Folks, per my earlier communication with you on this past Saturday, let's start up at 7am on Saturday 7/4/09 and go until 8:30am. You'll have your whole day ahead of you, and we won't be feeding either the bugs or the fray.
Work your walking drills diligently this week. The pry will be a major focus this month!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Question for Sifu from 6/13/09 Class
For Sifu,
May we have clarification on a couple of movements? (Classmates--If you can think of the other question(s), can you please add to this?)
Ba Duan Jin:
In the 4th piece of brocade (palms down on either side near the waist and we twist to each side), we're supposed to look as far back with our eyes as we can. Do our heads keep twisting all the way over our shoulders (like a spiral or screw) or do our heads only rotate in line with our shoulders so that our heads are always in line with our center line, but only our eyes keep moving towards our shoulders?
Needle at sea bottom:
Just confirming that at the bottom, when hands are on either side of the knee, that our abs are tight and pelvis/hips are tucked in that the lower back is straight and not curved. The shoulders are not hunched, of course. All weight is on the right leg, also. Is that right? Or are the hips/butt somewhat more relaxed?
Thank you, Sifu, (with salute)!
May we have clarification on a couple of movements? (Classmates--If you can think of the other question(s), can you please add to this?)
Ba Duan Jin:
In the 4th piece of brocade (palms down on either side near the waist and we twist to each side), we're supposed to look as far back with our eyes as we can. Do our heads keep twisting all the way over our shoulders (like a spiral or screw) or do our heads only rotate in line with our shoulders so that our heads are always in line with our center line, but only our eyes keep moving towards our shoulders?
Needle at sea bottom:
Just confirming that at the bottom, when hands are on either side of the knee, that our abs are tight and pelvis/hips are tucked in that the lower back is straight and not curved. The shoulders are not hunched, of course. All weight is on the right leg, also. Is that right? Or are the hips/butt somewhat more relaxed?
Thank you, Sifu, (with salute)!
Class Notes: 5/2/09 & 5/23/09
Here are more notes from class. The one thing I've been forgetting to do that I know Steve used to do was to write down what our drills or practice were for the day. I'll remember to do that. Anyway we must've been working our our breathing and focus in May:
Focus on breath--the deepest breath pushes the pelvic floor.
Train movement that does not inhibit breathing.Purpose the thought, emotion and movement through breathing.
Difficult goal is to focus on one thing or movement while being aware of everything/your whole body. It is an absence of distraction.
If you're tense and don't know it, it manifests itself in two words, "I Am!" For example, someone tells you to "relax." You respond defensively, "I AM!" or "I KNOW!" It is a knee jerk reaction. You are unaware of your baseline tension.
Focus on breath--the deepest breath pushes the pelvic floor.
Train movement that does not inhibit breathing.Purpose the thought, emotion and movement through breathing.
Difficult goal is to focus on one thing or movement while being aware of everything/your whole body. It is an absence of distraction.
If you're tense and don't know it, it manifests itself in two words, "I Am!" For example, someone tells you to "relax." You respond defensively, "I AM!" or "I KNOW!" It is a knee jerk reaction. You are unaware of your baseline tension.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Things to work on this saturday.
Hello everyone!-
Yesterday, as I was doing a kettlebell work out in the park near my house, I observed a few people practicing Tai Chi together. It was very interesting. It closely resembled what we do (the hands form was a little different but the sword form was exsactly the same) except for one thing. Posture! Their chests were sunk in and their necks were chickened forward. If there is one thing that Sifu says that has been burned into my mind forever it is "Pull your head up!" I like that we have been going through the entire form the past couple of weeks, but this weekend as Sifu is away, I prepose that we break things down a little more and really work on pulling our posture tall and tucking our hips in the proper postures. I just wanted to get everyone eleses thoughts on what we should focus on this week as Sifu is out of town?
Also, this morning as I was covering the Chi Gong class that my mother teaches, I was relived and happy to see Mitsuko in attendence and in high spirit. She told me she would be there on saturday so I just thought I would let everyone know incase anyone was concerned for her. Hope everyone has been having a great week and I look forward to a great class as always on saturday.
Yesterday, as I was doing a kettlebell work out in the park near my house, I observed a few people practicing Tai Chi together. It was very interesting. It closely resembled what we do (the hands form was a little different but the sword form was exsactly the same) except for one thing. Posture! Their chests were sunk in and their necks were chickened forward. If there is one thing that Sifu says that has been burned into my mind forever it is "Pull your head up!" I like that we have been going through the entire form the past couple of weeks, but this weekend as Sifu is away, I prepose that we break things down a little more and really work on pulling our posture tall and tucking our hips in the proper postures. I just wanted to get everyone eleses thoughts on what we should focus on this week as Sifu is out of town?
Also, this morning as I was covering the Chi Gong class that my mother teaches, I was relived and happy to see Mitsuko in attendence and in high spirit. She told me she would be there on saturday so I just thought I would let everyone know incase anyone was concerned for her. Hope everyone has been having a great week and I look forward to a great class as always on saturday.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Class notes - 6/6/09
Hello, Saturday classmates,
As much as possible, I will post our Saturday tai chi class notes. I'm going to start with the most recent and work backwards up to a couple of months. They may not be 100% accurate, so I hope Sifu will correct what I have been able to decipher. If anyone has any questions about any particular parts of the form and you're able to describe the movement you're thinking about, Sifu said that he would attempt to respond from the road, if not in class. So, here were the gems from last Saturday:
Anybody can move. You have to move with coordinated motion. Coordinated motion requires control.
You need to have:
Straight posture (lower back strength)
Pelvis control
Deliberate step (no dropping into your step)
Breath control
Then be aware of the experience.
You need to carry adequate discipline so that you can see your shortcomings/weak or off spots.
Be aware of every microsecond. Is it right? Does it feel right?
-------=======================
Try to keep the "palm leaf" hand (line between tip of index finger down to opposite lower corner of palm, then relax rest of hand around that line). Hands are predominantly this way throughout the form with a few exceptions (punches, gouges, single whip, etc.)
When transitioning from pushing toward the right, then trailing the hands 180 degrees into single whip, the left palm pushes outward somewhat--it's a neck dragging (?) move.
We were speaking of knee injuries. Knee injuries often start at the hips or feet. Women in high heels or people who wear thick soled boots often experience problems, too. They get no feedback from the ground.
I will also add pointers that were for particular students, but are areas that we can all benefit from in practice:
Focus
Breathing
Intention
See you next time,
Ros
As much as possible, I will post our Saturday tai chi class notes. I'm going to start with the most recent and work backwards up to a couple of months. They may not be 100% accurate, so I hope Sifu will correct what I have been able to decipher. If anyone has any questions about any particular parts of the form and you're able to describe the movement you're thinking about, Sifu said that he would attempt to respond from the road, if not in class. So, here were the gems from last Saturday:
Anybody can move. You have to move with coordinated motion. Coordinated motion requires control.
You need to have:
Straight posture (lower back strength)
Pelvis control
Deliberate step (no dropping into your step)
Breath control
Then be aware of the experience.
You need to carry adequate discipline so that you can see your shortcomings/weak or off spots.
Be aware of every microsecond. Is it right? Does it feel right?
-------=======================
Try to keep the "palm leaf" hand (line between tip of index finger down to opposite lower corner of palm, then relax rest of hand around that line). Hands are predominantly this way throughout the form with a few exceptions (punches, gouges, single whip, etc.)
When transitioning from pushing toward the right, then trailing the hands 180 degrees into single whip, the left palm pushes outward somewhat--it's a neck dragging (?) move.
We were speaking of knee injuries. Knee injuries often start at the hips or feet. Women in high heels or people who wear thick soled boots often experience problems, too. They get no feedback from the ground.
I will also add pointers that were for particular students, but are areas that we can all benefit from in practice:
Focus
Breathing
Intention
See you next time,
Ros
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