt a fixed style of movements, but concepts and princpals effective in fighting. but those moves are still wingchun movements if done in slikreeling. but then its taiji to. in my opinon

[yuanfen]

dre_doggX
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The dan tien is part of the body alignments in many good kung fu system...but chen style silk reeling use of the dan tien is quite different from wing chun structure and motion. If you dont use
the yee gee kim yeung ma and the chor ma, some tucking and sinking and learn how to use the elbow properly in developing your fundamental body shaping you are basically imitating wing chun IMO and not really doing wing chun. The development of wing chun "short power" will be slowed down. Perhaps somehow the wing chun motions using silk reeling helps you in some way-you be the judge.
At very high levels of an art some borrowing is possible if you know what you are doing. But for most- mixing silk reeling and wing chun motions will be neither fish nor fowl .