taichistudent Posted January 24, 2015 Hey guys, I'm glad I found this place, so much info here and such kind people. I have been very interested in learning Tai Chi. There appear to be many different styles and lineages. I prefer to back to the source as much as possible. Currently I don;t have access to a live teacher so it would have to be through Books and DVD's - but hopefully one day I do have access to a great teacher and can move on from there. Most people practice Tai Chi for health and for martial art but it seems that the origin of Tai Chi was as a spiritual practice? Can anyone verify this? Hope to have a wonderful discussion with you guys and I pray I may receive some valuable insights. -Student Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liminal_luke Posted January 24, 2015 If you´re interested in a Tai Chi--esque form that is specifically for spiritual development, as opposed to martial arts, and can be effectively learned from a DVD I´d consider Michael Winn´s Primordial Qi Gong, or, as he calls it, Tai Chi for Enlightenment. My two cents. Liminal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
taichistudent Posted January 24, 2015 Thanks for your reply. Not crazy about Michael Winn Tho. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leif Posted January 24, 2015 No one can verify it. It's all legends. Only martial origins are somewhat verifiable. So IMHO back to the source would be Chen style. Thanks for your reply. Not crazy about Michael Winn Tho. That form can be learned from other sources too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lifeforce Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) Hey guys, I'm glad I found this place, so much info here and such kind people. I have been very interested in learning Tai Chi. There appear to be many different styles and lineages. I prefer to back to the source as much as possible. Currently I don;t have access to a live teacher so it would have to be through Books and DVD's - but hopefully one day I do have access to a great teacher and can move on from there. Most people practice Tai Chi for health and for martial art but it seems that the origin of Tai Chi was as a spiritual practice? Can anyone verify this? Hope to have a wonderful discussion with you guys and I pray I may receive some valuable insights. -Student Hello student. Do you have any experience in the movement arts such as any type of martial art, dance etc ? If you do, it maybe possible to learn a qigong form from a video or book. Not taiji though. That would require teacher/student tuition. Something like 8 brocades or xingyineigong, which can be learned from a book, would give you much the same, or maybe even more of the benefits of taiji. There is also Kunlun, Flying Phoenix, Spring Forest, Zhan Zhuang etc etc which are discussed at length in these forums. Do some digging and research. There's a bottomless pit of information here. Good luck. Edited January 24, 2015 by lifeforce 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leif Posted January 24, 2015 Get Insider's guide to Tai Chi by Bruce Frantzis from https://s3.amazonaws.com/taichiprogram/Insiders-Guide-to-Tai-Chi-By-Bruce-Frantzis.pdf (or his book Tai Chi: Health for Life, it even has a chapter on Tai Chi and Spirituality) It covers a lot on how to choose which style to practice. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bearded Dragon Posted January 25, 2015 Get Insider's guide to Tai Chi by Bruce Frantzis from https://s3.amazonaws.com/taichiprogram/Insiders-Guide-to-Tai-Chi-By-Bruce-Frantzis.pdf (or his book Tai Chi: Health for Life, it even has a chapter on Tai Chi and Spirituality) It covers a lot on how to choose which style to practice. Yeah he has the tai chi mastery program which is ok as a starting point. Alternatively you could do this up until where the movement starts... Huang Sheng Shyan refined his tai chi to the point where all of tai chi was contained in that movement. It has the feet at 90 degrees so that you learn to relax your hips open, and the arms are slightly off the body like you have tennis balls under your armpits. Then you sink your chi down under the ground then when you can't go any further you allow it to rebound up. This action has a small physical action of going down and up again. That's it. There is no forward, back, left or right in tai chi. There is only up and down and the up and down has no top or bottom. Movement is created by using this sinking/rebounding alternatively down/up each leg. It is difficult but not hard to get it to happen a little bit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Astral Monk Posted January 25, 2015 Taiji's origins are mysterious. Right now the modern forms are descended fron the Chen family style, from the 1800s. It was a boxing style, and only later has developed as a health/spirit art, due in part to Sun Lu Tang's influence at the turn of the 1900s. tbc... 8) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Astral Monk Posted January 25, 2015 Tai chi chuan was developed for fighting, a way to gain advantage over hard styles. The emphasis on wuji (emptyness) has enabled the martial art to crossover into deeper internal arts. I think that if one approaches tai chi chuan with an understanding or experience of Chinese energy medicine (meridians etc) or qigong it will be easier to put the pieces together. The most prolific style out there is Yang style, and I believe many taiji for health come from Yang styles. Get plugged into local tai chi and learn a basic form. A form could be learned from video etc, but to advance further a teacher will be neccessary. After a certain amount of instruction tho, one has to take what is learned and make ones own path. As long as the fundamentals are solid. 8) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
taichistudent Posted January 25, 2015 Hi all, Thanks for all the information that has been shared. I pretty much think I know how I'm going to do this. The next step for me will be to buy some books and dvd's from Wasyun Lia and get started with that on my own. He seems to have an incredible load of DVD's with excellent instructions. Maybe I'll get them all one day Also his book T'ai Chi Classics seems pretty solid. Maybe after training for some years on my own I have the privilege to continue training under a master. Awesome, Student Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banjobum Posted January 25, 2015 I'm pretty much a beginner myself and started learning Yang style long form from a good teacher but not realising it was only Tai Chi for health with no mention of chi, it totally changed for me after learning chi and qigong side of it from Bruce Frantzis and Dr Yang Jwing Ming, the energy work to me is what is all about, you can learn the actual form or movements from anyone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slim Posted January 25, 2015 Why not try and get to a weekend workshop somewhere. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
