concise set introduction

taiji set names, called the concise set:

1. Heaven and Earth unite
2. Moon and Sun sweep sky
3. Wind brings Thunder
4. River rides the Mountain
5. Heaven holds all things
   
6. A storm of out the Earth

The pattern is as such, the first four moves are based upon 8 principals, the next two use those same principals, but in new combination, an example of how the principals are put into effect. In addition to this, the concise set has application and weapons aspects and different variations to allow focus on different ways of expressing the movements and methods.

The whole thing is 6 breaths, however it is a mirror form, meaning it is not done once, but twice at least, once on each side, and it cycles so it can be done for an indefinite period of time.

Each of the 6 parts has two parts, which create 12 motions used for training the skills of the set, each of the 6 parts also has specific footwork.

The set is also done slow and fast, slow it takes as long as it takes, fast it takes a few seconds at most. The fast cannot be learned without the slow though.

The concise set is something I made for myself, to allow me to focus on the skills I want.
It does not replace or conflict with any other form or method or systematic patterning, but goes with them well and is based on effective material, so it combines well with any martial art. It is a great way for a hard stylist to get an introduction to the taiji principals and methods, largely because it is concise and easily demonstrated with clear principals.

A fool trusts skill he can see
the wise trust skill they can feel

the appearances of things is not the internal way

the crouching cat is superficial
it is external

the internal is as a cat which does not crouch
and yet pounces
..............................
It can be funny how much emphasis is placed on the superficial,
by those who claim to practice the internal.

Parable of Master & Talents (of the students)

A great martial artist went to travel the world and before he left he recorded and demonstrated all he knew for his three pupils.

As he departed he instructed his students:
"practice and study these things until my return"

And so the teacher traveled a great many years, until finally he returned.
He then summoned his students and began to test them.

His first student had not only great skill, having studied the teachings for years he had created a great many innovations upon their foundation.

His second student also had great skill, for he had innovated several subtle distinctions pertaining to the teachings.

His third student also had great skill and presented the teachings of his master perfectly.

The teacher then spoke to his students:

"My first pupil, having studied and practiced the teachings I gave you so many years ago you have taken them and built upon them, not only understanding them, but making them your own. I name you as my successor, for your skill has exceeded my own as is the hope of every good teacher for his students."

And saying this he struck at his first student,
who easily moved out of the way.

"My second pupil, having practiced and studied what I have taught you, you have mastered it well and explored many subtleties upon your own, there is no more I can teach you, I confer to you the title of master instructor. Your skill has come to match my own."

And saying this he struck at his second student,
who neutralized the attack without difficulty.

"My third pupil, though having mastered all I have shown you, not one innovation have you made, not one realization have you employed beyond my teachings."

And saying this he struck at his third student,
who then died instantly.

two short tales

A man sought to learn to play a flute he was given by his greatest friend, he bought a book which showed him where to put his fingers and how to blow through the flute and so he did it a few times and found he was not very good at it, and so he threw his book and flute away.

Another man happened upon the book and flute. He picked them up and read of how to learn to play the flute, and practicing every day he became a great master of the instrument.

_____

A man found a teacher, who taught him all he needed to know, but he doubted the teachings and moved on.
He met another teacher, who again taught him all he needed to know, but he did not practice the teachings and so he moved on.
He met another teacher, who one again taught him all he needed to know, and then made the man practice it by sitting there with him while he did it.
The man exclaimed, "At last I have found the right teaching"
And the teacher doubting the man, moved on.

take your time

Sometimes when we are eager to practice or play we build and reinforce bad habits because we do not take enough time to learn what we are trying to do step by step.

Often people who 'get it' don't, because they do. They accept their ability to imitate and understand a move as having learned a move, method or technique, nothing could be further from the truth.

At a class I was at not long ago a highly skilled guest instructor stopped the physical lessons for a few moments and related to us that sometimes very simple moves can take years of practice to get right. He related that just because you were able to do something in class when a teacher shows it to you, doesn't mean you can do it well.

The move has to become part of you, so why be hasty? Why rush into things with sloppy methods and bad habits? People who brag about how they can do difficult things can seldom do simple things right for some reason.

Once you begin to practice, you get better at what you practice, if you practice mistakes and bad habits, they won't go away over time, you will just get better at doing things the sloppy way. That is nothing to be proud of.

Take your time, practice everything step by step and go slow enough to get it right.
This method takes patience, but good things come to those who wait.

That guy who rushes into things and thinks he is so good because he can do advanced moves while he is a beginner, that guy who seems to "get it" quickly, he isn't who you want to be. You aren't meant to "get it" you are meant to practice it, then you will get it over time, and what you will get is Kung-fu.

(from wikipedia)
In its original meaning, kung fu can refer to any skill. Gōngfu (功夫) is a compound of two words, combining 功 (gōng) meaning "achievement" or "merit", and 夫 (fū) which translates into "man", so that a literal rendering would be "human achievement". Its connotation is that of an accomplishment arrived at by great effort.

This is actually a post of mine for a discussion forum, but I thought I might share it with you.

Taijiquan, it comes in so many flavors and colors.

How much of this is the superficial? How much of this is the internal?

Luchan displayed different forms than Chen style, though my understanding is that he was above average intelligence. However, and more to my point, the forms of lines of transmission that come from students of his, differ in each and every case to some degree or another. Thus we have today several so called "styles" that can be traced back to Yang Luchan through his sons or students.

It occurs to me that the expressiveness of the form work centers around the postures as a theme and that the forms as we know them in orthodoxy are questionable as to their veracity regarding historical authenticity and accuracy, particularly if personalizing and individually manifesting the form or techniques is an authentic transmission.

It seems that standardized forms are for group classes, allowing the class to have a line dance approach to form work, allowing potentially thousands to participate at once, although class sizes tend to be smaller.

But another method seems to be teacher to student transmissions that are of a one on one nature and are not made in a one size fits all manner. It seems that sometimes this type of one on one transmission took place and forms were altered or even created for a single student, who later teaches that form as a by the numbers piece to a large group of people. This approach is still difficult, so the form was modeled to be challenging enough to allow progressive benefits but easy enough to learn to do without years of special conditioning.

With the one on one approach, years of special conditioning is rather typical. However with the group approach this is not practical to do in the same detail and so a one size fits all approach becomes more ideal.
This group approach is public, ergo the very fitting title of public form.

However I was told that every time I lift my leg and step a certain way in the public form, that it hides or has or holds a kick, and I was also told that there are other simplified reduced moves in the public form. When I do a form and insert these kicks and motions in a more complete manner, two things stand out immediately, the first is that conditioning is required, the second is that each move needs to be down perfectly or it won't flow properly, thus the moves must be learned not as a sequence, but as postures.

Finding someone capable or willing to study in the one on one and step by step manner should be very difficult. The type of student who does well in the class may not do well one on one, and the type of person who does well one on one might not do well in a class.

I believe that this teaching issue has as much as anything to do with why there are millions of people who practice, but what seems like less than one hundred masters alive today.

Conveyor belt approaches lead to a uniform product that has the right shape but lacks the fine craftsmanship of a custom piece.

Custom work alone produces works of art.
It is as true for the sword, as it is for the martial artist.

Basics

I've been making a formal review of the basics by watching how they are done by the advanced players of various martial arts, including Taijiquan and Capoeira, which are two parts of the martial art I practice.

I have found some interesting things.
Masters have the basics down perfect, but basically nobody else does. I don't mean master as a formal title, but to note that often senior students are better at their advanced moves than their basics, this is highly unfortunate.

Many newer students can do some advanced moves, but they don't feel at home with the basics. Essentially the simple basic moves should be second nature, they should be effortless and reflexive.

Many students do not perfect their basic moves before moving on to advanced moves. To them the basics are too boring or simple to be worth it.

Let me share with you however that the most advanced moves in martial arts are all basic moves, what makes them advanced is the skill they are employed with.

Lets face it, you aren't going to learn the basics by working on the hard stuff. But honestly, the hard stuff comes with much less effort if the basics are mastered, and I mean mastered; first.

Don't do things with a sloppy feeling, thinking you will get better, often you will only build a bad habit that will not fix itself. If you approach the systems with patience and work on the basics and get them down, the rewards will speak for themselves.

The idea is that the basic moves are a foundation. The better your foundation, the better everything that is built on it is. The more time and work you put into this foundation, the stronger your structure is going to be in the end. However if you skip the foundation and work on the upper stories, then one day you will have to go back down to the basement and fix your foundation, because a strong game in Push Hands (San Shou) or in the Roda comes from having your basics down strong.

I am not even going to go into all that Ginga and Grasp sparrows 'tale' teach, needless to say all of the advanced skills flow from the conditioning of the basic foundations of Capoeira and Taijiquan. Still I am a beginner, so don't take my word for it, go ask your teacher. But if you like friendly contests without animosity, then please come and test your skill and provide me with a lesson.

Friendly Challenges are welcome from players with the same number of years of experience as I. I am a 3 year taijiquan student and a couple of months into Capoeira training.

I am also going to suggest that the skill of a person can be measured by how they perform the basics, and not just the advanced material. If you can't do the basics, then no amount of working harder moves is going to allow you to reach mastery of self or the art you practice.