Motto

 Train to Live

 Live to Train

Benjamin Lo Teachings

Over on the Tabby Cat Gamespace blog, Scott Meredith has posted of Ben Lo's teachings on Tai Chi.

Ben Lo was a student of Cheng Man Ching.

The link is benjamin-lo-teachings

Yielding

 I was going through old emails and came across one from John Kells in 2005.

In it he talks about yielding:

"yielding can be described as giving way to an oncoming force such as giving way to oncoming traffic, or a blow aimed at your jaw. But it is important to understand that avoiding the energy coming toward you and preserving what you think you are, that is what you have been, is not yielding.

Somehow the energy has to be contacted in a way that does not spoil its characteristics before you have time to understand them. Without understanding you have less than 100% chance of making sense of it.

The understanding comes as you lay alongside this energy which requires softness so that it can seep sufficiently into you so you can understand from the core outwards without use of the thinking mind.

The softness has to be very active, not pudding like or sleepy, but entering and gracious and interested so that there is no element of rejection or avoidance.

When this energy reaches your heart then it is the heart that reacts with the truth of it, so that your decision can be true."

Daoism: Brief Introduction, Meditation and Daily Practice (Xiu Dao-1)

Yang Paired form 'sanshou boxing form' with english subtitles

【祥雲太極】：邱敏祥太極拳功

How to Loosen the Waist - Elephant Trunk

Secrets of Ch'eng Man Ch'ing Tai Chi

 The link below takes you a blog post on the deadly duels site about Ch'eng Man Ching's tai chi. It suggests you repeat the form a minimum of 5 times and up to 15 if the legs can take it.

How many times in a row do you repeat your form? Is there a reason for this?

I usually repeat my tai chi forms three times. The first one serves to open me up, the second for going deeper into the relaxation and energy and the third time for spirit.

secrets-of-cheng-man-chings-taiji-quan/

Appreciation of Sun-style Taiji Quan and Sword Routines

On this clip you can see the form slowed down and there's also a two person Ba Gua Sword practice.

Sun style Tai Chi - 2010

I started learning Sun style Tai Chi in 2005. This is me in 2010. All mistakes are mine.

I absolutely love this style. The form is usually done a bit faster but I tried slowing it down here. My late teacher David Martin studied directly with Sun Jian Yun and eventually became a formal disciple.

At the moment I try and do this form 6 times a day in two sessions of 3 forms.

Taijiquan Masters (Beijing, 1970's)

Fantastic old clip of different styles of Tai Chi.

The Thymus Chakra

 For those who are interested in the Thymus Chakra, the link below takes you to a really good article.

Thymus Chakra

If you want your Internal Martial Arts to Work: The Movable Center-line

The Surprising Power of Emptiness | TAOISM

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Taijiquan and Communism

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Taijiquan and Communism: The Yang 24 short form was developed at the behest of the Chinese Communist party. They wanted to develop and promote a standardized version...

Grand san shou de Yang shao-hou (san sau)

This is a lot more spirited that a lot of the over stylized versions I've seen.

Nanjing Central Martial Arts Academy 1930; 2-person combined t'ai chi an...

Great stuff, love this.

Random Thought

 With all that's happening in the media world, Covid-19, Politics, Egos, Divisiveness, Manipulation etc. , I'm turning off my phone, computer and TV.

Tuning out to tune in to the energy accessed through my T'ai Chi. Focus on releasing tension and embracing softness.

Exercises from Clouds over Qingcheng Mountain

 Over on the Singing Dragon blog you can find this post which has three simple exercises for relaxation.

The link is here: http://singingdragon.com/sdblog/2020/10/clouds-over-qingcheng-mountain-posting-exercises-to-try/

Sun-style Boxing Master Cheng Bingjun's Lesson Record

Stepping in Sun Style Taiji

 In Sun style Taiji, the front foot should pull up the back foot when stepping forwards.

On no account does the back foot take a leisurely step up. This is what happens when you take the engine out of the form and replace it with what amounts to a pretty flourish.

Real martial arts are not about looking pretty.

Always avoid flourishes.

Infusion

 

For anyone who is interested in the books by Scott Meredith, he has put out a graphic manual, available on Amazon.

See https://cattanga.typepad.com/tabby_cat_gamespace/2020/10/infusion-the-graphic-training-manual.html

You can find it on Amazon in the UK.

Don't bob up and down

 One of the lessons drilled into me was not to bob up and down in my form. 

The torso should continuously be sinking into the legs, even when there is natural rising, for example, after a lowering posture and one should especially pay attention when kicking.

When the weight of the torso is sinking the kinetic energy is stored, if you bob up and down then it is dissipated needlessly and the form becomes an empty gesture.

The Tao of Pooh

 The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff was published in the early 1980s. It explains Taoism through Winnie the Pooh and it's one of my favourite books.

I came across this audio clip on Youtube and the book is available on Amazon.

You can find out more about the author on his website www.benjaminhoffauthor.com/

Umbrella as an Improvised Weapon

Internal Gong Fu: Mastering Internal Gongfu: Are You Ready? The Series

Internal Gong Fu: Mastering Internal Gongfu: Are You Ready? The Series: The question asked by many internal gongfu practitioners is, “Why does it take so long to get it?” To this, the typical response is, “If get...

Getting Older: How to Keep Energised like a Taoist Immortal | Tea Time T...

Sufi Inspired Meditation and Breathing

The Tao of Social Change

Not just about bending the Knees

 I used to be asked how did my arms rise at the beginning of my form without me lowering my body, bending the knees and then rising to propel the arms.

Tai Chi is propelled movement but not always in the obvious way. By sinking and relaxing my weight/bodymind/energy to the soles of my feet there would be a corresponding pulse from the ground that would come up through my body into my arms.

Play with that.

Three Dantiens

When I started learning Tai Chi my teacher would refer to the three dantiens in the body and connecting them. 

You can read more about them and other practices in the excellent book T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Meditation by Da Liu.

The link below gives you a short overview of them and their locations and properties.

TaiChi/Points/DanTien

Prof. Cheng Man Ching and Master T.T.Liang Springfield College Demo 1966

Yin Yang: Master Gu shares 2 powerful ideas

Meditation: Tai Chi Meditation for self-healing

Cheng Man-ch’ing’s advice for beginning Tai Chi students

Cheng Man-ch’ing’s advice for beginning Tai Chi students

Talking Chen Taijiquan with David Gaffney: Strength Training in Taijiquan

Talking Chen Taijiquan with David Gaffney: Strength Training in Taijiquan: Strength Training in Taijiquan By David Gaffney First appeared in strength & martial arts magazine ...

Sun-style Taiji Sword Practice with partner '孙氏太极剑对练'

Globalisation and the 'Internal Alchemy' in Chinese Martial Arts: The Transmission of Taijiquan to Great Britain

 The title of this post is a Research article by Alexandra Ryan published in Easts (East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal. It is dated 2008.

An interesting read and but it doesn't mention John Kells (1940-2016) who established the British T'ai Chi Ch'uan Association in the late 1970s. This was London centric and never really took off in the way the title suggests although some of his students went on to teach and set up their own associations/groups in Bristol and Wales. John Kells taught numerous classes, 5 days a week and weekend sessions with hundreds of new students enrolling each year until the late 1980s.

Although he was my teacher I would say this is a startling omission when the article can reference Paul Crompton and Gerda Geddes and John Kells predates many later figures in the development of T'ai Chi Ch'uan in the UK. John Kells was an early pioneer in the teaching of T'ai Chi Ch'uan in the UK and should be recognised as such. 

The article is based on the author's PHD thesis so it may be that John Kells is included in that. I couldn't find an open access for it. It is entitled 'Our only uniform is the spirit' : embodiment, tradition and spirituality in British Taijiquan , Lancaster University, 2002.

The article can be read here:https://read.dukeupress.edu/easts/article/2/4/525/25984/Globalisation-and-the-Internal-Alchemy-In-Chinese?fbclid=IwAR13F9PGDsv0-d2sL455gS97Ddj9eM9KZXY4GkWMjnmwJwbcsgpUTubcI9Q

Evening Routine

 My usual evening routine after work is:

Lu Jong 5 elements

Standing in San Ti Shi

Sun Xingyi 5 element fists

Sun Xingyi - all 3 linking forms

Yang Style Broadsword form x 3

Sun style Taiji Jian form x 3

Sun style Taiji 97 form x 3

What's yours?

I space these out with some breaks so takes roughly 2 hours. As my Sun style teacher was a disciple of Sun Jianyun I practice her form.

Morning Routine

 As I have a day job I don't have as much time as I would like for "formal" tai chi practice.

My morning routine takes me about 40 minutes:

Quiet Standing

3 loosening exercises

Chi Gung set

3 x Short Form

Quiet Standing.

What's yours?

The form I practice is this one 

Edward Hines and Scott Park Phillips Discussing Tai Chi, Baguazhang and ...

Tai Chi, Baguazhang and the Golden Elixir.

Just finished this book which shows the roots of Tai Chi and Baguazhang in a theatrical/religious context and the "YMCA" consensus that followed in the 20th Century. A fascinating, well researched book. I'm off to practice my ritual.

Tai Chi Fundamentals® Basic Moves Part One

This is a really nice clip of tai chi exercises. I've got her book somewhere and I think you can still get it via Amazon.

The Flow, A film by Louis Fox

Cheng Man-Ch'ing Tai Chi

Ben Lo instructional film of the Cheng Man Ching form. Lots of little things to see.



                       

Tai Chi Secrets: Lu Jin Explained

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Mastering Mental States

Great article. Love the list of things you can do but turning off your wi-fi router? Noooo





Cook Ding's Kitchen: Mastering Mental States: Below is an excerpt from a very good article that appeared at Zen Habits . While the author is writing of a life skill and it certainly is...

Stunning Chen Style Tai Chi

Very stylish.....

雲手

Relaxed

There's being relaxed and then there's being relaxed.

Chen Weiming

I love old photos of tai chi practitioners.

On Paul Brennan's Brennan Translation website there is a translation of a text by Chen Weiming with lots of photos of him doing Yang style.

Read the translation here

Yoke Chin with Grandmaster Huang Sheng Shyan (Master Huang Xingxian)

Gin Soon Tai Chi Chuan Federation - Two Man Set

This is pretty much the same as I learned from John Kells although with a softer yielding emphasis

Master Chungliang Huang - Centering Meditation

Master Chungliang Huang - Tai Chi Meditation

Tai Chi Secrets Elbow Power

Aligning with Gravity

Great and informative post about aligning with gravity.

This can be found on the Slanted Flying website. Read the full post on aligning-with-gravity-in-taijiquan

The leg figure 8 pattern

This is a great exercise. I do something similar with kicks using a figure 8 pattern.

Importance of Martial Arts Intent In Tai-Chi Form Practice

Don't run before you can walk

It's tempting to focus on high level, esoteric concepts in the arena of tai chi kidology at an early stage.

Don't.

You need to put in real physical, grinding hard work before anything else. Like building up the amount of time you can stand in a posture such as San Ti shi or in a riding horse stance.

Focus on physical stuff such as loosening the joints, turning the pelvis etc.

Don't run before you can walk.

Ankles

Relax the ankles so you can connect with your feet and the ground

Cook Ding's Kitchen: The Five Step Path for Taijiquan in Combat

Lest we forget that Tai Chi is a martial art....





Cook Ding's Kitchen: The Five Step Path for Taijiquan in Combat: Below is an excerpt from a post written by Ian Cameron, a senior Taijiquan teacher in Scotland. The full post may be read here. THE FIVE...

It's Yours

The most important thing is your own practise and your own experiences and insight.

I and others can write all kinds of things but they are based on our own experiences and the training we have done.

You can't be me and shouldn't chase after what someone else writes because you may never experience that and can end up frustrated and wasting time.

Always work on the principles of your art. I read somewhere that you can be a Tai Chi master but not a Master of Tai Chi!

I'm off to do some practise.

The Tao of Acceptance - Be Kinder to Yourself Using Ancient Philosophy

Some Walking Stick Exercises

Simple Qigong Exercises - Seated Arm Shaking

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Light You on Fire

This is on my reading list...…..



Cook Ding's Kitchen: Light You on Fire: I was approached for a guess post for Cook Ding's Kitchen by Kellman Heinz . He proposed a relevant chapter from his book, I Will Ligh...

Daily Training

During the lockdown here in the UK I am fortunate to be able to work from home.

I have been able to fit in more training when taking short breaks from the laptop. So a typical day begins at 6am with some loosening exercises, then Qi Gong followed by three Ch'eng Man Ch'ing style short forms. This takes about 40 minutes.

Around 10.30 it's a 15 minute session with a kettlebell followed by  10 minutes of Lu Jong 5 Elements.

Around 5pm some more qi Gong, standing in Sun style San Ti Shi, Xingyi 5 Element fists, 3 linking forms, 3 Sun style sword forms and finally 3 Sun style Taiji 97 posture forms.

I'm almost dreading when the time comes to go back to the office.

Dependency

Beware of becoming dependent on teachers spouting pseudo spiritual garbage.

"If you are going to have someone tell you how to live, be certain they know more about living than you do. Most martial artists don't have what I would call a life. When entering the master/student religion-oops-relationship -one should look carefully at who is dependent on whom."

from

Glenn Morris - Martial Arts Madness- a user's guide to the esoteric martial arts
Frog Ltd, 1998  ISBN I-883319-77-3   Page 51

Swimming in Air

Imagine you are moving through a thick viscuous substance

Armless

Practise your form without involving your arms

Master Yang Jun - Push Hands - 8 Jin (energies/techniques)

The Science of how the Mind affects the Immune System

Since there is so much stuff flying around on the internet about boosting your immune system, here is a good article about how the mind affects it.

Click here and enjoy.

T T Liang solo long form Yang style Tai Chi 150 postures full routine

My late teacher John Kells studied with T.T. Liang both in Boston and Taiwan.

Relax the Buttocks

When you relax the buttocks the lower back can relax and the weight of your torso can then be supported by the thighs.

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Correct Body Positioning in the Yang 37 Form

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Correct Body Positioning in the Yang 37 Form: In the following video, Cheng Man Ching shows correct body positioning in the short 37 Yang form. This is an excerpt from "The Mas...

Tai Chi Hangout

I came across the Tai chi Hangout site the other day.

It has lots of clips of different Tai Chi forms from various styles.

Click here and explore what's on offer.

Cook Ding's Kitchen: What Really Happens When We Stand

Cook Ding's Kitchen: What Really Happens When We Stand: I have mentioned before that I have been following the Standing Stake Practice, aka Zhan Zhuang in one form or another for many years now,...

Systema Light Breathing Exercise

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Cheng Man Ching on Qi

Cook Ding's Kitchen: Cheng Man Ching on Qi: Below is an excerpt from the entry at the Qi Enclyclopedia which is a collection of the words and thoughts of Cheng Man Ching on Qi. The...

Simple Tai Chi • Online Course £1 per day

A good Tai Chi friend of mine is offering a 30 day Tai Chi course in April for £1 per day. Watch the clip below for more information.

Michael Babin's website

Click on the link below for Michael Babi's website. Lots of food for thought and some free pdf files.

http://www.mbtaiji.net/

Improve Your Breathing with Somatics

Cold Water Dousing

I don't do this outside. Don't want to scare the neighbours.

Instead I'm doing this in the shower but it's been a graduated approach, slowly building up to it by decreasing the hot water and increasing the cold water.

Kung Fu Exercise Book

I'm currently reading Use Mind and not Force: A Taiji Memoir  by Patrick McGowan.

In it he mentions the Kung Fu Exercise Book by Michael Minick as an early inspiration and introduction to the Internal Arts.

I had to laugh because as a teenager in the 1970s this same book set me on my path and I diligently practised the exercises at home. I think I've still got the paperback edition stored away somewhere!

It's no longer in print but you can still obtain second hand copies on Amazon -

 www.amazon.co.uk/Kung-Exercise-Book-Michael-Minick

Simple Qigong Exercises - Seated Qigong Introduction

Cook Ding's Kitchen: The Enigmatic Psoas Muscle

Cook Ding's Kitchen: The Enigmatic Psoas Muscle: The first requirement of Taijiquan is to relax. Perhaps the most important muscle to relax is the one that lies in the very core of each o...

Cook Ding's Kitchen: What Motivates Fakes Martial Artists

Cook Ding's Kitchen: What Motivates Fakes Martial Artists: Today we have another guest post by Jonathan Bluestein . Jonathan discusses the motivation behind fake martial artists. The Real Rea...

One Mindful Breath:Minimum Viable Commitment

This post from Devon Boorman's Blog is equally applicable to our study of T'ai Chi.

Read the post here

Exercise for the Spine and Shoulder Blades

This is an old clip but it's a great exercise to work on sinuosity in the spine and loosen the shoulder blades 

The eyes

Love this


the-handbook-continued-eyes

San Ti Shi - Core Stability

Really good article about standing in San Ti posture

Taoist Standing Practice

When shifting...

When shifting weight from leg to leg, relax the hip in the weighted leg so you sink into the other one.

In this way you do not disperse the kinetic energy by bobbing up and down or by just shifting laterally.

Reclaiming the Scapula

Over on the Thoughts on Tai Chi blog there is this very interesting post on the scapula. Freeing up the shoulder blades is an essential part of Tai Chi so the energy can come up and through the back and not from the hands.

reclaiming-the-scapula-with-tai-chi-chuan

RIP - Barefoot Doctor passes away

Stephen Russell, aka the Barefoot Doctor, has passed away.

He was originally a student of my late teacher John Kells and reunited with him a few years ago to explore John's work. He called John his personal "Yoda" and was instrumental in helping him to do a session on Hay House radio.

His website is barefootdoctorworld.com

Tai Chi with Bach

Wow, just love this...


Tai Chi with Bach - Vimeo

INTERNAL Friction-Stepping

BONE-FU: Internal Power Training Secret

Interview with Hino Akira

This is a fascinating interview with Hino Akira which should be of interest to anyone interested in principles and body movement/use.

The interview can be read here


This is a clip demonstrating some of the principles