The Frog at the bottom of the well!

Frog at the bottom of a well! a quote from Zhuangzi!

 "Tai Chi is like dance, like exercise, like...", wonder why Grandmaster Young did not like to hear that? If you teach, or even as we are students, you will meet many people with a limited view of Tai Chi. People in Tai Chi think Grandmaster Wu Jianquan did not know small circles, small frames. Learn a little Mandarin by the "Frog in the bottom of the well"; it's  a metaphor I have heard my own teacher. The Chinese have an expression for the limited way all of us learn to see the world:  In Pinyin it is  "jing di zhi wa," meaning "frog in the bottom of a well." The expression comes from a fable about a frog that has lived its entire life in a small well. The Frog assumes that its tiny world is all there is, and it has no idea of the true size of the world. Only when a passing turtle tells the Frog of the great ocean that exists to the East, the Frog realizes there is much more to the world than it had known. All of us are like that Frog. We grow up as members of a culture and learn directly and from the perspective that becomes most familiar to us. Because the people, through direct and indirect teaching, usually share that perspective, we seldom have cause to question it. Like the Frog, we rarely suspect how big and diverse our large our species is".

Frog in a small well!  https://mathias-sager.com

 Can any of you formulate a good "concept," much less a "true" one of what Small Circle, Small Frame Tai Chi is? Master Hwa, after 40 years, says he still discovers things. All Tai Chi is "experiential," so: "I do and (only then can I say) I understand." We'll also attempt to explain here why students should not fret over "concepts". "The study of Classical Tai Chi in the beginning through advanced stages is as logical and rigorous as the study of any scientific discipline"...Master Stephen Hwa, Ph.D. However, beginning students run up against the desire to conceptualize something that is based almost entirely on an individual's personal experience. Every Frog in the well bottom will indeed have a different "concept" hearing of it for the 1st time; how should the teacher provide a "concept" of the Tai Chi for them by mere explanation? Won't their "concept" be considerably different in 1,3,5 year if they faithfully return each day and practice? The other problem is that a lack of a concept sometimes makes students try harder to intellectualize what is experiential. For instance, one hears pronouncements or affirmations about what "Qi" is from beginning students.

 Or one hears "conceptualizations" from beginning students about the Internal Discipline. "Oh, that is like belly dancing," "Oh, that is like an exercise I used to teach in Karate," "Oh, that is like the 24 Forms of Wu Style Tai Chi, etc. Or regarding the subject of "Qi": "Oh, I know what that is, it is like energy, it is air, it is like...", or "I teach Karate, and since I have experience with that it stands to reason that I can not only teach Tai Chi, but I can articulate what "Qi" is..." Let me get this straight; Science cannot thoroughly articulate what "Qi" is, but you can? The question I have to remarks like that is, "Why is it such a persistent issue that everyone assumes they can explain "Qi" or teach how to cultivate it when they have not gone through the "beginning through advanced" stages we mentioned previously? Science has no answers at the level of understanding we talk about; how would someone who has not studied Classical Tai Chi or Qigong in-depth have an answer. When one reaches the advanced stage and contemplates such problems as, by example, "conceptualizing what Qi is" where one truly sees Science has no answers... it should be a humbling experience. How then is there any "conceptualization" to be had for the beginning practitioner?

Liked on YouTube: Learn Chinese - Chinese Idiom : The frog at the bottom of the well

Learn Chinese - Chinese Idiom : The frog at the bottom of the well
Hello everyone！ 大家好！ Welcome to Learn Mandarin Chinese in 5 Minutes youtube channel. Our youtube channel is for Chinese learners of all levels. We have Chinese language videos for beginners, intermediates and advance levels. For those who are talking the HSK exams, we have videos on Chinese words for HSK levels as well. Do subscribe to our youtube channel if you are interested to learn Chinese with us. If you have any questions regarding our Chinese language videos, do leave a comment and we will surely get back to you asap. Thank you everyone. 谢谢大家. A Chinese Idiom about a frog that lived in an abandoned well. The frog thought that it was living in a great place and bragged about it to a sea turtle. When the sea turtle told him about the greatness of the East sea, it was dumbfounded and lost of words. frog = 青蛙 bottom of the well - 井底 This Chinese idiom is a metaphor about people with limited outlook and narrow view. #learnmandarinin5minutes Chinese idioms blog post:- https://ift.tt/3zG2jgD https://ift.tt/3zFsuUG Support this youtube channel to keep it going. Thank you! Follow us: Blog: learnmandarinin5minutes.com Facebook: https://ift.tt/3i78qEO Pinterest: https://ift.tt/3u7HIjW
via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFUvD4pY6Xs

Dao of Taijiquan is/is not Tao of Martial Applications

 

THE DAO OF TAIJIQUAN IS THE TAO OF MARTIAL APPLICATIONS ...AND THEN AGAIN, IT'S NOT! 

"Hello. My name is ***** I would so much be honored to study Tai Chi Chuan under Sifu Roach. I have a good friend that is a student of Chinese internal martial arts. When I called him about having an interest & advice, told him about Classical Tai Chi of Buffalo & Master Hwa, he became very excited. Saying the best book he ever read was "The Dao of Taijiquan." He also said that his teacher was a great fan of Master Hwa. It seems the endorsements are there for me. Hearing all this from my friend, his opinion I value very much, I am very, very, very excited. My phone # is. Thank you"

Hi Master Hwa,

"I am also bcc to my students about this message, which I find opens many opportunities for interesting glimpses into Tai Chi history as well as our lineage. It also provides an opportunity to explain what we do, albeit by comparison; nevertheless, I found writing interesting. Perhaps this man will digest this and come to study after all."

Jim Roach

Master Hwa said: "Jim: I know the confusion. Actually, I regret not meeting him. He is one of the few tai chi practitioners who is truly searching for the truth. Sometimes, he tells his students," what I taught you last month, forget about it, it is not correct. let's do this way."

Stephen Hwa

Hi *****

I'm under the impression from speaking to Master Stephen Hwa that Master Stephen Hwa gets the question "are you related to Jou Tsung Hwa" quite a bit. He patiently explains that his surname is Hwa and therefore no relation to Jou (surname Jou). Actually, at a World Tai Chi Day event, while watching a demo of "5 animal frolics", Master Stephen Hwa told me that his family surname Hwa in original Chinese spelling is Hua. He also tells me that the family is related to a distant ancestor Hua Tuo who may be the first ancient Chinese surgeon. 

Stephen Hwa mentions the "Dao of Taijiquan" published in 1989 in his book "Uncovering the Treasure" published in 2010 and speaks of a couple of Jou's statements. In his book, Stephen Hwa references Jou, Tsung Hwa's statements.  He says that the "Torso Method" he mentions in "The Tao of Taijiquan, p. A31" is none other than the "Internal Discipline" explained in loving detail in "Uncovering the Treasure, p. 1 and 2, that he teaches in Classical Taijiquan.

Although Jou also mentions Wu Jianquan style Tai Chi in his book, he states that he studied Yang and Chen styles for the most part. 

 Master Hwa has taught Classical Tai Chi to participants at "Jou's" Tai Chi Farm. He refers to that in "Uncovering the Treasure," where he describes a "Western Boxer's" unsuccessful and painful attempt to "take a punch" from Hwa (one-inch punch popularized by Bruce Lee) without using a pad. At this link, Stephen "Hwa's" teacher was Yang Wabu (Young Wabu), who later worked as a Dr. of Osteopathy after working in import/export in Hong Kong but was highly proficient in numerous martial arts, including Bagua Zhang. He was a known master of Pekkwar Monkey Boxing when he met and learned Taiji from this link of the renowned martial artist Wu Chien Chuan who, along with his father, had both worked as bodyguards to the emperor of China. Early on, Wu had learned the Yang Style from the members of the Yang Family themselves, but as described in Wikipedia, Wu later shortened the stances and altered the "frame" in other ways. 

 I studied with Wu's great-grandson Eddie Wu for many years; even his frame is somewhat larger than the frame size we use in Classical Taiji. In addition,(since I studied with both Wu and Hwa) I am the only student of Hwa's that can personally attest that Wu does not teach internal discipline; however, we do. Briefly, the Wu form I learned from Eddie turns from the hips, the form I learned from Hwa turns from the waist, for another thing, it is much much smaller. As a former disciple of Wu, with great respect for the family, I can attest that the "internal discipline" of Classical Taiji is a return to the roots of Taiji before the styles began to change. When Young Wabu learned from Wu Chien Chuan, he was learning from the 2nd generation. When Wu was not there, young Wabu used to teach classes for Wu Kung I (son of Wu Chien Chuan). Young Wabu's daughter Sonia tells me that she was in Wu Kung i's classes, (but her father was not Kung i's student since he studied with Kung i's father, Chien Chuan, Yang was Wu's colleague and not his student) and she used to fight with the men. She tells me that she was 11 years old and Eddie Wu was only six years old, and she used to ask Eddie to stop bugging her as the little boys like to do.

Having learned from Chien Chuan himself, Yang's approach was very meticulous, as was he. My own opinion is that Gongyi (who says as much in the Qi magazine article) was very interested in attracting as many people as possible. Therefore, for one thing, Wu Kung I did not teach the square form or tight circled round form of his father but instead taught a "rounded square form." That is the form that I learned from his grandson Eddie Wu in Toronto. It is pretty different from the smaller frame (in my opinion), highly articulated square form, and compact and tight compact form that I now teach in Classical Taiji. However, Classical Taiji is still a "Wu's" style, just that as I say...it is a return to the "roots

Liked on YouTube: Compression

Compression
From Uncovering the Treasure by Stephen Hwa, Ph.D. available on Amazon.com we take snippets of information about "Compression forces that exist in the body". "Our spine is constantly under compression forces due to the action of gravity on the body. I suspect the repetitive stretching of the spine by this move is one of the contributing factors to keeping the body's structure robust even in old age. The up and down energy flow is an important contributor during Form playing to maintaining continuous internal energy circulation." P. 59 "Not keeping head, neck, body, and the back leg at a straight line: A major problem for most new students especially those who have studied other styles of Tai Chi before. They will try to straighten the body perpendicular to the ground instead of leaning, or have a knee bent on the back foot, thus the body forms a crescent moon shape instead of a straight line. This weakens the forward fajin power similar to the problem with "heel not on the ground". Also the compression at the lower back is unhealthy to the lower spine. There are reports of a group of tai chi practitioners, practicing such style, all having lower back bone spur problems in their old age. The knee bend of the back leg puts uncomfortable strain on the Achilles tendon and calf muscle, and most likely will result in "heel not on ground"." P. 125 "Attention on the spine includes: protecting spine from excessive compression forces, giving the spine opportunity to stretch from time to time, strengthening the muscles and tendons around the spine through Form practice. Attention on the hip, knee, and ankle includes: avoiding overextension of the joints, such as the knee projecting beyond the toe and high kicks, avoiding torque or shear force in the ankle, knee, and hip joints by following rules such as "hand follows the foot, elbow follows the knee, and shoulder follows the hip" or "upper and lower body following each other"." P. 127 "The concave curvature in the lower back region in Picture X-1 indicates localized compression and stress concentration of the spine in the lower back region. The punch motion in the Form will create a reaction force adding more stress at that location. This situation will be substantially worse if the punch hits the opponent since the reaction force will be much higher. In fact, it may bend the body further backwards hurting the lower back and losing the power. A group of Tai Chi enthusiasts of this style in Shanghai practiced together regularly, including push hands and sparring. At old age, every one of them had lower back bone spur problems. In Picture X-2, the spine and back leg form a straight line to allow the reaction force transmitted along the straight path to be absorbed by the ground, without any stress concentrated along the spine. In addition, the energized abdominal muscles exert an upward stretch force on the spine which serves to minimize the compression stress along the spine."
via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ3Lw45NH1Y

Liked on YouTube: Square Form end cloud hands mpg

Square Form end cloud hands mpg
This is a slow-motion video snip of the Classical Tai Chi Square Form. There is no sound. What is important are the many hand movements, the turning of the feet, and the timing of them all. If one learns Cloud hands then this section will undoubtedly be of concern because of its complexity and timing.
via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_shXC7kC5cA

Tai Chi world is small with a narrow mind

 

Sifu Jim R. writes: Pictures show small and compact frames, so do not think large, very large and mid-frame were the only ones he knew. The last picture shows a young woman because of the torque in her right knee and foot making a very painful stance. Whereas Master Wu's very large stance seems excellent and very comfortable. As a metaphor, the world is vast but very small at times. If one has a narrow mind, it can look even smaller. Barbara R., a student asks questions of Master Hwa about Wu Chien Chuan's large stance and its usage in all situations.

From Classical Tai Chi Forum Volume 5 August 2003. https://www.classicaltaichi.com/forum/pdf/forum5a.pdf

Barbara, a student, writes: When watching a video of the 1995 International Wu Style Federation Convention and heard a speaker refer to "Lao Jia" and "Xin Jia" From the translation, it appeared these referred to the long-form as taught by Wu Chien Chuan and as taught by his son, Wu Gong Yi. The speaker said he had studied with both and set out to describe the differences, which seemed to be mainly differences in depth of stance—he kept using Drop Stance (Downward Posture, Snake Creeps Down) with a deep drop; as an illustration of "Lao Jia,"……… Master Young Wabu was a student of Wu Chien Chuan and Master Hwa was a student of both Master Sonia Young and her father Young Wabu. Master Sonia was a student of Grandmaster Wu Gong Yi and her father was Wu's colleague and also taught Wu's classes when Wu was not there. It seems very clear that Master Hwa is in about as good a position as the speaker (whose name I did not catch) to comment on this. The difference in "Lao" and "Xin" as I understood it is mainly a difference in how much external exercise you want to get along with the internal or whether you are looking for a practical fighting form or a showier one…………. Pictures of Wu Chien Chuan doing Tai Chi suggest that he did do Drop Stance with a reasonably deep drop, at least for the camera—but did he do it that way even in his last years? Would he have done it that way in free sparring? …………

Master Hwa's response: One listens to that "speaker" and cannot believe he said that. Just because he was taught "large frame" by Wu Chien Chuan when he was a teenager, he thought that was all Wu knew! If he thought that when he was a teenager, it is excusable. However, now at his old age, with all the published discussion about Wu's prowess at Compact Form, and still thinks that way. He is genuinely clueless. Unfortunately, this kind of person, who saw a master play one style, immediately assumed that it was that master's style, or that family's style, who has muddied the water about the history of tai chi. Prime examples are: Yang Ban-Hou had other teachers besides his father, Yang Lu-Chan, and therefore his style is different from his father. "Large frame" or "large circle" is the hallmark of Yang style, ignoring that several Yangs are known for their zeal for compact forms, such as Yang Shao-Hou, brother of Yang Cheng-Fu. He reminds one of a Chinese saying, "sitting in the bottom of a well trying to figure out how big is the sky."

It is correct that what they did for the camera was not representative of their style. During that era, printed pictures in the book have inferior quality (I have several such books), challenging to see any details. If a pose was in the compact form, it probably showed very little of what was going on. Master Wu's pictures are all in a substantial size frame style. As told by one of Wu Chien Chuan's students, an interesting story was that he asked Wu why one of his tai chi photos had the wrong posture. Wu said that the photographer told him to do it this way. The story shows that these masters did not give a hoot about their photographs. Master Young Wabu described how Grandmaster Wu, during sparring, could stick to the opponent, keeping the opponent constantly out of balance. (Master Young is the "opponent" describing what happened to him when meeting Master Wu) Master Young shows the epitome of tai chi martial art. It is formless; an abstract of all the training he had undergone- leg power from "large circle," internal power from "small circle," movements from form practice, sense and touch developed during push hand, sparring exercise, and more.

Classical Tai Chi is a scientific martial art

  A scientific video

Classical Tai Chi is a martial art, and if it were an art like painting, a "one-inch punch" would merely be one type of brush stroke in a universe of methods. I digress, but I have a particular place in my heart for those who belittle Tai Chi's fighting ability, a special place in the heart, especially for those who engage in Tai Chi learning for only a short time and say that. Digressing further, let me tell you of a Judo vs. Kung Fu story, but it could be any martial art. I was personally acquainted with both teachers. It seems a Kung Fu Master who was renting a Judo Dojo said: "… don't do Judo, Kung Fu is better…." He meets the Judo Master while in the Dojo, who, with an upraised chair, said, "…so Judo is no good, Kung Fu is better…"?

My point is that my teacher, Master Hwa, has said, "…in a fight anything goes…". Working Shore Patrol in the Marine Corps, I saw this, but it was entitled "…in a fight, anything goes but first go the tables and chairs…". My teacher has previously spoken at the College about "...old masters, wanting to prove their art..." They, in so many words, were saying:..."... come on, let's fight"…".

To say nothing of contagious diseases, in this very different world today, I am sure there are many reasons besides law and human decency why we should not use that approach. It is no longer a matter of expounding Chinese wisdom via Western Science since China has also arrived in the 21st century. Master Hwa has spoken (after all, he is a retired Ph.D. Engineer) of his Fondness for his own teacher's systematic and scientific approach to the art. As an engineer, I like his expert and scientifically disciplined explanations for some pretty amazing things I have personally witnessed in Classical Tai Chi. His reasons come in the form of analysis and exposition of physiology and mechanics.

As my teacher, and in this video, I like his "physiological and mechanical" teaching of constantly reminding me to turn at the waist (Yao) using "internal discipline," Not turn at the hip girdle (Kua) to merely turn the "full" upper torso a complete turn. Classical Tai Chi, on the other hand, uses even, "quarters," "halves," "x, y, and z-axis, of the "Yao" in a very advanced level. This consists of complex combinations too numerous to mention of "quarters, halves, and x,y,z" axis movements.

"Fajin"??? "One-inch punch"??? Those are the tip of the iceberg. There is a veritable smorgasbord of Fajin from all angles and striking surfaces of a proficient practitioner's Classical Tai Chi body. In light of the plethora of combinations, it is a "palette" of functional movement rather than one brush stroke-like "one-inch punch." To conclude: The physiological effect of a lowered twisting action he speaks about in the video, exaggerates the signal and thus the stability of the core. If you are throwing yourself off balance, damaging your knees through excessive torque and shear force, then you have done much of the opponent's work for them. After all, my teacher and I have several videos showing the disparities, and you can see them all on Youtube. Let it not be said that I am "talking through my hat" because I did "twisting at the Kua" for many, many years before Classical Tai Chi.

Do you admire Master Hwa's use of the "one-inch punch"? One should respect the Science and Art behind it and put their admiration to work learning this art from A to Z. Rather than taking violent methods to prove our art, let's try to understand it. Yes, in Classical Tai Chi, we demonstrate many applications, but they always come with detailed scientific analysis. Once we know even one thing with the help of modern science, we are one significant step closer to the truth.