Thank you all for your support. This has been quite the journey for me, as far as learning about martial arts. Such a great forum with great people - it is good to hear from other martial artists besides the instructors and students in my school.
I had the chance to speak with one of the "older" students at my Tai Chi school, who learned the form from my instructor and another senior instructor (who I great appreciate and miss) about 2 years before I came to the school. He wanted to do the form with us, but told me to do it the way my master showed us. He warned me in advance that he was going to do some moves differently. Well, as I observed him, I noticed that he was doing the form very close to the original Cheng Man Ching form!! It is this form I keep seeing in books, and in videos throughout the internet.
Now I asked him why our master changed the form. I didn't really get a straight answer from this older student. But from what I heard him mumbling through his words, my master wanted to emphasize more of the fighting moves and applications throughout the form. I see the similarities and where the form I know strays, but I'm wondering:
Is a Tai Chi Instructor allowed to alter the form?
Historically, Cheng Man Ching altered the Yang Form to emphasize more of the healing moves, and to make it easy to do for people who are constantly busy and running around. I get that, because not everyone will have time to do a form regularly for 30 minutes (Cheng's form takes 7-10 minutes to complete). But now with my teacher doing his own form, I'm wondering where he got the OK to do the form his way. Should I even be concerned about it??
Personally, I know 2-3 students who've hopped around to other Tai Chi schools, and for their interesting reasons, come back to our school. I will have this conversation with my master the next time I see him, but what is everyone's take on this?? Specifically, instructors who change the form. Thank you for taking the time to read and answer this.
I had the chance to speak with one of the "older" students at my Tai Chi school, who learned the form from my instructor and another senior instructor (who I great appreciate and miss) about 2 years before I came to the school. He wanted to do the form with us, but told me to do it the way my master showed us. He warned me in advance that he was going to do some moves differently. Well, as I observed him, I noticed that he was doing the form very close to the original Cheng Man Ching form!! It is this form I keep seeing in books, and in videos throughout the internet.
Now I asked him why our master changed the form. I didn't really get a straight answer from this older student. But from what I heard him mumbling through his words, my master wanted to emphasize more of the fighting moves and applications throughout the form. I see the similarities and where the form I know strays, but I'm wondering:
Is a Tai Chi Instructor allowed to alter the form?
Historically, Cheng Man Ching altered the Yang Form to emphasize more of the healing moves, and to make it easy to do for people who are constantly busy and running around. I get that, because not everyone will have time to do a form regularly for 30 minutes (Cheng's form takes 7-10 minutes to complete). But now with my teacher doing his own form, I'm wondering where he got the OK to do the form his way. Should I even be concerned about it??
Personally, I know 2-3 students who've hopped around to other Tai Chi schools, and for their interesting reasons, come back to our school. I will have this conversation with my master the next time I see him, but what is everyone's take on this?? Specifically, instructors who change the form. Thank you for taking the time to read and answer this.
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