John’s Tai-Blog @ Camp Tai ChiTai Chi and anything I can relate to Tai Chi … like life

“Why Does Tai Chi Have to Be So Damn Slow?”

Tai Chi has to be so damn slow so the dog doesn’t end up with your ice cream cone.  Yes it really is that simple.  Now I can hear some of you saying, “What in the world is John talking about now?”

When you move quickly you tend to move in a habitual manner.  You move in the way you’ve always moved.  When you move slowly you notice things you don’t notice when moving quickly.  Moving slowly, you move into the role of teacher… on at least some level.

When moving slowly it’s easier to notice how it feels to move in this way, or to move that way.  As you notice how it really feels to move slowly in this way, you naturally try moving in other ways too.  Moving slowly gives you options, options you didn’t know you had.  Exploring new options while moving slowly allows you to relax and find the way that feels best, in other words “the way of least resistance”.

Remember though, just because you find a way that feels better doesn’t mean you’re done.  All it means is that you’ve improved the way you move, a little bit.  The more you move slowly the more you learn; the more you learn the better you get; the better you get the more freely you move; the more freely you move the more you remain loose; the looser you are the easier it is to move slowly; the easier it is to move slowly the slower you move; the slower you move the more you learn, and on and on it goes.

The goal in tai chi is to remain loose while maintaining proper structure.  Whey you remain loose while maintaining proper structure you create less resistance, and less resistance means you move more quickly under speed.  In other words, moving in more efficient ways makes you looser and faster.  So practice your tai chi slowly and you’ll find you have better reflexes at important times… like catching the dog before he starts eating your ice cream cone. 

Your thoughts?

John

I’m not against the dog having ice cream, I just think he should have his own so I can be free to enjoy mine.  I found this pic here:  http://www.rlapl.org/kids/?p=240

Delving Into The Simplicity of Tai Chi

Quite some ago I mentioned how newer students can feel overwhelmed when taken too deep into the simplicity of tai chi.  If you missed it, here’s the link to that post http://www.camptaichi.com/blog/2008/10/15/with-all-that-energy-moving-around-how-can-tai-chi-be-simple/.  This particular post has been a long time in coming so I guess the time is right.

When people say tai chi is simple it doesn’t mean there isn’t much information to learn.  It only means none of it is particularly difficult to understand.  I’ve met new students who can grasp complex concepts and work with extremely difficult theories yet are stymied by the principles of tai chi.  When asked how they learned to do their highly complex jobs, they usually reply with something like, “I learned it a bit at a time and now it just makes sense.”

I say the same thing about tai chi.  The difference with tai chi is that the concepts are not all that complex.  They are however, foreign to many western students.  I think the simplicity, along with unfamiliarity is what trips up many students.  They don’t immediately understand it and therefore assume it’s more complicated than it is.  In my view if these students would accept new concepts on faith for a little while, they would begin to understand how tai chi really does work.

I can hear the gears turning now, “So you’re telling me, that if I accept what you say on faith, everything will just work itself out?”  This train of thought, although subtly different, sounds a bit like brain washing.  What I’m really saying is to try it on for a while and see how it works for you.  Treat it like a new pair of shoes.  If after a while it doesn’t seem to fit, maybe you should be doing something else.  Something that’s fits you better.

Don’t try to force your understanding of tai chi.  Let it develop and you’ll get much more out of it.  At times I’ve been taught concepts I wasn’t ready to understand.  When this happened I didn’t concern myself with it.  I let it go and moved on to something else.  Sometimes the same concept came back around and I ultimately got it.  Other times I was immediately able to grasp the new concept or idea.  To me this never means my understanding is complete though; later I may get a glimpse of this same concept from my new perspective.  If this happens the old meaning may fall away while a new one takes its place.  It’s a never-ending process.

This week I’ll leave you with a quote from the Chinese Cousin of the great American Fauxlosopher, Bob Tzu. 

“All difficult things have their origin in that which is easy, and great things in that which is small.”
Lao Tzu

This is a very deep subject and I’m sure I haven’t really done it justice.  Can you add anything… in other words, your thoughts?

John

P.S.  I found this cartoon here:  http://www.mobilewhack.com/smartphones-in-japan-way-too-complex-to-use/

Tai Chi Delivers World Peace or… Whirled Peas?

Tai chi, the great stress reliever, the pathway to inner peace, and the all-purpose problem solver.  Practice tai chi everyday and you’ll become enlightened by next week, the week after at the latest.

If you’ve just started practicing tai chi you’re beginning to understand how difficult it can be to make those really simple and graceful looking movements while calming your mind.  Believe it or not it does just that… all in good time grasshopper.  All you have to do is find the right focus point.  It’s easier than we all make it out to be.

At first we watch the teacher and mimic the forms.  In our minds we’re doing pretty well.  Then the teacher comes along and points out that our left arm is too high and it’s causing our shoulder to tense.  Tensing our shoulders breaks Yang Chengfu’s tai chi rule #5, so we must adjust.  Later the teacher, remember him, tells us to turn our waist but as we focus on our waist our left arms goes back up there again… and we thought we could multitask with the best of them.

We’re hearing more and more about how none of us are any good at multitasking.  Our minds can really only focus on one thing at a time.  Just like anything else, it’s all about practice.  As time passes our left arm will learn where it’s supposed to be and our mind can check in on it for a fraction of a second and tell us we’re doing well while it continues to take inventory around our body.  Once we reach this point tai chi is incredibly relaxing.

So then, does this mean that we have to wait until we start to get good at tai chi before it becomes an effective stress reliever?  No, not really.  We just need to refrain from beating ourselves up for not being all that good.  I’m not sure why so many students think they should be really good right from the beginning.  If these same students could just relax and allow themselves to enjoy the journey they’d start having fun with it right away… without all that pesky waiting for things to get better.

My teacher taught me to look at my own tai chi as a sculpture.  In the beginning we chip away at the block to reveal the rough form.  As we continue to work at it we take away the parts that don’t belong until all we’re left with is the art.  Everyone’s work of art looks a little different.  No two people look exactly the same, and neither does their tai chi.  My teacher and I both move much like our master yet, aside from the things I’m working to correct, there are still subtle differences.  I like to think of myself as an earlier version of him, although I still have a long way to go to reach masterdom.

So just relax, and stop stressing out because you’re not doing your stress relief exercise just so.  Focus on one thing at a time, enjoy the process, and tai chi will be the marvelous stress reliever you thought it would be.  Have fun with it and learn to laugh at yourself when you make mistakes.  Laughter is good medicine and I promise you’ll have plenty to laugh about. 

I’ll leave you with the latest quote from my favorite fauxlosopher, Bob Tzu.  Bob Tzu is the long-lost American cousin of the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu and he’s always good for an insightful laugh.

Be the peas you’re looking for:

“I had to stop seeking inner peace. It was stressing me out.”

and…

Your thoughts?

John

P.S.

Visit the Master of Duhism, Bob Tzu, here:  www.duhism.com

Buy the bumper sticker here:  http://www.zazzle.com/visualize_whirled_peas_bumper_sticker-128983801598467204

Like Water for Tai Chi

In tai chi, water is often used as a metaphor for chi.  I guess air could be used as well, but water just fits so perfectly.  Water always seeks to lowest place available and fills it completely.  We want to be grounded when playing tai chi so thinking of your root as water can be helpful when developing it, and remember developing anything in tai chi never really ends.  You could also use the analogy of tree roots for grounding; however, water moves more quickly than a tree and it fills in all the empty spaces.

If you’ve ever tried to apply any form of rapid force under water, such as a kick or punch, you know how difficult it is to do.  The water doesn’t resist you completely.  The more force you use the more resistance it provides.  It allows you to apply force, but it makes you work for it.  It drains you of energy and you can’t get away from it.

In push hands exercises, where you feel your partner’s energy, you want to stick to your partner like water.  If they move away you move in.  If they move toward you, you move around them applying slightly less force than what they are.  If they apply explosive force your aim is to accept that force and direct it back to them, to attack like water whenever possible, or to simply let it play out without effect.

Water doesn’t have a force of it’s own.  It borrows from whatever is acting upon it.  A raging river is using the force of gravity while a still pool of water uses your energy to move.  Water never tires, it simply moves with whatever is applying force to it.

Next time you’re practicing try feeling your body’s energy as water.  Allow it to move your waist, your arms, your legs.  This is being loose with structure.  If your posture is off, you’ll learn to feel the energy being cut off like a kinked garden hose.  If your posture is good, you’ll feel the energy flowing smoothly.

Your thoughts, experiences?

John

P.S.  I found this beautiful picture here:  http://zhtw.treknature.com/gallery/photo11564.htm

Chi, Can You Feel It Now?

Chi energy (qi) is talked about so often and in so many different ways, no wonder so many people find it confusing.  I think a good comparison to chi is love.  Love is something all emotionally functional people feel.  Sometimes it we feel it very strongly and sometimes it’s difficult to find.

Chi is a subtle energy, so much so that many people find they can’t feel it at all.  Once you’ve found it, and you’ve spent time just listening to it, you’ll find the sensation grows stronger.  The sensation grows from a barely discernible current, to a fragile flow, and finally to a ranging current.

If you’ve ever meditated on your own heartbeat, you’ll have an idea of what I mean.  At first all you hear are the sounds of your environment, then you notice the sound of your own breathing.  Once you’ve found the sound of your heartbeat, it grows stronger and stronger until the blood flowing through your veins sounds like a raging river flowing in pulses.

With Chi, once you feel it strongly you know the second your body goes out of alignment.  This alignment is what makes the chi flow more powerfully.  I’m still working at it, but my take is that once you feel it you can begin to control it, once you can control it it’s power grows.

For those who have never felt chi, or love for that matter, its meaning can be difficult to grasp.  You can’t make it happen, all you can do is look for it.  Once you’ve found it it’s a bit like waiting for a butterfly to land on your hand, if you try to force it, it won’t happen.  I leave you today with this apt quote about love.

“Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.” ~ Anon

Your thoughts?

John

P.S.  I found this quote here:  http://thinkexist.com/quotation/love_is_just_a_word_until_someone_comes_along_and/252888.html

I found this pic here:  http://www.layoutjelly.com/graphics/1/comments/Butterfly/

Tai Chi “In The Present Tense”