THE ART OF WAR
The Bingfa of Sun Wu, or Sunzi, is the classic book of strategy. Miss Li said that she
used to be always reading it when she was young, and people used to say
to her 'What are you going to be? A general?'
Here are some of its ideas ...
If you have two sides which come together, something is bound to happen: what comes out will depend on how each of the two sides changes. They must change - it is a law of nature - and the outcome depends on how. Usually the change will not be analysable, but understood only by intuition and instinct: 'whatever words tell you, it is not worthwhile to listen'.
Anything at a higher level depends not on explanation, but on practice, experience and research: 'when you try to pass on your knowledge, words reduce the quality of the truth'. This is true in all aspects of life, but becomes clearest in the martial arts. Anything you really know, do not try to explain, as you will only make things more confused.
'If you are a good fighter, the best way: do not fight. Put things in order, prevent things getting into a disordered state. Whether personally or in the army, keep silent and mysterious.' So, Miss Li said she keeps things mysterious, so that people will treat her well, a psychological trick of teaching. And her advice to her students was: when you see something, do not think 'she is looking at me', be blind and you will see more, see to the bottom.
Do not take 'self-defence' too seriously. We must march with the times: open-handed or stick fighting is clearly out of date in an age of pistols and other advanced weapons. Wu Shu is about skill and about the evasion of fighting. The highest form of 'self-defence' is evasion: no matter what technique is used, you cannot be caught. 'You know how I do my self-defence? I stay indoors at night!' If you go around boasting about your strength, you will have to fight everyone.
Thursday, 8 November 2018
Saturday, 3 November 2018
Summer School 1983
CHINESE GYMNASTICS
Yi = 'skill', 'art'
Wu = 'public official', 'guardian of the law' ... using the body and weapons to protect the state
Wu Yi = physical skill, physical education ... more modern would be Gong Fu
Ji = physical skill in the sense of moving, hitting
Ji Ji = physical sport
An early authority on skill is the Han Shu records, a many-volume encyclopedia of arts and skills (not philosophy). From this it seems that there were two kinds of martial art:
1. Shou Bo = empty-handed fighting, like karate, for self-defence
2. Shuai Jiao = wrestling as a sport, literally drawn from the image of horns, and branching into competition of strong breathing
And there were two other branches of physical art:
3. Jian Shou = sword art and archery, for self-development
4. Tu Na = regulation of breath and qi, the basis of the other arts, preparation for any of the others
These were related to Zhuangzi's saying: 'use skill to overcome force'.
Many of these sports and practices can be found as early as the Qin emperor. And there are other early texts on movement and breathing for health and longevity. For example, copying the movements of the Five Animals: tiger, deer, bear, monkey, bird. Copying the qualities of their movements: the way the bird moves its wings, the way the monkey moves its limbs, etc.
Xing Yi is also old, the legend being that its systematic formulation was by Sun Wu and especially Yue Fei - also known as 'the Flying Bird' - who studied the writings of Sun Wu, and studied archery with Zhou Tong, who remained the 'father of his art' though he also studied other arts with other teachers. Then Yue Fei became a national statesman, a general trusted by the emperor, who drove out the Mongolians from China. However, the Mongolians were good horsemen and had a better diet, so Yue Fei only won battles because he knew how to train his army, and how to use weapons: according to the legend, his method was doing Xing Yi.
Shaolin in legend is from Da Mo, a monk who came from India, which can be told both from his name and from his eyes in traditional pictures ... he is definitely a monk. He created the movements to give his little monks something to do when they were restless. So Shaolin was originally called 'Luohan Quan', 'monk quan', the Shaolin Temple connection coming later. Nobody knows where the Shaolin Temple was, perhaps in the North. It is thought that the North was tougher than the South because more vulnerable to invasions, so Shaolin is considered a 'Wei Jia', or 'external' martial art, based on five animals: dragon, tiger, leopard, snake and crane, using their movements for self-defence. Another external art was 'Chang Quan', 'long boxing', a very elaborate and complicated approach, with much jumping. It is impossible that it is now pure, because nobody could possibly have remembered it all.
Wu Dang is a mountain in the south, where legend has it that Zhang Sanfeng founded a quan, he too was religious, possibly a Daoist. This system was originally called 'Mian Quan', 'silk quan', both because it was soft and because so much silk was made in the South. Note that it was named after silk and not cotton, for cotton is soft but not strong, silk is also strong. Wu Dang is considered a 'Nei Jia', or 'internal' martial art. This quan also flowed down through Hua Tuo, a Chinese monk and leading doctor, though not clear whether he was earlier or later than Zhang Sanfeng. He developed breathing exercises to increase circulation for cleansing the body of illness. He also used five animals, the Wu Qin Xi, the Five Animals/Birds Game, but these related more to Tu Na breathing exercise for longevity, and thus to the Tai Ji tradition.
In the North, Qi was emphasised for fighting, close to Karate and Aikido.
In the South, Qi was emphasised for health, close to medicine.
In the North, they emphasised legs, connected with climbing mountains.
In the South, they emphasised arms, rolling the ball and circling.
In the North, there was more of an Islamic influence, the surname Ma coming from Mohammedan.
In the South, there was more of a Buddhist influence.
Tai Ji, Ba Gua, Xing Yi, were not originally in one school, but were a later synthesis by Sun Lu Tang and the people just before him. Sun Lu Tang was a man like Confucius, who did not invent the art, but revived it, and collated ideas and texts from the wider culture. Miss Li said that, though she learned from her teacher, she feels she has to research the points continually to see if they are right and what they mean.
It is good to know the three forms, but nobody can do all three equally, because of the limitations of individual physique. It is wrong to make Tai Ji carry the whole burden of 'self-defence', the other two do have fighting aspects and should carry that burden more, but even they are still mainly for health. The difference between Xing Yi and Ba Gua and Tai Ji is that the first two send out qi towards 'the enemy', but Tai Ji absorbs it back and neutralises it. The traditional Chinese order was Xing Yi, Ba Gua, Tai Ji, even beginning with quite external forms for the young children. This was the order in which she learned: Xing Yi to strengthen the muscles of a weak race. We do not need this so much in the West, as we are better fed and have more gymnastics at school.
Miss Li said she preferred 'self-development' to 'self-defence' ... if we can put Nei Jia Wu Shu on that road, it will have a great future in the world.
Yi = 'skill', 'art'
Wu = 'public official', 'guardian of the law' ... using the body and weapons to protect the state
Wu Yi = physical skill, physical education ... more modern would be Gong Fu
Ji = physical skill in the sense of moving, hitting
Ji Ji = physical sport
An early authority on skill is the Han Shu records, a many-volume encyclopedia of arts and skills (not philosophy). From this it seems that there were two kinds of martial art:
1. Shou Bo = empty-handed fighting, like karate, for self-defence
2. Shuai Jiao = wrestling as a sport, literally drawn from the image of horns, and branching into competition of strong breathing
And there were two other branches of physical art:
3. Jian Shou = sword art and archery, for self-development
4. Tu Na = regulation of breath and qi, the basis of the other arts, preparation for any of the others
These were related to Zhuangzi's saying: 'use skill to overcome force'.
Many of these sports and practices can be found as early as the Qin emperor. And there are other early texts on movement and breathing for health and longevity. For example, copying the movements of the Five Animals: tiger, deer, bear, monkey, bird. Copying the qualities of their movements: the way the bird moves its wings, the way the monkey moves its limbs, etc.
Xing Yi is also old, the legend being that its systematic formulation was by Sun Wu and especially Yue Fei - also known as 'the Flying Bird' - who studied the writings of Sun Wu, and studied archery with Zhou Tong, who remained the 'father of his art' though he also studied other arts with other teachers. Then Yue Fei became a national statesman, a general trusted by the emperor, who drove out the Mongolians from China. However, the Mongolians were good horsemen and had a better diet, so Yue Fei only won battles because he knew how to train his army, and how to use weapons: according to the legend, his method was doing Xing Yi.
Shaolin in legend is from Da Mo, a monk who came from India, which can be told both from his name and from his eyes in traditional pictures ... he is definitely a monk. He created the movements to give his little monks something to do when they were restless. So Shaolin was originally called 'Luohan Quan', 'monk quan', the Shaolin Temple connection coming later. Nobody knows where the Shaolin Temple was, perhaps in the North. It is thought that the North was tougher than the South because more vulnerable to invasions, so Shaolin is considered a 'Wei Jia', or 'external' martial art, based on five animals: dragon, tiger, leopard, snake and crane, using their movements for self-defence. Another external art was 'Chang Quan', 'long boxing', a very elaborate and complicated approach, with much jumping. It is impossible that it is now pure, because nobody could possibly have remembered it all.
Wu Dang is a mountain in the south, where legend has it that Zhang Sanfeng founded a quan, he too was religious, possibly a Daoist. This system was originally called 'Mian Quan', 'silk quan', both because it was soft and because so much silk was made in the South. Note that it was named after silk and not cotton, for cotton is soft but not strong, silk is also strong. Wu Dang is considered a 'Nei Jia', or 'internal' martial art. This quan also flowed down through Hua Tuo, a Chinese monk and leading doctor, though not clear whether he was earlier or later than Zhang Sanfeng. He developed breathing exercises to increase circulation for cleansing the body of illness. He also used five animals, the Wu Qin Xi, the Five Animals/Birds Game, but these related more to Tu Na breathing exercise for longevity, and thus to the Tai Ji tradition.
In the North, Qi was emphasised for fighting, close to Karate and Aikido.
In the South, Qi was emphasised for health, close to medicine.
In the North, they emphasised legs, connected with climbing mountains.
In the South, they emphasised arms, rolling the ball and circling.
In the North, there was more of an Islamic influence, the surname Ma coming from Mohammedan.
In the South, there was more of a Buddhist influence.
Tai Ji, Ba Gua, Xing Yi, were not originally in one school, but were a later synthesis by Sun Lu Tang and the people just before him. Sun Lu Tang was a man like Confucius, who did not invent the art, but revived it, and collated ideas and texts from the wider culture. Miss Li said that, though she learned from her teacher, she feels she has to research the points continually to see if they are right and what they mean.
It is good to know the three forms, but nobody can do all three equally, because of the limitations of individual physique. It is wrong to make Tai Ji carry the whole burden of 'self-defence', the other two do have fighting aspects and should carry that burden more, but even they are still mainly for health. The difference between Xing Yi and Ba Gua and Tai Ji is that the first two send out qi towards 'the enemy', but Tai Ji absorbs it back and neutralises it. The traditional Chinese order was Xing Yi, Ba Gua, Tai Ji, even beginning with quite external forms for the young children. This was the order in which she learned: Xing Yi to strengthen the muscles of a weak race. We do not need this so much in the West, as we are better fed and have more gymnastics at school.
Miss Li said she preferred 'self-development' to 'self-defence' ... if we can put Nei Jia Wu Shu on that road, it will have a great future in the world.
Saturday, 27 October 2018
Summer School 1983
CHINESE MEDICINE
Literary legends of the origins of life are similar throughout world cultures, but in China perhaps a bit older. So, written records in the period of the Han Dynasty refer to a prehistoric Shennong, ‘Spiritual Farmer’: an intelligent man who became the tribal leader. Men like these not only taught people how to grow things from the earth, but also told them about herbs to use when they were sick. His Ben Cao (‘from the grass’) classic divided herbs into three categories:
1. Superior drugs, non-poisonous, possessing rejuvenating properties, which can be taken for a long time without any harm ... ‘it won’t kill you, it won’t cure you’!
2. Medium drugs, possessing tonic effects, with toxicity depending on the dosage, so not too much was taken.
3. Inferior drugs, employed to cure disease and considered ‘poisonous’, i.e. producing side effects, also often using actual poisons to counteract poisons, and should therefore not be taken for any length of time.
Still semi-legendary, though more historical, was Huangdi, the ‘Yellow Emperor’, another leader who was an expert on herbs and drugs. He was responsible with a doctor, Qibo, for writing the Nèijīng (‘inner classic’) which became the canon of orthodox Chinese medicine, accepted by later scholars.
Religion and medicine: the relation between body and mind, unorthodox Chinese medicine, an area in which there were sorcerers, the use of wine, priest doctors worshipping specific deities, witch doctors, faith healers ... all depending on faith, though faith healers as such used no material objects, only faith.
Philosophy and medicine: the Chinese philosophy of disease, the other side of the coin being the philosophy of health ... and here is where Miss Li would locate Tai Ji. But this area was a bit dominated by scholastic subtleties and characterised by respect for authority, petrified formalities and pedantic excess of detail. However, within this were two central doctrines which formed the basis of all Chinese medicine:
1. Yin and Yang, ‘the two principles’, which generates the Bagua, ‘eight changes’, with strong relations to mathematics, astrology and the I Ching. Miss Li said she accepted the validity of this connection, but did not follow it herself. It uses the straight and broken lines to record natural changes. It is supposed to date from Fu Xi, who was given a revelation on the backs of the crane and the turtle. Each of the eight changes has a special name and a symbol, but without a very precise definition: it depends on personal interpretation, and that personal meaning can be very hard to communicate. Yin/Yang represent female/male, soft/hard etc. In terms of our human body, the skin is Yang, the inside is Yin; the back is Yang, the front is yin; the empty organs are Yang, the solid organs are Yin; the heart and liver are Yang, the spleen, lungs and kidneys are Yin.
2. Then comes the Wu Xing, ‘the five elements’. The human frame is supposed to be made up from a harmonious mixture of these five primordial substances. Proper health depends on a good balance of the five elements. Sayings reflecting the importance of balance are: ‘when you are too happy, you become exhausted’, ‘when you are too spiritual, you lose contact with the earth’, ‘even good things must be taken in moderation’. The five elements generate each other and subjugate each other. The five main organs correspond to the five elements. This is material, but there is also a mental side ... shenxin, body and mind. Man is the ‘little universe’, a microcosm: you have Tai Ji within Tai Ji, you are moving within the larger universe.
Tai Ji, Xing I, Ba Gua are therefore very subtle names, and the names of their forms are also elegant and subtle. But most translations into English are very crude and clumsy, without subtle meaning or clarity.
The I Ching has very little to do with Tai Ji, it has a little bit more to do with Ba Gua, but for the Internal Martial Arts the crucial text is actually the Yijin Jing, which is still quite solemn and scholarly, but which deals with the eight changes of the muscles, and is thus more closely related to Tai Ji and Ba Gua than the highly philosophical I Ching. There is also the Wu Xing Xi, or 'five animals game', which has a lot of therapeutic value.
In traditional Chinese practices they paid attention to diet, meditation to get blood pressure down, and then also exercise afterwards. Qi Gong Shan Shen Fa, meant the use of qi to strengthen your health, by quietening the mind and calming the breath; also the use of qi to overcome illness.
Zhang Sanfeng was a monk, a Daoist, and it is believed that he discovered many of the points on the body, but some say it was Feng I Yuan. Whichever, they discovered 36 points, then later in fighting reduced to nine fatal points, now today being revived for medical purposes. Miss Li was sceptical about this, 'perhaps I am more Western than you!'. The nine fatal points were considered to be: behind the ears, back of the head, back of the neck, solar plexus, back of the lungs, on the psoas area. The key is how they are touched, for one way of touching would be to cure. It is in Ba Gua that these fighting techniques would be most prominent, using the fingers, or the chop. This also relates to the place and time: in the medicine field it is very helpful to cure people, and in martial arts the timing is also the crucial thing. Another way of showing that Tai Ji is not a fighting art is that it does not have the fingers or the chops to kill or hurt.
Literary legends of the origins of life are similar throughout world cultures, but in China perhaps a bit older. So, written records in the period of the Han Dynasty refer to a prehistoric Shennong, ‘Spiritual Farmer’: an intelligent man who became the tribal leader. Men like these not only taught people how to grow things from the earth, but also told them about herbs to use when they were sick. His Ben Cao (‘from the grass’) classic divided herbs into three categories:
1. Superior drugs, non-poisonous, possessing rejuvenating properties, which can be taken for a long time without any harm ... ‘it won’t kill you, it won’t cure you’!
2. Medium drugs, possessing tonic effects, with toxicity depending on the dosage, so not too much was taken.
3. Inferior drugs, employed to cure disease and considered ‘poisonous’, i.e. producing side effects, also often using actual poisons to counteract poisons, and should therefore not be taken for any length of time.
Still semi-legendary, though more historical, was Huangdi, the ‘Yellow Emperor’, another leader who was an expert on herbs and drugs. He was responsible with a doctor, Qibo, for writing the Nèijīng (‘inner classic’) which became the canon of orthodox Chinese medicine, accepted by later scholars.
Religion and medicine: the relation between body and mind, unorthodox Chinese medicine, an area in which there were sorcerers, the use of wine, priest doctors worshipping specific deities, witch doctors, faith healers ... all depending on faith, though faith healers as such used no material objects, only faith.
Philosophy and medicine: the Chinese philosophy of disease, the other side of the coin being the philosophy of health ... and here is where Miss Li would locate Tai Ji. But this area was a bit dominated by scholastic subtleties and characterised by respect for authority, petrified formalities and pedantic excess of detail. However, within this were two central doctrines which formed the basis of all Chinese medicine:
1. Yin and Yang, ‘the two principles’, which generates the Bagua, ‘eight changes’, with strong relations to mathematics, astrology and the I Ching. Miss Li said she accepted the validity of this connection, but did not follow it herself. It uses the straight and broken lines to record natural changes. It is supposed to date from Fu Xi, who was given a revelation on the backs of the crane and the turtle. Each of the eight changes has a special name and a symbol, but without a very precise definition: it depends on personal interpretation, and that personal meaning can be very hard to communicate. Yin/Yang represent female/male, soft/hard etc. In terms of our human body, the skin is Yang, the inside is Yin; the back is Yang, the front is yin; the empty organs are Yang, the solid organs are Yin; the heart and liver are Yang, the spleen, lungs and kidneys are Yin.
2. Then comes the Wu Xing, ‘the five elements’. The human frame is supposed to be made up from a harmonious mixture of these five primordial substances. Proper health depends on a good balance of the five elements. Sayings reflecting the importance of balance are: ‘when you are too happy, you become exhausted’, ‘when you are too spiritual, you lose contact with the earth’, ‘even good things must be taken in moderation’. The five elements generate each other and subjugate each other. The five main organs correspond to the five elements. This is material, but there is also a mental side ... shenxin, body and mind. Man is the ‘little universe’, a microcosm: you have Tai Ji within Tai Ji, you are moving within the larger universe.
Tai Ji, Xing I, Ba Gua are therefore very subtle names, and the names of their forms are also elegant and subtle. But most translations into English are very crude and clumsy, without subtle meaning or clarity.
The I Ching has very little to do with Tai Ji, it has a little bit more to do with Ba Gua, but for the Internal Martial Arts the crucial text is actually the Yijin Jing, which is still quite solemn and scholarly, but which deals with the eight changes of the muscles, and is thus more closely related to Tai Ji and Ba Gua than the highly philosophical I Ching. There is also the Wu Xing Xi, or 'five animals game', which has a lot of therapeutic value.
In traditional Chinese practices they paid attention to diet, meditation to get blood pressure down, and then also exercise afterwards. Qi Gong Shan Shen Fa, meant the use of qi to strengthen your health, by quietening the mind and calming the breath; also the use of qi to overcome illness.
Zhang Sanfeng was a monk, a Daoist, and it is believed that he discovered many of the points on the body, but some say it was Feng I Yuan. Whichever, they discovered 36 points, then later in fighting reduced to nine fatal points, now today being revived for medical purposes. Miss Li was sceptical about this, 'perhaps I am more Western than you!'. The nine fatal points were considered to be: behind the ears, back of the head, back of the neck, solar plexus, back of the lungs, on the psoas area. The key is how they are touched, for one way of touching would be to cure. It is in Ba Gua that these fighting techniques would be most prominent, using the fingers, or the chop. This also relates to the place and time: in the medicine field it is very helpful to cure people, and in martial arts the timing is also the crucial thing. Another way of showing that Tai Ji is not a fighting art is that it does not have the fingers or the chops to kill or hurt.
Sunday, 21 October 2018
Summer School 1983
DAO OF TAI JI
Miss Li based her remarks on common sense and Tai Ji experiences, not on an academic system: Chinese philosophy is a crystallisation of things in your life. Dao means a road or a vehicle, a way of getting from one place to another. Divided into:
1.
‘Pure Daoism’ - contemplation, letting the mind rest on ‘useless’, ‘idle’, things ... the stream flowing, clouds empty of rain. Wu Wei, which means literally Doing Nothing ...
‘Do nothing, and everything will be done for you.’
‘Do not be a small man, nor a superior man; follow the natural way; hold firm to the unfettered wholeness which is within you.’
Miss Li’s father used to say, ‘only a dead man could be a good Daoist’, because the ideals cannot survive in the real world: we must eat, and that is the origin of stress and competition. But Daoism has been a vital resource for the Chinese people.
This is Zhuangzi, following Laozi in time, but preceding him in literature, making abstract things very concrete, telling stories.
2.
‘Purposive Daoism’ - philosophy, the scholarly, systematic aspect of Daoism, close to Confucianism, a system of study and understanding. Making use of thinking to do something; using strategy and psychology to achieve your ends. Laozi gave much advice to princes and rulers about getting power by the use of strategy, giving Chinese the reputation of being crooked, ‘using noble means to achieve mean ends’.
3.
‘Fairy Daoism’ - religion, degenerating into superstition, but many superstitions still have meaning. This is closer to Tai Ji, acupuncture and so on, and on this Miss Li felt more qualified to speak than on the others.
A complex and various patchwork, combining ignorant religious fanatics and sophisticated scholars, beginning about the same time as Christianity. Under all its manifestations it was marked by one constant aim: the achievement of ‘immortality’. Chinese people are not really very religious, especially in the north; in the south they are a bit more influenced by Buddhism; but the search for ‘immortality’ (the ‘gold’ of Daoism) spread everywhere, tending to preserve bodies after death too.
Religious Daoism was full of exaggerated stories and imagination, incorporating elements of all the religions which were available. To become ‘immortal’ meant to stay young, to be ageless. Important formulae were to take drugs, herbs; also alchemical manipulations, breath control, and gymnastics to improve physical health when alive. This has been compared to Indian Yoga. Qi is said to be the place of origin of magical practices, later used in the pursuit of ‘immortality’. ‘Qi’ is used all the time in Chinese daily language in different combinations with other words, for example to say you are angry, to refer to the state of the air, and so on.
This field was looked down on by the traditional Chinese scholarly families, which focused on Purposive Daoism. Thus Miss Li’s father chose Deng Yunfeng as her teacher because he (Deng) was a Christian and not into religious Daoism.
As for Zen, the Chinese character for Buddhism means ‘monk’, referring to Indian Buddhist traditions. But in China it was changed into Chan, the character meaning ‘yourself and God’. Chan was acceptable to the scholarly families, the basis of many of their studies and arts, e.g. calligraphy, painting, poetry. Miss Li found her teacher impressive because he combined ‘modern thinking’ and Christianity with elements drawn from the Chan traditions: thus very different from many of the other martial arts teachers of his generation, who were generally just ‘tough guys’.
Many of you want to teach Tai Ji, or write books about it, but it is too early yet: you need more study and research, and more gongfu yourselves. And the time is also not right - you must wait until the first generation of teachers in the West has faded away, because of the distortion of their ‘tough guy’ attitudes. Tai Ji’s main benefit is health: philosophy, martial arts, etc are ok, but good health is substantial.
Miss Li based her remarks on common sense and Tai Ji experiences, not on an academic system: Chinese philosophy is a crystallisation of things in your life. Dao means a road or a vehicle, a way of getting from one place to another. Divided into:
1.
‘Pure Daoism’ - contemplation, letting the mind rest on ‘useless’, ‘idle’, things ... the stream flowing, clouds empty of rain. Wu Wei, which means literally Doing Nothing ...
‘Do nothing, and everything will be done for you.’
‘Do not be a small man, nor a superior man; follow the natural way; hold firm to the unfettered wholeness which is within you.’
Miss Li’s father used to say, ‘only a dead man could be a good Daoist’, because the ideals cannot survive in the real world: we must eat, and that is the origin of stress and competition. But Daoism has been a vital resource for the Chinese people.
This is Zhuangzi, following Laozi in time, but preceding him in literature, making abstract things very concrete, telling stories.
2.
‘Purposive Daoism’ - philosophy, the scholarly, systematic aspect of Daoism, close to Confucianism, a system of study and understanding. Making use of thinking to do something; using strategy and psychology to achieve your ends. Laozi gave much advice to princes and rulers about getting power by the use of strategy, giving Chinese the reputation of being crooked, ‘using noble means to achieve mean ends’.
3.
‘Fairy Daoism’ - religion, degenerating into superstition, but many superstitions still have meaning. This is closer to Tai Ji, acupuncture and so on, and on this Miss Li felt more qualified to speak than on the others.
A complex and various patchwork, combining ignorant religious fanatics and sophisticated scholars, beginning about the same time as Christianity. Under all its manifestations it was marked by one constant aim: the achievement of ‘immortality’. Chinese people are not really very religious, especially in the north; in the south they are a bit more influenced by Buddhism; but the search for ‘immortality’ (the ‘gold’ of Daoism) spread everywhere, tending to preserve bodies after death too.
Religious Daoism was full of exaggerated stories and imagination, incorporating elements of all the religions which were available. To become ‘immortal’ meant to stay young, to be ageless. Important formulae were to take drugs, herbs; also alchemical manipulations, breath control, and gymnastics to improve physical health when alive. This has been compared to Indian Yoga. Qi is said to be the place of origin of magical practices, later used in the pursuit of ‘immortality’. ‘Qi’ is used all the time in Chinese daily language in different combinations with other words, for example to say you are angry, to refer to the state of the air, and so on.
This field was looked down on by the traditional Chinese scholarly families, which focused on Purposive Daoism. Thus Miss Li’s father chose Deng Yunfeng as her teacher because he (Deng) was a Christian and not into religious Daoism.
As for Zen, the Chinese character for Buddhism means ‘monk’, referring to Indian Buddhist traditions. But in China it was changed into Chan, the character meaning ‘yourself and God’. Chan was acceptable to the scholarly families, the basis of many of their studies and arts, e.g. calligraphy, painting, poetry. Miss Li found her teacher impressive because he combined ‘modern thinking’ and Christianity with elements drawn from the Chan traditions: thus very different from many of the other martial arts teachers of his generation, who were generally just ‘tough guys’.
Many of you want to teach Tai Ji, or write books about it, but it is too early yet: you need more study and research, and more gongfu yourselves. And the time is also not right - you must wait until the first generation of teachers in the West has faded away, because of the distortion of their ‘tough guy’ attitudes. Tai Ji’s main benefit is health: philosophy, martial arts, etc are ok, but good health is substantial.
Summer School 1983
TAI JI
Which Tai Ji is authentic? Check what words they use for each form, and what characters they use to represent the sounds. This is crucial: there are some quite clearly authentic characters.
Which Tai Ji is authentic? Check what words they use for each form, and what characters they use to represent the sounds. This is crucial: there are some quite clearly authentic characters.
For example, comparing the words for Backward Brush Knee, Open Fan, and Yun Shou, these actually mean
- roll your hips backwards ... not ‘monkey’
- lightning shoots through the back, qi circulating
- transport left and right ... not ‘cloud hands’.
The words will affect the style: if you call Backward Brush Knee ‘monkey’, then you will distort the movement. Also, if you call the transporting one ‘cloudy’ or ‘smoothing’, you will be either vague or will put your hands out as if smoothing wallpaper.
When someone presents ‘authentic Tai Ji’, you should ask: who developed this, where and why? What is Tai Ji anyway? What is it for? Why did the Chinese develop it? Why did they choose these words and images?
It is crucial to respect and work with the internal part first. If you work only from the outside you will never get the internal part. Whereas, if you develop the internal part first, then you can make the external part more precise later. And don’t just mimic Chinese pictures: taking them to extremes you would need to have a Chinese face and short legs!
So, what is Tai Ji? Tai Ji prepares for fighting, it gives good breathing and stamina, then you can go and learn fighting techniques. Tai Ji was never intended as a fighting technique in itself.
Different schools have exaggerated different points, some originally good, some rubbish, but all distorted if too much emphasised. Everything you exaggerate becomes a mannerism, and you throw the whole out of harmony.
Saturday, 22 September 2018
October 1991
In our first Tai Ji class of the year, Miss Li began by introducing Quiet Sitting as something which everyone in that class might do, and which would help their Tai Ji. Though she emphasised it was better not to start unless one had the time and the right attitude to keep going consistently. In martial arts circles it would often be referred to as Jing Gong, or ‘quiet repeated practice’, rather than Jing Zuo, ‘quiet sitting’.
It is not a form of meditation, because the mind does not concentrate on anything, rather the mind does nothing ... very hard to achieve! By using the mind’s power to trace the circuit we assist the already existing flow of energy. Miss Li recommended that one not think of the circuit over the top of the head, as that can lead to high blood pressure: instead trace it to the back of the lower neck and then go straight to awareness of breathing out through the nose. Begin with just a few minutes and gradually build up: it can be built up to as long as 20-30 minutes.
She would not want to describe the effects in terms of Qi or heat, as that may set up false expectations, think of it rather as ‘ventilation’, of the back in particular. She also likes to feel her back ventilating in this way when doing Tai Ji.
In the Daoist tradition we focus on the body and on health, so it may not be as ‘high’ as Buddhist meditation, which is more connected with the ‘spirit’ and thinking processes.
It is not a form of meditation, because the mind does not concentrate on anything, rather the mind does nothing ... very hard to achieve! By using the mind’s power to trace the circuit we assist the already existing flow of energy. Miss Li recommended that one not think of the circuit over the top of the head, as that can lead to high blood pressure: instead trace it to the back of the lower neck and then go straight to awareness of breathing out through the nose. Begin with just a few minutes and gradually build up: it can be built up to as long as 20-30 minutes.
She would not want to describe the effects in terms of Qi or heat, as that may set up false expectations, think of it rather as ‘ventilation’, of the back in particular. She also likes to feel her back ventilating in this way when doing Tai Ji.
In the Daoist tradition we focus on the body and on health, so it may not be as ‘high’ as Buddhist meditation, which is more connected with the ‘spirit’ and thinking processes.
Saturday, 25 August 2018
October 1989
Miss Li talked a bit about Jing Zuo:
This sort of exercise is probably not necessary for people with simple minds, as they can relax their brain easily. They could probably learn it more easily, but for that reason don’t really need it. But it is necessary for those with more complex minds, to help them to relax. And they will probably have struggles to learn to do it, because their complex mind won’t stop! The Monkey King stories are very good on this.
It cannot really be taught. Because it is so simple, it only takes five minutes to explain and then you just have to go and do it. Most ‘teachers’ and books are therefore inventing things to keep your attention and earn money by making up all sorts of complexities and stories to make it seem as if they have something to teach.
Everybody has to find their own way with it; the only ‘secret’ is just to do it constantly; it will do you some good; don’t expect any particular effects or great results.
This sort of exercise is probably not necessary for people with simple minds, as they can relax their brain easily. They could probably learn it more easily, but for that reason don’t really need it. But it is necessary for those with more complex minds, to help them to relax. And they will probably have struggles to learn to do it, because their complex mind won’t stop! The Monkey King stories are very good on this.
It cannot really be taught. Because it is so simple, it only takes five minutes to explain and then you just have to go and do it. Most ‘teachers’ and books are therefore inventing things to keep your attention and earn money by making up all sorts of complexities and stories to make it seem as if they have something to teach.
Everybody has to find their own way with it; the only ‘secret’ is just to do it constantly; it will do you some good; don’t expect any particular effects or great results.
Saturday, 21 July 2018
July 1989
Older words for what is now referred to as Qi Gong were:
Dao Yin ... to lead and guide
Tu Na ... to expel and receive
Hu Xi ... to breath out and breath in.
Each main tradition had a different word for sitting practice:
Jing Zuo ... quiet sitting, was Confucian
Da Zuo ... doing sitting, was Daoist
Zuo Chan .... sitting meditation, was Buddhist.
Miss Li’s teacher’s school was called:
Si Min Wu Shu She
The People’s Martial Arts Society.
Where Si Min, for People’s, literally meant the four main traditional occupations:
Shi, Nong, Gong, Shang
Or professionals, farmers, workers and merchants.
Dao Yin ... to lead and guide
Tu Na ... to expel and receive
Hu Xi ... to breath out and breath in.
Each main tradition had a different word for sitting practice:
Jing Zuo ... quiet sitting, was Confucian
Da Zuo ... doing sitting, was Daoist
Zuo Chan .... sitting meditation, was Buddhist.
Miss Li’s teacher’s school was called:
Si Min Wu Shu She
The People’s Martial Arts Society.
Where Si Min, for People’s, literally meant the four main traditional occupations:
Shi, Nong, Gong, Shang
Or professionals, farmers, workers and merchants.
July 1989
Miss Li said that Qi Gong has only really been talked of since the 1950s, since the Communists took over. Before that there was really no emphasis on these kind of separate, isolated exercises. Either they were the archaic elements that had been fused into Nei Jia Wu Shu, or they were used for people too old or too handicapped to do martial arts. Isolated exercises were regarded as inferior to a connected sequence, because the latter would be more beneficial for the mind to focus on, and for the breath/qi, through continuity and rhythm. Indeed, now in the 1980s they are inventing ‘Tai Ji Qi Gong’, which connects up separate Qi Gong exercises into something very similar to our Tai Ji!
Nei Jia was also based only on movement not sitting, because it was thought to be more beneficial and safer. Too much sitting still and using the mind can too easily lead to either fantasising and madness, or to forcing and holding the body and breath. Moving exercise circulates breath and qi, and focuses the mind, in a more natural and less stressful way. Using ‘yi’, ‘qi’, and ‘li’ together to produce ‘jin’ is more balanced. But, though they did not practice sitting, they did see Nei Jia as including meditation and the circulation of qi. For example, when you are standing at the beginning you are supposed to ‘gather yourself together’ and not be thinking about anything.
Miss Li’s teacher used to say that there were three stages of Tai Ji practice:
1. Tai Ji does you ... that is, you are still learning the correct forms, and are very concerned with that. You have little flexibility in your practice, for example to avoid other people, and little awareness.
2. You do Tai Ji ... that is, you now have enough awareness of the muscles and the movement to understand what you are doing.
3. Tai Ji and you are one ... now you are becoming less and less affected by the environment you are practising in.
The traditional Chinese approach in general, not just in the Nei Jia tradition, was wary of emphasising the mind too much, because that can so easily lead to imagining and fantasising. The Nei Jia tradition was very wary of talking about the inner effects or experiences of practice, because, if people did it for that reason and did not get what they expected, they would then give up. The emphasis instead was simply on constant daily practice and the benefits for health and strength: everybody could get these benefits, but only a few would get the real inner benefits. Miss Li said she saw this as a very wise approach.
Nei Jia was also based only on movement not sitting, because it was thought to be more beneficial and safer. Too much sitting still and using the mind can too easily lead to either fantasising and madness, or to forcing and holding the body and breath. Moving exercise circulates breath and qi, and focuses the mind, in a more natural and less stressful way. Using ‘yi’, ‘qi’, and ‘li’ together to produce ‘jin’ is more balanced. But, though they did not practice sitting, they did see Nei Jia as including meditation and the circulation of qi. For example, when you are standing at the beginning you are supposed to ‘gather yourself together’ and not be thinking about anything.
Miss Li’s teacher used to say that there were three stages of Tai Ji practice:
1. Tai Ji does you ... that is, you are still learning the correct forms, and are very concerned with that. You have little flexibility in your practice, for example to avoid other people, and little awareness.
2. You do Tai Ji ... that is, you now have enough awareness of the muscles and the movement to understand what you are doing.
3. Tai Ji and you are one ... now you are becoming less and less affected by the environment you are practising in.
The traditional Chinese approach in general, not just in the Nei Jia tradition, was wary of emphasising the mind too much, because that can so easily lead to imagining and fantasising. The Nei Jia tradition was very wary of talking about the inner effects or experiences of practice, because, if people did it for that reason and did not get what they expected, they would then give up. The emphasis instead was simply on constant daily practice and the benefits for health and strength: everybody could get these benefits, but only a few would get the real inner benefits. Miss Li said she saw this as a very wise approach.
Friday, 29 June 2018
July 1989
Internal
Martial - means physical strength
Art - means harmony, simplicity, nothing excessive
So Nei Jia Wu Shu could be translated as Art of Internal Strength, or Internal Art of Strength
Two catchphrases:
lightness is not floating
strength is not stiffness.
Martial - means physical strength
Art - means harmony, simplicity, nothing excessive
So Nei Jia Wu Shu could be translated as Art of Internal Strength, or Internal Art of Strength
Two catchphrases:
lightness is not floating
strength is not stiffness.
Saturday, 26 May 2018
June 1989
Internal Martial Arts are primarily concerned with the mind, so why not work more directly on the mind, for example through meditation?
1. Because even if you do not get any mental benefit, Tai Ji will at least benefit the body. So everybody can get something from it.
2. Because sitting quietly often only results in the mind flying off all over the place. Having to concentrate on physical movements can help to still the mind.
3. Because the physical activity gives the teacher a way of measuring the student's achievements: if getting the physical side correct has mental effects, then equally the mental development will be visible in the body. So the teacher does not have to rely on what the student says.
4. And, of course, vice versa. The student does not have to understand or believe all the teacher says, if they do the physical practice they will reap the benefits.
1. Because even if you do not get any mental benefit, Tai Ji will at least benefit the body. So everybody can get something from it.
2. Because sitting quietly often only results in the mind flying off all over the place. Having to concentrate on physical movements can help to still the mind.
3. Because the physical activity gives the teacher a way of measuring the student's achievements: if getting the physical side correct has mental effects, then equally the mental development will be visible in the body. So the teacher does not have to rely on what the student says.
4. And, of course, vice versa. The student does not have to understand or believe all the teacher says, if they do the physical practice they will reap the benefits.
Saturday, 28 April 2018
September 1988
Breathing in Shooting Tiger: focus on breathing out as you plant your heel each time and let the rest develop naturally from there, don't force it unnaturally.
Adjusting your feet is fine, what she objects to is sliding or shuffling across the floor. Indeed, adjusting the position of the feet once they have landed is very necessary in changing between many of the forms. Just make sure you do it with the heel on the ground, otherwise you weaken your lower back. And do it when your weight is on the other foot, for example adjust the rear foot when your weight is forward, and so on.
The good internal qualities of Tai Ji are: continuity, inner awareness, and gracefulness. It is like a beautiful person who just is so, and is not aware of it; as soon as they start looking in a mirror and thinking they are beautiful, they stop being beautiful. This is something not many of her students achieve, even if they think they have the physical forms and techniques right. And this is the core of the whole thing in the internal martial arts. The fact that many of her best students are very highly educated is not because she is snobbish, but because that mental ability and training seems to equip them for the internal martial arts. Also, brainworkers need these arts and can benefit so much from them: calming and focusing the mind, circulating qi and blood through the head. There is also massage which is very good for this, which she would like to show us some time.
Where I could still improve is on the physical side, especially as regards stretching in full, and this especially in the legs, going down lower. The more effort you put in, the more you will get out of it. The more you can stretch now, the more room you will have for the inevitable shrinking when you get old!
Adjusting your feet is fine, what she objects to is sliding or shuffling across the floor. Indeed, adjusting the position of the feet once they have landed is very necessary in changing between many of the forms. Just make sure you do it with the heel on the ground, otherwise you weaken your lower back. And do it when your weight is on the other foot, for example adjust the rear foot when your weight is forward, and so on.
The good internal qualities of Tai Ji are: continuity, inner awareness, and gracefulness. It is like a beautiful person who just is so, and is not aware of it; as soon as they start looking in a mirror and thinking they are beautiful, they stop being beautiful. This is something not many of her students achieve, even if they think they have the physical forms and techniques right. And this is the core of the whole thing in the internal martial arts. The fact that many of her best students are very highly educated is not because she is snobbish, but because that mental ability and training seems to equip them for the internal martial arts. Also, brainworkers need these arts and can benefit so much from them: calming and focusing the mind, circulating qi and blood through the head. There is also massage which is very good for this, which she would like to show us some time.
Where I could still improve is on the physical side, especially as regards stretching in full, and this especially in the legs, going down lower. The more effort you put in, the more you will get out of it. The more you can stretch now, the more room you will have for the inevitable shrinking when you get old!
September 1988
Where to practise?
The main thing is to be comfortable and have your mind relaxed: just the right temperature, not too cramped in terms of space, not too noisy, otherwise your mind will be distracted. Therefore, outside if it is quiet and warm enough, and private enough; inside if you have enough room, or it is too cold outside. In her own family home in Beijing it was freezing cold early in the morning in winter, as they had only one stove in the corner of the main room, so she used to do her Xing Yi first, mainly to warm up! Xing Yi works from the physical first: if it is hot or cold it makes you not notice that quite quickly. Tai Ji works from the mind first: so the main thing is to find a place where you feel comfortable, relaxed, and will not be disturbed. Nowadays in her house in London Miss Li said she likes to be in touch with nature as long as she is not uncomfortable: she doesn't like to have the central heating on very high unless she is just sitting watching television, otherwise she prefers to put on more clothes.
When to practise?
Early in the morning basically: because the sun's energy is better then. She personally gets up very early, at about 5.00am, and has to discipline herself to stay in bed till later in the winter. This is not necessary, but 11.00 or 12.00 is too late for Tai Ji, not really the morning proper. Best then would be before 9.00am. Get more sleep in the winter, stay in bed longer. Get up earlier in the summer. The whole point of real culture is the search to do things in the natural way ...
How often to practise?
If you have the time and interest to practise twice a day that would be good, but she herself finds one good practice in the morning sees her through the twenty-four hours. Doing experiments on herself, she notices that her central spine begins to suffer if she does not do Tai Ji for two days, but once a day seems to be enough.
While saying this about the time of day and the frequency, Miss Li made a detour into talking about Tai Ji and Qi Gong. She does not really like to talk about the circulation of qi very much because it is better not to talk about such things: those who do, do so to put up a banner of some sort, to make a stand, or to advertise themselves. In China everybody used to know the main points on the circular channel of qi, and always talked about them, but did they really feel them? Maybe, maybe not. She does not deny it, but she recommends it as a sceptical question to bear in mind. Most people are too insensitive to feel their arms, let alone qi circulating around their torso! And again, sitting still doing Qi Gong you may master and practise all the techniques, but is your mind really fully present? That is difficult to achieve. So Tai Ji offers a real way towards Qi Gong practice, by firstly focusing and training the mind, then secondly increasing physical awareness and sensitivity.
It is definitely intended in Miss Li's tradition to work towards the circulation of qi very much as described in Qi Gong's "microcosmic orbit", but slowly and gradually. The practice would be: as you breath in, either feel the qi or think of your muscles in a sequence from Dan Tian, down through the genitals to the perineum; then up through the lower back, waist, between the shoulders, back of the head, top of the head; then down to the nose and breath out. If you do not feel the qi, then just think of the muscles in those places and that will send your attention and mind there, and build up awareness. This is no "secret teaching", it is just practical and commonsense, but it's still better not to talk about it too much or people will get misled in various ways.
The main thing is to be comfortable and have your mind relaxed: just the right temperature, not too cramped in terms of space, not too noisy, otherwise your mind will be distracted. Therefore, outside if it is quiet and warm enough, and private enough; inside if you have enough room, or it is too cold outside. In her own family home in Beijing it was freezing cold early in the morning in winter, as they had only one stove in the corner of the main room, so she used to do her Xing Yi first, mainly to warm up! Xing Yi works from the physical first: if it is hot or cold it makes you not notice that quite quickly. Tai Ji works from the mind first: so the main thing is to find a place where you feel comfortable, relaxed, and will not be disturbed. Nowadays in her house in London Miss Li said she likes to be in touch with nature as long as she is not uncomfortable: she doesn't like to have the central heating on very high unless she is just sitting watching television, otherwise she prefers to put on more clothes.
When to practise?
Early in the morning basically: because the sun's energy is better then. She personally gets up very early, at about 5.00am, and has to discipline herself to stay in bed till later in the winter. This is not necessary, but 11.00 or 12.00 is too late for Tai Ji, not really the morning proper. Best then would be before 9.00am. Get more sleep in the winter, stay in bed longer. Get up earlier in the summer. The whole point of real culture is the search to do things in the natural way ...
How often to practise?
If you have the time and interest to practise twice a day that would be good, but she herself finds one good practice in the morning sees her through the twenty-four hours. Doing experiments on herself, she notices that her central spine begins to suffer if she does not do Tai Ji for two days, but once a day seems to be enough.
While saying this about the time of day and the frequency, Miss Li made a detour into talking about Tai Ji and Qi Gong. She does not really like to talk about the circulation of qi very much because it is better not to talk about such things: those who do, do so to put up a banner of some sort, to make a stand, or to advertise themselves. In China everybody used to know the main points on the circular channel of qi, and always talked about them, but did they really feel them? Maybe, maybe not. She does not deny it, but she recommends it as a sceptical question to bear in mind. Most people are too insensitive to feel their arms, let alone qi circulating around their torso! And again, sitting still doing Qi Gong you may master and practise all the techniques, but is your mind really fully present? That is difficult to achieve. So Tai Ji offers a real way towards Qi Gong practice, by firstly focusing and training the mind, then secondly increasing physical awareness and sensitivity.
It is definitely intended in Miss Li's tradition to work towards the circulation of qi very much as described in Qi Gong's "microcosmic orbit", but slowly and gradually. The practice would be: as you breath in, either feel the qi or think of your muscles in a sequence from Dan Tian, down through the genitals to the perineum; then up through the lower back, waist, between the shoulders, back of the head, top of the head; then down to the nose and breath out. If you do not feel the qi, then just think of the muscles in those places and that will send your attention and mind there, and build up awareness. This is no "secret teaching", it is just practical and commonsense, but it's still better not to talk about it too much or people will get misled in various ways.
Saturday, 31 March 2018
September 1986
Miss Li characterised Tai Ji literature into various groupings:
1. Traditional literature, which devotes half its time to inaccurate histories of the origins of the art.
2. The systematising work of the late Empire generation, who were not scholars, so that books in their names were written by others. They could read and were highly intelligent, but had no mastery of formal writing style.
3. The official literature of the government, which focuses on describing the movements as a form of gymnastics.
4. Medical literature, in which doctors write about the experiences of others, usually highly developed practitioners with many years of practice behind them.
5. Secret writings on applications from the martial arts families.
So, there is no good comprehensive book at the moment. She would ideally like to see such a publication in two parts: a volume on how to practice the movements; another volume on history, theory and principles.
She also stressed the importance of the Tai Ji symbol:
- hand movements always relate to circles, either vertical circles, horizontal circles or spheres. She mentioned this particularly to me in the context of Forward Brush Knees.
- arm-pits alternate between open and closed.
- arms alternate between yin/soft and yang/firm, rather then being the same all the time.
1. Traditional literature, which devotes half its time to inaccurate histories of the origins of the art.
2. The systematising work of the late Empire generation, who were not scholars, so that books in their names were written by others. They could read and were highly intelligent, but had no mastery of formal writing style.
3. The official literature of the government, which focuses on describing the movements as a form of gymnastics.
4. Medical literature, in which doctors write about the experiences of others, usually highly developed practitioners with many years of practice behind them.
5. Secret writings on applications from the martial arts families.
So, there is no good comprehensive book at the moment. She would ideally like to see such a publication in two parts: a volume on how to practice the movements; another volume on history, theory and principles.
She also stressed the importance of the Tai Ji symbol:
- hand movements always relate to circles, either vertical circles, horizontal circles or spheres. She mentioned this particularly to me in the context of Forward Brush Knees.
- arm-pits alternate between open and closed.
- arms alternate between yin/soft and yang/firm, rather then being the same all the time.
Tuesday, 27 February 2018
July 1986
Talking mainly to the junior members of the class, she emphasised the need to “stretch in full”.
The stages of learning Tai Ji are:
The Form (the mechanical part)
Getting the Form Flowing
Stretching in Full.
When stretching, usually on the outbreath, the arms should be relaxed. “Strength spreads to the fingertips” is an old saying with many interpretations, but note that the fingers are weaker if the arm is tense: the arm has to relax for the fingers to be strong. Also, practicing internal martial arts will build up the muscles of the legs much more than the muscles of the arms: when “stretching in full”, you should also sink down more and open your arch more.
Miss Li still tends to emphasise the teaching of the form and the correct movement of the muscles. Qi will circulate of its own accord and does not need to be forced. When you feel it circulating it will not be dramatic: not like a wind blowing round your body. It is more that you will be able to tell which areas are blocked and where the qi is not flowing. She commented in this connection that at the higher levels Tai Ji is a very beneficial form of exercise, but left that vague ... “as you will discover” ...
35 minutes is a good time to take for the long form; 40-45 minutes is very good for more advanced levels.
The stages of learning Tai Ji are:
The Form (the mechanical part)
Getting the Form Flowing
Stretching in Full.
When stretching, usually on the outbreath, the arms should be relaxed. “Strength spreads to the fingertips” is an old saying with many interpretations, but note that the fingers are weaker if the arm is tense: the arm has to relax for the fingers to be strong. Also, practicing internal martial arts will build up the muscles of the legs much more than the muscles of the arms: when “stretching in full”, you should also sink down more and open your arch more.
Miss Li still tends to emphasise the teaching of the form and the correct movement of the muscles. Qi will circulate of its own accord and does not need to be forced. When you feel it circulating it will not be dramatic: not like a wind blowing round your body. It is more that you will be able to tell which areas are blocked and where the qi is not flowing. She commented in this connection that at the higher levels Tai Ji is a very beneficial form of exercise, but left that vague ... “as you will discover” ...
35 minutes is a good time to take for the long form; 40-45 minutes is very good for more advanced levels.
July 1986
Once again Miss Li mentioned the three main aspects of:
Heaven ... fresh air
Earth ... a flat floor
Human ... me!
People challenge her about things such as Qi Gong and meditation, and she usually says “Tai Ji is the whole package”. But in her tradition they do have supplementary exercises, though they talk of them as “breathing exercises” rather than Qi Gong, and “quiet sitting” rather than meditation.
She then introduced one simple way of quiet sitting:
Sit firmly on a chair, back erect and not supported.
Feet with the edges of the soles either together or crossed at the ankles, and a nice bow in the legs.
Hands clasped in front of the belly, with all ten finger tips tucked into the nest.
After a short while, you may begin to feel warmth in your hands: focus your attention on this feeling by saying 5 times “ I feel warm in my hands”, or just “warm”.
Swallow saliva twice (a good flow of saliva is a sign of good health).
Repeat focus on warm hands.
Start with 10 minutes a day and allow the time to grow naturally.
Practice daily for 3 months and you will begin to feel the benefit.
With good posture you may find the warm sensation spreads; and it will help you to relax your limbs and torso in Tai Ji practice.
Heaven ... fresh air
Earth ... a flat floor
Human ... me!
People challenge her about things such as Qi Gong and meditation, and she usually says “Tai Ji is the whole package”. But in her tradition they do have supplementary exercises, though they talk of them as “breathing exercises” rather than Qi Gong, and “quiet sitting” rather than meditation.
She then introduced one simple way of quiet sitting:
Sit firmly on a chair, back erect and not supported.
Feet with the edges of the soles either together or crossed at the ankles, and a nice bow in the legs.
Hands clasped in front of the belly, with all ten finger tips tucked into the nest.
After a short while, you may begin to feel warmth in your hands: focus your attention on this feeling by saying 5 times “ I feel warm in my hands”, or just “warm”.
Swallow saliva twice (a good flow of saliva is a sign of good health).
Repeat focus on warm hands.
Start with 10 minutes a day and allow the time to grow naturally.
Practice daily for 3 months and you will begin to feel the benefit.
With good posture you may find the warm sensation spreads; and it will help you to relax your limbs and torso in Tai Ji practice.
Wednesday, 31 January 2018
March 1986
We do only periodically.
What we have is out there.
So, the most important thing is who we are.
And applied to Tai Ji, this means we must work on the connections between the defined parts of the form. As in Chinese painting the artist thinks of continuous physical movement as well as the picture which is emerging. Eventually we will be more aware of the movement of our muscles than of how our form looks - and we can assume that if the muscle movement is good so will the external form be.
Chew each part carefully, paying close attention to detail.
Eat the whole apple!
... I come from an economical country!
What we have is out there.
So, the most important thing is who we are.
And applied to Tai Ji, this means we must work on the connections between the defined parts of the form. As in Chinese painting the artist thinks of continuous physical movement as well as the picture which is emerging. Eventually we will be more aware of the movement of our muscles than of how our form looks - and we can assume that if the muscle movement is good so will the external form be.
Chew each part carefully, paying close attention to detail.
Eat the whole apple!
... I come from an economical country!
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