Einstein said "Reality is an illusion, albeit a very persistent one"

Sometimes what you see in Tai Chi   a video link with an explanation

I read somewhere that Einstein said, "Reality is an illusion, albeit very persistent." In retrospect, and with tongue in cheek, Einstein was particularly correct regarding how students hold to what they perceive even with a cursory examination.

"...I watched the video of Master Hwa at home; you are wrong, Mr. Roach.." I explained that bobbing up and down, straightening the leg, and standing up is not the same as lifting the leg with the core. Upon correction for "bobbing up and down," the student told me, "...I watched the video, and when Master Hwa lifts the pelvis with the core, he straightens his leg and stands up..." I asked the student how many times they watched the video, and the answer was "...once...". That is what I mean by "cursory."

Master Stephen Hwa "It would help if you remembered that sometimes the appearance of reality is an illusion. My students in class often told me that they thought I was moving a certain way and tried to do the same. Later they found out that their observation was not correct. That was why I incorporated different views in my video so you could see my moves at different angles to lessen the chance of a wrong impression. Using a fresh eye to review the lesson video could uncover any misinterpretation of my movements. The other thing to remember is that you perceive that you are moving a certain way, but you are not moving that way. I met one student who had finished the lessons from the video. One problem I observed was that his movements initiated from the chest area when he tried to internalize his move away from the arm and shoulder. He would

scrunch his chest to start an upper body movement. When one of the students in my class makes the turning movement, she does stabilize the pelvic area, but the turning motion initiates from the upper abdomen area. In both of these cases, the concentration on the internal position is too high. It has to be in the navel and below. When done right, you will feel the tight connection to the lower body through the buttock. My 12-year-old student in class made a brief comment: "one thinks that he is not doing external, so it must be internal." It is not an either-or situation. There is an intermediate region, which is neither external nor very internal"

The curve and the straight of it

 

Of the numerous Tai Chi styles, there is really only one that has a "round" form and a truly "square" (fang) form. With all its derivatives, the Classical Tai Chi Wu Style often surprises people with the opposite requirement between Square and Round. This is not unique, however:

Just think about how one learns the art of calligraphy. My experience taught me how to write in print form (brush and ink, of course). My own teacher echoes this in the video link. Then one learns the cursive form. The differences between these two writing forms are very much analogous to the differences between those two Tai Chi Forms.

Square Form is analogous to the block printing of (pinyin) Kai Style or "Kai Shu." The round form is analogous to Tsao Style, "Tsao Shu/Cao Shu," or the cursive script.

In Square form, as in calligraphy, movements take place in relatively straight lines between points (start and end points of inflection). The Round form with its curves has the curves going through those points…the Square is like a template for the round.

Like the Calculus of mathematics, however, I would like to point out that the round form is like calculus which integrates a tiny segment of a curved motion as a straight line to form the curved motion. Square form is like taking one of the important tiny straight lines and expanding it into a linear movement. I guess the way of the universe is based on similar principles for everything which appears to be unrelated.

I think it is in Jou Tsung Hwa's book: Tao of Tai Chi where he makes a statement about movement being like individual frames in a movie film. Taken separately or even 2 or 3, it makes no sense, and one sees no motion. We only have the illusion of motion when one puts all the frames together.

Regarding square form and perhaps to the critics: Although the principal purpose is to teach students to delineate yin and yang, there are many, many individual "points," "stops," "pauses," etc. As it was said, "changes of direction occur at those points." That, the more "points" are present in something such as a square form, the more capacity there is for those points to join and produce a round form. It would seem then that much like the individual frames in a film being many but making a fine product that gives us the illusion of motion.

If I only have 2 or 3 points, it would be hard to see the round if I join them with straight lines. If I put 10 points in that same situation and join them, one begins to see the round very clearly. As in the 8 straight lines joining and changing direction in the I Ching diagram, one can draw the circle around those 8 points. It would also seem that lines joining like this form angles at the joints. Ideally, an excellent place to mount an attack would be at an angle or "tangent."

The points where one changes direction are referred to as "Dingdian" or fixed points, actually inflection points. Those starting and ending points define the curved movement in the round form. Of course, nothing ever starts or ends in Tai Chi, like ocean waves and breathing; each has its own peak and trough…sine waves come to mind. This considers the concept of "reversal, " which is a mainstay in the I Ching.

When I was learning calligraphy, I appreciated the stop and go of the strokes in Kai Shu. It allowed me to reflect on the stroke I just did and prepare for the next movement. The square form of Tai Chi allows us to gather energy, align the joints, and gather strength at the "points." I can prepare for the next move by gathering energy for the coming action. This is why the moves in the Square are resolute and appear abrupt.

Based on this, I would say that Tai Chi is not only very analogous to calligraphy but also very scientific…in light of the Calculus, one can appreciate mathematics.

Thanks

James Roach

p.s. Read the biography of the Chows at this link. They were both outstanding artists, calligraphers, and Tai Chi teachers. They both learned from Wabu Young, who was my own teacher's teacher.

http://www.enlighteners.com/history.html#transcript

Both end “al” but Centrifugal is not Internal

 

ENDS  “AL” BUT CENTRIFUGAL IS NOT INTERNAL

We are always saying that Classical Tai Chi is underpinned as Science. As a kind of Lab Experiment, at this juncture, show me a completely “internal” 4 minute Form if you disagree with anything  as follows. 

The objective is to play Tai Chi both fast and slow. Did you know that Small Frame, Small Circle is meant to do just that? In our 60’s Master Hwa and I were doing the Form in the 3-minute range. He did it faster than me; better continuity of Internal energy. Now that is faster than the "Fast Form" touted by Ma Yueh Liang. Interestingly, one never sees his Form but sees his wife (Wu's daughter) doing an excellent form. When one learns the Form and is good at it, it varies playing speed from fast to slow. Fast has "Fast" difficulty, and Slow has "Slow" difficulties. 

The crux of this is whether Fast or Slow; one cannot change the Form. Remember Wu told Young it cannot be changed?  Yes, there are various perturbations when it comes to “change”. If one goes very fast sans “Internal”, the Form inevitably changes because of centrifugal force. The postures begin to change because the internal energy flow is not maintained. The centrifuge effect takes the internal out of the equation. Limbs spin out of control, centrifugal force is changing everything about the postures. It's not like just learning a so-called "Fast Form" first. One first builds up Internal Energy; then, one can go fast. 

Slow playing builds up Internal Energy; one can then go faster and faster at a future time. Faster at this junction is called the "tight compact" Form. Yes, the postures get smaller, tighter. The steps for instance would have feet taking tinier steps, half size.  I figured out that Master Hwa went faster than me because he goes tighter and that because I am taller.  It is difficult for me at 6’3” to take tinier steps as it really begins to affect my balance.  We talked, and both laughed, about the size disparity recently and my balance problems because of height.