The Art of War

Grades

If a piano student wishes to move up through the grades, they must be rigorously tested.
A high standard is expected.
A wide range of technical skills must be demonstrated consistently and competently.

Cross

Perspective

When you are in the valley, the peak may not seem so far away. But in the foothills, you realise that its much further away than you think.

R x

Possessions

Driving a fancy/expensive car or making your house the envy of the neighbourhood is not stealthy at all.
Parading electronic devices in public is not the way.
Think instead of becoming mysterious.

Drive a boring, banal car.
Do not carry anything openly that looks expensive or eye-catching.
Let you house be entirely anonymous; your garden is not filled with 'the works' and there is no sign of evident wealth.

Sifu the inscrutable

My hubby: threshing our minds free of opinions, beliefs, habits, misconceptions. Challenging us to gain a higher state of consciousness. And failing?

Sifu really 'held down the pillow' in conversation and everyone wilted under the intense pressure of his non-bullshit quest to embrace reality. Fun, hard, and maybe a headache and the odd bruised ego!

Rachel x

Student point of view

Were an advanced-level tai chi instructor to share their deepest, most profound insights with a student, it would be a waste of breath.
Understanding requires context.

Lacking the necessary foundation, a student would dismiss the insight as irrelevant.
Why?
Because it means nothing to that person at their current level of progress.

Usually, a student has no real idea what is important in the greater context of their tai chi study.
They pick and choose based upon their own opinions, expectations and limited experience.
Pearls before swine?

Misplacing the bones

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHfrWdvUvkQ

New starters discount

New starters discount = £25 for 4 lessons.
A saving of £5.

Angus

Improvement

I think that students grow to resent Sifu because their own skills never get closer to his. But how could they? As the student improves, Sifu improves (but faster and more extensively). There is no catching up with the instructor.

Yoda?

My hubby sometimes makes me think of Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back. Yoda has no real interest in teaching Luke Skywalker. He knows that Luke is unlikely to complete the training, and lacks the necessary discipline, patience and commitment.

It must be hard to teach classes knowing that few students (if any) share your own enthusiasm.

Pond

Slow

Moving slowly does not alert the nervous system.
The mind ignores slowness.
It is not seen as being a threat.

Watch how a cat moves. It is silent and stealthy, cautious and vigilant.

It takes a lot more effort to move slowly. It taxes the muscles and enhances the nervous system.
You need to be in the immediate moment; aware of what is happening right now, of what you are doing right now.

A sense of perspective

An inexperienced student thinks of the martial art first, and taoism as an afterthought.

An advanced student is the other way around.
Taijiquan is an expression of taoist principles and insights.
Taoist principles must be utilised in all aspects of your life, not just in the training hall.

Last year

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAYRPHmQ1oQ

Sylvia

Keep to yourself

Instead of seeking attention, consider how to accomplish the opposite.
Be understated and subtle, outwardly boring and unremarkable.
Do not invite interest.

If you are dull, then nobody will notice you or care.

Mystic

A mystic is a person  who seeks by contemplation and self-surrender to obtain unity with or absorption into the absolute.

It is someone who believes in the spiritual apprehension of truths that are beyond the intellect.

Small san sau: solo

Practicing solo is a must.
Use a door frame for positioning.
A mirror may also be used but is less useful.

Aim for accuracy of posture and positioning.
Make sure that every single movement is structurally correct.
What is your target?
Can you reach the target?
How are you generating power?

Train slowly and thoroughly to avoid making mistakes.

20 years master/disciple relationship

For 20 years Master Waller was the disciple of kung fu master Peter Southwood. 
The bai shi ceremony and tea ceremony took place in 1990.
Master Waller had more than 500 private lessons with Peter and taught in Peter's class (Bradford Yang Style Tai Chi Association) for a number of years.

As a regular guest at Peter's house, Master Waller explored the art(s) at length and had countless debates/discussions/conversations concerning the nature of the internal arts.Much of our syllabus is derived from Peter's teachings.

Hard work

Learning a martial art is very hard work.
It entails considerable diligence, personal responsibility, time, money, effort.
So, there is no surprise.

Very few people become skilled with any martial art.

Most people paddle in the shallow end of the syllabus, utterly unaware of the depths of the art.
They lack the level of self-discipline, faith, tenacity and commitment necessary.
The student quits before they have even started.
This is no surprise. It is normal, average, and to be expected.

Work, family, leaving the area

There are many good reasons why a student leaves a class.
Legitimate reasons.

Earning a living is paramount in modern culture.
Raising a family may entail a shift in priorities.
Leaving the area speaks for itself.

It is important to explain to your teacher why you are leaving.
But avoid making excuses.

Promoting unwanted tension

If you bring a horizontal wrist in front of the chest, whether facing out, up or down... you will feel immediate tension in the shoulders, chest and back.
The arm muscles will also tighten.

Students who lack good body awareness and physical sensitivity seldom realise that their faulty hand position is making their upper body tense.

Look at the human skeleton: the arms hang at the sides of the body.
Bringing your hand to the front occurs by bending the elbow joint and rotating using the radius bone.
The wrist is vertical/diagonal and the action is linked to the waist, taking place on the horizontal plane.

The horizontal wrist position must be explored thoroughly in order to find and maintain peng, and avoid tension.

Hug a tree

Bringing your hands in front of the body necessitates rounding the arms:

1. Palms facing towards the body (vertical/diagonal wrist)
   - can be closer
   - find your 70% point
   
2. Palms away (vertical/diagonal wrist)
   - require further extension
   - find your 70% point

Feel how the degree of extension and the palm position affects the elbow joint.

If you do not maintain 70% reach, your joint will buckle and that will cause you to tense-up or collapse.
We want the joint to stay open and springy.

Business address

Newcastle Tai Chi
St Andrew's Church
Station Road
Benton
NE12 8AW
0750 3604568
http://www.newcastletaichi.co.uk
newcastletaichi@hotmail.com

Deception

Deception is a major theme in The Art of War.
It encourages the martial artist to avoid being showy and obvious in all facets of life.

If strong, appear weak. If capable, appear inept.
Encourage over-confidence and provoke carelessness.

Teaching experience

Sifu Waller has considerable experience teaching tai chi chuan:

1. Bradford Yang Style Tai Chi Association (1995 - 1999)
2. Dynamic Balancing Boxing (1999 -2004)
3. Age Concern North Tyneside (2004 - 2008)
4. Age Concern Newcastle (2004 - 2011)
5. Newcastle Tai Chi (2004 - present day)

The Book of The Heart

When do we teach?

Beginners class is Monday 7:00 - 8:30 PM @ Community Hall, St Andrew's Church, Station Road, Benton, NE12 8AW

New?

(i) Welcome

Just turn-up and join-in. There is no need to e-mail or phone in advance.


(ii) Experience

Prior experience is neither expected nor required.
All new starters are treated as beginners, irrespective of experience.


(iii) No spectators

We do not allow spectators.
It is off-putting for students who are training.


(iv) Confusing?

Please note that lessons may seem confusing at first and it could take a few weeks to find your feet.

Jackie

Delivering jing

You cannot skilfully employ jing if you use too much pressure.
It will only lead to failure and potentially injury.

When resistance is encountered, stop when 4 ounces of pressure is reached.
Too light and you are not sticky.
Too much and you are pushing an inanimate object. And that is not taijiquan.

Understanding 4 ounces will enable you to strike without harming your own body.

Heavy curtain

Pushing a student should be akin to pushing a heavy curtain.
The palm is absorbed and the fabric gives as the force moves the curtain.

The curtain does not anticipate the push.
It is moved by the push, riding the wave of force: connected, sensitive and sticky.

Yielding to a push trains the student not to resist force.

This becomes more relevant when somebody punches you.
If your body does not move when struck, the impact will shock your body and the kinetic energy will channel inside you.

Puppet strings

Visualise strings attached to your head, wrists, knees and feet.
For the moment, be concerned with the head and the wrists... think of being suspended from these points.
Let everything else drape.

Relax the sternum. The lower back. The hip kwa. The back of the knees.

When performing your taijiquan - solo or partnered - maintain this idea of being suspended by strings.
Your arms must feel to float.

Do not confuse this with unfocussed, random movement.
Adhere strictly to the framework requirements, but sustain the buoyant, heavy feeling in the elbows, shoulders, chest and legs.

Tense a bit, relax a bit...

Many beginners resist yielding.
Fear encourages them to persist with tension.
As a consequence, their training remains external and is not taijiquan.

Internal and external do not blend together to produce taijiquan.
The two paths are mutually exclusive.
Whenever you mix internal and external approaches, the outcome is always essentially external.

Tension

You cannot continue to use contracted muscle tension and hope to access the skills of taijiquan.
Taijiquan does not involve tensing the muscles.
Ever.

Tensing your muscles is disconnected.
Only by relaxing, lengthening and relaxing can you connect the body parts together.

Soft meeting

Taijiquan cannot work if you resist force with force. Yang (firm) must encounter yin (soft) in order for balance.

This is not just philosophical, it has a basis in reality and can be illustrated in the class.
Soft meeting is sometimes called 'blending'.

The more strength you use in your taijiquan the longer it will take you to learn the system properly.

Cotton-covered iron

Internal power is commonly referred to as being "cotton-covered iron".
The metaphor suggests a firm centre, surrounded by something softer.
This is the essence of what we are developing in taijiquan.

Using gravity and connection, we build a substantial structure. That structure must also be fluid and adaptive like water. Nothing is softer than water.

New starters discount

New starters discount = £25.
A saving of £5.

4 consecutive classes, commencing on your first lesson.

Pace

Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.

(William Shakespeare)

Appropriate attire

It is important to wear clothes for class that allow you freedom of movement:

1. flat shoes/training shoes
2. plain T-shirt
3. loose, comfortable trousers

Casual student

Casual students are welcome to attend as often or as little as they like.
They are only required to pay for tuition.
Students who attend casually receive a balanced workout each session but they do not work through the syllabus.

Casual students are guests in our school, but they are not class members...

Bridge

What play means to you

Can you see the danger here?

If you think that play refers to an opportunity to behave an irresponsible, carefree, childish manner... then you have got the wrong idea about taijiquan.
Play is about immersion in the event itself.

Students who want to talk rather than train (or dance around and act foolishly) are not in earnest.
They are not focused at all.
An inexperienced student cannot talk and train competently at the same time. If they are talking, then they are talking. They are not training taijiquan.

Master Waller's YouTube page

http://www.youtube.com/user/SifuWaller

Student

If you want to become a student of Sifu Waller, then you must join the school.

Advanced

Advanced-level taijiquan is not a matter of new forms and material.

It is to be found in the comprehensive nature of the practice.
The thoroughness of the understanding. The simplicity, sensitivity, softness and ease of ability.
Every action should contain the taijiquan principles.

Advanced skill is versatile and complex - demonstrating a broad degree of insight.
It is also remarkably understated.

10,000 hours

Being a taijiquan expert is more than just talent. You need to put in the work.

An advanced-level practitioner should have at least 10,000 hours of practice behind them.
Dr. K. Anders Ericsson found that this was true of any art; whether taijiquan, dancing or playing the piano.

Do the maths: if you trained taijiquan for 2 hours a day (every single day) for a year, that would mean 730 hours a year.
At that rate, 10,000 hours would take you 13 years of practice.

Purple

Beginner

A beginner focuses upon learning the fundamentals of the art.
They must work hard at simple principles and themes.
Everything is unfamiliar.
Each of the 3 beginners belts adds another layer of skill and comprehension.

A beginner is expected to attend weekly lessons and the occasional workshop.

3 instructor levels

There are 3 instructor grades in our school:

1. Level 1
   - training takes place during the 3rd dan syllabus
2. Level 2
   - training takes place during the 6th dan syllabus
   - 10,000 hours of practice required
3. Level 3
   - training takes place during the 7th dan syllabus
   

Having completed each level of instructor training, the student is given a certificate qualifying them to teach our syllabus.

Measurement of quality

Quality is commonly measured in 3 stages:

1. Beginner
2. Intermediate
3. Advanced

Sifu Waller does not agree with this format. He regards it as being limited and inaccurate.

Does a student suddenly leap from intermediate-level to advanced?

The divide between these two levels of standard seems huge.

Surely there must be a period of development in-between these two levels?
A time to become seasoned, practiced, familiar?

Quality

Arrogant students may seek to jump ahead and bypass certain stages of learning.
This is the outcome of naivety.
Lacking an understanding of what is to come, how can they conceivably gauge what is important, and what is not?

In order to advance through the syllabus, some degree of quality must be demonstrated.

Stages

It is necessary to gain a certain standard of ability in one topic before attempting to work on what comes next.
Learning is broken down into steps, or stages.

This enables the student to focus on a particular level of skill, and take the time to gain confidence before addressing something new.
Familiarity encourages relaxation, and the student is not under pressure.

Back to Beginnings

Progress

The gifted student needs to practice in order to remember what they are learning.
The less able student should really train harder, because they are struggling and need to put in the practice.

How much you train is up to you, not us.

In this way, the syllabus is self-differentiating.
Students are welcome to progress at whatever pace best suits their level of commitment, and competence.
You only get out of taijiquan what you put into it.

There are no secrets

Were an advanced-level taijiquan instructor to share their deepest, most profound insights with a student, it would be a waste of breath.
Understanding requires context.

Lacking the necessary foundation, a student would dismiss the insight as irrelevant.
Why?
Because it means nothing to that person at their current level of progress.

Usually, a student has no real idea what is important in the greater context of their taijiquan study.
They pick and choose based upon their own opinions, expectations and limited experience.
Pearls before swine?

Less effort, more effect

Every tai chi student must work to reduce the size of their circle.
It is martially imperative for your movements to be small.

You must move without alerting the attacker's nervous system.
Like a shadow. Like a thought.

Small circle

By balancing frame size, relationship with the opponent and intent, a student can ensure that they employ the optimal framework.
Every movement produces a more significant effect.

The external movement decreases as the internal work increases.
Neigong and intent enable greater effect with markedly less effort.

Instead of sweeping arcs, the student uses twisting, coiling, spiralling action to generate internal pressure in the soft tissues of the body.
These are movements-within-movements.
Smooth, fluid, small, hidden, unnoticed.

Improved frame

With practice, a student learns how to shape their body into the optimal framework required.
This framework enables the student to express groundpath without effort.
It is a medium for the delivery of kinetic energy.

As the student's skill improves, the physicality of the taijiquan diminishes.
The frame serves to supplement the mind.
A more subtle physical expression is now possible.

Michael Garofalo: generous blogger

Michael Garofalo has shared on-line tai chi information for many years via his blog and his other extensive on-line resources.

http://mpgtaijiquan.blogspot.com/

Peng & groundpath

Every tai chi pattern of movement must contain peng at all times.
It is important to consider every single form movement and partner drill to ensure that the optimal peng framework is maintained.

Once peng is present, the student can consider the pathway of force.

Unless the framework has peng, groundpath cannot be transmitted using the wave-like undulation of the spine, waist turn and weight shift.

External impediments

External martial arts often emphasise habits that are not conducive to internal development.
Tension is encouraged.
Over-stretching.
Forcing.
Disconnected body movement.

In order to cultivate peng, you must discard anything that impedes neigong.

Crumple

When a student makes their framework too small and does not possess peng, their structure will collapse when pressure is applied to it.
This is a failing on two counts:

1. Structure
   - elbows are not kept open and the 90° angle is lost
   - the kwa are closed too far
   - framework is not rounded
   
2. Yielding
   - never allow the opponent to apply more than 4 ounces of pressure to your body
   - never employ more than 4 ounces of pressure
   - to accomplish this requirement, yielding is necessary
   - when a student fails to yield to force, tension occurs and it becomes a battle of strength

Feedback

Learned more from Sifu Waller in 6 months than I did in almost 2 years with my previous school.

(Mick)

Beginners connection

The beginner needs to cultivate connection within the body.
This is accomplished by:

1. Alignment
2. Stretching slightly
3. Keeping the muscles as relaxed as possible

A large, rounded framework is established in order to create a network of connected body parts.

Unfortunately, a beginner has no idea what relaxation means and will use an unnecessary degree of tension.
There is also potentially a likelihood of postural exaggeration; which may limit joint movement and again produce tension.

Jing

Jing is the means by which we affect the opponent.
Read about jing, play with it in class and ultimately manifest it.

How do you know if its jing?

Simple: it works. It feels easy. There is absolutely no adverse feedback because all of your energy is outward; affecting the opponent.

3-D

Using a smaller frame means that you must rely to a greater degree upon the three dimensions.
You will find it easier to make space.

4 ounces

If you try to force a result, you are invoking Newton's 3rd law and actually making the opponent stronger.
This is not tai chi chuan.

4 ounces is just what is necessary.
Not too much and not too little.

This cannot be verbalised. It must be felt, practiced and understood.

No more MEA House

Sifu Waller is no longer teaching at MEA House.

Waist turn

Look at every form movement and partnered exercise... they all feature distinct waist turns.
45° to the left or to the right.
Unless you tai chi is led by the legs and torso - not the arms - it simply will not work, and you will rely once again upon arms for power (or lack of).

Most students are not skilled enough for subtlety. Make the turn 45°, and coordinate it with the weight shift.

Slow down

The most obvious error present in literally everybody's practice was rushing.
By rushing, you fail to feel.

An exercise like monkey paws is so utterly simplistic, yet watching the class, I saw it devolve into something worthless.

Instead of maintaining range/proximity, staying sticky, turning the waist distinctly left or right, rolling the arms... it becomes an arm rotating exercise, featuring token waist joggles.
Monkey paws can teach you how to effortlessly evade close contact strikes, chin na and grapples.
But only if you slow down and observe the features of the drill.

Apply these insights to every drill you practice.

Faults

Common mistakes that are stopping your peng from working:

- reliance on tension/muscular contraction
- force on force
- rushing
- disconnecting shoulders & elbows
- panic
- stances too large
- irregular foot placement: too long, too wide
- knees too deeply bent
- slouching

New venue, Newcastle starting 7th March 2011

Monday 7:00 - 9:00 PM

Community Hall, St Andrew's Church, Station Road, Benton, NE12 8AW

http://www.newcastletaichi.co.uk/Newcastletaichi.htm

Tai chi without tao

If your tai chi does not contain the insights and lessons of Tao Te Ching, you possess an empty shell.
Your teacher may be skilled enough to provide you with a working system, however, the deeper understanding is absent.

The principles and insights of taoism are essential to tai chi.
The art was built with these in mind; it was intended to accord your body with 'the way' in order to borrow 'its power'.

The power

If 'the way' is difficult to comprehend, 'the power' may prove even more challenging for you.
Te refers to a power that can be used but not kept.

By according yourself with the way, you find that things flow.
You gain use of power.

Putting this into practice involves a combination of biomechanics, sensitivity, structure, perception and balance, rhythm and timing.
The effect is often quite astounding.
It may even look 'magical', but it is not magic at all. It is the direct application of Tao Te Ching.

If you are successful in according yourself with tao, then your application of tai chi will be graceful.
There will be no exerting or forcing.
Ease, gentleness, appropriateness... these are the hallmarks of skill.

Peter Southwood's tips #15 Meditate

Zen is really about sitting still and doing nothing.
Being present.

If sitting does not suit you, lie down, but do not fall asleep.
Stay here and now.

Esoteric

Solving the mysteries of Tao Te Ching is an important part of learning tai chi.
There is more to the art than physical exercise.
This is a journey of discovery.

Unless you undertake the journey with genuine curiosity and wonder, you will not get very far.
Enthusiasm, tenacity and endurance are necessary.
You must penetrate the mysteries of the art.

The Way To Love

Science

Tao Te Ching is not a fanciful book.
Read it scientifically.

You will notice many insights that can be directly incorporated into your tai chi practice.
The insights are tangible, concrete.
And they work.

The way

Tao Te Ching is not a religious or philosophical book. It is an attempt to explain something that eludes explanation.
This may sound absurd.

However, imagine trying to explain 'love' to somebody...
It is not that easy.
Love is not a thought. It is not a word. It is a feeling.

Now, try to explain 'wind'...
Wind exists but can we feel it?
Do we feel wind itself or the air and dust particles moved by wind?

'The way' must be felt without intellectualisation. It must be seen through its effects.

Feedback

I first became interested in tai chi about 6/7 years ago following some amazingly successful acupuncture treatment for a back and elbow injury.

I did attend a different tai chi class in Durham. I signed up for a terms evening class at a local comprehensive with my daughter who is a language teacher. After the first lesson my daughter confirmed my thoughts that this guy is hopeless. He was everything that Sifu Waller is not. He was late for class every week, there was no weekly agenda let alone syllabus and at the end of term he gave us a certificate indicating some proficiency in tai chi. Unfortunately it has coloured my daughters judgement of tai chi forever and although she lives out of the area now is not interested in joining any local tai chi class as she says her memories of the last class are enough. However I did find some of the science/physics most interesting and was determined to keep looking.

By chance I came across Sifu Waller’s class. So imagine my surprise and bewilderment when I walked into the hall on the first night to see people standing shaking, fighting with knives and newspapers, trying seemingly to beat each other with sticks, and performing these quite complicated movements quite easily. I thought that I could never do that but quickly realised that these people must have been like me and come into class cold at some time. I was quite fascinated and have remained so ever since.

(Ray)

In conclusion...

There is no conclusion to your tai chi training as such; simply an ongoing exploration of existence, relationship, mind, body, balance, movement...
Nothing will be mastered.
You simply keep on training. Continue studying.

The passing of the years will bring you good health, martial skills (that require very little physical effort), calmness, insight, clarity, humour and humility.
You know that there is so much that you do not know.
You have the wisdom to see that the world is vast, and we are all so very small.

In quietude and obscurity you find an ample measure of peace, and realise that the journey was worth the effort.
You have gained extraordinary insights and enjoyed the mystery of it all.

The challenges and the obstacles were not impediments at all. They helped you to grow. They kept things interesting.

Hall rental in Durham

We are currently seeking a new hall in Durham with a view to opening a class...

Valentines Day?

What is Valentine's Day?

If you want to show your love and appreciation for husband, wife or partner, do so every day.
Your daily treatment of your partner demonstrates your love.

Words, tokens and promises are worthless.
Make your actions count.

If you behave like an ass all year round and then think that chocolates, flowers and a card (written by somebody else) somehow demonstrates your true nature, think again...

Nobody is that stupid. Or that easy.
You cannot buy somebody off with flowers. Or placate them with a card.
Not unless they have no self-respect. No dignity.

You don't need Valentine's Day.
Respect your husband, wife or partner... and don't insult them with token symbols.

The effort

And what price did you pay for all that training?
How did it affect your life?
You missed a little TV. You spent time training rather than idling.

So what?

Melee: escapes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar-TApY4VoU

Coping with doubt

After an initial spurt of enthusiasm, even the most ardent student may suffer from doubt.
The mere promise of self defence skills, good health, flexibility and martial prowess are no longer as meaningful.
There must be something else.

Other interests and commitments may begin to encroach.
It becomes easy to miss lessons. To stop training. And to consider the possibility of quitting.

No instructor can guide you through this period of doubt.
You will either come to see the art as being something you want to persevere with, or you will simply quit.

You may see that the art is more than the sum of its parts.
That it has changed you in ways that you may not be able to explain.

Students who choose to stay often recognise that they have lost faith and become half-hearted.
They train harder, attend more training opportunities and quietly make space in their lives for the art to flourish.

The folly of teaching other students

Be patient.
And be wary of asking the blind to lead the blind...

There is an Indian folk tale about six blind men inspecting an elephant:

The first man encounters the side of the animal and believes it to be a wall.
The second man imagines the tusk to be a spear.
The third man thinks that the trunk is a snake.
The fourth man considers the leg to be a tree.
The fifth man feels an ear and believes it to be a fan.
The sixth man finds the tail and is certain it is a rope.

You do not understand the syllabus.
You are the blind man and the syllabus is the elephant.
You see what you want to see.
What you are capable of seeing.

Be patient.

Self defence (advanced level)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcpgQQ58PIw

Sensitivity training

Learn to see with your hands, not just your eyes...

Yang Cheng Fu form (section 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-6z_kBWKNo

Beginners level

Marc, Kelly, (new girl) & Sifu

Kitten

Chocolate fudge cake

Highly-strung waiter

Yu-chun

Udon noodles