Yang Family Training

Posted by: Gavin

Yang Family Training - 10/06/08 06:18 AM

Bossman posted this over at the Shikon forum, it is an overview of the training schedule of our Yang style Taiji. Thought it might be of interest:


Quote:

Let's look at our Tai Chi training, it includes, qigong to open and stretch the body in all the different ways it can move, releasing unnecessary tension, adhesions and internally connecting the body with the mind. We study the skeleton, the myofscial meridians and all the different methods of powering and connecting the body, they make the mind, body and breath connection in a very powerful way. The exercises give us the essential knowledge we need to use the techniques in the form and applications, as we progress this becomes a very deep and never ending study as the exercises can be altered and changed to produce different effects.

Then we have the YCF form, taking the knowledge we have from the qigong we learn to apply it to all the different ways the body can move, the form gives us the method and essential 'work out' balance we need to work on our qigong knowledge after the initial form is learned we 'layer in' the skills from the qigong and begin the 'eating bitter' part of the training, studying each part of the body in movement and putting it into our continuously spiraling form, expelling any unnecessary tension so that we remain rooted and fully connected during every millimeter of movement getting rid of all the weak points where we become double weighted or disconnected, this is where Tai Chi differs from most other arts, it is continuously driven and powerful throughout; able to respond from attacks from any direction. Anyone who has practiced my Tai Chi for any length of time will have experienced 'eating bitter'.

The 'Long Boxing' takes these skills into a more 'martial' state of mind, by this time the student will have got rid of the 99% weak and 1% strong type of hurling your body around, tamed the unfettered mind into deep concentration with heightened awareness and focus. They will have a good element of control over their mind, body and breath. Being able to do this means that they can now use this mental and physical control to study the martial aspects of the techniques at a far deeper level. Utilising the qigong and form skills the student is able to produce the 'fa geng' (warrior energy) into the well framed, continuously moving, alert techniques and adds another layer of power and skill that couldn't have been accomplished without the former qigong and form training.

The weapons training then adds another layer of skill, taking all the former skills it adds a variety of additional ones utilising double edged and single edged blades with completely different 'characteristics' and weights and then the sharp ended spear and heavy blunt pole with longer range; the versatility from this training enables the student to pick up any object and use it effectively as a weapon. It also means that he will have some knowledge of any bladed or blunt weapons being used against him.

All this training and knowledge is continuously tested in the form and using an extensive range of formatted and free style 'push hands' and partner work, initially used in formatted drills and leading fairly quickly to a free style format, this can include single hand, double hand, horizontal and vertical circles leading to small circle, both stationary and moving, with all the techniques of the form practiced as drills or free style. As each skill is 'layered in' to the form - so it is employed in push hands. As the student is able to employ these skills the attacks become more violent, this leads to dynamic push hands which at first is an extensive Tai Chi 'weight training' work out and the student is pushed to exhaustion and beyond, I have witnessed long term hardened martial artists reduced to complete exhaustion, emotional breakdown and tears with this training. This is then taken to the employment of the principles (anyone reading the write up on the Jizerka Course will be familiar with this) and then to the wall training. This starts of slow but builds up to incredibly intensive training, it's a way of forcing the release of adrenaline into the system and learning to cope with an opponent and being rapidly fired in to a hard wall, at first the training it's compliant and then it's not.

The weapons are also 'pushed' at first with wooden and then metal, same weapon to same and then different, eventually it's done with sharpened weapons.

The Yang Family 'iron shirt' training is practiced similar to the Shaolin, at first you are hit, pinched and punched and the intensity is gradually loaded on until you are taking blows and gouges from a highly experienced practitioner, both Martin Gatter and myself have often returned from this training black and blue.

So it includes the 'yoga' it has extensive skills training in bare hand and weapons, it includes a variety of hard training routines including the equivalent of weights to 'reality' fighting.

This is a VERY abbreviated precis of the training schedule, normally I don't bother to explain how we cover all the bases - I haven't added anything in from what is the 'traditional' Yang Family training that I was taught.


Posted by: harlan

Re: Yang Family Training - 10/06/08 09:02 AM

Thanks, Gav..for the fresh start. I understand that Bossman is one of the few that has crosstrained longterm in karate and a CMA...and so has an informed understanding. I hope he will pop in at some point for further discussion.
Posted by: Gavin

Re: Yang Family Training - 10/06/08 09:20 AM

Ask some questions and give 'im something to talk about and I'll prod him in this direction!