Essence of Yang Style

[RandyBrown]

I haven't posted here in a while as I've been very busy but I thought I would share this with all of you. Comments and discussion are welcome.

Divide and Conquer: Unlocking the Essence of Yang Style Tai Chi

[mawali]

Great research!
Keep up the good work. It is sad that people prefer fairy tales more than hard training.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Nice article, thanks.
One question, why did you divide kicks and strikes?
Kicks are strikes, are they not?
In that case we would have, according to your article - 48% throws and 42% strikes.
By the way, your total adds up to 108%, related to the number of moves?

[RandyBrown]

Thanks for the positive response mawali and sanjuro.

I based the %'s off the total of 33 moves. If you reverse the numbers, as you did, then it comes out as off because some of them (such as Grasp Sparrows Tail) fall under two categories. There are two strike variations of High Pat on Horse but in the count of postures in the form I personally do not include that as a unique posture as it is a variation.

Kicks - I separated for two reasons. The first is based on the 4 main categories that comprise most Kung Fu styles - strikes, kicks, locks, throws. We can certainly break this down further which is my intent as I go deeper into this project but the initial intent was to see where the emphasis was placed.

The second reason for the separation is that kicking is a different animal for us. Even though it is striking with the feet, foot attacks have different principles and strategies than the hands.

Thanks again.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Thanks for the positive response mawali and sanjuro.

I based the %'s off the total of 33 moves. If you reverse the numbers, as you did, then it comes out as off because some of them (such as Grasp Sparrows Tail) fall under two categories. There are two strike variations of High Pat on Horse but in the count of postures in the form I personally do not include that as a unique posture as it is a variation.

Kicks - I separated for two reasons. The first is based on the 4 main categories that comprise most Kung Fu styles - strikes, kicks, locks, throws. We can certainly break this down further which is my intent as I go deeper into this project but the initial intent was to see where the emphasis was placed.

The second reason for the separation is that kicking is a different animal for us. Even though it is striking with the feet, foot attacks have different principles and strategies than the hands.

Thanks again.

Thank you for clearing that up.
I have been exposed to Yang and Chen Taiji but have gotten "mixed" messages in regards to wither that are a striking oriented art or a grappling one.
Basically, to me, they are both and indeed, should be both.

[air]

Great post on your blog.

I think the essence of tai chi is learning pressure control (energy control)

Its very subtle and you have to be very sensitive to feel it, however if you can master it style in of itself becomes meaningless.