Earliest Video of Wu Style Tai Chi

"Possibly the earliest Wu style Taijiquan video with Zhu Minyi, disciple of Wu Jianquan, recorded in 1937 in Shanghai. The video shows the Wu style set, tuishou and even Zhu's 'modern and scientific' approach including his 'stick' and 'ball' system. A piece of history"


Here's the link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDaV9C0ERP8

I'm not sure if this is the "earliest" video of what Wu Style Tai Chi does.   In addition,  Archery, "hackey sack" or "Jianzi", "Push Hands" with a ball on a bungee cord, "Push Hands" with a bungee cord apparatus are not any of the trainings I have ever encountered.

• Certainly, early photos of Wu Jianquan (Wu Chien-chuan) show him in "large frame" postures.  Stephen Hwa reports in "Uncovering the Treasure", p. 32; "In the "Gold Book" of the Wu Family "Wu Chien Chuan's Form photos are excellent examples of Large Frame", "Wu Kung Yi's photos show a form more compact". 
• Link to photos:  http://wustyle.co.uk/gallery.html  (scroll to bottom of page for images)
• From that same  Gold Book:
• In photos of Wu Chien Chuan, knee never projects over the toe.
• In photos of Wu Chien Chuan, pelvis faces forward when sitting back.
• In photos of Wu Chien Chuan, back foot is always seen as rooted to ground during  movement.
• In photos of Wu Chien Chuan back foot is never seen as turned out.
• In photos of Wu Chien Chuan elbow does not extend past the back when punching. 

I will leave it to the reader to decide for themselves if the disciple is in accord with what the master does.

Hang in there...DVD's CAN provide rigorous training

Hello Mr. Roach,

I  live about 20 miles from where your studio is located in Buffalo.  I must tell you that I have been interested in Tai Chi for some time now.  I kept thinking however that I was too busy and did not have the time.  Then I had the surgery.  My Doctor surprised me by saying that I should take something like Tai Chi.  I told him I had heard of your classes but never followed through on my interest. He said, that maybe it was part of my physical problems that I kept thinking I had no time to do things.  It took a surgery to realize that he was right.

So, I’d like to learn from you.  Is there something you could recommend to me?  I’ve seen lots of Tai Chi DVD’s for sale at the Supermarket. Several of them state that it is better to learn a 9 movement “short form” than it is to stick to a “boring”  and long series of movements.  Still,  It’s hard for me to believe that I could learn much from any DVD.  I feel that I would just be mimicking the movements of the teacher and not really learning anything.  Also,  I still can’t drive much to come to a lesson at your studio every week however.  Your right if you are thinking I’m a mess.  I can come every couple of weeks. What do you think?

Best regards,

Walter

Dear Walter,

Since you ask for opinions, I believe I can offer some thoughts on the subject and also relate a bit of my own experience. In my opinion:  Everyone will always tell you that you should seek out the “best” and not settle for second rate.  However, I think the worst thing a student can conjecture is that “best” is “easy” and  rigorous training is not necessary to learn Tai Chi.  In the Internet age and era of short attention spans it is also relatively simple for people selling anything to prey on our desire for  “easy” and “fun”.   

In my opinion, we are in modern times and the “golden age” where the “best” masters quietly taught a select group of students in their village is gone. In my opinion,  (but one can easily imagine in the present age of giant political contributions by wealthy patronage), even then as still happens now, it was even possible for wealthy students of little training and low skill to still give the best teachers lots of money.  Why? In my opinion,    students wanted to make claim to the teacher's dynasty without doing the rigorous work necessary.  In fairness however, in many cases they could not travel to where the teacher is.  How could they, they teacher was probably traveling themselves. So perhaps, the student learns from a disciple but still gets their name on the list of Master's disciples.  In my opinion,  nowdays, the “best”  teachers are in great demand and one sees them traveling a great deal.  

Over the years, I was told  that rich "businessmen" in far away places think nothing of shelling out thousands of dollars.  Why else (in my opinion)  but to get their names in the halls of discipleship and recognition. In my opinion, the dynasties of the best teachers are left in the hands of senior disciples who manage the brunt of the teaching on the home fronts and elsewhere.   In other words, we have been in the era where Tai Chi is in demand by masses of people for some time. In my opinion, whether that demand is for rigorous training or personal aggrandizement seems to be up to the proclivities of the students.  It has become a consumers market.

Of course in all fairness (in my opinion)  teachers "have many mouths to feed".  Teacher's have to feed their families, take care of their own children, bills to pay, etc.  Someone once had the nerve to ask me what I did with the money I earned from teaching.  Rather than getting angry, I simply said, "I spend it on food and gasoline to get here".  

For many years I sought out these teachers and I went to where they were located.  I found fortunately then that I was on the cusp of the trend for learning. Video was just in its birth throes.  A couple  of my teachers were not traveling as extensively as they did later. With one, I remember forgetting  what I had learned  once I drove back to Buffalo.  There was no video available of what he did.  Even today, the organization (in my opinion) is so secretive that no comprehensive video of the teacher is available.  One goes to local chapters and learns from disciples who have learned from other disciples, etc., etc.  Talk about changing things and in each chapter they do things differently than other chapters.  In my opinion, corners are cut here, corners are cut there, bearing little resemblance to what I struggled to learn in person from the teacher. 

 I still managed to do it without a video however, but I was fooling myself that I did not need one.   In another instance, one of my teachers did make a video. I felt I could buy the video and learn the complete form from it.  I did succeed.  I still went there for lessons however and came to class more than 1x a week.  That was at great personal expense and even danger because of weather concerns.  I tried that, and I took part in classes that he taught.  I was  able to get his personal critique as well.  He is in very great demand, and in my opinion it seemed like he was concerned about the next class in some other location.  That is understandable because there are many financial demands, perfectly understandable. 

Since that time I became a student of Master Stephen Hwa.  I always remember him saying that if I could not travel to where he is, I could study the DVD and we “could get together from time to time”.  Not only did I not have to go to him, he came and visited me.  He arranged for a place for us to meet inside as well.  I have subsequently visited him in Rochester many times over the years.  He has subsequently visited me many times over the years…never has he charged a dime for his personal critique.  He also urges students to send their videos of themselves for critique...no charge.   I became his first certified teacher .  The important thing however, is I still use the DVD extensively, over and over and over , again and again.  Viewing after viewing reveals things that I glossed over on previous viewings and my practice is enriched time and again.

With my own experience in mind,  perhaps you will find your decision a little easier to make.

Jim R.

...and starring Internal Energy

               The image will, with "internal motion" take you to another website if you click on it.

I recently had a chance to "define" what Classical Tai Chi is to a new class that I am teaching.  "Classical Tai Chi", I said, "is the art of internal motion, directed by internal discipline and starring internal energy".  To which one of the students moaned "ooohhh boy".  If I had to guess what she meant by that I would say that she felt the definition was complicated.  From my point of view however, it may not only be the most succinct definition I have ever used but also the most accurate as well.

The definition also encompasses the eventual goals of learning Tai Chi whereas the numerous and let's face it, the corny definitions of Tai Chi have never done it justice.  I got the "what is Tai Chi?" question from someone at a party just a couple days ago.  Instead of giving me a chance to even say anything, the woman's husband interrupted and said, "Tai Chi is a meditation".  I felt like saying:  That's only one kernel of "corn" out of the box.  The "corny definition" box includes "its for relaxation", "it's like Yoga", "it's a dance", etc., etc., ad nauseum.  Those one faceted definitions, I'm afraid, have been so overused and are so corny they have gone completely stale.  Just as I have suspected all these years the public perception is in the death grip of the dreaded "cliche' disease".

I quote Tem Horwitz from Tai Chi Chuan: The Technique of Power. He feels that cliche's are metaphors of our social and emotional lives:  From pp 14, "Cliche's are a curious phenomenon.  They are truths universally evident,  yet cheapened by constant repetition and simplification until they lose the substance of their meaning.  This has been the sad fate, within the last few decades of much of the  Oriental philosophy that has found its way westward.

What Horwitz says about cliche's is tailor made for Tai Chi.  A new definition is overdue in the public perception.   I can't help but thinking how ironic it is that my definition is not "new".  It is simply the correct one that I got from my teacher Master Stephen Hwa. 

Here in extrapolated version are the components of the definition, courtesy of "Uncovering the Treasure" a book by Stephen Hwa, Ph.D. Internal movement (neigong)  "directs" external motion (waigong). Waigong is soft and relaxed  while neijing (internal energy) moves in the body. Neigong  becomes the "engine" that drives the Tai Chi Form.

In  "Pivot", Y.L. Yip and Leroy Clark stated that Wu's Tai Chi was called "The Solar Plexus School" .  "Pivot" was a lengthy article in Qi Journal about the 1950's fight between Wu Kung-i and Ch'en K'e-fu.  In "Uncovering the Treasure", Stephen Hwa quotes Jou, Tsung Hwa.  From: "The Tao of  Tai Chi Chuan, The Second Stage".  "The hallmark of the second stage is the use of the torso method.  Torso method is characterized by use of the body, specifically the waist and spine, to initiate and empower the movements of the arms and legs...Only those who reach this stage can truly be said to be practicing Tai Chi, yet these are few indeed."

Few indeed as well, are those that will quote this:  "Tai Chi is the art of internal motion, directed by internal discipline and starring internal energy".   Ah well, It is still gratifying to know that even though I am among the few and am  squarely on the right path. I am taking the first step along side my teacher in righting the good ship Tai Chi.  It is a Herculean effort to be sure but the cliche' does say: "Journeys of a thousand miles..."

Book Review: Uncovering The Treasure On The Classical Tai Chi Path

"Create Space" has this book, please click on the link below this line:

Uncovering the Treasure

Classical Tai Chi's Path to Internal Energy & Health by Stephen Hwa

"Amazon.com" has this book. Type in the name Stephen Hwa in their search field.

An Editorial Review of Master Stephen Hwa's Book

Modern Tai Chi teaching has been shrouded in ethereal language as if logical thinking and scientific analysis do not apply to Tai Chi. Without a rational framework, Tai Chi practice has degenerated into multitudes of forms varying from a slow dancing exercise to tight fisted, muscle-bulging external martial exercise. Many of them contain harmful movements. In the long term, these movements will cause problem for the practitioner rather than improve their health. The rational and scientific discourse presented in this book enables readers to have a different perspective and mindset about Tai Chi from what is preached today. Readers will acquire sufficient knowledge here to be able to critically evaluate what is beneficial and what should be avoided. This book is a distillation of the Wu style teaching from Young Wabu (student of Wu Chien Chuan) and thirty five years of discovery through practicing and teaching by Master Stephen Hwa. It offers personal experience and insight into Master Hwa's road of discovery. Much of the information is spread throughout Master Hwa's DVD series, his webpage, and his Forum. He reorganized the information so that the multitude of topics in Tai Chi, such as internal energy or internal power, Large Frame Form, Compact Form, Square Form, body posture, Fajin, Qi Gong, Silk Reeling exercise, martial art applications, health benefits, and etc. fit into a concise and easy to understand format. In conjunction with the Classical Tai Chi DVD series, this road is open to anyone who sets their mind to travel it.

Another letter to my teacher

Dear Master Hwa,

Hope the recent trip to the mainland was fruitful and that air travel remained healthy.

This has puzzled me since we made "Tao of M.A.". In the DVD you refer to the word "Bing or Peng" as "push". This push you go on to say is either "high" or "middle" which is also known as "one inch punch". I agree whoever it was who said that discussions of Peng are like trying to talk about any color, red, yellow, etc. It will make no sense unless one can give specific examples. As I said in the previous blog as well, the Tai Chi Classics have no tutelage on how to do Peng, Lu, Ji, etc. and of course reading what someone from another style has written most often is interpretation from an "external" point of view, not "internal".

Additionally, it is kind of useless to say to a student (although many teachers do, without referring to these principles) that one can do a specific application for Peng or even Lu, Ji, etc. So in light of what I said about discussing "color" without giving examples, here goes:

• Peng is often thought of as the application ""ward off" in push hands, etc., it is not "ward off", Peng is merely an intrinsic quality of the application "ward off". People engage in this much the way people say "tingling fingers" are Qi. "Tingling fingers" are not Qi, they are evidence of Qi, much the same way a "red", lit, light bulb is not electricity.
• Peng is referred to in the Tai Chi Classics as a "spring like" energy, this quality of "spring like" is present in all the other "methods", Lu, Ji, etc. This "spring like" quality sounds remarkably like internal energy which is generated through internal discipline in movement. It is a necessary but not sufficient quality to performing any of the other methods correctly. Hence, one cannot say they uprooted an opponent using "Cai" or "Tsai" (pick, pull, pluck) if the quality of Peng was not present as well.
• Peng as any application is not a valid quality in for example "ward off" if external force, eg. pushing with legs, extraneous movement at shoulder, disconnect at shoulder, tension in arms, etc.
• Peng has an intrinsic "rising" quality that is only generated correctly from using internal discipline. The "rising" is referred to in Tai Chi Classics as analagous to "water supporting a boat", etc. I think you referred to this before as Intrinsic "upward quality" that things like "quarter body movement" can induce. Example being, I do one inch punch and I feel that my arm, palm, fist, kind of spontaneously goes upward.
• Peng as quality of say "ward off" is also rather expansive. It seems to originate at my core and seems to "fill" me up like a tire. When I ward off an opponent (hold them away from me) Peng is in direct line with them, when I move forward, Peng rises at where I touch them, it goes up. I use less force than he does but once he is off balance, I can add more. So Peng has these Yin and Yang qualities however dependent on the quality of one's internal energy.
• Peng with such Yin and Yang in consideration can keep an opponent from getting to my core and as such is basis for any abilities I have with "Ting Jin". If my arm is too tense for example, I cannot have quality of Peng, since I cannot "ting jin" the opponent. I simply am too tense, therefore cannot "sense" what opponent is doing. Conversely, Peng can with Yang in consideration be essential quality of "one inch punch" and as such have that "rising" quality even in the burst of power.

Hi Jim: What you said about Peng is very correct. Especially the upward motion is an excellent observation. I discuss that in the book as you will see.

Master Hwa

Benefits of Tai Chi, imagined or otherwise

Classical Tai Chi Studio, Buffalo NY

Mr. Roach

I am the son of one of your students and I am a graduate physical therapy student at Ithaca College and I am currently taking a class called Wellness and Prevention. One of my assignments in this class is to interview an instructor of an alternative medicine/exercise field of study. I remember my father talking to me about the benefits that your Tai Chi instruction has provided him and I immediately thought that an interview with you might provide me with a new and interesting outlook on a different form of wellness. If you could help me out by answering a few questions regarding your field of Tai Chi, I would be greatly appreciative. The interview has to be handed in on Friday so I would be extra appreciative if you could respond to this by thursday night. If time constraints or your schedule do not allow this, I understand and would appreciate a response just so I can know to look elsewhere for another interview. The questions are as follows:1. How did you first begin practicing Tai Chi? Was there a specific event causing you to begin practicing Tai Chi? 2. After many years of practicing, what is your most valued benefit in terms of wellness?Have there been any negatives to practicing Tai Chi, if so what is the largest? 3. What do you hope that those who take your classes will gain from the experience?

I first began practicing Tai Chi in 1976. The Taoist Tai Chi Society was the first location in the U.S., and the Yellow Pages provided me with the address. I thought that all Tai Chi was the same in those days and by the same I mean at least similar to why I was motivated to study. I was motivated to study after reading "Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts by Donn Draeger and Robert W. Smith. Smith was a former CIA agent that ended up studying Tai Chi in Taiwan. I left the "Taoists" after 2 years and studied Yang Style for awhile with a Chinese Family in Toronto, then on to Wu Style with Wu Kwong Yu in Toronto, and finally with Stephen Hwa Ph.D. in Rochester, NY.

 click here: Tai Chi.

There was no specific event, except that I had started Shorin Ryu Karate while in the Marine Corps and always maintained a great interest in the martial arts.  I think ego brings us to the door, and the discipline takes care of the rest. The key is not to let the ego stand in the way of progress.

I came to find out over years and several teachers that all Tai Chi is not the same, nor is it of equal benefit in terms of health. I had novice teachers that did not know much about it and famous teachers that were interested in teaching it as a martial art. I now have a teacher for the past 7 years that truly believes the ultimate purpose of Tai Chi is "longevity while living in the springtime of one's life", I believe that as well. I am 63, he is 76, his teacher lived to be 101, dying in 2005. I feel the greatest benefit has been the vigor and zest for life that the Tai Chi has bestowed. I very, very rarely get sick, and when I do, my recuperative powers are excellent.

I teach people that are decades younger than me, some of them have been famous martial artists in their own right. It is a fair deal, it gives back what one puts into it. I suppose the largest negatives are what I have seen in terms of both teachers and students.  I think this negative is directly proportional to the amount of misinformation promulgated by the popular media. 

I hope that those who take my classes will come away with not only some appreciation for the discipline and work that it entails. But, I also hope they will come away with an appreciation for what the discipline and work can offer. Seeing Tai Chi as a panacea without seeing what it really entails in order to do it is, as my teacher says, called "being a frog in the bottom of a well". All the frog can do is croak to anyone who will listen "how big the sky is". In other words a myopic view or perspective on things.

The Tai Chi itself is "selfless" I hope those that I pass it to can be the same. "Things in this universe endure because they are selfless". I have students now who I have great hopes for. My hopes are they will come to understand that doing service and justice to Tai Chi is the key to getting the benefit. 

Good luck,

Jim R.

Posture 13.)Carry (Golden) Tiger to Mountain

It is 2010 and the Chinese Zodiac describes it as the Year of the Golden Tiger. This February 14, 2010 begins it Sunday morning at 12 midnight and it will end on February 2, 2011. This is the first day of the Lunar New Year, the New Moon. By the way Happy Valentine’s Day, for they are one and the same. It is said that inviting the Golden Tiger into your home, one can capture his Qi for the coming year. Have a happy, prosperous and healthy New Year.

The video we bring today is of Posture 13.) Carry Tiger to Mountain.

Important points to remember:

• The waist initiates the drop movement of the arms

• Turning on the weighted foot requires a solid structure on the turning side of the body.

• Any flexion weakens the move and may cause discomfort in the knee joint.

• Make certain to lift the toe to allow smooth pivoting on the heel.

• If carried out correctly, one will sense the power in this movement.

Using too much force are we?

Push hands is not "Trench Warfare", here's a couple of experiments to show the dangers inherent in using too much force, too much resistance, too much rigidity, etc. I think overall however what is implicit in the experiments is that trying push hands before internal discipline becomes 2nd nature will frequently result in trench warfare.


A student of mine recently told me that he attempted an "experiment" using the Ward Off movement that I have shown him. He stated he had a much larger person push against his arm but also states that he was pushed back. I should state that I have shown Ward Off to my students while they pushed on my outstretched arm. Each time I demonstrate, I reiterate that my arm is not rigid and that I am using a minimum force necessary to ward off their push. Often, students will push "off center" on my arm and I still continue to ward them off but point out that I am redirecting their push. In other words, I am being discriminating in the amount of force that I use. I think the use of an image to explain this might be of help here.

Take an air filled ball and float it in some water, now try to sink the ball by pressing down on it from the top. The ball does not push back with a rigid force, yet it supports your press. If you press off center on the ball however, it rotates and your arm goes lurching forward and to the side. This is what I mean by "off center" push and redirecting the opponents force.

By saying that my arm is not "rigid", I mean that it is not stiffened up to any degree. The student cannot remember whether he stiffened up his arm but my guess is that is what happened. Pushing slightly on his outstretched arm I see this happening myself. I would recommend to any student to try an experiment that Master Hwa has recommended in Forum 11, previously: "Try to press the back of your hand against a door frame, just like you are blocking an opponent's arm. Do you find that one side of your forearm muscle is energized while the other side muscle is relaxed?"

People report:

• Tightened forearm and back arm
• Tightened whole arm
• Resistance from door jam which seems to push them back

Please take the time to click this link I call "Door Jam" experiment , read the results and it is the very first article . I think it gives good insight into why the student got "pushed around".

Classical Taiji Video Instructions for: 8. White Crane Spreads Wings 白鶴亮翅, 9. Brush Knee Push Step Left & Right 4 Times 摟膝拗步左右四度

Many thanks to Joe Milne and Master Hwa for this great information they published in Forum 17...
At the bottom of this Blog is a video with subtitles on how to perform ROUND FORM 8. White Crane Spreads Wings 白鶴亮翅, 9. Brush Knee Push Step Left & Right 4 Times 摟膝拗步左右四度. There are numerous clips here and all are performed in slow motion with overlay written instructions. One should pick an arbitrary direction such as North and start there, with the turning done to the primary and secondary directions such as North West, East, etc.

The following are really written instructions for the Square Form but should give practitioners much in the way of insight to the nuance of the movements.

8. White Crane Spreads Wings 白鶴亮翅
9. Brush Knee Push Step Left & Right 4 Times 摟膝拗步左右四度

Posture 9 – Brush Knee Push Step
White Crane and Brush Knee, Push

A little History of Classical Tai Chi Blog 6

Young Wabu and Wu Jianquan Hong Kong  Square Form and Round Form, are the primary course of study in Classical Tai Chi (See picture above) Grandmaster Yang Wabiu (Young Wabu) is spoken about in the  as being "Dr. Young" and Wu Jian Quan is referred to as Mr. Wu. It speaks of how Wu Jianquan developed the "small frame (small step)" from the "large frame (large step)"...and more. Dr. Stephen Hwa who is my teacher is featured in the Square and Round Form link in the above paragraph. He also studied with Young Wabu (Dr. Young made his living as an Osteopath in Hong Kong before moving to Rochester, NY and Dr. Hwa studied over 30 years with him. Visiting Young Wabu's house for a memorial service a few years ago, I had quite a discussion with both Dr. Hwa and Young Wabu's daughter Sonia about this history) A little different perspective on Classical Tai Chi 

Mr. Chow: "Yes, we both started Tai Chi Chuan in 1949. " Stephanie: "Who was your teacher?" Mr. & Mrs.: "Dr. Young" Stephanie: "He was teaching Wu Style Tai Chi?" Mrs. Chow: "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Stephanie: "Because I know Yang Style is very popular now." Mr. Chow: "Dr. Young was last student of Mr. Wu who started Wu Style Tai Chi in Hong Kong." Stephanie: "Why and how is Wu different from the other forms? How is it different from Yang or Chen?" Mr. Chow: "Mr. Wu, he was yang (master) with big steps. After sixty years he developed smaller steps." Mrs. Chow: "He thinks when you getting old you don't like to do big steps. See?" Mr. Chow: "Don't expend the energy. We want to get more energy not to expend." Stephanie: "So, the circle (in Wu Style) is smaller. Does that mean the energy intensifies inside? You once told me, Mr. Chow, that our style is healing tai chi and you can feel the warmth emanating through the fingertips and sometimes people lay hands and make people feel better. I've seen you do that." Mr. Chow: "Yes, yes." Stephanie: "And you get it from the chi?" Mr. Chow: "Energy." Mrs. Chow: "Tan-tien." (Area of chi energy) Stephanie: "Which are about two fingers beneath the navel?" Mr. Chow: "Important with this energy is your angle and timing, co-ordinate." Mrs. Chow: "Together." Stephanie: "Your angle and timing. And that's why our tai chi takes such a long time to learn when compared to other styles. Our angles are very important?" Mr. & Mrs.: "Yes, yes." Mr. Chow: "This is very scientific." 

Stephanie: "When we learn, we're taught Right Hand Square Form first." Mrs. Chow: "Mr. Chow, you tell them why! Must teach them square using numbers (counting the steps) because it's easier to remember." Mr. Chow: "Never gets lost!" Stephanie: "Mr. Chow it was your idea to count while you were teaching?" Mr. Chow: "Yes, I started. Even square. The old-fashioned don't teach square! When your teacher decided you were a very good student and you could become a teacher, then would teach you square." Mrs. Chow: "Square is a good foundation." Mr. Chow: " We turn it upside down (referring to teaching square before the round). The square let the student really understand first (the tai chi form.)" Stephanie: "So you did that or did your teacher turn it around?" Mr. Chow: "Ya, ya." Stephanie: "So your teacher Dr. Young. " Mr. Chow: "Mr. Wu's family even now, only teach round, no square!" Stephanie: "They bend deeply and it looks different from our round."

Mr. Chow: "Mr. Wu when the Japanese attacked, (he) came from Shanghai to Hong Kong. My teacher lived in his house all day long. He taught one student at a time. He (Mr. Wu) taught our teacher square first and ordered him to teach square first." Stephanie: "So that's how it started. That was a big change. Now, we learn Right Hand Square first, then Right Hand Round. People think that round is beautiful but I think square is beautiful, too. But the most important aspect is to always practice both. Then the student is taught Left Hand Square and Left Hand Round. Why is that?" Mrs. Chow: "Because of the circle, you know!" Mr. Chow: "Because of yin and yang, contrast and balance." Stephanie: "I think that's good, it exercises the other side of your brain." Mrs. Chow: "Yes, yes!" Stephanie: "I remember when I learned Right Hand Square and then when I began to learn Left Hand Square, I thought I should know what I was doing. But I would get very mixed-up as if I was exercising some other part of my brain. And I do feel more balanced now." Mrs. Chow: "Some people difficult to learn the left." Stephanie: "You have to once again have the patience." Mrs. Chow: "Yes." 

Stephanie: "What was the school's name in Hong Kong where you learned tai chi?" Mr. & Mrs. "No, no. No name, just Mr. Young." Stephanie: : "How long were you students of his?" Mr. & Mrs. "Seventeen years, sometimes two times a week." Stephanie: "When did you both start teaching?" Mrs. Chow: "Teaching?" Stephanie: "Teaching." Mr. & Mrs. "After we moved here." Stephanie: "So you never taught in Hong Kong, tai chi?" Mrs. Chow: "No! We were too busy to teach art." 

Stephanie: "What year did you move to America?" Mr. Chow: "1967" Stephanie: "In 1967, you came to Miami?" Mr. Chow: "No, no, no. We came to New York." Mrs. Chow: "The end of 1968." Mr. Chow: "We came to United States invited by TWA for art exhibit in Kennedy Airport."

Blog 5 Video of Basic Walking for New Students...it's not "Like" anything you've done before

THREE BLIND MEN AND AN ELEPHANT

Can any of them formulate a good "concept" much less a "true" one of what the elephant is? There is a saying in Chinese (pinyin) which is zhǐ lù weí mǎ…”pointing at a deer and calling it a horse”…literally twisting the truth. This is only remedied by wǒ zuò wǒ liǎo jiě…I do and (only then can I say) I understand. The basic walking we are going to show below is not "like" anything you have done before and neither is the vast majority of the Internal Discipline we show in this Blog... 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. What beginning students run up against however is the desire to conceptualize something that is based almost entirely on an individual's personal experience. 3 blind men will surely each have a different "concept" of an elephant when touching it for the 1st time, how should the zoo keeper provide a "concept" of the elephant for them by mere explanation? Won't their "concept" be considerably different in 1,3,5 years if they faithfully come back each day and touch more of the elephant each time?

The other problem is that a lack of a concept sometimes seems to spur students to 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. It is only 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?

What the blind men actually said:
“This queer animal is like our straw fans swinging back and forth to give us a breeze. However, it’s not so big or well made. The main portion is rather wispy.”
“No, no!” the first blind man shouted in disagreement. “This queer animal resembles two big trees without any branches.”
“You’re both wrong.” the third man replied. “This queer animal is similar to a snake; it’s long and round, and very strong.”
How they argued! Each one insisted that he alone was correct. Of course, there was no conclusion for not one had thoroughly examined the whole elephant. How can anyone describe the whole until he has learned the total of the parts.
(Kuo, Louise and Kuo, Yuan-Hsi, Chinese Folk Tales, 1976, Celestial Arts: Millbrae, CA, pp. 83-85.)