Many forms, one practice
Dragon Journal of Taijiquan
by pt richard
9M ago
Master George Xu engaging with students in a workshop. He has lessons on Patreon.com, Students of Masters George Xu and Wu Jie Many long-time practitioners learn more than one form of taijiquan if they practice long enough—Yang, Wu, Chen, Wu Hao and so on. Many learn more than one form of martial art, as well—Xingyiquan, Taijiquan, Baguazhang, and so on. They also learn many weapons and associated forms—sword, staff, etc. They probably all learn some form of qigong, too. All of which suggests that they also have many teachers in their lifetimes. Each style of training enhances each one of the ..read more
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It’s gardening (and backache) time
Dragon Journal of Taijiquan
by pt richard
1y ago
It is springtime and people are getting out into their gardens, preparing soil, digging, planting, weeding, mowing, and all sort of other activities. After winter inactivity some of us just might ache after a day’s work outside. Especially some of us older folks. As one person I know said once after a morning of moving and lifting stone, “I moved muscles I didn’t know I had.”  After day of laboring in the garden, most will tend to lean back into the sofa or easy chair and relax those sore muscles. The thing about that is when you get back up and walk you are even stiffer and sorer more th ..read more
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The personal learning journey of tai chi
Dragon Journal of Taijiquan
by pt richard
1y ago
(This post was first published June 2017 and has been revised and republished) A journey of learning entails the step-wise progression of putting pieces of information together and building a body of knowledge. It’s a body of simple, personal observations filed away for later use—not assumptions, or guesses, based on conventionalized thought. It is not one thing or another to be argued, right or wrong. Learning is based on your own discoveries. It is experience and the memories of experience. People ask about getting tai chi right. “What’s the right way?” they ask. Or “What am I doing wrong ..read more
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Tai Chi: the most popular exercise
Dragon Journal of Taijiquan
by pt richard
1y ago
(Updated, revised and republished from a 2015 post) I’ve read that globally more people do tai chi than any other exercise. More than yoga even. You can go to parks in any town or city and find groups of people doing both tai chi and qigong. My experience has been somewhat different. When I started showing others how to do what I had learned from studying tai chi I learned that tai chi just doesn’t automatically resonate. Competition with other activities, such as sports and outdoor recreation, is big. Yoga is huge. Aerobic exercises with new names (Taebo) that combine dance and martial a ..read more
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Tai chi challenge: practice
Dragon Journal of Taijiquan
by pt richard
1y ago
Learning the simplest things in tai chi can be a challenge, not because they are difficult; but, because we’re unfamiliar with them at first. It requires practice. Tai chi is like that. Life is like that. For example, sometimes new learners grasp the details of simple cloud hands only with considerable effort. It seems so easy on one hand, but there is so much more. You feel something missing. Or remembering to maintain a proper stance while moving the upper body takes reminding ourselves over and over. With practice though, we gradually build familiarity with the moves, then we become more co ..read more
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One opportunity from tai chi
Dragon Journal of Taijiquan
by pt richard
1y ago
Tai chi offers an opportunity to look beyond the surface. To see not only what a practitioner is doing on the outside but deeper on the inside. Not usually an immediately obvious for a beginner. You have to develop skill to look within the other and yourself. It takes practice to see the depth of a practice. From where does movement originate? What is the underlying intention? What is nature and quality of the Qi (energy)?  ..read more
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The body is a connected unit
Dragon Journal of Taijiquan
by pt richard
1y ago
Intricate in design and function, mind, heart and body are one. The energy body within is the other singular unit. The tai chi practitioner works to recognize this yin-yang connection. That feeling is the energy body becoming aware. It awakens when allowed to finally take its rightful place. The whole human is capable of so much more than we have been aware.  ..read more
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The masters say fang song
Dragon Journal of Taijiquan
by pt richard
1y ago
Be soft, loose. Almost everyone says that. Newer teachers say it even though they have yet to feel it fully in their own practices. They believe it is correct instruction, though. This is understandable, but the lesson is not always easy to get. It takes time to form understanding. Perhaps you learn it only in stages. I do not know how common the following approach is, or if it is not at all common. If you have it figured out, let the rest of us know. As a teaching point in a lesson plan, the instruction to be soft is a meaningful hint, a guide pointing out a desirable state. You are always at ..read more
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Old into new
Dragon Journal of Taijiquan
by pt richard
1y ago
In tai chi, there may be a better way to do a move or technique that is not necessarily right or wrong. There are many methods to achieve similar outcomes. What is more important to me as an instructor is that a learner do something different than what they normally default to in their movements. If anything is the correct step, that is. Whether the teacher says do this or do that is important particularly inasmuch as it helps the student change old patterns of movement into new. Beginners should think about this ..read more
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Old into new
Dragon Journal of Taijiquan
by pt richard
1y ago
In tai chi, there may be a better way to do something—a move or technique—but it is not necessarily right or wrong. There are many methods to achieve similar outcomes. What is more important to me as an instructor is that a learner do something different than what they normally default to in their movements. If anything is right, that is. Whether the teacher says do this or do that is important, but particularly inasmuch as it helps the student change old patterns of movement into new. Beginners should think about this ..read more
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