Softening from bad teaching!

MY PAINFUL STORY: TAI CHI HAS TO BE FOR HEALTH AND FOR MARTIAL PURPOSES. A GOLDEN RULE WHICH CONTAINS THE "NO RULES", IS "DO NOT HURT YOURSELF"  OTHERWISE THE OPPONENT JUST HAS TO STAND THERE,  WATCH AND WAIT. "TORQUE IN KNEE AS SHOWN BY THE "SNAKE CREEPS DOWN" POSTURE ABOVE = "CHONDROMALACIA PATELLAE" A VERY PAINFUL SOFTENING, EVEN BREAKING OF THE KNEE CARTILAGE.  I HAD IT FROM DOING DUMB STUFF BECAUSE I WAS IN MY 30s, HAD ARROGANT TAI CHI TEACHERS IN THEIR 30s AND THEY HAD EVEN MORE ARROGANT TAI CHI TEACHERS IN THEIR 50s  MY DOCTOR NEVER HEARD OF TAI CHI, SAID "WHAT IS IT YOU ARE DOING"?  

'WELL, IT'S CALLED TAI CHI (THIS WAS 1976) AND THE LOOK ON HIS FACE WAS SOMETHING TO BEHOLD. 'WHATS THAT'? HE SAID AS HE KNOCKED THE ASH OFF HIS CIGAR.  I SAID "WELL, ITS WHAT ONE MIGHT CALL A MUSTANG STYLE OF BAGUA ZHANG, TAIJIQUAN, XINGYI, LIUHEBAFA QUAN'  HE SAID 'WELL IF YOU WANT TO KEEP DOING THAT WITH CHONDROMALACIA PATELLAE YOU WILL UNDOUBTEDLY NEED AT LEAST 20 ASPIRINS A DAY.  I WOULD TALK TO THE SPORTS MEDICINE GUYS WHERE YOU HAD THE ULTRASOUND ABOUT WHAT NOT TO DO WITH YOUR KNEES AND KNOCK OFF DOING THAT STUFF, WHOEVER YOUR LEARNING THAT STUFF FROM DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING. 

Softening from bad teaching!

Tai Ch Form for Power

 

Grandmaster Wabu Young: “I know you, you do not know me” no doubt to a student who did not “get it” what Form does vs what Push Hands does. 

 ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ᴠɪꜱɪᴛ ᴍʏ ᴄʟᴀꜱꜱ ᴇᴀʀʟʏ ᴀᴛ ʙᴜꜰꜰᴀʟᴏ ꜱᴛᴀᴛᴇ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀꜱɪᴛʏ. ʜᴇ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀᴛ ʟᴇᴀꜱᴛ 4 ᴅᴇᴄᴀᴅᴇꜱ ʏᴏᴜɴɢᴇʀ! ʜᴇ ᴛᴏʟᴅ ᴍᴇ ʜᴇ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴀ ᴍᴀʀᴛɪᴀʟ ᴀʀᴛ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ "ᴋɪᴄᴋ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴜᴛᴛ" ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴏꜱᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ᴅɪꜱʀᴇꜱᴘᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ HIM. ɪ ꜱᴀɪᴅ, "...ʙᴜᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ɢᴇᴛ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴀɴᴅ ᴄᴀɴɴᴏᴛ ᴘʜʏꜱɪᴄᴀʟʟʏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴀʀᴇ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ..."   "ᴀʟꜱᴏ, ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜʀꜱᴇʟꜰ, ʜᴏᴡ ᴄᴀɴ ʏᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇᴍ"? 

ʜᴇ ʟᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ ᴘᴜᴢᴢʟᴇᴅ, ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ꜱᴀɪᴅ, "...ɪꜰ ɪ ᴘᴜᴛ ᴍʏ ʜᴀɴᴅ ᴏɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜱʜᴏᴜʟᴅᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ꜱᴇɴꜱᴇ ᴀ ʟɪɢʜᴛ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ, ʜᴏᴡ ᴄᴀɴ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀᴄᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴀ ꜰᴀꜱᴛ, ꜱᴛʀᴏɴɢᴇʀ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ..."  ɪ ᴅᴇᴍᴏɴꜱᴛʀᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ ᴏɴ ʜɪꜱ ꜱʜᴏᴜʟᴅᴇʀ,, ᴜᴘᴘᴇʀ ᴄʜᴇꜱᴛ, ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴀᴄᴋ. ɪɴ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴄᴀꜱᴇꜱ, ᴀ ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇ ᴍᴏᴠᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴍʏ ʜᴀɴᴅ ᴜꜱɪɴɢ ᴀ ᴠᴇʀʏ ꜱʟᴏᴡ ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀʟ ᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴍʏ ᴄᴏʀᴇ ᴍᴏᴠᴇᴅ ʜɪᴍ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀ ʀᴀɢ ᴅᴏʟʟ.   ʜᴇ ꜱᴀɪᴅ, "...ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱᴇᴇᴍꜱ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ; ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ..."?   “…glad you asked, Tai Chi Form…develops power….spar and push hands…sensitivity and finesse…”!

Proper alignment and structure

"Proper Alignment and Structure in Classical Tai Chi"

Discussion and why its a Treasure from Uncovering The Treasure: Classical Tai Chi's Path to Internal Energy & Health Paperback – May 12, 2010
by Stephen Hwa (Author)



Master Hwa correcting for proper structure and alignment. In the photos below, there is a correct structure with a straight line and there is an incorrect curved line. 

"The other topic discussed in great detail in this book is the body structure or alignment in Tai Chi Form and ts applications. Proper body structure or alignment is essential to the mobilization and delivery of energy and qi flow. It is also essential to maintain healthy joints in the body for the long haul. Therefore, some of these discussions delve deep into the nitty-gritty of the movements not usually seen in other Tai Chi books which usually emphasize the ethereal aspects of Tai Chi.

I sense there is an unspoken belief among modern Tai Chi practitioners that as long as one has the right mental state, almost any movement is a Tai Chi movement. As a result, infinite varieties of Tai Chi Forms sprout everywhere. Those early Masters who developed Classical Tai Chi Form must have had in-depth knowledge about body mechanics and its effect on joint health and energy transmission and generation in the body. They meticulously incorporated their knowledge into every move in the Tai Chi Form. After all, a bad posture will stop internal energy generation and qi flow. No mental state or wishful thinking can overcome that.
That is the reason why I pay so much attention to the details of the movements in the discussion.

The material in this book is based on the teaching from my teacher Young Wabu, who was a student of the legendary master Wu Chien Chuan. From the beginning, I was attracted to Young's teaching not only for its impact on my body's well-being but also for its logical, rational, and scientific approach. Fifty years of studying this art is truly a road of discovery. I am constantly surprised by discoveries of its benefits, its power, and its exquisite structure created by Masters of the past.

At first glance, it appears to be very complex, but gradually it becomes simpler because every element in it, no matter how minor it is, follows certain rules, and these rules form a logical structure with calculated, scientific reasoning behind it. Every element is optimized toward two objectives; martial art applications and health benefits. As a result, every element is tightly coupled with other elements even though they may appear to be unrelated. The entire structure is rooted in Chinese philosophy. It is truly a world heritage treasure."