Thanks for the kind advice.
To be clear, I want to benefit from the "relaxed body skill" that is the goal of all internal martial arts. Not to make me a better fighter but to make me a healthier human being and be able to interact more efficiently and vitally with the world. So I'm after chi and jin, but not necessarily the skill of fa-jin per se, I'm not dreaming about bouncing people off walls or other such amazing powers.... I was using them as examples of demonstrations that there's something going on under the hood. Other examples may be stuff like the 0-inch punch. I don't know much about ki-tests but they may be good indicators too?
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Mike Haft wrote:
usually it just degrades into a Chinese is better than Japanese argument
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Yes, I'm eager to avoid that silliness. Let's work on the premise (which I believe) that everything is good for something and every skill is best for someone. I am seeking information on the general relative merits of each system... although I am starting to see that perhaps I am asking the wrong questions. I'm getting the feeling from these responses that the attitude of the teacher is equally important (perhaps more so) compared with their skills, with the compatibility of the student and the art being secondary to that.
Quote:
Mike Haft wrote:
preference for the aikido waza over Taichi techniques
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I would like to get more information if you don't mind. Why do you like one more than the other?
Also, do you feel that the ki-development exercises are (for you, personally, no need for generalisations) just as effective as taiji in training the "relaxed body skill" aka "ki". Perhaps you feel some of them are better for you? In what way? I like to learn by having the "hows" and "whys" explained to me... which is not so great for certain styles of taiji instruction which feels mostly like "sink or swim".... I'm willing to work hard but I'm can be really dense and lacking bodily intuition. So I'm a bit wary of "just do it" kinds of instruction where I'd likely fall into the majority of people who simply "don't get it" in terms of ki. I'm looking for something that I can make steady progress on without having a natural talent for body skills.
Many thanks in advance for answering my sincere questions.