In the words of an English poet: "OO are Yer?"

Discussion in 'Tai chi' started by Taiji Butterfly, Apr 21, 2005.

  1. Taiji Butterfly

    Taiji Butterfly Banned Banned

    Okay folks, I notice there's no 'check in' thread at Tai Chi on MAP....
    So, front and centre Ladies and Gents.... :)

    ....where do you come from, where do you train, what style, how long have you been training, MA background and any other info you wanna give and/or points you want to make....

    PLEASE no flaming, arguing, criticism, bitching, backbiting, etc etc
    Let's all find out about each other and what we do so we know "OO we all ARE" lol
    And if you don't actually do Taijiquan, please don't post in this thread.

    Okay I'll start:
    I'm 38, I live in Rochester Kent UK. Began learning simplified Yang style Long form Taijiquan around 1986 so been practising 19 years. I spent 9 years with my first teacher who made me her protege' (not sure how to spell that, but 'Tudi' anyway) then spent another year with her husband to finish learning the third section off as she retired with ill health. Since then been on my own doing my own thing (long story) Last year I trained briefly with the Tian family group who visited Essex and I plan to train with them again this year if I can. Spent a year training in Taijutsu and have dabbled in lots of Martial arts other than Taiji. I am a full time instructor and call my school the Butterfly School of Taijiquan (hence the name) I am renovating and developing my own version of the form I was originally taught and generally refer to it as 'Butterfly' Taiji. I am actively exploring Taiji as a martial art having deeply explored its health, meditation, esoteric and spiritual aspects for the first fifteen years or so with only a little martial training and practice (but lots of classical martial theory) - the last four years have been a steep learning curve lol.
    That's me in the picture doing slanting diagonal flying posture at the park where I train every wednesday with Tejitsudo, Mad Frog and Fallentoa (photo taken yesterday)
    Blessings to all Taijiquan students from a brother student of the Way
    N :Angel:
     
  2. Visage

    Visage Banned Banned

    Here's me...

    I'm 18, also living in Rochester (well, just across the river really, but its still considered "in").
    Have a background of 11ish years in EMA, but have started training in Taiji Quan in the last 6 months. Since then, I have started to drop all the EMA and focus soley on the IMA.
    Formerly training in Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Jujutsu, Wing Chun, Phoenix Kung Fu, Choi Kwang Do and Boxing. Now training the "Butterfly" school of Taiji.
    Also starting to get into Chi Kung as well.

    Next!! :)
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2005
  3. Kinjiro Tsukasa

    Kinjiro Tsukasa I'm hungry; got troll? Supporter

    I don't have time for a full intro right now, but I'm going to stick this thread, so it will stay at the top of the list. :)
     
  4. reikislapper

    reikislapper see you on the flypaper

    Hello Taiji Butterfly, I feel a bit of a fraud doing this as you already know me but I'll join in anyway lol.
    I've been doing tai chi for about a 14 months with Wu and "Butterfly taiji" style, when I'm in Kent. At present I live in Chesterfiled, Derbyshire where I'm practicing the form on my own as it's a waste of time joining a club when I'm going to be moving to the South East of the country.
    I have a history of a few rounds of MA consisting of Karate, 3 styles, Mauy thai, and tai chi which I'm really enjoying as I never know it could be so good to learn. I also do chi kung which I've been doing for about 18 mths and it's just starting to work in all the areas lol. I'm a reiki 1 healer, at present doing my reiki 2 which is really taking it out of me with the energies but that's another story lol. I follow a shamanic and pagan belief and I'm also getting interested in buddhism in a big way. I think that's enough from me lol,
    see you soon N,
    lisa xx
     
  5. Shadowdh

    Shadowdh Seeker of Knowledge

    Lets see... I am a NZer married to an Aussie living in the UK... I train in the UK, practicing Chen Style Taiji mainly via the lineage of Chen Qing Zhou (at home) but with teachers via Chen Zheng Lei (I have also had a couple of private lessons via Chen Xiao Wang lineage... not confusing as the principles and postures (generally) are the same even though in the private lessons case the movments could be a bit different)... I have been training for just under 10 months in taiji... MA background... hmmm mainly dabbled in a few TKD, Wrestling, Okinawa-te Karate, Wu Chi Tao Chinese Karate and maybe one or two others I cant think of or remember at the mo... thats about all for now...

    *Edit*... forgot to mention how and why taiji... how.. well a friend of my wife and I had been trying to get me into taiji for a while and I didnt think that it was my thing so kept puting him off... then Last year I needed to get more balance in my life on several levels so looked into it... did a lot of research and thought that it may be for me after all... havent looked back except with a small amount of regret that I didnt take it up sooner...
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2005
  6. daftyman

    daftyman A 4oz can of whoop-ass!

    Well......

    ..started taiji after seeing a good friend of mine practicing in a field. Instead of letting him finish, I went over and asked a bunch of questions about it. He told me of a class in Glasgow and seven years later here I am.

    It's CMC 'style' that I practice, although we've added the Yang sabre and Aikido Jo into the mix as they explore different elements of the art. Lots of push hands and sword fencing, with all the other fun stuff like da lu and applications.

    I've been lucky enough to attend a couple of workshops with Wolfe Lowenthal as well as a summer course in the South of France. It was a great experience.

    Now living in Doune next door to Castle Anthrax (for all you Monty Python fans).

    Currently looking to start up a class somewhere near me with a fellow student. (Having been given permission to do so from my teacher). I've already been the substitute for my teacher and its incredible how much deeper you have to think about your form when you are teaching it to someone. I've also taught a tai chi taster session for some adults with learning difficulties. A truly rewarding experience!

    It surprises some people at the first evening of a new beginners class that I've been studying this long (I know its not that long really! ;)) But it's because I enjoy it that I keep on going. The health and martial stuff is just an added bonus! :)
     
  7. cloudz

    cloudz Valued Member

    :) Hi there eveyone,

    I bagan in taiji almost 3 yrs ago.(34 yrs old) I am based in North London, UK. I train with a group that is not a 'pure' taijiquan school, but I find that their overall philosophy, training to be very good and suits my needs well. As well as taijiquan the ryu also runs aiki-jutsu, kenjutsu/iaijutsu, boxing and kickboxing classes also aikido(in the past) In some classes there is crossover, but the instructors are always mindful/careful to always discuss openly what is being done/shown.

    On outward appearance(website) the school may appear traditional japanese, but the history of the school is very much a mixture of both japanese and chinese influence. www.zenkyoshin (appearance can be deceiving)- the history link is interesting. The school also has its own esoteric practices related to the 5 elements.

    For me personally, I have become quite attached to my samurai sword and often finish up a solo taiji session with a few kata etc. My teacher has begun to show a few more experienced student taiji straight sword, but I guess I'll have to wait a while for that.

    It took me about 2 yrs to get through the old yang form (that was what they were learning when i joined) - the teacher said that it would of been easier to learn the new yang first but he considered the time I took to be relatively quick (and it was compared to others in the class) - amazing how you progress when you practice almost daily :) . A year on and we recently started to cover the new form, and I'm currently enjoying this very much. In between I focused on getting my form better (more refined), mirror form and working on the fast. The work only really starts when you get to the end. - take note shadow :)

    As for background - I started boxing at a young age, and along the way managed to take pak mei (internal/external cma) and some kickboxing & pancrase (MMA)

    As for the future I look forward to exploring martial arts further, although now from a largely IMA angle. I :love: taijiquan and never dreamt it would be such a big subject when I happened on my current classes. I would like to experience other styles/teachers and methods along the way, maybe some of you guys will help me to that end. At this stage other arts I can take or leave but for me taijiquan is a keeper (i'd also love to try out bagua).

    cheers
     
  8. nzric

    nzric on lookout for bad guys

    Alright - about me (good idea for a thread by the way):

    I'm a kiwi living in Melbourne, Oz - I was living in London (in 2001) when a friend pressured me into going to a tai chi class. I went once "for a laugh" and got hooked! I've never taken MA classes before, except for some school-years ones that don't count.

    I started learning the basics with Paul Brecher - a senior student of Erle Montaigue's in London. When I moved to Sydney I took classes with Keith Brown (another of Erle's senior students), as well as the odd workshop with Erle, and started learning bagua as well as the 'Old Yang style', qigong and wudang hand forms. Syd, Adc and I started to meet regularly at a city park to talk taiji and try out push hands & applications in a casual environment.

    In 2004, I got married and was studying a lot, so my tai chi suffered from lack of "spare time". I quit Keith's classes (clashed with studies) but I managed to get free one-on-one tuition with Kingsley Fong in exchange for desining a website for him. Kingsley has experience with EMA and IMA and he taught me some chin na, advanced push hands and Hunyuan taiji (a recent variation of chen style with a hsing-i element), as well as going with him to some excellent bagua/chin na workshops. Kingsley has regular contact with top masters in Beijing and has a wealth of knowledge.

    I have now (with my move to Melbourne) been out of regular tai chi practice for an embarrasingly long time, especially since my fitness/competition focus for 2005 is now on triathlon and long distance running. I've got an open mind about MA and have tried a few classes down here (kung fu/bjj/wing chun), but am planning to get back into tai chi a lot more. I love bagua too and will also be focusing on this.

    I've still got a bit of a monkey on my back about sparring, and want to check it out in any environment (boxing/kung fu/wing chun, whatever). Since I haven't had much prior MA experience, I do want to test out my abilities in a pseudo-real environment.


    And in case you're wondering - I'm too busy to keep up mod duties at the moment so I've passed the baton.

    I'm also sick of being impartial ;) :D
     
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2005
  9. WolfBear

    WolfBear Fat Panda

    I am a Native Texan living in deep east Texas. I have always been interested in martial arts and learned several pieces of styles from friends and relatives). During Junior college I met a lady by the name of Ye Ling Yang (not sure about the spelling much to my shame) who was teaching Tai Chi. We learned the Cheng Man-Ch’ing short form (which I was mistakenly told was the yang style short form) and the straight sword form over a two year period. Several years later I stopped practicing shortly before my lungs were chemically cauterized in an accident working in a restaurant. My new bride was patient beyond words and stuck with me (yesterday was our seventh wedding anniversary) and I became a Computer tech a little over a year later. Several months back I decided that my lack of exercise due to my job and other factors was just too much, and began the slow agonizing process of trying to relearn Tai Chi without an instructor.

    Richard
     
  10. moononthewater

    moononthewater Valued Member

    I live in Worthing have been doing martial arts for longer than i care to remember got my first black belt in 85 in keishin karate. In the following years i played with some Lau Gar. Aikido, Ju Jutsu and yang style Tai Chi. Ended up getting another black belt in Go Ju with a very good martial artist who made me think alot more about what i wanted from my martial arts. Had tried some Tai Chi with the zhong Ding association but could not really get my head around it but a combination of meeting the main teacher Nigel Sutton and having a small girl show me how effective Tai Chi was during some pushing hands made me try again. To the point i stopped doing the karate and have trained with Zhong ding for about 7 years in all. So have been playing with Tai Chi on and off for about 10 years but seriously for about 6 and a bit years. I would never claim to be pure Tai Chi as i have alot of karate years in me but its getting much easier as i go along. I now run a couple of classes a form class which teaches CMC form. San Shou A form, walking stick form, Da Lu and some gentle pushing hands. I hope to teach also a San Feng sword form and some of them Kwai Taiji form presuming they stay long enough. I also teach a second class which is much more martial as in some other forms including weapons, applications and pushing hands.
     
    Last edited: Apr 29, 2005
  11. piratebrido

    piratebrido internet tough guy

    Living in Glasgow Scotland. Originally from a town about 30 miles west of Glasgow where I trained in Karate since a kid on and off. When I moved to Glasgow last year I jumped at the chance to train in a Wudang style school called Practical Tai Chi Chuan. Dan Docherty is the principle instructor, having it passed onto him from Chen-Ting Hung.

    I myself study the style in Glasgow My School

    Needless to say Dan, and his senior instructors, are passionate in spreading the full art for Tai Chi Chuan, which includles Hand and Weapon Forms, Pushing Hands, San Shou and Nei Gung.

    Been doing the style for bang on a year now, and have travelled to Ireland and England for weeklong and weekend courses.

    I love it.
     
  12. Syd

    Syd 1/2 Dan in Origami

    Moi?

    Well ... been a long time since I have posted here and I've been away from my regular Taiji practice for about 3 months now ... busy with my music career and the like which has left little time of late. Now I've got some more free time again I can get back to more regular study and training.

    Living in the Blue Mtns west of Sydney, my journey towards Taiji came about through my study of Theosophy and comparative religion whilst working for the Theosophical Society. During my time at Adyar ( Metaphysical bookshop branch of the T.S ) I was in charge of the sections on Chinese Philosophy and Eastern Mysticism and became a buyer and reviewer of esoteric literature. I found in Taoism particularly a kindred universal view and merely sought out Taijiquan as a physical extrapolation of the esoteric teachings held within Taoism and more broadly Confucianism.

    It was until some years later that I found a system that seemed authentic enough for me to want to engage in and I came across one of Erle Montaigue's articles in an old Australasian Martial Arts magazine back in the mid 90's. By the late 90's I had settled back in Sydney and found the time to dedicate to training in Taiji with Keith Brown who is one of Erle's senior students. I spent a year with Keith before moving to the Mountains from Sydney which made training regularly difficult. I continued training alone and through this forum met up with ADC and NZric and we began to meet in Sydney for casual training sessions sharing idea's and information on applications which sadly lasted for an all too short period before NZric moved to Melbourne. ADC and I have got together a couple of times since then.

    I have an open mind regarding other martial arts and embrace any system which follows through in it's training methods. I am not however a fan of watered down Tai Chi ... or the popularized versions which remove the martial applications and leave practioners ignorant of Taijiquans history and real potency ... authenticity is a bug bear of mine. In the year 2000 I attended UTS to study Traditional Chinese Medicine but did not complete my studies due to personal reasons pertaining to the course itself, preferring to continue my studies outside the academic invirons.

    I'll most likely be including an old school form of Judo into my Taiji training sometime in the near future since Shiou Jiao is not taught locally. I want to hone the combat throwing and takedown aspects of Taiji as best I can since there is so much inherent within Taiji on that level already.

    Best, Syd.
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2005
  13. cheesypeas

    cheesypeas Moved on

    I started learning Taiji Quan in 1997. This comprised of yang style short form, Chi Kung and push hands. During the first four years when I was training with my initial teacher, the emphasis was on the martial aspect of tjq and I also learnt the Dayan moving Chi Kung form 'wild goose' part one.

    Due to personal reasons my first teacher ceased teaching abruptly. Luckily for me, a new teacher appeared simultaneously (Taiji Butterfly) and I began learning the yang style long form - butterfly variation. The emphasis is on the energy side of Taiji, which compliments my previous training.

    I can honestly say that taiji quan has taken over my life, it is there, somewhere, in everything I do - every facet of my life.

    I know that I am a beginner and count myself very lucky to have my current teacher to help guide me on this part of my Taiji journey.

    Push hands/sensing hands is now something that I look foreward to, as is the Wednesday outdoor class which comprises people from different MA backgrounds training together...a great way to learn new skills and so much fun. I tried a tiny bit of bagua and it nearly blew my head off!! :D

    Peace and light
    :Angel:
     
  14. BRITON

    BRITON Valued Member

    Introduction

    Hi just entering my existance will post more later.
     
  15. Aegis

    Aegis River Guardian Admin Supporter

    Thread split. Please remember that this thread is an introductory thread.

    Now I'm going to scarper before you guys realise that

    a) I don't do Tai Chi
    and
    b) I didn't introduce myself!

    Mwah!
     
  16. Gongfu Fan

    Gongfu Fan New Member

    I'm 25, and have been practicing taiji quan for about 4-5 years, though not consistently. I started after an injurey from my previous style, basically tore my ACL completely and another ligiment 99% on a jump kick during a forms competition. Before taiji, I have about 6 or 7 years experience in martial arts. I actually am very lucky and have access to at least 7 different styles of taiji all taught by qualified instructors here in my city. I've mostly stuck with Sun style, but have tried Yang, Chen, and Wu also. I'd like to go into more depth with Chen, but Sun style has been easier for me. Also really really want to learn my teachers Bagua Zhang... but no time for lessons :(

    While I've learned plenty of applications (basically my teacher telling me what a technique is supposed to be for, if it's not obvious) and some push hands, I've mostly laid off the martial aspect other than keeping it in mind when I practice my forms. My health and work schedule has pretty much prevented me from going into any practical depth in that area, but I can afford to take my time since I allready can defend myself with my pre-taiji training ;)

    I've basically had two teachers, started off learning the 24 form with my first teacher before he moved to L.A. then my classmates hired a master from China they met at a tournement in Cleveland. Now there's another master from China (one of the Chen familly) visiting Columbus and teaching some classes in a park that I'd like to learn a bit from (he's only here for another week though).
     
  17. Uberalles

    Uberalles New Member

    Greetings

    Alright, this will be my first post so an introduction is well placed. I am very excited about this new endeavour I am undertaking. We all refer to this as taiji. I am in the US Army and am stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. I am 23 years old and have only been studying tjq for about 4 months. I know I know I am very new, do not let this feeling of brushing me aside overtake you. I am finding that tjq is quickly consuming my entire being.
    I was introduced to this wonderful art in an interesting way. A friend of mine named Jason mentioned an interest in taiji. I approached a buddy of mine that I had gone through AIT with (she happened to be Chinese) about where to find a good teacher or video or somehting to learn taiji. She told me that her mother was well versed in the ways of taiji and would be honored to teach us. I told Jason about this news but he was reluctant to go alone. Of course I would go. Life here in Alaska is VERY boring. After the first lesson not only did I find that I was the least flexible person on the planet, but I discovered the amazing ability of drenching oneself in sweat throuhg moving slow. Jason and I developed a wonderful relationship with Wang Qi and her family. We learned the very basics of the simplified 24 form, but I am very much looking forward to expanding that knowledge into all applications and forms. Although it was very informal we still addressed her as Sifu and learned the chinese names for the 24 movements we learned. The most interesting part was that our Sifu did not speak any english and we don't speak any Chinese. Glad to meet you all and you should look forward to being asked countless questions from an eager student of the Grand Ultimate Fist.
     
  18. axelb

    axelb Master of Office Chair Fu

    I study/teach Yang style taichi and qigong, aswell as Chenwukuan kungfu, which is a derivative of 5 ancestors fist. Living in the UK and 25 at the mo (young for a taiji teacher some might think ;))

    Have been doing yang style for about 3 years, started as I was unable to do much else after a car crash. My kungfu teacher did taiji classes also so I came along and got hooked. I have been studying kungfu for 5 years and practised qigong as part of the training.
    Also studied Chen style for approx 1/2 year before we moved house :)
    Before kungfu I have experience in Karate and Judo.
     
  19. pete_e

    pete_e New Member

    OK well I tend to lurk a lot more than I post (it's so entertaining you know!), but I may as well introduce myself.

    I'm 32, based in Manchester, and have been training taiji for about 5 years, firstly with a Yang style teacher who started me off with the Beijing 24 step form, and more recently with Zhong Ding where it's fair to say my horizons have been well and truly expanded. My core system is CMC, but I don't believe in getting too hung up on family systems etc. If it's got something to teach me I'll have a go, whether it's Chen, Yang or John Smith from round the corner (well maybe the last one's pushing it a bit far but you get what I mean...). I train the whole syllabus - as much as time permits - as well as cross training in a few other arts when the opportunity presents itself.

    I recently had the opportunity to visit some of my teachers in Malaysia and to spend time there doing some intensive training which was pretty inspirational, and am currently in the process of setting up my first classes, with the support of my teachers.

    So, in brief, thats 'Oo I are'. If you want to know any more you'll just have to ask!
     
  20. moononthewater

    moononthewater Valued Member

    Hmmmm Zhong Ding does have that affect on people but as our teacher has so many connections and is a disciple in most arts we are slightly spoiled Pete. As in people such as master foo has just visited( sorry slightly off subject). But im glad its not just me.
     

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