Sunday, December 14, 2008

Changed by Tai Chi

by Julie Li

"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."

Having heard that tai chi was beneficial for the elderly,I signed up with my 73-year-old mother for an introductory 8-week adult ed course at Peter Kwok's Kung Fu Academy in Emerson, NJ. That was a year and a half ago and I haven't looked back.

I had always been curious about tai chi, but had no real idea of what to expect. Faced with the typical frustrations of a beginner--"What? There's a short form too?!"--the first six months were especially challenging.

I wasn't completely naïve however: I knew there would be a learning curve, especially at my age and less-than peak physical condition. What I didn't anticipate was how much I would be changed by tai chi. The things I've lost have been tangible --some unwanted pounds have disappeared--but what I've found has been even more valuable: increased confidence and patience, newfound mental and physical strength, and a core of inner resources I didn't know I could possess. In addition to opening these doors within myself, tai chi has also connected me more with my husband's family and culture--we joke that because of my interest in martial arts and Taoist philosophy I am now more Chinese than he is. One special moment I will never forget is doing tai chi with my mother-in-law and her siblings at a family reunion last year. They were eager to see what I had
learned and I was nervous to show them. But their enthusiasm at even my rudimentary knowledge of tai chi was obvious as they followed me through a shaky demonstration of the Guang Ping Yang long form. What came next was even more of a surprise, when, after we finished, they bowed and expressed their thanks, affectionately
calling me "master."

Equally as important to me as experiences like this are the very people who make up my martial arts family. There is a real sense of community at my school, and I don't think my "tai chi friends" know how much they have come to mean to me. I do know that while we may have only a limited knowledge of each other, the connections are meaningful, and, I hope, longlasting. Each one of my teacher-sisters and teacher-brothers has been just that--a patient and supportive teacher who has in their own way opened another door. This kind of accepting and nurturing environment doesn't happen by accident. Our teacher, Master Randy Elia, embodies the Chinese expression, "Teacher for a day, parent for life," and the knowledge, enthusiasm, and encouragement he shares with us so freely is infinite and inspiring.

Still a beginner with a lifetime of practice ahead, I know I have only begun to scratch the surface of what tai chi has to teach me. I look forward to the journey and, although my kicks may not be as steady years down the road, I know my spirit will only continue to grow stronger.

Julie Li is a Board Member and Membership Coordinator for the GPYTCA

Monday, December 8, 2008

Book Review: T'ai Chi Ch'uan For Health and Self-Defense: Philosophy and Practice

By Nick D'Antoni

Following up on the “Back to Basics” theme of the 2007 conference, I’ve been spending most of my taiji reading time exploring my collection and re-reading some of the books that I came across fairly early in my studies.

I’ve tried to approach each of these old friends as though meeting them for the first time and it has proven to be a very interesting and rewarding experience. I could go on about that and the whole notion of cultivating “beginner’s mind”, but instead what I thought might be fun, and perhaps more useful, would be to call attention to some of these older taiji texts. As I was re-reading one particular book my old copy was literally disintegrating in my hands, cover falling off and pages coming unglued from the spine, edges crumbling. I was holding it carefully together with a rubber band. Needless to say, I was pleased to discover that it is still in print, and I ordered a new copy so I could check out any changes. I received a pleasant surprise when what arrived at my local bookstore ended up being a brand new copy that is nearly exactly as
it was. Even the covers remain essentially unchanged! Of course the price has gone up from the $4.95 printed on my old copy. But I think the book remains a bargain at the current published price, $12. What I’ve written in this issue is more of a synopsis and recommendation than a review, and there are a couple more recommendations slipped in at the end. So, with that said …

Master T. T. Liang’s book is an important and relatively early English language taiji publication, and one I think should be in nearly every taiji player’s library. It is densely packed with information presented in clear language and a format that makes it accessible to both the beginner and advanced student. In his chapter on “The Essentials of T’ai Chi Ch’uan” Master Liang describes an ordered method for the process of learning taijiquan that moves from careful study of the principles until mastery is achieved, then moves on to the specific techniques, and finally, once mastery of the techniques in abstract is accomplished, one is able to combine the principles and techniques to apply to practical use. One can clearly hear echoes of other notable early teachers in the outline of this method. (For example, Cheng Man-Ch’ing comes immediately to my mind with his three levels of development each of which is further subdivided into three levels.) This underlying progression should guide and inform the student in her/his approach to all the material in his book and he gives us a lots and lots of content to think about and to study in practice. Master Liang begins with a brief discussion of fundamental principles, a short “personal view” or philosophy, and an outline of a “Complete Set of T’ai Chi Exercises.” A good portion of the book is devoted to translations with commentary of classic taiji texts: “T’ai Chi Ch’uan Classic”, “T’ai Chi Ch’uan Treatise”, “Mental Elucidation of the Thirteen Postures”, and “Song of the Substance and Function of the Thirteen Postures.” Each text is presented in a series of short sections in which the translation is followed immediately by Master Liang’s explanation and illustrative commentary.

Elsewhere, he presents thorough discussion of fundamentals and essentials along with some very understandable
explanations of more advanced concepts. Also included is a translation of the “Song of Pushing Hands”, a short section of “Stories of the Masters”, a chapter on the meaning of the Five Elements, some philosophical points of similarity between taiji and Lao Tze, and a chapter consisting of bits from several other short documents reflecting on elements of taijiquan.

While re-reading this book, I found it impressive to recall that these are some of the earliest detailed translations with detailed commentaries ever published directly in English by an accomplished taiji master.
And though some of these texts have now been translated and commented upon many times, T. T. Liang’s remarks remain powerfully relevant. His commentaries contain insights that are sometimes unique and often enlightening and inspirational. I hope you will take my recommendation and get a copy, or go back and make a thoughtful rereading of it if you already own it. I think you’ll find it worthwhile.

©1974, 1977 by: Master T. T. Liang
Edited and with a Foreword by Paul B. Gallagher
publ: Vintage Books
ISBN: 978-0-394-72461-4

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Guang Ping Footwork

By Master Randy Elia

Not everyone knows that Tai Chi, specifically Guang Ping Tai Chi, originated as a martial art. Yang Lu Chan, influenced by the Chen Family Tai Chi, clearly demonstrated and taught the same postures to his son, Yang Pan Hou. Chen Style, being the earliest, clearly demonstrates its influence from the external style of Shao Lin, as well as many others. These styles and forms were created hundreds and even thousands of years ago. They were based on the imitation of animals and hold a variety of martial applications and health benefits.

Understanding Footwork
The first method of understanding any martial art is examining proper footwork, especially when practicing Tai Chi. In Guang Ping Tai Chi, as for all kung fu styles, both right and left foot are intentionally positioned in certain directions to align the knees, hips, shoulders,elbows, and hands, thereby creating a structure similar to a house built with a strong foundation. These are the structures that enable one to move mountains.

Stance Consistency
The distance between the feet will remain consistent throughout the form. If you fail to pivot properly on your feet, the distance between your feet will be inconsistent, thereby dispersing energy, like liding on a patch of ice, and losing ground. As Grandmaster Peter Kwok would say "If you did not move your foot properly you have to start again from the beginning until you have it correct! Being only 1 inch off on each stance will bring you a mile off when you are done.

Feet Position
In positioning your feet in Guang Ping, your stances do not exceed a 90-degree angle; this way, you can efficiently transfer energy and power such as executing a push. Your feet should form an "L" shape or L Stance. This practice will give the practitioner a supreme awareness of his or her rooting.

Moving & Adjusting The Feet
Besides planting the feet in these specific directions, one must also know how to pivot on their feet to arrive with the same degree of power. Looking from an aerial view of each moving direction, from the direction you start, you will see an eight-point star. When in motion, practicing Tai Chi solo form or two-person sets (push hands), you become much stronger with the weight on the stationary leg while the other leg is passing that ankle. Not only will you be able to deliver a force devastating to your opponent, but you will also be able to maneuver and yield to any incoming force. When stepping in a direction within 90 degrees, your back foot should pivot on the ball of the foot, positioning your feet in a 90-degree angle.

When stepping in a direction beyond 90 degrees, you should pivot on your back heel so your feet end in a 90-degree angle, or "L" stance. This is so you do not dissipate energy off of the rear foot and so you allow correct alignment from the foot to the knee, the knee to the hip, from the hip up the back, through your shoulders, shoulders to the elbows, elbows to the wrist, and finally out through the palms. This allows the experience of correct movement and understanding of the articulation of the body so the mind (yi) can create the intent.

Ba Gua & Hsing Yi Elements In Guang Ping
The arms are used from the top of the shoulder to the tips of the fingers; in fact, "Fairy Lady Working The Shuttle" resembles the Single Change Palm from Ba Gua Chuan, and "Shoot The Canon In The Sky" resembles the element of Water from Hsing Yi Chuan.

Self Defense & Health Benefits
The choreographed postures of Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi are designed to develop coordination, balance, strength, and self-defense, as well as efficient motion, all of which give us a sense of control over our center. When moving with an opponent, this will position you in certain 45 degree angles when attacking, thereby throwing your opponent off balance.

It is only after we achieve this control we will have the ability to control someone else's center.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Kidneys: The Root of Life?


Yep. That's what they've been called.

Well, not in the mid-west where I'm from.

We picture the kidneys as...well...big honkin' kidney beans that hang out inside of us somewhere. Who knows, maybe that's what's causing the intestinal gas.

Okay there's only some truth in the previous paragraph. They do look like big honkin' kidney beans.

The kidneys are each about the size of your fist. They are located near the middle of your back, just behind the lower ribcage. We are born with two of them - one on each side of the spine. (One is usually up a little higher than the other, if that helps the visual.)

They're important, very important. The poor things are constantly, constantly working to keep your blood composition in a healthy balance. They regulate the volume of water in your blood. They make sure important ions and other substances are at the right level and at the correct concentration in the blood stream. They remove yick from your body - yick is a personal technical term meaning: the junk you've put into your body in the form of polluted air, fast food, chemically-ridden city water, and stress. The somewhat real technical terms are: urea, toxic substances, ammonia, etc.

The kidneys even help regulate your blood pressure, help maintain calcium (very important for women in my age group) and they also stimulate the creation of red blood cells - the ones that carry oxygen everywhere in the body - i.e. really important for healing.

But in eastern medicine, the kidneys do this and more. The kidneys store what is called "Essence" or "Innate Jing", or if you will, hereditary energy you received from your parents. Kinda like other things you inherited: hair and eye color, skin coloring, and short stubby little brittle nails that never grow long enough to scratch an itch with. (Thanks a lot, Dad.)

This hereditary energy is expended throughout your life. When it's gone, you're gone.

So, it's important to maintain your Essence for as long as you would like to live. And you do that by not using it up eating poorly, breathing poor air, driving while talking on a cell phone, etc. You can't increase your Essence. It is what it is. You can, however, take hereditary energy supplements. But not from the local drug store.

These supplements come in the form of qi, life energy, and you get it from eating good foods, breathing clean air (sorry, I know most of us can't fully control our immediate environments), getting good amounts of exercise, and ridding yourself of stress.

So, how does one rid stress from their lives? Get a good teacher and practice tai chi. Or yoga. Or glass blowing. Or kite flying. It doesn't matter what it is as long as it: helps you breathe deeply and evenly, keeps your sitting heart rate low, maintains healthy blood pressure, and keeps your mind clear. Clear of thoughts that cause emotional stress - like constant ridicule, or judgemental thoughts (which come in many different forms including humor), anger or hostile thoughts, panicked thoughts of insecurity, and thoughts of inferiority.

There are a lot more, but you get the drift.

These kinds of intense emotions really rock the kidneys (never say 'stone' to a kidney).

They do it figuratively and physically.

The adrenal glands lay on top of each kidney. They kick into gear when we choose to feel stressed out. They start shootin' out hormones like an AK-47 on fire. When they start vibrating, the kidneys do too. That's why we always feel like we have to go to the bathroom when we're really nervous.

So here's a good starting exercise to bring health to the kidneys. This is one of many qigong (energy work) exercises from Master Yu-Cheng Huang:

Info you'll need to know for this exercise:
Laogong Point - the laogong is located on the palm of the hand. If you take your middle finger and touch your palm, you've found it!

It really helps, when doing the following exercise, to be as relaxed as your body can at this moment in time. The shoulders are in their natural position - not forced back, the feet are relaxed and not clenching the floor, breathwork is slow and even. The pelvis is slightly tilted forward to round out the lower back. The crown of the head is the tallest point of the body.

1. Bring your attention to the palm of your hands. Don't picture your hands in your head. Feel them. Concentrate on the laogong point. Imagine yourself bringing energy to this point. Now, place the palms of your hands or the laogong points on the back over the kidney area.

3. Take a nice breath in expanding the belly, not the chest. As you do this, imagine energy entering into the laogong. Exhale and imagine the energy releasing into the kidneys. While breathing, the hands move...rub...from the kidneys to the coccyx (tailbone). When inhaling, the hands move up, when exhaling, the hands move down. Repeat this exercise between 9 and 36 times.

4. When the hands are at the kidneys and you have inhaled, imagine that you have sealed the energy in the kidneys and count to 9. Imagine that energy now moving to the dantien while your hands move around the sides of the body and create an inverted triangle with the thumbs and index fingers on the dantien. Allow you mind to seal the energy in the dantien.

If anything, this exercise allows you to take a moment to breath - even if you can't imagine the energy, can't feel the palms of the hands, can't imagine sealing anything, anywhere. It's okay. It takes time to settle into new practices. Give it time.

So now let me ask you a question: When's the last time you had a glass of water?

Well, go get one. Hold it high and toast your kidneys. They've been working hard. Now drink the water.

How were you introduced to Taijiquan?

Do you remember your first taiji class? What was it like? How did you get involved? Why did you get involved?

Here's my story, but we'd love to hear yours:


I'll never forget the first tai chi class I checked out. We had just moved to Columbus, Ohio and my husband was kinda getting on me for not finding a local sensei to keep up with my karate.

I was also pregnant with my first child.

And emotional.

And not always patient.

Or nice.

Which is why my husband wanted me to leave and go to karate class.

His eyes pleaded with me: "A little break from your mood swings...please?" they pined, hoping that I was going to drop the newspaper I was currently looking at and check out the yellow pages for local dojos.

I couldn't really picture myself doing a round house kick with mother earth sticking out of my uniform. It also didn't seem natural for me to spar with a young fetus growing inside me. It just felt...wrong somehow. Like when I go into a girls clothing store and see skimpy, low cut tops for 8-year-olds. It just feels...wrong.

So, karate...didn't feel natural.

I sat there with the newspaper, avoiding my husband's longing stare when a little article grabbed my attention. It was just a simple listing for a tai chi class. I tore it out and showed it to my husband.

He sighed in relief.

In retrospect, I think at that point, he would have sighed in relief if I had shown him an ad for wrestling boar goats.

Anyway, I don't actually remember the class. I just remember the feeling I had afterward: I was home.

Just watching tai chi dissolved my tension. It created space where I didn't see any before. There was more of an area to breathe into. I was mesmerized by the class as they flowed in and out of one movement to the next. I didn't know where one posture began or ended and I liked that. That felt right. There was no beginning or end. There just...was.

And I was home.

And my husband was happy, too.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Guang Ping Footwork

Not everyone knows that Tai Chi, specifically Guang Ping Tai Chi, originated as a martial art. Yang Lu Chan, influenced by the Chen Family Tai Chi, clearly demonstrated and taught the same postures to his son, Yang Pan Hou. Chen Style, being the earliest, clearly demonstrates its influence from the external style of Shao Lin, as well as many others. These styles and forms were created hundreds and even thousands of years ago. They were based on the imitation of animals and hold a variety of martial applications and health benefits.

Understanding Footwork
The first method of understanding any martial art is examining proper footwork, especially when practicing Tai Chi.

In Guang Ping Tai Chi, as for all kung fu styles, both right and left foot are intentionally positioned in certain directions to align the knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, and hands, thereby creating a structure similar to a house built with a strong foundation. These are the structures that enable one to move mountains.

Stance Consistency
The distance between the feet will remain consistent throughout the form. If you fail to pivot properly on your feet, the distance between your feet will be inconsistent, thereby dispersing energy, like liding on a patch of ice, and losing ground. As Grandmaster Peter Kwok would say "If you did not move your foot properly you have to start again from the beginning until you have it correct! Being only 1 inch off on each stance will bring you a mile off when you are done.

Feet Position
In positioning your feet in Guang Ping, your stances do not exceed a 90-degree angle; this way, you can efficiently transfer energy and power such as executing a push. Your feet should form an "L" shape or L Stance. This practice will give the practitioner a supreme awareness of his or her rooting.

Moving & Adjusting The Feet
Besides planting the feet in these specific directions, one must also know how to pivot on their feet to arrive with the same degree of power. Looking from an aerial view of each moving direction, from the direction you start, you will see an eight-point star. When in motion, practicing Tai Chi solo form or two-person sets (push hands), you become much stronger with the weight on the stationary leg while the other leg is passing that ankle. Not only will you be able to deliver a force devastating to your opponent, but you will also be able to maneuver and yield to any incoming force. When stepping in a direction within 90 degrees, your back foot should pivot on the ball of the foot, positioning your feet in a 90-degree angle.

When stepping in a direction beyond 90 degrees, you should pivot on your back heel so your feet end in a 90-degree angle, or "L" stance. This is so you do not dissipate energy off of the rear foot and so you allow correct alignment from the foot to the knee, the knee to the hip, from the hip up the back, through your shoulders, shoulders to the elbows, elbows to the wrist, and finally out through the palms. This allows the experience of correct movement and understanding of the articulation of the body so the mind (yi) can create the intent.

Ba Gua & Hsing Yi Elements In Guang Ping
The arms are used from the top of the shoulder to the tips of the fingers; in fact, "Fairy Lady Working The Shuttle" resembles the Single Change Palm from Ba Gua Chuan, and "Shoot The Canon In The Sky" resembles the element of Water from Hsing Yi Chuan.

Self Defense & Health Benefits
The choreographed postures of Guang Ping Yang Tai Chi are designed to develop coordination, balance, strength, and self-defense, as well as efficient motion, all of which give us a sense of control over our center. When moving with an opponent, this will position you in certain 45 degree angles when attacking, thereby throwing your opponent off balance.

It is only after we achieve this control we will have the ability to control someone else's center.