Standing Qigong

I recently bought a book called Standing Qigong by Noel Plaugher.

It's a non jargon friendly guide to Zhan Zhuang for health and martial arts. It provides good instruction and I was especially heartened to read that his Xing Yi teacher also told him to think of nothing when standing San Ti posture.

The book is published by Singing Dragon and you can find out more here

Short Arms

In Tai Chi, we are told that we should use the whole body and not exert force purely from the arms.

You can start to work on this by imagining your arms end at your elbows

This should stop you from overextending in postures, for example, push.

Once you have got the idea then you can work on the arm ending at the shoulder, so there are no arms.

Think about it..

Keep Things Simple

I used to over intellectualise matters concerning tai chi.

Now I don't.

It doesn't help. It's a façade.

As an example, part of my training in Sun style is to stand in San Ti posture. When I was first introduced to it, I rushed to my books and researched it, looking at the various visualisations and what I could be focusing on. And there is a lot!

I discussed this with my teacher, a disciple of the late Sun Jian Yun.

" Just stand, don't think about anything" was the advice.

So I did. I moved away from my previous practises which involved focusing on different points and connecting them.

Over time I have found a clarity in the Sun style tai chi that I hadn't experienced before. When I practise the simple movements there is a wonderful directness about them. I am energised like never before.

This is of course just my personal experience. But I have found that overthinking doesn't help. Just keep it simple and experience directly. Try it.

Xing Yi Ai Shen Pao

I like this. Nice 2 person form and application. You can learn a lot about timing and footwork when performing 2 person sets. Look beyond the choreography!