The Life and Times of Taijiquan

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taijiquan_student, you are being silly. Tell me about the state of CMA in the USA, before and after Bruce Lee.

Do you consider Bruce Lee to be the greatest master of kungfu ever to reach our shores? Or was he the greatest FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER, i.e. DANCER?

Which came first, taiji or daoyin? Don't talk about the "true art", it sounds provincial and self-serving.

I find it hard to believe that ordinary people with no exposure to martial arts at all will have an easier time understanding and grasping the principles of the very quasi-philosophic, new-agey, "one-with-your-spirit" brand of dance laid out in the original article than they will learning and understanding the principles of real taiji

Have you been to the grocery store lately? They have 3 different brands of "zen iced tea", but still no boxing manuals. Do you understand this?

[taijiquan_student]

Bruce Lee is not the issue. I don't think he was the greatest martial artist ever to reach our shores. He was a great movie star and a great choreographer, maybe even a good/great martial artist--I don't know, he's dead, I don't know that much about him.

When I say something like the "true art" I'm not refering to a specific lineage or style/family. I don't mean to say "I have the real art and you don't" or anything like that. What I refer to is the art of taiji as a whole that adheres to certain fundamental principles. When these principles are done away with in favor of dancing and new-age wish-wash it is no longer the "true art". You could call it something else if you want, but I think we can all agree that taiji is based upon certain principles and a certain mindset. That is all I mean.

"Zen iced tea" has nothing to do with zen.