The difference between Healthy Tai Chi & Fighting Tai Chi

Recently it has come to my attention that there is a distinction being made here in the USA regarding a so called difference between Tai Chi for Health and Tai Chi for Self Defense.

Having studied for the last 30 years from over half a dozen senior Tai Chi masters and directly from 2 different original Tai Chi family lineages (Yang and Wu styles) including Wu style family members who are the world heads for Tai Chi I must admit that at first I found this very confusing.

When you ask any senior Tai Chi master about the “difference” between Tai Chi for health and Tai Chi for self defense you either get a funny look or a fairly excited answer about the current sad state of affairs and that there is no difference between Tai Chi for health and Tai Chi for self defense.

Tai Chi is Tai Chi.

There is No difference between the Tai Chi that is healthy and the Tai Chi that is for fighting / self defense.

Of course there are a lot of “so called” Tai Chi teachers in America today who would like the public to think that these things are different.

Why? The unfortunate and simple answer is that so many of the folks who are teaching Tai Chi only for health got their Tai Chi certification in a weekend workshop and the only way that they can try to compete in the market place with someone who actually knows Tai Chi is to try to say that those who have more knowledge and information are somehow teaching something different.

tai chi for fighting

What Is The Difference?

Hopefully, this begs the question concerning what exactly is Tai Chi for health and what is Tai Chi for self defense?

For one, the moves themselves are the same.

However, I have found that more often than not those who practice Tai Chi just for health do not understand the moves they are practicing.

Secondly, the specific types of jin expression practiced are the same also.

Unfortunately, I have found that most who claim to practice just for health do not even know what jin is, how it is practiced and how it is healthy for you let alone understanding it in a martial sense.

The real bad news here is that the jin expressions are truly what makes Tai Chi such an incredible health practice.

tai chi for health and fighting

The Biggest Problem

The biggest problem I have found is that there is a gross ignorance and great misunderstanding about what Tai Chi is and how it works by the medical community in this country and unfortunately the weekend and two weeks or less certifications (in that order) are the common standard accepted in most Western medical settings.

Often, evidence based Tai Chi is used to determine if a type or form of Tai Chi should be accepted and used in a medical setting.

But, at least one crucial factor is often overlooked.

When a senior master’s specific Tai Chi method is used in a medical study and the master himself is the teacher then he or she brings their many years of knowledge into that setting with them.

This almost always includes a deep knowledge of Tai Chi including the fighting self defense aspects of the art.

Then, when they certify someone who in turn certifies others in one weekend workshops where the form is learned and the certification is given in the same weekend then the result is most often that most of the new teachers do not have the knowledge, ability or skill to actually achieve the result or anything resembling the result that the senior teacher achieved in the medical study that was performed.

There are specific structural and internal aspects to the moves and expressions in Tai Chi that are every bit as important to the Tai Chi for health benefits as they are for fighting / self defense.

The Answer

How does someone who learned and (“knows?”) the Tai Chi only for health learn these structural and internal aspects?

From having had interaction and conversations with many folks who are currently certified in only these very short weekend Tai Chi for health type courses I can say that to date I have not met one who actually understands enough about Tai Chi to impart the benefits without having obtained a lot more education than most are willing to ever seek out and get.

tai chi is tai chi

The answer to the how to learn the specific structural and internal aspects of the Tai Chi is that the teacher must learn from someone who understands the structural and internal workings of the Tai Chi.

Teachers who really understand the structure and internal workings of the Tai Chi also know the self defense aspects of the Tai Chi because without the structural and internal aspects of Tai Chi the Tai Chi does not work for self defense either.

When learning the self defense aspects from a qualified teacher the postures and internal aspects are tested and refined so that the proper application of Tai Chi power is present.

This does not have to be learned or practiced in a hard, fast and fierce manner so those who do not want to practice fighting do not have to be put into uncomfortable situations or anything like that.

But, the structural training alone will make such a huge difference in the quality of the Tai Chi practice and the health benefits of that Tai Chi practice that it will change the art in its entirety compared to the expression taught by someone who is “teaching” Tai Chi without this knowledge.

This is part of the reason why our Level 1 Tai Chi material takes several months to complete.

A person can easily learn the moves of our 8 move set in a weekend.

The rest of the study time required to actually test for our method is spent learning various Tai Chi structure, breathing, methods, jin expressions and applications of the 8 moves so that the student actually learns the Tai Chi for health as a result of understanding how the internal aspects of the moves are performed for health as well as for self defense.

And you can get a head start on learning those skills in my free course, The Practical Guide to Internal Power.

This video course is designed to take you from any point in your training, and show you how to train the skills you’ve always heard of- but were never taught.

You can get it for FREE here:

In Conclusion

Tai Chi for health is the same as the Tai Chi for self defense because the movement alignment, structure, breathing and jins are the same for health as they are for self defense even though these skills will often be applied specific to the task at hand which requires an educated understanding.

Don’t just take my word for it. Ask any real Tai Chi teacher and they will tell you the same.

The Good News

The good news is that if you are actively reading this blog then you are most likely working to educate yourself and progressing in your Tai Chi which means you are a benefit to your students and community.

If there is any way that I can help you please feel free to contact me and I will do what I can.

The so called Tai Chi teacher with less than 1 week total in Tai Chi training who is now the medical Tai Chi go to person in your community is an unfortunate reality in much of America today.

I am committed to helping to change the public misunderstanding of this wonderful art that we practice before it disintegrates into a flowery looking set of choreography with no substance or benefit and no more real teachers can be found.

Please join me in this fight before it is too late.

Comments

  1. Diddo! Diddo! Diddo!!!

    Unfortunately as I am sure you know, this degredation is rampent throughout ALL the martial arts. Easy bucks for the “teacher” and easy to learn for the non-committed student, who doesn’t want to apply the appropriate effort(s) to do it right!

    Bill Conley

  2. Jules Weinberg says

    Great article. I am now finding suddenly a slew of individuals in the market place who are actually trying to promote fighting Tai Chi as a seperate Martial art form. In my own experience when I practice my Yang 24 form – I try to work on the structure and answer myself what is the application? The question that comes up is how do you differentiate between true masters and frauds?

    • Sigung Clear says

      Hi Jules,
      I believe that the individuals promoting fighting Tai Chi as a separate martial art form may (unfortunately) just be trying to figure out a simple way to stand out from those who do not have much or any skill and are promoting fighting Tai Chi as the simplest way to do that in 3 or 4 words. I say unfortunately because it would usually be much more accurate to say Real Tai Chi but the buying public would not understand the difference or why they consider their Tai Chi to be more real than everyone else they are competing with which begs the question you asked which is how to differentiate between true masters and frauds.

      One of the best ways to distinguish a true master from a fraud is to educate yourself so that you know what to ask and what the answers are and can find out what someone really knows and what they can (or cannot teach you. Read our posts both on health (chi kung and cultivation methods etc) and self defense. Since you have studied a bit already and have a Yang 24 form look for someone who can really teach you about these things without having to add more moves. If a teacher only has forms and do not understand enough to keep you improving and gaining knowledge for years without having to teach you any more moves then they are not a master.

      When I get a new student who already has the 24 or more yang style moves then I do not teach them more form movements unless they absolutely beg me to do so. The reason why is that they have enough moves already and they do not need to learn any more moves from me. I can work with the moves they already have and can teach them for many years without having to add more forms or moves. Tai Chi is a very deep art this way. Unfortunately, the most common Tai Chi you find here in the US is forms work without substance. They will even tell you the Tai Chi is for arthritis or whatever it has been established to do by some far off teacher that they usually have never met. When you ask for a real explanation of how their Tai Chi works and applications and the rationale behind and involved in specific moves in their set they simply do not know because how can they when they learned all they were taught about the art in 5 days or less?

      I am sorry that I seem uptight about this but as a legitimate 30 year practitioner and avid student (I have received over 3500 hours of personal instruction in the higher aspects and applied health and fighting principles) of these arts it is very frustrating to have to contend with someone who has no real knowledge or ability but are a (fraud) Tai Chi teacher because they attended a few day workshop and now they are considered (by the American medical community) the certified practitioner on the block.

      It is a sad situation but fortunately one that can be rectified as more and more folks become adequately trained and educated about real Tai Chi.
      Best Regards.
      Sifu Clear

      • frank cruz says

        To Sufi clear,all due respect,I am from NYC studying Yang 24 form from a Sufi with 40somewhat experience as a student and teacher he shows us the forms and self-defense,even though I have limted use of my left arm due to a dislocated shoulder he has patience to show me the self-defense part,he tells me, use what you got. He does for us. I think he is the real deal,I been around in my younger days studying karate,boxing,Tai Chi. Tai Chi works,study hard,be patients.

      • Ron Schick says

        Lets be real about this.If you sell this as a fighting art or tai chi chuan then know your art.Know chee sau know deulau know applications balance points pressure points countrr balance etc etc.Unless you know these things tai chi is not chuan iltimate fist.Its a pertty dance but not real tai chi.

      • Kudos…I have been saying this for years. I too, took some of these course’s to see What people are learning & teaching. The only Real benefit I see is that it gets the word T’ai Chi mainstream, then hopefully, one day they will seek out Real Teachers like us

    • Lao Shi Greg Casey says

      Lao Shi Greg C. I agree. The degradation of Tai Chi instructor education has unfortunately put plenty of weekend certifications into the population. And those who teach for “health benefits” only need to understand the damage they do by not understanding fundamentals.

  3. Jules Weinberg says

    Hi Sigung Clear – Jules Weinberg here. Thank you for your response regarding my comment on difference beween Tai Chi and Combat Tai Chi. Another question came up in my mind – I have been training with my Yang Style Instructor for over a year and I notice that when I ask about a combat application of
    a particular form she will sometimes show me and then go back to explaining how we are learning this for health – not martial art. This sometimes gets frustrating since I have been training for over 36 years in the combative martial arts. Its good because I analyze what the form is trying to acomplish and it helps me understand. Is this a standard way of teaching the system?

    • Unfortunately it is all to common for students to spend years learning very little beyond forms and choreography even from highly skilled and respected teachers. This is a standard or traditional way for many people to learn the public version of the art, but it is certainly not the best way to impart skill and knowledge.

      The moves are nothing more than a tool. They can be useful, but in most cases there is way to much emphasis and importance placed on them.

      This is why instead of using a lot of moves to teach very little about Tai Chi we use only a few moves to teach a lot about Tai Chi.

    • Sigung Clear says

      Is this a standard way of teaching the system?

      Not in my school or in my videos.

  4. In the last 30 yrs I have heard reasons for not teaching the martial aspect of TCC that would bring tears of laughter to the writers of Saturdy Night Live.

    One group consists of those who walk through life with their heads in the ozone. They will state” my chances of being attacked are very slight” – and while that may be – that should not deter an individual from learning how to protect himself and his loved ones. Violent crimes are part of everyday living.
    I have been in more altercations than I care to recall. These were not the you punch – I punch – these boys were out to tear my head off. I have had many real Tai Chi teachers and I thank them for sharing. (Sharing learnings is a topic for about 400 pages on this blog)
    Tai Chi Chuan may be the most lethal martial art on the planet -AND IT SHOULD BE TAUGHT AS SUCH. If an individual chooses not to fight so be it. He or she must deal with the possible consequences in their own way.

    A needed ingredient for a healthy life is – BREATHING – STAYING ALIVE – Learning how to defend yourself may keep you healthy.

    In closing – to Sifu Clears Students and consistent followers here the following may not be necessary. To the others –
    Sifu Clear does a great service to the Tai Chi community and those that have a serious interest in the art. To the perceptive his tips and clips can help one reach his goals quicker. To the beginner- read- reread and practice

  5. After practicing Tai Chi Chuan (on and off) since 1989 I will

    continue to reiterate the Confucious and Daoist philosophy

    about the art.

    It is everlasting and seamless. It contracts and expands during

    the learning process.

    Most of all I will continue to study it as if I were never

    to master it; as if in fear of losing it.

    I know just enough of Tai Chi to lose the way,

    then find the path. Surrender and redirect the force

    to life’s challenges. Tai Chi Chuan is everything,

    with nothing in it.

    Thanks for sharing the REAL Tai Chi Chuan Sifu Clear
    and Ben….

    About Amituofo: it means a multitude of things, depending on how it is used.
    (Ah-mee-twoh-fo) (don’t know the tonal intonations.)
    (It can be a greeting, a salutation, a blessing, or it can mean “please” or “I’m sorry.”) Literally it is the name
    of a Buddha, the “Amita” Buddha. (Fo) being the Chinese
    word for Buddha.

  6. Gary Brewster says

    I have been learning Tai Chi now for over 10 years and have always been taught the applications to the forms, it surely makes no sense not to know them . I also teach Taekwondo and Iaido (a strange mix i know) and would never dream of showing poomse or kata without a full fighting application.
    Brilliant web site by the way.
    Gary Brewster

  7. Richard Clear says

    Thanks.
    Let me know if there are any topics you would like us to write on that you do not currently see on our site.
    Best Regards.
    Sifu

    • Thank you for your informative writing. May I ask, how does one go about finding a qualified tai chi instructor?

      • Hello Gian,

        That’s the million dollar question! I can tell you how I found one. I looked for 20 years until I found him, then I moved 1000 miles away from home to train with him.

        Hopefully you won’t have to go to such extremes! I don’t know what you want in a Tai Chi teacher, but I was looking for some very specific things. My teacher needed to know the full Martial side of the Tai Chi as well as the Health and Healing. He had to be ABLE to teach those skills, and he had to be WILLING to teach those skills.

        I found that the easiest way to determine if a teacher would meet my criteria was to look at his students. If they weren’t getting it after decades of training, I had no reason to believe anyone would.

        Of course the best shortcut for finding a qualified teacher is to have a lot of skill and knowledge already. Fortunately you have a wealth of high-level material at your disposal right here at https://store.clearstaichi.com/

        The better you know these subjects and the more skill you have, the harder it will be for a teacher to fool you. I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck!

  8. orang tjong hwa says

    Tai chi chuan is about getting strong and healthy in every way, as the name tai chi chuan allready says; its a martial art (chuan), no doubt about it.
    Because the general public only can see a kind of relaxed movement in slow motion, they think its a very easy way to maintain health and also to get mysterious super powers from the life force called ‘chi’.
    Therefoe its also very easy to fool people with these so called supernatural powers and mystic slow movements.
    They don’t know that in reality the slow moving form is only a very small part of the whole concept.
    They don’t know that the slow moving form is all about internal structure and an extremely centered mind guiding all movements by internal pressure change.
    B-Good….

    • Obviously there are some people who have it. Clear Tai Chi has it and is dedicated to increasing the public’s exposure to quality Tai Chi.

  9. When one has learned and practiced the basics daily, and 50% of that was with partner training, for several years, tai chi training becomes clear. You fix some of the stances and movements and you also practice them explosively. And of course continue partner training with movements that make sense.

  10. Hi Richard,
    In ’97 I was fortunate to have a Tai Chi Wu style Master co-worker teach us at lunch twice a week. I really enjoyed the practice and over the course of 10 months learned a full set of moves. But he moved on to another job and my practice waned to nothing after I moved back to Texas. I recall though having felt more healthy and balanced than since my Army days.
    Recently a studio opened to teach “healthy” Tai Chi within walking distance of my home. I signed up but was curious about the self defense aspects of Tai Chi and found you while researching this aspect. Is there a way to augment practice of the health Tai Chi to also learn self defense? I really look forward to practicing Tai Chi again, even if it is only “health Tai Chi” and hope online studies and private practice can find the path to applying the form for self defense learning. (Might I suggest this may be a lucrative business sideline for an acknowledged Tai Chi Self Defense Master?)

    I hope you’re still answering such an old thread!

    John G
    Cedar Park, Texas

    • Hi John,
      Thank you for your question. Yes, you can study with us for learning how to use your Tai Chi for self defense.
      Here is a link:
      https://www.clearstaichi.com/combat-tai-chi

      and here is a link for Combat Tai Chi DVD’s:
      https://www.clearstaichi.com/tai-chi-dvd/combat-tai-chi-dvd

      • Hi Sifu I have study Aikido, but now my back is not so good but i love the Arts i have been looking around no one can give me a good answer can i still do Tai Chi for self defense without doing more damage to my back?

        • Hello Matthew,

          That depends entirely on how “not so good” your back is. Ruptured discs, for instance, are no joke. If for any reason it hurts to sit up or walk, you might be able to use Tai Chi therapeutically to help the situation (depending on what the problems are), but it should be left at that. In that case you would want the healthy side of Tai Chi but not the martial.

          Too often people come to Tai Chi only after they get injured doing some other martial art. Sometimes Tai Chi can help, but the real benefit of Tai Chi is that you can practice a martial art while also promoting health and longevity. If you want martial skill, it is best to take up the practice of Tai Chi before you get injured, not after. It is far easier to prevent injury than it is to heal it, and some injuries are permanently debilitating.

          In your case, Matthew, you should consult your doctor first before taking up the martial side of Tai Chi, as you should before beginning any new exercise regimen. We are not medical professionals, and we do not know the specifics of your situation. That said, I hope your doctor gives you good news on the subject!

  11. Pardon my ignorance Sigung but I was hoping I could ask some questions.

    I am interested in learning a holistic version of Tai Chi that you discuss here. I would like to use that knowledge to both improve my health and learn how it is used in a self defense.

    In 2014 I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and a hip impingement. This was something of a blow to me as the hip makes vigorous exercise painful but I need to get exercise for my health even more. I am 45 and probably looking at a hip replacement in the nearish future but I would like to avoid it as long as possible.

    My Dr said that something like Tai Chi would be good for the hip. I looked for a Tai Chi instructor but in every case I was turned of either by their inexperience or there insistence in strict adherence to the forms.

    A friend recommended an Aikido dojo that works with a person’s physical limitations and I spent 2 years there very happily learning Aikido. My type 2 diabetes is now pre-diabetes and I have lost a significant amount of weight. Unfortunately the Aikido, requires some movements that are pretty hard for me and I’ve had to stop for the last year.

    Would Tai Chi be a good fit? It seems like the slower gentler movements might be more compatible. I have tried a few online videos but I work much better with an in-person instructor.

    If Tai Chi could possibly be a good fit, can you give me some questions that would help me find a Tai Chi instructor who understands the relationships between the exercise and martial aspects of the art and how they tie together? I would really like to focus on the exercise but also gain a useful skill such as self defense as well.

    I really miss Aikido and the improvements to my health it brought.

    Thank you for your time reading this.

    Sincerely, Jerry.

    • Matt Holker says

      Hello Jerry,

      I think Tai Chi would be a great fit for what you are describing. It has often been said that Tai Chi makes the sick well, and makes the well strong. The movements of Tai Chi can be used to improve your health dramatically, and we teach a method specifically for rehabilitating old injuries in the first level of our program. We do have students with joint replacements, and they get as much or more value from the Tai Chi as any of our other students. In fact the senior most Tai Chi student in the school right now has had multiple joints replaced in his legs.

      Fortunately the very fact that you know you want the self defense aspects of the art will help you to find a good teacher. Ask questions about the teacher’s background and focus on the training he/she did to get the fighting method. Another thing to do is to look at the students. Are they showing real progress as you would expect, or do they seem to stagnate over time? How many of the combat Tai Chi students could really fight with it?

      Any teacher really teaching the martial side will be able to help on the health side, but the same is not true in reverse. If you aren’t able to find the right candidate, or if you want to supplement your local training, we offer an excellent online program that will help you build your skills every step of the way from beginner to fighter.

      http://www.clearmartialarts.com/clears-tai-chi-online/

      You can easily get started with the material in the Level 1 section immediately, while you are still looking for a good teacher. In fact a knowledge of this material will give you the foundation in Tai Chi you need if you plan on vetting local teachers.

  12. Tom Loates says

    Hi And thanks for this very interesting article. I had wanted to study Tai Chi for a while now and like you mentioned there are plenty of people waiting to take your money but without the experience and qualification. In my home town in Western Australia I have found a Malaysian couple teaching Yang style and she endorses your comments. She has trained for over 40! Years and is extremely fit and strong. She has studied with many of the masters of this style I believe and I think I have found my ideal teacher. Thank you again for your informative article it gave me much food for thought.

  13. Wow! I’m so lucky! I just started tai chi a couple of months ago, for health. My teacher is always telling us the history of each move we do, and shows us how they are actually defensive moves in slow motion. He also teaches us Chinese medicine and the flow of chi. He’s been doing tai chi since he was a child, and it’s what his family has always done. I am so fortunate to have found him!

  14. Different problem in Australia large organisation called daoist tai-chi where people only follow with no oral instruction or application demonstration given. Many people leave after getting sore knees, giving tai-chi a bad name, definitely not tai-chi for health.
    I don’t think full on push hands is suitable for people over 70 but I still show the application of the moves in the forms.

    • There are always problems with low-quality Tai Chi instruction. At Clear Tai Chi we believe the best way to combat misinformation is to make the high-level “secrets” of the art accessible to the public.

      While you may be correct about most push hands games, the Clear’s Internal Push Hands method is completely safe to play at any age, and we have students in their 70s, 80s, and 90s who push regularly using our method. It was the preferred game of Master Ma, Yueh-Liang throughout the last decades of his life. It was said by his senior students that he played this game until the day before he died, in his mid 90s.

      You can learn a lot more about the Internal Push Hands game here: https://www.clearstaichi.com/clears-internal-push-hands

  15. Alan Avery says

    To me and I have practised Tai Chi Yang, Chen, Wu and Sun styles for many years, there is no great purpose in discriminating between Tai Chi slow and fast movements. They are both integral to health and wellbeing. Using Tai Chi as a martial art is interesting because you can do it, experience it, enjoy it for health and self-defence at once. Using Qigong or the Tao Yin as a basis for understanding your body and mind in an environment with practice prepares one for Tai Chi Chuan, Wushu, Wing Chun or whatever. During all the fight scenes, Bruce Lee who by the way studied Tai Chi until late adolescence, and despite the speed, was clearly meditating (a natural style of meditation) in his free form movements – breathing, using circular movements, understanding his anatomy and physiology and how body energy flows. So my thoughts here are that Tai Chi can be learned as a martial art either to use as self-defence or as a way to improve health and wellbeing or both together. Chuck Norris, who studied with Buddhist Monks, once told Bruce Lee that to improve his speed and effectiveness he needed to slow down first to understand what could be described as the nuances of his body and energy (not force or power) and the flow in and between movements.
    Slow or fast movements of Tai Chi are one and the same – the applications in different environments may be different but the working philosophy remains the same.

  16. Stephen R. says

    It all comes down to lineage, if you can’t trace your lineage back to the founder of your style then your probably at a McDojo.

    • That’s a fair point. We normally trace our lineage back to Lee Ying Arng, who did technically found his own system, although Lee himself was a student of Yang Chen Fu among other Tai Chi notables.

  17. Colin britt says

    Hi I have been studying and learning the art of tai chi for ten years now at the start I had major knee pains and my left shoulder now at the age of 45 it’s the best thing I can move like I’m twenty five I used to be a bouncer in the uk and the tai chi I have study and learned a self defence style of tai chi and many times I had to use it as a means of defending my self and it’s given the natural effect of learning the Chinese dao and the guan dao which I practiced for many hours to understand the quality of the art

  18. William M. Ferguson says

    This is an interesting subject, i’ve been practicing Tai Chi Chuan for 10 years too, I agree with you regarding tai chi for health and Tai Chi Chuan, my teacher teaches the applicants to the martial art, how to use movements and when to use them. He teaches the Yang short form with the practicality of the move, not the flowery moves you see on You Tube, he incourges us to take the move outside the form but at the same time he also encourages to practice the form slowly and smoothly. In addition to the short form we practice a gernaric form made up of the basic moves of Tai Chi before he teaches the Yang short form (24). He emphasizes body rotation and step drills ( heel stance and cross stance in Tai Chi walking). My teacher is a Bruce Lee fan, how Bruce Lee went outside the box, and that is how I few my Tai Chi Chuan training, Tai Chi Chuan should be practical not just to look good, oh we also practice Qigong before we practicing Tai Chi Chuan.

  19. Brad Whitewolf says

    Tai Chi Chuan takes a long time to learn. Literally, a lifetime. Sad that some people promote it as something you can learn in a leisurely afternoon.

  20. Having read quite a bit about Tai Chi and QiGong before having practiced, the conclusion came to me that healing and harming were both byproducts of the “way” healing and defence both byproducts. So my practice started with the 8 pieces of brocade which, as I was a late starter I call the 8 pieces of sack cloth. Having seen results, it made me hungry and came across SiGung Clears website and got interested but I could not find a push hands class in my part of the UK. I found a class after weeks of looking who are set in their ways and finally managed to get one of them to take a look at the free push hands course published by Sigung Clear and managed to get about 20 minutes of trying it, but the next week covid had sprung and now there is no class. So I enrolled on a online Ben Ji Gong course which was very back to basics, starting with how to set the feet and lots of other basics even before the 8 excersises, which I find are gradually having an effect on my decades of bad posture. I would have liked to have done some of Clears push hands which I saw as dynamic wuji or as I called it Wujitsu. Dynamically correcting posture with a little stress from a friendly foe, to stretch ones awareness for quicker results or more effective results. Also from my reading it came to me that part of the old school was probably free of meat eating and had other dietary restrictions as “bad food” caused bad steam or bad chi and then people might train , powered by bad steam and end up defending barbecues and miss the real purpose that is beyond healing and harming..First and foremost, one is ones own greatest enemy and the purpose was or is to get off the wheel of reincarnation.
    But don;t listen to me as I have only read some books and am still on the very early basics ..Srila Prabhupada remarks that ” ones tongue is ones greatest enemy” so we can always stay in grappling with our greatest foe.

  21. Brad Whitewolf says

    Thank you for this article Mr. Clear. I have experienced these weekend Certified Taiji instructors teaching at different Senior Activities Centers around my state. I was trained by one of Yang Cheng Fu’s students back in the’70’s, so I teach the Yang Long Form. Most of what I have seen from these weekend Certified teachers, and I use the term loosely, is a watered down version of the Sun style. When asked if they know any combat applications, they can’t show even one, and no nothing of push hands or free style fighting. It is a sad state of affairs indeed. Thanks Again and Best Wishes, Brad Whitewolf

  22. Hi please can you email me re more info on Tai chi I am in South Africa and would love to learn more about this art and become a coach my email address is questswim104@gmail.com

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