Forms / Taolu

[dave l.]

hey,

I'm looking for more info about the origin / development of forms . Were they really important to prepare a soldier/monk for war/fight. I like to hear something else than...good to make body fast,strong,etc... I'm looking morefor the martial way behind the forms, not the spiritual thing..
Thxs!

[LeiYunFat]

What? You mean forms in general? It would depend of what kind of form you're talking about when you wanna talk about applications.

In that sense, forms are basically shadow boxing.

[baiwanxi]

I want to try and bring this thread alive again. I'm curious about the same thing...

I read somewhere once that taolu were first created by a master of a style as a way to pass on his applications. He took every application he knew, connected them in some way, shape, or form and, "Boom", you have taolu. So the first time a master had done this, his style only had one or two taolu. The pattern grew from school to school and became the institution.

I don't know if there's any truth in this, I just remember reading it somewhere. That's why some styles still only have a few forms.

Any thruth to this ? DOes anyone know ? Know wnywhere to find info on the history of the use and creation of taolu ????????

[michabusch]

Yeah thats how they used to do it.
You can still see that the styles that are more combat-orientated today have less forms compared to the ones that moved more into the performance/show genre.

If you would like to read some real interesting articles about form "evolution" and application, look at the website of Patrick McCarthy.
http://www.koryu-uchinadi.com/

His main research is on okinawan karate forms, but as you know almost all of these originated on the Chinese mainland.

He also did a lot of research on Monk Fist(Shaolin) gongfu, and is the translator of a chinese book called the Bubishi (Japanese name). Its a book on shaolin gongfu and white crane that surfaced in okinawa but its origins have gone lost.

I`m very curious if anyone of you knows this book and if you can still link it back to what is tought today at shaolin.

[michabusch]

ow , and since its not a very clear layout , check out:

"HAPV-theory and 2-person drill"
"Thinking outside the box"