How will Tai Chi help me become a better martial artist?

[JowGaWolf]

Since you are doing Taiji in slow speed, the "6 harmonies" principle can be learned through the Taiji movement quite easily. When you are doing Taiji "brush knee". you can concentrate on the coordination of your

- shoulder with your hip,
- elbow with your knee,
- hand with your foot,
- ...

After you have developed that "full body unification", if you go back to your original style, you will find out that you can do your original style much better than before. When you make a move, you will start to pay attention on which hand should coordinate with which leg that you may not have paid enough attention in the past. You will find out that your ability to learn a new move, your learning is much faster because you can always think about arm and leg as one item instead of 2 different items.

I agree with this from first hand experience and how it has helped me.

 

[JowGaWolf]

I'm getting a mix bagged here. Lots of people saying it can help or it won't help, or it will help but not exactly in the way you wish it will.

I am going to take some of it for a month or so, see where it is going. There is nothing I can possibly lose here, it is free at my gym and its like if I do this I can't continue kenpo training and weight training.

you have to take the tai chi that's used for fighting. The tai chi that is afighting system and not the tai chi for stress relief classes. I'm saying this because the training is different.

 

[Flying Crane]

It really depends on the style - not being flippant, here, but knowing one form really well rather than a multitude. Developing internal strength through qigong exercises as well as understanding rooting. Understanding the taiji principles and applying them. These are the components that should be addressed. Which form, which qigong exercises are up to each school or branch. The only constant are the principles.

That is exactly what I was saying too.

 

[ChenAn]

you have to take the tai chi that's used for fighting. The tai chi that is afighting system and not the tai chi for stress relief classes. I'm saying this because the training is different.

Traditional taiji is about maintaining health and self-defense skill. If taiji wasn't a fighting system it would be impossible for Chen village to resist yellow turban rebellion that swept true the country and forced government troop to retreat ..






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[Ironbear24]

Yeah, the problem is that it's pretty hard to find a legit Tai Chi school in America. Unlike say boxing or Judo where BS is fairly uncommon, internal Chinese Martial arts have a history of being taught poorly by frauds or by people who didn't know what they were doing. There's some good ICMA out there, but you gotta dig deep to find it. Even if you do find it, it's honestly doubtful that training in those particular styles will make you a better fighter, or really compliment your Kenpo training.

Try it for a month, and let us know what you think.

There are plenty of fraud phony boxing classes out there and plenty pathetic Judo schools. I seen a couple where they don't even train against live people and just jump rope as fast as possible and practice on the heavy bags. I rarely ever saw people spar, and the judo school, practice on people standing still.

Both are great arts of course but sadly everything has it's possibility of bs. I will give this class the benefit of the doubt and see how it plays out.

 

[Zeny]

There are many styles of taichi, which style / forms is your gym offering?

 

[Hanzou]

There are plenty of fraud phony boxing classes out there and plenty pathetic Judo schools. I seen a couple where they don't even train against live people and just jump rope as fast as possible and practice on the heavy bags. I rarely ever saw people spar, and the judo school, practice on people standing still.

Both are great arts of course but sadly everything has it's possibility of bs. I will give this class the benefit of the doubt and see how it plays out.

True, but you have a far higher chance of finding a legit boxing or Judo school than you do a Tai Chi school that's going to teach you the real deal.

 

[JowGaWolf]

Honestly, if your goal is to be a better fighter you should probably seek out styles that fighters tend to gravitate towards; Boxing, Muay Thai, Bjj, Wrestling, etc.

If you're looking to center yourself, or find some form of relaxation, Yoga would be a better option than Tai Chi.

You are thinking of the wrong Tai Chi. Tai Chi as a fighting system is brutal.

 

[JowGaWolf]

True, but you have a far higher chance of finding a legit boxing or Judo school than you do a Tai Chi school that's going to teach you the real deal.

I've found that most martial art Tai Chi classes are often taught in the same school as kung fu schools mainly because the Tai Chi helps improve the main martial art being taught. For example, I don't know of a Jow Ga kung fu school that doesn't offer Tai Chi in the same school. The problem with Tai Chi is that there are many people who only teach it as a fitness class and not as a fighting system. This usually results in people learning movement without purpose and then that's when the term mediation starts to be used. A traditional Tai Chi class will make you sweat and you'll learn how to drive power as well as move your body as one. The push hands will develop sensitivity. I recently posted a link to a video showing me use what I learned in push hands to toss my opponent around without big movements, which were small in comparison to the person I was moving. Things like that can't be learned in a Tai Chi fitness class.

 

[Ironbear24]

Honestly, if your goal is to be a better fighter you should probably seek out styles that fighters tend to gravitate towards; Boxing, Muay Thai, Bjj, Wrestling, etc.

Something tells me you really love watching ufc.

 

[Hanzou]

Something tells me you really love watching ufc.

Not really. I've simply accepted the fact that some styles are better for teaching someone how to fight than other styles.

 

[Hanzou]

You are thinking of the wrong Tai Chi. Tai Chi as a fighting system is brutal.

Well the "wrong" Tai Chi is fairly common outside of China.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Not really. I've simply accepted the fact that some styles are better for teaching someone how to fight than other styles.

Prejudice does not equal fact

Well the "wrong" Tai Chi is fairly common outside of China.

Sadly it is also true inside China. It is not hard to find a taiji teacher in China, but it is hard to find one who will actually teach you the martial art bits. And then there are those that know the martial arts bits but will not teach it because it is not what many students want. If you are going to China to learn taijiquan with the Martial arts intact I suggest learning the language, developing a great deal of patience, and planning on spending a few years in a search for a teacher who takes you serious enough to decide to teach you.

 

[mograph]

If you are going to China to learn taijiquan with the Martial arts intact I suggest learning the language, developing a great deal of patience, and planning on spending a few years in a search for a teacher who takes you serious enough to decide to teach you.

... and in addition to learning the language, one might want to learn the nuances of the social culture and the use of metaphor and layered communication ... and be ready to understand concepts implicitly through repetition rather than through overt explanation.

 

[Ironbear24]

Not really. I've simply accepted the fact that some styles are better for teaching someone how to fight than other styles.

If by teaching someone how to sit on or cuddle with another person for several minutes sure. I'm not interested in that, kenpo is already a solid style and is an eclectic martial art that focuses on many areas.

I'm not taking this tai chi class to learn to fight, I already know how to do that, I'm seeking to improve my abilities.

 

[mograph]

I'm not taking this tai chi class to learn to fight, I already know how to do that, I'm seeking to improve my abilities.

Where do you think your abilities are lacking?

 

[Ironbear24]

Where do you think your abilities are lacking?

I am curious about chi and its application in fighting.

 

[JowGaWolf]

If by teaching someone how to sit on or cuddle with another person for several minutes sure. I'm not interested in that, kenpo is already a solid style and is an eclectic martial art that focuses on many areas.

I'm not taking this tai chi class to learn to fight, I already know how to do that, I'm seeking to improve my abilities.

you'll get benefits from it way before you'll be able to fit with it.You won't turn into a tai chi fighter

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I am curious about chi and its application in fighting.

Not everybody can see ghost. Not everybody can feel Chi.

 

[Xue Sheng]

The biggest problem I see with people coming from styles like TKD, Karate, and Kenpo is relaxation.