A few taichi tips
- Thread starter Zeny
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Zeny
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ChenAn, you mentioned a few times that traditional taichi is washed out in modern times. I would, respectfully, disagree with you. If you look hard enough you will find proper martial taichi, or is lucky enough to be living near a teacher who practises proper martial taichi.
Let me tell you a story. My teacher is currently 70 years old, and is a true chinese martial artist in all sense of the word. In his teens he practised baihequan (white crane boxing), and competed in chinese sparring (lei tai) matches. He described to me his training regime. To improve his fajin he trained palm strikes on sandbags. I asked him how many strikes per day. He said it is not difficult to train 1,000 strikes per day (300+ in the morning, 300+ after lunch, and 300+ after dinner). The palms and wrists were then immersed in traditional chinese medicine for healing. In his lei tai matches if his single palm strike did not KO an opponent he treated that as a personal loss. Zhan zhuang was trained one hour a day. Subsequently to improve his grappling skills he also trained judo from a japanese master.
In his 40s he heard that huang taichi is a great martial art, so he sought out a senior student of huang sheng shyan and challenged him. The senior student accepted the challenge and asked what would be regarded as a loss. My teacher replied that if he was successfully thrown until his butt hits the floor he would regard that as a loss. The senior student agreed. At this point my teacher had practised martial arts actively for over 20 years.
The challenge then began. Upon first contact my teacher was immediately thrown until his butt hit the floor. He said it was very difficult to believe. He stood up and tried another round. Again he was thrown until his butt hit the floor without difficulty. He then accepted defeat and started practising taichi under this student. This event happened around 1990 so until today my teacher has been practising taichi for over 25 years.
I have had the benefit of pushing hands with this senior student (technically my sigung). The effect is not like any you can see on youtube (unfortunately he forbids taking videos so you cannot find any on youtube). Imagine you are pushing hands with a great oak tree that moves with great fluidity, accuracy and sensitivity. That's how it felt. I actively resisted but stood no chance at all. This sigung is the one who told the rock story during one of his seminars which i attended. I have seen and felt how high level one can reach in taichi and this is what kept me going all these years.
Let me tell you a story. My teacher is currently 70 years old, and is a true chinese martial artist in all sense of the word. In his teens he practised baihequan (white crane boxing), and competed in chinese sparring (lei tai) matches. He described to me his training regime. To improve his fajin he trained palm strikes on sandbags. I asked him how many strikes per day. He said it is not difficult to train 1,000 strikes per day (300+ in the morning, 300+ after lunch, and 300+ after dinner). The palms and wrists were then immersed in traditional chinese medicine for healing. In his lei tai matches if his single palm strike did not KO an opponent he treated that as a personal loss. Zhan zhuang was trained one hour a day. Subsequently to improve his grappling skills he also trained judo from a japanese master.
In his 40s he heard that huang taichi is a great martial art, so he sought out a senior student of huang sheng shyan and challenged him. The senior student accepted the challenge and asked what would be regarded as a loss. My teacher replied that if he was successfully thrown until his butt hits the floor he would regard that as a loss. The senior student agreed. At this point my teacher had practised martial arts actively for over 20 years.
The challenge then began. Upon first contact my teacher was immediately thrown until his butt hit the floor. He said it was very difficult to believe. He stood up and tried another round. Again he was thrown until his butt hit the floor without difficulty. He then accepted defeat and started practising taichi under this student. This event happened around 1990 so until today my teacher has been practising taichi for over 25 years.
I have had the benefit of pushing hands with this senior student (technically my sigung). The effect is not like any you can see on youtube (unfortunately he forbids taking videos so you cannot find any on youtube). Imagine you are pushing hands with a great oak tree that moves with great fluidity, accuracy and sensitivity. That's how it felt. I actively resisted but stood no chance at all. This sigung is the one who told the rock story during one of his seminars which i attended. I have seen and felt how high level one can reach in taichi and this is what kept me going all these years.
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ChenAn
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Many reasons...The most important one I'm no longer willing to pay for something that doesn't have value anymore
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