I was watching some clips posted on here, about Yi Quan, they looked very interesting. Can someone give me more info about the system? This is what little info ive read about(feel free to correct me): 1. Yi quan is a version of Xing yi, emphasizing fighting.. 2. There is a relationship to Tai Ki Ken, (Which I thought was simply the Japanese pronunciation of Tai Chi Chuan) Is Yi Quan taught widely in the US? Thanks for the help.
The founder Wang Xiang Zhai was a Xingyi expert, over many years he changed his training system and emphasized Zhang Zhuan (holding postures) as a foundation. Yi Quan today is a completely different system than Xingyi and cannot be called a version of it in my opinion. Xingyi is made up of San ti shi, the Wu Xing(5 fists), and the animals (basically) and none of that remains as is essentially in Yi Quan/ Dachen quan. Yi Quan (basically) comprises of ZZ, Shi li (movement exercise), Moca bu (footwork) and push hands. This is fairly basic summary of the systems, but I think covers the core foundations of the styles. Xingyi relies on forms, like many CMA to pass on and train certain material, WXZ basically did away with form related material and looked for the essence of all CMA (Quan) which he tried to distill into his sysem of training. Xingyi emphasizes fighting as much as any other CMA does really, including Yiquan. This is the name one of WXZ students gave the art as he taught it in his homeland of Japan. His name was Kenichi Sawai. You can download his book for free online. I wouldn't have thought so, no. Which is not to say you can't find any. But it won't be easy to find someone with a depth of study with a recognised source just anywhere.
