I have wrestled and trained in Wing Chun for over 30 years. Met a man who does Tai Chi. I couldn’t move him, his root was stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced. Tai Chi absolutely is a martial art and it’s amazing.
This is great Izzo. If there is enough interest maybe you could interview him on your channel? You could show it working on video but people will just say your acting or being compliant🤣. Taiji is really an art that must be experienced first hand to believe.
Whoever says tai chi isn't a real martial art have no idea what they're talking about. It may be true that yang style has been evolved to be more used for health and wellness, but even Yang style has its martial roots developed after the introduction of firearms in China. Chen Style is sometimes erroneously referred to Shaolin, and incorporates movements that accomodates the wearing of armor and use of swords. Tai Chi is not a martial art, it is FIRST and FOREMOST a martial art.
@@Shawn-vp2dq Correct. Behind every cute little name is a movement designed specifically to maim or kill. Right now. No sparring, no grappling. One strike, done. Some say that Tai Chi Chuan was originally Dim Mak (death point striking) and from what I've studied, this is most likely the case. Bill P.
We did combat training when I first started Tai Chi, our instructor emphasized that we should never be the aggressor. That Tai Chi is properly used for counter-attack and never to attack.
In all the time that has passed since I began T'ai Chi in 1980 only about two minutes required any martial art response on my part. At the end of those two minutes I was not breathing hard nor was my heart rate accelerated. The only injury I received was a bruise between my two knuckles where my fist connected with my opponent's jaw. He was an adult man in his mid to late-20's (I was about ten years older at the time) who had been physically abusing a pregnant woman in public. When I asked him to stop he boldly announced that he had a black belt and attacked me. After a couple of minutes his mouth bleeding, his clothes torn, he was literally crying and like all bullies as he ran away he swore he was going to come back and get me. I can't say that I felt good about my "victory." The pregnant woman disappeared during the encounter, but my fear was that my attacker would catch up with her later and take it out on her. In the end I may have caused more harm than good. In the ensuing decades however, T'ai Chi has done me far greater good fighting a far more powerful opponent. I fight this opponent every second of the day. It is Aging. Eventually I will lose, but thus far I have benefited from the health benefits T'ai Chi Ch'uan has provided.
Meditation is crucial for cultivating focus, calmness, and mental clarity, which are all valuable in self-defense. However, it’s not a substitute for partner training and sparring. These are essential for developing the timing, reflexes, and practical skills needed to effectively defend yourself in real situations. Both meditation and hands-on practice are necessary to become truly prepared.
Breathing into the Dantien, rooting and stress-bending has made me a very effective verbal jiu-jit-su practictioner, I find myself deescalating through asking questions, or being empathetic. Thanks for the vid & Happiest of New Years! Big fan, you're always so lovely to watch! :D
Wonderful general response. The daily non- physical conflicts are 90% of humans will have or more. I am impressed by your knowledge in combative arts. The only place you were wrong is that practicing any martial arts a couple days a week would not prepare you. Any form of wrestling (which real Tai chi actually is), boxing, kickboxing, judo or BJJ, along with any art practiced with resistance will help you. Our biggest foes today are cardiac disease, obesity, depression and lack of movement . Anything that can help you battle those foes is one of the most beneficial martial arts. I speak from a person who has practice and taught combative arts for decades, as well as, Qigong. I do appreciate your contributions.
Hi, I like your comment but disagree that tai chi is a wrestling art. It has wrestling, but also hitting and weapons. Clubs, axe, spear, sword, cane etc. Push hands is actually not the fighting art of tai chi but a training method. Just my opinion from my limited experience and from reading the classics.
agree with most of what you say. Tai Chi isn't really a wrestling art. It has no ground game, maybe 8 grabs; and two kicks. It's mostly a striking art. For health tai chi is second to none. I do have to agree with her about students. IF all they're doing is training in class, that's what 4 hours a week? Maybe 6? now if they're training at home in addition to class. That changes things. Having said all that; there defiantly are martial arts that people can train in much faster than others.
@@michaelshigetani433 the closest thing to "live" expression of Tai chi in a competitive format is all wrestling, via "Push Hands". You don't have to have a ground game to be a wrestling art. 90% of the folk cultures around the world have a folk wrestling style, most have no ground game. But honestly, we don't truly see things the way they are...but the way we are. So, you can be correct, Sir. Personal
In my book, Tai Chi is about learning things even more fundamental than techniques: it’s about improving the technique within every movement. In other words it’s not about teaching you that to counter Punch A you use Defense A, and instead it’s about teaching you that when you execute Punch A or Defense A you must be steady and fluid and calm and you should be doing it with intention! Witching hour thoughts haha
@@AipingTaiChi It's also known as, appropriately enough, Tai chi Master. It's a LOOSE retelling of the story of Zhang Sanfeng creating Tai chi. Lots of comedy, and action. It's a fun watch.
I wanted to add that part of the problem is that many tai chi teachers claim to have fighting abilities that they don't and keep popping up on viral videos being thumped easily by mma or boxing practitioners. That being said I have personally found that mma fighters are generally pretty open to trying new things.
Yes, because the most effective form of defence is the total elimination of your opponent. Some very odd commentary here from people who know as little about our history/arts as the people they are trying to condemn. For example above (one of the comments to the video), the brainless specimen who talks about 'never being the aggressor'. There is a term for that on the battlefield. It's called 'dead'. Perhaps you know the term. Please stop insulting my ancestors traditions (not necessarily you personally) with utter nonsense and feel good waffle. It's not even remotely close to correct. People who think otherwise have fallen for the marketing gimmick that was created to appeal to western hippies. Little more.
It depends on the type of Taiji teacher teaching you.Some teachers only teach the health aspect while some teach both the martial and health aspects of Taiji.I was privileged to have had such a teacher whom taught me both including the Qin Na techniques of Taijiquan.Been training Taiji since 2003 learnt Chen and Yang style.
I've only been doing tai chi chuan for about 11 years so sort of intermediate level. I have been practicing ma for 30+ years and have taught(grappling)at an mma school/boxing club. My take is that it really depends how tai chi is practiced. For example only form, or also push hands, and hitting hands? Also I find that sticky sword is amazing for footwork. Push hands also is really different from school to school. Anyway I babbled a lot just to say it depends how and why its trained.
Not babbling. This is exactly right. Push Hands is a completely valid form of sparring that’s helpful and not crazy dangerous. Boxing is great but you know, not exactly the best for longevity.
@@davidgeldner2167 boxing is only bad training if you lack control of power or ego. No one should be hitting each other full power in training. Hitting harder is one aspect of training but we should not be using our partners for this. We have bags, boards, Bobs etc for power training. Striking training in Sparing should be about movement and positioning relative to another and this just takes a tap.
Tai Chi is a true martial art, but it is important to study it like JuJitsu or Muai Thay (my young arts), every day for hours confronting with the practice companions. I worked eight years in security and I remember once applying a technique, having a kick attack, that now practicing Tai Chi I recognized as a "knee brush". Awesome ! But what I love is the paradox of the real student of martial arts: he studies a life, hoping never to have to put into practice what he has studied.Thanks for your video Sifu 🙏🏻
Both the Chens and the Yangs fought at the drop of a hat. There is nothing in any of their writings that remotely suggest being "nonconfrontational". Tai Chi is for fighting. If you can't fight, it is because you are not training right. Don't make excuses for that.
Someone once said to me that once you start "Tai Chi" your path will be set for your life. I really did not understand it at that time and fast forward 45 years and I must say that I have come to understand this at 67. I give my thanks to "Master Moy" for teaching me so much . "Taoist Tai Chi"
We live in a generation of people who have never been punched in the face, and it shows. We have access to the internet, and it is a nice, safe environment. No one can shoot or stab you there. It gives you false confidence and allows people to talk however they like. That is the primary reason why trolls are thriving.
Retired Corrections Officer, Rory Miller wrote a series of books on violence. The entire series is valuable to the martial artist, but his books on conflict communication and scaling force should be of vital importance. Each situation is different. Each situation takes place in different, and sometimes challenging, environments.
I have had many great teachers over the years and I can tell you for sure that the one's that were Masters in Tai Chi were virtually untouchable when people ask me what is the best martial art my response is Tai chi is the top of the food chain for stand up and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is the top of the food chain on the ground
You are of course, right and correct. Sounds like that person is not coming from your same point of view at all. You seem to be trying to teach how to be a better, more balanced person. That person wants to know how to win a violent encounter. Perhaps that person would be one to initiate a violent encounter (something with which I personally don't agree). Sometimes you can't avoid a violent, life threatening encounter, so it's good to know how to Prevail in one so that you or your loved ones don't get hurt. Proficiency in actual Combat has it's place. But what I think you're saying is that if you learn how to manage your vibration well enough, you won't get into violent situations to begin with. I agree with you. But of course many people aren't fortunate enough to be where you are, but are still good people. So for the good people who can't totally avoid bad situations, I think it's righteous to teach them how to Prevail and Escape. I practiced a somewhat similar art for a while, Aikido. Aside from Steven Segal Movies, Aikido's surface is very philosophical and spiritual. The beginner levels don't seem to teach you how to be a better fighter at all. You have to advance to deeper levels in order to be shown how effective it can be (and against what specifically). And even then you probably need to have trained in other Arts beforehand to appreciate what exactly and how much it teaches you. I think that's what's going on here. I'm not sure that person is advanced enough to see the value in your Art the way I do. They may never develop to that point, which could be considered unfortunate. Great video.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights 🙏❤️ Aikido has many shared principles with Tai Chi. My best student who is one of my assistant instructors owned his own Aikido dojo for many years
The Tai Chi Chuan that i mostly taught myself is classified as "yang" style. Im almost never an aggressor. I have used the techniques i learned from Tai Chi when I wresled Nick Diaz in stockton at the Gracie academy. He was a much better fighter by far with my limited BJJ skills but he could never get me to tap the arm bar he had because I would use my "listening sensitivity" to make micro adjustments and always avoid being fully locked in. When we were done he said the funniest thing to me. He said " You got a freaking noodley arm dude I could not lock that arm bar no matter what i tried". I secretly took it as a compliment because it wasn't an accident at all that he couldn't get the lock. I was using my "ting jin" to listen to his pressure and always diverting it ever so slightly. So yes Tai Chi theory stopped Nate Diaz from completing an arm bar on me and Im proud of that.
@AipingTaiChi Just so you know I grew up in Tracy california area code 209 which is same as stockton. That's where the 209 slap comes from. I met the Diaz brothers the first time I ever did bjj as I was a high school wrestler previous to that. This was before nick or nate had a ufc career and if I remember correctly was maybe a year before his first pro fight. I never told anyone that I had been training push hands with my younger bro and some friends so only a few close friends knew I practiced the grand ultimate fist and I didn't want to play the whole my style vs yours thing so I kept it low key. Another funny story is when I went to a local martial arts class in Tracy where they would have never taken Tai Chi Chuan as a serious martial art. I was paired up with an "advanced" student for practice and we were supposed to attempt a forward karate chopping attack. I sunk down into my root and projected my chop from my feet to my knees to my waist to my shoulders and initiated the strike. When my partner blocked my chop he was sent backwards like he was hit by a small vehicle. He had never been hit by an attack from the root so he didn't know how to respond and stumbled back 4 or 5 feet. I remember the look in his eyes. In his mind it wasn't possible to be thrown backwards off balance so easily so he had no way to understand the forces involved and told me I had an excellent chop technique. I said thank you for the lesson and shook his hand. That was one other moment when I realized that my Tai Chi practice proved to my self that the ancient way of the Tao was substantial and with correct focus could be a weapon that many people can not listen to and that's around the time that I knew it wasn't a toy...it was dangerous.
Thai Chi is a demonstration of the Kata's used in Nanquan they've transferred over to Shanshou mixing Fanzi & Poa Chui to make up Qi Gong & Wing Chun. You're learning the Kata's of the Wushu Arts - Kung Fu. We used Kata's in Shotokan - Karate than you start learning the techniques that make up Kenpo useing technique's barrowed from Tang Shoo Do, Taekwondo, Judo & Ju Jitsu now you're learning Hapkido. Kata's are definitely used in Martial Arts to go over what you've learned and learn other art forms to advance your art form.
Thanks for the great video! Tai Chi is a truly great martial art when viewed as a holistic mental/physical/emotional training tool. I tend to view its "striking" techniques as mostly metaphorical. Tai Chi has evolved away from its martial aspects, which simply aren't as effective as MMA, etc., and that is okay as long as we aren't fooling ourselves into thinking it is a good way to beat someone up.
I am a complete beginner to Tai Chi! I have attended 2 classes. This helps me understand the true meaning of Tai Chi! I like it! I took briefly, Wing Chun Kung Ku about 40 years ago and was apprehensive about taking another martial art! As Wing Chu brought out a "bad" energy and attracted what I didn't want...more confrontation! Tai Chi seems to be about just pushing it away or just directing it away! I like that too!
I think the issue is that what people associate with Taiji are the forms only. Somewhere along the way the taiji practitioners started viewing taiji as something separate from martial arts and lost touch with what the forms really met. If you do karate or taekwondo kata and never learned to actual fight people then they wouldn’t know how to fight either (and most of them really don’t). Even if you do only jiu jitsu you wouldn’t really know what to do in a real life situation and mma can’t even really prepare you for concrete floors and knives and all that stuff. The reason these “tai chi masters” keep getting beat up by old mma guys doesn’t mean taiji doesn’t work, it means they spent a long time learning the WAY to do something but never learned actually HOW to do it. There’s probably not very many people who still know the How of combat taiji but only know the WAY. All this leads to the point you were making Shirley (btw you’re a good example of never judging a book by it’s cover. Soft spoken tai chi lady being a jiu jitsu player! That’s awesome) that the best martial arts teach you how to not have to fight. It reminds me of what the founder of Aikido, Morohei Ueshiba said: “The true warrior is invincible because he or she contends with nothing.” Sure it’s great to learn to fight, and it’s fun sport and good exercise, but it’s much more useful, and I’d say if peace is the aim ultimate goal of martial arts, than the Supreme Ultimate is to learn how to keep peace without fighting altogether.
I trained in BJJ and Muay Thai and the most difficult opponent I ever crossed was a PROPER Tai Chi student who actually did things correctly. There's almost nothing you can do to them it doesn't matter how they are positioned as they can hit you with more that just a hand or foot. My Sifu in Wing Chun also warned me that a PROPER Tai Chi person is the most difficult to deal with.
@In a real street fight, the dynamics are completely different. There are no rules, and the situation is often chaotic and unpredictable. It is crucial to prioritize personal safety and self-defense in such situations. Here are a few points to consider: 1. Awareness and avoidance: The best way to win a street fight is to avoid it altogether. Stay aware of your surroundings, trust your instincts, and try to de-escalate any potential conflicts. 2. Train in a practical self-defense system: While push hands can enhance your overall martial arts skills, it is essential to train in a system that focuses on real-world self-defense techniques. Look for a martial art that emphasizes practical techniques, situational awareness, and realistic scenarios.
Taijiquan (along with some other internal arts) is more of a bodywork method if done properly. Like powerlifting, let's say. A powerlifter is training their body for a certain kind of power. Can the powerlifter fight? Maybe; maybe not. Similarly, a Taijiquan player is training their body for a specific kind of power (strength, balance, etc) Taijiquan is more of a martial art than powerlifting since it does contain drills such as push hands (with another person) to train the jin in the body. Whereas powerlifters use inanimate objects (weights) to train themselves. Push hands facilitates the training and the recognition of the jin(s) in one's own body. It's not to "overcome your opponent", per se. But one can certainly do that. But over time, the Taijiquan player, if conditioned very well, doesn't need techniques. To paraphrase Ueshiba Morihei (Aikido founder), "I manifest aiki in my body, and techniques are born". If you try to wrestle with a tree, the tree will literally stand there and throw you without trying. Your action alone is what made 'the technique to throw you' happen. With that being said, one can indeed develop a decent amount of skill in Taijiquan and push hands, throwing people around with ease, and so on, and STILL may not be 'good at fighting'. The pressure from a person really coming after you (say MMA) can certainly overcome really good Taijiquan players. Depends on the person I guess. Greetings from eastern Connecticut ^_^
the reason why people don't look at Tai Chi as a real martial art is because most of it is watered down and none of the teachers have any real combat experience. Just like Wing Chun Just like Karate Just like Bagua ect ect ect
Agreed! I tell my students, if at all possible' to pour water on the fire... or 'un-tie the knot'. To use tuai-shou strategy either physically, verbally, or mentally. Try to be the 'S' curve balance line between conflict. Now,..if violence can't be avoided, or if you want to use Tai-Ji Quan' ( grand ultimate Fist/Boxing ) for real self-defense, then you must train all aspects. Study what other fighters do, try different areas of weapons, standing, sitting, and on the ground techniques, grappling, as well as Euro'/American boxing tactics. ALL tai-ji quan can be used in real-life defense, BUT, you must practice it as such with sparring partners. ''yin he' yang yi shi wu-fa he' ping an-fa'. [ yin & yang intention can be war-method and peace method. ]
Breathing and body become one. When you do standing meditation, there's a lot of internal motion. When you are still on the outside, you can really notice all the motion on the inside. The breathing and internal motion fuse. Breathing becomes slow and deep and as you breathe, the breathe merges with the energy moving in your body which also directs the physical movements as the energy flows. You're not thinking about the breath but you're aware the breath and energy move together
Just found the video and I guess my response would be: 1) Any martial art, if properly trained, should give you the physical and mental confidence to avoid conflict. 2) I practiced Tai Chi for many years without being shown the combat side (and I was happy with that as I was also studying other more 'fighting' arts) then I was shown how lethal Tai Chi can be, how taking even a modern form like the short Yang 24 - which was created expressly as an exercise form - and retrofitting an older mindset and martial understanding can result in a form that absolutely contains (almost exclusively) techniques designed to maim or kill - so yes Tai Chi can be a combat art. 3) I teach Tai Chi for health and wellness and I also, from time to time, teach the physical Self Defence aspects. That is different to '2' above as the intent is to survive an altercation and walk away having done only the bare minimum necessary amount of damage to an attacker - that may not be as much fun as what you see in the Kung Fu movies but is far less likely to get you arrested for improper use of violence or for harming someone.
But I have yet to see anyone, no matter how well trained, be able to use tai chi in a real life situation against someone who actually knows how to fight. The bottom line is there are many other forms of self defense that are more suited for self defense and fighting. Tai Chi has evolved into more of an art form than anything else. Nothing wrong with that, it's a beautiful martial art and keeps the body in great shape as we age, but it's simply not suited for self defense.
Yes, sadly there are very few people left in the world who still train in Tai Chi as an effective combat martial art and I doubt any of them have students who can surpass them. I definitely want to hold events and make content showcasing these masters so people know they do still exist though.
@@AipingTaiChi That would be fantastic, I know I'd love to see it. Don't get me wrong, nothing with today's tai chi as an art form and meditation technique, it's amazing. I would love to see the old combat form make a comeback as well though.
For me, Taichi is one of martial arts. I learn karate for years and my style have a 'Kata' named 'Sanchin'. It is a traditional breath technique which remind me about taichi because it's soft movement but really important to get body awareness. It has a deep philosophy too.
It's a complex subject to deal with in relation to Taiji Chuan. My thoughts to add to the comments below is that if someone did want to learn the combat aspects of TJC then there just is not the infrastructure in order to sustain that combat development like there are in Arts that focus on combat. In other styles there are clubs, centres, monthly group meetings, seminars where you can experience, test, focus on combat techniques with different people, levels and instructors. TJC just does not have that. Push hands is the base for TJC which has ideas, techniques and methods unique to it. In my experience of training with different club meets, at a certain level of practitioner (not high) then yielding, borrowing, empty, sticking, softness etc goes out of the window and the ego kicks in. I'm not saying TJC does not have gross movements but that there's a complete absence of those subtle movements. TJC is yin yang and this is forgotten when it comes to it's combat. It feels like students resort to external forms and do not try to train in the Taiji way. Simply, they're not doing Taiji, many are too embarassed and unable to 'lose' in order to develop.
I agree 100% with you.If a person trains any martial art 2 or 3 hours a week his skills in a real fight against a street fighter sure will prove to be useless,as if he had been doing Taichi.Yang Luchan,Yang Chengfu or Chen Fake were no fools.They had not being practicing Taichi if it was a fake martial art.The matter here is that it takes much more training to achieve the Taichi body.It´s much easier learning how to punch or kick strongly that cultivating some peng jing,or swallow the opponent´s attack.
It's impossible to be effective in self-defence with tai chi by practice solo forms an hour or two a week. In order to be effective in a real scenario, you need to understand the applications and principles of the forms, but you also need to develop your reflexes and timing. That is done with a partner. Practicing tai chi with a partner can basically be done in two ways: defending against predetermined attacks and defending against undetermined attacks. Both are VERY important and should be practiced as often as possible. If you want to be competent to defend yourself in a self-defense situation (I’m not even talking about mastery, just being competent), you need to repeat tai chi's isolated movements over and over again. Choose a specific, simple movement of your choice and repeat it over and over again. That can be anything, from palm strikes to shoulder strikes, from punches to throws. Martial effectiveness won’t come to you by magic. That’s something that must be prepared and developed by training intensively, with and without a partner.
In taiji or in any martial art you study the goal is to not get hurt in a conflict. In other words, my job is not to beat the biggest, strongest fighter out there. It's to keep that person or persons from hurting me. Period. That's when you see the magic of martial arts happen.
Those uninitiated souls who don't think that Tai-Chi can be used for defense have never felt a serious discharge. The trick to self defense is to keep your mind occupied with something other than your opponent, like keeping your feet rooted into the ground, and then let your instincts and training to take over. The bad news in that it takes at least a decade (usually 2) to develop the skills necessary to respond correctly ... with energy. That is to say, with Chi and not Li.
in a way you are right, still you sneak around the problem, some average guy training half a year boxing with some sparring sessions can dominate most untrained men in the streets(both no weapons) but with tai chi you probably cannot even after 3 or 5 years of training, fight skills are for domination and you cannot use tai chi for domination in the streets, only in social "conflicts", not real battle/fights, i fully support tai chi, but we have to see things clear and be honest to ourselves
I think because most people don't practice Tai Chi for martial arts doesn't mean Tai Chi itself isn't an effective martial art. I think if we reduce the population to look at someone interested in learning martial arts and they go learn with a teacher who teaches Tai Chi for combat, they will be able to go up against the boxer. Tai Chi is just strange in that it's a martial art where 90% of the students who practice it have no interest in learning martial arts.
It doesn't matter what style of fighting you may plan to do , Tai Chi has something to offer to make you better at it . Wether it's proper breathing, balance , structure or even weight distribution , doing the forms alone will improve even the simplest things like a 3 count combo . Better yet try doing something like a double leg takedown but very slow. You may find you have been double weighting the whole time but you were able to compensate with speed but it left you with a hitch in the motion. Try various movements or combos like that and you'll see. And really, the whole "try that in an MMA fight " approach is silly . That's a FIGHT. 2 people agreed in advance to it , set up a time and place , the rules, even got a referee on hand . Many of us are training just for self defense , a "win" is to go home alive so we train accordingly . Depending on how you learn and train it , Tai Chi can very much help with that as well.
Of course, Tai Chi is a martial art, with fists and weapons. The question is: How many schools in the West teach how to fight seriously? How many masters have fought seriously? I live in Portugal (EU), I practiced Tai Chi and Chi Kung in school for almost 20 years (now I practice only), I was an assistant of my sifu Fung for 5 years. The students who settle in the TC are mostly over 40 years old. Many have or have had sedentary lives and already have health problems. Some people say that soft training is not true TC, but I know with it I can help a lot of people to live better, physically and mentally. With little we get them to get out of the house, get up from the couch and change their eating habits and have less pain.
2:25 -- HAHA!! I was told by one of my coworkers that he had friends who were black belts in karate. Once the situation came forth that they needed those skills, they didn't know what to do. 4:18 -- I've often been in situations where I try to deescalate a situation, but it's a little difficult when someone is trying to use abuse -- even verbal abuse -- to get me to submit. Aka encountering Karens. I took up taekwando for a bit, never finished. And I'm also thinking about Krav Maga after I can do the 48 Tai Chi unassisted with learning swords and sabres -- mostly because of He-Man and Conan, not Star Wars. I know it can go up to 102. More on that. But I have a friend who took up judo with the intent of being a bad ass. And sadly, I think that's the objective. I admittedly believe that's my reason for taking up taekwando in the first place, and planning on Krav Maga. But in Tai Chi, even I have learned or theorized methods in the event something happens. Like using an elbow strike in blocking a punch to the head, followed by a shoulder strike in a counterattack. Not to mention using the golden rooster in a sidekick, repulse monkey in a judo throw or whatever, etc. And I'm still a junior of juniors. But on the 102, I use those progressions as more on focus and calm.
It has branched out into many different streams, some retaining the martial roots, others as sports and exercise only, while some others purely for health and approached like Qigong.
Real Taiji Quan is a very powerful martial art. Just real Taiji shifus don't really care wot UFC or Joe Rogan or anyone else says. History doesn't lie. Taiji is great. Remember every UFC fight has a loser . Does this mean MMA is not effective? No excalty.
De-escalation and so on is basic self-defense you don't need tai chi for that knowledge. Tai chi can be effective for fighting if cross-trained with other styles. Look at pro fighters like Nick Osipczak and Han Feilong.
I'm a 25 year yang style practitioner and you people are deluded. If you want to be able to fight you need to be getting punched in the ring on the regular. Tai chi doesn't teach self defense very well anymore. Some schools do but very very few. If you want to improve your life and later gain some martial skills after ten years or so then learn Tai chi. If you want to be good at fighting learn a martial art that is focused on fighting and sparring. Boxing for example. But prove me wrong - go to your local mma gym and spar with some people.
Real Tai Chi Chuan (the stuff that Mao outlawed in 1949) can drop your opponent in an instant. Real Tai Chi Chuan is geared toward striking Dim Mak points and immobilizing, paralyzing or killing an opponent. But this has become a lost art, known only to a few old timers. Bill P.
My girlfriend from china she does wingcun and your art listen lhave done japan karate 20 years she blocked my reverse punch useing wingchum and then your remeber pressure you can use them to hurt or heal the arts are make me tespect and help.people not beat the hell of every mind just think lf thats your mindset all time whats going happen to you my girlferid you have ying yang blalance hot and cold subcribed to your channel prssed thumbs up your vedlos are good godbless seamus
So, you are saying you're learning Taijiquan to avoid fighting ? It is like learning to drive a car to improve walking. Chen family people were into security business not for their ability to talk themselves out of a sticky situation. Yang Luchan got into bodyguarding the top elite of China not for being nice to people either. In short, the ability to physically defend oneself against a non-cooperating opponent is what gauges effectiveness of a martial art. Everything else is a martial dance, or a fence of words for "paper tigers" to hide behind. If you never deal with realistic force in class, you'd be safer to stop dreaming about repelling such force in real life. If you don't train stamina in class, you can forget about any chance to be active in a fight longer than 30 seconds. That's the sad truth. Everything else is a bunch of paper flowers.
There are many aspects to winning a fight. Of course nothing replaces the ability to defend yourself from a physical attack. All martial arts training must include this and I don't think I ever said you don't need to know this. But IMHO I do believe if you have the intention of fighting me and I am able to change your intention to leave me be and let me go about my business, this is a much better outcome than the two of us battling it out physically. I don't see any inconsistencies with having both views. I didn't come to this conclusion on my own. I have listened to many older martial artists and war veterans who have shared their lived experiences with physical violence and in their wisdom they believe while violence is sometimes necessary, it is better to avoid it in the first place.
@@AipingTaiChi I do appreciate your approach, nobody argues that it is better to avoid fighting than to fight. But martial arts don't deal with talking oneself out of a fight. Psychology and NLP deal with that. Martial arts deal with figthing. Yes, all famous and not so famous teachers say that it is better to run away than to enter the confrontation. But if one is against a wall (literally or figuratively) then not just the fists but one's "yi" must be set accordingly. Mental preparation for a fight is half the victory, that's why quite often it is not a marial artist but a street thug that wins a fight. And one can't get that martial intent just by repeating taolu over and over, one needs experience. That's the only difference in opinions you and I seem to have. Which is normal, isn't it 🙂
@@TaijiquanGaoshou I agree with everything you said here. I think the only real difference is what is the nature of the fight each of us is most likely to engage in. I think there is where the male lived experience and female lived experience is different so our emphasis is different. I feel like I walk into battle every day being a woman who has always done things women aren't supposed to do and people are always trying to put me back into my place, and especially when I was still in my finance career where elbows were very sharp up that corporate ladder. I honestly can't think of a single realistic scenario where someone would come up to be to physically fight me, no matter how prepared I am for that, as a woman, that's just not really a realistic scenario. Not combat fight the way two men would engage. But I had to defend myself from many attacks all the time from people getting in my way from what I wanted to do and how I wanted to advance. I was always prepared for those fights and approached them with my Tai Chi principles and have always been able to advance and win and many of those who attacked me first wound up following me in the end and handed over the reigns to lead them. They did that not because I was afraid to fight them. I never ran from the fight but engaged them in a way they realized fighting me isn't as productive as just following me. But I think that only works because I'm a woman and men don't feel the same sense of competition against me as they would against another man.
There are people who think that "mixed martial arts" is a new idea. It is really an ancient idea. As one who has closely studied Jiu Jitsu, Uechi-Ryu and CMC style Tai Chi, I know your very feminine perspective is all wrong. You just don't get it. Real self-defense Tai Chi looks a lot more like Aikido than a Chinese fistic art.
I don't think I expressed my ideas well. I don't really have a feminine perspective on Tai Chi, just want to express an aspect that I don't think gets enough thought. I have seen Tai Chi taught as an effective grappling art as well as an effective striking art.
if most people are coming to knock you out ..... their going to attempt to knock you out ...especially if you start talking passive .... I've seen it again ...and again ...and again.
Because the Tai Chi master didn't know how to fight and shouldn't have been the representation of Tai Chi as a martial art. Anyone who has never fought shouldn't represent a fighting art in a fight.
Sorry, what is the definition of Marial Art? Martial Art is an art. Self-defense techniques, strictly speaking, cannot be counted as an Art. Karate, Judo, Jujitsu, Taekwondo, Chinese Kungfu, etc. are different schools of Martial Art. Each has its own theme, and may include self-defense techniques, but each of them does not encourage street-fighting! Each school has its own rule of competition. No martial art teacher will encourage the student to engage on street fighting because it is full of unpredictable risks. Having said that, as a practitioner of Karatedo and Taiichi for many years, I can conclude that Tai Chi is a real martial art. It does teach the practitioners to learn more about the spirit rather than the superficial techniques.
i can beat up any tai chi master, it is not effective and the only good chinese martial art I like is sanda cause atleast they teach you how to kick and punch right
I've been exploring a TH-cam show series about bringing some Tai Chi combat practitioners together with Internet critics. If you'd like to be a part of it, I can include you.
No, her experience as a teacher and in life validates what she has to say on the subject. That's not gaslighting. Did you know that our brains treat both parasocial and social relationships the same? And if they're emotionally adolescent and incredibly insecure lizard-brained narcissists that lack empathy, you're going to start mirroring those effects and display similar patterns of behaviour?
@@pascalbro7524 I think that there are many health benefits of practicing Tai Chi but you have a snowball's chance in hell when you are in a cage fight. So ' martial' meaning benefitting a warrior is not one of them
@@captainbeefheart7959 Health benefits was not the point that was made here but that not all conflict is physical. It hinges on the psychology. And, as someone who has taken interest in this art and who has a decent amount of experience with neuroscience and psychology, a lot of the things our ancestors intuited and developed, align with what we're discovering today regarding myriad things like the automatic and intentional system. If you're in a position where insecurity arises because of this to the point you accuse someone with valid life experience of gaslighting, that shows a lack of basic respect and empathy. Now, if you value stepping into a cage and drastically improve your chances at living with CTE, being even more aggressive and a danger to yourself and others, knock yourself out. Or hopefully your opponent. Others have taken the road of never having to step into a cage at all and winning without even throwing a punch.
Cage fighting is not a martial art...it's a martial sport with rules galore. If trained properly, Taiji principles are highly effective in the street, where it matters.
@@hamstring6792 I agree that cage fighting is not a martial art but it is the place where it is tested. I did Aikido for 12 years but that would not help me in a real fight with serious opposition. Don't get me wrong I still love Aikido. You learn very quickly what parts of your sport are BS if you have really serious opposition.
You have this all wrong. If Tai Chi is applied properly, it is a very effective, explosive, close-range method of self-defense. The truth is that there is a big difference between MARTIAL ART and SELF-DEFENSE. If one looks closely at the concepts of Wu Wei, Mushin and the "Jiu Jitsu" of self-defense. Look closely at what is taught.
I Have The Hidden Style of perfection In Tai Chi The First man to ever Show China And The First master Of all time, he was an Actul Avatar Tai Chi have a Serious Deep Root Of Forbidden Kung Fu The Truth Of this style Adept To all Style for The means of Tai chi is so strong that for One Who open this Truth and skill Is not to use this For else You will die For trying, This is what a great master Say Do not use this Form For if You do You most Undestand Why You do, The root of Tai Chi of the 9 Ener Gates Of God level I was born with a Symbol Of a Star no One Has Ever Train me, For i have Train At the age of 4 and Im 27 Now No One Can Win over me If You think That You can you most Be a God To Even get Close At My level, For I am Limitless i even Got so Fare That i Am So Close To Undestand True Immortality I had 46 Student's Once And we a Down to 1 This is How hard it is To Train With me, For you have to be 100% With Out Fails Reason for that because the Way i teach Goes For the pass Down And Why it is Hidden For nearly Everyone. For i am myself a Real Avatar. Born as the 12 Avatar.
Tai Chi is indeed a great tool to deal with conflict on many levels but not at real physical confrontation. In this sense it is not a combative art. The way it is presented today and, to be honest . in all twenty century, is merely a calisthenic exercice with ancient war postures and some dual methods. Tai Chi is indeed issued from ancient folk and shamanic dances with many ritual and religious connections. Who believes that it is a martial art just search for the recent events in China with MMA adepts vs Tai Chi masters. Happy new year my friends
I do believe the combat effectiveness of it has been lost. But I also believe it once existed. I don't think anyone can refute that the transmission has been lost and no one has been able to achieve it in modern times.
@@AipingTaiChi The martial principles have never disappeared because they're embedded in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Not combat, but I think this is a good example of someone who has a good understanding of them within the context of Tuishou, even though a lot of what he's doing is hidden. th-cam.com/video/KHUB_nf-MlI/w-d-xo.html
@@AipingTaiChi Hello Shifu Shirley! Greetings from Aiping Tai Chi Austin! I am curious what your thoughts are on the work Chen Zhonghua is doing with his "chen style practical method taiji" and the match his student Sun Yang had in a Muay Thai fight: th-cam.com/video/OvK_CXCEowY/w-d-xo.html Would your position be that the TaiJi training supplemented his Muay Thai but doesn't stand on its own from a combat perspective? Or that the combat art is simply not what it used to be even for these types of practitioners?
This is absolute nonsense. Your argument is an apology on why no one should learn any martial art and why no one should use MMA against their spouse or co-workers. Laughable.
I have wrestled and trained in Wing Chun for over 30 years.
Met a man who does Tai Chi.
I couldn’t move him, his root was stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced.
Tai Chi absolutely is a martial art and it’s amazing.
This is great Izzo. If there is enough interest maybe you could interview him on your channel? You could show it working on video but people will just say your acting or being compliant🤣. Taiji is really an art that must be experienced first hand to believe.
LOL well that is what you get from training Wing "Chun"!
You bet it is !
Whoever says tai chi isn't a real martial art have no idea what they're talking about. It may be true that yang style has been evolved to be more used for health and wellness, but even Yang style has its martial roots developed after the introduction of firearms in China. Chen Style is sometimes erroneously referred to Shaolin, and incorporates movements that accomodates the wearing of armor and use of swords. Tai Chi is not a martial art, it is FIRST and FOREMOST a martial art.
@@Shawn-vp2dq Correct.
Behind every cute little name is a movement designed specifically to maim or kill.
Right now.
No sparring, no grappling.
One strike, done.
Some say that Tai Chi Chuan was originally Dim Mak (death point striking) and from what I've studied, this is most likely the case.
Bill P.
We did combat training when I first started Tai Chi, our instructor emphasized that we should never be the aggressor. That Tai Chi is properly used for counter-attack and never to attack.
In all the time that has passed since I began T'ai Chi in 1980 only about two minutes required any martial art response on my part. At the end of those two minutes I was not breathing hard nor was my heart rate accelerated. The only injury I received was a bruise between my two knuckles where my fist connected with my opponent's jaw. He was an adult man in his mid to late-20's (I was about ten years older at the time) who had been physically abusing a pregnant woman in public. When I asked him to stop he boldly announced that he had a black belt and attacked me. After a couple of minutes his mouth bleeding, his clothes torn, he was literally crying and like all bullies as he ran away he swore he was going to come back and get me. I can't say that I felt good about my "victory." The pregnant woman disappeared during the encounter, but my fear was that my attacker would catch up with her later and take it out on her. In the end I may have caused more harm than good.
In the ensuing decades however, T'ai Chi has done me far greater good fighting a far more powerful opponent. I fight this opponent every second of the day. It is Aging. Eventually I will lose, but thus far I have benefited from the health benefits T'ai Chi Ch'uan has provided.
Meditation is the best training for not losing in combat with our own destructive emotions and tai chi is an important help.
Meditation is crucial for cultivating focus, calmness, and mental clarity, which are all valuable in self-defense. However, it’s not a substitute for partner training and sparring. These are essential for developing the timing, reflexes, and practical skills needed to effectively defend yourself in real situations. Both meditation and hands-on practice are necessary to become truly prepared.
Breathing into the Dantien, rooting and stress-bending has made me a very effective verbal jiu-jit-su practictioner, I find myself deescalating through asking questions, or being empathetic. Thanks for the vid & Happiest of New Years! Big fan, you're always so lovely to watch! :D
Wonderful general response. The daily non- physical conflicts are 90% of humans will have or more. I am impressed by your knowledge in combative arts. The only place you were wrong is that practicing any martial arts a couple days a week would not prepare you. Any form of wrestling (which real Tai chi actually is), boxing, kickboxing, judo or BJJ, along with any art practiced with resistance will help you. Our biggest foes today are cardiac disease, obesity, depression and lack of movement . Anything that can help you battle those foes is one of the most beneficial martial arts. I speak from a person who has practice and taught combative arts for decades, as well as, Qigong. I do appreciate your contributions.
Hi, I like your comment but disagree that tai chi is a wrestling art. It has wrestling, but also hitting and weapons. Clubs, axe, spear, sword, cane etc. Push hands is actually not the fighting art of tai chi but a training method. Just my opinion from my limited experience and from reading the classics.
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😅m. Mm😅
agree with most of what you say. Tai Chi isn't really a wrestling art. It has no ground game, maybe 8 grabs; and two kicks. It's mostly a striking art. For health tai chi is second to none. I do have to agree with her about students. IF all they're doing is training in class, that's what 4 hours a week? Maybe 6? now if they're training at home in addition to class. That changes things. Having said all that; there defiantly are martial arts that people can train in much faster than others.
@@michaelshigetani433 the closest thing to "live" expression of Tai chi in a competitive format is all wrestling, via "Push Hands". You don't have to have a ground game to be a wrestling art. 90% of the folk cultures around the world have a folk wrestling style, most have no ground game. But honestly, we don't truly see things the way they are...but the way we are. So, you can be correct, Sir. Personal
In my book, Tai Chi is about learning things even more fundamental than techniques: it’s about improving the technique within every movement. In other words it’s not about teaching you that to counter Punch A you use Defense A, and instead it’s about teaching you that when you execute Punch A or Defense A you must be steady and fluid and calm and you should be doing it with intention! Witching hour thoughts haha
@@boxing.ascetic Then we agree 100% on the most important thing!
Twin Warriors is a great movie starring Jet Li. His character learns Tai Chi in order to defeat his evil twin brother.
I haven't seen that one, thanks for mentioning it!
@@AipingTaiChi It's also known as, appropriately enough, Tai chi Master. It's a LOOSE retelling of the story of Zhang Sanfeng creating Tai chi. Lots of comedy, and action. It's a fun watch.
I wanted to add that part of the problem is that many tai chi teachers claim to have fighting abilities that they don't and keep popping up on viral videos being thumped easily by mma or boxing practitioners. That being said I have personally found that mma fighters are generally pretty open to trying new things.
100% agree in fact here’s the Shifu in this video talking about this issue. th-cam.com/video/jbSCmfIse7w/w-d-xo.html
MMA is pretty much aggression and pressure . They dont so much train for defense and very if ever rarely block.
Yes, because the most effective form of defence is the total elimination of your opponent. Some very odd commentary here from people who know as little about our history/arts as the people they are trying to condemn.
For example above (one of the comments to the video), the brainless specimen who talks about 'never being the aggressor'. There is a term for that on the battlefield. It's called 'dead'. Perhaps you know the term.
Please stop insulting my ancestors traditions (not necessarily you personally) with utter nonsense and feel good waffle. It's not even remotely close to correct. People who think otherwise have fallen for the marketing gimmick that was created to appeal to western hippies. Little more.
It depends on the type of Taiji teacher teaching you.Some teachers only teach the health aspect while some teach both the martial and health aspects of Taiji.I was privileged to have had such a teacher whom taught me both including the Qin Na techniques of Taijiquan.Been training Taiji since 2003 learnt Chen and Yang style.
I've only been doing tai chi chuan for about 11 years so sort of intermediate level. I have been practicing ma for 30+ years and have taught(grappling)at an mma school/boxing club. My take is that it really depends how tai chi is practiced. For example only form, or also push hands, and hitting hands? Also I find that sticky sword is amazing for footwork. Push hands also is really different from school to school. Anyway I babbled a lot just to say it depends how and why its trained.
Not babbling. This is exactly right. Push Hands is a completely valid form of sparring that’s helpful and not crazy dangerous. Boxing is great but you know, not exactly the best for longevity.
@@davidgeldner2167 boxing is only bad training if you lack control of power or ego. No one should be hitting each other full power in training. Hitting harder is one aspect of training but we should not be using our partners for this. We have bags, boards, Bobs etc for power training. Striking training in Sparing should be about movement and positioning relative to another and this just takes a tap.
Thank you so much for providing this perspective! Wishing you a wonderful new year.
Thank you 🙏❤️ Happy New Year 🎉
Tai Chi is a true martial art, but it is important to study it like JuJitsu or Muai Thay (my young arts), every day for hours confronting with the practice companions. I worked eight years in security and I remember once applying a technique, having a kick attack, that now practicing Tai Chi I recognized as a "knee brush". Awesome ! But what I love is the paradox of the real student of martial arts: he studies a life, hoping never to have to put into practice what he has studied.Thanks for your video Sifu 🙏🏻
Yes I so agree. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and insight 🙏❤️
Both the Chens and the Yangs fought at the drop of a hat.
There is nothing in any of their writings that remotely suggest being "nonconfrontational".
Tai Chi is for fighting.
If you can't fight, it is because you are not training right.
Don't make excuses for that.
Someone once said to me that once you start "Tai Chi" your path will be set for your life. I really did not understand it at that time and fast forward 45 years and I must say that I have come to understand this at 67. I give my thanks to "Master Moy" for teaching me so much . "Taoist Tai Chi"
We live in a generation of people who have never been punched in the face, and it shows. We have access to the internet, and it is a nice, safe environment. No one can shoot or stab you there. It gives you false confidence and allows people to talk however they like. That is the primary reason why trolls are thriving.
Tai Chi is a high level Martial Arts that very few learn to Master due to limitations in our body and mind.
This is facts also without the right methods to invest in one will never see martial skill.
Retired Corrections Officer, Rory Miller wrote a series of books on violence. The entire series is valuable to the martial artist, but his books on conflict communication and scaling force should be of vital importance. Each situation is different. Each situation takes place in different, and sometimes challenging, environments.
I never met Rory, I would like to, but I can bet $5 he has practiced internal martial arts, based on specific things he said in his book.
I have had many great teachers over the years and I can tell you for sure that the one's that were Masters in Tai Chi were virtually untouchable when people ask me what is the best martial art my response is Tai chi is the top of the food chain for stand up and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is the top of the food chain on the ground
You are of course, right and correct. Sounds like that person is not coming from your same point of view at all. You seem to be trying to teach how to be a better, more balanced person. That person wants to know how to win a violent encounter. Perhaps that person would be one to initiate a violent encounter (something with which I personally don't agree).
Sometimes you can't avoid a violent, life threatening encounter, so it's good to know how to Prevail in one so that you or your loved ones don't get hurt. Proficiency in actual Combat has it's place. But what I think you're saying is that if you learn how to manage your vibration well enough, you won't get into violent situations to begin with.
I agree with you. But of course many people aren't fortunate enough to be where you are, but are still good people. So for the good people who can't totally avoid bad situations, I think it's righteous to teach them how to Prevail and Escape.
I practiced a somewhat similar art for a while, Aikido. Aside from Steven Segal Movies, Aikido's surface is very philosophical and spiritual. The beginner levels don't seem to teach you how to be a better fighter at all. You have to advance to deeper levels in order to be shown how effective it can be (and against what specifically). And even then you probably need to have trained in other Arts beforehand to appreciate what exactly and how much it teaches you.
I think that's what's going on here. I'm not sure that person is advanced enough to see the value in your Art the way I do. They may never develop to that point, which could be considered unfortunate.
Great video.
By the way, you're Pretty.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights 🙏❤️ Aikido has many shared principles with Tai Chi. My best student who is one of my assistant instructors owned his own Aikido dojo for many years
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The Tai Chi Chuan that i mostly taught myself is classified as "yang" style. Im almost never an aggressor. I have used the techniques i learned from Tai Chi when I wresled Nick Diaz in stockton at the Gracie academy. He was a much better fighter by far with my limited BJJ skills but he could never get me to tap the arm bar he had because I would use my "listening sensitivity" to make micro adjustments and always avoid being fully locked in. When we were done he said the funniest thing to me. He said " You got a freaking noodley arm dude I could not lock that arm bar no matter what i tried". I secretly took it as a compliment because it wasn't an accident at all that he couldn't get the lock. I was using my "ting jin" to listen to his pressure and always diverting it ever so slightly. So yes Tai Chi theory stopped Nate Diaz from completing an arm bar on me and Im proud of that.
That is seriously high praise coming from Nick Diaz 😮👏 I've been a fan of his career since the beginning. This is so awesome ❤️
@AipingTaiChi Just so you know I grew up in Tracy california area code 209 which is same as stockton. That's where the 209 slap comes from. I met the Diaz brothers the first time I ever did bjj as I was a high school wrestler previous to that. This was before nick or nate had a ufc career and if I remember correctly was maybe a year before his first pro fight. I never told anyone that I had been training push hands with my younger bro and some friends so only a few close friends knew I practiced the grand ultimate fist and I didn't want to play the whole my style vs yours thing so I kept it low key. Another funny story is when I went to a local martial arts class in Tracy where they would have never taken Tai Chi Chuan as a serious martial art. I was paired up with an "advanced" student for practice and we were supposed to attempt a forward karate chopping attack. I sunk down into my root and projected my chop from my feet to my knees to my waist to my shoulders and initiated the strike. When my partner blocked my chop he was sent backwards like he was hit by a small vehicle. He had never been hit by an attack from the root so he didn't know how to respond and stumbled back 4 or 5 feet. I remember the look in his eyes. In his mind it wasn't possible to be thrown backwards off balance so easily so he had no way to understand the forces involved and told me I had an excellent chop technique. I said thank you for the lesson and shook his hand.
That was one other moment when I realized that my Tai Chi practice proved to my self that the ancient way of the Tao was substantial and with correct focus could be a weapon that many people can not listen to and that's around the time that I knew it wasn't a toy...it was dangerous.
Thai Chi is a demonstration of the Kata's used in Nanquan they've transferred over to Shanshou mixing Fanzi & Poa Chui to make up Qi Gong & Wing Chun. You're learning the Kata's of the Wushu Arts - Kung Fu. We used Kata's in Shotokan - Karate than you start learning the techniques that make up Kenpo useing technique's barrowed from Tang Shoo Do, Taekwondo, Judo & Ju Jitsu now you're learning Hapkido. Kata's are definitely used in Martial Arts to go over what you've learned and learn other art forms to advance your art form.
Thanks for the great video! Tai Chi is a truly great martial art when viewed as a holistic mental/physical/emotional training tool. I tend to view its "striking" techniques as mostly metaphorical. Tai Chi has evolved away from its martial aspects, which simply aren't as effective as MMA, etc., and that is okay as long as we aren't fooling ourselves into thinking it is a good way to beat someone up.
I am a complete beginner to Tai Chi! I have attended 2 classes. This helps me understand the true meaning of Tai Chi! I like it! I took briefly, Wing Chun Kung Ku about 40 years ago and was apprehensive about taking another martial art! As Wing Chu brought out a "bad" energy and attracted what I didn't want...more confrontation! Tai Chi seems to be about just pushing it away or just directing it away! I like that too!
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I think the issue is that what people associate with Taiji are the forms only. Somewhere along the way the taiji practitioners started viewing taiji as something separate from martial arts and lost touch with what the forms really met. If you do karate or taekwondo kata and never learned to actual fight people then they wouldn’t know how to fight either (and most of them really don’t). Even if you do only jiu jitsu you wouldn’t really know what to do in a real life situation and mma can’t even really prepare you for concrete floors and knives and all that stuff. The reason these “tai chi masters” keep getting beat up by old mma guys doesn’t mean taiji doesn’t work, it means they spent a long time learning the WAY to do something but never learned actually HOW to do it. There’s probably not very many people who still know the How of combat taiji but only know the WAY.
All this leads to the point you were making Shirley (btw you’re a good example of never judging a book by it’s cover. Soft spoken tai chi lady being a jiu jitsu player! That’s awesome) that the best martial arts teach you how to not have to fight. It reminds me of what the founder of Aikido, Morohei Ueshiba said: “The true warrior is invincible because he or she contends with nothing.” Sure it’s great to learn to fight, and it’s fun sport and good exercise, but it’s much more useful, and I’d say if peace is the aim ultimate goal of martial arts, than the Supreme Ultimate is to learn how to keep peace without fighting altogether.
I trained in BJJ and Muay Thai and the most difficult opponent I ever crossed was a PROPER Tai Chi student who actually did things correctly. There's almost nothing you can do to them it doesn't matter how they are positioned as they can hit you with more that just a hand or foot.
My Sifu in Wing Chun also warned me that a PROPER Tai Chi person is the most difficult to deal with.
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@In a real street fight, the dynamics are completely different. There are no rules, and the situation is often chaotic and unpredictable. It is crucial to prioritize personal safety and self-defense in such situations. Here are a few points to consider: 1. Awareness and avoidance: The best way to win a street fight is to avoid it altogether. Stay aware of your surroundings, trust your instincts, and try to de-escalate any potential conflicts. 2. Train in a practical self-defense system: While push hands can enhance your overall martial arts skills, it is essential to train in a system that focuses on real-world self-defense techniques. Look for a martial art that emphasizes practical techniques, situational awareness, and realistic scenarios.
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Taijiquan (along with some other internal arts) is more of a bodywork method if done properly. Like powerlifting, let's say. A powerlifter is training their body for a certain kind of power. Can the powerlifter fight? Maybe; maybe not. Similarly, a Taijiquan player is training their body for a specific kind of power (strength, balance, etc)
Taijiquan is more of a martial art than powerlifting since it does contain drills such as push hands (with another person) to train the jin in the body. Whereas powerlifters use inanimate objects (weights) to train themselves. Push hands facilitates the training and the recognition of the jin(s) in one's own body. It's not to "overcome your opponent", per se. But one can certainly do that. But over time, the Taijiquan player, if conditioned very well, doesn't need techniques. To paraphrase Ueshiba Morihei (Aikido founder), "I manifest aiki in my body, and techniques are born". If you try to wrestle with a tree, the tree will literally stand there and throw you without trying. Your action alone is what made 'the technique to throw you' happen.
With that being said, one can indeed develop a decent amount of skill in Taijiquan and push hands, throwing people around with ease, and so on, and STILL may not be 'good at fighting'. The pressure from a person really coming after you (say MMA) can certainly overcome really good Taijiquan players. Depends on the person I guess.
Greetings from eastern Connecticut ^_^
the reason why people don't look at Tai Chi as a real martial art is because most of it is watered down and none of the teachers have any real combat experience.
Just like Wing Chun
Just like Karate
Just like Bagua
ect ect ect
This is true. It is a soul searching moment for all traditional martial arts.
Thank you for your expert insight and confirmi g this is what i need
I love your quiet wisdom! I started out in Choy Lay Fut but hope to learn Tai Chi one day!
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Agreed! I tell my students, if at all possible' to pour water on the fire... or 'un-tie the knot'. To use tuai-shou strategy either physically, verbally, or mentally. Try to be the 'S' curve balance line between conflict. Now,..if violence can't be avoided, or if you want to use Tai-Ji Quan' ( grand ultimate Fist/Boxing ) for real self-defense, then you must train all aspects. Study what other fighters do, try different areas of weapons, standing, sitting, and on the ground techniques, grappling, as well as Euro'/American boxing tactics. ALL tai-ji quan can be used in real-life defense, BUT, you must practice it as such with sparring partners. ''yin he' yang yi shi wu-fa he' ping an-fa'. [ yin & yang intention can be war-method and peace method. ]
You talked about alignment, fascinating really how about breathing when you do stand up meditation?
Breathing and body become one. When you do standing meditation, there's a lot of internal motion. When you are still on the outside, you can really notice all the motion on the inside. The breathing and internal motion fuse. Breathing becomes slow and deep and as you breathe, the breathe merges with the energy moving in your body which also directs the physical movements as the energy flows. You're not thinking about the breath but you're aware the breath and energy move together
Just found the video and I guess my response would be:
1) Any martial art, if properly trained, should give you the physical and mental confidence to avoid conflict.
2) I practiced Tai Chi for many years without being shown the combat side (and I was happy with that as I was also studying other more 'fighting' arts) then I was shown how lethal Tai Chi can be, how taking even a modern form like the short Yang 24 - which was created expressly as an exercise form - and retrofitting an older mindset and martial understanding can result in a form that absolutely contains (almost exclusively) techniques designed to maim or kill - so yes Tai Chi can be a combat art.
3) I teach Tai Chi for health and wellness and I also, from time to time, teach the physical Self Defence aspects. That is different to '2' above as the intent is to survive an altercation and walk away having done only the bare minimum necessary amount of damage to an attacker - that may not be as much fun as what you see in the Kung Fu movies but is far less likely to get you arrested for improper use of violence or for harming someone.
Thank you so much for sharing your insights and wisdom 🙏❤️
"No fight: no blame." - Tao Te Ching, Chapter 8
But I have yet to see anyone, no matter how well trained, be able to use tai chi in a real life situation against someone who actually knows how to fight. The bottom line is there are many other forms of self defense that are more suited for self defense and fighting. Tai Chi has evolved into more of an art form than anything else. Nothing wrong with that, it's a beautiful martial art and keeps the body in great shape as we age, but it's simply not suited for self defense.
Yes, sadly there are very few people left in the world who still train in Tai Chi as an effective combat martial art and I doubt any of them have students who can surpass them. I definitely want to hold events and make content showcasing these masters so people know they do still exist though.
@@AipingTaiChi That would be fantastic, I know I'd love to see it. Don't get me wrong, nothing with today's tai chi as an art form and meditation technique, it's amazing. I would love to see the old combat form make a comeback as well though.
For me, Taichi is one of martial arts. I learn karate for years and my style have a 'Kata' named 'Sanchin'. It is a traditional breath technique which remind me about taichi because it's soft movement but really important to get body awareness. It has a deep philosophy too.
It's a complex subject to deal with in relation to Taiji Chuan. My thoughts to add to the comments below is that if someone did want to learn the combat aspects of TJC then there just is not the infrastructure in order to sustain that combat development like there are in Arts that focus on combat. In other styles there are clubs, centres, monthly group meetings, seminars where you can experience, test, focus on combat techniques with different people, levels and instructors. TJC just does not have that. Push hands is the base for TJC which has ideas, techniques and methods unique to it. In my experience of training with different club meets, at a certain level of practitioner (not high) then yielding, borrowing, empty, sticking, softness etc goes out of the window and the ego kicks in. I'm not saying TJC does not have gross movements but that there's a complete absence of those subtle movements. TJC is yin yang and this is forgotten when it comes to it's combat. It feels like students resort to external forms and do not try to train in the Taiji way. Simply, they're not doing Taiji, many are too embarassed and unable to 'lose' in order to develop.
Thai Chi is the Kata's used to teach Nanquan. Kata's are used for focus, healing and meditation.
Beatifully put and a great insight of Tai Chi as life.
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❤ subscribed !
I agree 100% with you.If a person trains any martial art 2 or 3 hours a week his skills in a real fight against a street fighter sure will prove to be useless,as if he had been doing Taichi.Yang Luchan,Yang Chengfu or Chen Fake were no fools.They had not being practicing Taichi if it was a fake martial art.The matter here is that it takes much more training to achieve the Taichi body.It´s much easier learning how to punch or kick strongly that cultivating some peng jing,or swallow the opponent´s attack.
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It's impossible to be effective in self-defence with tai chi by practice solo forms an hour or two a week. In order to be effective in a real scenario, you need to understand the applications and principles of the forms, but you also need to develop your reflexes and timing. That is done with a partner. Practicing tai chi with a partner can basically be done in two ways: defending against predetermined attacks and defending against undetermined attacks. Both are VERY important and should be practiced as often as possible. If you want to be competent to defend yourself in a self-defense situation (I’m not even talking about mastery, just being competent), you need to repeat tai chi's isolated movements over and over again. Choose a specific, simple movement of your choice and repeat it over and over again. That can be anything, from palm strikes to shoulder strikes, from punches to throws. Martial effectiveness won’t come to you by magic. That’s something that must be prepared and developed by training intensively, with and without a partner.
Yes very true
You have an few on bagua hammer style..its a different...
In taiji or in any martial art you study the goal is to not get hurt in a conflict. In other words, my job is not to beat the biggest, strongest fighter out there. It's to keep that person or persons from hurting me. Period. That's when you see the magic of martial arts happen.
Those uninitiated souls who don't think that Tai-Chi can be used for defense have never felt a serious discharge.
The trick to self defense is to keep your mind occupied with something other than your opponent, like keeping your feet rooted into the ground, and then let your instincts and training to take over. The bad news in that it takes at least a decade (usually 2) to develop the skills necessary to respond correctly ... with energy. That is to say, with Chi and not Li.
Wonderful insight 🙏❤️
in a way you are right, still you sneak around the problem, some average guy training half a year boxing with some sparring sessions can dominate most untrained men in the streets(both no weapons) but with tai chi you probably cannot even after 3 or 5 years of training, fight skills are for domination and you cannot use tai chi for domination in the streets, only in social "conflicts", not real battle/fights, i fully support tai chi, but we have to see things clear and be honest to ourselves
I think because most people don't practice Tai Chi for martial arts doesn't mean Tai Chi itself isn't an effective martial art. I think if we reduce the population to look at someone interested in learning martial arts and they go learn with a teacher who teaches Tai Chi for combat, they will be able to go up against the boxer. Tai Chi is just strange in that it's a martial art where 90% of the students who practice it have no interest in learning martial arts.
@@AipingTaiChi 👍
It doesn't matter what style of fighting you may plan to do , Tai Chi has something to offer to make you better at it . Wether it's proper breathing, balance , structure or even weight distribution , doing the forms alone will improve even the simplest things like a 3 count combo . Better yet try doing something like a double leg takedown but very slow. You may find you have been double weighting the whole time but you were able to compensate with speed but it left you with a hitch in the motion. Try various movements or combos like that and you'll see. And really, the whole "try that in an MMA fight " approach is silly . That's a FIGHT. 2 people agreed in advance to it , set up a time and place , the rules, even got a referee on hand . Many of us are training just for self defense , a "win" is to go home alive so we train accordingly . Depending on how you learn and train it , Tai Chi can very much help with that as well.
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Of course, Tai Chi is a martial art, with fists and weapons.
The question is:
How many schools in the West teach how to fight seriously?
How many masters have fought seriously?
I live in Portugal (EU), I practiced Tai Chi and Chi Kung in school for almost 20 years (now I practice only), I was an assistant of my sifu Fung for 5 years.
The students who settle in the TC are mostly over 40 years old. Many have or have had sedentary lives and already have health problems.
Some people say that soft training is not true TC, but I know with it I can help a lot of people to live better, physically and mentally.
With little we get them to get out of the house, get up from the couch and change their eating habits and have less pain.
very VERY insightful, thank you ☺️👍
2:25 -- HAHA!! I was told by one of my coworkers that he had friends who were black belts in karate. Once the situation came forth that they needed those skills, they didn't know what to do.
4:18 -- I've often been in situations where I try to deescalate a situation, but it's a little difficult when someone is trying to use abuse -- even verbal abuse -- to get me to submit.
Aka encountering Karens.
I took up taekwando for a bit, never finished. And I'm also thinking about Krav Maga after I can do the 48 Tai Chi unassisted with learning swords and sabres -- mostly because of He-Man and Conan, not Star Wars.
I know it can go up to 102. More on that.
But I have a friend who took up judo with the intent of being a bad ass. And sadly, I think that's the objective.
I admittedly believe that's my reason for taking up taekwando in the first place, and planning on Krav Maga.
But in Tai Chi, even I have learned or theorized methods in the event something happens. Like using an elbow strike in blocking a punch to the head, followed by a shoulder strike in a counterattack.
Not to mention using the golden rooster in a sidekick, repulse monkey in a judo throw or whatever, etc.
And I'm still a junior of juniors.
But on the 102, I use those progressions as more on focus and calm.
You may have seen Ramsey Dewey (popular MMA TH-camr) touting all of the benefits of Tai Chi and grappling.
I have seen his name mentioned before but I've never watched his videos
maybe I got it wrong but is the popular Thai Chi that is taught all over the world not a shortened version of a real fighting style?
It has branched out into many different streams, some retaining the martial roots, others as sports and exercise only, while some others purely for health and approached like Qigong.
Real Taiji Quan is a very powerful martial art. Just real Taiji shifus don't really care wot UFC or Joe Rogan or anyone else says. History doesn't lie. Taiji is great. Remember every UFC fight has a loser . Does this mean MMA is not effective? No excalty.
Excellent
De-escalation and so on is basic self-defense you don't need tai chi for that knowledge. Tai chi can be effective for fighting if cross-trained with other styles. Look at pro fighters like Nick Osipczak and Han Feilong.
I blame the 1970s giving tai chi a bad name all the flower power people doing tai chi. 😂
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I'm a 25 year yang style practitioner and you people are deluded. If you want to be able to fight you need to be getting punched in the ring on the regular. Tai chi doesn't teach self defense very well anymore. Some schools do but very very few. If you want to improve your life and later gain some martial skills after ten years or so then learn Tai chi. If you want to be good at fighting learn a martial art that is focused on fighting and sparring. Boxing for example. But prove me wrong - go to your local mma gym and spar with some people.
Hmm, wonder what Master Wong would have to say about this subject.
Probably it would involve a lot of Fs.
You're talking about Poa Chui - Chinese Wrestling wich is similar to Russian - Sambo Wrestling. Fanzi is free Fighting basically Chinese kick boxing .
Real Tai Chi Chuan (the stuff that Mao outlawed in 1949) can drop your opponent in an instant.
Real Tai Chi Chuan is geared toward striking Dim Mak points and immobilizing, paralyzing or killing an opponent.
But this has become a lost art, known only to a few old timers.
Bill P.
This is true 😢
My girlfriend from china she does wingcun and your art listen lhave done japan karate 20 years she blocked my reverse punch useing wingchum and then your remeber pressure you can use them to hurt or heal the arts are make me tespect and help.people not beat the hell of every mind just think lf thats your mindset all time whats going happen to you my girlferid you have ying yang blalance hot and cold subcribed to your channel prssed thumbs up your vedlos are good godbless seamus
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So, you are saying you're learning Taijiquan to avoid fighting ? It is like learning to drive a car to improve walking. Chen family people were into security business not for their ability to talk themselves out of a sticky situation. Yang Luchan got into bodyguarding the top elite of China not for being nice to people either. In short, the ability to physically defend oneself against a non-cooperating opponent is what gauges effectiveness of a martial art. Everything else is a martial dance, or a fence of words for "paper tigers" to hide behind. If you never deal with realistic force in class, you'd be safer to stop dreaming about repelling such force in real life. If you don't train stamina in class, you can forget about any chance to be active in a fight longer than 30 seconds. That's the sad truth. Everything else is a bunch of paper flowers.
There are many aspects to winning a fight. Of course nothing replaces the ability to defend yourself from a physical attack. All martial arts training must include this and I don't think I ever said you don't need to know this. But IMHO I do believe if you have the intention of fighting me and I am able to change your intention to leave me be and let me go about my business, this is a much better outcome than the two of us battling it out physically. I don't see any inconsistencies with having both views. I didn't come to this conclusion on my own. I have listened to many older martial artists and war veterans who have shared their lived experiences with physical violence and in their wisdom they believe while violence is sometimes necessary, it is better to avoid it in the first place.
@@AipingTaiChi I do appreciate your approach, nobody argues that it is better to avoid fighting than to fight. But martial arts don't deal with talking oneself out of a fight. Psychology and NLP deal with that. Martial arts deal with figthing. Yes, all famous and not so famous teachers say that it is better to run away than to enter the confrontation. But if one is against a wall (literally or figuratively) then not just the fists but one's "yi" must be set accordingly. Mental preparation for a fight is half the victory, that's why quite often it is not a marial artist but a street thug that wins a fight. And one can't get that martial intent just by repeating taolu over and over, one needs experience. That's the only difference in opinions you and I seem to have. Which is normal, isn't it 🙂
@@TaijiquanGaoshou I agree with everything you said here. I think the only real difference is what is the nature of the fight each of us is most likely to engage in. I think there is where the male lived experience and female lived experience is different so our emphasis is different. I feel like I walk into battle every day being a woman who has always done things women aren't supposed to do and people are always trying to put me back into my place, and especially when I was still in my finance career where elbows were very sharp up that corporate ladder. I honestly can't think of a single realistic scenario where someone would come up to be to physically fight me, no matter how prepared I am for that, as a woman, that's just not really a realistic scenario. Not combat fight the way two men would engage. But I had to defend myself from many attacks all the time from people getting in my way from what I wanted to do and how I wanted to advance. I was always prepared for those fights and approached them with my Tai Chi principles and have always been able to advance and win and many of those who attacked me first wound up following me in the end and handed over the reigns to lead them. They did that not because I was afraid to fight them. I never ran from the fight but engaged them in a way they realized fighting me isn't as productive as just following me. But I think that only works because I'm a woman and men don't feel the same sense of competition against me as they would against another man.
There are people who think that "mixed martial arts" is a new idea. It is really an ancient idea. As one who has closely studied Jiu Jitsu, Uechi-Ryu and CMC style Tai Chi, I know your very feminine perspective is all wrong. You just don't get it. Real self-defense Tai Chi looks a lot more like Aikido than a Chinese fistic art.
I don't think I expressed my ideas well. I don't really have a feminine perspective on Tai Chi, just want to express an aspect that I don't think gets enough thought. I have seen Tai Chi taught as an effective grappling art as well as an effective striking art.
if most people are coming to knock you out ..... their going to attempt to knock you out ...especially if you start talking passive .... I've seen it again ...and again ...and again.
If you say that tai chi is good for self defense??
Why The tai chi master wasn't able to protect himself again XU ??(AKA The MAD DOG?)
Because the Tai Chi master didn't know how to fight and shouldn't have been the representation of Tai Chi as a martial art. Anyone who has never fought shouldn't represent a fighting art in a fight.
cope.
why does she talk like that?
Sorry, what is the definition of Marial Art? Martial Art is an art. Self-defense techniques, strictly speaking, cannot be counted as an Art. Karate, Judo, Jujitsu, Taekwondo, Chinese Kungfu, etc. are different schools of Martial Art. Each has its own theme, and may include self-defense techniques, but each of them does not encourage street-fighting! Each school has its own rule of competition. No martial art teacher will encourage the student to engage on street fighting because it is full of unpredictable risks. Having said that, as a practitioner of Karatedo and Taiichi for many years, I can conclude that Tai Chi is a real martial art. It does teach the practitioners to learn more about the spirit rather than the superficial techniques.
OMG, another rationalization of TCC!!! You lost me when you had to appeal to Royler's seminar!!! TCC sucks as a Fighting Art! that´s the HARD TRUTH!
i can beat up any tai chi master, it is not effective and the only good chinese martial art I like is sanda cause atleast they teach you how to kick and punch right
I've been exploring a TH-cam show series about bringing some Tai Chi combat practitioners together with Internet critics. If you'd like to be a part of it, I can include you.
A single seminar, even by someone very famous, is not going to make anyone a fighter. Stop dreaming.
I agree with that. I don't think I said that one seminar with someone famous will make you a great fighter. We are both in agreement there.
Gaslighting the issue
No, her experience as a teacher and in life validates what she has to say on the subject. That's not gaslighting.
Did you know that our brains treat both parasocial and social relationships the same? And if they're emotionally adolescent and incredibly insecure lizard-brained narcissists that lack empathy, you're going to start mirroring those effects and display similar patterns of behaviour?
@@pascalbro7524 I think that there are many health benefits of practicing Tai Chi but you have a snowball's chance in hell when you are in a cage fight. So ' martial' meaning benefitting a warrior is not one of them
@@captainbeefheart7959 Health benefits was not the point that was made here but that not all conflict is physical. It hinges on the psychology.
And, as someone who has taken interest in this art and who has a decent amount of experience with neuroscience and psychology, a lot of the things our ancestors intuited and developed, align with what we're discovering today regarding myriad things like the automatic and intentional system.
If you're in a position where insecurity arises because of this to the point you accuse someone with valid life experience of gaslighting, that shows a lack of basic respect and empathy.
Now, if you value stepping into a cage and drastically improve your chances at living with CTE, being even more aggressive and a danger to yourself and others, knock yourself out. Or hopefully your opponent.
Others have taken the road of never having to step into a cage at all and winning without even throwing a punch.
Cage fighting is not a martial art...it's a martial sport with rules galore. If trained properly, Taiji principles are highly effective in the street, where it matters.
@@hamstring6792 I agree that cage fighting is not a martial art but it is the place where it is tested. I did Aikido for 12 years but that would not help me in a real fight with serious opposition. Don't get me wrong I still love Aikido. You learn very quickly what parts of your sport are BS if you have really serious opposition.
You have this all wrong. If Tai Chi is applied properly, it is a very effective, explosive, close-range method of self-defense. The truth is that there is a big difference between MARTIAL ART and SELF-DEFENSE. If one looks closely at the concepts of Wu Wei, Mushin and the "Jiu Jitsu" of self-defense. Look closely at what is taught.
I Have The Hidden Style of perfection In Tai Chi The First man to ever Show China And The First master Of all time, he was an Actul Avatar Tai Chi have a Serious Deep Root Of Forbidden Kung Fu The Truth Of this style Adept To all Style for The means of Tai chi is so strong that for One Who open this Truth and skill Is not to use this For else You will die For trying, This is what a great master Say Do not use this Form For if You do You most Undestand Why You do, The root of Tai Chi of the 9 Ener Gates Of God level I was born with a Symbol Of a Star no One Has Ever Train me, For i have Train At the age of 4 and Im 27 Now No One Can Win over me If You think That You can you most Be a God To Even get Close At My level, For I am Limitless i even Got so Fare That i Am So Close To Undestand True Immortality I had 46 Student's Once And we a Down to 1 This is How hard it is To Train With me, For you have to be 100% With Out Fails Reason for that because the Way i teach Goes For the pass Down And Why it is Hidden For nearly Everyone. For i am myself a Real Avatar. Born as the 12 Avatar.
Tai Chi is indeed a great tool to deal with conflict on many levels but not at real physical confrontation. In this sense it is not a combative art. The way it is presented today and, to be honest . in all twenty century, is merely a calisthenic exercice with ancient war postures and some dual methods. Tai Chi is indeed issued from ancient folk and shamanic dances with many ritual and religious connections. Who believes that it is a martial art just search for the recent events in China with MMA adepts vs Tai Chi masters.
Happy new year my friends
No Taiji master has ever stepped into a ring with an MMA player, no matter what you think you may have seen on TH-cam.
I do believe the combat effectiveness of it has been lost. But I also believe it once existed. I don't think anyone can refute that the transmission has been lost and no one has been able to achieve it in modern times.
I also agree with this comment
@@AipingTaiChi The martial principles have never disappeared because they're embedded in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Not combat, but I think this is a good example of someone who has a good understanding of them within the context of Tuishou, even though a lot of what he's doing is hidden. th-cam.com/video/KHUB_nf-MlI/w-d-xo.html
@@AipingTaiChi Hello Shifu Shirley! Greetings from Aiping Tai Chi Austin!
I am curious what your thoughts are on the work Chen Zhonghua is doing with his "chen style practical method taiji" and the match his student Sun Yang had in a Muay Thai fight: th-cam.com/video/OvK_CXCEowY/w-d-xo.html
Would your position be that the TaiJi training supplemented his Muay Thai but doesn't stand on its own from a combat perspective? Or that the combat art is simply not what it used to be even for these types of practitioners?
This is absolute nonsense. Your argument is an apology on why no one should learn any martial art and why no one should use MMA against their spouse or co-workers. Laughable.