FluffyGuardian Posted 19 hours ago Hello, I am a practitioner of Chen Family Taijiquan of Chen Zhaokui's lineage. My path has been more of the traditional, old-school variety, where martial arts is the focus. One thing to know about me is that I admire differences in martial arts. So many people seem to have a bias or desire to want all martial arts to be the same. They would use the common metaphor that all martial arts are paths up the same mountain, but personally, I think it would be more accurate to say that there are different mountains that different martial arts focus on. It seems pretty clear to me that Boxing and Wrestling are climbing two very different mountains. Those two paths are climbing two very different peaks. But hey... that's just what I think. Like sure... they have two arms and two legs... yet an elite Boxer clearly does not move remotely similar to an elite wrestler. When martial arts do things differently (often due to differences in context), I think that's really cool! If we all do the same thing, I find that boring. What I practice and study is extremely different than pretty much any mainstream Taijiquan, regardless of whether they are another Chen Style or any other style. This is not just my opinion, but anyone with prior experience with Taijiquan who tries this particular path out agrees with this sentiment. Even the basics and foundations are different. And, I find that really interesting. I embrace differences. I think a lot of people are terrified of differences because they have experienced how it breeds tribalism and toxicity. But I feel like many have lied to themselves that everything is the same out of fear of conflict. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
