newbie question about Chen Manching 36 short form

[Arukei]

Did Chen manching teach yang style cause I have a book of supposedly one of his students (wudrow) and it says chen's short form so have Ive been studing yang style all this time not that iam that far in bearly learning the first 15 moves :), and whats the difference between his and other styles does his have any advantages over others?:confused:

[dharmastudent]

Yes, CMC taught the Yang style...although he modified it by taking out some of the repititions in the long form. He was a student of Yang Chen Fu who as you know was the grandson of Yang Lu Chan founder of the Yang Style.

Different teacher teach the form with minor differences. So don't worry, you are learning the Yang style, although it really should not matter what style of taiji you are learning. They are all valid styles.

[Arukei]

I would like to buy a dvd to go with my book studies any good dvd you would recomend?:)

[dharmastudent]

I would actually try and find a teacher. It is very difficult to learn taiji from a book or video. There is alot of stuff that you will miss out on if you don't have a teacher.

[oasis]

http://www.patiencetaichi.com/dvd_cmc_form.htm

one of his student's has that dvd for sale, although i've seen others, including one by a woman on 'tai chi short form' but dont recall title right now. you can see a sample clip on the website above.

while i agree that it's best to have a teacher, if all you have is a book and video then it's still good to enjoy some training in a form. you just have to remember that you will miss a great deal of subtleties, whether in taiji or kung fu. and if you are going to practice from a book alone, at least try to get a dvd for some visual guidance. best of luck

[Arukei]

I bought a dvd T'ai Chi for Health - Yang Short Form
by Terry Dunn I was checking it against the book it seems to be worth the 13 dollars I paid. It's really great but its a bit hard to do I was sweating throught the entire first 1/3 of the form, he holds the postures for about a minute each and some are quite demanding if you havent done them before.
Btw what subtleties where you mentioning since it's almost impossible for me to get a a teacher around here short of going to all the martial artist classes and asking them if they know tai chi and if they would teach me, not likely to happen:rolleyes:Btw it's funny but I can squat like 300+ but I can't do something so peacefull as tai chi..atleast for now:)Oh and before I forget I hear a popping noise in my knees doesnt annoy me or cause me any discomfort but is this bad or is this just the joints opening up as they mention?

[dharmastudent]

Popping noise in the knee? Even tho it doesn't hurt I hope you're not causing any damage to your knees. This is why finding a teacher is so important, you may be doing something wrong during the transitions or while holding the postures that may be causing the knee to "pop."

Some of the subtleties that you may not find in the disc are having someone to correct your postures/transitions while doing the form. Although you may think you have it right there may be something that is "off." Also, it is hard to learn to issue power correctly from a video or a book without someone showing you and correcting you in person. But if you don't have anyone near you that teaches it, videos are the next best thing.

[hongdaozi]

Did Chen manching teach yang style cause I have a book of supposedly one of his students (wudrow) and it says chen's short form so have Ive been studing yang style all this time not that iam that far in bearly learning the first 15 moves :), and whats the difference between his and other styles does his have any advantages over others?:confused:

The form is actually called 37 style; it is a Yang variation, more concentrating on health effects, relaxation, not so martial.

There are many school in the states, I know Benjamin Lo's in San Francisco, he is nice and quite good. Videos, I also would recommend only after you learned with a good teacher, as a reference.

[dharmastudent]

The form is actually called 37 style; it is a Yang variation, more concentrating on health effects, relaxation, not so martial.

I disagree. What is "not so martial" about the form when CMC was know as not only a healer but great fighter as well. Some of CMC's students include William CC Chen and TT Liang who were also known for their martial abilities.