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

No Waistee, No Tai Chi!

One of the most difficult things for new students seems to be using the waist to drive movement, and sometimes it seems just moving the waist at all is a challenge.  I think Yang Chengfu may have missed the boat on this one because he didn’t include it with the 10 Principles of Tai Chi Chuan.  In fairness though, he was pretty darn good and you would probably learn to use your waist if you did everything else right anyway.

The thing to remember, and practice of course, is to use your waist to drive your movement.  The waist turning drives the turning of your front foot in the bow stance.  It moves your shoulders and your arms, providing a clear pathway for the energy and providing power.  There are many drills that can help with turning the waist and it’s a good idea to practice at least a few of them on a regular basis.

When turning the waist, allow your shoulders to “go along for the ride”.  Most of the time new students focus on turning their shoulders.  Over time though, with enough practice and drills, we learn to use the waist to turn our shoulders.  It helps to think of your upper body as one unit, and when the waist turns it moves the shoulders.  In the not too distant future I’ll record a video showing a drill for practicing turning the waist.  Until then, don’t turn your shoulders turn your waist!

What’s your waist looking like these days? 

John

P.S.  I found this pic here:  http://fortifyservices.blogspot.com/2009/04/does-not-play-well-with-others.html

A Tai Chi Christmas

For me this has always been a time of sharing with family and friends.  I always look forward to being with and around people this time of year.  As we’ve gotten closer to Christmas Day I’ve noticed, yet again, that people are happier and are more and more friendly.  I’ve noticed it in the little things, like how we behave at stop signs.  People seem more willing to have others go first rather than the usual mad rush of the city; there’s a marked increase in politeness and a heightened sense of giving this time of year.

To me it’s as if more and more people are into tai chi.  Tai chi, being mainly about energy, promotes this attitude among students in the classroom.  Cooperation is more often found than not when dealing with tai chi players.  As we learn to listen to the energy of others we must be receptive to it, and the best way to be receptive to others is to care about their well-being.

A tai chi master never initiates, but instead waits until the opponent uses aggressive energy, and then attacks first.  The master feels for the opponent to make the first move and then beats them to it.  The idea is to steal the opponent’s energy so that harm results only as a last resort.

The other side of the coin is giving.  Tai chi masters are usually very giving people who are quick to help others whenever the need is felt.  This time of year it seems there are a lot of people adopting the spirit of “do no harm and help wherever possible”.  Tai chi masters seem to be everywhere.

On this Christmas morning I’d like to thank all of you who read this blog and wish you well, regardless of your beliefs.  As Master Cui Zhongsan says, “Through taiji we are all one big family.”

John

P.S.  I found this great photo by Alfred Ng here:  http://www.alfredng.ca/photography.htm.  Go there for a look at world from Alfred’s perspective.  He’s has in interesting story and it’s worth the time.

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

What Flavor Tai Chi Would Your Prefer?

I’ve been talking, all right writing, about tai chi for a while now and one of the my more common subjects is that tai chi is broken down into two schools of thought.  The one most people in the West seem to be familiar with is health related tai chi, where the movements are taught in a general way and are intended to provide relaxation and a wide variety of well documented health benefits.  The second is the martial school of thought, the original intention and use of tai chi chuan (taijiquan).

Since I’ve been writing this blog I’ve become friends with a very serious tai chi player, Steven Smith, who lives in Montana.  I like the way Steven describes “Real Tai Chi” as being tai chi chuan.  The generally accepted translation is grand ultimate fist, with chuan being the Chinese word for fist.  As Steven puts it, “The chuan makes it a martial art.”  If you’re interested in the perspective of a serious practitioner you really should visit Steven’s site at RealTaiji.com.

As for many subjects, the internet has been a real boon for tai chi.  For all those people who are interested in tai chi as a healthy exercise, more information is available now than ever before.  With all this information, it can be difficult to know what’s really good and what’s not.

One good thing about tai chi and tai chi-like movements is that they are very gentle on the body while helping us to relax and actually develop some muscle tone without realizing it.   If movements are done incorrectly they rarely cause problems when tai chi is practiced in this way.  The movements provide some health benefits even when not done all that well, and provide some pretty significant benefits when done properly.  For more information on health benefits click here to see the health information on my main site: http://www.camptaichi.com/health-stories-medical-research/.

If you’re interested in tai chi chuan, the martial side, it’s a little harder to find good schools.  The Internet is beginning to provide more information along these lines; however, it’s difficult to move along this path without a physical teacher and some other students to practice with.  My master, Master Cui Zhongsan, discourages new students from jumping into the martial applications too early because most of us have already trained our bodies to remain tense most of the time and we need to learn to stay loose if we ever hope to be effective martially.

If you’re looking to learn more about the martial side of tai chi I suggest you look around in your local area for a competent teacher.  One who can at least teach you to stay loose with structure and who can also get you started in push-hands practice once they feel you’re ready.  Push-hands is the practice of controlled sparing with a partner, and it starts with learning to “listen” to your partner’s energy while maintaining your own center.

Whatever your flavor of choice, I wish you all the best.  If you don’t have access to a teacher, there is more and more training coming available on the Internet, and maybe you have a friend who’s interested in training with you.  Remember it takes a long time to really learn tai chi, so be easy with yourself.  I too will have on-line classes available so CampTaiChi.com will be available as a resource to you as well.

Your thoughts?

John

P.S.  Steven Smith has some very interesting information he’s giving away for a limited time.  I recommend going there and picking it up:  Here’s the link: http://realtaiji.com/article/1225/reviving-taiji-begins-now/

Tai Chi, Helping Your Opponent Become Empty

Tai chi is not about force so it’s important to stay loose when practicing.  If you resist an opponent they will fight back, better to guide them.  Although occasionally pushing or pulling an opponent may allow you to set up an alternate defense, usually this is not considered a good primary strategy.  I think Wang Zhongue said it perfectly:

What is the meaning of rollback energy?
Entice the opponent toward you by allowing him to advance,
lightly and nimbly follow his incoming force
without disconnecting and without resisting.
When his force reaches its farthest extent,
it will naturally become empty.
The opponent can then be let go or countered at will.
Maintain your central equilibrium
and your opponent cannot gain an advantage.

Tan Meng-hsien (Wang Zhongue)

Your thoughts?

John

P.S. I found this quote here:  http://www.northeastkungfu.co.uk//Tai%20Chi%20Quotes.htm

Tai Chi, The Art of Change

If you’re learning tai chi you need to be flexible.  I don’t mean flexible in the sense of being able to touch your toes, although you might find that helpful.  I mean flexible in the sense of being willing to accept change.  Tai chi will take you in directions you probably don’t expect.

A good example of this is learning to let go.  My master, Master Cui Zhongsan, tells us not to focus on our chi because the act of focusing on it will usually end up block it.  We need to simply let it happen.  Once we can allow it to happen, we can then learn to control it.

We often enter into things with preconceived notions of how they should be, this despite the fact that we don’t know much about them in the first place.  As people we can be funny at times.  As a side note we should laugh more at ourselves, we’ll never cease to be amused.

If we can allow ourselves to accept changes we don’t expect we’ll probably be happier.  In our tai chi practice we can’t be effective and expect to know what’s coming.  We have to let it happen.  As we progress there’s a tendency to want to do things our own way.  Don’t.  Listen to your teacher; they’ve probably already tried that route.  Just do what you’re told and wait for what comes next.  It will be worth the wait.  Change is usually only noticeable to those who experience it.  No one will know, or even care, except you.

There is a subtle change in color in the Washington Monument about one-third of the way up, because during the construction process builders changed materials - from Maryland marble to Massachusetts marble. Taken from the book Who Knew? by David Hoffman.

Have you ever visited the Washington Monument?  Did you notice the color difference on your own?  Neither did I.

Your thoughts?

John