Earl Grey

Yes, I don't disagree it's possible, but there are some niche subjects where it won't work as well as you are arguing that it will, such as what I mentioned: law and medicine, which you didn't address. Yes, a lot of people, but my concern are the minority because I work with people who have educational needs, such as abuse victims, refugees, and those from different educational systems like people from the rural countryside in Tanzania or East Timor. I would actually argue that there are more people who need additional help than those who are just fine with videos, but I speak from the context of living in the Third World more than living in North America, as I go back to North America every other year and plenty of people where I am do not learn easily from videos for varying reasons. At least you're saying it's not everyone, but again, I see it as some people rather than most, and this is even in Yonsei University in Korea where they're trying to do more education through podcasting and video lectures. Cambridge and Stanford also have open university classes I believe and they are good supplemental resources, but an entirely different experience and the absorption of information is different because of the quality from immersion, which you agree with here: Immersion is actually quite important, especially when learning languages, as language isn't just memorizing words, but understanding context. You're not learning just how to replace words in English for Bahasa Indonesia or Tetum for example, but how people's idioms and language shape the world and their worldview. Going to have to agree with you there as I went to UCLA and UCSD for my BA and MA, and wondered how the hell some idiots were accepted into those schools. Education is a totally different thing now than it was in the early to mid-twentieth century, and the rise of victimhood culture for safe spaces and all has actually been shown in lots of research that dialogue and engagement suffers from professors fearful of losing their position because someone didn't like what they said. In a situation like this, I would have to say it makes me want to stay home and learn by videos rather than be around a lot of insufferable hypersensitive children who point fingers but can't handle when someone points fingers back at them. However, again, I was referring to specialized education like medicine. My cousin is a trauma surgeon and right now he has a bunch of Millennial and Edger interns who not only are being experimented on to learn from video lectures, they also are using apps to assist their work, but the quality of work has suffered significantly in trying to "modernize" with technology, by letting the machines think for them. But I digress, as this is now jumping to something further ahead of what we're talking about, which is video learning. Take the praise, will you? LOL. Unfortunately, we have a world where less people are self-motivated and determined to learn and want things handed to them. Ironically, there are more resources, such as those videos, and more resources that connect them to people like me and my peers who are out to help them learn when they have difficulty, such as Project SHINE in California that helps elderly applicants for their naturalization education and tests. I give you credit again for acknowledging it's not everyone, but a good number of people who can learn from video. The desire to follow through alone is not the issue, as I said. It is the learning disabilities, the learning styles, the content itself. I have people who want to learn but they need more resources to help and without them, they struggle or they just don't get it as easily as you would think from just a video. Distractions do make it worse, but even without the distractions, those factors are not going to go away, and as long as you're able to acknowledge them, then that is all right, but what I was raising my eyebrows about earlier was that you appeared to not be acknowledging those factors or those people. The verdict is still out though if you are sensitive towards those people though.

Before I reply I would like to ask why you’re alluding to your art rather than the general point I’m making about education and learning. If that is not what you’re interested in addressing then you are aiming for a different conversation as I am not talking about your system of practice—was that not already clearly stated in my post?

Hi MildMouse23, Thanks for moving the conversation here so that you don't derail the thread. I'll respond to your points and also let you know that I'm not hostile (nor are the other members) and do appreciate your presence here. Yes, at least you have it from the horse's mouth, and unfortunately, as I've been told, you have far more weirdoes to deal with looking for that and more who have the leaked instructions and then some nonsense added to it. So I can appreciate your work with what you do have that is correct. What I see are some of the reasoning you make is smug, and it parallels some of the DIY culture prominent in Silicon Valley. There's a great book called The Shallows which talks about how the current iteration of the Internet is promoting this cult of the amateur, with so many ways to have professional skills like marketing for social media, YouTube videos, and self-publishing. As it is the Wild West still with regulation still to come as governments are calling for more overseeing and regulation, for the moment, we have a lot of people who become self-taught experts. Although we have mail order correspondence courses like the GED program for prisoners in the United States for example, the difference is a lot of people are passing themselves off as experts now due to the smugness of how Internet culture has inspired many societies to encourage people to be loud, radical, and insane while screaming to be relevant. I am speaking of the tone and absolute certainty, but I am not disregarding your opinion. One word: cults. Two words: Flat Earthers. We can agree there. I am not criticizing the fact that it is possible to make fire following a video. Those instructions are simple to follow. What I did challenge you with though were 1) learning disabilities, which people have that makes learning from a video difficult, 2) the limitations of learning complex things from a video--as you said, you yourself were able to learn to fix your washing machine and get certifications (congratulations, this is quite a feat and I praise your initiative), but for complex subjects, at best it is not that easy, at worst, it is not a good medium to transmit information, 3) mixed results even within a niche and with hands-on instruction, such as people in medical school or law school all having differing levels of understanding even if the study the same material. I think it is more a testament to your own level of intelligence and discipline to be able to learn on your own, which is impressive and praiseworthy. What I'm speaking of are the people who have those limitations you don't apparently exhibit. When you refer to "it" here are you referring to your system? There's no argument that your system yields results as it has already been proven many times, so this is not what I'm speaking of when addressing your reasoning. So let's not get into assuming that I'm attacking your system without mentioning it if it seems like I am alluding to it, which I am not, just so we are clear. The argument that I am making of is the general perspective of DIY culture and people's learning curve or specialized knowledge. It is a discussion I often have whenever I am visiting friends in Silicon Valley, particularly when techies like to insist that nobody should be poor, everyone should be educated and rich because of the gig economy allowing everyone to earn enough and not be poor, and everyone can learn from videos online. Besides the above reasoning I have made already, let me also mention language barriers, Internet access from restrictions to disinformation and misinformation, and even no access to that information gets in the way of people being able to learn. What we are talking about here though does posit some assumptions that someone can learn from a video, assuming they do have correct information and instructions are clear. What I posited in response was the learning disabilities, learning styles, limitations of learning complex subjects from a video, and mixed results, which if you have anything to say in response to these things, your comments are appreciated. EDIT: if you'd like, we can move this to my PPJ so that I have more control over the conversation we have if it does continue longer, given that Sean is a one-man army at the moment moderating, in case derailment may occur and we can maintain civil conversation.

The absolute certainty in yourself is still annoying though, even when you haven’t spoken to the point of things like learning disabilities or how people wouldn’t learn brain surgery from YouTube, or how you wouldn't be the best judge of learning to sing well, otherwise, people who do karaoke would sound as good as Janis Joplin. My clients who are not visual learners are unable to learn from videos for varying reasons, which is why they pay me to tutor them in various subjects I have authority over. You also do not speak of misinformation, and people who learn from it while thinking they've learned something correct. You should be familiar with this as one of your friends tells me he has a collection of misinformation that he is cataloguing so he knows how others get confused. Good to have your contribution here still, albeit you can be somewhat irritating from that smug certainty. More power to you though for the things you’ve learned for yourself. Enjoy your time here on the forum. Cheers.

I think you’ve just completely ignored all the reasoning that was given as to how simply following a video with correct instructions is not enough for someone to truly grok the material. Anyway, if what you argued truly were the case, you could learn brain surgery from a YouTube video. It seems like you’re set in your ways, so there’s no point explaining further. Carry on, your video and notes practice is yours and my direct instructions from live teachers is mine, and neither of them affect one another.

No other resting place as welcoming as death that brings you back home.

www.qigongchinesehealth.com www.taichimania.com www.xinyimeditation.com www.ayurvedicintuitive.com

Following correct instructions or not and getting pure information accurately is the point of the video. People think they are getting it, some don't understand and get it best as they do, but their understanding shows in their execution, and as we can see, it is not intact by the end of the line. Let me give you an example from a fitness instructor, metaphysics aside. A podcast I heard from Art of Manliness website podcast had someone mention that he knew all his moves for power lifting at the gym, but there's a big difference in his performance each time he does it alone or when he is with his coach. For example, he'll be doing deadlifts and it just takes one word like "knees" for him to realize he's not using them properly as part of correct form. Other times, he may look like he's slowing down and the coach is there to encourage him. Some days, he may attempt to make it leg day and the coach will say, "Your legs are looking a bit exhausted in your sets, make it a chest day" and this is how he gets value from someone being able to see him and offer their expertise. Now, another example from education. Not everyone can follow a video or notes--there's growing research that people can not learn everything online even with apps and free videos, and for the life of me I can't find the link, but I believe it came from the New York Times, and if I find it, which I hope to eventually, I will edit it into this post. This is due to learning styles, learning disabilities, educational background, and access to sources of information from the Internet, in addition to disinformation. So all the more reason that while it is ideal that either you get it or you don't (your words) and that there is no information, as human beings, it creates more division when there are barriers to understanding. An instructor at this point is someone who would work around the person's limitations to help them understand, A final example in subject material: if it were just information, anyone can glean medicine from the textbooks and law from the library, but the actual skill and practice comes from context and guidance, licensing, and overseeing of standards met from testing. Or how about trying to learn to drive just by reading a manual, or even just getting onto a motorcycle and figuring it out on your own without an instructor? This is also crucial with any martial training, and very true when counseling as a therapist in mental health. So this is the importance of having an instructor, even before transmission. When energy is involved, then that is a totally different set of variables altogether. As for transmission, I do not really have any interest in speaking further of it as I believe @steve has made wonderful points above as has @Taomeow.

Doesn't matter if it's one form or two forms, as long as your cumulative total practice is roughly that time, you are good. Remember, volume 5 has 90-second flash meditations that are really powerful too. Some call them "bon-bons" but they are not. You can get a huge boost from doing them after establishing your background, or you can do them multiple times to get to 45 minutes. You can do Monk Gazing at Moon for 45 minutes. You can do 4 or 5 meditations and reach 45 minutes or more.

As Sifu Terry is often out, I'll answer some common questions as mentioned multiple times in this thread (use the search function or actually read from beginning to end--it's worth it). These are suggestions for beginners and others, but not required to follow it strictly. One member, ridingtheox I believe, began with the long form on volume 4 already as he already has a Tai Chi background. He later went and did the earlier volumes and experienced many benefits from it still. Do as you like--some people go slow, some people do many at once, but as long as you do the practice regularly and correctly, you will benefit. Optimal results just come from practice. Some people generally say 45 minutes of practice or more a day makes the benefits very visible and tangible. One member here, Astral_butterfly, mentioned lying down in Monk Holding Pearl for hours and wrote a few pages earlier the many breakthroughs she had through this form alone. Alternatively, optimal varies for each person. You may consult Eric Isen for the system as a whole or for specific forms that are good for you, by going to his site www.ayurvedicintuitive.com. He gets asked this question often, but is involved with a lot of other projects and writing now, so his update on the book status has yet to be given. Based on conjecture, it will come when it is meant to come as he is a perfectionist.

If you're interested in healing, try Flying Phoenix. The thread is overseen by the lineage holder himself, Terry Dunn. If you're interested in martial power, I know several teachers, Terry included, two are in the US and one in Australia. If you want simple practices to grow from with none of the years of guidance, I know a few systems that can be imparted from my teacher in Australia.

I was not referring to your system and the videos--I was referring to others. Might want to edit this out before a derailment comes. Video I refer to is mostly those guys like Jake Mace claiming he understands Tai Chi internal power. Garbage.

Perhaps I should clarify that with what you have elaborated, the video of the Chinese Whisper above (or Telephone as Americans say) shows how the original teaching has been changed by the very end. This is normal. What is not normal is when people appoint themselves experts or masters, but their metric for saying so is different from the lineage or the system itself, for example, a blue belt in jiujitsu I know goes around calling himself a master and a dragon, teaching others to fight and making money off of it, but his skill is actually quite low, in turn churning out people who think they are skilled and powerful but not holding up when tested. Self-initiation and self-elevation is what I speak of, followed by capitalistic tendencies to monetize their claims, such as the purple belt who leaves Korea and suddenly lands in America as a fifth dan black belt for example.

I know which system you are referring to, but won't mention it out of respect. Anyway, the problem with a lot of these keyboard warriors is that they go based off of conjecture and what's on video. The easiest way to compare and criticize is when actually touching hands for martial skill to be tested, and without that, anything can be faked and anyone can be duped as Penn and Teller like to prove. Charlatans are too abundant nowadays with the Internet and everyone being a master after a weekend workshop.

Perhaps this will interest you?

If you want a good reading, consult Eric Isen about your plans to study BKF. www.ayurvedicintuitive.com He will scan how much it affects you and how well. I personally recommend Flying Phoenix as the best healing qigong.

Yes and from my teachers who had interacted with him. All negative.

I am not a fan of BKF and do not recommend him or his instructors in general. To us, he is ultimately lacking in power or skill martially, and his qigong isn’t impressive nor is his writing accurate. This is all that I will say publicly on the matter.

They are both but from Bok Fu Pai rather than Flying Phoenix.

That is correct.

Vol 6 was released but is out of print. The book is not yet published.

Saving it for a later view!

You've seen the video of the long fajin of our late teacher already, so there's an idea. I'm not technically Xin Yi until I graduate and I only finished rewiring the body after years of training this year finally, the key is to finish the rewiring to program it to efficiently fajin. We can touch hands then as it will be better for me as representative of the school, though I still have a ways to go after Xin Yi to go up in Tai Chi skill, the next level as my teachers agree. That total control part is quite accurate, by the way: in the beginning were a Spider-Man-like spider sense, later on, the reactions, then a point where the body moves faster than the mind even realizes what it's doing, and finally, where my Xin Yi master is at, he already has an instinct that allows him to see like a chessmaster every attack that comes his way and give six different possible efficient counters and follow-ups in a split second. Last I checked, someone attempted to assault me and I side-stepped and blocked his swinging of his bag at me without realizing it while remaining totally calm and telling him to chill out, as there appeared to be a misunderstanding and he was a grouch (he tripped over me while texting on his phone in a crowded landbridge and started shouting while accusing me of hitting him on purpose). My goal and current program is building a foundation based on stretching, Zhan Zhuang, bodyweight exercises for calisthenics and isometrics, and muscle control (a very rare practice these days) before any of my students do any serious internal training. It allows them to not only have the body and reflexes of a warrior, but feel ready like a soldier and an action hero. A cousin of mine is a pure external fighter in Filipino Martial Arts, buff as hell, and she has zero tolerance for bullshit to go with her explosive temper. She still can barely believe I can keep up with her when she's had years in FMA and I've had just my own internal training, but will eventually do FMA to get stick and knife proficiency.

From Xin Yi, there are eight exercises that make strength drastically increase. Combined with Zhan Zhuang, contracting and linking, and the tuishou, and one has some power that is very hard to see visibly, but is felt by others eventually like standing shoulder deep in water at the beach and feeling tired after a half hour of waves crashing into your body. I only know four of those long stick exercises so far and they are not to be taken lightly as they make tuishou feel like you're playing with an infant even against muscular people.