The Indoor Yang Family System: An Introduction

    The most popular style of Tàijíquán (“T’ai Chi”) in the world is the Yáng Family system. Practitioners learn one empty-handed form that doesn’t have any especially difficult moves in it. Perhaps they also learn Push Hands and a straight sword and sabre form. Some practitioners will be lucky enough to learn a spear form.

    What most practitioners don’t know is that this is only the public version of the system. The “indoor” system that the family has practiced includes much more material: Four main forms, four “corner” forms, thirteen Gōngfă movements, and several other formal sets of skills, including a much more complex Push Hands series than is taught publicly.

    I have received a lot of questions since I published the Wise Hammers Form book. Mostly they had to do with who my teacher was and why it is called the “Indoor Yang Style.”

    Firstly, my teacher was a very private woman who only taught me because she was a good friend of my Daoist master. I’m not going to share her name publicly. All of my more advanced students know her name.

    Secondly the name. My teacher didn’t formally name this system “The” indoor Yáng system. She simply stated that it was “indoor”, which simply means “private”. The implication is that this is the system that the Yáng family practiced among themselves and didn’t share publicly. I have labelled this system “The Indoor Yáng Style” to distinguish it from the more popular “public” styles that most practitioners are familiar. I am not trying to create a new style.

    Personally, what I think we have here is a snapshot of what Yáng Lùchán was teaching at some point in his development. As more information becomes available on this art, we can see the growth of his personal style through several stages. This one is very similar to the Imperial Yáng Style, and may be closely related to it chronologically.

    In this series I am documenting the system, set by set. It is my hope that it will broaden your knowledge of this strange art that manages to be both widespread and obscure at the same time.

    Personally, I still teach the Public Form to my students, because it is a wonderful, refined form and most of my students are not going to be willing to learn about 3 1/2 hours worth of material. I’m in the process of learning the Yáng Jiànhóu version of the system, which suits me perfectly.

    Once again, this is the system exactly as I learned it. If I have added anything myself, I have documented it. With all the mediocrity that’s plaguing the martial arts these days, I think it’s important to take a stand for the traditional arts.

The main forms in this system are:

The Four Main Forms:
The Large Frame Form
The Medium Frame Form
The Small Frame Form
The Long Fist

The Four Corner Forms:
The Post-Heaven Form
The Wise Hammers Form
The Little Nine Heavens Form
The Diăn Mài / Diăn Xúe  (Pressure Point) Form

Other Material Includes:

The Thirteen Cinnabar Gōngfă Movements
The Thirteen Animal MovementsMáo (Spear)
Jiàn (Straight Sword)
Dāo (Sabre)
Gùn (Staff)
Walking Stick
Small Tàijí Ball
Heavy Tàijí Ball