Wen Hsiu Quan

Hi, everyone. Last week marked the end of a discussion that I have really enjoyed. Taijiquan has- just like much of China's other martial arts, really awesome forms to watch. Having studied Jeet Kune Do- I am well aware that a lot of modern fighters don't care much for forms. Bruce Lee was quite frank about it. He did not like them. Whether he liked them or not, however, forms were used from as early as the 17th century to transmit the martial arts techniques we know today from one source to another. Karate as we know it today is the result of Okinawan martial arts having been introduced to 20th Century Japan. Since that time Karate has changed and developed a lot. New schools have even emerged in this century. Here in South Africa I have become aware of more than one school of Shotokan that has absolutely no affiliation with Japan. I currently attend classes at one of these schools. These schools often show a neglect of traditional teachings that I find lamentable t...

Hello again! This is acutally one of the simplest of movements that appear in every Taiji form that I have seen. I was planning to do a post on its application as a simultaneous lower parry and push and show how other similar techniques get used in the Wudang arts, but must admit that Sifu Iain has a much cooler application for this movement- as is shown in the Youtube videos that I have linked below... In Shaolin Kungfu we have a move called the "Green Dragon" and to put it very simply it is a downward block that is accompanied by a tiger palm strike. The value of attacking while defending cannot be overemphasised since a lot of seasoned fighters only provide you with an opening when they are actually attacking. Fighters who are too focused on evading or blocking at the cost of their own counterattack miss that opportunity to attack. The ability to defend and attack at the same time of course also stops your opponent from letting his attack escalate into somet...

Weekend is finally here and I can finally get to writing this weekend's post! :) Today's Taijiquan move is also found in almost all forms being taught in the world today. Readers who practice Tai Chi, but who have never bothered to find out about any of its combat applications might find the applications of this move interesting. If you are a Karate student you are most likely, just like me, used to techniques having simple names. Gyaku Zuki, Mawashi Geri and so forth. The trouble with the names of Kungfu movements, especially Taijiquan's, is that the absence of a visual demonstration would leave the uninitiated at a loss for any idea what the move's function is or even how it is performed. Fortunately- I have found photos and videos to give non- Tai chi folk an idea of how this movement is performed and what use it has in a fight.   In Shotokan Karate's kata Enpi we have a similar move that looks like this: The two claw-hands look really ...

Today's post is about a movement that is as identifiable with Taijiquan as the Age Uke is with Karate. Nowadays I find a lot of DVD's and literature on Taijiquan that go into detail about movements, but do not bother to give any explanation of the martial application of these movements. My first book on Taijiquan did just that. My teacher before then did not want to teach me the fighting applications in the hope of curing my anger issues. After 5 years or so from learning Taijiquan for the first time I got this book by David Gaffney and Davidine Sim on Chen Style Taijiquan. The book itself is a valuable source of information on Taijiquan technique while it does not do anything to teach a form to beginners. The book had this to say about the Single Whip: What is described in this poem is a posture akin to Happo Biraki in Japanese martial arts. This posture keeps the stance relaxed, but firmly rooted while the arms are spread wide open. The purpose of this po...

I have just started searching for examples of this movement on the internet and realised that among all the people doing Tai Chi out there I might just be the only one who would apply Cloud Hands the way I do. I have found different variations of the movement itself as well. This makes my writing about my version and its application a bit unfair as you will be missing out on some really elaborate applications. Now- how I always did this movement is starting from a posture like the Lute Playing posture like the picture below- or the Spread Wings posture like this: From either one of these ready postures I then rotate my front foot and let my body follow while my leading hand makes contact with an imaginary thrust and I then complete the rotation by passing the attack while I guide its force past me with minimal effort and my free hand follows the blocking hand to wind up for an outward strike. When the rotation and step is complete I shift weight ...

Hi, blog readers. As suggested by Travelling Lakan in our Martial Arts Forums group on G+ I write this weekend's post about the reverse crescent kick as we find it in Taijiquan. I admit that I have not seen a spinning version of this kick in Tai Chi forms, but using the principles of Taiji technique I have constructed a spinning kick for us to use in this discussion. I was not able to get examples from the internet of this particular kick off the internet, so I made videos under the strict supervision of Master Patrys. She supervises all of my Saturday workouts and makes sure that I do not slack off when training. :D I have not seen this kick in Shotokan before. To give you an idea of what a reverse crescent kick is I can use Ryu from the Street Fighter game series as an example. Ryu has a special attack called the "Tatsu Maki Senpuu Kyaku". I have yet to ask my Japanese friends for an accurate translation, but we gamers got to know it as the "Hurrica...

Looking at martial arts competitions-particularly fights or sparring matches, it is very easy to get so captivated by the spectacular appearance of kicking techniques that one does not realise that a properly executed kick can land its victim in hospital or cripple him for life. With Taijiquan, however, I  have not found much in the line of being spectacular when it comes to kicking. In fact- the front kick, which I am going to discuss here- appears in most forms. Circular and crescent kicks are also found in some forms and upward kicks with the instep also occur, but the front kick is basically guaranteed to show up in most forms if not all. If you have practiced Taiji walking a lot you will feel that each leg carries the body's weight on its own for a long time. This in itself develops the strength needed to effectively execute this kick. Another thing you tend to become aware of is the shifting of weight from one leg to another. Rooted posture is of paramount importa...