Do Aliens Play Tai Chi?

Today I’m going to do something I haven’t done for a while.  Just for the fun of it I’ve picked a subject and I’m going to compare it to tai chi.  Yea, maybe I do need to get out more but that another subject.

Today’s subject is aliens, thus the title.  Not the type of aliens we keep hearing about in the American media and who hang out in large numbers around Home Depot, but the kind from outer-space.  Before anyone starts in on me for saying Home Depot is an alien magnet, I’d like to say I’d hang out there myself if I couldn’t speak the language and needed work because there were no good options in my country.  I’m very fortunate and I know it.

Back to aliens and tai chi.  If you think back, just a short time ago few people knew anything about tai chi and many had never even heard of it.  Now it seems to be everywhere.  How does this compare to aliens?  Good question.

Our government doesn’t seem to want publicly admit there are aliens among us, but has also done something rather strange if they really think they don’t exist.  I’ll get to that in a sec.  ;-)>  If you think about it, until recently our government ignored illegal aliens too.

Aliens, whether little and green or big and gray, have been talked about, and drawn, and painted for millennia.  Now aliens are widely accepted as a fact of life, despite little in the way of tangible evidence.  Tai chi has existed for millennia, yet has only recently been talked about outside of specific families.  Also although a larger and larger number of people accept that tai chi works with energy, there’s little in the way of proof.

In the movies aliens used to mostly be portrayed as malevolent, but are now portrayed with more fairness.  After all everyone knows aliens, although mysterious, can have good or bad attitudes; Men In Black made that clear.  In the movies tai chi used to mostly be portrayed as a calming exercise done by eccentric loners, or aliens of another kind.  Now it’s more often portrayed as a mysterious martial art done by weird, but cool, people.

I could go on and on here with astute comparisons, but I think you get the point.  Let’s get back to the strange behavior of governments, the American government in this case.  I came across this “fact” while surfing the web.  No I didn’t verify it; it’s in print so it must be true, and we are after all talking about government.

“If the government has no knowledge of aliens, then why does Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations, implemented on July 16, 1969, make it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrials or their vehicles?”

To finish I’d like to leave you with one final thought… about seat belts.  The source of this seat belt wisdom is a very well thought out bumper sticker, and just plain good advice.  “Buckle-up, it makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car.”

Your thoughts?

John

P.S.  I found this weird factoid here:  http://www.superlaugh.com/1/wfact.htm

I found this great pic by DECLAN MCCULLAGH PHOTOGRAPHY here: http://www.mccullagh.org/photo/1ds-7/alien-mannequin-exhibit

My Four Tai Chi Lies About Energy… and One Truth

Steven Smith from RealTaiji.com tagged me. He pressed me to participate in a meme. As he did, I’ve put it off long enough so here I go.

The meme works like this: I list five things about me. Four are untrue, one true. All are outlandish, implausible, or ridiculous enough that no one (or few) will be inclined to believe any of the listings are true.  You as the reader are to try to discern which is truth and which are lies; I decided to use the theme of energy for my meme, and I’m obliged never to reveal the truth.  Once told, I am to tag five other people, four who will likely participate and one person who might not.

My Meme:

1. As a child I loved the cartoon Johnny Quest and used to dream of being able to do the things Johnny’s dad could do with martial arts.  One day I was in the hayloft of a barn with some friends.  We were doing something stupid that kids have done as long as there have been barns, and haystacks.  We were jumping from the loft out into a haystack in front of the barn.  The haystack wasn’t all that close to the barn and we had to run and jump make it to it.   We were yelling and screaming, jumping into the haystack, and climbing back into the loft to do it again.  I got so caught up in the moment that one jump I screamed “JOHNNY QUEST!” as I ran and jumped, overshooting the haystack by about 10 feet.  It didn’t faze me in the least.  I landed on my feet rolled just like Johnny’s Dad and came up running.  When one of my friends saw that, he thought it looked like so much fun that he’d try it too.  He didn’t manage to overshoot the haystack and got tangled in the hay as he tried to roll.  He was on crutches for the next two weeks.




2. When I was in my 20’s, and just learning about working with energies, I was playing with influencing the energies of others as a way of helping them out.  I was taught I could do this only for the benefit of others.  I had agreed to work for a family member for a while as they were getting their business off the ground.  There was a woman who had caused problems in other places she worked, and was doing the same there.  I decided to test my new ability on her for the benefit of everyone else, so I collected the energy I could, placed an intention for her to become ill (only until she returned home) and sent it to her.  My friend, not knowing I was planning this, suddenly became very ill until he returned home.  I later found that since he taught this to me, he had accepted responsibility for my actions and the affects fell to him rather than the woman I was using as a test subject.




3. While studying tai chi in China I was practicing push hands with a training brother who was just learning to release energy into an opponent. He asked me if I would practice with him and then told me that if he sent energy to me I was to allow it to pass through me to my feet and then bounce it off the ground back to him, if I could.  After doing push hands for a few minutes he said he was ready and I felt a surge of energy coming toward me.  I opened myself up and allowed it to pass through me before bouncing it back to him.  He then immediately bounced it back to me and I bounced it back to him.  We continued this a few times before the cycle was broken.  It was a very rewarding experience, and pretty tiring.  I slept for a couple of hours as soon as I got back to my hotel room.




4. One day while working on my leg strength I was doing a form of the drill post exercise where I was standing with my feet slightly apart, knees bent, my upper body erect.  Instead of holding my arms in a large circle in front of me I was standing with my arms crossed across my chest, and instead of focusing on the drill I was watching television.  As my legs started to feel fatigued a magician came on the television performing an act of seemingly incredible strength.  I thought his act was fascinating and was trying to figure out how he could pull off the illusion.  I became so engrossed in his act that I forgot about my own discomfort and stood there mesmerized.  I don’t know how long I stood there but by the time I realized it my knees felt as if they were locked, my thighs were burning, and the only way I could get out of the posture was to fall backward.  My legs were sore for a couple of days and that was the last time I did this exercise without paying attention to whether or not I was doing it correctly.




5. Like most small schools, class sizes can vary depending on the time of year, the weather, etc.  During one class I had a single student so they were in effect having a private lesson.  We were working on the concept and ability of moving energy through the body.  Try as she might she couldn’t feel even the most basic of things.  What I was saying seemed to make no sense to her so I decided to try another approach.  I told her to quit trying and hold her hands out in front of her, leaving her arms as limp and loose as possible.  I took hold of her hands and began moving energy in a circle, from my right hand into her left and out her right hand into my left.  At first she said she could feel nothing, but I could see her arms and her posture beginning to go from limp to alive.  I started moving the energy faster and faster until her eyes became very wide and she quickly let go of my hands.  She said, “It almost felt like an electric shock, only there was no pain.” Although it startled her at first, by the end of that class she was able to move energy through me in the same fashion.

Well I had fun and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this.  Regarding my next responsibility of naming five people, I’d like to ask you as the reader to participate.  Take your time and post when you’re ready.  I always receive updates when someone leaves a comment, so no matter how old this post is I’ll still receive updates.  At some point in the future I’ll repost this along with the comments, assuming I get at least 5.

Your Meme (thoughts)?

John

Happy New Year From Camp Tai Chi

恭賀新禧

As we start into the New Year, and a new decade, I find myself looking forward to tai chi and to more hours of practice with my Master, my Teacher, and my training brothers and sisters.  Over the past year I’ve gone from blogging every day, to blogging 6 days a week, and then to blogging 3 days a week.  I like this new schedule much better since I think I can actually keep it up.

As many of you know I’ve been working at developing on-line and DVD classes to make available on this site.  I’ve learned a tremendous amount about how to do this on a tight budget and am now on my 3rd camera, which seems to be working well.  I’ve built-out a studio in my basement that allows me to work in a professional setting and I’m thankful that it’s now cold outside because 2,500 watts of halogen light generates a lot of heat.

I am thankful that I found Dave Kaminski, over at WebVideoUniversity.com/blog.  I signed up for his membership site a short time ago and my knowledge of video has expanded considerably since.  Dave has the incredibly valuable tendency of cutting right the heart of the matter and keeping things as simple as possible.  I’ve told friends that despite my knowledge of photography, working with video at my level is like trying to crack a safe without any knowledge of how it’s done.  The sheer number of variables from lighting to program settings is mind boggling.  With Dave’s expert help and his enormous amount of content at ClubWVU.com, I’m beginning to get a handle on it now.

I can’t remember ever doing a blog post of this type and I don’t want to bore you with too many details, so I’ll just say thanks for reading and commenting during the past year.  Without you, my readers, I would just be having a groovy conversation… with myself.  ;-)>

Now we all get to look forward to the next New Year celebration, and it’s not very far away - Chinese New Year.  Your thoughts?

John

P.S.  I borrowed this photo from Sammy Cortino, click here to see what Magic’s Royal Duke is up to:  http://sammycortino.com/

The Tai Chi Life - Part Two

In my last posting we covered the important concept of mental flexibility in tai chi, and in life.  Today I’d like to talk about how the concept of “aggressive non-aggression” applies to tai chi and to life.  This term may sound like a oxymoron.  I assure you it’s not.  Allow me to explain.

The aim of tai chi is to learn to listen to your opponents energy while remaining mentally and physically open and flexible.  If you’ve ever worked to attain a state of heightened awareness, awareness that allows you to respond without preconception, you’ll get this right away.

Our minds are incredible machines.  They can respond to stimuli before we are even consciously aware of it.  If you’re able to cultivate this ability you’ll find you can actually become consciously aware of the process.  When this happens, the World appears to move in slow motion.  Highly accomplished martial artists have cultivated this state of mind to astounding degrees.

In tai chi I think of this receptive state of mind as being truly non-aggressive. You are simply waiting for your opponent to act.  When they do, you immediately respond in kind, turning their aggression back on them.  To the majority of opponents it will appear that you can read their minds.  What you’re doing is feeling their attack as it is initiated and then moving before they’re able to.  This is aggressive non-aggression.

You sometimes see people who appear to make all the right moves.  I believe what is happening most of the time is that they are taking action and responding to their environments as conditions change.  They make as many mistakes as anyone else, but they are extremely quick to fix them or to alter course.  This is very different from constantly second guessing every decision; it’s looking for feedback and responding to it.  These people appear to have an almost magical ability to read the future.

When you believe you’re ready, try taking another page from the tai chi playbook and cultivate a heightened state of awareness in your life.  You’ll find you won’t have as much time to get upset over the little stuff because you’re too busy looking for another way to “get it done”.  I’m still working on both of these traits, but as I get glimpses of them I’m finding this easier and easier to do.  The real trick for me has been to maintain the focus.

Your thoughts?

John

The Tai Chi Life - Part One

I’ve recently been reminded of how important tai chi can be to our lives overall.  In one way I like to think of tai chi as “aggressive non-aggression”.  In another way I like to think of tai chi as being open to all possibilities, cutting off no options.  Both of these traits take a great deal of concentration and practice.

The second trait is the one I believe is best cultivated first.  We usually decide where we want to go and then think it absolutely necessary to map out exactly how we’ll get there.  There’s a problem inherent in this strategy.  Often where we want to go is someplace we’ve never been; yet we’re bold enough to believe we know exactly how we should get there… before we’ve even started.  Sometimes we seek advise from others who are where we want to be and they lay out a strategy for us according to how they arrived.  This can be a good way to go; however, the plan we get doesn’t account for the many unknown factors we will encounter.

If you ever been to Maine you’ve likely heard the saying, “You can’t get there from here.”  If you’ve never heard of Farrah Gray then you might believe you can’t get where you want to be from where you are.  Farrah Gray started making money in the Chicago Ghetto at the age of 6, and became a millionaire by the time he was 14.  How many people around Farrah would have even thought that possible?  Farrah didn’t have a plan.  What he did have was drive and incredible mental flexibility.

Ever had the feeling that everything is lined up just right and that everything will work out perfectly?  How about the feeling that something is off or out of kilter?  When everything is clicking you’ll find you’re focused on what you want without regard for what could go wrong.  This is by far the best state to be in and it can be cultivated.  Since you don’t really know exactly what’s going to happen you’re far better off focusing on where you want to be and moving in that direction to the exclusion of all else.  If something happens you didn’t expect, and it probably will, deal with it and keep moving.

At those times when something feels off, it’s best not to take that action.  It doesn’t mean that action is not a good one, but until you can think about it in a way that gives you confidence, don’t do it.  If you can’t find a way to think of it in a way that feels right, move on to something else.  A baseball pitcher who has decided to throw a fastball and is focused on the catcher’s mitt will likely thrown the ball right into the mitt.  If that same pitcher is worried about hitting the batter, and is focused on the batter, he will likely throw the ball right at the batter.  It’s not the act of throwing the fastball; it’s how he thinks about it.  As the great Yogi Berra said, “Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.”

Knowing what you want is important, knowing exactly how you’ll get there isn’t quite so critical.  It’s a good idea to develop a plan, but it’s just as important to know when to alter the plan, or even when to throw it out the window.  Sometimes we listen to our gut, and usually this is one of the best things we can do.  At other times we listen to our gut, but in relation to how others will perceive us.  While this may get us somewhere, it won’t usually take us where we really want to go.  Being too concerned about what others think is a bad idea.  Everyone has a different opinion and no one really knows what you want, no matter how hard you try to explain it.

Tai chi teaches us to listen to our own energy, and then that of our opponents.  It teaches us to be physically and mentally flexible.  Tai chi is truly non-aggressive.  You ultimately learn to react so quickly that you can counter an opponents move just as they think of it.  This requires incredible flexibility, not to mention well honed focus.

Marines are instilled with this type of attitude in basic training.  They are taught always to make a decision, any decision, and act on it immediately.  Inaction is the worst possible course of action when your life is on the line.  Remember though, sitting still is an action that is sometimes appropriate.  Sitting still for too long is usually the result of indecision and fear.

If you’re sitting around wondering what to do, take a page from the tai chi playbook: decide what you want, take whatever action seems best at the moment, and be ready, willing and able to adjust on the fly… at a moment’s notice.  I think you’ll find you’ll end up where you wanted to.  Either that, or you’ll realize you only thought that’s where you wanted to go and you’ll end up someplace even better.  Go for it.  

Your thoughts?

John

P.S.  Tomorrow we’ll talk about aggressive non-aggression.

Not All Tai Chi Done Right… or Wrong

It seems that those who draw snowflakes on Christmas cards don’t have their details quite right.  Thomas Koop of Bielefeld University in Germany noticed this inaccuracy on an advertisement for a scientific journal of all places.  It seems that true snowflakes are hexagonal in shape rather than octagonal, as depicted on Christmas cards, children’s books, and apparently even scientific ads.

Well there’s a similarity here with tai chi and it’s experts.  Tai chi, even real tai chi that’s martial in nature, appears different from school to school and even from master to master within the same style.  When you listen to many of the experts however, they’re often saying how this style or that is inferior to their style.  It often turns out this is nothing more than bravado.

If you’ve read this blog for a little while you know this is one of my pet peeves.  A capable student can be effective in almost any style.  I believe the determining factors are the amount of heart the student pours into their practice, and that the style fits the student’s body type.  Now it seems my contention not only applies to things such as tai chi, but even to snow flakes.

In fairness to snowflake artists everywhere, the idea that no two snowflakes are the same is generally reflected in their artwork.  At least Koop says this is true for larger snowflakes at any rate. 

Your thoughts?

John