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Which style is best?
I have trained with many instructors including yourself where I know that I want
what they have.
However, you have a training method that works and have students with real
abilities. This is very rare in the internal arts.
(Tim)
Emotional investment
A lot of martial arts instructors are emotionally invested in what they teach.
They are adamant that their system is the best.
Sifu Waller is not like this.
He sees the tai chi and
baguazhang as being the best thing for him.
For Sifu Waller, these arts are vehicles for the exploration of
kung fu and sophisticated body use.
Versatility
Our syllabus is very
versatile.
It offers a wide range of skills, including kicks, punches, grapples, floor
work, weaponry, joint manipulation, energy projection...
There is also a significant health component, and very
little risk of injury despite vigorous kung fu work.
Effort-to-reward ratio
What makes the training appealing is the fact that the applications are simple,
direct, subtle and effective.
There is no struggling, sweating and straining.
No forcing.
If you are using obvious strength, you are doing something wrong.
In fact, once you possess neigong, the less effort
you use, the greater the effect.
Aging
Conventional martial arts favour the younger, stronger, fitter student.
By contrast; the neijiaquan encourage a mature mind.
Instead of retiring from combat at the age of 40, a
student can look forward to spending the rest of their life training the art.
Tai chi is the gentlest of the internal arts, and works the body in a very
safe manner.
Mutually destructive
Every martial artist seeks to defeat their opponent in combat.
But at what price?
Blocking, struggling, forcing, striking a balanced opponent... these are
also harmful to your own body.
In defeating your opponent you may also harm yourself.
If defending your own body results in injury to your body, is this
success?
Have you not failed in your intention?
Bruises, sprains, stiffness, soreness, cuts and damage are all bad for
you.
The principles, tactics
and skills of tai chi are radically different from those of the much greater
number of external martial arts styles. Although all martial arts styles are
designed to be effective in combat, the internal martial arts styles and tai
chi in particular, emphasis efficiency as much as effectiveness. Efficiency
is measured by the ability to achieve success by using the absolute minimum
amount of effort necessary.
(Zhang Yun)
At what cost?
Success at any cost is not advocated by our school.
The aim of kung fu is to avoid injury, not sustain it.
The internal martial arts of tai chi and baguazhang aim to
incapacitate the opponent without sustaining any injury to yourself.
More...
Page created 2 March 1995