Teachers and forms

[Yum Cha]

due to the particularities of the Chinese language, even within canto, I find that the same move has different names in different styles, and amongst different practitioners.

Nevertheless, learning the names is kind of fun for a non native speaker, IMHO.

[Lai See]

There are so many different bad attitudes towards forms.

People who think forms are a waste of time between sessions of hard sparring where the learning takes place.

People who think forms are sacred treasures, passed down hand to hand, the embodiment of the essence of the art, the only true measure of mastery.

PURE CODSWALLOP!

The Fu travels with the man, not the art. Forms are alive, they evolve and they are simply exercises. If you do your forms the same way as an advanced student as you did as a beginner - well, it just doesn't make sense, does it?

Forms train muscle memory so that when you are freestyling, you don't think about it. Freestyling. Freestyling. The fu travels with the man, not the art.

Sure, if you're a tournament guy, you probably focus on getting all the moves as per the standard because that's a judging requirement, but to my mind that is just as disabling as the guys that train TCMA and fight Gweilo Kune on in the ring.

Sure, if you want to teach, you have to know the classic version as part of your training skill.

If you aren't evolving your forms, looking for tweaks, changes and applications based upon the core, you're just a muppet.

Of course, all forms are not created equal, some have more to offer to the open mind than others, or maybe its your challenge to take it that one step further - pay your money and take your chances. Remember, 50% are below average.

Are you a man or a muppet?

A man comments that this is a most excellent post.

When I go into a set that my students already 'know' to tweak/change/apply/smooth/add they smile. They are also men. :-)

[taai gihk yahn]

actually, in retrospect, after I learned the 108 taiji, and would be practicing it w/my teacher, it would irritate me to no end that he would subtly change aspects of moves: "he's doing it wrong!" I used to think; silly rabbit...

[David Jamieson]

seriously, who says codswallop anymore?

[TenTigers]

yep, that's an old one, by gum.

[Tid Sin]

"Codswallop"?!? Myself, being almost as old as dirt, I haven't heard that in eons, golly gee willikers!

[Lai See]

Me too, I use codswallop all the time along with piffle, balderdash, faff and others but then again I am old and more than likely a git.

[CFT]

I used to say bobbins. Seems like a lot of these "effete" ways of saying bullsh*t are of British/English origin. Are there any "pure" American/Canadian ones?

[David Jamieson]

I used to say bobbins. Seems like a lot of these "effete" ways of saying bullsh*t are of British/English origin. Are there any "pure" American/Canadian ones?

could be, but these countries are both offspring of British/English origin anyway. lol

[Tid Sin]

could be, but these countries are both offspring of British/English origin anyway. lol

True, Tickety-Boo being another Canadian-adopted word (possibly even Scottish/East Indian?)

[wetwonder]

As you evolve, your understanding of movement, function, etc evolves, the way you play the form will change.

I agree with this statement completely.

Once I finished learning through all of first form, my Sifu left me on my own for a couple of weeks to do the full set over and over.

Then at week 3, he put rings on each wrist, but continued to leave me alone to do the full set.

At the fourth week, he started watching very closely over my sets. He began making many small adjustments to almost every position, very detailed and exact -at a level far more precise than when he initially taught me through the form. This has been going on for a month now.