Home Page    Lineage    Location    Pictures    Books/Videos

After having introduced readers to Tung Ying-chieh, Chen Hsin, and Chen Wei-ming, the author has published a series of articles from April 1982 to April 1983 to introduce the Taichichuan of Yang Cheng-fu. From August 1982, they discussed Yang’s centering, positioning of the tailbone and his forward archery stance. This stance is most frequently used in the Yang style and is most basic in the application of strength, whether in the one-person exercise, or in self-defense. Variation of this group of postures often represents different emphasis in doing the exercise, which may result in a difference in styles.

Because of the popularity of the Yang style, more attention was received on my latest articles. But Mr. Erle Montaigue’s "Controversy" article in T’AI CHI, June 1983, contains many misunderstandings and distortions, which masked the perspective. It is impossible to reply to all points. Readers who are interested in the subject may read carefully the series of articles of the author, going into the details and compare with Mr. Montaigue’s points. This article clarifies the main theme with additional facts.

1. Correctly positioning the tailbone. Hao Yueh-fu wrote: "When you want to turn in a given direction, you point your tailbone to that direction." With the tailbone pointing to the same direction the shoulders are facing, the spine is not twisted. A twisted spine, even if it appears straight, reduces the effectiveness of issuing strength.

2. Yang Cheng-fu’s trunk in forward archery stance. One characteristic of Yang’s forward archery stance is that his trunk, from the tailbone (or hips) through the vertebrae to the shoulders, squarely faces the front direction of the front foot. (T’AI CHI, Feb. 1983) This conforms to Hao’s statement. In such postures, his trunk is invariably forward inclined, whether in his early or later years. A list of Yang’s real forward archery stances was given in T’AI CHI, Feb. 1983. They are the end postures of issuing a forward strength, which is more common than issuing strength in any other direction in Taichichuan.

3. Mixing of other postures with Yang’s real forward archery stance. To warn against mixing up the postures, it was pointed out in T’AI CHI, Feb. 1983, that, although the postures "single whip" and "fan" have similar foot stance, they are not real forward archery stances. In both postures, Yang’s right arm is further at his right than his right shoulder, with the right elbow pointing rightward. To align his vertebrae without twisting, his trunk must face the side somewhere between his two hands, which are separated far apart. The pressure at his left palm toward his left is much less than in his forward archery stance, when he brushed his right knee and presses forward his left palm from the center of his chest.

For comparison, his two photos of single whip and fan are published in that article. Unfortunately, Mr. Montaigue specifically reproduced these two non-qualifying postures for an opposite purpose, i.e., to try to prove that Yang’s trunk in the forward archery stance is not forward inclined. This is a serious distortion. If we pay attention to the essence and spirit of each posture, and to the direction his strength is applied in relation to the direction his chest faces, such indiscriminate mixing can be avoided.

4. Yang’s trunk in dalu. Mr. Montaigue claimed that, in doing dalu, Yang Cheng-fu’s trunk is "vertical." There are only four photographs of Yang doing dalu. They are in his book of 1931. His first photo, reproduced here, is a forward archery stance and is therefore with a forward inclined trunk. In the second photo, he bends his rear leg to draw, and is in a rearward archery stance. His partner assumes a forward inclined trunk. In the third photo, Yang raises his right hand to induce his partner to draw his wrists. This is a transitional movement and his is not in a forward archery stance. In the fourth photo, both his legs are bent to about the same degree, with his trunk facing his left. This in not an archery stance. In discussing Yang’s trunk in a forward archery stance, we have to ignore all photos which are not in this stance but pay attention only to those which are.

5. Yang Sou-chung in dalu. In Yeung (Yang) Sou-chung’s "Practical Use of Taichichuan, Its Applications and Variations," (Chinese, 1962, English, 1977), there are eight photos of his on dalu. Figures 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 are with forward archery stance, and all five are with forward inclined trunk. The book is available in English. The photos are not shown here.

6. Yang Cheng-fu in self-defense. The photos immediately below are reproduced from Yang’s book of 1931. By linking his trunk in a straight line with his forward inclined rear leg, his hands gain several inches toward his opponent without reducing the curvature of his arms. Provided that his front knee is not bent too much forward, and he uses the front leg as a brake, his stability is not impaired. When his hands are in contact with his opponent in this position, a slight forward tilting of his tailbone and hips will increase his integrated strength from his rear leg through his back and arms to repulse his opponent. Yang’s one-person exercise reflects the self-defense needs.

7. Cheng Man-ch’ing in self-defense. Cheng is known to have short foot step and vertical trunk in his one-person exercise. In his photos on pages 36-37 of Robert W. Smith’s book, "Chinese Boxing," when Cheng presses forward with his opponent, however, he first steps out his front foot to lengthen his foot stance, and then inclines his trunk forward in a straight line with his rear leg. Cheng even has a longer foot step and more forward inclined trunk than Yang. The long foot step and the forward inclined trunk are more effective when maximum forward strength is really issued against a formidable opponent. This is different from a master against his student. Cheng has demonstrated seriously.

8. Father and son. The son, Yang Sou-chung, did not publish his one-person postures. The photos below are from Tseng Chiu-yien’s "A Complete Book on Taichichuan," 1960. They show Yang Sou-chung’s senior student Li Shyer-chun, who learned from him for a prolonged period and served as his assistant before teaching independently. Li used a long foot stance with inclined trunk in his forward archery stance, just like Yang Cheng-fu. In the photos, one can sense his strength. From Sou-chung’s dalu, and through his senior student, Li, we can verify the conformity of Sou-chung to Cheng-fu.

According to existing photographs published, the characteristics of Yang Cheng-fu are carried at least to the third generation, even outside China. Abundant evidence not permitted by space shows that up to the 1980’s, Yang Cheng-fu’s traditional forms continue to dominate in mainland China.