Is this taiji?

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J HepworthYoung
Rank: Chang San feng
Rank: Chang San feng
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Re: Is this taiji?

Post by J HepworthYoung » Sat Sep 18, 2010 7:51 am

the concept of human virtue is abstract to me
an illusion defined by opinions


i am good enough to stop some potential attackers, not all

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Linda Heenan
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Re: Is this taiji?

Post by Linda Heenan » Sat Sep 18, 2010 5:51 pm

Without a school to attend and a teacher to correct and train you, several times a week, I don't think it's possible for anyone except the most physically talented to reach a standard where their taiji self defence is useful. Joshua, you have put in an extraordinary effort to study by yourself. Is you question because you are not meeting your original expectations? Or is it a general question about the usefulness of learning martial arts in today's world?
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J HepworthYoung
Rank: Chang San feng
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Posts:276
Joined:Fri Jul 28, 2006 12:19 pm
Location:Sacramento
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Re: Is this taiji?

Post by J HepworthYoung » Wed Sep 22, 2010 6:52 pm

I have a guide, so to speak, a man who instructed me in the public form for over a year and who I have done push hands with for a few years now whenever possible.
It was because of him that I was able to get a working understanding of the principals and mechanics. He was given permission to teach by his teacher after many years of training and has transmitted many interesting sayings and instructions to me along with the standards and methods.

While my life has been somewhat chaotic in the last few years I have often had a chance to train for hours a day and I am rather obsessive.
I am more than pleased with the results of my effort, but do question the usefulness of some skills that i have developed, outside of harming others. Some of the skills I do not get to use even in free play push hands, kicks for example.

I have been doing a lot more stance training lately, focusing on the body and not the technique so much right now.
I am still a beginner and have been searching for more people to play with, I'd love to travel around and get "lessons" from various players.
For standards and corrections I use the same principals and body measures/harmonies that most public schools do, but I also draw from the information age and am familiar with variations in form and movement found in most branches of taiji, so I do not practice an orthodox form or method. I adopted training methods that i learned of, but which were not found in the branch of taiji I was initiated in, which comes from Chen Wei-ming. Knowing that the principals are the same in all branches of taiji is a profound key to understanding movement, both internal and external.

I believe that as a method of self mastery it is sublime but (as a martial art) it has a ruthless capacity, very much like a sword.

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