Shaolin-Do Taiji and Bagua

[oaktree]

Hi Blazed I got to see the videos you posted.
The Baguazhang looks very stiff, no root or sinking, no turning the body, The palm changes are very robotic and not fluid.
The Taijiquan I am guessing was Chen Xinjia but the form is so messy, closed kua, bad alignment, bad positioning on the knees, not fluid, very large strange movements that look nothing like Chen Taiji, however I noticed parts that do but the look like someone who has been practicing maybe 2 weeks. A good rule of thumb when learning from a teacher in a particular art is to watch one of lineage holders of it. Meaning if you are learning Chen Taiji and your teacher isn't moving like one of the Chen family(at least fluidity) that is a red flag, if your art contradicts the classics or writings from the grandmasters of old it is a red flag.
If you are doing the internal arts through Shaolin do I strongly urge you to spend a lot of time circle walking around a tree, standing post, learning to sink which will give you a lot more benefit then learning these forms like the videos are showing.

 

[clfsean]

Hi Blazed I got to see the videos you posted.
The Baguazhang looks very stiff, no root or sinking, no turning the body, The palm changes are very robotic and not fluid.
The Taijiquan I am guessing was Chen Xinjia but the form is so messy, closed kua, bad alignment, bad positioning on the knees, not fluid, very large strange movements that look nothing like Chen Taiji, however I noticed parts that do but the look like someone who has been practicing maybe 2 weeks. A good rule of thumb when learning from a teacher in a particular art is to watch one of lineage holders of it. Meaning if you are learning Chen Taiji and your teacher isn't moving like one of the Chen family(at least fluidity) that is a red flag, if your art contradicts the classics or writings from the grandmasters of old it is a red flag.
If you are doing the internal arts through Shaolin do I strongly urge you to spend a lot of time circle walking around a tree, standing post, learning to sink which will give you a lot more benefit then learning these forms like the videos are showing.

Oak... the 'form' is the Xinjia Yilu but it's not correct by any standards close to Chen mechanics & standards. There's more than one place in there where you will stop ask "WTF was that??".

 

[Xue Sheng]

Oak... the 'form' is the Xinjia Yilu but it's not correct by any standards close to Chen mechanics & standards. There's more than one place in there where you will stop ask "WTF was that??".

Who you trying to kid...this is Xinjia Yilu

That other thing....nope..I ain't buyin' it

 

[Flying Crane]

I managed to watch the videos over the weekend, including the long video. I didn't watch it in it's entirety, but I would watch maybe half of a set then forward to the next, watch half, then forward again, I just didn't have the time to sit thru it all but I felt I watched enough to see what is going on.

I have to echo much of what has been said. The taiji and bagua done by Mr. Leonard is stiff and done without body connection. He looks like he's just waving his arms and doesn't move from his root. It's very superficial.

Regarding the longer video of the demonstration, the forms looked like mimicry done not very well. The people looked uncomfortable with what they were doing, simply following a choreography that they had been taught and they were doing their best to remain accurate and faithful to the choreography. It all looked very unpolished, and I'm not making that comment in terms of performance. I mean, in terms of a combative method. Some of those people were high ranking within the SD method. I recognized the name of "master" Joe Schaefer. I have run across his name in internet browsing in the past and I remember it because he happens to have the same name as my little brother. So he's "master" in SD, whatever that means, and he didn't look any better than the rest.

The White Crane form, well that guy looked a bit more athletic, but that doesn't mean his martial integrity is much better, beyond what can be accomplished thru raw strength or physical athleticism. As you and I discussed, this is not Tibetan nor Fukienese white crane. You had mentioned it being Omei white crane and that's something I don't know much about other than that John Allen's Green Dragon school in Stowe, Ohio, teaches a "Omei White Crane" as part of what they do. They also claim a huge amount of material and I don't know where it all comes from. But the White Crane set done in this video did have a similar flavor to the White Crane video that I saw from Green Dragon.

But overall, I have to agree, what I saw in these videos is not very good. At best it's a mere performance, and even as that it is not very impressive. As a combative method, I think the material seen on these videos is not worth much. Whatever integrity that these forms may have had once-upon-a-time, has been lost in how they are being practiced in SD.

Sorry, but that's what I see there.

 

[clfsean]

Who you trying to kid...this is Xinjia Yilu

That other thing....nope..I ain't buyin' it

I bet you also say Elvis is really dead too... :bangahead:

 

[Xue Sheng]

I bet you also say Elvis is really dead too... :bangahead:

NEVER!!!! ...because I know Elvis, and Bruce Lee are alive and well and running a Stuckey's in Montana