Your opinion, please.

[OldFatBaldGuy]

Do any of your teachers teach forms that they developed themselves, or do they just teach what they were taught by their instructors?

My taiji teacher is currently teaching me 5 different animal forms, very short, based on the Shaolin animal forms. His instructor developed these. For the record, or at least more background, his instructor studied Shaolin for 15-20 years before taking up taiji and has been studying taiji for 20+ years. He was also one of Waysun Liao's first group of students.

The forms are very nice, incorporating the animal spirit but done in a very taiji-like manner. They also include the individual moves from taiji training that don't show up in the forms. A really great way to train the basics that can get over looked.

I'm comfortable with the idea now, but do confess to some reservations about learning eclectic forms that lacked history. Taiji snobbery or what, I don't know.

Anyone else had these feelings?

Thanks for input.

Respectfully,

OldFatBaldGuy

"Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change."

[bamboo_ leaf]

I would say that tai chi is a concept that can be expressed in many ways,
If they follow the tai chi principles then they are correct.
If they help to reinforce a standard TC routine or a specific idea
Then this is also good. Its not the glass but the water inside.

I like and play the form developed by
Cheng Man Ching.

enjoy life

bamboo leaf

[wufupaul]

My Tai Chi Sifu created a form that is a blend of some different branches of Wu style Tai Chi. There are parts of it from different forms from different places. It is mostly from the Shanghai version(my teacher was a disciple of Ma Yeuh Liang), but there are also some movements from the Beijing(Wang Pei Shang), and I think a few movements from the Hong Kong version(Wu Kung Yi). There are also parts from the fast form added in, and it is a beautiful form. It was created mainly for competing in tournaments with it, but it's not flowery, all the movements are actual parts from different branches, it flows very well. I could care less who created a form; if I like a form, and I have the chance, I'll learn it, and gain something from it.

"Who is your daddy, and what does he do?"-Arnold Schwarzenegger

[EARTH DRAGON]

I feel that as long as your doing tai chi it dosent really matter what movements you are doing on the outside as long as you do as bamboo leaf explained. When my teacher walks slowly she says this tai chi, meaning focused breath, controlled movement, and lifing or increasing yi. So agin tai chi is not just the movements. On the flip side of the coin certain movements are for certain reasons and cannot be changed or made up it is a deeper understanding of tai chi that you wish to learn so feel comfortable with opening up to which ever works best for you.

http://www.kungfuUSA.net

[virus fist]

oldfatbaldguy

Hmmm... with that name no wonder you practice Tai Chi,guess you have no choice.lol.

Forms must follow the principles of the art that you study.

Anybody with basic understanding can make up a form,that is not a big deal,what matters is to know How?,Why? and When?,you do what you do, without this knowledge you are just copying not learning.

Follow the principles and become formless.

Don't worry,be happy.

VF

[joedoe]

I don't train in taichi, but my instructor occasionally makes up his own forms. Nothing wrong with that - that is how a style evolves and improves. As long as they maintain the principles and philosophy of the art, then I think it is good. Even if they don't it is not necessarily bad.

cxxx[]:::::::::::>
What we do in life echoes in Eternity

[les paul]

Nothing wrong with learning new forms developed by your instructor as long as their founded on years of experience. One must also experiment with them to the fullest in order to benifit, then you will have something.

The real things we master are the things we learn for ourselves with little or no help from others.
For example, walking, riding a bike and swimming. (martial arts applies to this concept in a huge way, you can only be shown the path, we all must climb the mountain ourselves)

Master Kong (Confucius) wrote about this when he said "If I give a student a corner of a handkerchief I’ll expect the other three corners to be found by the student."


Paul

[Guandi]

>Hmmm... with that name no wonder you practice
>Tai Chi,guess you have no choice.lol.

maybe Glenn Moore should also switch to Tai Chi :-)

Guandi

P.S.: at least in some pictures of the Ba Gua Chang Journal he isn't looking very slim