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004: About Taiji Chang Quan or Taiji Long Fist

I asked my teacher, “What is Taiji Chang Quan (Taiji Long Fist)?”

My teacher answered: “Originally, Taiji Chang Quan is the single posture training. Its purpose is to train the power and application of each movement. After we have become proficient in each posture, we can then link all of the movements together and move freely, linking them together like a long river (Chang Jiang), that is why it’s called Chang Quan.”

“Taiji Chang Quan originally had no fixed sequence or form but was trained from each movement’s application. Later, Yang Chengfu taught his version of Chang Quan, and it became well known from his teaching. Our lineage also has two sets of Taiji Chang Quan; One set came from Yang Chenfu and another set that Gu Lisheng created following the Taiji Chang Quan form of Chen Weiming.

“How about our Yang Shaohou linage? Do we have any Yang Shaohou Chang Quan? “

No, Yang Shaohou condensed everything into his Xiao Jia. We even train the application of each movement from the Xiao Jia as well; that’s why it is also called Yong Jia or the usage frame. The Yang Shaohou Xiao Jia set contains all the old frame elements, including the Yang Banhou Xiao Jia and the Taiji Chang Quan. It is a unique form that encapsulates Yang Shaohou’s style. That means if we wish, we can train Chang Quan from this Xiao Jia as well. That is why we sometimes call this form the 3rd Lu Chang Quan.”