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A Tale of Two
Tai Chi´s
When Master Ip adopted me as
his Disciple, he told me to forget the tai chi that I had learned
(seventeen years of dedicated practice).
He then taught me the Snake
Style of Yang family tai chi chuan. The difference was as an apple is to
an orange.
Master Ip told me that Yang
Chen Fu taught this system only to his son, Yang Sau Chung, and that
Yang Sau Chung taught this system only to his First Disciple, Ip Tai
Tak.
I believe that Yang Chen Fu
(third generation) modified the snake style to create a system that he
was willing to teach openly to the public. This public style became
known as either the crane style or the tiger style.
Most Yang tai chi
practitioners today do one of the two public styles. Some Disciples and
family members do the tiger style with varying degrees of internal
applications.
Many tai chi teachers will
dispute this information. To them I say, -- “teach what you know --
openly and without prejudice -- and let the students decide.”
In the end, the tai chi
should speak for itself.
Bob Boyd
AKA Bao Tak Fai
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