No Class this Saturday

Since the vast majority of us are either out of town or under the weather as of today (Friday, Oct. 8th, 2010), we'll take this Saturday off and resume training as usual on Saturday, Oct. 16th.

Have a restful weekend, and please remember to make the little facets of your daily life a part of your practice. From how you sit to how you type, from how you walk to how you breathe, the central concepts of Tai-Chi as I teach it are universal and constant. 

Redundant

I was starting to write a new blogpost, and then I scrolled down through the existing posts. It was both shocking and pleasantly surprising to see that I'd already written on what I was planning on.

Over & over, we have the chance to review material we've already been exposed to, but we rarely ever do. Regardless of how rich the information is that's right in front of us, already learned, already paid for, already sitting in our libraries, we still surf through Amazon & Youtube to look for still MORE information to add to our hoarding mounds.

Instead of looking for new & flashy, please take a few moments to revisit some of the earlier posts on this blog, and see if you can't find some pointer that will inspire better form, better performance, or a better life for you!

Movement Mastery - the initial process

It's been a while since I've posted on this blog (or any other) with regularity, so I apologize for allowing myself to be distracted. Trust me when I tell you that it's all going to change rather dramatically in the not-too-distant future, so hang on for the ride and it'll be well worth it.

One of the main things we've been taking the time to focus in on lately is "ownership of movement". Ownership of a movement means that you can completely dictate the speed with which you execute the movement without strain or stress.

Strain or stress betray themselves in a few basic ways:
1. tensed or rigid muscles, especially further away from the areas creating the movement
2. elevated shoulders / hunched neck
3. shallow breathing
4. inability to change trajectory

In Tai-Chi terms for example, if you can take 10 seconds to put your foot out while making a step, yet keep perfect posture without excessive rigidity, keep your arms & neck in form while staying loose, and maintain a centered dantian breathing and relaxed/focused mind, YOU'VE GOT IT!

I know this is going to seem painfully repetitive, but I'm going to focus us all on walking drills and OWNERSHIP of Section 1 for a while. Many of you have been focused on improving your skill in Tai-Chi. While that's an admirable goal, please remember that skill improvement is far secondary to building, deepening, and strengthening your foundation.

Movements are going to get slower, straighter, more precise, and yet softer, more responsive, and more alive. I know it often feels like there are too many things to keep in mind with Tai-Chi practice - spine pulled up, hips under shoulders, breathing from the abdomen, foot placement, joint alignment, etc., etc.... 

Remember instead that any movement is like a line. A line, while it may seem like 1 object, is actually composed of countless little segments. We can control how those segments appear or align. And when we exercise that awareness and control, the lines we create are both unique and beautiful.

Criteria for Judging Tai Chi Form

3/6/2010 What we learned in Saturday class and what we practiced:

Five criteria for judging forms or for perfect technique--
1. Hands/Shou (pronounced "so")
2. Eyes/Yan (pron. "yen")--line of sight
3. Posture/Shen (pron. "shun")--literal translation "body"
4. Coordination/Fa--literal translation "method"; transitions, movement in a coordinated way
5. Stance/Bu--"step"; foot placement, joint alignment from hips down, timing of step

We need to work on our basics. If you (think you) know the basics but can't apply them, you don't own them.
----
Static drills completed: Brush knee, single whip.

We practiced walking drills while intently focusing on a point ahead of us. If you can focus on a point, with practice, you start placing the intent in your movements without trying. You get tall, strong, and in applications, hands get very heavy. It's difficult to do and can be mentally exhausting.


Keep your head level when doing statics (e.g. while shifting back and forward during brush knee). Push yourself on you back leg as you're shifting back--it should fee spring-loaded.
Stay as low as possible. The lower your transition is, the lighter your step (outward) will be, such as while doing "single whip."


That's all for now. Focus, focus, focus. Perhaps Sifu has additional pointers.

The 2010 Message - The Mirror

If I haven't yet seen you since the start of 2010, Happy New Year!

This year, we've got a lot of ground to cover, a lot of improvement to make, and a lot of hard self-examination to do in order to realize those improvements.

I've been quoted as saying, "Asian Americans have an obligation to struggle to retain the best parts of their ancestral culture while exercising the freedom to assimilate the strongest parts of other cultural influences that they're exposed to. A sense of knowing one's place in society and understanding one's obligation ("giri" in Japanese) to it are CRUCIAL for being a useful, good human being."

While those comments were certainly aimed at Asian Americans, as I am one and was speaking about that group to which I belong, they also apply to EVERY American, regardless of ethnic or cultural background.

As I said during Saturday's Tai-Chi class, the theme of 2010 will be the Mirror Set. Why? For the simple reason that we've all gotten a little complacent in how we train the "right-handed" large frame Yang style Tai-Chi long form.

We tend to get grooved into patterns of behavior that are either comfortable or tolerable. But it's really in going well outside of our comfort zones and developing skill sets through self-challenge, self-criticism, self-awareness, and self-improvement that we scale out of the trap of mediocrity.

I want you all to take a HARD look in the mirror this year. Don't just look at your perceived faults and mull them over. Look FOR your faults, especially those that you reflexively defend through dismissive responses to criticism or instruction, through waiving active responsibility, through procrastination, or through other forms of cowardice and dishonesty.

We're going to continue with the same emphasis on basics, but we're going to take the Tai-Chi symmetricals all the way through, not just practicing them as isolated drills, but also as part of a whole and a flow. We need to be able to apply what we learn in a variety of contexts, not just pay lip service to them in theory.

That said, let's DO! Every moment of every day is your chance to do what's right. Let's make it happen!