This Tai Chi Master Blew My Mind!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- Today I had the honor to invite Dr. Mark Cheng to join me and demonstrate the application of Tai Chi movements!
Hope you guys will enjoy!
More about Dr. Mark Cheng:
www.drmarkchen...
Join my membership to get access to perks:
/ @kevinleevlog
#taichi #kungfu #martialarts
What should I try next?
Wuzu quan(Five ancestors fist) , Filipino kick boxing "yaw yan", translationDance of death
Martin Wheeler is relatively close to you I think - Beverly hills. Shares studio rent with Rigan Machado. Teaches systema
More action 😅Don't just get beaten show your skills too
Chi Kung, please.
Hapkido
Been doing Yang style for 24 years now and it's nice to see someone who knows their craft explain it well to another humble martial artist who gives a good platform and open mind to see the beauty of our art. After all the bashing its received over quite sometime this is a breath of fresh air for us who want to see it done well and hopefully gain more students to keep our passion and lineage alive.
th-cam.com/video/chpU7qLvNzA/w-d-xo.html
so i dont really 'practice' it, and ive forgoten all the names basicaly i cant tell the earth punch from fire punch although i use them. dad is a impossible master to please lol. but i did pick up a lot of it watching and im pretty good at sticky hands ive relied on it in many a fight. some fights have stopped before i even threw a blow because they simply cant hit me,
when you practice slowy you get movements precise more easily. everyone should train there punches like they do in tai chi they would learn faster
btw he demonstrated a few of the death blows but he didnt show the heart stopper i forget its name its where u bring arms up from waist block upwards with hands drooping then snap hands up and deliver 2 handed palm to heart/chest
@@hamasmillitant1 interesting. could you add more detail , i would like to know more what you're talking about. heart stopper, etc? earth/fire punch. any links of anyone else doing these on youtube? what is your lineage? thanks
how many styles are there in tai chi?
@@lalalalalalalalalala214 Chen, Yang, Sun and 2 Wu's. I have heard of a couple other branch styles that aren't as popular but those are the 5 most well known.
I want to see more Tai Chi application videos like this.
but in real world, the grappling attempt, the lock attempt is harder than it looks. maybe you need to condition your body to the fullest as the first layer of the defense. people are fast, so taichi practitioner has got to be faster
th-cam.com/video/v4pezeJWpVM/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=JesseEnkamp
I was a licensed Tai Chi instructor in the UK and taught classes in sports centers and gyms. I taught Sun style Tai Chi, and the aim was to help people improve their balance and help with their mobility and moving their joints. (also making me some cash!)
Students were initially stiff and struggled to remember the movements. My solution was to teach the martial aspect in the forms. When they understood what was behind the (seemingly random) movement, they "got it". Learning the form became faster and easier, *_the physical moves and the mental intent came together_* and the result was greater than the individual parts. This is true for Chinese internal arts like Tai Chi, Hsing-I, and Baguachang.
Thanks, I like the idea of "synergy".
Licensed? Tai Chi instructors have no *license* - the practice isn't regulated by the Federal Government or individual states. There's no national standard for Tai Chi certification. Anyone can claim expertise . . . you are making a fool of yourself
@@RingJando There is no Federal government in the UK, and nor are there any states. 🤔 I don't know if you need a licence in the UK or not (I wonder if the OP means a certificaton of some sort), but you seem to be talking about the USA.
I challenge you.
how many street fight have you won?
I learned this way 45.Years ago using these techniques ,arm breaks, striking the throat.and eyes and violently raking the face etc. All my friends were doing yoga and health practices like tai chi during the hippie era. waving their arms around like playing tennis without knowing what the racquet is for. I inadvertently stumbled into a Chinese dojo in Chinatown in Sydney in the 70's where various teachers were teaching kung fu. and Yang style. I'd been to the hippie tai chi classes and thought it wasn't for me at all but these Chinese guys were the real deal. in my opinion not that I knew much at the time. When i showed my friends the taiji i was learning they and their teachers blanched in horror at the violence and mayhem being expressed in just the first few moves of the Yang Cheng fu style and didn't seem to get it at all berating me and saying this was not traditional Taiji. Tai Chi Chuan means Supreme Ultimate Fist it's a martial art meant for serious conflicts like the battle field and other life threatening situations not waving your hands around in the park looking cool in your spiffy little uniform pretending to be in touch with the universe or whatever. There are other martial arts that are very similar like Krav Maga where all the techniques are ment for very serious situations so I'm glad I persevered with Taiji this way and many thanks to Dr Cheng for his exposition of applications and I hope teachers of tai ji take serious notice and follow suit.
I have watched hundreds of hours of yang style and never seen an explanation. Thanks for being so generous.
This was one perhaps one of the best Taiji short lessons I've ever seen! Thank you!
th-cam.com/video/chpU7qLvNzA/w-d-xo.html
Except no one is ever in their life going to "catch a punch". His first demo was complete bullshito.
Which is why he said it was an accidental collision, and would never block a punch that easy. Mark has cross trained quite a bit and is far from bullshido.@@justin57153
@@justin57153 you have ever gotten off the couch let alone get in a fight...lmao..its like you are proud to show off your stupidity
09:37 This is a true Taiji master moment. After Dr. Cheng explains a range of applications of the same essential technique, Kevin asks "what if ___ ?" and the answer was instantaneous and seamlessly the same. No need to think about it; no need to change technique. Very, very good!
th-cam.com/video/chpU7qLvNzA/w-d-xo.html
Your insane! You really think Thai Chi can work In real fighting applications???
@@leibama59 Yes. And I can also spell. Sorry for being so insane.
@@leibama59 Unless the laws of physics have changed in the last millennia - Yes. It's not what you do but how you do it. If you train Tai Chi and a martial art, if you only use it for health then no. Just like there are lots of people who suck at lots of martial arts including mma (because not everyone that does mma is great) because they do not train it properly. mma takes from traditional martial arts but is not an art, they do lots of fight training, sparring - good for them that is definitely the way to go but it doesn't teach like an art does. There's more to an art, it's a life journey of self discovery. Xu Xiao Dong took on guys that he knew were charlatans, not to discredit the arts but to show some people are all show and no substance, which is what he said. That's a good thing, because people should be taught properly and not fooled by such charlatans. There's more to life and Tai Chi Chuan than you realise, clearly.
You are simply showing your own ignorance with this comment.
@@leibama59 many Kungfu are practical if you're training as it should for a fight; I'm used to spar with different MMA Gym to fight somebody whom out of my comfort zone and I'm able to throw and sweep in a Kungfu style technique so what? it's no different than other type of martial arts if you're training in practical manner and testing in reality with resisting opponent. Of course, If it does not not work I should have a doubt and finding an answer through actual training rather than watching TH-cam and thought, Oh this is bullshit and kept that for my entire life without training the actual style. However, I do agree that many of them especially Taiji are Freud as they're trying to boast something that does not really exist such as chi energy in a manner of Kameha meha from a Dragon ball rather than explaining of a force in movement and biomechanics of the move itself.
The transition of an opponent's linear energy into circular counter is one of those places where a chinese philosophy concept meets practical martial arts movement.
Great teacher. Great piece.
Chinese martial arts are distinctive from other arts in that they are all circular. Generally one move chains into another without pause.
Sure... the reality check is needed - this dude has never sparred in his life - prove me wrong and pop into a kick boxing gym for a friendly match and a showcase of energy
@@marekmaxpabianice -- "here is the philosophy of tai ji, how it was developed, the combat rationale behind the movements, and some possible applications" is very different from presenting oneself as a combat sparrer.
this is one problem with the martial arts, especially on TH-cam: people with an MMA perspective (for instance) evaluate everything in terms of combat effectiveness, and are very close-minded about other perspectives. but if you're practicing tai ji (or aikido, probably other arts) you're not necessarily focused on combat effectiveness at all: you're wanting to learn to be centered and relaxed, able to deal with physical and verbal conflict without losing your emotional and physical balance.
which turns out to have a lot of combat relevance. even if you can't kick peoples @$$, being able to defuse a situation -- or alternatively keep your head and get away -- are probably more useful skills for real life situations. though obviously, as you point out, that's not going to score you any points in the gym.
@@outsidethegarden a lot of text. pop into an mma gym with a tai chi master, record a 30 sec video. Waiting
@@marekmaxpabianice -- lol, you don't have the patience to read a lot of text, let alone think about what I wrote. instead you'd rather have me "prove" my point by making a video. when you don't even know what my point is. hint: it's specifically NOT about what happens in a gym. which means, from your point of view, that it's worthless. okay, then talking to me is basically a waste of your time, except for the enjoyment of making fun of me. have fun with that!
Dr. Mark Cheng is a gem in the martial arts community, seamlessly integrating holistic methods with combat techniques, marking him as a truly comprehensive martial artist and teacher.
th-cam.com/video/chpU7qLvNzA/w-d-xo.html
Wow. This video is so well done. Dr. Mark Cheng legit knows what he is doing and talking about. Kevin you handled it all graciously.
Such a great video! So much respect for Dr. Cheng. I wish this video was ten hours long!
Would absolutely love more with Dr. Cheng! I would really love a deeper dive into throws and locks from closer range
Some throws from T'ai Chi Chuan: th-cam.com/video/rHY-4R122e8/w-d-xo.html
More throws: th-cam.com/video/AXWq8dQqz7I/w-d-xo.html
Good to see you demystify TaiJi for people. Most people makes fun of Taijiquan. Good work! Let me know when you want to do a Bajiquan (the 8 Extreme) episode!
People think they know everything today… in the era of the easiest information around, people are the most narrow-minded of all time
I recommended you on this channel! Definitely a perfect person to pick for that video 👍🏾
@@gabrielzanoni3474 so true. Humans getting defensive.
In my defense most people don't know or care about actually doing the martial art part and the steps to make it effective in combat
I'm so admiring bajiquan 🙏🙏
Do you have any TH-cam channel for recommended ?
Super, je to elegantní a účinné
The stomp at the end made me chuckle. So casual and so brutal.
IMHO, according to sources available at today what we actually nameTaijiquan was implemented by professionist of martial and military world in Henan province; it was made to fight and kill people in battle, so it's off course brutal but not casual at all, it is totally willed. Soft gymn and slow solo practice is a later evolution for massification to pubblic and other kind of class teaching. Wishing clear skies from Italy
Mind Blowing!! This is absolutely fantastic! It's so beautiful and deadly at the same time it's INSANE. The underneath upward lock is the Best technique I've seen period!
It’s nice that Dr Mark Cheng just break down some of the most basic of the tai chi moves that everyone has seen. No flowery language and just demonstrated the applications.
This is so cool! Ive been taught Tui Na in the style of Tai Chi and it's incredibly cool to see it applied in its martial form! Time to practice the basics again
i admire how you always respond so positively to getting thrown. this was a great video and would love to see more from dr cheng
Kevin, your video on Shuai Jiao and this one are just excellent! I hope you do more videos on Tai Chi application. I learned the Cheng Man Chang 108 postures form many years ago, but I never got good instruction on its combat application. Sifu Cheng, obliviously, knows the form’s combat possibilities. I hope you can get him back!😀
This is the coolest martial arts video I ever saw!
Mr. Kevin Lee you are such a good sport. I really enjoyed watching this explanation of the usefulness of these moves. Very cool. Thank you Sir.
His a real professional.
And I'm not even talking about the martial art, I'm taking about the talk to the camera. He's constantly keep tracking what the camera see, and what been said on or off camera. That was pretty impressive.
And also he move like a true master.
The type of consideration and measure one would expect from an internal arts master.
Awareness is a beneficial tool
Yes camera so good😂
@@eprd313
Seems fair enough
I just discovered your channel, what an excellent idea you had to go and interview all these experts.
These guys know their art. Greetings from France
Tai Chi is poetry. With a sting.
Great video of the applications.
First dabbled in TKD as a teen. Very much a 'hard' form.
Picked up a VHS tape of an Australian Tai Chi teacher, about the same time, and I was hooked.
Appreciated the holistic nature of the Yang long form. As someone told me, "Tai Chi is like being hit by water with the force of a truck".
Became a devotee of Wing Chu style and Tai Chi 'clicked' for me.
Certainly framed my basic defence and deflection strategies, in countless situations.
That primary youthful exuberance and desire to inflict damage, thru TKD, faded. I learned that neutralising the threat is far preferable in most scenarios. "Do not return evil for evil".
People are going to be stupid, but not my job to punish them for it.
Very cool! I totally understand the rhythm of the movements. Repetition leads to muscle memory! In Tai Chi I guess it would flowing Chi memory!
Great video, Master Lee! I taught Yang Family Style Tai Chi for 40 Years, and this is the type techniques, Dr. Hwang my Master taught us! It is rare to find this now days, and free style roll hands and sparring are mostly unheard of in most Tai Chi Classes, Great job of spreading the art!
Great episode! He’s an excellent teacher.
Thank you thank you thank you! This was a real treat! I love TaiChi. Seeing this was awesome! 🙏
OMG! I trained in Tai Chi Chuan Yang Style when I was a kid, and we never went through the application of the moves! It makes so much more sense now! 😲 "Push Hands" was always a fun time, but if my teacher gave us training in the application and such, I may have kept up with the lessons.
I respect my teacher, but I wish I could go back in time so that I could ask her if we could train in some sort of sparring to train in applying the moves of the form. The only "hands-on" we did was when we practiced Push Hands (aka "Sticky Hands"). By the way, it can become even more fun and funky when you're using both hands! 😆
I think my teacher was something like third generation from Yang. 🤔 I remember that she went back to China every year to demonstrate her form in front of her teacher. After I learned that, I instantly gained a much deeper appreciation of my teacher and the martial art in general.
I absolutely love your channel. Mostly because it displays in full context what it's like when Chinese martial artist finally cross-train in order to test out their methods with aliveness sparring application. This is a truly wonderful experience that you're sharing with everyone from video to video.
Awesome video! Thank you for putting it together. I'm not a Taichi practitioner but this seems really legit - from an application perspective. The thing is... I've seen a lot of videos lately of martial artists critiquing that certain martial arts are just not "pressure tested" and would not be effective in a "real fight." But honestly, I think they miss the point. Most martial arts will be effective against those who have not been trained in any martial arts at all - that's the first thing.
The second thing is like what Bruce Lee said... "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." I don't care what martial arts you practice. If you've dedicated your life to that one thing, you will be a formidable opponent to other martial artists who have practiced a bunch of stuff and barely mastered any of them.
Thanks so much for this.
Kevin, another excellent job! Every martial art has its strengths and effectiveness. All subject to skill set, timing, positioning, accuracy and understanding of its practical application. Thank both you and Dr Chen for demonstrating Tai Chi's mastery. It must have been a true honor.
I love this. It shows the simplicity as well as the complexity of Tai Chi. Go with the flow if you will. Use the opponents force against them. Many years ago it was called the Queen of Martial Arts. Martial Arts are not limited to Punching or Kicking. Take at look a Shuai Chiao which predates Tai Chi.
This was really cool, and a fantastic example of mutual respect and exchange of ideas. Coming from a Chen Tai Chi novice, it's also really cool to see martial application of Yang :)
problem is finding quality teachers like this
I love this best you tube clip regarding material arts
Thanks ❤❤❤
Impressive! Nice video, thanks!
I can't stop watching this. Just excellent.
Dr. Mark Cheng is the real deal! And i love his approach in teaching because it allows Taiji to be accessible to everyone, and lets people know that you don't t have to wait till youre old or have the misconception that its a "last ditch resort to when you cant do your fast martial arts anymore. Great video!
Thank you, Sifu De Jesus! You're too kind. 🙏
@@DrMarkCheng
Are you related to Prof Cheng who had Lou Kleinsmith and Bob Lumish?
They taught aikido as well, which is where I met them.
After LK passed, he left his Chinatown tai chi school to a woman I never met, and his upstate aikido school to Bob, who I was close to.
He was translating the Yellow Emperor’s classic.
Someone who knew him better said his Chinese vocabulary exceeded 40,000 pictograms, about 10x the average modern Chinese university student.
LK had been a direct student of that Prof. Cheng.
- Matt’s dad Dan😊
@@mattgoodmangoodmanlawnmowi2454 Sir, I believe you're talking about Prof. Cheng Man-Ching. While my father studied under one of Prof. Cheng's Taiwan-trained students, I have no blood relationship to that Prof. Cheng as far as I know.
@@DrMarkCheng
Thank you for your reply. That time, their lives, and their application of tai chi principles in their aikido played a large part in shaping me as a man & martial artist.
I still practice solo & I still go wherever I want without fear.
Both Lou & Bob were also instructors at NY Aikikai under Yamada-shihan on 18th Street.
I began my martial journey under a Kyokoshin black belt former 82nd Airborne at 14.
I am at retirement age now & still work out daily.
I study principles. I study systems to understand the fundamental principles.
Thank you for what you gave me in this video.
LK used to say that the serious teachers would say that the hard arts were to let young students work out their need for conventional power so that they could get the principles of the so called soft styles without distraction.
I share that because I suspect that you will appreciate seeing the Tao of the arts move silently and largely unnoticed.
Reminds me of some of the classical scholars of the Orient who were also examples of superior martial virtue.
Hope these recollections lighten your spirit as yours has enlightened me.
Where do you teach now?
@@mattgoodmangoodmanlawnmowi2454 Your journey reminds me of that of my very dear friend, Dr. Eric Schneider, who also studied with both Prof. Cheng & Yamada Sensei, as well as studying Kyokushin.
I'm in the Los Angeles area, but I'm not teaching publicly at this time. My schedule is so packed that not even 72 hrs a day & boundless energy would truly cut it, and these are all opportunities that I've worked & waited a lifetime for.
Really mindful, and also showing the stages of applying or not applying real strength. Many thanks and good health to you both. Paul, 68
Thanks for bringing another amazing teacher! I hope the traditional martial arts continue to be taught so that it’s gets to live on through many more generations.
Nice video, doing Yang style for a bit, more towards qi gong, and knew about the application the master is so skilfull, a joy to watch, thank you for some great contents!
Incredible teacher. The practical applications blew my tiny mind.
Thank you for showing this! I have done tai chi applications for a while and most people don't realize how much dirty fighting is in the forms 😂. Groin kicks, tripping, ear punching, joint locks. I think it's more practical for us small people who will not win a punching fight with anyone.
Thank you for sharing! :D
Even as a long-time Taiji practitioner, just by watching this vid I gained a bit of insight into some basic elements in Taiji.
(especially how the same move can be a different "kind" of attack depending on the distance.
one of my teachers has told me that that's what 4 of the 13 "basic postures" are actually about:
cai -> finger range;
lie -> wrist range;
zhou -> elbow range;
kao -> shoulder range;
usually these are explained as different "kinds" of moves, but in the heat of battle one move just blends into another,
and I feel it does make sense to simply take note of where the contact point is and act accordingly,
and after watching this vid I think so to a further extent.
while I'm at it, here's the other 9 "basic postures":
peng -> redirect incoming force upwards
lv -> redirect sideways
ji -> redirect forwards (i.e. press into the opponent)
an -> redirect downwards
jin -> shift centre towards opponent
tui -> shift away
gu -> shift left
pan -> shift right
ding -> no shifting
Supposedly, all "Taiji moves" are basically combinations of these 13 processes.
Different teachers may explain them differently,
but the main thing I wish to tell everyone is that in terms of "move set", Taiji really isn't as complicated as some people think,
once you can see the elementary components. :)
The difficult part is to condition yourself such that you can manage contact points, redirect force and shift centre as smoothly as the flow of water, which is a main ideal in Taiji.)
Nice explanation - thank you.
I have always loved the motion , a cosmic dance
one of the "secret" of taiji form is that most of the movements and postures are so abstract that you can fill in the type of applications. this fits to any of the taiji styles, and that's one reason why in one style there are a lot of variation of long forms, e.g. in yang style you have standard long form, michuan, guangping, old 6 roads, funeipai, banhou, shaohou etc (they're not taught in one school though, unfortunately).
Absolutely Fantastic! I love seeing applications. Dr. Cheng clearly knows his stuff, Kudos!
As someone who practices a style literally called practical tai chi chuan, this video warms my heart. No magic crap and a nice selection of applications from the form 👍🏻
Great style. I have a book and video by Dan Docherty.
He was a great no nonsense teacher. He was also one of the best fighters I’ve met in martial arts. Guy was genuinely scary af haha
Did 10 yr of cheng tin hung's taijiquan myself in melbourne.It was a very good martial base to start from.
@@palnagok1720nice! Do you still practice the form?
@watts
La merde magique comme tu dis, c' est ce qui fait que le tai chi est une pratique qui fait découvrir une façon d' utilisé le corps qui ne se trouve nulle part ailleurs, même si certains font du n' importe quoi .
Excellent video! Dr. Cheng's forms were beautiful. I did Yang style for several years and never saw it realised like that in combat moves - it makes sense of the forms in such an obvious way. Now I understand how much I missed!
One of my prime teachers in the 90’s/early 2000’s practiced taiji, Korean style karate, and Aikido. Worked in dangerous parts of the city in public and private security. His versions of striking, joint locking, and take downs were always adding an extra bite than the usual. He was always showing cross applications for all 3. I knew it as very applicable. Wasn’t until social media trolls starting bashing it that it became a punching bag for comments. Thanks for sharing!
So sad 😢
Tai chi and Aikido might have some stuff applicable against a person who has zero training but not really against anyone who trains in Kickboxing/Muay Thai or even Karate(especially the more full contact variants). It maybe has a lot more to do with how combat sports have evolved with sparring and full contact competition. Xu Xiaodong has done the whole tour of beating traditional martial artists in full contact fighting and he doesn't even use his bjj or wrestling generally. It's not trolling.
tai chi is serious whether "mma" noobs want to bash it.... the tai chi practitioners dont care! the naysayers all eventually flock to the mystical chinese art later in life anyway when theyre old enough to realise..... we've all been curious and doubtful when looking at it surface level.... scratch that surface and you fall down a massive hole.... mma people dont last forever, tai chi has lasted centuries!... its an insult to even speak mma and taichi like theyre the same sort of thing.... mma isnt a martial art, and there is no structure
@@antwango MMA is just mixed martial arts. What do you mean by structure? In any case, I can see how Tai Chi is good for balance and mobility but in what is it's purpose. Please don't say self defense. Makes sense that it is for older folks. Fighting is a young man's game.
@@daviddaimary7734 it's more about how these styles are taught, most are taught with forms and balance and all that, the fight mentality and sparring are absent it's why Taichi and Aikido have had a bad rep. There are still people who have practiced for years with the fight mentality , if ever competitions are created around these fights, trust me they would have better rep.
Wow! These are beautiful applications! Thank you for this great video !!!
Great to see combat & defense applications for Tai Chi.
Great video, I love tai chi and knowing and seeing the applications is so useful. Not all teachers know the moves so it is nice to see a demonstration of the applications. Good job
Showed this to my tai chi teacher of 40 years this morning, he was impressed.
I really wish i could see more of that in the internet. Usually we are disonected of this tai chi's part of application.
This is amazing I love how they showed some Tai chi applications. A true practitioner right there
Great visual explanation of Tai Chi being used in combat! Thanks!
Awesome to see applications of simple movement
I need some taiji teacher like this man. The beauty of taiji is exactly what he shows. Taiji is a complete style with striking wrestling and grappling
I learned the first 3 parts of the Hao Style Slow Set, which has its base in Yang Style. I was taught Play the Pipa was to manipulate the shoulder socket to push the opponent off balance like Kevin said. It can also be an elbow break. Great video!
This Tai Chi master is incredible, i love that fact that he could kick asses showing little to no effort and looking elegant and relaxed all at the same time, i love this kind of stuff.
I want to add the fact that i noticed one thing in common between many martial arts and is the fact that if you look "cool" and elegant while you are doing it, means that you are probably doing it right and that is effective, for example i practice Historical European Martial Arts and in particular i study Italian Renaissance Fencing, and the masters of the past teached that while you are fighting you must look "Polito e Attillato" which could be translated as "clean and tight"; and i have to say that actually works, if you see someone fighting really clean and with precise and composed moves you can be sure that he is going to destroy you.
This was so good! Is amazing how great masters you can find nowadays around the World in different arts!
Studied Tai Chi Chuan for my P.E. credit in Community College. It was Yang Style and the teacher, also a Kung Fu instructor, was a stickler for martial application. She, yes, SHE, would teach us the "traditional" movements, but then would show us what she thought about each of the steps, and how she thought it was intended to be used. 5' 2" and 136 lbs soaking wet, but not somebody you'd wanna pick on. Excellent video, thanks! :P
nice job getting Dr Mark Cheng to join you. Respect to the both of you.
Thank you so much!
Please, 2nd part.
I was pleasantly surprised by this video. In order to keep real tai chi from becoming extinct, we need more videos and instructors willing to share like this. Otherwise Tai Chi is becoming empty amd devoid of its true depth and powers. Thanks to both of you for your excellent work.
WoW! I am impressed with this video and Tai Chi martial art. Great!
probably the best practical tai chi I've ever seen. thank you.
It's nice to see a Master be so down to Earth and accessible. No David Carradine pseudo mystical mumbo-jumbo philosiphizing... but I guess that' what a true Master would be like. Well played, Sir.... Thank You
Plenty of Masters use Tai Chi's special terminology... which sounds very Mystical. That doesnt mean that they cant use it powerfully and lethally. Of course, there are a lot in these and many other similar artforms... that are not really capable of using their artform in sparring / combat. True Mastery, takes a lot more effort than most people are willing to put in.
@nicholasgreen339 I agree with you. However, there are some terminologies that sound a lot more Mystical. Such as "Jin", and "Chi".
Tai Chi has a lot of specialized terminologies within it. Some of it is actually very logical.. when you know what it means.
"Chi" itself, is often a loaded term... that most people are unwilling to hear / accept.
The thing is... In most Combat arts, the Term actually applies to a very real PHYSICAL body type and types of physical interactions. For example... Iron Body conditioning (hitting yourself, partners hitting each other..etc), toughens your body in a very special way... when combined with Specialized breathing methods, and the use of Dit Da Jow (Iron Fist Lineament). Rather than taking 20 minutes to explain an Internal fighters differences... the Chinese dudes might say "Wow... that fighter has Excellent Chi".
Basically, a short form explanation, of a serious of complex processes.
Of course, there are some Chinese arts elements, that use QiGong breathing / meditation, which use Chi is a slightly more Mystical way. But even in this case.. its True meaning, is about Circulation, Oxygen levels, and Special Brain Connections... for Hyper Awareness. There is a lot more.
While there MIGHT be some actual form of invisible "Chi"... the thing is... its not really a factor in actual fighting abilities. At most, maybe you might be able to heal yourself a little faster via doing Qigong practices. Maybe you might even reverse a Cancerous tumor. But so called "CHI" in the non physical terminology.. is not going to make your strikes more powerful, at all (from my experience in these arts methods).
The slow moving meditation like movements, will create a superior level of Awareness (internal and external / spatial). It will also develop super strong tendons and a much stronger body structure. Tissues will be able to expand and hold more blood... forming a sort of Hydraulic Shielding... which makes more strength as well as incredible level of Protection from Impact forces (Liquids cant be Compressed). Fighters with superior full body awareness... dont have to Switch Focus from one area, to another... and that is Key and Critical in high speed combat applications. You dont have time for any Delays... And... being unaware of certain critical Data... even for a split second, can be very Costly.
Unfortunately, most modern people today, simply dont understand, and are not even willing to look into all of the benefits. They just assume its silly BS, and a huge waste of time.
It took my fighting to a whole other level... where dudes in my own art... couldnt even come close to comparing or competing against me... as they never learned it, and or never trained it seriously + long enough... to develop the Benefits.
Read what I said again. Maybe you'll actually understand it, but I doubt it.@RancorousSea
I was referring to David Carradine specifically. He was a poser.@nicholasgreen339
Just recently started to learn tai chi for health benefits, I hardly see anyone use those forms for combat!! Wow it’s blow my mind! Thanks !
Dr.Cheng is truly amazing
I am really impressed . Fantastic demonstration... You really show us what Chinese martial arts is all about.. thanks a lot . Hopefully you'll show us more !😅
Amazing what a skill never thought about Thi Chi that way. He’s a really skilled teacher too. Never tried marshal arts but fascinating
Awesome... I started Yang Style when I was fourteen as an addition to my Shaolin Training. Love them all.
I love the way everything was explained and demonstrated. This was well developed and well done. Thank you for this.
Wow, very cool, thanks for sharing and special thanks for the english subtitles. That helps me as a non native english speaker!
A thousand likes. I don't know if I've ever seen tai chi applied so effortlessly and effectively. I am curious as to whether many practitioners learn and practice the applications that were demonstrated? Would be interested in hearing feedback. I would guess that Dr. Cheng can make these techniques work at full speed but were he to do so in a 'not nice' way, I think it would be very hard on the attacker. Would be interested in hearing how he pressure tests his awesome techniques to have gotten to where he is at? Finally for what to try next, Dr. Chen explains his techniques very well. Would be interested in hearing him talk about just about anything, unbalancing, training method, is meditation a big part of his training, breakdown of time spend moving slowly vs quickly in training... Another suggestion for something to try next would be kali, how to enter and set up for disarms when opponent is attacking with speed and power from different angles and not just feeding you the stick. If I may say so, I like your work Kevin. Great job!
Thank you very much for sharing this, hope to see more applications
Thanks for demonstrating how playing the lute(手揮琵琶), to ward off(棚), commencing(起勢), and sing while(單邊) are applied in a real fight, benefitting me a lot. As a Tai-Chi learner, there are still unknown applications in the Yang's Style 13 Form, and 64 Form for me, such as to ward off in stepping forward and backward (上步棚,退棚), to roll back in stepping backward(退步履), to push in stepping backward (退步按), Heught pat on horse(高探馬), needle at sea bottom(海底針), Appears closed(如風似閉), Fan through back(扇通背), Raising Hands and Stepping Forward(提手上勢), Turn Body, Right Heel Kick (回身(右)蹬脚)etc. If the above form can be demonstrated in thier applications, that will be great!
Great video Kev! The rabbit hole of learning just keeps getting deeper and deeper.
Hey! I was taking MA classes from this guy at UCLA gym back in the 90s!... Amazing to see him pop up!
Impressive lesson. I was in doubt about what to practice at 57, but now I know. Thank you very much.
I love seeing these other martial arts being practical,keep it going :D
Thank you so very much. Earlier in life I practiced praying mantis so when I took up Yang taiji in later life many of the moves make sense. I have tried to explain such to others in my class(older students now, and just in it for the health benefits) they don't see it. I sent this video to them all. The next class should be interesting🙂!
That was really awesome! Thanks for sharing, Kevin. I would love to see more demonstrations of this in the future.
I was learning tai chi in the park, where most people were there for health. Those of us that wanted to stick around would go through combat stuff with the master. He didn’t speak a word of English, but I learned a lot.
I live a few blocks from Chinatown in NYC and all the older people gather every morning and do their Tai Chi routines in the parks. It’s awesome to watch. Interesting to see it used this way.
Thank you for sharing this, would like to see more!
Fantastic video! I have a background in Karate so our forms look significantly different but I think a lot of the same close range striking and grappling principles are encoded into both sets of forms just in different expressions and ways to perform them. I feel like there’s going to be a huge renaissance in “traditional” martial arts styles using these practical analyses of the forms
I throughly enjoyed this. I teach grappling, MMA and self-defense I see many things similar to what I teach and I got some new ideas here I will teach.
It's so cool to see you on this channel, Dr. Mark Cheng!
What great and humble personalities to encounter in the world of martial arts! Some faster or rougher than others in teaching/lecture methods, and are educational in all their own ways.
I do personally like this method, and have always been a proponent of it. Show the technique alone, demonstrate with an opponent, slowly and allowing to showcase it in each part, then in combination. It feels more like a book being read out loud to give you the knowledge of the technique, rather than depending on demonstration of its power or speed to show the damage, or surprise it can inflict.
Of course, as a student, it's of benefit to always be humble and have trust your teacher will not harm you for lack of their own control in demonstration. Flinching can lead to just as much harm by accident!
I love the breakdowns, alongside the roots of what you'd see in "kata" (sorry, karate background, and I don't know the other terms that lead to the practical application. This is yet another spectacular video.
i love it when someone actually worked it out, AND is able to explain, and apply the techniques with much modern understanding.
and this proves the thing i always been saying when ever an arguement comes up about "is chinese martial art useless", that, chinese martial art itself, just like all other martial art is effective, and each style has its pros and cons, the issue is the modern soo called "masters" teaching it wrongly, and the extreme lack of actual meaningful sparring / combat experience with their own style.
And that Dr Chang is cool af XD 👍
I love his Tai Cheng program through Bodi/BeachBody. The Neural Reboots really helped my body.
I only wish I could find the "Body Alignment for Better Living" DVD.
That was a very good video. Kudos to you and Dr Cheng who taught. I study a different art, i.e. Isshinryu Karate. However, I saw elements of one of my katas in his movements, and it gave me new directions in translating those movements into locks and throws. Kudos.
A famous Isshin Ryu sensei named Mike Calandra also does Tai Chi. He says it changed his Karate for the better. He has a good TH-cam channel. Look him up
I am familiar with Master Calandra. However, I wasn't aware that he did Tai Chi. Thanks for the info.@@GermanSausagesAreTheWurst
@@jamesthaxton5553 He is very good at it. He became a formal disciple of Master Chen. It's amazing how much stuff he knows.
Thank you for the great explanation of the forms
That was very enlightening.
he is like the coolest tai chi brother I have seen on you tube most people would be all timid to make fun of their parents and they see things from a child like perspective then now you grown up and you see it for what it is now its just funny how life can be a big circle