The Four Tigers of Chen Village Perform Laojia Yilu
All the Chen Tai Chi masters that you see--even the students of a master--will perform the same form with slight differences when they reach a certain level. It's fascinating to look at the differences. Since this is an art, these men have mastered the fundamentals and then added their own artistic flourishes.
Here are links to YouTube videos showing the "Four Tigers" of Chen Tai Chi performing Laojia Yilu.
Chen Xiaowang performs Laojia Yilu.
Zhu Tiancai performs Laojia Yilu.
Looking Deeper into Martial Arts Forms and Katas
I was at a tournament a few years ago and some karate black belts were competing in my empty-hand forms division. I'm always interested in forms from other styles so I watch them carefully. Three black belts from one karate school did the same form and it ended when them bringing their right foot to their left and sort of stomping it two or three times as it pulled in.
After the judging, I went up to the three, who were standing together, and told them I liked their form but wondered what the fighting application was of the little foot taps at the end.
They looked at each other, then at me, shrugged their shoulders and said they didn't know.
I know a high-level black belt in another karate style who does a powerful staff form. He wins first place in a lot of tournaments. I asked him one day if he ever practiced the fighting applications and he said he had never actually done that with the staff -- he only knew the form.
I was judging at a tournament and a young guy with an Asian ba...
No Sweating in Tai Chi?
I was on the patio this morning and practiced the following forms:
- Chen 19
- Chen 38
- Laojia Yilu
- Laojia Erlu
- Xinjia Yilu
- Chen Straight Sword
- Chen Broadsword
By the end of Xinjia Yilu, I was sweating like a pig (it's going to be in the low 80's today in beautiful Tampa and I'll sweat at the drop of a hat) and I was reminded of a tournament I attended a few years ago when I decided not to seek a trophy but to showcase Chen Tai Chi for the local crowd. I have a lot of trophies, so in recent years I've tried to perform Chen Tai Chi and Bagua just to publicize the arts before large crowds who don't realize the internal arts are, in fact, martial arts.
I warmed up in the already warm room, and did the Chen 38 for the judges and the audience, with a little extra fajing. This was a few years ago, before any of them had seen any Tai Chi performed at all in mixed martial arts tournaments, so as I expected, I didn't win a trophy. But I noticed one karate guy (who was usually quite full...
Finding the Pace and the Heart of a Form
What Does "Cultivating Chi" Mean?
I get emails from people -- some of them starting out in the internal arts -- and they've been told that they do certain exercises such as standing or chi kung to "cultivate chi." More than once, people have told me that when they do tai chi they don't "feel the chi," and they ask me what they're doing wrong.
My opinions on these matters tend to differ from the standard schpiel that you get in internal arts classes.
I tell them to stop worrying about feeling chi and worry about strengthening the legs, developing peng and silk-reeling and whole-body movement and the skills that will make their internal arts high quality.
Cultivating chi is a very interesting concept. In my opinion, cultivating chi means that you are growing stronger and more healthy, and learning to develop the body mechanics for good internal arts.
From a movement perspective, cultivating chi might mean practicing a tai chi form until you understand and can execute the movements with the relaxed strength that corr...
Focus on Reality in the Internal Martial Arts, Not Fantasy
A couple of weeks ago we talked about a bagua book that contained some interesting historical stories about the founding of bagua and some of the early masters. One comment to the post warned me about some of the things they were saying in the book, and when I got into the instructional part of it, I found some good information and, as usual, information that can lead people down the wrong path.
One bit of information involved circle-walking, and the fact that chi shoots our your toes and goes underneath the ground in front of you.
What bothers me about these books, and this type of martial arts writing, is that it appears the authors actually believe this. Rather than saying that this is a mental visualization, or a concept that can help you visualize some of the "rooting" that you need in your circle-walking, it is presented as fact.
Our American education system falls far short in one particular skill (and don't even get me started on math and science): that skill is the ability ...
How to Make a Kung-Fu Teacher Proud
I'm blown away by what I learned tonight. At tournaments in 2007, five of my students walked away with a total of more than 40 trophies and medals. They are Kim Miller, Steve Rogers, Kim Schaber, Jon Stratton, Chris Miller, and Jay Stratton. They've carried on, through the leadership of Chris and Kim Miller after I moved away. My only black sash student, Rich Coulter, has started working out with them again (I think Kim and Chris will be reaching that point in the next year or so). We've also been trading videos through YouTube -- I've watched their performances and offered coaching tips to keep them moving forward. But they've worked hard on their own, each of them dedicated to kung fu and to the internal arts that we study.
The greatest thing about these guys -- they're each outstanding human beings; kind, considerate, helpful, fun, and they welcome anyone who seriously wants to learn. They're the kind of people that always made our school, as small as it was, a fun place to learn. ...
Some of the Best Advice I've Ever Heard on Teaching and Managing
There was a guy several years ago who was one of the first Americans to begin educating us on internal body mechanics. His name is Mike Sigman. Most Americans practicing tai chi were doing it very badly. When he pointed out mistakes and then, rather bluntly I'll admit, told people how to do it better, he made a lot of enemies.
When I began teaching I had a kids' class. I was coaching a 10-year old through a form one day and he began crying. He told me, "You're always criticizing me."
Now, no one is more polite in their coaching than I am, so his tears took me completely by surprise. Not long after this, I stopped teaching kids.
I've had new students come in with martial arts experience, and some of them would look at me as if they were the hired gunslinger when I pointed out the "internal" way of moving, as opposed to the external way they were accustomed to. Sometimes, they didn't want to hear it.
Each time I visit a teacher, a different school, or attend a seminar, I empty my cup...
Martial Arts and a Tolerance for Pain
Ever since I began studying the martial arts--34 years ago--I've run into a lot of guys who think that in order to show your skill, you need to hurt someone or prove how tough you are by taking hard shots or a lot of punishment.
You see them in classes, inflicting pain on others. You see them putting their own bodies through painful ordeals from pounding on makawara boards for hours on end to breaking blocks of ice with their foreheads. You see them bragging about how they got their nose broken, or how they got hit real hard in the head (and their bragging includes how well they can take a good punch or kick).
There is an interesting psychological thing happening here. I don't know if it's insecurity, a bad self image, or they didn't get hugged enough as kids. But these guys will always tell you that you need to endure a lot of physical pain and abuse if you're going to be a "real" martial artist.
Bull crap.
Often, the Dog Brothers are held up as icons of "pure" martial arts becaus...
Internalizing Fighting Applications for Tai Chi, Xingyi, and Bagua
Working on forms is one of the foundations of a good martial art. Forms teach many things, including proper body mechanics, posture, balance and precision.
I once read a tai chi article by a guy who said if you practice the slow Yang form for 20 years, you'll be able to fight when a self defense situation arises.
No you won't. You'll be seriously injured or killed. That's what will happen.
If your practice is only on form, you're missing the heart of any internal art, which is self-defense. You must practice fighting applications in a way that helps you internalize them so that you can react without thinking.
Sparring is one way to do it, but let's face it. Sparring the tournament way limits your techniques. And you can't really use all the techniques of these arts against classmates because you can't drive your palm through their faces, break their elbows and wrists, dislocate their shoulders, twist their necks until they snap, throw them to the ground to smash their head, etc.
H...
Author - Instructor
Ken Gullette
I have practiced martial arts since 1973 and began studying the internal arts in 1987. My goal is to cut years off your development time by coaching you in the real skills for high-quality Tai Chi, Xingyi, Bagua. To see more about my bio, click the "About Ken" link on the menu at the top of this page.
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