There’s been some discussion regarding what were thought of as traditional internal martial arts (xingyi, bagua, taiji) and their modern wushu counterparts. For instance, there’s a thread regarding traditional versus contemporary wushu counterparts. I think it all began with how some of the latest competitions excluded sparring and then the topic was brought up again when someone asked “What is wushu?” in regards to xingyi/bagua.

There’s so much debate over traditional versus modern and I think that each of them have their strengths and weaknesses. Ppl train for different reasons and I think these can be accomodated by the two. Not many ppl starting out in taiji are willing to stand in an “embrace the tree” posture for long periods of time and maybe only learn 2-3 postures in a session. Some would rather learn a choreography and get their joy out of performing the sequence. I guess it all depends on reasons for training, wether the emphasis is for health or martial.

For some reason, I run across this topic a lot and it strikes somethign in myself. Perhaps b/c I used to study modern wushu and taiji before and now I’ve started migrating over to the traditional routes. I still like to practice the 24-form every once in a while and I can tell my form has changed after studying traditional chen. Some ppl ask me, which is better, and I think it depends on one’s reason for studying. Different strokes for different folks