Forms and the intent behind them can be confusing. We have hard forms and soft forms. We have external forms and internal forms. Where most of the confusion comes into play is with students’ tendency to associate hard with external and soft with internal.
Two prominent forms where this confusion is displayed are 18 Temple Motions and Tai Chi. Both forms are soft forms and are performed relatively slowly when compared to hard forms. This similarity is what drives the confusion. What students forget to consider is that despite both forms being taught in the same school, they are from different styles of Kung Fu and hence have different intent in approach and application.
18 Temple Motions is from the Lu Ping An Chuan Fa style and our Tai Chi long form is from the Yang Family Style. To understand the intent behind a form, it is important to understand the fundamentals of the style from which it comes. Lu Ping An Chuan Fa is a hard/external style of Kung Fu while Yang Tai Chi is a soft/internal style of Kung Fu. My intent when practicing Lu Ping An Chuan Fa is application of energy - neigong. My intent when practicing Yang Family Tai Chi is the cultivation of energy - qigong. One is inside - out while the other is outside - in. Despite both forms being soft forms, inside - out is external and outside - in is internal. Two different intents with two soft forms.
The ying yang is a useful symbol/tool to keep us on track with an open mind when it comes to Kung fu forms. Nothing is all soft and nothing is all external. Opposites are found within each other and are ultimately defined by each other.
Jeff Brinker