Yang Snake Style Tai Chi Versus Yang Tiger Style Tai Chi.
Bob BoydIn 2001, I became Grandmaster Ip Tai Tak's Disciple and received the Chinese name Bao Tak Fai. The first thing Master Ip demanded of me was that I forget everything about the Yang style tai chi of my past because he was now going to teach me the snake style, the inner system of the Yang family.
What could be the difference? Confusion reigned for a couple of years.Then slowly I began to feel a dynamic strength growing inside of me, awakening parts of my body that had been dormant for a very long time, and these parts began to unite into a powerful force for stances and movement. It was unlike anything I had experienced before and I knew I was on to something big!
I grew up a weak and asthmatic teenager who transformed himself into a flexible and strong young man thanks to Karate. But, by my my thirties and forties, I had become a slope shouldered, hunched back, tail tucked, round bellied man -- all as a result of seventeen dedicated years of Yang style tai chi practice! I was beginning to suffer injuries to my shoulders and back. Had I made a poor choice in choosing tai chi over karate? What was wrong? Master Ip finally gave me the answer to the puzzle.
Now in my early sixties, after eleven years of training in the snake style, I am stronger and more flexible than I was in my twenties. My martial skills are better than ever and I have rehabilitated myself from some of my injuries.
I have now dedicated my life to creating an awareness in the tai chi community that the snake style exists and that it fulfills in every way the promise of tai chi that lured me away from karate. I transitioned from the tiger style to the snake style and so can any other tai chi teacher or practitioner who wants to discover and explore the depth and wonder of the "original" Yang family tai chi chuan -- the snake style!
Reader Comments (1)
You don't mention Master John Ding the first disciple of Grandmaster Yip tak Tai very much in your book. Any particular reason ? He teaches the Tiger style and does not teach the Snake Style as defined by you. Any comments ?