Yang Ban Hou's long form

[Dvivid]

The Tai chi is not the form the Tai Chi is the principle that gives life to the form.

Exactly! Both styles, and really ALL tai chi styles, are equally valid. We should have great respect for Chen style for maintaining its integrity and keeping the martial aspects alive. And for Yang style for popularizing Tai Chi around the world...

[yeniseri]

Anyone studying Yang xiaojia (Banhou) MUST have studied with the following:
1, Chen Xiufeng,
2, Zhang Xinyi,
3, Ji Laofu,
4, Li Wancheng
5, Lin Jinsheng
6, Jia Zhixiang (last two were disciples of Li Wancheng)
7, Jia Anshu

[pcblake3]

There s a lot of controvercy about the origin of Yang style itself.
Since the discovery of Grandmaster Kao Tao and his connection to Yang, Cheng-fu there is a question about Master Yang's assertation that his form originatated with Yang, Ban-hou.However, Master Yang, Jwing-Ming has never claimed lineage with the founders of this Art. He was fortunate to learn a strong foundation of Taijiquan from Master Kao Tao, whose masters were both students of Yang, Cheng-fu. Yet, if you look at the Taiji classics written by Yang, Ban-Hou, Master Yang, Jwing-Mings form follows his forms progression...the Yang Family Forms do not. It is tiresome to see so much contention among contemporaries such as us.
All of our styles try to adhere to the Principles of Taijiquan set down by our Masters. So what if our Forms are different. Applications may change, depending of the pracitioners mind. The Forms change accordingly. But, do the priciples change? Can you apply them..that, I think, is what is important.

[yeniseri]

There s a lot of controvercy about the origin of Yang style itself.

If I may speak truth, it is well known that Yang Luchan reformatted the Chen style he learned into Yang style!
Whether it a style or a variation, it appears that each brings their own level of 'understanding'. As long as one finds their truth, then that MAY be the main goal.

[Josh Young]

And it is known that Chen style incorporated pre-existing martial arts as well.

Luchan was said to be Yang Wu Di. The Chen family held him in high esteem. His art is not the same as Chen and considering the respect and skill he had they should not be compared so flippantly. There are several claims that Yang style is based on principals he obtained from Taoists.

Chen style training is however something we can assert Luchan to have gone through, and clearly to have benefited from, but if we esteem this fellow let us note that he underwent more than one type of training, and thus was not a product of his own system, he was the author of it and was the product of multiple systems.

All of our styles try to adhere to the Principles of Taijiquan set down by our Masters. So what if our Forms are different. Applications may change, depending of the pracitioners mind. The Forms change accordingly. But, do the priciples change? Can you apply them..that, I think, is what is important.

I agree that form can vary, but can application truly change and the art still have the same title? The title itself is the most sublime application instruction possible, applications are endless, but are based on basic concepts, rather than specific responses. however that is for the art I was taught, others have traditional set applications said to hail from the Yang Family, like the Mi-quan tradition.

I discarded the forms I was taught, but drew from them. They read like a book, but one that has had pages torn out. I went back to the basics and condensed everything into a training regime for myself, including with very simple forms. Of course this is not for others, I simply know what kind of skill I want and engineered exercises to obtain it, if your teachers students have the skill you want then they are good teachers. If your teacher has the skill, but his students do not, or very few of them do, they are a poor teacher, despite being a good martial artist. Test taiji teachers this way and no other, their skill and knowledge mean little if their students do not readily obtain them.

[Dvivid]

http://ymaa.com/articles/history-of-yan ... -taijiquan

and

http://ymaa.com/articles/ymaa-taijiquan-lineage