reader questions

"What are the differences between the styles of tai ji? Is there not one basic set of forms? Are the different styles so apart that one would be hindered by reading texts/watching DVDs from another school's style?

My concern here is that for home practice, would I necessarily need to study materials from the same style as my class?"

OK, at the risk of sounding pompous and spouting off too much, I will take on the above – but only after first inviting readers to provide their own, better answers in the comments section. We need all the help we can get.

And also after complaining once again about my friend who spends all of 30 seconds typing these questions which require hours and hours of overtime from me and my beleaguered staff. Just kidding – keep the good questions coming, but don’t expect timely answers.

Taking your questions in order…

(1) Here goes an extremely loose history of tai ji. There seems to be general agreement that the Chen Style may be the oldest of the Big Five. Chen style is noticeable for being a bit more lively or active in appearance, especially its fajing expressions of power.

The Yang Style probably developed next and may be the biggest influence on the modern forms such as 24 and 48. The Wu (吴, or wu with a rising second tone) style was developed by Wu Quan Yu (or Ch’uan yu) and his son Wu Jian Quan (or Chien-ch’uan), who had earlier made extensive study of the Yang Style. The Wu (吴) style is known for its tendency to have the upper torso leaning forward in many stances (though old photos revealed that major Yangs also developed this tendency as they got older).

Then we have the Wu (武, or wu with a falling – rising third tone) Style, sometimes called Wu (Hao) (武郝) Style, actually third in order of development of the Big Five. This is the style about which I know the least, though one book tells me that one of its characteristics is that the hands are never extended past the feet.

One of the patriarchs of the Wu (Hao) style went on to teach Sun LuTang, who developed the Sun Style. You can recognize it by its abundance of motions in which the upright palms spread apart and come together, as well as by its follow-foot stepping style (think of kendo’s footwork here, or maybe xing yi quan).

Brief digression – the Sha style, which I write about in this blog, was developed by Sha Guo Zheng, a leading student of Sun Lu Tang.

2. One basic set of forms? No, but the tai ji principles apply to all styles of taiji. They are just expressed in different ways by each style. I could answer this another way – there are the modern forms such as tai ji 24, tai ji 42, tai ji 48, tai ji sword 32, and so on. These were developed from the 1950s onward by national sports committees in China by drawing influences from the Big Five. They can be practiced by anyone regardless of style and are seen frequently in competitions.

3. Are the different styles so far apart that one would be hindered by reading texts/ watching DVDs from another school’s style? Ohhhh, good question, bad can of worms. Purists might say yes. I would give a strong and definite “maybe”. The danger is, of course, that exposure to too many influences will result in a useless mish-mash.

If I recall, you have started one of the Wu styles recently, with no prior experience in the Chinese internal martial arts but experience in kendo and TKD.
In the beginning, I would recommend spending 90% of your reading/ viewing time on materials related directly to your teacher and your style. The other 10% or so could be general reading/ viewing on tai ji, but I would not recommend much comparison to other styles until after a couple years with your teacher. Yes, you should have some general knowledge about how your Wu style might be different from the others, but I would absolutely not start trying to learn the motions of any other styles until having spent considerable time with your teacher. (Having said that, learning something like the general 24 form – with the same teacher – might be a good idea).
Think about your kendo experience. Kendo is a relatively open world; people can easily visit different dojos and practice together. Too much of that and you become a gypsy with no recognizable style, but some amount of interchange is quite ordinary. Now think of koryu kenjutsu (or any koryu bujutsu, for that matter). Apart from The Immortals, you need to dedicate yourself to a single ryuha or school for an extended number of years. Sure, you might begin to learn how to recognize characteristic motions or feelings of other ryuha, but you will be studying one school, with one teacher, for a long time. Some people do both koryu kenjutsu and modern kendo, but they are few in number and often criticized from both sides.
Things are not so strictly separated in the taiji world. You can do one of the Big Five styles AND the modern forms at the same time (many people do, and they are respected by those around them IF they separate the unique movements and flavors of each). If your Wu Style teacher is good, stay with them for a long time and let the influence come deeply into your body and spirit.
Back to watching DVDs and all. Sure, spend a little free time on the non-Wu stuff, just to investigate. But I would keep 90% of the focus, time, and energy, on the Wu Style for now. I wouldn’t buy any non-Wu DVDs – it is too easy to find good samples of all the major forms on Youtube and such.

4. My concern here is that for home practice, would I necessarily need to study materials from the same style as my class? Basically, yes, for at least a year or more. Reading up on general taiji or other styles is great, but your body has to develop a foundation in one thing right now. My advice would be to try to remember as many key motions, descriptions, and feelings as you can from each class and to start writing your own book. Do you keep notes after each class? I highly recommend it.

One final point – I am winding down a week of day-long intensives with Ma Chang Xun, his son Ma Jun, and senior student Xu Xiang Dong, all famous 吴 Wu Style teachers from Beijing, who are here with us in Tokyo for a while. The son told us that he doesn’t know any other tai ji styles, doesn’t even practice the 24 or 48 forms. It is far too late for me to follow that path, but I would suggest confining yourself to one (good) teacher and one style for as long as possible.

I hope I have started to answer your questions, and I further hope some readers will chime in with other/ different/ better answers, because these are good questions.