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Yang Shaohou
Yang Shaohou (Chinese: 楊少侯; pinyin: Yáng Shàohóu; 1862–1930) was a Chinese martial arts master who, along with Yang Chengfu (楊澄甫; 1883–1936), represents the third generation of Yang-style tai chi. Grandmaster of his generation and known for his compact "small-frame" techniques, he was a ferocious fighter and a demanding teacher.
Yang began learning tai chi at age 7, in Beijing under his father Yang Jianhou, his uncle Yang Banhou (who formally adopted him), and his grandfather — the founder of Yang-style tai chi — Yang Luchan. His name at birth was Yang Zhaoxiong (楊兆熊, Pinyin: Yáng Zhàoxióng). But as was common in the era, as he reached adulthood he took the courtesy name Yang Mengxiang (楊梦祥, Pinyin: Yáng Mèngxiáng), and after he earned a reputation he changed it to Yang Shaohou. Shaohou can be translated as "young noble", and makes use of the "hou" (侯) character from his father's and uncle's names in a reflection of respect for his lineage and his status as grandmaster of his generation.
Many of his contemporaries called him "Mr. Big" (大先生, Pinyin: dà xiānshēng), which can also be translated as "Mr. Eldest" or "Mr. Great" — a play on words as he was the eldest brother in his family, the senior disciple and grandmaster of his tai chi generation, and a great fighter who loomed large in the fears of many — while others called him "Thousand Hands Guanyin" (千手觀音, Pinyin: Qiānshǒu Guānyīn) or "Holy Hands Guanyin" (聖手觀音, Shèngshǒu Guānyīn), which was in praise of his pushing hands techniques, as unlike that deity he was not known for his compassion.
Yang Shaohou had a very forceful nature, and like his uncle Banhou he was a demanding teacher, only interested in students that could stand their tough training regimes. It is said that he enforced low stance training by making students perform postures underneath food preparation tables, he preferred to demonstrate rather than explain, and he was not known for pulling his punches. Often as soon as he crossed hands with a student in push hands, he attacked suddenly with great force, and the student did not know what to do. This approach attracted few, but he in fact preferred to limit and focus his time and attention as a teacher.
He taught at the Beiping Sports Research Institute (北平體育研究社, Pinyin: Běipíng Tǐyù Yánjiūshè) as well as an associated institute and club, but preferred to give private lessons to disciples and other serious students in small groups or individual sessions. He briefly travelled to teach in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Nanjing, but preferred Beijing. Everywhere he went, he earned his reputation as an indomitable fighter, but as a teacher only to a select few disciples.
He also practiced traditional Chinese medicine, treating patients with a combination of Yang family herbal formulas and a prescription of regular tai chi practice. Upon curing one municipal official of a liver ailment with just such a combination, he gained a great following and 200 citizens of that town asked him to train them in tai chi. However he remained very selective about which students he took on — some would say impatient and irritable — and trained only the official that time, but work like this did help to maintain strong ties between government officials and the Yang family.
Sixth-generation Yang style Master Yang Jun reports family tradition describing him like this: "The spirit from his eyes would shoot out in all directions, flashing like lightning. Combined with a sneer, a sinister laugh, and the sounds of "Heng!" and "Ha!", his imposing manner was quite threatening."
The tai chi of Yang Shaohou and his younger brother Yang Chengfu represent the final refinement of the three founding generations of Yang family tai chi. Disciples and students of Yang Shaohou tai chi hold that Yang style founder Yang Luchan's "old frame" (老架, Pinyin: lǎojià) tai chi from the beginning contained the potential for what over time was separated into the two approaches those brothers now represent, Yang Shaohou's "small frame" (小架, Pinyin: xiǎojià) and Yang Chengfu's "large frame" (大架, Pinyin: dàjià). Today practitioners of the small frame often call their approach the "yong jia" (用架, Pinyin: yòngjià) which can be translated as "application frame", and the large frame the "lian jia" (練架, Pinyin: liànjià) or "training frame", though in fact both include training and applications.
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Yang Shaohou
Yang Shaohou (Chinese: 楊少侯; pinyin: Yáng Shàohóu; 1862–1930) was a Chinese martial arts master who, along with Yang Chengfu (楊澄甫; 1883–1936), represents the third generation of Yang-style tai chi. Grandmaster of his generation and known for his compact "small-frame" techniques, he was a ferocious fighter and a demanding teacher.
Yang began learning tai chi at age 7, in Beijing under his father Yang Jianhou, his uncle Yang Banhou (who formally adopted him), and his grandfather — the founder of Yang-style tai chi — Yang Luchan. His name at birth was Yang Zhaoxiong (楊兆熊, Pinyin: Yáng Zhàoxióng). But as was common in the era, as he reached adulthood he took the courtesy name Yang Mengxiang (楊梦祥, Pinyin: Yáng Mèngxiáng), and after he earned a reputation he changed it to Yang Shaohou. Shaohou can be translated as "young noble", and makes use of the "hou" (侯) character from his father's and uncle's names in a reflection of respect for his lineage and his status as grandmaster of his generation.
Many of his contemporaries called him "Mr. Big" (大先生, Pinyin: dà xiānshēng), which can also be translated as "Mr. Eldest" or "Mr. Great" — a play on words as he was the eldest brother in his family, the senior disciple and grandmaster of his tai chi generation, and a great fighter who loomed large in the fears of many — while others called him "Thousand Hands Guanyin" (千手觀音, Pinyin: Qiānshǒu Guānyīn) or "Holy Hands Guanyin" (聖手觀音, Shèngshǒu Guānyīn), which was in praise of his pushing hands techniques, as unlike that deity he was not known for his compassion.
Yang Shaohou had a very forceful nature, and like his uncle Banhou he was a demanding teacher, only interested in students that could stand their tough training regimes. It is said that he enforced low stance training by making students perform postures underneath food preparation tables, he preferred to demonstrate rather than explain, and he was not known for pulling his punches. Often as soon as he crossed hands with a student in push hands, he attacked suddenly with great force, and the student did not know what to do. This approach attracted few, but he in fact preferred to limit and focus his time and attention as a teacher.
He taught at the Beiping Sports Research Institute (北平體育研究社, Pinyin: Běipíng Tǐyù Yánjiūshè) as well as an associated institute and club, but preferred to give private lessons to disciples and other serious students in small groups or individual sessions. He briefly travelled to teach in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Nanjing, but preferred Beijing. Everywhere he went, he earned his reputation as an indomitable fighter, but as a teacher only to a select few disciples.
He also practiced traditional Chinese medicine, treating patients with a combination of Yang family herbal formulas and a prescription of regular tai chi practice. Upon curing one municipal official of a liver ailment with just such a combination, he gained a great following and 200 citizens of that town asked him to train them in tai chi. However he remained very selective about which students he took on — some would say impatient and irritable — and trained only the official that time, but work like this did help to maintain strong ties between government officials and the Yang family.
Sixth-generation Yang style Master Yang Jun reports family tradition describing him like this: "The spirit from his eyes would shoot out in all directions, flashing like lightning. Combined with a sneer, a sinister laugh, and the sounds of "Heng!" and "Ha!", his imposing manner was quite threatening."
The tai chi of Yang Shaohou and his younger brother Yang Chengfu represent the final refinement of the three founding generations of Yang family tai chi. Disciples and students of Yang Shaohou tai chi hold that Yang style founder Yang Luchan's "old frame" (老架, Pinyin: lǎojià) tai chi from the beginning contained the potential for what over time was separated into the two approaches those brothers now represent, Yang Shaohou's "small frame" (小架, Pinyin: xiǎojià) and Yang Chengfu's "large frame" (大架, Pinyin: dàjià). Today practitioners of the small frame often call their approach the "yong jia" (用架, Pinyin: yòngjià) which can be translated as "application frame", and the large frame the "lian jia" (練架, Pinyin: liànjià) or "training frame", though in fact both include training and applications.