The Chen form derived from battlefield military
movements, where people wore medieval body armour that had to be compensated
for. The Chen-style stances were specifically designed to achieve these
compensations and obtain a workable position from which to realistically throw
an armoured opponent.
By the time Yang had reached Beijing, times had changed. With the advent of
firearms, battlefield armour became obsolete; hence, the need for techniques to
deal with armoured foes had passed.
Yang and his students had to deal with situations encountered by bodyguards, not
armies opposing each other.
(Bruce Frantzis)
Variations within the
style
In his book The Power of Internal Martial Arts,
Bruce Frantzis talks about the differences to be found in the
Yang style
approach to
tai chi.
He suggested nine reasons why these variations occur:
Sloppy tuition
As a consequence of these (and perhaps other) factors, Yang
style tai chi is different from
school to school.
The overall
essence should remain consistent.
If the form no longer adheres to the Yang
way of moving, it becomes another
style entirely.
Some
tutors perform
movements in a particular way that deliberately breaks from tradition.
They see it as being their 'signature' movement; marking their form
as distinct from that of other teachers.
▲
Variations of certain movements may reflect the
character or emphasis of
a given teacher.
If these variations on the existing postures become the norm, then an entire
school of students may well learn them believing that the variations are
actually the norm.
▲
Not everyone learns a complete form to start with.
▲
Each
teacher has their own
value
system and even an accurately-learned form may be changed by a teacher in
order to reflect what they consider to be important.
These changes may then become the standard in that school.
▲
The way in which the
physical movements are performed
reflects the degree of neigong incorporated.
If a
teacher
chooses to emphasise certain neigong rather than others, then the appearance
of the form will change to accommodate this.
▲
If a teacher favours a particular approach to
application, they will practice the form in a manner that nurtures their
perspective.
The
principles they
are seeking to
cultivate will become more prominent within
the form.
Some schools may even make martial applications explicit or add new
movements to extend their ability to realise their martial philosophy via
the form.
Similarly, the
demeanour of
the practitioner may well reflect the
ethos of the
school.
▲
Some teachers
borrow ideas and
approaches from other internal arts and even from
external systems.
This creates a hybrid practice that is no longer Yang style except
perhaps in terms of the superficial appearance.
▲
Water the practice down enough and the essence of the
system fades.
Rather than water the tai chi down, it is perhaps better to teach the
material more slowly - offering
beginners a
very limited range of skills to master.
This may not please the ambitious student but the quality of the training
remains intact without compromising the integrity of the system.
Page created 20 May 1998