Lineage (again)

I have talked about this issue before, in a previous post. Today, someone asked me again who my teacher was, because the Chen style taijiquan old frame first routine that I practise is quite different from what is being widely taught now.

Is there anything such as a "standard" version of a form? Is what is widely practised the "standard" version? How do we define "standard"?

Some would say that the version being taught by the Four Kings of Chen style taiji is the "standard" version. But if you look at them, each of them have slightly differing movements within their forms. So whose version is the "standard" version?

Is there even such a thing as a "standard" version?

Each of us, through how we were taught and our own understanding of taiji principles and our own experiences will end up with different thinking about taiji and how to express it. Even two students under the same teacher being taught the same form will end up practising the form in slightly different ways. I think the important thing is not being a copycat and just following what your teacher does. The important thing is to understand the style of the form that you are learning, understand what are the special points about it. For example, the fast-slow mixture with soft-hard expressions in Chen style, or the slow and steady and continuous flow of Yang style, or the smooth and light-footedness of Sun style. As long as you are able to express your form following the style, there shouldn't be any right or wrong. There may be small little differences in the small movements here and there, but what is important is that you are able to adhere to the basic principles of taiji while expressing the form using the correct style.

At the end of the day, we should not be mere copycats, but in order for taiji to improve, we need to understand what we are doing and use our form to express our understanding.