Im watching Tim's dvds at the moment and I like how simple it is to generate power in Sun Tai Ji. In Yang Style people are always getting confused because we teach to move while turning on the heel of the back foot. In STJ it seems like you always push off of one leg which is an easier concept to grasp.

Not all Yang style people generate power while turning on their heel. There are so many versions of Yang style out there, with teachers teaching different requirements, it's hard to generalize about it all.

Generate power by turning on the heels? How is that practical?

I was taught to turn on the heels for transition, but not for power generation...

Wait... Timber, are you the one who asked about breathing in while striking?

"I was taught to turn on the heels for transition, but not for power generation... "

This was my experience too.

In Shuai jiao we turn on our heels and not the ball of the foot. Same thing in this tai ji class.

Robert,

I don't think I was the one who asked the breathing question.

I have studied shuai jiao. They use twisting stance a lot (dragon and pheonix stance) ANd I can see how you could generate power from the heels from this position.

Uchi mata is one judo throw that employs heel balance, so yeah. After thinking about it I do see how power can be generated. But as for my personal preference, I use the balls of the feet. But even then, the weight is transitioned from the heels to the ball no matter where the generation started.

The dragon stance is lower than the sj stance. The sj stance is more of a bow and arrow stance with the foot turned out.

Timber, also known as twist stance...

The way you step is sun tai ji is like when you go up the stairs. You push off of one leg after transferring the weight. I like this concept better than focusing on turning on my rear heel. This guy learned it from Tim's book and dvd set. I'm starting to warm up to sun tj.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uuKOIO7ztU

Sean and I are friends, he's had me over to teach in France the last couple years.

Although I hope my instructional DVDs are thorough enough that most anyone can learn the basics and form to an acceptable standard, Sean is an exceptional athlete. He worked as a professional dancer and has been practicing martial arts most of his life.

A clip of him and his students in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0U9Kfp8XRY

If anyone is in the area (Lille), I strongly recommend they look Sean up if they want to study Chinese martial arts.

I like his Mantis Boxing clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vndYaYhP9Zc

That's Sean's twin brother Antony.

I met Antony when I taught in Shanghai last year, as you'd expect of an identical twin, also an exceptional athlete and martial artist.

That's crazy. I truely thought they were the same person. i like all the clips they have. It's really nice to see people doing Chinese Martial Arts in a realistic way. That reminds me, I talked to my friend Ian, who was in Shanghai for the seminar, and he had nothing but great things to say about it.

they should post a clip of them fighting each other while wearing matching clothes.

likin that music in the vid.