Monday
Wednesday
Monday
Saturday
Cigarettes & alcohol
Addictive substances are used to prop people up.
A student once commented that after a few weeks of tai chi chuan he’d stopped drinking altogether. No effort was involved; he just didn’t feel like it anymore.
He remarked, “Happy people don’t drink.”
A student once commented that after a few weeks of tai chi chuan he’d stopped drinking altogether. No effort was involved; he just didn’t feel like it anymore.
He remarked, “Happy people don’t drink.”
Thursday
Test your teacher
If your tai chi chuan teacher has groundpath, you should be able to put your hands on their arms at any point during practice and ‘bounce’ their structure.
When they are halfway through form, ask them to freeze. Then test their posture. Is it substantial? Is it stiff? Are they tensing-up against you?
Be vigorous. Feel for gaps and weaknesses.
They should be springy like elastic, yet internally connected. They should feel relaxed but strong, with absolutely no conscious effort required.
If your teacher crumples in a heap or pushes back into you, find another instructor.
When they are halfway through form, ask them to freeze. Then test their posture. Is it substantial? Is it stiff? Are they tensing-up against you?
Be vigorous. Feel for gaps and weaknesses.
They should be springy like elastic, yet internally connected. They should feel relaxed but strong, with absolutely no conscious effort required.
If your teacher crumples in a heap or pushes back into you, find another instructor.
Feet
“It’s all in the hands,” the man assured me after watching my tai chi chuan form. He seemed quite confident that tai chi chuan was all about moving your hands around.
It isn’t.
Movement is generated by the feet, directed by the waist and comes out of the hands. Or feet, shoulder, elbow, whatever…
If you think it’s in the hands, you’re either not looking closely enough or the demonstration is lousy.
Some teachers fuss about hand positions, and whilst these are important, they are secondary to the feet. A subtle change in hand position will only make a mild difference to form whereas incorrect foot alignment can actually damage the knee joint.
‘Faulty sensory appreciation’/‘sensory mis-appreciation’ can mean that you think that the insides of your feet are parallel or that your knee is pointing in-line with your toe... but when you look down, this is not the case at all.
Tai chi chuan isn't just in the feet any more than it’s all in the hands, but the feet are a good place to begin.
It isn’t.
Movement is generated by the feet, directed by the waist and comes out of the hands. Or feet, shoulder, elbow, whatever…
If you think it’s in the hands, you’re either not looking closely enough or the demonstration is lousy.
Some teachers fuss about hand positions, and whilst these are important, they are secondary to the feet. A subtle change in hand position will only make a mild difference to form whereas incorrect foot alignment can actually damage the knee joint.
‘Faulty sensory appreciation’/‘sensory mis-appreciation’ can mean that you think that the insides of your feet are parallel or that your knee is pointing in-line with your toe... but when you look down, this is not the case at all.
Tai chi chuan isn't just in the feet any more than it’s all in the hands, but the feet are a good place to begin.
Tuesday
Friday
Legacy
In order to pass on the art effectively and comprehensively, a teacher must include two factors in their teachings:
- What they were taught by their own instructor
- What they have learned for themselves
Every teacher should aim to contribute to the art.
They should share their own insights, experiences and perceptions.
It adds to the wealth of knowledge and makes the legacy richer and more worthwhile having.
They should share their own insights, experiences and perceptions.
It adds to the wealth of knowledge and makes the legacy richer and more worthwhile having.
Wednesday
Principles
Your tai chi lessons are about tai chi, not the teacher; the teacher must never become more important than the subject.
Follow the tai chi, not the teacher.
Every instructor changes what they learn, either subtly or greatly.
This can be through a lack of understanding, inaccurate practice, or a deliberate alteration intended to emphasise one aspect of the tai chi; such as health.
Lineage cannot prevent this change - each person adds or removes something from the tai chi.
Every school has its own version (or interpretation) of somebody else's version...
What really matters is whether or not your school encourages you to explore the system for yourself and whether or not it teaches the tai chi principles correctly.
Without the fundamental principles, tai chi is not actually tai chi - irrespective of who taught who.
Follow the tai chi, not the teacher.
Every instructor changes what they learn, either subtly or greatly.
This can be through a lack of understanding, inaccurate practice, or a deliberate alteration intended to emphasise one aspect of the tai chi; such as health.
Lineage cannot prevent this change - each person adds or removes something from the tai chi.
Every school has its own version (or interpretation) of somebody else's version...
What really matters is whether or not your school encourages you to explore the system for yourself and whether or not it teaches the tai chi principles correctly.
Without the fundamental principles, tai chi is not actually tai chi - irrespective of who taught who.
Friday
Wealthy
Leaders live in big houses,
while the fields are full of weeds.
The granaries are empty,
while the rich wear the latest fashion.
People carry weapons and eat and drink to excess.
Their riches are stolen from the poor.
(Lao Tzu)
Saturday
Wednesday
Tuesday
Attention
Concentration has its place, but in terms of meditation and self defence, it is not desirable.
A more appropriate skill is 'attention'.
Attention is the ability to have awareness without shutting out everything else.
It is about being one with the moment; present and alert.
There is no process of isolation or exclusion.
You are being mindful.
A more appropriate skill is 'attention'.
Attention is the ability to have awareness without shutting out everything else.
It is about being one with the moment; present and alert.
There is no process of isolation or exclusion.
You are being mindful.
Saturday
Grace
Tai chi chuan self defence is unlike other martial arts.
It possesses a strange kind of serenity, a detachment from the event.
This is accomplished conversely by being utterly immersed in the moment, in the happening.
An attack is launched and the student is one with that movement - joining and neutralising, flowing and countering. There is no effort. No resistance or struggle.
Conventional strength is unnecessary, for we do not challenge strength or allow no strength to be exerted upon us.
Every movement and every nuance is a whole-body action. No part leads and no part is left behind.
Even the smallest step is integrated and soft, agile and alive. The student is alert and sensitive to everything.
It possesses a strange kind of serenity, a detachment from the event.
This is accomplished conversely by being utterly immersed in the moment, in the happening.
An attack is launched and the student is one with that movement - joining and neutralising, flowing and countering. There is no effort. No resistance or struggle.
Conventional strength is unnecessary, for we do not challenge strength or allow no strength to be exerted upon us.
Every movement and every nuance is a whole-body action. No part leads and no part is left behind.
Even the smallest step is integrated and soft, agile and alive. The student is alert and sensitive to everything.
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