While I'm here in New Orleans, away from my usual Taiji master, I've been looking for another to tide me over. I've found one here that seems pretty good, who is teaching a form of Chen New Frame that apparently includes certain elements of Xingyi. I think it was developed by Yang Yang, a well-known master with numerous famous Chen masters as his teachers. Therefore, I am inclined to believe that the Taiji I learn with this teacher will be good, although it is different from the Old Frame and Paochui I usually do. The only thing I'm worried about is that I know that Xingyi is a deep, philosophical art in its own right, and I don't want to miss out on that by just paying it lip service, so to speak, having never studied Xingyi on its own. Has anyone else practiced this Taiji with Xingyi elements? Basically it looks to me like usual Chen Taiji, albeit with smaller circles and somewhat higher stances than the old frame, but with linear advancing and retreating strikes of various kinds that are supposedly from Xingyi. Is the power release or qi motion in Xingyi significantly different from Taiji? I know in addition to the five basic types of strike that there are also supposed to be 12 animals involved in the Xingyi philosophy. Do these animals contain special move sets or are they more just principles? Anyway, I just want to understand Xingyi better before I start trying to practice even a hybrid of it, so any advice you Xingyi people have would be much appreciated.
Dont worry about it and just get on with it. Even if someone said "this bit is xing yi" you probably wouldnt realise it. From what I can see, ignore the techniques and think about principles. Taiji seems to have the torso 'locked' in that the shoulders dont generally counter-rotate against the hips. This happens a LOT in xing yi (more than the bagua players would like to admit to!)
Is this Hunyuan taiji? I learned some of that. It's a very new style invented by Feng Zhiqiang. I heard the hsing-i element to Hunyuan taichi is not so much the movements (although there are a lot of elements there), but more the mental focus. Hsing-i is all about drive/focus/intent, and it's incorporating some of this into the taiji form. I don't know much about hsing-i. You might want to check out empty flower for good info and clips.
ACtually, I would not advise checking it out, unless you like to hang around with too many hormones and not enough brains. There are some _really_ knowledgable people on there, but to get to them, you have to swim through oceans of bullshido..
Sun Lu Tang incorporated some Xing Yi into his Sun style Taijiquan, so while the style to which you have been exposed may be new, the concept has been around for a while. If it works for them, it can work for you.
That second bit is quite interesting. There's a move on my form that my teacher had us learn using 'reverse hip' rotation. But later we revert to the 'taiji way'. I found learning reverse hip rotation really beneficial at the time, but you are right in general it doesn't appear so much or at all, but then most things in taijiquan are hidden
Xing yi and tai chi are intrinsically very different styles. Xing yi is much more yang than tai chi. Its very different. But if you learn good xing yi, youre in good hands. A well trained xing yi practicioner is a serious force to reckon with. Mixing the two shouldnt be a big deal though, many many great instructors mix xing yi, tai chi, and bagua. Just realize that you the form work, the idea, the intent...its all different.
Intention and Philosophy of Xingyi Yes, what I was looking for was actually a brief summary of what the intention in Xingyi is supposed to be like. I know Xingyi is mostly linear and explosive, but I don't understand how the five elements or 12(?) animals are incorporated into those moves. What kind of principles and mentality should I be thinking about when doing Xingyi moves other than "explosive" and "linear"?
The 5 elements: Xing yi has no real "forms" in the first few years of training. The 5 elements are 5 different attacks, that you do in succession in a line, over and over again. They make up the basics of xing yi. Here is what one looks like: http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=FelPao62 Intention is on the structure and mechanics of what is going on. Intent in xing yi deals with the external and internal aspects of what one is doing. A quote from a friend of mine: Intent is think about "ouch, my elbow hurts, must drop it, let the shoulders sink sort of thing. On the internal, this is a matter of which directions the force is flowing, the Qi if you will, the essence or principle of the movement rather than the movement itself." When I practice 5 elements, I think about my body, my positioning, first and foremost...or atleast I try lol. I also try to think of chi collecting in dan tien, as I breathe out and attack, I try to visualize chi (I visualize it as fire) rising and going into my arms. When I strike my intent is on my hand making contact where I wanted the fire to flow. I like to think of fire exploding out of my palm, and going through the other guy. Some like to visualize intent as seeing their arm as aball and and chain, etc. Standing practice is really much easier to perform correctly, and Id recommend you start there.
Its all interesting, in that when I practice with 12 animals or 5 elements or animals with weaps or elements with weaps D) I'm not really thinking about much at all, if anything. I might once in a while think how nice a day it is, or such like. For me visualising and thinking about anything tends to get me dumped on the floor. Real intent is about seeking the 'heng' and utilising it to your advantage.
Well we certainly continue to have differences in our ideas of xing yi guo =) I dont think thats a bad thing though, as I think in our dabbling, the main idea is still probably the same. When you say seeking the heng, Im not sure I follow. Heng is the Chinese for the stomach organ, and heng chuan, as Im sure you know, refers to crossing fist. What exactly do you mean?
"heng" is like the momentary line of weakness for a given movement. Its the true meaning behind heng quan.
