Tai Chi and the Dark Ages

Tai Chi and the Dark Ages

http://www.classicaltaichi.com/tai-chi-health-benefits.html

We may well be in the "dark ages" when it comes to sophistication about the core, Tai Chi and the core. It is more than disillusioning to put in a search to Professor Google on "core of the body", etc. and see how many hits come back on how to super strengthen the core, aka "rock hard abs", "six pack abs", "washboard abs", etc. Other than "hits" on Classical Tai Chi I don't see anything on how to get in touch with the core, how to do subtle movement with the core, how to do intricate movement with the core, how to improve the dexterity of the core, how to extend the walking movement of the legs into the core, how to first tune the nervous system instead of one hundred situps in order to make internal core movement spontaneous, how to take subtle and intricate movement of the core and improve the robustness of the internal organs, how to tune the nervous system to develop a stronger "qi" (rather than having the right "mental/spiritual" state of mind to do so)

Liked on YouTube: Classical Wu Style Square and Round Form. Produced June 2016

Classical Wu Style Square and Round Form. Produced June 2016
Classical Wu Style Square and Round Form. An brief video introduction. For more information, see http://ift.tt/1JtLXfG
via YouTube http://youtu.be/7GyzH6W15Yk

"Cold Hands, Warm Heart" but in Classical Tai Chi where's the "Yi"

Examining my own movements I discovered that simply opening the hand, straighten the fingers more solved the problem of "bending the arm at the elbow". I think you will be pleasantly surprised, especially musicians, dancers, typists, etc. who use their hands alot.

Here is a golden rationale for this from Master Stephen Hwa

"For some students, “Yi” (intention of movement) is fairly easy to develop. For some students, it is quite difficult to be consistent – other intentions creep in subconsciously from time to time. Students who have studied dancing or are interested in dancing have such problems. Normally, the fingers become very warm after playing the Form even in cold weather. One of my students here who had already achieved good internal movements complained about cold fingers. Upon close examination, she frequently had small flourishes in her hands and fingers. After reducing that flourish, her problem of cold finger improved. Extraneous motions, or nerve signals, along the path of Qi, such as shoulder, elbow, and arms, have the same effect of disrupting the flow of Qi between the body and the fingers. People who use their hands intensively, such as dancers, typists, and piano players could have such problems. It is important for them to keep localized nerve activity dormant and let the Qi from the body take over. This is a good reason to learn the square form from which the practitioner will get used to movements with steady arms and hands without localized impulses.

 

 The focus here is on the arms and hands not on the legs and foot. The reason is that during form playing, the lower limbs have definite functions to perform and its energy and Qi are already integrated with that of the torso. During Form playing, the upper limb’s function is entirely abstract and mental and is easily distracted. 

 

******************** S. T. writes: I have finally finished the “parting the wild horse’s mane” lesson. I thought I had learned earlier lessons well, until I saw myself practice these lessons in front of the mirror. I realize I looked pretty bad. What a wake up call!
 

MASTER HWA’S RESPONSE: This is on par with most students at this stage. This is your first stage in learning those lessons. It will take quite bit more practice to make it look decent. You see, your eye is now much more discriminating than what you can actually do, because you have watched my video for so long. You know what the form should look like. You can actually correct yourself by watching yourself play. Mirror is convenient but not very ideal, because you have to turn your head to watch yourself in the mirror, which will distort your form playing. The ideal way is to use video to record your play and then analyze the problems from the video. At this stage, you want to watch out not only your form position and timing of movements; but also those little extraneous movements unconsciously added to the form, a little shrug of the shoulder here and a flick of hand there etc. These extraneous movements are difficult to get rid of. ************"

My additional thoughts: 

"The fingers are not rigid when straight, they are energized. Where is the intention "Yi" going in a hand with fingers that are bent as opposed to a hand with fingers that are straight? If fingers are bent isn't the direction you are going even skewed? Also, with straightened fingers I can use the fingers like a spear or sword tip but I can quickly bend them to a fist, it gives me more option. With bent fingers and no intent if I connect even with soft tissue, I may break a finger. With straightened fingers I feel the sensations of "qi" in my hand, with bent there are none. Pushing on my chest with straightened fingers is the first time I felt one of Master Hwa's applications and he said "...you forgot this one..." I had asked him about applications for the grasp bird's tail series when we first met and was showing off what I had learned in Toronto..

Liked on YouTube: Classical Wu Tai Chi - Taiji and Visualization Qigong by Classical Tai Chi's Master Stephen Hwa

Classical Wu Tai Chi - Taiji and Visualization Qigong by Classical Tai Chi's Master Stephen Hwa
Classical Tai Chi Workshop from July 2011, Buffalo, NY. Master Stephen Hwa of Classical Tai Chi (Wu Tai Chi, Wu Style Tai Chi Taiji). Master Hwa discusses Motion Induced Qigong and Mind Induced Qigong with a warning about the dangers inherent in studying Visualization Qigong without supervision by a teacher. Please see his website at http://ift.tt/1JtLXfG and you can read an article about this subject at classicaltaichi.blogspot.com ( http://ift.tt/1YeqE6R) For further details see: http://ift.tt/1JtLXfG In Chinese: http://ift.tt/1Kyh2cJ
via YouTube Youtube Link

The pursuit of Classical Tai Chi methodology for suitable teaching of certain segments of population Inbox x

Dear Master Stephen Hwa:

In reference to your recent request for a dialogue on the subject: "I have been experimenting with different scope of teaching that is extracting certain parts of our art which are suitable for certain segment of population, such as elderly population."

From visiting and participating in your class in Florida I picked up on some few "parts of the art" which can be useful for the elderly population. It cannot be denied that one of the "parts" has to be how we can be using the "Tai Chi Walk"

I cannot help but continually think of what I experienced when I participated in the "walking exercises"  with the very large class.  What I saw was a variety of "gaits", some of which I believed were abnormal but since I was participating was not able to zero in on specifics.  I have to say however, what a treasure/miracle it is to have a normal gait and to not be afflicted by an abnormal gait that may even be there because of some disease. 

One of the things I like to do with our class is use a long corridor (which we have access to) and simply watch students come and go as they walk normally up and down the hall. This seems to give me a better handle on how I can breach the gap on even introducing the walking exercises. 

I can't help but think that an instructor  of Classical Tai Chi can benefit from some preliminary observations of what his/her class is capable or not capable of in an everyday kind of environment instead of taking a "one size fits all" approach. As a side note, some major Universities publish documentation that there are literally dozens of abnormal gaits associated with various disease states. 

 As you say:

"The concern we have is that there are different category of potential students who could benefit from learning our tai chi. But, different category of incoming students have different objective of learning as well as different capability of learning. One learning path can not fit all."

Please note that a copy of this email and future emails will be sent to the Yahoo email group

Sifu James Roach

Learning Paths

Here is a request from Master Stephen Hwa for a  contribution of thought, opinion,discussion, ideas, that are appropriate to the subject he raises.

"I have been in discussion with some of you regarding the learning path for Classical Tai Chi. The concern we have is that there are different categories of potential students who could benefit from learning our tai chi. But, different categories of incoming students have different objectives of learning as well as different capabilities of learning. One learning path can not fit all.

If we are interested in setting up Classical Tai Chi schools, we need to tailor our teachings to a large and varied population , not limited to those who have the ambition to become a proficient practitioner of all aspects of our art. One has to have a substantial student body in order to have a viable school.

I have been experimenting with a different scope of teaching that is extracting certain parts of our art which are suitable for certain segments of the population, such as the elderly population. And also, experimenting with a different approach to initiate students into our art. Nowdays, one has to keep students' interest high right from the beginning and continue through the course, otherwise, one will not be able to maintain a substantial and stable student body.

I hope to start a dialogue here and hopefully come up with some good approaches. And also, I am planning on having a workshop in a the near future on these subjects and other questions you may have."

Good practice,

Stephen Hwa

Gumption

Sometimes things are not so clear, sometimes they are and sometimes one can distinguish clearly between what is clear and not clear.  When one side moves the other side does not, can we ask for a better image of the delineation of Yin and Yang in Classical Tai Chi movement?

Which has a parallel with what Eva told me about why few people stick with this and most people don't.  The line of understanding as to the why and wherefore of this question became very clear yesterday as I talked to a student, let me explain:

"I have written this and other articles as well in my brainchild Classical Tai Chi facebook group  in the hope of engaging the curiousity of students and offering inspiration. Inspiration however, is a difficult thing to pin down and a teacher can inspire but it is  only the student who can do the work. I cannot offer curiosity  and can only offer inspiration to the point where a student has engaged their curiosity. The inspiration is never earth shaking and I have met many who came and went in relative silence. So it is incredibly rare when I meet a student as I did today who seemingly has the integrity and is forthcoming enough to not only say they are leaving but state a reason.

It is even more of a rarity as happened today,  when I hear a student say they liked me, liked the classes, but  were chagrined to admit they could not find the "inspiration" to go home and practice anything from the very first day for three months, not one bit of silk reeling, not one posture. As I said,  a teacher cannot go home with the student supplying inspiration. But in most of these cases whether gone silently, gone with bombast or gone while being forthcoming the student has not seen the forest for the trees.

What this takes is "gumption" or as one dictionary defines, it is the guts and subsequent determination to stick things out to the point where the tai chi begins to give genuine sustaining inspiration. This is also known as "Uncovering the Treasure" of which books have been written on how to not only uncover it but provided details on how to take it with you.  I've said this many times that initial enthusiasm is no substitute for persistence and dedication. It rewards you in proportion to commitment and devotion and that is not my job as a teacher, the onus is on the student.

There is no "secret" to sticking this out and doing the work. Tae Kwon Do is a sport which I did for several years at the same time I was doing Tai Chi,  but I once wanted to learn a back turning side kick that could stop an attacker dead in their tracks. I went home and kicked the bag an hour, sometimes two,  each day for a year. I kicked to the point where I could move the bag from vertical to horizontal...hitting the suspended ceiling above. One could say, what a specialized skill and of what value?  Someone tried to knife me on the street , while I was walking to work, munching on a sandwich and the kick worked, did not even drop the sandwich. I guess Eva is right, there are not many people willing to do that, to stick it out, but the "secret" never changes...it takes initial gumption followed by persistence and devotion.

It is a cliche to say this takes a long time or a lifetime, for "Time" is what we have in this moment and is therefore no guarantee that the lack of practice will yield anything but a fallow field."

Liked on YouTube: 陳永太極 ‒ 怎樣化掐頸之方法

陳永太極 ‒ 怎樣化掐頸之方法
Gripping Art demonstration on how to neutralise the force of an opponent grabbing your neck, slowed down for ease of comprehension. 來源Source: http://ift.tt/1LXvnCV Facebook Page: Tai Chi 太極拳 http://ift.tt/1LXvmPv
via YouTube http://youtu.be/xQw0DMa0OdE

Square form also has continuity of movement (Not)

Square Form

Note that you can get this link and more if it does not come through by searching James Roach Classical Tai Chi on Youtube. I worked very hard to learn square form correctly but I hope this does not come across as too strong in my analysis and commentary.  A criticism of Classical Tai Chi by some in the Tai Chi community is that there is no "continuity" in the Square Form. I received this comment on the Youtube video of Square Form at Master Hwa's workshop:  The comment simply said "Square form also have continuity".  This is relatively easy to address to others but I do not think they will understand because they do not do "square", contrary to what they think they do. Nor will even many students of Classical Tai Chi, even after many years understand the difference between round and square. 

"Continuity" of movement is important in Classical Tai Chi Round Form where there is a steady flow of internal energy. Continuity of movement in square form is not an important consideration since each of the moves should have a PAUSE between them. However, although the very nature of the square form with its PAUSES seems almost antithetical to Round it serves an indispensable purpose to learning and practicing the Round. The purpose of square form is NOT to learn to move continuously, the purpose is to learn to CLEARLY DELINEATE postures and to CLEARLY DELINEATE the separation of Yin and Yang. DELINEATE in Merriam Webster refers to "LINES" used to indicate something. In this case where the yin-yang pair, that delineation, those delineations  of yin-yang is/are located.

One cannot learn to do round correctly unless they have learned where the yin-yang pairs are to be located in each of the postures...those "pairs" do not imbed themselves in the correct locations simply because one does "continuous" movement. On the other hand through correct practice of square the yin-yang pairs will imbed at the correct locations. Once this is achieved we can talk about "continuous" movement. We then have the dynamics of Tai Chi in play as one yin-yang pair transforms to the other and so on, thus giving the effect of constant motion and CONTINUITY.

I even get comments from long time students who tell me they are doing square form.  What I see to some extent is how I learned the "old" way with "continuity" in mind.  I learned this "old" way but my student Tom and I found out the hard way that we did not have the "pairs" at the right spots. Like those videos I receive, we both have too much extraneous movement at the joints, no pauses between movements or compromised pausing if any, fluorishes of arms, fluorishes of the wrist (wrists flexing extraneously), head cocked to the side during postures, arms too far back or chicken wing out to the side. We had both been exposed to a square form that was too "round" and did not have said delineation and separation...it is not easy learning to be crisp and resolute, I really had to work hard. 

Becoming more "robotic" is better, the more the better as Master Hwa says.  There has been way too much laughing about this being "robotic" but this is simply because people do not understand.  Isn't that the convoluted way of things to laugh where we don't understand.  Master Hwa learned this way right from the start so I encouraged my student Jason to learn square form footwork first. He took it so much to heart that he learned just the foot movements of the entire square form for a year before adding in the hands and upper body. Now I feel gratified as a Sifu because Master Hwa said  when he certified him as a teacher, "Jason's square form is very good", very good indeed.

Jim R.

Classical Tai Chi for weak hips or hip replacement

Dear Master Hwa, colleagues and students:

As someone who was involved in a sport related injury and who has a titanium pin in the hip, I can really relate to this subject.  With the assistance of Sifu Jason Bulger and Sifu Anh Le, I present our contribution to the efforts.

Jim R.

Our 2 video contribution, Sifu's Jason Bulger, Anh Le and Jim Roach for those who " have had hip replacements or weak hips from lack of movement....a movement and variations of the movement  which "provides muscle support " for the pelvis.

Variations on "Lift Leg" a lower left or right quarter-body move 

Lift Leg pp. 5 and 6 of "Uncovering the Treasure" by Stephen C.P. Hwa, PhD.

"All lower body movements are from the core.

This is just one example of it. Practicing with an

imaginary mental picture that the legs do not

end at the hip joints, but rather, there is a leg

extension into the core of the body has helped

some students learn how to initiate lower body

movements from the core."

"Lift the left leg by using abdominal and back muscles

to lift the left side of the pelvis which in turn lifts the

leg. In this case, the left leg is completely relaxed

since the lifting is done by internal power not the

leg muscle. The moving part is the left leg and

its associated abdominal and back muscles while

the other parts of the body remain stationary

to provide support and grounding. The yin-yang

junction may be visualized in the left abdominal

and back region. One could classify this as a lower

left, quarter -body move."

From Linda Felicio, RN, MSW who teaches classes in the Florida School at Wynmoor, Coconut Creek, Fl. "

Hi Sifu Jim, I wanted to start a discussion regarding the this turning movement, "turning the leg while engaging the hip" as Master Hwa discusses that you should think "the leg extends higher into the hip"which appears to provides for a safer transition while moving the leg. At first it feels a bit awkward and one has to engage the glutes, back muscles and the core to accomplish this move. It feels less stressful for the joint if done probably. This could provide for a stronger hip as we age since the muscles are doing most of the work.

For my senior clients it's most important since some have had hip replacements or weak hips from lack of movement. It appears this movement "provides muscles support " for the pelvis."

Prepare to learn "quarter body" movement

A "necessary" but not "sufficient" condition for learning quarter body movement is to be able to "fold" the body at the spine. 

In the beginning try to move both halves of the body, then you can try form movements such as "single whip", "parting hands" etc. where only one half is moved. As you do these , do not tip your head but you can piecemeal look down at your shoulder joints to discern any extraneous external movement. You can watch the shoulder joints in a mirror, video, via a friend's critique, etc.

Make sure to relax the back both upper and lower to facilitate the practice. Relaxing includes "SONG KUA" OR AS IT IS CALLED "STRETCHING DOWN THE TAILBONE" and we have discussed this in earlier posts. THIS WAY THE FOLDING CAN EXTEND THE LENGTH OF THE SPINE. STRETCHING THE TAILBONE DOWN RELAXES THE ENTIRE BACK.

Teaching "not to move" is more difficult than teaching "how to move"..."How does one teach/learn upper body movements? MINIMIZE EXTRANEOUS EXTERNAL MOVEMENTS first, such as a lift of the shoulder, excess motion at the shoulder joint, stretching the arm out, pulling the elbow in, and swinging the arm without purpose or hand flourishes. Only when external movements are minimized can the internal movements be free to fluorish. That is one of the purposes of square form, freezing the arm from external movements during certain form movements"

These are examples of many "folding" movements of which its ability of doing is essential for any future quarter body movements. Don't fold at the shoulder but fold along the spine to the tailbone. One can develop a knack for moving from the core. Find a neural pathway in the body core abdomen/back which can make the internal move you intend. Get through this first "stage" then work toward a second "stage" where arms are integrated with those internal movements.