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My Dear Family and Virtual Kwoon readers,
Sifu has given us another gift this Saturday morning which I would like to share with you here. Thank you Sifu!
From Sifu:
Yang Lu Chan is regarded as the First Patriarch of Yang Style Taijiquan. This gives the impression that Yang Lu Chan used Yang Style Taijiquan in his friendly sparring with masters of various styles during his travels all over China. He always won, winning the prestigious title “Yang the Ever Victorious”.
Many people, including many Yang stylists, do not know that what Yang Lu Chan used in his ever victorious fights was not Yang Style Taijiquan, but Chen Style Taijiquan! Yang Lu Chan did not invent Yang Style Taijiquan. He might not even have seen any Yang Style Taijiquan!
Yang Style Taijiquan was invented by his grandson, Yang Deng Fu. Yang Deng Fu was a great fighter, but he explicitly said that he invented Yang Style Taijiquan for health. This did not mean that Yang Style Taijiquan was not effective for fighting. Yang Deng Fu changed Chen Style to Yang Style by enlarging and rounding the movements of the Taijiquan he learned from his father, Yang Chien Hou, and performing the movements slowly and gracefully.
Then, why is Yang Lu Chan and not Yang Deng Fu regarded as the First Patriarch of Yang Style Taijiquan? There is no definite answer, just as there is no definite answer why many practitioners regard their style as Hoong Ka (Hung Gar) Kungfu instead of Luk Ka Kungfu, and their First Patriarch as Hoong Hei Khoon instead of Luk Ah Choy, though actually Luk Ah Choy was their first patriarch.
It was probably that Yang stylists in particular and people in general honoured Yang Lu Chan for bringing Taijiquan out from the Chen Village where Chen Style Taijiquan was exclusively practiced only by selected Chen family members.
Another interesting fact was that when Chen Style Taijiquan was first brought out of China, people were very surprised because it looked more like Shaolin Kungfu than what they conceptualized Taijiquan to be! At first many people found it hard to believe what they saw was Taijiquan. It was forceful with fast movements – very unlike the slow, graceful and gentle movements they were used to seeing how Taijiquan was performed.
Flowing Water Floating Clouds is an excellent example of Chen Style Taijiquan that Yang Lu Chan practiced. It is almost ridiculous to reflect that although Yang Lu Chan was originally wealthy, he had to work as a servant for many years to “steal” Taijiquan from the Chen Village, whereas our family members can now learn it in just a few days in beautiful Ireland.
END
I then asked Sifu the following question:
Dear Sifu, may I ask please, why did Yang Lu Chan's grandson feel the need to change a style that was already very effective and a legacy in the family. Was the Chen style practised by Yang Lu Chan not also good for health?
I will share Sifu's answer with you here in a few days time. In the meantime, if you wish perhaps you could attempt to answer the question also
Sifu has given us another gift this Saturday morning which I would like to share with you here. Thank you Sifu!
From Sifu:
Yang Lu Chan is regarded as the First Patriarch of Yang Style Taijiquan. This gives the impression that Yang Lu Chan used Yang Style Taijiquan in his friendly sparring with masters of various styles during his travels all over China. He always won, winning the prestigious title “Yang the Ever Victorious”.
Many people, including many Yang stylists, do not know that what Yang Lu Chan used in his ever victorious fights was not Yang Style Taijiquan, but Chen Style Taijiquan! Yang Lu Chan did not invent Yang Style Taijiquan. He might not even have seen any Yang Style Taijiquan!
Yang Style Taijiquan was invented by his grandson, Yang Deng Fu. Yang Deng Fu was a great fighter, but he explicitly said that he invented Yang Style Taijiquan for health. This did not mean that Yang Style Taijiquan was not effective for fighting. Yang Deng Fu changed Chen Style to Yang Style by enlarging and rounding the movements of the Taijiquan he learned from his father, Yang Chien Hou, and performing the movements slowly and gracefully.
Then, why is Yang Lu Chan and not Yang Deng Fu regarded as the First Patriarch of Yang Style Taijiquan? There is no definite answer, just as there is no definite answer why many practitioners regard their style as Hoong Ka (Hung Gar) Kungfu instead of Luk Ka Kungfu, and their First Patriarch as Hoong Hei Khoon instead of Luk Ah Choy, though actually Luk Ah Choy was their first patriarch.
It was probably that Yang stylists in particular and people in general honoured Yang Lu Chan for bringing Taijiquan out from the Chen Village where Chen Style Taijiquan was exclusively practiced only by selected Chen family members.
Another interesting fact was that when Chen Style Taijiquan was first brought out of China, people were very surprised because it looked more like Shaolin Kungfu than what they conceptualized Taijiquan to be! At first many people found it hard to believe what they saw was Taijiquan. It was forceful with fast movements – very unlike the slow, graceful and gentle movements they were used to seeing how Taijiquan was performed.
Flowing Water Floating Clouds is an excellent example of Chen Style Taijiquan that Yang Lu Chan practiced. It is almost ridiculous to reflect that although Yang Lu Chan was originally wealthy, he had to work as a servant for many years to “steal” Taijiquan from the Chen Village, whereas our family members can now learn it in just a few days in beautiful Ireland.
END
I then asked Sifu the following question:
Dear Sifu, may I ask please, why did Yang Lu Chan's grandson feel the need to change a style that was already very effective and a legacy in the family. Was the Chen style practised by Yang Lu Chan not also good for health?
I will share Sifu's answer with you here in a few days time. In the meantime, if you wish perhaps you could attempt to answer the question also
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