Way of the Warrior - T'ai Chi, the Soft Way [1/4]

Part of a eight part series documentary on the Martial Arts of south and south east Asia, originally broadcast on the BBC in the early 1980s. This episode follows a Taiwanese master of T'ai Chi and showcases many forms of T'ai Chi and some forms of Kung Fu. Part 1 of 4 parts.

Sorry for the low quality, there is nothing I can do about it.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• T'ai
• Tai
• Chi
• Way
• Warrior
• Kung
• Fu
• Taiwan
• China
• Martial
• Arts
• Energy
• Flow
• Centered
• Calm
• Peaceful
• Excersice

[kancerzx]

taoist alchemist created gunpowder? awesome

[Akab6]

The Chinese definitely invented gunpowder (Marco Polo going to China, and finding fireworks) they also had very crude, bamboo guns. Whether Taoists invented it, I am not sure, but my guess would be that that is correct :)

[amiller92]

Good to see another heavy set master! Brings hope to me lol.

[Akab6]

;) He's big, but he kicks serious butt. I wouldn't mess with him :)

[amiller92]

Me either! he's my hero now lol. It seriously does give my hope .. that wasn't a joke ;]

[Akab6]

Thats great man :) If you want to see another heavy set master. Watch the Aikido & Kendo episode. You can find it on my channel.

[Nhia89]

why are they wearing gi's?

[stefanocasagranda1]

@Akab6 Excuse me, i' ve never seen a similar style of tai chi, i'm referring at the men with the white kimono.

It's a fast and power, quite similar to karate. Wich shool and style of tai chi is it??? I'm very curios. Thanks

[SifuJeffHughes]

very nice, thank you.

[stardingo747]

I was not condoning book learning; just saying that teachers are not irreplaceable.

Monk Ordator for example, developed the Tibetan Crane style on his own.

Then again, ancient and midieval people were much smarter, so I agree with your point.

[butingxi]

(i hate having to double post lol) if you are pleased with your current level of skill than that is fine. but for aplications, a teacher is irreplaceable. however if your tai chi is just a morning workout than it wont really matter much

[butingxi]

well nothing at all is perfect. im not talking about being perfect, im talking about about being the best you can be. there is an obvious defence between the skill of those with and without a teacher. trying to study with no master is like finding your way in the woods with no map. you spoke of phony teachers, its even worse with books. people worked hard and even died for the cultivating and survival of the arts.

[stardingo747]

Oh I agree, thing is, even with a master, without meditation, technique, is pretty useless. I know you meant no disrespect. You just don't get it though; technique can only be perfect if YOU YOURSELF are perfect, and a master can't give you perfection, only your own effort in spiritual cultivation can do that. It IS harder without a teacher though; meditation can be dangerous, and you need the guidance of someone who has been there. I tend to avoid the more advanced stuff because of that.

[butingxi]

martial arts contain many subtleties that cannot be shown proper in a book. Ive practiced a few martial arts, And in all honesty, practiceing without a master is not really an option i dont think. I have been blessed with never finding myself in a "Mc-Dojo." If you are doing Tai chi for healt, stance is not so important, although you will never reach a high level of chi without someone guiding you. If your doing it for combat, then a shifu is 100% nessasary. No disrespect, but books are subpar

[stardingo747]

Dunn's DVD shows proper stances; in the absence of a teacher, you correct yourself. However its time consuming, constantly looking at diagrams all the time rather than having someone there correcting your form. Also, no offense, but "good" teachers are rare; Bruce Lee once pointed out, that Chinese martial arts were full of pot-bellied "masters" and "chi" masters with big fat guts. The mark of a Tai Chi expert, is good health. Once, all experts were fit; even into old age.

[butingxi]

also injury can come from inproper stance. stance is the basis tai chi's power. learning from a book or dvd can teach you the forms, but they cannot correct your mistakes. you can find a good teacher fairly easily who will help you. one of tai chi's best points is that you can easily find free classes. good luck!