Which of the big 3 teaches you to fight sooner?

[IronFist]

Taiji (any style), Bagua, or Xingyi. Which one would produce a competent fighter the quickest, and why?

Just curious.

IronFist

[Fu-Pau]

...the one with the better instructor?

[scotty1]

Good answer.

But not quite the answer Iron's looking for I reckon:)

I don't have any experience of bagua or xingyi but I have a hunch that a lot of people would say xingyi, because its a more 'direct' method of fighting.

How flawed that argument is or isn't I don't know.

[Joseph_alb]

The one that trains obvious energy first, wich everyone would agree in it being the easiest type of force to apply. That would be Xing yi.

[Fu-Pau]

Let me guess Joseph... you study Xing yi? ;)

[Joseph_alb]

Did some hard work guessing right at it huh.

And yes, the instructor matters bigtime.

[Brad]

Yeah, instructor matter big time, and how much time you have. The more free time you have to train, the quicker you'll progress, obviously. As for the instructor thing, some schools will take about 6 months, others won't let you even think about sparring for 3 years, lol. Others still will never let you spar ;)

[count]

Off these 3?

Hsing-I gives you something you an work with right away.

Don't forget though, fighting is more than hitting.

BTW, will we meet you in Ohio at the Hall of Fame tournament Brad?

[Brad]

Unless something unforseen comes up, I'll be there :) Not sure what all I'll compete in though :P

[Crimson Phoenix]

I'd say Xingyi (and I do Bagua, FYI:D )

[shaolinboxer]

Xing yi fo sho.

[Brad]

Unless something unforseen comes up, I'll be there Not sure what all I'll compete in though :P
Guess what happened to me today :D

My account was overdrawn... and I got taxed... big time, lol. Mysterious payments to two internet sites I've never even heard of have caused my account to be overdrawn $14... and the resulting fees have wiped out half a months pay :mad: Gotta go to the bank tommorrow to work things out... I'm still determined to make it there though... even if I have to take out a loan to do it :D

[greendragon]

Having trained in all three, i would say Tai Chi Chuan. They should start you out early with push hands and blend into sparring. Hsing-i was a lot of form practice (12 animals, Linking form, weapon forms), drilling the postures, standing meditation in postures for long periods. It was so short and explosive that any sparring would only last seconds. PaKuaChang also did not start sparring for a long time, it was forms and many different circle walking exercises, some interactive but not like fighting, and chin-na taught from static position. So I would go with TaiChi but watch out for weak teachers who should have instead been selling Amway products to gay clergymen that like to carry that kind of thing around in their backpacks while sleep walking.

[MaFuYee]

hsing-i.

[Watahhh]

I've been studying all 3 concurrently for the past year. We do mostly non-contact sparring and I must say that all 3 arts have their particular strengths. Hsingi-i can be very quick and devastating but is probably the hardest to learn. Pa Qua is very strategic and excellent for multiple oponents. I love all the sweeps involved. Tai Chi Chuan (Original Yang) is good when you have a lot of space to work with. It's momentum redirection strategies are useful against bigger opponents.

At least that's how I see it from my experience but I have a long, long way to go.

[liangZhiCheng]

Tai Chi Chuan (Original Yang) is good when you have a lot of space to work with.

I will have to respectfully disagree with this statement. Though I train Wu Style, and not Yang, to my knowledge, in Tai Chi one strives to make the circles smaller. In my training, I've found Tai Chi to be close range and not need a lot of space to work in. In fact, I've been discovering the effectiveness (and fun :D ) of shoulder strikes.

[donjitsu2]

I train in Xingyquan and a little bit of Baguazhang (Just the single palm change really) and there is on expression that I keep hearing: "While it takes ten years to become proficient in Bagua and Taiji, Xinyi kills in a year." What this is saying is that Xingyi can enable a practitioner to be capable of dealing large amounts of damage to an opponent with a very short amount of training time. However, that is assuming the Xingyi practitioner is training the way he/she is ment to train. 30min-hour (minimum) of Santi practice each day+ another 30min-an hour of forms practice and maybe a bit of the 2 man set. Following a regimen like this will give one amazing power and skill in as little as a year (or eve 6 months for some). There is no doubt in my mind that Xingyi is a deadly system and I personally feel that if proper training is done it develops significant martial skill is the shortest period of time (when compared to other internal arts). That is not to say Bagua or Taiji are not as good as Xingyi, all are excellent martial arts and are very deadly. Xingyi is a much more simplified style.

Hope this Helps,
Josh Skinner