# too many holes in tai chi



## wakinaguri (Jul 23, 2003)

I think everyone is missing the point of tai chi, or any other internal art.  They are a combative art even though they don't appear to be on the surface.  A lot of people seem to miss this point, because they only see the applications that are more obvious.  Remember to always look at what your intent is when doing the movements.  When you do that you will start to see what is really there in the movements.


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## Taiji fan (Jul 23, 2003)

> I think everyone is missing the point of tai chi, or any other internal art.


 thats a bit of an arrogant statement no?  Everyone....missing the point, except yourself 



> Remember to always look at what your intent is when doing the movements


 yeah I agree with you up to a point, but intent is not solitary, without correct body structure intent alone will only accomplish a small amount....
welcome to the board by the way...nice to have someone else contributing to the Chinese arts section...:cheers:


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## Phil Elmore (Jul 23, 2003)

A "combative art" that takes years of study to be effective for real-life self-defense isn't much of a _combative_ art at all.  It may still be a worthwhile and effective art, but "combative" is not the term I would use.


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## wakinaguri (Jul 24, 2003)

Sorry if my post came across as arrogant.  That wasn't my intention.  I have seen a lot of people go into tai chi worrying so much about  how to do the movement they forget about what goal or purpose they are trying to accomplish.  Like you said, being able to do the movement is also vital.  Everything goes hand in hand.


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## Taiji fan (Jul 24, 2003)

> Sorry if my post came across as arrogant. That wasn't my intention. I have seen a lot of people go into tai chi worrying so much about how to do the movement they forget about what goal or purpose they are trying to accomplish. Like you said, being able to do the movement is also vital. Everything goes hand in hand.


 No please don't feel you have to appologise...I was taking the pi$$  You are totally correct, there are a great many people who practise a taiji form without the slightest understanding of what they are doing. I think allot of this comes from the new age idea of Taijiquan....like Martial art? whats that then?  the other practise that makes me cringe is encouraging students to stare at their hands continuously.....I can think of no other martial art where a student is told to do this...and once you have been doing it for a while, it b**** hard to get out of....messes up the first essence big style!! :asian:


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## Shadow Hunter (Aug 6, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Sharp Phil _
> *A "combative art" that takes years of study to be effective for real-life self-defense isn't much of a combative art at all.  It may still be a worthwhile and effective art, but "combative" is not the term I would use. *


 '

By the same token, an art that you can do when you are young but not past a certain point in age is somewhat of a waste don't you think?

We've tossed this idea in the thread about taiji as a combative art, but if you can already take care of yourself at a reasonable level due to prior MA training, then taking taiji will help you when those skills you relied on in your youth start to fade.

And the less MA habits you have to drop to start training in taiji, the better.


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## Taiji fan (Aug 10, 2003)

> By the same token, an art that you can do when you are young but not past a certain point in age is somewhat of a waste don't you think?


 thats an interesting thought.......why is taiji just for old people, I started taiji when I was 24, which is really young by some peoples standards....but I have a mate who's a 5th dan TKD and already, at just 35 he is starting to find his body showing serious signs of wear and tear. Apart from large calloused knuckles, his wrists hardly bend, he did taiji for about 2 years to try and get some more flexibility in his body and improve his balance.  In-fact most people I know that have come to taiji from other MA's have found that taiji practise has dramatically changed their own MA for the better.  I do get a bit peeved when I read stuff like "after 30 years in karate I finally found taiji which is so much better than everything else on the planet"  Every art has its merits, if there were better taiji martial artists out there then we may have more younger people training, unfortunately it is not taijiquan that is the problem, its the sub standard teaching that is ruining the reputation of taiji altogether.



> And the less MA habits you have to drop to start training in taiji, the better.


 :rofl: wanna add to this?


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