Tai chi for not fighting - "elbow, shoulder, white crane spreads wings"

Combat Tai Chi - Crane Spreads Its Wings

Tai Chi : White Crane Spreads its Wings & Raise Hands and Step Forward i...

Tai Chi, Martial Application of Kao, Shoulder Stroke

Application for Shoulder Stroke

TAI CHI Shoulder Stroke methods

Taiji Shoulder Strike

楊氏太極 提手上式 實戰應用: Application of Yang-Style Tai-chi-Chuan : Lifting the Hand

Tai Chi Wu Hao Fajin and Applications Lift Hands, White Crane, Brush Kne...

yang tai chi - strum lute app: na

【Cheng Man-Ching Taichi 37 form】 Lecture Series 5 : Lift Hands ~ White C...

Chen Zhonghua Single Whip/Turn Left Application

Single Whip Application Explanations 20210513

Tai Chi Wu Hao Single Whip Applications 单鞭用法 by Master Jimmy Wong

【Cheng Man-Ching Taichi 37 form】 Lecture Series 4 : Single Whip

Yang style single whip and applications (Eng)

3 Inspiring Taoist stories ☯️

Yang Tai Chi - Grasp Bird's Tail #2 of 8

Application: Grasp The Sparrow's Tail, Yangjia Michuan Taijiquan

Principles in Grasp Sparrow's Tail

【Cheng Man-Ching Taichi 37 form】 Lecture Series 3 : Grasp Sparrow's Tail

Important point for cheng man ching form practice

【Cheng Man-Ching Taichi 37 form】 Lecture Series 2 : Grasp Sparrow's Ward...

Top Tai Chi Techniques | Ward off & Rollback Tai Chi Technique (2019)

Complete Yang Style Tai Chi Long Form Applications - Step by Step - Part 1

TAI CHI Applications_2 Ward-off Left The Peng Method_F. Hainry (Disciple...

Ward Off Left

 Click on the link below for a pictorial description of ward off left in the Cheng Man Ching form:

www.taichi-exercises.com/the-left-ward-off-sequence/

applications of tai chi ward-off left. Cheng Man Ching style tai chi

Master Yu Xiao Lin - Fa Jing Demonstration

Five Willows Tai Chi CMC 37 Postures Front

Getting Right With Tao

Remembering my first lesson

September 1981 - my first tai chi lesson was in Manchester. The teacher was Danny Connor, a well known martial artist who had a martial arts shop called Oriental World in Swan Street.

He taught the now popular 24 step form. In that first lesson we also did some standing in the classic Hold the Ball posture with the arms rounded in front of your chest. We stood with or eyes closed. I felt energy very strongly and entered into a quiet state. 

I thought we had only been standing for a minute or so when I heard the instruction to open the eyes and relax. Turned out everyone else had heard the instruction the first time except me and Danny stood in front of me waving his hands to no avail. A fellow student told me had I had been standing for 5 minutes. We had a laugh about it.

Anyway from that moment on I was hooked on Tai Chi. 

Do you remember your first lesson?

How Taoism can help you enjoy life! ☯️

Qigong: Cultivating Your Life Energy for Health & Well-Being with Mimi K...

Old Photos

A bit of history! 

These are old photos from a Republic of China Tai Chi Handbook,

Top left is a photo of Dr. Chi Chiang Tao who was my teacher's instructor.  In the other photo the bottom two are of Dr. Chi practicing  San Shou.

 

郑子太极37式应用法 Zheng Zi (CMC) Taiji 37 Forms Applications

Cheng Man-ch'ing's 37 form application

Grandmaster Zheng Xian Qi and the Tradition of Huang Style T’ai Chi Ch’uan

This post is an interview conducted in 2006 with Grandmaster Zheng Xian Qi by my former classmate/internal martial arts teacher/writer Heron Beecham. This was originally written with a view to publishing in Tai Chi International Magazine but was considered to be a bit too short at the time.

You might find it interesting and there is good advice regardless of the style you practise. I believe Grandmaster Zheng Xian Qi passed away in 2019. 

Grandmaster Zheng Xian Qi and the Tradition of Huang Style T’ai Chi Ch’uan

 

Each morning in Taipei’s 2-28 Memorial Park, Master Zheng Xian Qi (Jeng Shean Chih 鄭顯氣), a quietly spoken Fujianese man in his mid-eighties, continues the tradition of Huang style T’ai Chi Ch’uan, a variant of Yang style created by Huang Xing Xian (黃性賢), Cheng Man Ching’s famous ‘Malaysian student’* who taught in Taiwan and South East Asia.

 

Huang Xing Xian (1910-1992) was known throughout Asia for his internal power (old video footage shows him uprooting students via fluorescent light strips as proof that he wasn’t using force), and he was already a master of White Crane Boxing prior to studying with Cheng Man Ching. Huang subsequently combined  White Crane and T’ai Chi to create his own unique blend.

 

Zheng Xian Qi, a national pushing hands champion, and a practitioner of White Crane Boxing himself prior to leaving the Mainland, was Huang’s only formal disciple in Taiwan – as well as a junior student of Cheng’s. In spite of his advanced years, he is known on the island for his skills in tui shou and his ability to topple students less than half his age. 

 

Master Zheng is amongst the last of the old mainland boxers who moved to Taiwan at the close of the Chinese Civil War, and he is one of the few masters still teaching traditional Chinese gongfu based on non-forceful methods. Earlier this year, I had a chance to interview him:

 

Heron Beecham: Master Zheng, when did you first begin studying Chinese martial arts?

 

Zheng Xian Qi: I began studying gongfu when I was eighteen. At that time I was still in China, in Fujian Province. My first style was White Crane Boxing (Baihe Quan), in which I have had three different teachers. I then came to Taiwan during the civil war where I started learning T’ai Chi Ch’uan.

 

HB: What initiated your interest in the martial arts?

 

ZXQ: In China, before we had television, we used to have traditional storytellers who would go from place to place telling wushu stories. Listening to those stories sparked an interest. I also saw many different people training from an early age and I was really inspired by them.

 

HB: What different styles do you practice?

 

ZXQ: I practice Yang style T’ai Chi and two styles of White Crane, one of which includes Lohan Quan (Monk Fist).

 

HB: Can you talk a little about the styles you teach? 

 

ZXQ: There are four styles of White Crane Boxing: Fei He (Soaring Crane); Ming He (Whooping Crane); Su He (Nesting Crane) and Shi He (Feeding Crane). The main style I teach is Ming He. The style of T’ai Chi I teach is Yang, which is soft (sōng róu 鬆柔). In contrast, there is Chen style, which is harder. 

 

To begin with I trained in White Crane, and was already a good standard, but I didn’t really become effective until I combined it with T‘ai Chi. Once you put the two kinds together, your jin will be much more powerful; a few touches, and then your opponent will fall down. 

 

 

HB: What inspires you to keep practising?

 

ZXQ: Originally, I was inspired in my youth, but now I’m old. Every day I am at home with nothing to do; (laughs) an old person with nothing to occupy my time, so I keep practising.

 

HB: How does Huang style differ from Cheng Man Ching style?

 

ZXQ: Huang Xing Xian’s boxing is more like White Crane. He wasn’t so concerned about keeping Cheng Man Ching’s style; he wanted to create his own. Cheng Man Ching needed to take a step to push you, but because Huang Xing Xian had White Crane he didn’t need to. Many people watch Huang Xing Xian’s video and think it’s fake, but once you felt him, you knew it was true.

 

HB: Can you talk about what is important in tui shou? 

 

ZXQ: The most important thing is to relax (sōng 鬆). By relaxing, you can get power from the floor. 

 

I apply ‘gang rou bing zhi’ (soft and hard help each other/counter each others weaknesses). White Crane is effective on its own, but it’s hard. When I combined the two, my art took off. After this, the jin was more powerful. This happened with my teacher: when he arrived at classes, he would just touch people lightly and they would go flying. But if you wanted to move him, he could be just like stone. There was no way you could move him. He also had an amazing level of song–sometimes it was as though he was completely empty. He could be really soft. And when he was like that, he could just pull you.

 

HB: Huang Xing Xian was famed for his power. Where did that power come from?

 

ZXQ: Master Huang practiced day and night. He was continually practising, which is why he was able to be so amazing (Master Zheng then demonstrated how to push). You must apply song and not push forcefully. Then the power will come from the ground. It comes via the legs from the ground.

HB: What do you think are necessary factors for success when studying Chinese martial arts?

 

ZXQ: The most important factors are focus and practice. It is like the foundations of a house. It is important to have a root. You must take the basic movements of whatever system you study and really practise and do them correctly. The other thing is standing practice (zhàn zhuāng). Ultimately it doesn’t matter what style you do; the most important thing is that you really practise.

 

 

*Huang Xing Xian was originally from Fujian province but moved to Malaysia (via Taiwan and Singapore) in the 1960s. In Taiwan he is often referred to as Cheng’s Malaysian student’.

 

 Photos courtesy of Heron Beecham

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Martial Arts Training at an Advanced Age

Although this is written in the context of Judo it applies just as much to us "seasoned" Tai Chi students.

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Martial Arts Training at an Advanced Age: Below is an excerpt from a post that appeared at The Budo Bum , written by a seasoned judoka answering the question why he still trains at t...

Cook Ding's Kitchen: The Crane and Snake in Taijiquan

Cook Ding's Kitchen: The Crane and Snake in Taijiquan: At Thoughts on Tai Chi , there was a very good post looking at the crane and snake in Taijiquan. An excerpt is below. The full post may be r...

How to do Static Work

 Enjoy this from Scott Meredith's blog which focuses on the energetic aspect rather than structural freakism...

How to do Static Work

Systema Vlog Feb 21 - Relaxed Strikes 2

Systema Vlog Feb 21 - Relaxed Strikes Part One

Know

 

Know what it is that you want to achieve

Make sure

 

Make sure you have a method to investigate what you're working on. Otherwise it's just aimless practice.

Always

 

Always make sure that your practice is investigating something

Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) Wang Shu Chin

ZMQ37 Ben Lo Principles: 'Turn the Waist'

Cook Ding's Kitchen: High Performance Through Relaxation

Cook Ding's Kitchen: High Performance Through Relaxation: Below is an excerpt from a post that appeared at The Art of Manliness . It has to do with relaxation and high athletic performance. The fu...

Peaceful Warrior Full Body Training 5 Minute Workout

Yang Tai Chi San Shou - Partner Form - Part Four

Yang Tai Chi San Shou - Partner Form - Part Three

Yang Tai Chi San Shou - Partner Form - Part Two

Yang Tai Chi San Shou - Partner Form - Part One

Spirit

The word Spirit comes from the Latin "spirare" which means to breathe.

The book Breath by James Nestor explores mouth breathing versus nasal breathing and the effects these have on him. Are you a nose or mouth breather? 

There are some breathing exercises at the end of the book which you might find useful.

Breath

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Zheng ManQing (Cheng Man Ching) 37 Form as Neigong

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Zheng ManQing (Cheng Man Ching) 37 Form as Neigong: Scott Meredith was a senior student of the last Taijiquan master Ben Lo . Scott has recently produced a 2 hour video tutorial on using the 3...

Arrogance

 

Arrogance is to judge one's self worth by comparison with others.

Lee Holden Teaches James Nestor Qi Gong | Easy 25 Min Qi Gong for Better...

Softness

 

Softness is when your physicality no longer resists your energy.

John Kells 

Two Person "Dance" - Frame by Frame

Harmonize

 

"Harmonize with touch."

John Kells

Cook Ding's Kitchen: How to Become Anti-Fragile

Cook Ding's Kitchen: How to Become Anti-Fragile: A post at Zen Habits described a program to develop oneself to become anti-fragile. Below is an excerpt. The full post may be read here ....

Great Enso painting

 

Five Moving Forces

 The Five Moving Forces are:

• Fire
• Water
• Wood
• Gold
• Earth

In the first clip below Chungliang Al Huang explains these in more detail and the second clip is a sequence which embodies them.

Journey to the East [FULL FILM] - can modern problems have ancient solut...

100 Enso Paintings

 A talented friend of mine has created 100 minimalist Enso paintings which embody the tradition of the Zen Enso and Wabi  sabi together with Taoist and Buddhist philosophies. Mixing Eastern and Western traditions in both craftsmanship and contemplation, creating contemporary artwork.

To see and buy the paintings go to  www.adelecloony.co.uk/coloured-background

A percentage of sales goes to the Lelung Dharma Trust 

Liang ke quan on teaching internal martial arts

Chungliang "Al" Huang - Esalen Legacy

The Heart Treasure of Taijiquan

 Following on from my previous post, the book "The Heart Treasures of Taijiquan" is a translation of Master Ren Gang's teachings, translated by Mattias Daly.

I'm about halfway through it and it offers insightful expositions of principles. Although based on Yang style the principles are universal.

This is a great book (I'm not being paid to promote it) and as some might say "A must have".

It is on Amazon - see:

The Heart Treasure of Taijiquan

DDA Shanghai Camp 2009 - Yang style internal arts foundation skills

Stepping off the Mountain

 Often progress is likened to making our way up a mountain until we eventually reach the summit and our goals.

I remember discussing this with one of my teachers and he said " No, we are already at the top of the mountain. To progress or change we need the courage to step off it".

Release the Psoas

 Releasing the Psoas will make a tremendous difference to your Tai Chi. Releasing and relaxing the Psoas will assist in dropping your center of gravity and becoming more stable.

There are lots of different exercises on Youtube but I like the Essential Somatics one.

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Wu Family Style Taijiquan Documentary

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Wu Family Style Taijiquan Documentary: Below is a documentary on the Wu Family style of Taijiquan.

Why do you practise?

 So why do you practise Tai chi, Ba Gua, Xingyi etc?

This is my 40th year of practising Tai Chi. This consists of two distinct "styles" - traditional Sun and essentially Cheng Man Ching  approaches.

So what has kept it alive for me over the years? It's the energy. It hit me from the first moment. It has sustained me through thick and thin, especially when recovering from an operation for prostate cancer.

I find heartfelt joy in my Tai Chi. 

What about you?

Breathing in Tai Chi chuan

 this is a great post over on Thoughts on Tai Chi about breathing.

Read it here

Improve your Squatting

Ribs

 

Pay attention to the opening and closing of the ribs and where this is happening. 

Don't move like a brick. Be agile.

Pelvis

 Rather than tucking the pelvis which can bring about structural problems, unlock the knees and let the   pelvis relax down.

 Don't try and force it. Be natural and let go. 

GM Wang Pei Sheng Wu Style Taiji - Principles with subtitles

Just brilliant !

Tai Chi Balance and Flexibility Exercises Instruction

Franklin Kwong demonstrating Yang Tai Chi’s two person application form

Relaxing Upwards

 

Instead of relaxing from the top down, try it the other way.

So relax the feet first, then the ankles, calf muscles, thighs, belly, chest, shoulders, throat, jaw, eyes, forehead, top of the head.

The ground supports us and feeds up from below.

Top 10 Tai Chi Push hand - awesome tai chi chuan

Wu Style Taijiquan by Zheng Rong Guang (Cheng Wing Kwong; inside discip...

Love this old footage. 

Power Push Hands featuring Ma Yueh Liang

Connect

 

Connect your three dan tiens to those of the other person so you can receive from them

Do or Be

 

Don't do Tai chi. It's not a performance for medals etc.

Plough the depths of the principles and express them through you.

Be Tai chi.

Suspended from the Headtop

 Rather than thinking of being lifted from the headtop and pulling up,  think of the body hanging down from the headtop.

Dr Chi Chiang Tao

Softness

 

Softness is infinite

手杖护身法 Taiji Cane Form.

Old Taiji Master teach the essence of Taiji in the park(English and Chi...

T.T. Liang Performs 2-Person Tai Chi San Shou

Dance as Self Defence

 I remember watching the BBC series "The Way of the Warrior" back in the early 1980's and one of the episodes looked briefly at martial arts movements/applications hidden with classical Indian dance forms.

One of my Tai Chi teachers taught a two person San shou form which he called the dance. This required a lively spirit and nimble footwork so the post on Scott Park Phillip's website is an interesting exploration of dance as self defence.

The post can be read here

Systema Vlog Feb 21 - Relaxed Strikes Part One

Niu Chunming Yang Style Tai Chi

Nelda Shorts | James Nestor : A Simple Breathing Exercise to Lower Your ...

10 Guiding Principles for Tai Chi by T. T. Liang

Further to my last post, the link below takes you to a video of Master T.T. Liang reading from the book I mentioned.

Click here to watch the video.

Master T. T. Liang: A few words on Taijiquan

 One of the books that my teacher John Kells used to sell was T.T Liang's  "T'ai Chi Ch'uan for Health and Self Defense".

In the Preface there are some words on inspiration which can be found here

As it was written in the pre-internet era I do suspect it would not only include books and teachers but also clip/videos on social media sites.

I love seeing these and what people are up to.

In the end though it does all boil down to your personal practice.

Breath Movement Exercises

Breathing Alive

 Just finished re-reading Breathing Alive - a guide to conscious living by Reshad Feild.

It's a wonderful book of teaching stories to read and absorb. In the appendix he presents a simple breathing method involving the solar plexus and the heart center.

I bought my second hand copy in my local Oxfam bookshop. Inside the front cover a previous owner handwrote a quote by Deng Ming-Dao

" You breathe

   Frosting mountains white

   Exciting trees to verdant flame

   Dancing sparrows on your wing

   Swirling waves into long sighs

   You breathe

   And all things live"

Here's a link to the book from World of Books  https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/books/reshad-feild/breathing-alive/9781852300500

Commit

 

Commit to Softness

Transmission

Transmission passes from master to student without words. This is direct correspondence where the heart of one is passed on to the heart of another without using the medium of words.

Taken from  Tetsuzan: Bujinkan Densho

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Chinese Internal Martial Arts Master B.P. Chan

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Chinese Internal Martial Arts Master B.P. Chan: Below is an excerpt from an article that appeared at Kenneth Cohen 's QiGong Healing website, as a remembrance of one of his teachers,...

How to Plan Your Year Like a Taoist

Teeth

 Usually you'll come across points for posture as part of Tai Chi instructions such as suspend the headtop, relax the shoulders etc.

One of these is that the teeth should be touching. I was taught that the molar teeth should be touching lightly, don't grind them. This stops you from having a slack jaw.

What were you taught?

PUSH HANDS "Jade Girl Works at the Shuttles"