Yang Shouchung / Yang Sau Chung / Yang Zhenming (1910-1985) - Urenkel von Yang Luchan

Neue Forschung zur Entwicklung des Taijiquan

Yang Shouchung (Yang Zhenming)

Der chinesische Taiji-Großmeister war der älteste Sohn von Yang Chengfu aus erster Ehe. Vielen galt er nach dem frühen Tod seines Vaters als maßgeblicher Vertreter des inneren Familienstils der Familie Yang. Als sein Lebenswerk sah er stets die Verbreitung des klassischen Yang-Familienstils mit seinen "Inneren Energien". Nicht verschwiegen werden soll, dass seine hochgelobte Kompetenz heute des öfteren bezweifelt wird. Dies mindert natürlich auch das Ansehen seiner drei Meisterschüler.

Research Yang Zhenming (Yang Shouchung)Doch die wissenschaftlichen Forschungen des Dt. Taich-Bundes - Dachverband für Taichi und Qigong e. V. mahnen zur Vorsicht: Aus traditionell-esoterischer Perspektive sind Bezeichnungen wie "Innerer Stil" oder "Klassischer Stil" oft mehrdeutig und taugen nur bedingt für wissenschaftliche Abgrenzungen. Das verbreitete "Tai-Chi-Sektierertum" und die damit verbundenen Kulte haben mittlerweile zu einem "tiefgrauen Markt" geführt, dem dem auch viele Seelenfänger auf Kundenfang gehen. Insgesamt ist das übergreifende Thema "Entwicklung und Stärkung der Inneren Kraft" ja schwer zu fassen - siehe die sino-japanischen Forschungen und Erklärungen zu "Nairiki" sowie den untenstehenden Exkurs "Post-Truth-Socialmedia".

Bereits in frühen Jahren wurde Yang Zhenming Assistent seines berühmten Vaters und war mit Unterrichten sehr beschäftigt. 1949 wanderte er bedingt durch die gesellschaftlichen Veränderung mit seiner Frau Yang Kwok-Yee nach Hongkong aus. Vielen Lehrern weltweit sind seine drei Töchter bekannt: Tai-Yee (帝儿, engl. "Amy"), Ma-Lee (瑪利, "Mary") und Yee-Lee (伊利, "Agnes"). Sie setzten sein Lebenswerk fort. Ihre Association befindet sich immer noch in Hongkong.

Großmeister Yang Shouchung ist in Europa vielen Yang-Stilisten bekannt durch seine Demonstration seiner Familienform, oder besser gesagt, durch die Veröffentlichung als Youtube-Video (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Bze07WyY0C0). Daran entzündeten sich natürlich rasch zahlreiche kontroverse Diskussionen - auch wird dem Yang-Zhenduo-Clan der Familie dies sehr unlieb gewesen sein, da dessen Anspruch auf das Traditionelle Tai Chi ja nun noch unglaubwürdiger wirken muss. Entsprechend fehlt auf Yang Juns "http://www.yangfamilytaichi.com/ yang/history/#yang-shou-zhong" auch ein disbezüglicher Hinweis auf die stark abweichende, offenbar ältere Familien-Form.

Großmeister Yang Zhenming/ Yang Shouchung - Innerer Yang-Stil

Die Rolle des Kampfkünstlers Yang Shouchung und seine "Alte Taiji-Form" wird international sehr kontrovers behandelt. Viele sprechen von des Meisters "Innerer Tai-Chi-Form" und von "Geheimnissen", die nicht öffentlich gelehrt würden. Doch in Fachwelt und Foren tauchen laufend neue Überlegungen von Experten auf, die von "Schattenseiten" wie Kommerz, Show und Deals sprechen. Dies gilt für Yang Shou Chungs Tuishou, Anwendungen (Applications) und für seine Tai-Chi-Form.

Auch das Thema "Discipleship", also der Status einer "Inneren Schülerschaft" seiner offiziellen drei Meisterschüler wird immer wieder im Zusammenhang mit Finanzen diskutiert. Rangiert gar das Finanzielle vor der Kompetenz? Solche Vermutungen und Suggestionen hört man immer wieder.

So beschreibt etwa Howard Choy anschaulich und sehr offen seine persönlichen Erfahrungen mit der Schule von Yang Zhenming (source:https://howardchoy.wordpress.com/tag/yang-ma-lee). Es geht dabei um Choys Privatunterricht von 1978 bis 1989. Diskutiert wird auch der mögliche kommerzielle Aspekt des "Snake-Style-Taijiquan", interessante Einschätzungen zu Erle Montaigue und besonders aufschlussreich die gemachten Angebote eines Vertrages für bestimmte Regionen sowie die damit verbundenen finanziellen Regelungen.

Yang Shouchung (Yang Zhenming)

Rückblickend wird jedem klar sein, dass die Ausbreitung des Yang-Familien-Stils völlig anders verlaufen wäre, wenn Yang Shouchung in China geblieben wäre. Auch die Dispute um die "wirklich traditionelle Yang-Familienform" wären sicherlich ganz anders ausgefallen. Siehe dazu den Artikel Traditional Tai Chi. Doch bekanntlich kam es anders - ab 1953 systematisierte Meister Yang seine Kenntnisse und unterrichtete Menschen aus aller Welt  in seinem Studio in der 4. Etage der Lockhart Road Nr 315. Große Reklame betrieb der Meister nicht - es reichte ihm ein Schild "Yang Zhenming - Sohn von Yang Chengfu"! Beim Unterrichten der Übungen zur Stärkung der Inneren Energie des Körpers wurde er zunehmend strenger. Dies war die Zeit, die die Grundlage legte für seine eigene Linie und Expertise des Yang-Taijiquan. Für seinen Unterricht entwickelte er eine eigene Methode und ein eigenes System, das man "Yang-Zhenming-Stil" nennen könnte.

In 1962 veröffentlichte der Großmeister ein eigenes Buch "Practical Use of Tai Chi Chuan: It's Application and Variations", welches die Bücher seines Vaters zur Grundlage hat. Das Buch enthält die 37 Fotos mit Kampf-Anwendungen mit seinem Neffen Zhang Qinglin. Enthalten sind zahlreiche Varianten der Applikationen und auch 8 Bilder mit Zhang shixian (Dalu-Techniken). Die Tuishou-Bilder zeigen Yang Zhenmings Frau. Quelle: Buch-Rezension von Dr. Langhoff.

Yang Shouchung (Yang Zhenming)

Source: http://benotdefeatedbytherain.blogspot.de/2012/10/yang-shou-chung-19101985.html

In summary, Yang Zhen Ming was such a man: He was a Taijichuan Family Lineage holder.  A family lineage holder in China, has a very strict definition, which has been debased in recent years with many claiming to be lineage holders. A lineage holder has several requisites - the first is that lineage is traceable, and a clarity of transmission. Second - there is a certain attitude - a respect for tradition; Third is demonstrated in one's actions - his traditional kung fu is strong and deep. In this respect Yang Zhen Ming was a lineage holder.  He was a professional teacher - this was his only profession throughout his life, and he used all his attention and energy and wisdom and dedicated it to taijiquan. Especially during those tumultuos times, using Hong Kong as a base, he promoted Yang Taiji overseas.  He is a successor - and as a successor he had a mystical sense of duty and obligation. Otherwise he would not call himself a successor. There are many now who teach but who do not have this sense of the sacred, and only think of profit, and this is the main difference between them and Yang Zhen Ming. They are only passerbys on the road of Taiji and their names cannot be inscribed in the book of Taiji. Yang Zhen Ming experienced the vicissitudes of life, with his ups and downs, yet was unshaken, following on from his father, he also left us with a famous work written by himself.      

Yang Shouchung (Yang Zhenming)

Source: http://benotdefeatedbytherain.blogspot.de/2012/10/yang-shou-chung-19101985-part-2.html

Yang Shou Chung's Principles and Perspective on Taijiquan

The formation of Yang Shou Chung's understanding of Taijquan is intimately related to his taiji education, his personality traits, and his personal experiences. The Yang Family Taijiquan is noted for its sturdy and stable frame. When Yang Shou Chung inherited his family style he also held onto its notable flavor. His own personality was also quite introverted, and was not prone to false and flowery language.

On most days he was quiet and of few words, however with those that he was quite familiar with, or when discussing topics that he was interested in, he would talk a lot. He did not like to mingle in society, but was very enthusiastic and dedicated. After leaving Yuen Long for many years, if his old neighbors arranged a gathering or celebration, and invited him, he would go from far away to attend.

He was straight and direct, and he would interact with people in a simple way. He would diligently teach, and because of this his power increased from day to day, this all informed his taijiquan.

1. Maintaining the Center   守中

The character for 守 means to maintain or to hold fast and the character for 中 literally means center but in this case refers to the core teachings, the essence, the principle. There are two key marks of Yang Shou Chung's taijiquan, one is that of active dissemination and the other is that of faithful successors.

Yang Shou Chung personal place is not that of a revolutionary or of an innovator, and in this way he was completely different from his father, because that was a difference in the times they lived in, he was a successor, a faithful adherent of the Yang family taijiquan, and this was history's choice for him.

Yang Zhen Ming, honorific Shou Chung. He was as his name described. According to legend, the two characters 守中 were given to him by according to the Yang family ancestral songs for transmitting boxing.

"Maintaining the center position" and "zhongding" 中定 have a special place in  Yang Taichi.

According to the essay on Yang Family Transmission 《對待用功法守中土》 - "amidst stability the feet have roots, first understand the four directions, enter and retreat with the body".  In the section on the Taiji diagram - "exiting the circle is easy, entering the circle is difficult. Do not separate the the waist from the top of the head back and front, the difficulty lies in not leaving the center position, take care to study how retreating is easy and entering is difficult". Those who can attain the center achieve Taiji.

Giving him the name Shou Chung, meant that they hoped that he could follow the family tradition and keep fast to the true tradition, and spread the Yang family tradition to the world. His whole life he “守中用中”,“不放棄,不拋棄” held fast and used the center, and did not give up and did not abandon. Letting go of all disturbances and temptations, he maintained the appearance and bones of Yang family Taiji.

He said himself, "having amassed 30+ years experience in teaching Taiji, regarding what my ancestors have taught me of the boxing method and form, I have not dared to add or remove anything from it; those who have learned from me, do adhere to any rules other than those who came before me." 

The rules of his ancestors are his rules and using the yardstick of his teachings, "What my father taught me, I have no changed a single movement."

His illustrated manual was left to his students, those who look at the contents see that movement he holds on to tradition strongly, in the preface of his reprint of his father's book 《太極拳體用全書》 he specially states : "This edition was written when my father was living in Guangdong. the first edition was in the 23rd year of the Republic (1933), the whole book follows the original printing, there are no changes and there are no additions or deletions. As to the principles, the original is already explained in great detail, and I do not dare to add my own comments."

He did not change one word, and even in his own book he was careful to use Yang Chen Pu's own pictures. To innovate is hard, to hold fast to tradition is even harder.

There are many who try to adhere to tradition, but are unable to do so. The tighter you hold on, it slowly begins to change, because the temptations of the external world are too great. Holding on to tradition is sometimes a very lonely thing.

Zhang Zhen Ming was able to bear this kind of lonliness, in fact he liked this kind of lonliness. The boxing classics have two phrases: “我守我疆,中道皇皇”- I protect my borders, the middle path is the sovereign way. This is an apt characterization of Yang Zhen Ming.

2. Openness 開放

Openness is part of the Yang family tradition, this is a kind of heart and emotion of the Yang family. The brilliance of Yang Taiji, is intimately related to this kind of openness. From the time of Yang Lu Chan, until Yang Chen Pu, there is one underlying principle, whether it is Yang Lu Chan's changing fist, Yang Chen Pu's fixed fist, these are both an expression of  this idea. Yang Zhen Ming followed his father in teaching boxing from a young age, and absorbed this principle through his actions.

Promoting the art through "taking one's duty is to teach the art" is that tradition of the family. And this was imprinted in his brain from a young age. He had a heroic and righteous side, and diligently taught and taught the real thing, and never held anything back, and adhered to a programme while teaching according to the ability of each student.

"When I teach, it is according to the differences of each student, I individualize my teaching, this way it is easier to succeed, as the situation dictates, there is nothing I keep secret, and I try to explain it all. If a doctor is treating a patient, he prescribes the medicine according to the disease, this is an obvious fact." Thus all his students were active in the way they thought, and were able to match their own body conditions with their insights into Taiji.

He thought that the highest techniques should not be locked in a high tower, so he printed a book to explain them, to allow more people to study Taijiquan, in the preface he expressed this thought, "Even if my country is this vast, with such a large population, akin to the planet and the stars, if possible I would teach them all, it is to take the secrets and experiences transmitted to me by my ancestors, I want to spread them to the world."        

3. Quiet and Sincere 篤靜

Yang Zhen Ming was not very sociable, apart from his students, his neighbors in Yuen Long, those active in the Taiji world, those with connections such as his kungfu brother Dong Ying Jie, the Wu style lineage holder Wu Gong Yi, he very seldom went out to eat. This allowed him to maintain a peaceful interior and exterior space, allowing him to experience and demonstrate the artistic conception of Taiji. "To attain the ultimate emptiness, hold fast to the tranquility and sincerity" "靜" is one of the principles of Yang Taijiquan. Only one is quiescent can they maintain the center.

Throwing away the vanities of the external world, giving up empty fame, entering deeper into the heart of Taijiquan, one attains the essence. This is also expressed in his teaching, that is he does not simply teach to anyone, and does teach in an offhanded manner, and he does not try to increase his students, but focused on quality and results.

This demonstrates perfectly the adage, "From a small house it spreads to the whole world"

4. Usefulness 實用

As Taijiquan is a martial art, its usefulness is shown in two areas, strengthening the body and fighting.

Yang Shou Chung began teaching at 19 years of age, and came to understand deeply society's search for Taijiquan's effectivess, and he completely understood Taiji's practical applications, he steadfastly maintained that being practically applicable was one of the key principles of his teaching.

Whether it was in mainland China or in Hong Kong, many of his students were looking for health, so they deeply respected Taijiquan's ability to promote health, as his teaching differed according to the body type of each student, he allowed Taijiquan to bring the greatest benefits to each person.

According to the memories of his students, what he required of each of his students was different, and was able to adapt to each of his students, he once specifically spoke of the objective of this method, this was not indulging one party and neglecting the other, and this was not being conservative, but was adjusting for each person's condition, progressing slowly, this was the best method for health. He also emphasized this in his preface, "As Taijiquan is in accordance with the principles of the changes of Taiji, it is the mechanism for the change of yin and yang, calming the mind and soothing  the Qi, the body is relaxed and the jin is soft, this aids flexibility, and rescues the weak and saves one from danger.

The proof is from practical experience, the general public recognizes that Taiji has a hundred advantages and no one harmful effect. It can be practiced by those inside and outside China, both civil and martial, young and old, male and female."

As to its practical use, Yang Zhen Ming placed it at the highest place, from his single book one can see, it only deals with the practical applications for fighting. From the beginning to the end he encourages attacking, "Taijiquan is based upon the 13 stances, and has push hands and free fighting as its application"

He states that learning the Taiji applications can help strengthen the body of the Chinese people, and increase its fighting spirit."

In order to increase the understanding of his students, he would always demonstrate himself, touching hands he would explain each movement in detail, making sure the student understood how to practice and how to use the movement.

Pragmatism was the watchword of Yang Zhen Ming's Taijiquan.   

5. Understanding the Principle 尚理 

13 principles

Yang Zhen Ming's own assessment of himself included the following sentence,

"At 14 I understood the principles of Taijiquan". Thus one can see how much importance he placed on the principles of Taiji, and how he saw this was the first step in practicing Taiji, and the most important.  This was what he wrote in the preface to the reprint of 《太極拳體用全書》 in 1948 and clearly expressed his thoughts on the matter. This is in one of the few documents left by Yang Zhen Ming and states, "Taijiquan is based upon Yijing Taiji Bagua, and derived from principle, Qi and form. The student needs to first seek the form, nourish the Qi and after a long time understand the principle." In his opinion, only he who has understood the principle, has reached the highest principles of Taiji, from a long and detailed study of the postures, to reach an understanding of the principles, only then can one say that they truly understand Taiji.

From the memories of his students, Yang Zhen Ming would "teach the principles on one hand and demonstrate in the other". Zhang Shi Xian 張世賢 once related how he studied both the inner and and outer with Yang Shou Chung, placing an equal emphasis on the principle and the method: stating "my personality tended towards the quiet side, and was fascinated with the Daoist method."

"From the fourteenth year of the Republic (1925) I started to study meditation, and met the Taiji Master Yang Shou Chung in the 39th year of the Republic (1950) and followed him day and night, our interactions were very deep and I obtained from him the key points of boxing. As a result I understood that there was stillness in movement in the boxing and when sitting there was movement in stillness. Both methods complimented the other and I received great benefits; it was not unusual that my physical body improved from day to day, and my daoist body (energetic body) also became stronger from day to day. " The improvement in his Daoist body was due to his understanding of the principle behind the boxing. 

Master Ma Wei Huan 馬偉煥 also had a strong recollection, "Learning boxing from Master Yang Shou Chung, in the beginning you feel nothing out of the ordinary, but as your kung fu increases, your understanding is different. Master Yang is a very detail oriented person, and this reflected in his teaching method, which allows you to understand the tiny details of studying boxing, to understand that apart from the movement there is also a great deal to learn. He does not talk much, but expresses a lot, it is through his boxing that the meaning comes through".  

Taijiquan is different from other sports, it is not purely a body movement, the movements are for leading the body, the postures are the reason for vitality, the principles are spirit underlying the practice. Yang Zhen Ming's taiji life is filled with this understanding.  Due to his peaceful life in Hong Kong, Yang Shou Chung had much time to devote to studying Taiji, from his bodily understanding and this philosophizing, he was not affected by the vanities of life, his boxing preserved the simple and traditional things. This is what we should deeply experience when we study Yang Zhen Ming's kung fu. That kind of tradition, simplicity and conciseness is a great path without form.  This is what we lack in our present day practice.     

 

Yang Shouchung (Yang Zhenming) aus Sicht der ITCCA

Großmeister Yang Shouchung ist in Europa auch bekannt durch die Arbeit der ITCCA von Meister Chu Kinghung. Über die Austritte von Schulen und Lehrern aus dem Verband werden controvers diskutiert. Doch das wäre ein anderes Thema. Auch die ITCCA reklamiert den wahren Yang-Stil für sich und erklären auf ihrer Homepage ihre Sicht der Dinge: Der Authentische Yang Stil: Tai Chi Chuan der Yang Familie http://www.itcca.org/site/content/org/authYangStil/index?lang=de "Yang Lu-ch'an (1799-1872) ist der Gründer des Yang-Stils. Um den Familienstil zu schützen, unterrichteten er und alle folgenden Meister der Yang Familie eine vereinfachte Form, die sich in den 30er Jahren durch Yang Ch'eng-fu (1883-1936; Enkel von Yang Lu Ch´an) in China sehr verbreitete und von dort aus bis in die USA und Europa. ... In der ITCCA wird der Familienstil der Yang - Familie erstmals in seiner Gesamtheit öffentlich unterrichtet. Meister Yang öffnete die Familientradition, weil der Einsatz der inneren Kraft im Kampf heute gegen Pistole und Gewehr nutzlos ist. Quelle: ITCCA Österreich DI Helmut Schubert und Monika Gredl. http://www.itcca.org/site/content/org/authYangStil/Famous_masters_20050720091425/Chu_king_hung_20050720092104/index?lang=de.

Exkurs: Profil-Analysen des Arbeitskreises "Post-Truth-Socialmedia"

2015 wurde der DTB-Arbeitskreis um die Profil-Analyse erweitert und ist seit 2016 Teil der "Dt. Clearing-Stelle Yang-Family-Taijiquan". Es geht dabei um eine Neuordnung von Bewertungen ausländischer Gruppierungen und eine zuverlässige, sachgerechte Bewertung ihrer Aktivitäten. Die zentrale Frage bildet die Diskrepanz zwischen Eigenwahrnehmung und Fremdwahrnehmung des IA-Umfeldes - und welche Konsequenzen ergeben sich daraus für ihre Beurteilung z. B. durch deutsche Organisationen? Bei Center-Profilen lassen sich sehr unterschiedliche Anteile herausarbeiten. Insbesondere drei Perspektiven sind erkennbar: 1. Defizite bei Fakten-Treue, 2. Wu-De-Kultur-Kodex und 3. Guru-Tum-Lebenshilfe. Diese überlappen sich und erhalten je nach Kontext abweichende Signifikanz. Auf die spannende Frage der zugrundeliegenden Motivationen wird noch speziell eingegangen.

Gering ausgeprägt ist der wissenschaftliche Anteil bzw. das Primat der Fakten-Treue. Gut erkennbar als Kern-Botschaft chinesischer Großmeister und ihrer Familien-Clans ist naturgemäß der überlieferte Wude-Moralkodex des traditionellen chinesischen Wushu mit Loyalität und Gehorsam insbesondere hinsichtlich des Ranking-Systems. Der umfassende Personenkult um Yang Jun und Yang Zhenduo mit Esoguru-Webauftritt, Zeremonien und "Geheimnissen" spekuliert wohl vorwiegend an die Neugier möglicher Interessierteer. Diesen Aspekt der Weltanschauung kann man wohl am besten dem Thema "Lebenshilfe" und all seinen Auswüchsen zuordnen. Leider haben ja Kulte und neue Glaubenssysteme auf daoistisch-buddhistischer Grundlage mittlerweile auch hierzulande einen tiefgrauen Markt geschaffen. Ein Aufdecken solcher Negativ-Erscheinungen belastet die sachliche Auseinandersetzung beträchtlich - so urteilen viele Beobachter. Denn in der Eso-Szene mit ihren "Kampfkunst-Experten", Seelenfängern, Sekten und "Post-Truth-Socialmedia" wird kritisch-neutrale Weltanschauung schnell als Schlechtmachen abgetan. Entsprechend häufig stößt der ernsthaft Forschende auf Elfenbeintürme mit "den drei Affen - nichts sehen, nichts hören, nichts sagen".

Faszien-Qigong für innere Kraft

Faszien-Qigong für Innere Kraft - erklärt von Dr. LanghoffDie kämpferische Taiji-Form Yang von Yang Shouchung benutzt das Bindegewebe zur Entwicklung Innerer Kraft. Dafür sprechen neuere Taiji-Qigong-Forschungen des DTB. Die bundesweite Lehrerausbildung für Taijiquan und Qigong bekommt ein neues Modul: Das "Faszien-Qigong für Innere Kraft". Es geht über gängige Programme der "Fascial Fitness" weit hinaus und basiert auf dem Wu-Wei-Prinzip der körperlich-geistigen Entspannung, den Informationen über die Nairiki-Kata des Shindo Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu und den Erkenntnissen moderner Faszien-Forschung (Quelle Faszien-Qigong)

Yang-Familie und Tai Chi Chuan - Veränderungen

Das Tai Chi der Yang-Familie hat sich seit dem Gründer Yang Luchan durch die Generationen ständig verändert. Es ist charakterisiert durch Bewegungen, die Kraft mit Sanftheit kombinieren. Entspannung, gleichförmige Geschwindigkeit, Natürlichkeit und Flexiibilität sind zentrale Merkmale. Entscheidend für die Qualität ist weiterhin die Körper-Geist-Verbindung, d. h. das Bewußtsein synchronisiert den Bewegungsfluss. Beeinflusst wurde der Yang-Stil nicht nur durch die Familienmitglieder sondern auch durch ihre Schüler und durch Meister anderer Stile wie Chen-Stil und Wu-Stil. Allerdings war der Kontakt und der Austausch mit der Chen-Familie aus Chenjiagou lange Zeit unterbrochen und wurde erst in jüngster Zeit durch Yang Juns "Tai Chi Symposien" wieder intensiviert. weiterlesen: Yang Daofang / Yang-Familie .