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

A Lesson In Tai Chi

When you attack someone, what happens?  Do they usually just stand there or do they fight back in some way?  Instinct generally prods us to defend ourselves.

You naturally see this in martial arts schools.  Most students want to believe their school is best and some are eager to prove it.  Most arguments of this type don’t escalate beyond words, but it always amazes me when a student from one school walks up to a student from another and begins talking about how great their school is - by inference how bad every other school is - then this same student gets upset when the other stands up for their school,  inferring that no other school could possibly match them.

A rare few teachers encourage this type of “My teacher can beat up your teacher” behavior.  However, many more do little to discourage it.  Being too dogmatic and making sure that everyone knows you’re way is the right way often proves to be nothing more than showing your own insecurity.  We only really care what others think of us when we are uncertain of ourselves.

When tai chi, and other martial arts, were needed to defend one’s way of life people understood the importance of secrecy.  If someone could study your style, they might find a weakness to exploit. That meant you weren’t around to defend the village any longer.

Tai chi is a defensive art when studied through martial intent.  Your opponent comes to you.  The best way to defend yourself is to have your opponent underestimate you.  If you are humble, an attacker may believe you are not capable.  This makes your job easier; easier is better.  Practice being humble, you’ll find it easier to get along with others and, if you’re lucky, you might be able to stop taking your blood pressure medicine too.

Your thougths?

John

The Tenth Principle of Tai Chi Chuan: Seek Tranquility in The Movement

While the Ninth Principle of Tai Chi Chuan is one of the Principles that seems easiest to understand and apply, the Tenth is likely the one that causes the most confusion.   In my e-book The 10 Principles of Tai Chi Chuan for Beginners, that I give away with my video Beginning Tai Chi Exercises, I give a brief description of the Ninth Principle that’s geared toward beginners.

Seek tranquility in the movement:
With Tai Chi Chuan, the movement is peaceful and tranquil. While performing the movements the mind is alert but peaceful. When practicing, the slower the movement the better the results. This is because when the movements are slow and deliberate you will find it easier to breathe deeply. This will help your energy sink to the dan tian, and has a soothing effect on the body and the mind.

Often relayed as “Seek stillness in the movement”, this Principle probably has the widest range of interpretations and is a major cause for confusion in newer students, not to mention those with more experience.  It seems to be an oxymoron.  How can there be stillness within movement?  I imagine this has more to do with improper translation than in the statement itself, although Eastern and Western ideas can sometimes conflict with one another, resulting in misunderstandings and confusion as well.

What I can do here is give you my interpretation on as basic a level as possible.  The real key to understanding any of the 10 Principles lies within the practice of tai chi chuan itself (taijiquan).  By working with each principle one at a time, testing each for yourself, and coming to your own understanding, you will slowly be able to incorporate them into your practice and your life.

As time passes, you will likely find your own interpretations and understanding changing.   A particular interpretation for a Principle my serve you well for years, and one day you’ll discover something that turns it upside down.  Don’t spend too much time searching for interpretations; find one that makes some kind of sense to you and work with it until you come to an understanding from the inside out.

As I’ve said before, tai chi is really all about awareness of your body.  As with breath, it’s important not to focus too much on what you’re doing.  Simply think about the Principle and set it in the back of your mind as you practice.  Your subconscious mind is much better at finding patterns and meanings than your conscious mind.

Allow your mind to be calm.  Just as you should use only as much muscle as needed to move when playing tai chi, you should only use only as much focus as you need.  Paradoxically I’ve found the easiest way to develop this skill is to focus with everything you’ve got on one aspect for a little while and then let it go.  In this way you first begin to understand this one thing, while other things may almost completely fall apart due the lack of focusing on them.  Later, once you’ve brought your focus back to other subtleties, you’ll find this one area has improved while causing improvement in other areas too.

One day you’ll come to realize something you never expected.  Something you tucked into the “back of your mind” a month ago, a year ago, or maybe even several years in the past.  I know this is still happening to me, and I expect it will for many years to come.

Your thoughts, experiences?

John

Are You “Strong Enough For Tai Chi?”

People who know nothing of tai chi usually watch the slow movement and think to themselves, “That looks pretty easy.  I could do that.”  What few people understand is the leg and arm strength that’s needed for tai chi to “appear easy”.  Leg and arm strength are developed slowly over time… and no you don’t have to look like this to go tai chi.

I’ve talked about developing leg strength for tai chi before and I think it’s time to touch on it again.  Most students experience sore and tired legs in the beginning.  This makes moving a bit more difficult and is often more than a bit frustrating.  Over time leg strength builds until one day they realize they can easily do things that were once nearly impossible, such as supporting all their weight on one leg as they lower their body and place the other foot very gently on the floor.

What if there was a way to build this leg strength more quickly, without all that arduous and dreadful practice?  Well guess what, there is.  It does require practice but practice you can easily fit into your daily life while doing routine tasks around the house.  You’ll look, and will probably feel, a bit silly at first but it works like magic.  Before you know it you’ll be strong enough for tai chi and you’ll naturally learn to release the tension in your lower back and hips that gets in the way of fluid movement.

What, pray tell, is this magical exercise?  It’s quite simple really, when you’re doing something routine just distribute your weight evenly across your feet, keep your posture upright with your head lifted and bend your knees.  Now stay in that posture for a few minutes as you go about your activity.  This means as you walk around, you keep your knees bent while maintaining your posture.  This can be done while brushing your teeth, making breakfast, or just about anything routine.  You’ll find, in a very short time, that your legs will not tire as easily and that you’ll be able to do this for longer and longer periods of time.

While doing this exercise, don’t worry about how long you can do it at first.  The act of doing this for 30 seconds here, a minute there, throughout the day will build your leg strength to the point you can do the exercise for longer and longer periods of time.  Shortly you’ll begin to notice the difference when you’re practicing tai chi, and difference can be huge.

Give this simple exercise and try.  Once you’ve gotten past the place of feeling silly, you’ll probably want to do it more and more because of what it does for your tai chi, not to mention how much better you feel because of the extra energy you have.

Your thoughts?

John

P.S.  I found this pic here:  http://dustinlebeltraining.blogspot.com/2009/06/building-strong-legs-with-sandbags.html

A Tale of Two Tai Chi’s

Well not exactly a tale, more of a discussion really.  I recently received an interesting email from a reader, Joyce Phillips.  Joyce not only asked me a good question, she also gave me a good topic to blog about.  The question asked was, “… what is your opinion of having different [tai chi] instructors at the same time?”

I’ve touched on this topic before, although not in quite this way.  As is often the case, I am of two minds about studying with different teachers, or studying different styles.  I don’t believe there is a clear-cut answer to this question.

Mixing styles can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing, depending on what you hope to attain.  If you’re practicing tai chi for the pure enjoyment of it, and aren’t overly confused by the subtleties of mixing styles, then there’s no harm in mixing them.  In fact it may make studying tai chi even more interesting.

When a student has no interest in the martial applications, or even learning how their body reacts under different conditions, studying the movement alone can become a bit tedious over time.  When this type of student is exposed to different teachers, or different styles, they have to focus harder on which style they’re doing at the moment and their level of interest is peaked.

On the other side of the argument is the student who is studying to go as deeply into tai chi as they can.  Usually this means studying with martial intent and focus, but it can also mean someone wanting to learn how their body functions while doing tai chi and delving deeply into this area.  For this student, mixing styles will usually hold them back since they will constantly be thinking thoughts such as, “What style am I doing now, and how do I hold my hand in this posture?”

The student who hopes to gain some level of mastery of tai chi chuan is better served studying one style from one competent teacher.  Learning the subtleties of tai chi movements and learning to control the body’s energy is a very deep well.  So deep in fact it may be more accurate to call it a bottomless well.  As tai chi teachers go, I’m still a relative newbie.  After I’ve been at this for another 10 to 15 years I might have a better handle on it than I do now, after only 8 years.  Master Cui Zhongsan, my master, has been studying and practicing tai chi chuan for 57 years.  He still says he wishes he’d listened to his Grandfather and master, Cui Yishi, more intently.

There is also one other side to this.  It’s the student who has been studying for some time and feels they have a good grasp of their style of tai chi.  This student may in fact benefit from studying one other style and seeing where it takes them.  My Master, having grown up with many other masters around his home, studied different styles of tai chi, kung fu, etc.  It seems now there is almost nothing he can’t do or pick up very quickly.

In closing, the answer to this question depends completely on the student.  Once you’ve figured out what you want to get out of your tai chi practice, you’ll know which way to go.  Your thoughts?

John

The Tai Chi Gardener

Jamee Culbertson, A tai chi friend of mine, recently made this posting on her Facebook account:

“Chuang Tzu asked us: Where would the gardener be if there were no more weeds?”

The 4th Century Chinese Philosopher makes a valid point about life in general that also applies to our tai chi practice.  We need to practice regularly.  When we don’t weeds sprout up.  Hell, I can tell you from personal experience that they pot up even when you do practice regularly; they just don’t grow as big.

As humans we tend to forget things, lots of things.  Our memories are fluid and ever changing.  As time passes we color our memories according to what happens in our lives.  Our bodies it seems, aren’t quite as susceptible as our minds.  I believe our bodies record things more consistently than our minds.  The thing is not everything the body records is accurate.

When our memories, mind or body, are off we end up with weeds in our forms.  We need to become consummate gardeners, ever vigilant.  Good teachers and accomplished masters have developed this skill and they use it to keep us in line.  My senior training brother Michael refers to these weeds as a disease.  Michael has coined the term SPD, or self-perception disorder.

SDP is nothing to worry about, only something to be aware of.  When your master, your teacher, or even a fellow student points out something you’re doing wrong, don’t be too quick to dismiss them.  They’re probably right.  It’s easier to see flaws in someone else than to see them in ourselves.

Don’t spend much time thinking about SPD.  Instead focus on what you’re doing right and SPD will be only a minor concern.  Remember what we focus on we get more of.  Be aware you might not always be correct, but spend most of your time thinking about what you’re doing right, or at least what you want to be doing right.

Your thoughts?

John

P.S.  I found this pic on GardeningAfterFive.Wordpress.com.  If you’re a gardener you might like this blog:  http://gardeningafterfive.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/victory-over-flea-beetles-and-weeds/

Where Exactly Is The “Sweet Spot” In Tai Chi?

I was just reading an article in LiveScience.com titled Car-Sized Creature Whacked with Tail’s Sweet Spot.  It’s referring to a prehistoric creature with a club-like tail that likely used it’s tail as a form of self-defense for the smaller sized beasts in this family, or for clumsy ritualized encounters with same-species adversaries for the larger, compact car sized creatures of the species.

The “sweet spot” the article refers to is that perfect point of impact when swinging a tennis racket, a baseball bat, or even a hammer.  In tai chi the goal is to maintain your body’s natural structure while releasing energy at the perfect point of impact with your opponent.  The perfect point of impact will depend on what you want, or need to do with your opponent.  It’s been said that to be thrown by Yang Chengfu was a very comfortable feeling, but I imagine if someone had really been attacking him the throw was likely a bit painful or even debilitating.  Now don’t misunderstand me, I’m no master and my sweat spot is still a bit sour perhaps, but that’s the goal. 

When training you’ll find it helpful to pay close attention to way your body feels at any given time.  In the beginning that’s pretty hard for most students.  Once you can feel the energy move in your body however, then you’re on your way.  You’ll reach a point where you can feel any time the energy is cut off or hindered.  At that point, if you don’t have immediate access to your teacher, try altering the movement just a bit until you feel the energy moving freely.  Chances are that will be the sweet spot.

One other note, pay close attention to the posture, arm, and hand positions you’re taught.  You are probably being taught very specific position and structures.  Chi (qi) does not flow well trough joints that are too bent.  Be sure to work with what you’re taught before trying modifications.  If you have a good teacher, you shouldn’t need anything more than slight modifications to tailor the movement to your particular body, if any modification is needed at all.

Your thoughts?

John

P.S.  If you’d like to read the story from LiveScience.com click here:  http://www.livescience.com/animals/091115-giant-glyptodonts.html