Tai Chi= 5 elements+8 energies?
The first thing I learned in Tai Chi was the five ways of stepping and the eight hand/arm techniques and applications. Then I learned some of the long Tai Chi forms. I just met a guy who was a so-called Tai Chi expert who has no idea what they are and he has been studying Tai Chi for over twenty years.
Aren't these 13 forms like the basis of Tai Chi? I always likened them to the basic punches in western boxing. Ask any boxer the difference between a right cross and a left jab and he will explain them and show you on your jaw if you like. Ask your average Tai Chi person the difference between ward off and push and if you get an answer it will be vague and if you get a demonstration it will be very contrived.
I understand that the different schools have different applications but is not knowing the original Tai Chi "13" a Michigan problem or is it a more general wide ranging problem?
Give me immortality or give me death!