Which style of tai chi?
Tea brings people together in a non-threatening place to escape the modern
world, then they can go back out and take that with them.
(Gary
Cadwallader)
Students frequently ask us
which style they should learn.
This is a hard question to answer.
Consider:
Which styles are being taught? What choice do you have?
What are you wanting from your tai chi: health, meditation, self defence? All three?
Have you certain expectations?
Do you have any health problems?
How supple are you?
Ideally, all tai chi classes should be teaching the
same underlying principles.
Which style are we studying?
We teach the
small circle
Yang Cheng Fu style.
But that does not mean that you should learn the same style as us. We are not
promoting Yang Cheng Fu
style.
Ultimately, style is not what matters.
What matters is what people are
doing with their tai chi.
Every school is different. Every
teacher is different. You
must find a class that suits you.
The principles
Yang, Chen, Wu, Sun and Hao are all different approaches to the
same basic
principles.
The unique character of each style merely reflects the personality, strategy and
emphasis of the founder.
Each style has its own focus and purpose.
What really matters is the principles. These are what make the art 'tai chi'.
You can learn whatever style you want to providing it
adheres
to the principles of the art.
Different, but the same
All tai chi
schools should be teaching the same core material, the same
principles.
The teaching style, the movements being used, the words and the applications may
all differ, but the
underlying art should be identical.
What makes tai chi 'tai
chi'?
This is the question you need to be asking. The answer will give you the art,
irrespective of style.
Form collectors
Some students seek to learn a whole family of
styles - they
want Wu, Sun, Chen, Yang and the simplified styles.
But what are they really learning?
Is it merely the
form
sequence or the whole system?
Are they seeking to be an
expert in several different tai chi
styles?
The purpose of form is to train your body to move in an internal way.
You do not need multiple forms to train this.
One will do fine.
The Inner Way
The Inner Way by Cheng Man Ching is a wonderful little book.
Randomly flicking through the book, we find quotations on virtually every page
that directly pertain to our syllabus.
This is a different style of tai chi, written by another man in another time.
But his way is no different to
what
we teach.
Tai chi is not be found in the form
pattern but in the way of the art.
The book is superb.
It is akin to a
tai chi classic treatise.
It is a good way to see how closely your art is following the 'tai
chi way'.
It also serves to endorse and confirm the validity of what students are being
taught by our school.
http://www.zhong-ding.com/iway.html
A recommended purchase.
Page created 3 October 2004