what is the best internal martial art

I know that you cannot say what style is best. I am asking what style in YOUR OPINION is the best in terms of relaxation, health benefits, etc.

 

hey dude

i do chow gar tong long and yang style tai chi

i enjoy it alot, and from taking a hit from my si fu at half power, compared to hits i had taken when i was doing boxing it is like crazy different feeling, its like an explosion inside you, very different.

as for health benefits, the tai chi is great, its not what you would expect, its not all slow movements, there is stretching and conditioning too. i leave the class feeling energised.

anyway i think its great but you would have to give it a try to understand.

 

Why limit to health and relaxation? There's a lot more to IMA than this!

Taiji,
Bagua,
Xingyi,
Yiquan,
Ziranmen,

All are good for fighting and staying healthy.

I have experienced all of the above except Yiquan - but my personal preference is in Taiji.

 

I love Bagua.

 

Personally I like taoist tai chi and CHen tai chi. Also gots to give a shout to wu hao tai chi.

 

I agree with all the above, the reason we do yang style compare to the others tho is it is directly related to our MA, alot of the movements in yang style are the same as strikes in tong long. My sifu explained I to
me in a way that was easy to
understand he said "the tong long is the black, hard and deadly part of the ying yang, and the tai chi is the White, soft and gental side of the ying yang, in perfect balance it will allow unparralled power as well as softness and relaxation which in essence is IMA.". So yeah just my little speal. Take from it what you will.

 

With respect, if there isn't a balance between 'yin' and 'yang' then it isn't Tai Chi.

 

To be honest most martial arts are good for you if youimmerse yourself enough, we do a lot of breathing in Goju, Sanchin is amazing for developing strength and breathing

 

A punch to the shnozz is a punch to the shnozz.Not sure why a punch to the shnozz is gentle just 'cause it's a TC punch.Seeing as how TC isn't any more "gentle" than any other system in application.Assuming one can actually use it in application.Soft theory/training doesn't equal gentle.

Softness isn't IMA in essence.Ba Ji surely isn't a "soft" system.Some Hsing I people don't consider HI soft in theory or application.The idea that all "internal" systems are soft systems is a popular misconception.

To the OP-as a martial system,I'd vote for Pa Kua.That's an opinion not cut on the bias,as I am not a PK practitioner.

 

It's not about softness in application, internally you should have a feeling of relaxed tension or softness. It does not mean the strikes are soft or gental. And btw I'm not bais, just giving my insight. He asked a question and I just said my peace. Why does all the discussions in forums end with judgement. Anyway, I'm no expert by any means, but just relax with the judgement huh. Just sayin my opinion, he can take it or leave it.

 

I think you maybe in slight error.

Tai Ji is all about Daoist philosophy and certain applications of principals and beliefs of.

Chen Tai Chi and Wu, are Tai Ji Quan. which are actually considered as martial art practices (using Tai Ji Daoist applications of principals, short of certain Daoist philosophy)

Saying Tai Ji, in the Daoist persuit as being a martial art (or grouped with martial arts like Chen/Wu) is like saying the Ch'an/Chen/Zen study is a martial art

 

Kudos on the *bold*

 

I think it's a given that generally,unless speaking specifically of cosmology/philosophy/culture, when one speaks of TC here they are speaking of the martial systems.

Or is one required to add the words "gar" or "ch'uan" if one mentions Fu Hok Hung or Choy Mok?Most people in casual conversation drop these type of words from names of systems.How often do people say they study Pa Kua Ch'ang as opposed to just saying Pa Kua?Rarely.A practice not confined to non-Chinese in my experience.

And now that you have been mildly chastised-

thanks for the kudos,MM!

 

Not a mild chastised upon me. I was picking upon how sometimes a philosophy is often thought as a martial art :hat:

 

when it comes to taoist clan or "temple taiji" there's no consistent systems to speak of. They are like their own family styles in some ways. Some like the fighting as much as any other CMA cat I imagine..

Kun Lun Pai TC of Chen Yuen Suan is one example of bad ass taoist clan tai chi chuan. Which I believe to be authentic. It seems pretty clear to me that White panda didn't use taiji there in the philosophical meaning.

 

taoist clans, preists or whatever would probably be just as interested in kicking your ass right now as I am. I kid

 

I have spent more time doing Hsing I but I have to say that I like the coiling and uncoiling of the body in Pa Kua. I think Pa Kua has some pretty good health benefits. At least it makes me feel healthy while practicing. For actual self defence, a good blend of the two would probably work well.

 

related to bagua..

Check out Mr. He JingHan's publication on amazon, bagua daoyin if you dig exercise and conditioning that can have an effect on both your health and your martial practice.. lots of martial related activity will have knock on health benefits to the physical body. Boxers going for a run anyone ?

[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bagua-Daoyin-Unique-Branch-Learning/dp/1848190093"]Bagua Daoyin: A Unique Branch of Daoist Learning - a Secret Skill of the Palace: Amazon.co.uk: He Jinghan: Books[/ame]

 

Good post

* Understood this- however Daoist Tai Ji is a different persepective from the "quan".

I used the example of Zen in this analogy a few posts back.

 

I'm not saying that there isn't taiji like this, but not all "taoist taiji" is lacking Quan, and not all non taoist taiji has quan necessarily..

I'm just not really clear what you're attempting to say with that ?

Taiji is already inherent with different perspectives including the family styles. Look at / research Yang family manuscripts and the classics etc as well as Chen manuals. The family boxing styles are infused with cultivation, spirituality, health. From YCF days there was the idea of the martial and the civil. so it' not that different taiji has different perspectives per se, it's that in taiji on the whole there are different perspectives.

?