I came across these clips and thought everyone might like to take a gander. I'm not saying they represent Taiji or not, thats another can of worms... Syd http://www.rubytopaz.com/videos.htm
The sticky hands clips look almost comical, but I so wanted the little guy (not sure which one is Mark or Steve) to give the big guy a playful slap Would i be right in thinking that the excercise is designed to teach you how to use your opponents energy from their attack to increase the energy in your own?
Well... not sure if I dare discuss this openly. The guy seems to use bits and bobs from various systems. There is a great deal of Wing Chun going on in most of what the guy is doing and it's very much sticking hands exercises. There's nothing wrong with Chi Sau (sticky hands) as a method of developing sensitivity and infact Erle uses it as a training technique also. it is basically Wing Chun's version of Push Hands or Lung Har Chuan, Dragon Prawn Boxing or Squid Boxing. It did seem to me that Steve (The guy getting pasted) wasn't doing an awful lot to get his own vibe to happen. There were some silly bits (IMHO) where Mark would grab Steve's forearms and push and pull him backwards and forewards and then give him an almighty shove! Didn't seem like Taiji principles to me, but then he's a Glam Rocker whose the Grandmaster of a system that has no lineage apart from the guy that taught him! I'm not saying thats a good thing or a bad thing, but rather they kind of admit that what they are doing is allot of bits and bobs rather than Tajji specifically. If it works, it works... I'm not sure what he was doing half the time. Best, Syd
The sticky hands as in the clip is used in wudang taiji. They call it weaving silk to teach sensitivity training. The target is to touch the opponents face/nose.
Silk reeling is an exercise in Chen, Yang and various other arts but it's not generally associated with partner work. Sticky hands (Chi Sao) and silk reeling are very different techniques from completely different systems. When you say Wudan Taiji, Zun, what exactly are you calling Wudan Taiji?
Ving, It's hard to say whats supposed to be what. Things that are supposed to be like Taiji aren't like Taiji. The things that I can make out look like they are coming from the Wing Chun end of the scale... yeah. You have my sympathies also...
"Didn't seem like Taiji principles to me, but then he's a Glam Rocker whose the Grandmaster of a system that has no lineage apart from the guy that taught him! I'm not saying thats a good thing or a bad thing, but rather they kind of admit that what they are doing is allot of bits and bobs rather than Tajji specifically." Wow, substitute the word "old" for "glam" and you have jsut described Erle Montaigue!
If having an opinion about "tai ji masters" makes you a troll, I guess I am. Just think it's interesting when pots call kettles black
Between the ads for "on-line tai chi training" and "even more deadly strikes than the previous deadly strikes" video what do we find? A mysterious teacher no-one saw or knew, a traditional Chinese guy who taught "tai chi pre-emptive strikes", "tai chi knife fighting" and "tai chi against a Gracie, oops, a grappler". But no mention of where he learned the silat and kuntao drills he teaches. Come on........
The link I alluded to, above: http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7610
huh? that one confuses me even more - correspondence course to get a yellow sash? He says ranking systems are a money making gimmick, yet he runs one? The "most deadly system in the world". Really? Putting qi into an object to make it explode.......
When I said, didn't mean taiji from Wudang mountains!! Shadowhand.co.uk teach taiji form called Wudang. There's some video clips of their form (no silk reeling videos) under links. Btw, I took Wudang-form taiji for a while until I discovered Old Yang.