Prince...

I started lurking on the Tao Bums about 10 years ago (Wow, time flies!) and this is something that would have been helpful to me at that time. Hope this will answer questions for those just starting out on this journey.

Do you know Ashe?

Spiral Force/Energy Demonstration by my friend/teacher (he's actually my kungfu uncle, but I learned about my style from him, and I talk with him more than any other teacher in our school) If you have more questions, I can share them with him & he can reply via video.

I had a YouTube video where I mentioned this-- I deleted my old channel and I haven't decided if I will upload the same old video or film an entirely new one-- anyway-- long story short. I was taught the Secret of the Golden Flower by one of Master Wang's students here in the US. After he taught us (there were 2 other people from TTB present), he gave us a 2 hour lecture on how dangerous it is and why we should stick to the basic practices we'd been learning all weekend. So I forgot it by the time I drove back home to Tennessee. My current Sifu may know a similar practice from his Taoist lineage...but he says that if I stay with him long enough, by the time I've developed enough to learn some of his "higher practices," I'll probably not be interested--or have figured them out on my own. Those are his words, not mine. Oh well...it's fun to reminisce.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE-D9RzOBtg

Holy thread necro, Batman! I thought I would revisit this-- shortly after my initial K experience, I enrolled in Seminary and was very interested in Christian mysticism, integrating these practices and internal martial arts into something I could teach in a liberal Christian setting. Things happened...naturally some people did not agree with my approach. OF COURSE I was labeled a heretic. I took some time away, found my Sifu and buried a lot of family members who were sick when this journey began in 2008. I've actually found a church setting that is open to learning about these experiences and am looking to hear within the next few weeks if I'll be continuing & eventually completing my studies this fall to finally finish out my Master of Divinity. I may even get to work with Kostas (yes, THAT Kostas) on some of his new projects if I'm lucky-- sorry, no Mopai stuff, but I'm fascinated with the martial arts stuff he's doing and how it might help veterans dealing with PTSD. Anyway-- just an update. Y'all keep on breathing! :-)

Just wanted to let everyone know that my Sifu, Kelley Graham will be teaching a 6-Week course called "The Science of Happiness" He will be teaching live from Tucson, AZ-- if you're not in the area, there will be a live stream. "The Science of Happiness suggests 6 areas of self cultivation. Our mind-body training is designed to fit within this simple approach to living well. Students develop a clear understanding of how to improve their health, relationships, resilience and overall vitality." Topics will include: Social Connections Compassion Environment Physical Development and Relaxation Mental Development and Neuroscience Purpose and the Stages of Life The sessions will begin 11 July 2014 and will be held Fridays 2:30p - 3:30p Arizona Time Zone (time subject to change due to schedule) Kelley's current online students have access to the full course. For those who are not members, Science Of Happiness 6 Week Course tuition is $100. An archived version will be available online for registered members only. http://sifuondemand.com/scihap-6week

This is an old thread that was necro'ed, so not sure if anyone is looking for information, but the last round of free talks in this series ends on Sunday...well worth checking out http://www.goldenbelltraining.com/The-Thyroid-Sessions

http://youtu.be/VgCzz4ayloM

How was the workshop? Also-- I am a long distance student of Kelley Graham. If you look at a few videos on his YouTube channel, you will see me spinning with a few people. Also, some of his lecture series-- you can hear him talking to me in a few of them. Sigung told me that his oldest son is here in Nashville. I wish I could get a workshop going here, though.

Wow...I thought I posted this last year or something-- add that I met some great connections as a result of coming here. Maybe in a few years, with Santiago and Tao's permission, I may be teaching my own spin on KAP in conjunction with my Taiji, kettlebell training, and nutrition programs. I also got to finally thank Kostas for writing the Mopai books, and get to joke with him weekly. So yes-- Tao Bums is whatever you make of it. I don't frequent the forums as much as I once did, but that's because I've made so many connections and learned so much information that now the time has come to ACT on what I have learned here.

I haven't been on Facebook much lately, but I should be able to find them. I know Sifu Ashe was posting to his YouTube account. I am in Sifu Kelley Graham's distance program, but I think I may need to find a way to touch hands with people closer. It's not so easy to make it to Tucson regularly and my off days when I start my new job will be Friday-Saturday. I was originally planning to attend, though. I really wanted to meet Dasha. I've been a fan of hers even before I started trying to learn ILC.

I wish that I had been able to attend the Western Retreat a few weeks ago. I am going to have to find a way to get out to Durham to practice with Ben's group sometime when I get back on my feet. It stinks that Sigung's son lives here in Nashville, but is not teaching.

Had a guy create this video and post to my channel saying that I needed to watch it. All the stirring up his emotions & growling made me feel uneasy-- not going to say that his energy was giving something off-- I'll just say I felt uncomfortable. My bestie told me to stop watching, but I told her that I felt like I at least owed it to him to finish the video. "If you can't see what's going on, there's something wrong with you." >> I didn't like how he kept making that statement. What if I don't see anything other than him stirring up his emotions and pissing himself off to create some sort of hormonal response & calling it "kundalini" (which it can be...that's sort of what happens in KAP's Secret Smile, but nothing like what he's doing) Anyway, just thought I'd share-- and Pearish, if you happen to be a member of the Tao Bums, no harm, bro-- I'm just looking for a few other opinions before I post a response--

Yes, I have power-- but if spring doesn't hurry and get here, I may not be able to stand another $700 electricity bill until my new "big boy" desk job with the state begins in April. Nashville Electric Service has been the bane of my existence lately...

When I came herein 2007 or 2008, I knew more about the Mopai story then than some people know now. I had the opportunity back then to study with Share K. Lew-- I came here thinking people like Pak John and Sifu Lew were a dime a dozen as long as you knew where to look-- boy was I sadly mistaken. I met Santiago Dobles here and met a close friend who was also around to learn from Dr. Morris with Santi and Tao. I learned that Wang Liping is not a myth as my Taiji teacher said to me in 2008--and even though I've forgotten everything I learned from his students, I'd still love to make the trip to China to attend a workshop in a few years-- it would be a fun adventure (and a nice piece for my blog!) I met Michael Becker here, had a chance to glean all kinds of useful information from his post, and can joke about how Kosta owes me a beer and a few good stories when I make it out to Greece. I've learned that the Tao Bums is whatever you make of it-- some people will come here and sit on the sidelines and talk about what's going on in the game--others will get in the game, commit a foul; get frustrated; make a good play; fall; get hurt; win the game; be the hero; but no matter what-- they've done something more than sit around and bullshit.

Hey all-- Sorry for not updating... I've been really busy between school & trying to build up my personal training/kettlebell business. My Sifu would say that I started to anticipate-- I was not "present." To change with the change requires presence. Thanks for your input! They eventually wore off-- I don't consider myself an expert on any of this stuff, but from the way I describe what happens, it sounds like something "went up and got stuck." I didn't want to come forward in the video, but David Whitley (who was my KB instructor when all this happened) says the same thing in the comments on YouTube. He's since become a Hoshin Tao student of one of Dr. Morris's students. Thanks, this all happened in 2008. A year later I took KAP 1 & 2 with both Santiago and Tao and left home for Seminary. I'll just say things got a bit interesting. At one point I was spending 6 hours a day on KAP, PSD, Yiquan, Taijiquan, and kettlebells. The training was awesome, but I found that I really could not stand being around the majority of the people I encountered. I started having a lot of problems, some related to family issues back home and other related to my studies-- my Seminary classmates didn't think too highly of the guy doing standing meditation under trees and practicing weird kungfu all over the campus. I gotta admit that it WAS fun, though-- I'm a veteran, so I was basically being paid on my GI Bill to go to class, study, meditate, and practice kungfu all day long. The campus was like a big park, and it was up the street from a bigger park designed by the same person who designed New York's Central Park. To be honest, it's my goal to put myself back in that situation, but with something maybe a bit less extreme. As a personal trainer and soon to be nutrition/lifestyle coach, I HAVE to be able to interact with people (even some I don't like) What I learned from this process is you'll have to face things about yourself and about other people that you might not quite like. Still working on this one. I'm not sure if I ever mentioned, but I started studying I Liq Chuan recently. My Sifu asked me to stop practicing everything else that I had done before-- that's not to say there's anything wrong with other things I've tried-- KAP, PSD, Longmen Pai, etc-- He wants me to become an instructor, so if I want to pick up that other stuff later, it's cool, but for now there's a ton of material to learn.

Thanks...I've actually been a member here since 2008; I just don't visit the board very often. The events in the video actually happened around this time 5 years ago.

I agree

If you want to practice Neigung to improve your martial arts, that's not seeking power. At least you have a measurable goal. Mo Pai comes from a certain region, and all of the schools that come from that region are most likely equivalents. There are other schools, other teachings that produce results-- the difference is that developed practitioners have not been filmed or appeared in books that have been discussed for the last ~20 something years. If you stick around this community, you will see that there are people on this board teaching from authentic Taoist lineages. They don't advertise. They don't get involved with the "how great is your teacher" threads. If you're interested in this for martial arts, I really think you should get out and actually look at what's available in the different styles. Some people just want to talk about fighting; some people want to fight and not talk; some people want to fight and talk; and some people are doing some stuff that will completely blow your mind when you meet the people with "the goods." I've gone that route. It takes time, but I've learned over the last few months that a lot of the shit I didn't think was real is real. So yeah, there's other stuff besides Mo Pai out there, and the people practicing aren't talking about it too much because they are too busy practicing.

uhmm...at what point did I say what you're implying? There is a conversation on sung, and a conversation on the video by the original poster. I saw fixed patterns and immediately was aware that this is some type of training drill and not actual "Taiji" sparring. Anyway, from your past posts, you seem to like to debate over small stuff, so do you, bro. Do you.

I used to talk about what I thought was sung, until I met someone who let me feel sung. I don't talk about what I think sung is, even after feeling it. I can talk about the things I experienced, but until I know what it's like to be on the giving AND receiving end, I don't feel as if I can talk about sung. I liked what Taomeow says here. If you can figure this stuff out without a teacher or someone who is more sung than you to help, then big ups to you-- I however do not have this ability yet. As for the original post-- that's not Tai Ji Sparring-- hell it isn't even good Sanshou.

Right, He said he was only going to play "at my level." He pointed out that I'm really tense from my kettlebell workouts with my clients and will have to learn to balance my own training with IMA. Even still, I'm leaning because I'm being pushed and/or pulled. One minute he was a brick wall and the next he was a magnet. There was a lot that was demonstrated with him that he asked us not to share, so I will just say that I witness various things that others have mentioned here. Anyway, this guy has basically adopted my Taiji club here. I also have another teacher who I mentioned as being a former student of Michael Phillips. He is really freaking good, too! I guess maybe this video falls more in line with this thread-- this is just a demonstration of different kinds of Fajin only using different parts of the body-- none of the stuff above our paygrades. There were some other demonstrations that were flat out scary, though.