A New Book

I'm excited to announce a new book is available for order, and a revised version of an older book.

The Kunlun Green Dragon Form book is available in trade paperback format.

The Indoor Yang Wise Hammers Form is now available in trade paperback as well as workbook format.



Links have been added to the right.

The Five Hammers of Yang Taijiquan, Part 2: The Straight Hammer

1.
正捶
Zhèng Chuí
Straight Hammer

The Straight Hammer thrusts forward in a straight line.


Examples of movements with Straight Hammer in them:

Step Up, Deflect, Parry, and Punch


Examples of applications:

Face push:

Pushing the head backward destabilizes the spine.









Arm drag:

Pulling the elbow behind the spine destabilizes the upper body. The punching mechanics help to break the opponent’s structure.








Hip push:

Pushing on the hip folds the body.









The next installment will outline the Horizontal Hammer

The Five Hammers of Yang Taijiquan, Part 1

The Five Hammers are an important part of Yang Family Taijiquan that are often overlooked. Every time you see a fist in the public form, you are seeing an opportunity for one of these techniques. This is the first in a series of articles outlining the Five Hammers.


The Five Hammers are:

1. 正捶
Zhèng Chuí
Straight Hammer

2. 横捶
Héng Chuí
Horizontal Hammer

3. 栽捶
Zāi Chuí
Plant Hammer (“Plant Punch”)


4. 降捶
Jiàng Chuí
Dropping Hammer


5. 提捶
Tí Chuí
Lifting Hammer


There is a whole form devoted to learning these techniques, called the Wise Hammers form. I'm releasing a book on this form in a few days, available from Lulu.com and my website, and there is also a VCD of the Imperial Yang version of this form. Plum Publications sells it under the title "Wisdom Fist." (I have no financial connection to Plum Publications, but I love what they offer. Google them.)

It’s important to understand that while on the surface these seem to be simple punches done at different angles, they are actually much more than this.

The word “Chuí” is a word commonly translated as “punch.” However, it includes a number of techniques that we wouldn’t consider to be punches, such as hammer fists. It also doesn’t include a number of techniques that we would consider punches, such as jabs. What’s the difference? This word means “to hammer,” or “to pound into.” A “Chuí” technique is one that uses striking mechanics, but hits with enough force to move whatever it hits. Jabs, for example, work by trauma to the nervous system: They aren’t designed to physically move the opponent.

So the purpose of a “Chuí” technique is to use the mechanics of striking to move something. That’s a deeper understanding, but there’s more. While each of these techniques is shown with a fist, they don’t have to be a punch. A lot of them are much more likely to be done with the elbow or the palm in a real fight.

On an even deeper level, they don’t even have to strike anything. This will be explained further on in the series.


The next installment will outline the Straight Hammer.

The Syllabus of the Indoor Yang Style, Part 2

Here is the first part of a more detailed list of the main forms of the Indoor Yang Style.

1. The Large Frame Form, 大架拳 (Dà Jià Quán)

This is the first form you learn. It is composed of much larger movements and is focused on training your body for the art.

2. The Old/Medium Frame Form, 老架拳 (Lăo Jià Quán)

It is said that this was the original form that Yang Luchan practiced. Who knows? This form is the skill training form. It is smaller than the Large Frame and more detailed.

3. The Small Frame Form 小架拳 (Xiăo Jià Quán)

This is the combative frame. It is much smaller than the Medium Frame, and the movements look the way they might in a fight. The Wu style seems to be built from this frame.

4. The "Long" Form, 太极长拳 (Tàijí Cháng Quán)

This is the form that teaches us to break free from the structure of the forms. Each of the movements is designed to dovetail into each of the others. Focus is on using the movements in new and unusual ways: Doing Lu with Cai energy, for example.

5. The Post-Heaven Methods, 后天法 (Hòu Tiān Fă)

This is actually more of a Xingyi (Hsing-I) form. It teaches explosive strikes that can be used after the yielding entry that is the style's specialty. A lot of people get angry when they see Xingyi and Bagua in Yang Style, but Yang Luchan was a comprehensive martial artist and saw the need for a complete style.

6. The Little Nine Heavens Form, 小九天 (Xiăo Jiŭ Tiān)

This is the escape form of the system. It's mostly a Bagua form. It deals with fast footwork and "Seven Stars", or clashing.

7. The Wise Hammers/Wisdom Fist 智捶 (Zhì Chuí)

This form is a more direct, combative, almost "short" form that focuses on the 5 Hammers.

8. The Pressure Point Striking ("Dim Mak") Form

This form is usually taught last of the eight main forms. Not because it is "secret", but because it requires learning all the pressure points and their relief points. The form itself simply teaches quick chops and thrusts that can be inserted within other movements. It doesn't have the same importance that pressure points have been given in some other schools. Dianma (Dim Mak) doesn't mean "Touch of Death." It means pressure point.

Imperial Yang Style Taiji History

A quick note about The Imperial Yang Style Taijiquan:

Often when you read about this style, you will be told something like:

"Yang Luchan was pressured into teaching his style to the imperial family, and so he chose to teach them an inferior version of the art."

This is another example of how official histories of martial arts are generally just propaganda. It's cut from the same cloth as the silly story of "how Yang Luchan learned Chen Style through a hole in the fence." (I'll write a series of posts about history and propaganda soon.)

Yang Luchan, by all useful accounts, was thrilled to teach in the imperial household, because it meant good money. He taught them the more comprehensive earlier system with many different forms.

What most people learn now is the "Public" system, which has only one central form. (This isn't necessarily bad: The Public form is a beautiful concentration of the essence of the rest of the system, a sort of "short form" of the whole system.)

Imperial Yang Style Taiji

I've been getting a lot of questions about the Funei ("Imperial") Yang version of Yang style Taijiquan.

This is what I know.

I've reviewed a series of four videos, in Mandarin, on this style.

I'm very excited about Imperial Yang Style, because it has the same forms as the Indoor Yang Style, and so it's the first solid proof that I didn't just make the whole thing up.

According to these videos, which you can buy here (I have no financial connection to this website, but they're great people and one of the best sources for Chinese martial arts information), the Imperial Yang Style has exactly the same set of forms as the Indoor Yang Style that I learned.

The sequence of movements seems to be almost identical in the three forms on these videos.

The presentation is a little different: The frame is a little more conservative, which isn't necessarily bad.

There is also a lot more White Crane in the movements, such as Crane Hook Hands in unusual places. Taiji, like most Daoist styles, has a heavy dose of White Crane as its foundation, so this isn't surprising. (I've mentioned before that White Crane is the "lost mother style.")

The hand movements in general are more expressive, like many Daoist styles. The teacher's hands seem tight rather than loose, which would be bad, but I may simply not understand what I'm seeing. (The most important mantra for a martial arts seeker is "I don't know everything." Repeat 500 times per day for successful results.)

Here's a demo of this version of the Wisdom Fist/Clever Hammers form:



I'm posting video clips of the demonstrations of these forms on youtube here.

The Syllabus of the Indoor Yang Style, Part 1

I get a lot of requests from seekers about the teaching structure of the Indoor Yang Family Taiji system. Here it is for all you seekers out there.

Note that this is a list of the forms only. Push Hands, which is really the center of the system, is not listed here. It has a separate syllabus.


1. The Large Frame Form, 大架拳 (Dà Jià Quán)
2. The Old/Medium Frame Form, 老架拳 (Lăo Jià Quán)
3. The Small Frame Form 小架拳 (Xiăo Jià Quán)
4. The "Long" Form, 太极长拳 (Tàijí Cháng Quán)

The above are always taught in this order. The next forms are taught in between the above main forms. They don't absolutely have to be taught in a particular order, but they build on skills from the different versions of the main form and so are more appropriate in the following order:

5. The Post-Heaven Methods, 后天法 (Hòu Tiān Fă)
6. The Little Nine Heavens Form, 小九天 (Xiăo Jiŭ Tiān)
7. The Wise Hammers/Wisdom Fist 智捶 (Zhì Chuí)
8. The Pressure Point Striking ("Dim Mak") Form


Other forms that may be taught include;

* The Taiji Ball Movements
* The Straight Sword
* The Sabre
* The Spear
* The Staff
* The Thirteen Cinnabar Gongfa Movements

and a few other, less well known weapons such as the walking stick and knife.

The Three Frames of Indoor Yang Family Fist

I've had a lot of requests to explain the reason for the three different frames in the Indoor Yang Family Style. Simply:

The Big Frame teaches basic body mechanics, conditions the body, and trains the instinctive patterns somewhat.

The Old Frame / Medium Frame teaches skill and superior body mechanics in a more combative Santi stance.

The Small Frame is almost entirely done in the manner you would use the applications to fight. You have to look closely to see the body mechanics in play, since they are so small. The Wu style is essentially this form slowed down.

These forms are the backbone of the system, and are supported by the "Long" Frame, the "Wisdom Fist", and the other forms in the system.