Transitioning to Tàijíquán from External Martial Arts - Martial Journal

[Xue Sheng]

The Journey Inside: Transitioning to Tàijíquán from External Martial Arts​

Perhaps the greatest challenge for external stylists lies in releasing ingrained patterns of tension and forceful movement.

 

[_Simon_]

Really enjoyed that article, thanks Xue

 

[Taiji Rebel]

Introducing martial arts to university clubs with their competitive and sporting elements more than likely removed a lot of the principles which taiji retained. The earlier teachers and practitioners of Japanese martial arts appear to have a more balanced, mindful and zen-like approach to their studies.

It seems a great deal of these principles were further eliminated when the GIs returned home and begun teaching with their limited understanding of the martial arts.

The removal of 'internal' principles and mindful practices from the martial arts has reached a new level in the modern day sports versions we see. Westerners, especially the young, are heavily focused on external rewards such as titles, belts, medals, trophies and endless victories.

As we age we often see the folly of youth and begin refining our thinking, learning from our mistakes, altering our actions and maturing like fine wines.

Thank you for sharing this article, much appreciated

 

[windwalker099]

From the article..

"1. Maintain a Beginner’s Mind and an open mind about new ways of…well, of everything. Remember: Tàijíquán can never replace what you’ve studied and it will make no effort to deny your prior Art.

"You can keep your earlier Art(s) and still invite Tàijíquán in to complement both your Art and your self."

Wondering how many having made the transition would agree with the statement ?

 

[isshinryuronin]

From the article..

"1. Maintain a Beginner’s Mind and an open mind about new ways of…well, of everything. Remember: Tàijíquán can never replace what you’ve studied and it will make no effort to deny your prior Art.

"You can keep your earlier Art(s) and still invite Tàijíquán in to complement both your Art and your self."

Wondering how many having made the transition would agree with the statement ?

I definitely agree with the first four words quoted above. It allows for so many opportunities for learning and understanding. Seeing old things with new eyes can get you excited all over again.

I can't comment on taiji + other art comparisons since I've never studied taiji. But in general, it seems that one's initial mind set in some arts is to yield to an attacker's force while in others it is to deliver your own force. Certainly, each has some element of the other to some extent, but on a basic ingrained mind and muscle memory level I think this difference holds true.

This fact, IMO, makes it difficult to fluidly transist from one methodology to the other (a worthy yet elusive ideal to reach), especially under duress since in such situations we will tend to automatically default to one or the other initial response.

 

[Same Trick]

From the article..

"1. Maintain a Beginner’s Mind and an open mind about new ways of…well, of everything. Remember: Tàijíquán can never replace what you’ve studied and it will make no effort to deny your prior Art.

"You can keep your earlier Art(s) and still invite Tàijíquán in to complement both your Art and your self."

Wondering how many having made the transition would agree with the statement ?

I now and then go through a couple karate katas that I worked very much on back in those days, they kind of call me saying - “ hey. try me out, se if you remember!” And I must say I have come to some enlightenment about them through my now many years of taijiquan( and Xingyiquan) practice. Practice karate as it’s commonly practiced and also practice TJQ as it should be done is not optional, those two methods are different, and if one do both of them one of them has to change - But there are a group of karate(Shotokan) katas named Taiji (taikyuku)

The author of the article write about learning taiji relax , however his facial expression in the picture in the article seem tense

 

[windwalker099]

I can't comment on taiji + other art comparisons since I've never studied taiji. But in general, it seems that one's initial mind set in some arts is to yield to an attacker's force while in others it is to deliver your own force.

This seems to be a common mindset about "taiji" that it involves "yielding to an attacker's force."

In reality, there is no "yielding" in the passive sense; rather, there is preempting, joining, and neutralizing.
A distinction, important both in terms of mindset and the mechanics of how it's done.


Force an often much-discussed topic in taiji, usually in terms of "external" versus "internal."

In my own transition, I started taiji to deepen my CMA practice at the time. After about 20 years of studying with two other taiji teachers, I met my last taiji teacher. Dropping everything else to understand his method, spending another 20 or so years attempting to do so.

 

[windwalker099]

I now and then go through a couple karate katas that I worked very much on back in those days, they kind of call me saying - “ hey. try me out, se if you remember!”

There are times I wish I had stayed with Tibetan White Crane, my first style. Although I remember a lot of the techniques and methods, my body, due to my taiji practice, can't move that way anymore. It feels quite strange.

At one time did try to modify TWC to fit into my taiji practice, after 5yrs of experimentation found there were some fundamental physical differences in practice based on type of power developed.

Was unable to reconcile them. Maybe, if I have enough time left in life, I'll come to understand how to integrate them.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

In reality, there is no "yielding" in the passive sense; rather, there is preempting, joining, and neutralizing.

It's like a BJJ guy starts to train the ground skill before training the throwing skill. No matter how good your ground skill may be, if you can't take your opponent down, you can't apply your ground skill.

Every time we talk about Taiji joint, yield, sticky, follow, ..., I always like to ask, "Is Taiji a striking art, or a grappling art?" If Taiji is a striking art, where is the "establish arm contact" training? If you can establish arm contact during a fist flying situation, you can't apply your joint, yield, sticky, follow, ...

Any external MA can help Taiji to fill in that missing link. This is why my long fist teacher won't teach any students Taiji until they have at least 3 years of long fist training.