Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

Taiji Demonstrations Should Be Based on Reality, Not Fantasy

chi powers qigong powers tai chi powers May 23, 2011

What do we do about the image of Taijiquan when the world believes its a slow-motion exercise for health and meditation designed for the elderly?

How do we show it for what it is -- a powerful martial art?

One thing that would help is for Tai Chi teachers to stop pretending it's mystical -- that you can control a motivated, violent adult with your mind and with something vague called "intent."

Here is a video on YouTube showing Wang Peisheng, a famous (now deceased) Wu style Tai Chi master demonstrating push hands.

The principles he describes are great, but as he demonstrates, he uses a partner who is willing to fall in dramatic ways so the master looks good.

The problem is -- it doesn't work like this, and any decent martial artist who sees this knows it's a crock. Anyone who has ever fought another human being knows none of this works the way it does here.

Here's another video that shows the fantasy of Tai Chi -- not the reality. It involves another famous Wu style master, ...

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.

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

Taiji Demonstrations Should Be Based on Reality, Not Fantasy

Author - Instructor

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