Zhaobao Taijiquan

[dingo]

Seeing as the 'Wudang vs Wu style' thread has gone a leetle bit off topic, I thought I would make a new topic for discussion of Zhaobao taijiquan. What is the claimed history of Zhaobao taijiqan? (Names and dates if possible, please) How does their practice compare with the other styles of taijiquan? What are the various sub-styles of Zhaobao taijiquan? Who is the standard-bearer for it (or do they even have one?). Hopefully some of the people that contributed to the other thread will post something on this one (Shaolin Master? ;))

[Shaolin Master]

Founder : Jiang Fa (taught Zhao Bao Village around ~ 1644-1651)
5th Gen : Chen Qing Ping
Sub Divs : He Shi(74)
Xiao Jia (75)
Da Jia (108)
Yi training important,
mine is Da Jia - In Da Jia.....Qi gong, exercises (Stances, transitions, etc...), 13 individual postures learning, Middle Frame, Large Frame, High Frame (after practise and understand all 3 a practioner practises according to them selves...ie could be one or another or a combination of them accordingly). Push Hands is non-stationary after initial exercises. Many weapons spear DaDao, double broadsword etc.....oh we also practise at typically two speeds. Combat etc...similar to others essentially differing in wieght distributions and Jing which is more pronounced.

Regards
Shi Chan Long

[brassmonkey]

ShaolinMaster what style dont your practice man?

[Shaolin Master]

Well I don't practice Wu, Wuu, Chen, Yang, Sun, Heh, Li, Hu Lei, and many other Tai ji quan.
I only practice two : Zhao Bao in morning, Wudang at night.

[dingo]

So are you saying Chen Qingping studied from Jiang Fa? I thought there were a few people between them (like Zhang Yan)? I know you don't practice them, but do you know anything about Hu Lei (Hu Long) shi and He shi branches? All I can find about them is that they were founded by Li Jingyuan and He Zhaoyuan respectively.

[WenJin]

Dingo,Huh? It says 5th Gen : Chen Qing Ping which means 5th Generation (ie.... 4 in between).

Shaolin master,
Anyway why isn't hu lei jia included isn't it Zhao Bao also.
I read in Peter's TJQ page that hu lei jia is similar to the 74 form Zhao Bao is that right?


This is what it said

Hu Lei or Hu Long Jia Taijiquan
by Peter Lim

This style of Taijiquan is becoming popular in the West in recent years. It was developed from the Zhao Bao style of Tajiquan and still retains many of its characteristics. The creator of this style was Li Jing Ting.


Li was a student of Chen Qing Ping and resided in the Zhao Bao Villiage. Hu Lei Jia Taijiquan is often classified under Chen style Taijiquan, much like Zhao Bao style is until recently when the Zhao Bao masters made it very clear that this was a misunderstanding promoted by Tang Hao and Gu Liu Xin. Hu Lei Jia Taijiquan is actually Zhao Bao Taijiquan as taught by Li Jing Ting.


Li spent most of his life around the Fu Ai area in China and there he taught his art. He also interacted with local martial artists and came into contact with styles like the Wang Bao Spear and Yun Qi Chui. All these could have had an influence on his final style.


The form itself consists of 74 postures and is almost identical to the Zhao Bao form. Due to the fact that the early practitioners of Li's lineage were illiterate, much of the information passed down was via oral transmission. This has led to some changes in the wordings handed down. For example, the style is also know as Hu Long Taijiquan. The name Hu Long comes from a name given to the jing usage in the form called `Hu Long Jing' or Sudden Dragon Jing. Hu Lei translates as Sudden Lightning.


The art has been popularised both in China and Taiwan and in recent years by Adam Hsu in North America. There has yet to be a book to be released about this style of Taijiquan and articles in the East and in the West are few and far between.

[Dave C.]

The little bit of zhaobao taiji that I've seen looked chen-like to me. The huleijia that comes from Taiwan is absolutely from the chen family. They even do "Buddha's warrior attendants pound mortar" right at the beginning of the form. Sometimes huleijia looks like stiff chen style to me depending on who does it. For example, check out Adam Hsu's video.

As for zhaobao claiming it didn't come from the chen family I can think of three reasons to say this:
1) the village where zhaobao is from has decided to cash in. There is money to be made.
2) They want to politically seperate themselves from the chen clan. Wushu is highly political in China. Witness the chen family's disagreement with Feng Zhiqiang.
3)the style really doesn't come from the chens.

[WenJin]

From same article :
The postures resembles the Chen style of Taijiquan but way it is practiced, it resembles more the other major styles of Taijiquan. This makes it quite distinct from Chen style Taijiquan. There are postures in the form that are not found in Chen style Taijiquan but is evident in the other major styles and Zhao Bao style.

[dingo]

Sorry 'bout that: it was early in the morning (for me), I guess I just didn't bother to read Shaolin Master's post properly. Gotta start drinking coffee in the mornings! :D

[Dietmar]

The postures of Zhaobao dont resembles the other
major styles of Taiji more than Chen style.
Zhaobao comes from Chen style Xiaojia and this is
what you clearly can see.
The proplem is the most Taiji player dont know original Chen style Xiaojia and so can not find the similarity between this two styles.
Regards

[GeneChing]

Enter to win KungFuMagazine.com's contest for Zhaobao Taichi Kungfu Autographed by Wayne & Cindy Peng! Contest ends 5:00 p.m. PST on 7/18/2019.

THREADS
Zhaobao Taijiquan
January+February 2013

[mawali]

I am glad that my teachers always taught not only form but a pattern of understanding and rational observation to allow correct thinking and analyses.
It is clear that the name Zhaobao relates to the town it was named after but it is Chen style with other influences. Look at the names of all taijiquan i.e. Chen, Wu, Yang, Sun, etc aka family names associated with x****aijiquan then you have Zhaobao, incidently the town close to Chenjiagou. See a pattern

The true character of CMA can be seen where there is a disagreement between x,y, and z but the comeuppance is the development of a different name, style, pattern, etc that has different meaning, even a better one, meaning sufficient for a unique learning experience. Wasn't Chen****aijiquan a development of CMA of the day and made better throught some level and type of unique experiences proved on the battlefield of CMA

[GeneChing]

It is clear that the name Zhaobao relates to the town it was named after but it is Chen style with other influences. Look at the names of all taijiquan i.e. Chen, Wu, Yang, Sun, etc aka family names associated with x****aijiquan then you have Zhaobao, incidently the town close to Chenjiagou.

Zhaobao doesn't look like these others. It's quite unique.

Here's our cover story on it - Zhao's Stronghold - from our JAN+FEB 2013

Here's a vid:

[GeneChing]

See our WINNERS: Zhaobao Taichi Kungfu Autographed by Wayne & Cindy Peng thread

THREADS
Zhaobao Taijiquan
January+February 2013