Formosa Neijia

The following is part of a post over at the Cloud Hands blog. This was apparently written by Brian Bruning in the Taijiquan Journal. I’m putting it here because it’s the only time I’ve seen an attempt to lay out exactly what and where the influences of Chen and Wu taiji, as well as xingyi and bagua are in the form.

The Form itself follows the large frame sequence of the Old Yang style, before any of the changes that eventually came about when it became much more widespread in the rest of the world. The performance of the postures looks to be more obviously martial than some of the modified forms that have been created in recent years for health purposes. They are detailed with many possible applications and techniques that include parrying, punching, kicking, striking, and throwing, as well as chin na grasps and releases, close quarters grappling, and twisting. The strikes and kicks may be performed with vigorous execution compared to the soft movements, but not to the degree as those from the original Chen style. The old Wu style is represented well in this form, using modified versions of the postures “lift hand”, “turn around and cast down with fist and palm”, “left and right striking tiger”, “dodge and kick”, “turn around and kick”, “press face with palm”, “brush knee and punch at underbelly”, “left and right separate instep kicks”, “turn around and press face with palm”, “bend bow to shoot tiger”, “step back and repulse monkey”, and “step back and ride tiger”. Many of these postures are shared by the Old Yang style, showing how closely linked the old styles of Yang and Wu really were in the early 20th century. Some postures also use a slight forward incline with a rounded back, not always a plumb erect stance. The old Chen style’s influence is evident throughout the form in the characteristic low twisting postures, and use of “corkscrew” strength and “silk reeling” energy. Power is issued by twisting of the waist and sinking of weight into legs, coordinating with the rest of the body. The open palm formation of the hand, or “tile palm”, is also adapted from the Chen system as well as the direction of the “press” being in a downward vector.

There seems to be influences from Hsing-i and Bagua in some of the footwork, as in “step circularly” near the end of the form and also in the “3-legged” stance of the posture “step forward and deflecting shove”. One interesting feature of the Chen Pan-ling Form is the pivoting of the rear foot, done on the ball of the foot rather than the heel, as in the Yang style. This adjusts the weight distribution to a 60%/40% in the legs and therefore gives more stability to the forward stances, and is also easier on the knees. The breathing is done in the “natural” way with breathing out on the execution of a technique, contracting the tan tien. When preparing to strike or withdrawing from one, the tan tien expands with the breath sinking down.

The Form can be performed in the slow manner in which many Yang styles are, and also with some speed, maybe double time, and can be performed as fast as you can, while maintaining proper T’ai Chi Principles and execution of the forms. This gives your practice versatility, keeps it interesting, and adds to your training capability. When one performs the Chen Pan-ling Form with the proper spirit, it takes on a unique flavor all its own.