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

“Bearly” Tai Chi

This week I thought I’d do something fun.  Al Simon, over at The Tai Chi and Qigong Blog posted a news story of this Kungfu Bear.  I managed to find a parody of the bear in action and thought you’d enjoy it.

“It just goes to show, you can do anything you put your mind too.”

Your thoughts?  Do you think Ninja Bear is ready to head out on his own?

John

P.S.  You can find the newsy version over at Al’s site:  http://aljsimon.wordpress.com/2010/06/06/real-kung-fu-bear-in-japan/

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/

Time Bandits Attack Camp Tai Chi

I’ve been attacked recently, in a good way of course.  The Time Bandits have gotten the better of me, and I’ve decided it’s time to do something about it so I can spend more time practicing and living life.

As life gets busier these days, and more and more demands are made on my time, I’m finding it difficult to write 3 posts every week.  I know how disappointed both of you will be, but I really must be cutting back for a bit.  In a few months I’ll be coming back to writing 3 times a week, after I’ve put a couple of projects behind me over the Summer.  So while you won’t hear from me quite as often for the next few months, you will still hear from me once a week until I can once again devote more time here at CampTaiChi.com.

Who knows, maybe my posts may have a bit more substance for a while.  ;-)>  Thanks for your support and I still look forward to hearing from all of you.  I leave you with this apt quote from Albert Einstein.

“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.”

Your thoughts?

John

Tai Chi… Growing Old, or Getting Old?

I just came across this funny quote.  It’s a little cynical, but true.  One of the reasons I practice tai chi is so I can have the best life possible right up until the end.  It’s my little rebellion against time. 

“Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils.”  ~  Louis Hector Berlioz

Your thoughts?

John

P.S. I found this funny quote here:  http://www.coolfunnyquotes.com/

and this funny pic here:  http://www.commentsyard.com/comments/birthday/

Love of Tai Chi

I just read a quote on Steven Moore’s Tai Chi Heartwork.  At first glance this may not seem to be related to tai chi, but I think it relates in a very profound way.

“Unconditional love is not a sentiment but a willingness to be open.”
John Welwood

Our emotions are interconnected.  They are a part of us and of all we are.  If we cut them off we suffer for it.  If we want to feel deep love, we must also be willing to feel despair, and anger, etc.  If you really want to be able to feel the energy in your body, work with it, and reap the benefits, I think you also need to be willing to open to all the possibilities life has to offer.

Unconditional acceptance of the concepts we learn in tai chi is important, at least for a time.  Not because they are all necessarily valid, but because if we don’t “try them on for size” we never discover the deeper meanings.  Play with the concepts you learn as well as those you discover on your own, and you’ll find yourself discovering deeper truths about life.

When you open to the possibilities in one area, you open to the possibilities in other areas as well.  When you allow things to take their own course, you may discover treasures you never thought possible, like unconditional love.  Also remember, that even if you can open to a possibility, it doesn’t mean you’ll experience it all the time. 

Your thoughts?

John

P.S.  Visit Tai Chi Heartwork here:  http://www.taichiheartwork.com/

I found this heart image here:  http://www.snohomishcounty.redcross.org/Volunteer.php

The “Practice” of Tai Chi… It’s Time

WHO ME?

We’ve all experienced it, or feigned it: business.  It’s one of the things that keep us from regular practice.  The question is, “how do we get ourselves to practice regularly?”

We often need to think about things before we do them.  I don’t know that tai chi is one of those things, but I’ve heard a lot of people say they’ve been thinking about doing tai chi.  Translated, that means they haven’t been doing it, or haven’t been getting in much practice.

I can tell you the best way I know of is to do just a little tai chi when you have a minute.  Sometimes I practice in my bedroom, standing with my legs bent.  Other times I go into my studio and say to myself, “I’m going to run through these two forms.”  Sometimes I end up practicing more than that, and other times I don’t.  Life does often get in the way of practice, and I don’t practice as much as I’d like, but I do manage to practice regularly.

Today I’ll leave you with some uncanny wisdom from the Master of Duhism, Bob Tzu, in his “Duh of the Day”.

“I’m exhausted”

“The mind needs exercise, just like the body. That’s why I’m thinking about jogging.”

What do you do to get yourself to practice, or what do you think would be a good way to get yourself to do more practice?

John

P.S.  Check out Duhism here:  www.duhism.com

I found this image here:  http://rattitude.com/2009/04/random-ipaper/