Crosstraining in CLF

[zen_celt]

I have noticed that there is a trend in many CLF instructors to also teach TaiJi. I'm wondering if that is because they feel a need to supplement there primarily external training with internal work but at the higher levels CLf is supposed to be internal already so I 'm not sure if that's it. I am especially curious, though, because it doesn't seem to be a particular style of TaiJi since the styles studied are across the spectrum. Does anyone have some particular insight or opinions on this?
-ZC

[americandesi75]

I asked a q on my internal CLF thread that no one answered, which was re:structure of internal CLF.

In (yang family) tai chi, the bow stance is wider, and there is continuous weight shifting in the legs (like rocking back and forth). I know that this is different than the CLF external structure.

My uneducated, uninformed guess is that maybe the tai chi forms express "softer" energy more directly? From a qi standpoint it shouldn't matter: internal is internal...so that's why my guess centers around the physical attributes.

I'd be very curious to hear the perspectives of the CLF seniors & juniors in this forum, because I'm guessing that a lot of your CLF sifus knows & teaches some Tai Chi.

[tomcat]

Clf is not the only style that incorpoates tai-chi into their system,many schools tend to do this , we do yang style along with our Hung-Gar.
We start Tai-chi at the early stages of training, it introduces the student to the internal side of Gung-fu early on,and may aid in grasping the advanced hung-gar teachings later on.
We generally practice it at the end of class as a cool down and moving meditation, also it is good for learning to feel chi flow.
And while practicing a slow moving form, some students may be able to feel or grasp the transfer or generation of power more easily. ie foot ,waist,hand etc.
Also drills like push hands teach,redireting energy,and feeling where an opponent is going.
In summing up I think that Tai-chi is complementary to any style of Gung-fu,and can only aid in uderstanding whatever art you practice.

[CLFNole]

I would so not all but most sifus add tai chi to their respective internal systems for more of a business reason versus a cross-training aspect. I attracts more students especially those of the older generation that could not handle the kung fu curriculum.

I learned Fu style tai chi from my sifu but he never told me to blend it with my CLF. For fighting it was always use the CLF. Some sifus are different of course, however being around enough sifus I have come to the opinion that there are generally kung fu sifus who also do tai chi and tai chi sifus that also do kung fu. Which type of sifu you like to follow really depends on what you want to learn.

Peace.