Vol 7, Issue 1/2002
About the development of the
Yang style
Interview with Yang Zhenhe
Yang Zhenhe grew up in the tradition of the Yang style of Taijiquan.
During his regular seminars in Germany he teaches, in addition to the
known Yang form with 85 figures and weapon forms, the old form of the
Yang style with 108 figures, which is attributed to Yang Luchan and
his son Yang Banhou. It is more closely related to the Chen style. Yang
Zhenhe is thus very familiar with the development of the Yang style.
In the interview with the Taijiquan & Qigong Journal he explains
how the different versions of the Yang style came about through Yang
Luchan, his sons Yang Banhou and Yang Jianhou and their descendants.
He also indicates that the outer form plays a less important role in
Taijiquan as an internal martial art and that the primary purpose is
the realisation of the principles of movement. The outer and inner triple
alignment and the eight basic techniques are of prime importance. The
inner values are easily neglected within the modern developments in
Taijiquan of acrobatically oriented competition forms on the one hand
and simplified versions for maintaining health on the other, so that
the health effect is also reduced.
