Tai Chi
Qigong, Tai Chi and Therapy – Similarities and Differences
Recently my friend Annette Evans, author of the “On Her Own” blog and website, referred to activities like going to the doctor, undertaking therapy and taking time for oneself as “radical self-care” and “the ultimate form of self-defense, defending yourself against your most intimate potential enemy: the demons in your own mind and the gremlins…
Read MoreThe Difference Between Tai Chi and Qigong
A prospective student asked the studio not long ago what the difference was between tai chi and qigong. I probably should have addressed this question earlier so people answering the phones would have a ready answer. But since experience is a thing you don’t get until right after you need it, here we are. The…
Read MorePractice
Ask any 100 tai chi students what the hardest part of tai chi is and I suspect the majority of answers you’ll get are variations of:o Memorizing the formo Getting the body position correcto Remembering the Ten Essential Principleso Doing well at push-handso Feeling the energy…and so on. These are important, but to my thinking…
Read MorePeng Jin
Now that we’ve begun in my Monday class to explore the possibilities and potential inherent in push-hands, the time has come to discuss “peng jin” or “ward-off-energy.” Like many Chinese words, “peng jin” is highly contextual. A meaningful direct translation to English is all but impossible. This author comes as close as I’ve seen to…
Read MoreFacebook Discussion Group Now Open
There’s a public Facebook group for the Tai Chi classes now:https://www.facebook.com/groups/240945434106562 It’s a better way to interact when we’re not together – if you have questions, that’s an ideal place to ask them as they occur to you. Likewise, it’s easy and quick to post resources, links and learning materials in a timely manner. The…
Read MoreAttack and Defend Don’t Exist
Scott Rodell (the guy in the blue tangzhuang) is a tai chi player and teacher, and one of the foremost scholars in Chinese swordsmanship anywhere in the world, including China. It’s no exaggeration to say that he’s as responsible as anyone else for returning Chinese sword to its “practical” origins from the visually-dazzling but impractical…
Read MorePhilosophy, spirituality and tai chi
Look through enough tai chi blogs or read enough tai chi texts and you’ll run across references to the “bagua,” the “Eight Trigrams” of the I Ching. It’s represented in the diagram below. A very simplified version of the Bagua symbol. Most are far more complicated. Without going into needless detail, this symbol is a…
Read MoreMusic
Among his many other accomplishments, Confucius is said to have been an archery instructor. If you want to know whether he considered this a career or whether it was just a side gig between studying the I Ching and writing the rules for an entire society, you’ll need to consult a better historian than I…
Read MoreMartial Arts and Self-Defense Are NOT the Same Thing
Back when I first introduced myself to the staff at East Wind, the studio owner asked me about the possibility of including self-defense training alongside tai chi instruction. I was hesitant to answer, largely because I didn’t quite know how to answer her. It’s taken a while to form a satisfactory response; it’s a valid…
Read MoreZhan Zhuang – the Only Shortcut in Tai Chi
Earlier I promised my students I’d share something about Zhan Zhuang – the “standing meditation” we briefly did at the end of tonight’s class. What I promised was an essay that goes into detail about what it is, why it works and why we should do it. Zhan Zhuang is a “supplemental” exercise to tai…
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