A news story on Xingyiquan and Baguazhang in Taiwan. It features my teacher, Luo Dexiu and one of his earliest students, Lin Guozheng.

http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=fz4zF3oBg38&feature=related

Nice. Can you summarize what they are talking about?
Thanks
Jake

awesome,

a great gift from the ancestors.

and i counted 3 hippies.xD

The report emphasizes the tradition and transmission of Martial Arts and the importance of respecting those that came before.

Chen Qizhou talks about the importance of the martial poems or songs that were created to help pass down the knowledge of previous generations.

They mention Zhang Junfeng bringing his art to Taiwan, then Luo talks about Rou Shou and how you coordinate all "nine joints" so that they can be used together or separated to control an opponent, and that these types of skills are higher level abilities.

Lin Guozheng talks about most martial arts, the "external arts" being different than the Internal arts in that the IMA emphasize intent, and conscious control of the body.

They show a demonstration of the Guo Shu Association that is dedicated to the preservation of and open to all styles of martial arts.

Lou then talks about the importance of respecting those that came before you, that no one person is responsible for all that is contained in any style.

Finally Chen Qizhou points out martial arts training is not all about fighting but also about cultivating martial virtue.

Tim, Thanks for the summary. I am curious what is the song about? Cheers

William

Thanks Tim.
What are the nine joints?
Cheers
Jake

William,

He's singing in Taiwanese about the warm sun in the afternoon, flowers and willows growing if front of the river, at the time people don't realize they are happy, later they try to steal time to regain the feeling of their youth.

Jake,
The "Nine Joints" is a term often used in Taijiquan and refers to the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, and three "joints" in the upper, middle and lower spine.

Tim
Thanks. Never heard that one before. How does it differ from the 7 stars (other than the back "joints")? Are there specific places in the spine they felt were "joint-like"?
Thanks
Jake

Thanks Tim

The Seven Stars refers to the use of the shoulders, elbows, hands, hips, knees and feet for striking.

The Feng Fu point at the back of the neck, the Ming Men point in the center of the spine and the Wei Lu point in the coccyx are considered areas of focus for movement.

Thanks Tim. So the "joints" are to be taken literally as the nine places the body "bends" for lack of a better term?
Thanks
Jake

Correct.

Cool beans. Thanks!

i believe that the three acupuncture points tim mentions are also called the three difficult gates, because some people [eg cheng manching] consider them places where qi easily gets stuck. you could also use a western medicine approach and say they are places where the spine tends to be misaligned.