yanta
9/27/2008 10:42pm,
Hey, I have a question for all the CMA experts kicking around on these boards.
I'm training taiji at a wushu-oriented sort of place. We intermediate-advanced students are starting to pester our instructor to learn a fan form, and she's willing to teach one, but all of the modern taiji forms she has learned on the wushu side really don't pass her "silly" test.
YouTube - Mulan fan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZu_F3jcKdU): ghey and nobody likes it
YouTube - Tai Chi Fan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5RzZC0aB6I): too "dancey," much gratuitous opening and closing of fan
YouTube - Beautiful Sunset Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan (56 Moves) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dID-dQpaLbc): the middle kung fu section is just...silly
YouTube - Cheryl Tai Chi Fan Form 18 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQde3S-c4lo): fan tacked pointlessly onto Yang-ish movements
YouTube - Taiji - Chen Style Fan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xlH0oHtbYs): fan tacked pointlessly onto Chen-ish movements
After much painful searching of YouTube I found a purported Xingyi fan form http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNw-w3su5PY.
I am expressly NOT commenting on nor seeking opinions about the quality of the performance in that video. I'm looking for information on the form itself. It seems to fit some of my instructor's criteria -- it's martial-looking (i.e. the moves seem to focus on shredding or poking someone with the fan, rather than just looking pretty) and it is (comparatively) free of gratuitous fan snaps and silly postures.
Does anyone know this form, its provenance, and whether there's a book or a video? Does anyone have a contact with the Tang Shou Tao folks who might be willing to explain the postures and history of the form?
Alternatively, if we draw a blank there, does anyone have any suggestions on good fan forms to learn? We want something physically challenging, reasonably martial, and no higher on the "silly" scale than 42 sword. It's a performance-oriented school that doesn't pretend otherwise, so please refrain from comments like "lol -- wushu -- fans r stoopid." We know, it's true, we don't care. We're just looking for a cool, non-silly fan form, if such a thing exists, and any help from the Bullshido CMA guys would be gratefully appreciated.
Thanks!
~yanta
I'm training taiji at a wushu-oriented sort of place. We intermediate-advanced students are starting to pester our instructor to learn a fan form, and she's willing to teach one, but all of the modern taiji forms she has learned on the wushu side really don't pass her "silly" test.
YouTube - Mulan fan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZu_F3jcKdU): ghey and nobody likes it
YouTube - Tai Chi Fan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5RzZC0aB6I): too "dancey," much gratuitous opening and closing of fan
YouTube - Beautiful Sunset Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan (56 Moves) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dID-dQpaLbc): the middle kung fu section is just...silly
YouTube - Cheryl Tai Chi Fan Form 18 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQde3S-c4lo): fan tacked pointlessly onto Yang-ish movements
YouTube - Taiji - Chen Style Fan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xlH0oHtbYs): fan tacked pointlessly onto Chen-ish movements
After much painful searching of YouTube I found a purported Xingyi fan form http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNw-w3su5PY.
I am expressly NOT commenting on nor seeking opinions about the quality of the performance in that video. I'm looking for information on the form itself. It seems to fit some of my instructor's criteria -- it's martial-looking (i.e. the moves seem to focus on shredding or poking someone with the fan, rather than just looking pretty) and it is (comparatively) free of gratuitous fan snaps and silly postures.
Does anyone know this form, its provenance, and whether there's a book or a video? Does anyone have a contact with the Tang Shou Tao folks who might be willing to explain the postures and history of the form?
Alternatively, if we draw a blank there, does anyone have any suggestions on good fan forms to learn? We want something physically challenging, reasonably martial, and no higher on the "silly" scale than 42 sword. It's a performance-oriented school that doesn't pretend otherwise, so please refrain from comments like "lol -- wushu -- fans r stoopid." We know, it's true, we don't care. We're just looking for a cool, non-silly fan form, if such a thing exists, and any help from the Bullshido CMA guys would be gratefully appreciated.
Thanks!
~yanta