As an outsider, trying to comprehend Chinese martial is like trying to navigate a rabbit hole.
So I asked an online Biangun practitioner about the above video.
I did that because I LOVED IT! It's what I had been looking for in a longer stick form. Direct and without fancified moves.
He writes:
Thanks for sharing that video it was quite nice and interesting. That does indeed look like a very pragmatic set. It emphasises shorter range usage and is very practical. You can see a certain elasticity in both the whip and the front/back motion of the spine. These are qualities that tend to be popular in shanxi. I've learned shanxi whip staff with similar tendencies, though my form is much shorter. It was passed by the Song family of Xingyi. ...
But the form you linked, I think you hit the jackpot in terms of the criteria you're looking for:
- Whipping
- Practical
- Taichi appropriate
..Because master Fan Hanwu in that video is the current lineage holder of HongDong Tongbei Quan, also called Wuji Tongbei Chanquan. HongDong is a place in Shanxi.
Wuji Tongbei is a progenitor to Chen style Taiji. Chen Taiji village does say that a form of long fist is what evolved into Taiji. Looking at the form, there does appear to be a relationship....
Wuji Tongbei is a progenitor to Chen style Taiji. Chen Taiji village does say that a form of long fist is what evolved into Taiji. Looking at the form, there does appear to be a relationship....
So I think you did find one that is taiji appropriate and practical!
