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

Live Long and Prosper

Sometimes I get the question, “does tai chi make you live longer?”  I think the best response to this is , “I’m not sure, let’s try it and find out.”  However, that response is usually met with a blank stare.

I used to wonder this myself.  As I’ve studied tai chi I’ve noticed tai chi masters live about as long as the rest of us, with an interesting caveat.  Aside from Yang Chengfu, who died fairly young supposedly because of living too much of the good life, the tai chi masters I’ve met are much like the rest of us.  By this I mean their work is tai chi and they live the rest of their lives as the rest of us do.  They smoke, they drink, they laugh, they play; all in all they seem to enjoy life.

Westerners mostly have the image that a tai chi master or teacher must be a very healthy person.  When you think about it though, it doesn’t really add up.  Tai chi is supposed to help your body clean itself and support healing.  If your body can do that why sweat the other stuff?  My Master doesn’t smoke and lives a fairly healthy life of moderation.  My Teacher smokes and drinks a lot of Coke; she gets along just fine and moves like someone 30 years younger.

Tai chi may not help you live longer, but it will add to the quality of your life.  A funny story about my Teacher happened at a tournament she was attending some years ago.  Someone who had watched her perform, later saw her coming back in from outside with a pack of cigarettes.  Very surprised, they said “You smoke and do tai chi?”  She just looked at them at little perplexed and replied “Not and the same time!”  I think that says it all.

Your thoughts?

John

Tai Chi - How to Listen to Your Body… “Duh”

As I’ve said before, tai chi teaches us to listen to our bodies.  The trick is being able to interpret what is being said.  It takes time to learn the “language of the body”.  There is no other way than through practice.  So Grass Hopper, practice until you can walk across the rice paper leaving no trace.

To quote the infamous Bob Tzu, founder of Duhism and the long-lost American cousin of Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu:

“Learn to listen to your body and it will tell you everything it needs to get fatter.”

In case you were wondering, Duhism is the Impractical Wisdumb of Bob Tzu.  If you’re on Twitter, follow Bob here: http://twitter.com/duhism or you can visit Bob: http://www.duhism.com/.  Bob is a rare and living natural resource not to be taken lightly or squandered.  Help preserve Bob and promote Duhism by visiting him.  Bob needs your support… hell he needs something!

To Harm or To Heal?

Tai chi is about energy.  It’s a state of mind more than it is a martial art or even a healthy exercise.  It’s defensive in nature and seeks to end confrontation quickly with as little damage as necessary.  This doesn’t mean you do not harm an opponent; it means you do what is necessary to safeguard yourself and those around you.  It may mean simply letting something harmful move on; it may require more drastic measures, or it may mean looking for help from another.

Tai chi can be practiced mentally, verbally or physically.  It is both a healing art and a destructive force.  When you can cultivate the spirit of tai chi you will know when it is appropriate to do harm, when it is appropriate to heal, and when the best course of action is inaction.  Balance is everything.

“Any man may easily do harm, but not every man can do good to another.”
Plato

Your thoughts?

John

The “Language” of Tai Chi Chuan

Master Cui Zhongsan keeps telling me that in order to really understand tai chi I need to understand Chinese Culture.  I’ve never really been interested in Chinese Culture yet continue to pick up pieces along the way.  I’ve noticed some things about the culture and how they seem to relate to tai chi when visiting China.

While being driven around in Beijing taxi’s I’ve noticed the ebb and flow of “chaos” that is Beijing traffic.  Four lanes of roadway transforms to five with little regard for the painted lines marking the roadways.  One-way traffic refers specifically to the car you’re in going only one direction, not necessarily the direction the One Way Arrow on the sign is pointing.  While drivers here in the US tend to test how man cars can make it through a light as it changes from yellow to red, the Chinese seem to have an unwritten agreement that it’s OK to go through a red light that has just changed, as long as there is no one blocking their way from the cross traffic.

This ebb and flow reminds me of the concept of yin and yang in a profound way.  No space is left unfilled as the traffic flows around and through itself with surprisingly few accidents.  While I have come across the occasional crabby cab driver, people don’t seem the least bit disturbed by being cut off.  The agreement seems to be that if there is room, no matter how small, come on in.

Before my last trip to Beijing I began studying Chinese.  It is a remarkably simple language - hey, isn’t tai chi known for being a simple art?  But just like tai chi, don’t let the simplicity fool you.  The language is contextual and tonal rendering it challenging for those who speak a language that is non-tonally based and has only a hand full of words with more that one meaning. Chinese makes use of 4 tones plus a neutral tone, as well as a large number of somewhat unique sounds.  Each specific sound and tone combination can have a number of different meanings.

While in Beijing and being rather impressed with my own, yet paltry, Chinese language skills I hopped in a cab with a one of my training sisters.  We were looking forward to spending the afternoon at the “Dirt Market”, Panjiayuan, bargaining for trinkets to pawn off on unsuspecting friends and relatives at home.  Well, considering the Beijing dialect is a bit like the American Bostonian accent, with R’s added to the ends of many words, we didn’t make it to the Dirt Market by the most direct route.  Panjiayuan is pronounced more like “Panjaiar” in Beijing… I think.  After the driver looked at me a bit strangely and asked me to repeat myself several times we ended up at the well-known tourist attraction, the construction site of the Bird’s Nest.  While this Olympic Venue is quite impressive it was not yet open to the public, and therefore held limited entertainment value.

While laughing with each other and admiring the street view of this new Beijing landmark, we again tried to communicate our intended shopping destination.  After another circuitous route, because of the Olympic construction projects, we finally ended up at the Dirt Market.  Interestingly enough the entire cab ride totaled around $5 US.  Not bad for an hour’s unintended amusement.

Now that I’m again applying myself to learning Chinese, I’m beginning to see similar concepts in tai chi chaun.  While there are only a limited number of forms in tai chi, they can be varied slightly and applied in a number of different ways depending on the context or attack.  This is similar to each sound in Chinese having 5 different tones or ways of pronunciation, while one particular tone and sound combination can have a number of different meanings depending on the context.  Each meaning has it’s own unique character making reading Chinese a bit easier that speaking it, assuming of course you can recognize the characters.  Simple and yet at times, difficult to grasp.

The Chinese are very polite people; tai chi is a “polite” martial art.  Tai chi is based in self-defense and is not considered an “offensive” art.  Speaking of words with double meanings, I believe that was just a double entendre.  ;-)  For the Chinese it’s important to “give face” to those you’re interacting with and to allow others to “save face” whenever possible.  The Chinese consider it acceptable to tell a “Chinese lie” - what we would call a white lie - in order to allow someone to save face and to save face yourself.  The tai chi uniform, or efu, is designed to hide the finer points of the movements from prying eyes, or a hapless opponent.  Thus allowing you to save your own face while removing your opponent’s.  OK… that’s was a more than a bit of stretch so I think I’ll stop while I’m ahead.

I’m still not entirely sure where this journey is taking me but I am enjoying the ride, kind of like my Beijing taxi experience.  It’s all good.

Your thoughts?

John

P.S.  I found this Beijing Opera Mask photo here:  http://www.craft-in-china.com/-c-38.html

The Sixth Principle of Tai Chi Chuan “Use The Mind/Will to Move, Not Physical Strength”

Where the Fifth Principle has got to be one of the easiest principles of tai chi to grasp, the Sixth Principle has got to be one of the most difficult.  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 Sixth Principle that’s geared toward beginners.

Use the mind/will to move, not physical strength: The aim is to allow your mind to direct your body.  Ultimately this will mean directing the energy flowing through your body.  In the beginning however, your body will learn the movements faster than your mind.  When you are first learning, paradoxically, it can be helpful to allow your body to move on its own when your mind does not remember what the next move is.

As with other aspects of tai chi it’s really all about awareness of your body.  While your mind always directs your movements, learning to use your mind without tensing your muscles any more than absolutely necessary can be difficult.  Even though there is always more to learn I think this is one of the last concepts most of us are able to grasp.

For me this principle is something I tuck into the back of my mind and “allow” to develop.  Maybe I’ll feel differently about this in the future, but for now I just let awareness of this principle/concept float into my consciousness on its own.  Sometimes it’s there and sometimes it isn’t.

Your thoughts, experiences?

John

The First Time Ever I “Saw Your …?”

Yesterday I talked a little about the beginner’s mind.  This morning I came across one of those little known historical facts that got me thinking again, and yes now you’re going to have to suffer the consequences.  Sorry about that, I really am.

I got to thinking about the first tai chi class I attended.  I knew the teacher from work and thought I’d give it a try.  I’d been studying various external styles for while and knew I needed something softer as well.  I wanted to be sure I could keep it up as I got older and was told tai chi would help.

I knew it would be very different from what I’d studied, but I never thought it would be as hard as it was.  Although it was slower, the workouts sometimes seemed to go on forever as sweat poured off my body and my legs burned from the effort.  My teacher was very kind and told me I had a “knack for it.”  I think she just wanted me to stick around.  Well I did, stick around that is, and she’s still my teacher.  Now though she is also my senior training sister, as well being responsible for me becoming a fellow disciple of Master Cui Zhongsan.  Her name is Miriam Holland.

I didn’t know anything at all back then, and although it may sound trite, now I feel like there is more to learn than when I started.  So what little known historical fact got me thinking about this, and why did I phrase the title of this post the way I did?  The word saw isn’t just a visual reference, it’s also the name of a tool.  The first time I really “saw” tai chi was as profound an experience for me as it must have been for people in the 18th Century when they witnessed a saw being used in a new way. 

1799 - Count de Grisley was the 1st magician to perform the trick of sawing a woman in half .

I’ll bet you didn’t see that one coming.  How was that for tying something completely unrelated back to tai chi?  And that picture of a seesaw, putting the two concepts together, pure genius.  OK, OK I’ll shut up now but you have to admit, it’s clever even it is a stretch.

John

P.S. I found this historical tidbit here: http://www.corsinet.com/trivia/1-triv.html and I found this great seesaw picture here: http://www.mccullagh.org/photo/1ds-10/burning-man-see-saw