Most practitioners of Yang Style Taiji Quan will be familiar with Yang Chengfu’s Taiji Quan Shi Yao (太極拳十要) – Taiji Quan Ten Important Points. Common knowledge is that the Ten Important Points were transmitted orally by Yang Chengfu to his disciple Chen Weiming. Due to this, many people wrongly assume that Yang Chengfu was not…
Si Zheng Jue Shou (四正覺手) – Four Directional Push Hands, is considered by many teachers to be a fundamental practice for building Push Hands skills in Yang Style Taiji Quan. Some other teachers and practitioners, however, view it as a waste of time. Grandmaster Tao Pingxiang, known as a master of the soft arts, held the…
Many people think that martial arts are a way to improve physical fitness and develop the ability to defend oneself. These are merely physical aspects with tangible boundaries, whereas mental cultivation has no boundaries. In Chinese martial arts, the concept of Yi (意) – Intent – is often expounded upon. Xing Yi Quan (形意拳) and…
Traditional Chan Quan – Long Fist, has certain requisites that serve guideposts for developing skills. The Eight Methods refer to the chief technical aspects that must be developed and refined. They play a strong role in guiding martial practice. It is through their practice and understanding that one can blend the external with the internal…
The posts on this Blog reflect the knowledge I have received from my teachers, and the volumes of information I have accumulated while doing research and conducting interviews with many masters, during the years of publishing the Wu Gong Journal and the Journal of Chinese Martial Arts. All the material published on this Blog is copyrighted. — Nick Scrima
