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What is Tai Chi? July 21, 2016 In the latest issue of T'ai Chi Magazine I begin a series exploring universal principles of Tai Chi Chuan. The question underlying the subject is, when is an exercise Tai Chi and when is it simply an expercise loosely based on Tai Chi, but which does not follow basic principles? To be universal the principles cannot be specific to a particular style. For instance, some styles emphasis the absolute necessity of keeping the body straight up and down; others do not, stressing instead the simpler need to keep the crown up. Thus this opening article is titled Crown Up: A Universal Principle of Tai Chi, discussed in context of Yang Cheng-fu's Ten Essentials. You can obtain the magazine at your local Barnes & Noble or by subscription at Tai-Chi.com. I will post the article after the next issue comes out. Meanwhile, read an earlier blog on the subject, Crown Up, here.
What is an Internal Art? February 7, 2016 When you hear that Tai Chi is an internal art, what does that mean? More than twenty years after my first Tai Chi lesson, I had still not heard a satisfactory explanation from any of the teachers with whom I studied. In the end I had to forge my own understanding from a wide body of teachings.
Sometimes internal arts are explained by contrasting to external arts like karate, tae kwon do, or "kung fu" (a misnomer for Chinese martial arts, which are best referred to as kuo shu). This comparison serves as a form of differentiation but satisfies no one, especially since internal martial arts like bagua and hsing-i have aspects that seem very external, not to mention vicious. Let me help. Click here to continue.
Tai Chi Beginnings - Blogs for New Students December 24, 2015 Over the years I've written quite a few blogs aimed at new students, and those looking for more depth. The end of the year seems like a good time for revisiting old ideas, as we prepare to move forward into new classes, so check these out:
Rebooting Tai Chi November 30, 2015 I'm starting new tai chi classes in Boulder City, Nevada at the first of the year - a culmination of my work this year on creating a new curriculum and "scientific" method for teaching tai chi and building a body of qualified teachers for new schools as I open them. What the heck is a scientific method for tai chi? This is what I asked my teacher George Hu long ago when I heard that Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming, an esteemed kung fu and tai chi teacher, was using that phrase to describe his teaching. Since Dr. Yang is a retired engineer it's not a surprising choice of words, but also not obvious.
Author and Taoist teacher Bruce Frantzis has been teaching qigong, taijiquan and baguazhang for years, but most of his workshops are aimed at ongoing students with prior experience. How does one get started with Frantzis' Taoist Energy Arts? He and a top teacher, Paul Cavel, discuss Cavel's 10-week program The Five Keys to Taoist Energy Arts. The five keys are:
In the closing essay of my What is Tai Chi? series, with "ten essentials", I discuss stillness. Most people have trouble sitting still, but a much higher attainment is desirable: The ability to maintain internal stillness, internal calm, while in motion. The beginner and intermediate student must shut out external vibration, such as music and other controllable noise, in order to concentrate on the stilling of internal movement. Even internal cultivation such as Daoist orbiting must be set aside to acquire deep stillness. Read about stillness - and try sitting perfectly still while you do. Is it so hard?
What is it about Tai Chi practice that draws us in - that makes us feel so good that many proponents adopt the language of joy in describing their practice of this, the ultimate martial art? The keys are relaxation, balance, slow speed - and smooth, continuous movement. These components allow our chi to move freely in the "internal massage" that so many of us are hooked on. Continuity is, at long last, one of those tai chi essentials that we all grasp without struggle; it is one of those commented upon the most. Although this principle seems straightforward, you must consider the nuances in order to get full benefit. Read on to find out more.
Do you have an chronic illness or condition that your medical doctor has not been much help with? Don't waste your time cursing the doctor; there are limits to what drugs or surgery can accomplish. Instead, investigate whether you can heal yourself, or at least help yourself. The herniated disks in my spine often cause me pain and limited mobility. Except for aspirin no painkilling drugs help, and in any event the side effects of narcotics are grossly undesirable. I've discovered that most of the time, a heaping helping of tai chi goes a long way toward easing the problem. Although I like yoga and have practiced it since my teen years, when I have pinched nerves it is usually impossible.
"Mind Over Matter" does not mean telekinesis, it means using your mind to guide your body's actions. You may think you do that already but unless you are an advanced practitioner, chances are you've barely gotten started. How can you train for it? Read more.
"Full and Empty", along with freeing the waist, are concepts that help make Tai Chi the vital, dynamic exercise we know it to be - concepts that require the whole body to realize. We start out learning about full and empty when our teacher tells us to avoid equal weighting on each foot. Later we see that one arm/hand will be full while the other is empty. Even later we see that when we split at the waist, the lower body is full, giving strength, while the upper body is empty, giving fluidity and the freedom to neutralize our opponent's advances. Read more.
Last month I began a series of columns starting with the general question, does Tai Chi have standards? From there I proceeded to write individual columns about each of Yang Cheng-fu's Tai Chi "essentials". Three columns into it and I've already accumulated enough feedback to pause and recap what has been said. To put these comments in context, I publicize each column heavily on two Twitter feeds, @DaleNapierLV and @TaiChiYourLife. The tweets are deliberately provocative in the hope of drawing readers and comments. And it works! I generally agree with the comments I received, but would like to add some footnotes to emphasize the basic points of each column. Read more.
A key secret to the power of Shotokan karate is the use of the hip in completing a punch, often a reverse punch. Most karateka and taekwondo students are taught this hip movement, but many beginners find it unconvincing because their teachers cannot explain why. If you know about the use of the hip in karate, without an understanding of why you use it, you will find it tough to separate from the idea of using your waist, not your hip, in tai chi. If you have no karate background you will not have this problem; instead other problems will emerge.
Put your hip into the karate punch because the angular momentum arising from the twist will provide last-minute acceleration to the punch, increasing the force (force equals mass times acceleration). In tai chi our punching power is derived by totally different methods, so our use of the waist has different reasons as well. Read more.
The second essential, regarding the posture of the chest and back, carries another "anti boot camp" element: As a young student I had difficulty absorbing this lesson except through a separate art my teacher introduced, tongbeiquan. Tongbei emphasizes the use of the upper back for power. Although that art has other elements as well, this aspect is a common influence on tai chi practitioners because of Cheng-fu's second requirement. Digging deeper, we discover that this principle has energetic as well as physical goals. Click here to find out more about sinking the chest and raising the back.
Yang Cheng-fu's first "main point" of tai chi describes the posture of the head and neck. The ramifications are physical but also energetic. If you miss this principle you will never get far in your tai chi practice.
What is tai chi chuan? We must ask this question with tact because it is a sensitive matter. A lot of exercise passes as tai chi that probably is not, often taught by people who have no idea what tai chi is. At the same time many advanced practitioners hold opposing views about what tai chi is or is not, and what it should or should not be. Chen style practitioners famously advocate tai chi's martial methods, although they are not alone. Others claim exactly the opposite, that tai chi was never, or at least should not be, a martial art. This is easy to understand among those who have never been taught martial methods, which is increasingly common. Others conduct classes in sitting tai chi, or wheelchair tai chi. Who is right and who is wrong? More importantly, is there even a right or wrong? Does anything go? Click here to find out whether tai chi is a "to each his own" art.
All classes are cancelled for the time being.
For new students one of the toughest problems is learning to create a pattern of practice at home. Many people will add their Tai Chi practice into their other exercise practices, but if they do not already have a habit of exercising, it takes a little effort to build the habit. I wrote two blogs on this subject a few years ago that I recommend you take time to read. Click here to read Best Practices. Click here to read Habit Forming.
Not your grandfather's Tai Chi! We do not compromise the exercise to accommodate people who are unable to perform them. That defeats the purpose of exercise! Instead we encourage everyone to participate if they wish, and to do as much as they possibly can. There is no shame in sitting out some of the exercises, if necessary, but there is even less shame in trying without success.
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Free Tai Chi E-Book: Tai Chi Intention November 10, 2014 Interested in learning more about how to apply intention in your Tai Chi practice as well as daily life? Chapter 2 of Tai Chi In Your Life examines intention from a unique perspective. The exercises provide valuable insights into training methods for cultivating intention, which is basic on habit formation and honest introspection. To get the free e-chapter, simply CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE AND DOWNLOAD TAI CHI: INTENTION.
As a young student I mistakenly believed that centering was a mental-spiritual idea and nothing more. As a result one of my earliest important "light bulb" moments came when I realized that balance is first physical. From physical balance can arise mental balance, and from mental balance can emerge spiritual balance. I say "can" because more work is needed after achieving physical balance, but by taking the first step you make the later steps possible.
Today I wish to explore balance as a scientific concept and how that applies to Tai Chi. (Click here for more)
Tai Chi In Your Life is a timeless guide to making your Tai Chi lessons part of your everyday life. Using universal Tai Chi principles, not specific to any particular style, Sifu Dale Napier shows how to apply the principles to your Tai Chi / martial arts practice and then move them into your everyday life. "Read this book to see why we teach Tai Chi" - Grandmaster Lawrence Day Click here to view/purchase on Amazon.
Sifu Napier's Tai Chi Meditations CD now available.
Sifu Dale Napier's meditation CD, Tai Chi Meditations is backed by pianist-composer Marta Keen (Thompson) It features a standing meditation, Zhan Zhuang, and a sitting meditation, Six Healing Sounds.
Zhan Zhuang, or standing post meditation, is taught here for breath, balance, and relaxation. Balance is required for deep relaxation. To deepen the relaxation further we learn to use deep breathing, giving us lung improvement as well. Standing post is important for building Tai Chi Chuan rooting ability.
Six Healing Sounds is a popular chi kung (qigong) exercise that uses movements, sounds, and visualizations based on Five Element Theory. The general idea is to purge ourselves of negative emotions, which removes damaging energy from our internal bodies - helping keep us youthful, vital, and energetic.
Tai Chi Meditations is available as a physical CD or for download. For download, go to CD Baby Amazon For the physical CD, Click here.
My early introduction to Tai Chi took place in the mid-1970s. I had no teacher but was talking about it, so my step-father gave me a book by Sophia Delza, which I read but did not understand. Little did I know at the time, but Delza was the first American to teach Tai Chi - Wu style, from Ma-Yueh Ling - and first demonstrated it in public in 1954. Take a look at this great article to learn about the Tai Chi life of Delza, who lived from 1903 to 1996. Click here to read the article.
Taoist teacher Stuart Alve Olson, one of my teachers, has released a new DVD, the first of two to accompany his book on the subject of Taiji Sensing Hands - what most teachers call pushing hands, tui shou. Stuart's approach is the most peaceful possible, eschewing all notions of combat. He maintains that calling the exercise "pushing hands" automatically puts the student at a disadvantage by suggesting an aspect that simply should not be in play. Click here to acquire the DVD.. Click here to visit Stuart's Valley Spirit Arts website, based in Phoenix, Arizona. He has quite a few more books and DVDs, as well as a schedule of practice for those in the area.
A new study published Jan. 21, 2015 in the online journal Frontiers in Psychology has published a study showing the meditation slows aging. They "observed that age-related gray matter loss was less pronounced in meditators than controls." Click here to read the complete study.
A remarkable Tucson man, once paralyzed, has rehabilitated himself using Tai Chi, which he now teaches. Click here for the full story.
Most people who have experienced this ancient Chinese martial art know that it improves balance and strength, giving practitioners a healthy workout with lasting effects. But tai chi first spread in China largely because of its capacity for pain relief, a benefit that is underappreciated by some and forgotten by others.
Tai chi helps people find balance in their minds and bodies, and that is one of the ways to be truly healthy. However, there are some specific health benefits as well, especially with regard to conditions which afflict millions of Americans.
Back Pain
Most people associate tai chi with groups of people in parks who move very slowly in unison. Such controlled movement has some significant benefits for your back. Yoga works wonders for many people, but its lack of movement sometimes prevents dramatic results in terms of back pain. Likewise, running is very good for many people, but the jarring motion can exacerbate back pain instead of relieving it.
Moreover, in addition to movement, tai chi promotes good posture. Slouching and rounded shoulders are unhealthy in addition to unattractive. Such a position places undue stress on certain areas of the back. After much practice, tai chi eventually trains the body to correct these issues, thus promoting back health.
This same irregular stress occurs if a person’s everyday movements, such as walking and standing, are not properly aligned. The resulting lack of balance and perception creates a fertile environment for back pain, especially since these movements are so incredibly common. The scientific term for this lack of balance is proprioception, which is essentially a flaw in the body’s inherent position sense. Tai chi often corrects this problem as well, creating a balance where it did not exist before and thus promoting back health.
Poor muscle tone contributes to many back pain issues as well, and tai chi effectively addresses this issue. The slow, controlled movements build core strength, and since these muscles wrap around the spine, stronger abs usually mean better posture. The same thing applies to hamstrings and other muscles which directly support the spine.
Finally, tai chi may alleviate stress-based back pain. Such negative energy almost certainly exacerbates back pain, and may even cause it outright.
Tai chi significantly reduces back pain in many people, even hard-to-treat conditions like sciatica and herniated discs, but almost never alleviate it altogether. So, tai chi is part of a solution as opposed to the entire solution. In combination with massage, cold and heat therapy, topical aids, even pharmacological intervention when necessary, tai chi can play an integral role in a back pain treatment plan. Don’t miss this guide to find the best massage ball for back pain, and combine daily use with a tai chi routine to start seeing results.
Chronic Pain
The movement/inner peace combination is often effective against chronic pain as well. Shifting mental focus away from discomfort and towards something productive often alleviates pain, and it can be several hours before pain signals from nerve endings regain their prior intensity. Meanwhile, the slow motion is very good for achy joints. Some specific examples include:
Osteoporosis: Many researchers are very encouraged by the substantial evidence that tai chi maintains bone density among post-menopausal women, and may even increase it, so they plan to conduct further and more extensive studies.
Fibromyalgia: Little is known about this disease which creates chronic pain which, in many cases, is almost unbearable. According to one study, when fibromyalgia patients practiced tai chi, they reaped a number of benefits, such as better sleep, less pain, less emotional distress, and better mobility.
Osteoarthritis: This same dynamic helps osteoarthritis patients. These individuals also benefit from the aforementioned movement and mental distraction.
Once again, tai chi is probably not a magic bullet. For the best chronic pain relief, combine this exercise with other treatments that your doctor recommends.
Stress Relief
The physical benefits of tai chi often emerge after several months of sustained practice, but the stress relief benefits are often apparent almost immediately. The stretching-and-releasing motion promotes physical relaxation. As a bonus, the tools learned in tai chi may be effective during those parts of the day when stress levels are at their highest. Furthermore, the deep breathing and soft commands from the instructor promote mental relaxation, extending stress relief even further in many cases.
Getting started is one of the most difficult parts of tai chi because it is so unlike most other Western pain relief methods. But tai chi is an evidence-based pain relief method, and if you suffer from stress or chronic physical pain, almost anything is worth a try if it might possibly break the grip of pain.
Original article and pictures take slantedflying.com site
Let’s start with a great definition of Qigong and then discuss what role qigong plays in your tai chi development.
Dr. Gayl Hubatch, in Fabric of the Soul, sums up the process of qi gong development nicely. “Coordinating breath, intention, and movement increases energy flow. Increased energy flow is healing and restorative.” Eloquent and simple. We engage in tangible, understandable activities (moving, breathing, intention) and reap health benefits.
tai chi for beginnersHere is what makes qi gong development difficult:
It is normally a far cry from any medical advice we have ever received.
While the activities are easy and enjoyable, developing sensitivity to identify what is going on internally takes a while. Without knowledge of how qigong is developing you internally it is easy to abandon because “you don’t feel like you are doing anything.”
It is esoteric. Let’s be blunt. We are talking about moving “energy” around a body we feel pretty familiar with. Not something I did during high school PE.
Explain qi gong development with enough western perspective so that I buy-in and keep practicing.
The tissues and fluids of the body are made up of minerals and chemicals with magnetic properties. The earth is a magnetic field and food and air also serve as energy. We can perform activities to alter blood flow and temperature which interacts (matches) the earth’s properties. These properties are closely aligned with what we conceive of as healthy.
Practitioners of tai chi are normally pretty open to anything. They hear of qigong and want to feel what is described and begin by being quite hopeful. With an understanding of the full developmental progress we can stop doubt from creeping in.
Developing the Energy of Qigong
I am going to provide a spectrum of development based on my interactions over the years. Insert yourself into this paradigm and see what’s to come.
Let’s Bake a Cake
Turning the oven on
A practitioner is brand new. Their interest is piqued and they are just learning to relax into a meditative stance.
The oven is heating up
Progress at relaxation allows the energy to move around the body correctly
All the ingredients have been found
They are interested to new terms like dantian and are actively trying to use them
The ingredients get mixed
They can think about their center when meditating and have an understanding of keeping their hip joints, arm pits, lower back soft.
The oven beeps and is hot enough
A different sort of warmth, from the inside exists after practice. It is general and fleeting
The ingredients are one big blob and enter the oven
The body moves collectively or in order from the center out
A quick initial rise happens
Intention on the hands or dantian yields a perceivable heat that goes away
A long time passes and the cake browns
We work to try to make this feeling come back and it does at times. Our overall relaxation and higher body temperature come quicker
We check it with toothpicks and send it back in for more time
We can warm our hands and loosen our center easily.
Time for frosting
We can create and feel energy and can bring it to one spot within the body if we concentrate on the spot
Time for decoration
We can move the energy in specific directions, alight on a space and move on to another
Qi gong development is a silent conversation with your autonomic system
I hope this playful explanation hints at the huge amount of foundational work that you are benefiting from when you “don’t feel anything.” We are talking about interacting with autonomic processes and being able to affect your health, literally, from the inside. Of course this process shouldn’t be quick or easy.
Related
Original article and pictures take taichibasics.com site
