Playing my form 10,000 times.

[toranaga]

Hello,

I am a Yang style taiji player from Colorado.
I have learned my teacher's "24" form, and desire to learn the traditional "108" form.
I plan to play the form 10,000 times, before I move on to the "108".

I will be noting my progress on my school's BLOG.

http://blog.taichicoloradosprings.com/2010/07/21/introduction-to-10000-forms.aspx

I am happy to accept any questions, comments, kudos, or criticism.

 

[geezer]

10,000 times. Wow.

I'm not a Tai Chi practitioner, so I don't know exactly how many hours that translates too. Over a thousand? Anyway it sounds like a formidable challenge, not unlike the kinds of vows that monks take or religious devotees going on pilgrimages. From a martial arts perspective, I trust that you will be placing at least as much emphasis on quality as quantity. If you don't do the form well, you'd simply be repeating errors 10,000 times. Ouch!

 

[toranaga]

Thank you Geezer.

I am keeping a detailed paper journal, of course quality and mind intent are key to my progression.
I am also working very closely with my teacher.

my 24 form comes in at just under 3 minutes. so that is a whole lot of minutes.


today I did my 100th, so I feel good about being 1% done.

 

[Xue Sheng]

That is a lot of 24 form.

Why do you want to do it 10,000 times before moving on to the long form?

 

[toranaga]

just a number I picked based on a quote, from an unknown source

"fear not the warrior who has learned 10,000 techniques, fear the warrior who has practiced 1 technique 10,000 times"

it should not take too long.
when I get the 108, I will play it 10,000 before moving to the staff, then for the dao.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Good luck to you.

The long form, if done right, can take about 20 minutes and 30 minutes is better.

I wouldn't focus on the number of times I do the form, quality is better than quantity.

But with that said my sigung liked his students to do the long form at least 3 times a day adn after about 6 months you would have a good understanding of it.... I think that works out to a over 500 times.

 

[Flying Crane]

don't get too hung up on the number of repetitions. Sometimes those quotes of 10,000 or 100,000 are really alegorical, and just mean, "keep practicing".

 

[toranaga]

Thank you for your comments.

 

[toranaga]

New BLOG post
http://blog.taichicoloradosprings.com/2010/07/24/day-1-to-10000-forms--july-2-2010-friday.aspx

 

[toranaga]

another new BLOG post
http://blog.taichicoloradosprings.com/2010/07/24/day-2-to-10000-forms--july-3-2010-saturday-2.aspx

 

[mograph]

... and who knows what may happen on the way to 10,000? Your teacher may ask you to practice something else after a few months, and just do the set twice a day. And then you may come back to more intense set practice later. Or not.

Change is the only constant in life, no?

 

[toranaga]

thank you for your reply Mograph

 

[East Winds]

My Master used to tell me that practicing the form once correctly, was better that practicing the form 1000 times with errors. Practicing the form correctly once every so often would be great for me and I have been training Traditional Yang Family Form for over 20 years!!!!!!

Incidentally, 24 step is not a Yang form, it is only based on Yang style and was formed by a committee on which there was no Yang family member.

Anyway, good luck with your endevour.

Very best wishes

 

[Xue Sheng]

Incidentally, 24 step is not a Yang form, it is only based on Yang style and was formed by a committee on which there was no Yang family member.

Very true, the person most responsible for the actual construction of 24 form (aka Beijing 24 form, 24 form, 24 competition form, Yang style 24 form, Yang 24 competition form, Yang short form, competition short form) was Li Tianji who is more a Xingyiquan person than taijiquan, although he did study Xingyiquan, Baguazhang and Taijiquan (Possibly briefly with Yang Chengfu). His Nephew (Li Deyin) is still teaching what his uncle designed along with what he himself designed, Xingyiquan and possibly Baguazhang

 

[toranaga]

Incidentally, 24 step is not a Yang form, it is only based on Yang style and was formed by a committee on which there was no Yang family member.

Anyway, good luck with your endevour.

Very best wishes

please note, that i never wrote of a "yang" family 24 form.
I wrote of my teacher's "24" which, for whatever reasons he chooses, he adapted from his "108".


please read BLOG for details.
http://blog.taichicoloradosprings.com/2010/07/24/day-4-to-10000-forms--july-5-2010-monday.aspx

 

[toranaga]

new BLOG posts

http://blog.taichicoloradosprings.com/2010/07/24/day-4-to-10000-forms--july-5-2010-monday.aspx

 

[Xue Sheng]

please note, that i never wrote of a "yang" family 24 form.
I wrote of my teacher's "24" which, for whatever reasons he chooses, he adapted from his "108".


please read BLOG for details.
http://blog.taichicoloradosprings.com/2010/07/24/day-4-to-10000-forms--july-5-2010-monday.aspx

Yes you did say it was your teachers 24 form but...Sorry…no… he did not design that

On the site linked to your blog I see a label “Traditional Yang Style 24 Form” I watched the video and it is Beijing 24 form, there is no traditional 24 form. If this is what your teacher is teaching you your teacher did not design it anymore than I designed the 24 form that I do (that I learned from my first sifu 18 years ago) which looks incredibly traditional due to my 15 years training traditional Yang style with my 2nd sifu. But it is still the Beijing 24 form as it came from Li Tianji.

 

[toranaga]

well congratulations on being right, and knowing so much about taijiquan.

as being right, and knowing so much, and name dropping seem to be all you care about.

 

[Xue Sheng]

well congratulations on being right, and knowing so much about taijiquan.

as being right, and knowing so much, and name dropping seem to be all you care about.

Excuse me.... name dropping!!!!

I cannot change history and the truth of the matter is that it is not a form your teacher nor is it traditional Yang styles 24 form since there is no such animal. I cannot change the fact that it was designed by Li Tianji nor can I change fact that it is not from the Yang family.

as being right, and knowing so much, and name dropping seem to be all you care about.

as to the above snippy little comment; I tend to care about truth as it applies to CMA on MT and the truth is your teacher did not design that form and if using historical facts such as the names for the people that really designed I, and deserve credit for it, is a problem then I suggest you stick to facts and not fantasy.


I have held my tongue through most of this and let it go as naiveté but historical inaccuracies and false claims I cannot let go...sorry...

 

[toranaga]

again congratulation on being really smart, and good at taiji.

have fun in your practice and may good fortune smile upon you.

I think you take yourself a little too seriously, and are a little too quick to try and correct people.

the thread is about my practice, not who created the 24 posture form.

I does not matter to me, who created the form, or who taught you taijiquan.


Thanks for all your input, and have a pleasant day.