Quote:
Ricky Wood wrote:
Now, settle down fellas. I think you misread me.
Fascinating art. Very informative website.
I am a little surprised that you took offense to my "cutting and pasting" of things that so obviously were very on topic. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Nick teaching pretty much the same principles that Mike is teaching?
I learned more in one afternoon abouth the art of Yang Cheng Fu style tai chi chuan by browsing Nick Waller's website than I have in the 2 months this thread has run. Some people are better at putting these things into words than other people. Nick is one of them. I noticed Mike Sigman's name given as a reference. The art as explained on Nick's website is obviously the real deal. Mike is obviously the real deal.
A couple things stood out for me though.
"A cooker heats food and a refrigerator cools it.
They cannot be combined - the very notion is absurd and functionally not viable.
Each is separate and must be kept separate.
The same is true of internal and external martial arts systems.
Whilst many people cross-train or import ideas into tai chi, this is not conducive to progress."
(Nick Waller)
Would cross training in tai chi be conducive to my progress in aikido? I'm not sure. Is aikido an internal or external art? I've always thought it to be a beautiful combination of both. I learned aikido from a small statured Japanese man who obviously was using something different than "external" strength. I am a fan of the internal principles for sure.
I AM going to be paying more attention to many of the principles as outlined by Nick. Hopefully I can "steal" some of that valuable information. If I can "steal" some stuff from anyone that understands it, you better believe I'll do it, Mike included.
Maybe you guys just need to work on your presentation a little bit.
And simmer down. 
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I liked this post better than the previous ones. At least here I can start to understand what you are trying to convey.
Cross training in taichi and aikido? Don't have a clue.
But, at a guess, I'd say each individual will be different.
Aikido as internal or external? Like Mike stated, you'd have to define those two first before you could decide. It seems that people's definitions of them are different.
Mike is the real deal? Heh, I don't know that I'd go that far.
After all, I seem to recall Mike saying something about other people being better than him. Seriously, Mike's level in internal skills is far above mine. So much so, that I really couldn't tell anyone how good he is, except by comparison to how bad I am.
Best of luck on glimmering info from the Internet. I've found that it can't be done. This is one area where person to person training must be done.
Mark