Will Yang style Tai Chi interfere with my Wing Chun?

[Wingsingh]

Hi, I just wanted to know if tai chi and Wing Chun are compatible? I haven't started tai chi yet, and I don't know much about it, but I'm willing to give it a go if it doesn't affect my Wing Chun.

The Tai Chi is for 'martial use first' according to the teacher. I was going to ask him if they're compatible but then I thought he's bound to say they are, so I thought I'd research it myself first. Thanks for your comments in advance.

 

[oaktree]

I see some similarities with sticky hands and tuishou.
Will each creep into the other maybe maybe not.

 

[yak sao]

I shared a school with a tai chi teacher for a while several years ago. One night he dropped by our class just to say hi and watch for a while.

We were doing some sort of drill...a jum sau w/ a pivot vs a stepping punch, I think it was, and I was explaining the concept to the class. Afterwards he came up to me and told me that I just taught a tai chi class.

Plus, my sifu also teaches tai chi (yang style). He has taught us the long form and a bit of push hands. It will definitely enhance your WC.

 

[arnisador]

This is a pretty good match--I'd think you'd be OK. Sticky vs. push hands is the only similar area and really they aren't all that similar.

 

[SuitableScroll]

I take both and I'd say you won't have a problem with Tai Chi 'affecting' your Wing Chun at all.

 

[Xue Sheng]

More likely your Wing Chun will effect your taiji since that is what you did first

 

[bogdan.sifu]

There are Sifus who train both Wing Chun and Tai Chi. I know of Wan Kam Leung who trains Tai Chi and Wing Chun and is very effective with both.

 

[Erick]

I have been training Wing Chun, Hung Gar, and Taichi together. Wing Chun and Hung Gar are trained in class in the same days and I learn Taichi from a different instructor on a different day. As far as fighting goes, I can't say that any thing that I've learned has effected me in a bad way. I don't think you will have a problem. In Wing Chun you learn to be relaxed right? Well same as in Yang style Tai Chi. But since I started Tai Chi, it reinforced the relaxation and when fighting it translated very well. But this is just from my experience, everyone is different. Hope this helps =).

 

[StormShadow]

tai chi, besides many other things strengthen your tendons which should increase your punching power.

 

[Domino]

The thing is.... it will become whatever you make it, make it your own.
No good, leave it..... see something good, keep with it.

 

[wingerjim]

I am just now learning Tai Chi along with my Wing Chun, which I have studied exclusively for just over two years. My teacher teached those two arts plus Bagua. According to him, they all can enhance each other for a variety of reasons but the best reason is that Tai Chi can take WCs focused energy and increase it when both arts are learned properly. WC is a very compact art form where TC takes internal energy outward, thus not very compact. TC also improved balance and coordination in ways that WC does not address as easily, not that WC is uncoordinated and unbalance, just that TC can improve those attributes. I still plan to focus 90% + of my time to WC and only learn TC 24-form for the next year or longer before adding more TC to my study.

 

[blindsage]

I've done some WC and good deal of Yang Taiji and I think there are some important connections between the two that can enhance each one.