2 person sets
I have not invented a 'new style', composite,
modified or otherwise that is set within distinct form as apart from 'this'
method or 'that' method.
On the contrary, I hope to free my followers from clinging to styles,
patterns, or moulds.
Remember that jeet kune do is merely a name used, a mirror in which to see
'ourselves'.
(Bruce Lee)
One form
Yang Cheng Fu and the other famous historical tai chi teachers did not
collect forms and styles.
They trained one form and focussed on that.
Form collecting
is a modern habit which arises when a student is unwilling to commit the
necessary practice to mastering a form.
In short, the student gets bored.
A form is a complete record and repository of the system.
It contains every strategy, skill, movement required to gain a good sense of the
art.
Neijia
Tai chi is an internal martial art, a style of Chinese
kung fu.
How you train the form, and what you do with it is defined by this fact.
The neijia are circular and rely extensively upon spirals, curves, softness and
gravity.
This must be evident in your form training and your applications.
Combat
In order to fully understand the ramifications of the form movements, it
can be quite useful to apply the form.
When a tai chi person possesses a poor sense of application, this tends to
reflect their overall limited understanding of the art.
The form was designed with combat in mind.
If you lack the ability to use the form, what are you practicing?
What mistakes might you make?
Students often find form application to be exceedingly difficult because they
lack the martial background and spatial awareness to see the possibilities
within the form.
People sometimes import ideas from other martial arts, but these do not sit well
with the form and lead to a singularly non-Chinese approach emerging.
A useful way to get a sense of potential form application is to train 2 person
sets or drills.
Sets
Our syllabus explores six 2 person sets:
Small san sau
- 2 person unarmed series of drills
- street attacks versus tai chi
- designed to encourage economy of movement
Silk arms
- 2 person unarmed series of drills
- punches and grapples
- designed to encourage ribbon-like flowing striking movements
Small stick
- 2 person armed series of drills
- designed to encourage stickiness, reflex and timing
- excellent test of nerve under pressure
- only the miniscule, economical movements are fast enough to work
Cane/walking stick
- 2 person armed set
- teaches the student to be versatile and adaptive
- introduces the possibilities suggested by the cane
Broadsword partnered drills
- 2 person armed series of drills
- teaches the student to use their whole-body
- introduces the possibilities suggested by the broadsword/saber
Pao chui
- 2 person unarmed set
- tai chi versus tai chi
- sometimes referred to as the fast form or cannon fist
- this set is quite lengthy and cardiovascular
- it is good for footwork and mobility
The first five are quite short.
Pao chui is much longer and very sophisticated. It assumes significant yielding,
jing and energy expression skills.
Not self defence
Sets are not self defence.
They are fixed pattern, and serve to train accuracy, positioning, timing and
movement.
The skills they teach can be taken into self defence if they manifest under
pressure without contrivance.
In practice, the sets are about habit.
They encourage a certain way of moving, a habitual approach to attack.
This is what you take into self defence.
Page created 2 June 1999