Ryan T.

I just don't understand the point of these types of exhibitions. It reminds me of the Sufi story of the student who went of to train with another master and after years of training returned to his original master. The two were about to cross a lake when the student flew over to the island they were headed to. The master paid for his passage on the boat and traveled across the lake. The student didn't understand why the master hadn't used his skills/powers to cross the lake. The master asked the student if the whole purpose of his training was to save a few coin. It seems to me that those that think this type of demonstration is impressive are searching from something different than what I am searching for. Plus, I think the the videos are bs.

Thus far the only thing science has shown to improve life span as it relates to food is to consume less of it. Less calories equal less work for the body. The less the body works the longer it lasts. Sounds similar to what you are theorizing.

Are you deficient? You seem to be gravitating towards the "trendier" health foods. Not that any of these things are bad. I always just try to eat with the season of where I am residing. I also try to focus on what I haven't eaten. If I eat kale one meal then I switch to another vegetable the next and so on. And supplements can be a great thing but it is also good to stop them or switch them as well. Most nutritionists I have worked with subscribe to a "5 days on, 2 days off" regimen. That seems to work well with exercise as well. A body gets used to the same thing day in and day out. It will get less out of the supplements as time goes on if you don't change it up once in a while.

Your post made me think of this: Sorry for your loss.

It looks to be Northern 7-star Praying Mantis. I am unaware of the name of this form. It may be a combination of forms. I see bits of Beng Bo, Dao Gong and Bok Yuen Tow Toe(I am sure I am butchering the spelling). Mantis is fun stuff to practice. It has a very snappy, flashy energy to it. And, as it tends to have both hard and soft elements, it can be a quite effective martial art. It's funny to me that this kind of stuff is what a lot of Chinese kids had for PE in grade school in 1920s and 1930s.

I don't know about the wu-yi tea for weight loss. The main tea I have always recommended when people wanted to lose weight was pretty much any type of Pu-erh. Pu-erh is generally a semi-fermented tea(Oolong) that has been aged for some time. Sometimes years and years. Pu-erh actually helps flush triglycerides from a person's system. Here is what Wiki says about it. It is a bit of an acquired taste as it can be quite "musty" or "earthy" tasting. But you can get jasmine or chrysanthemum types which can be quite tasty. You can get multiple steeps from the leaves as well. I actually avoid it as my metabolism seems to run quite high. The last thing I need is weight-loss. I have a couple of favorite teas. On the greener side of things is a Jade Pearl Oolong or Jade Pearl Pouchong. For blacks, I like Golden Yunnan and Keemun Mao Feng. Organic, of course!

How many beef recalls has the U.S. had in the last 5 years? America, China, Mexico. It hardly matters. I think the saying is "if you want to make an omelet, you have to break some eggs". But I do agree. My favorite Oolongs have been Taiwanese. Jade Pearl, Tung Ting style!

Third-party certified organic is certified the same way all across the planet. The same could be said about any organic product from anywhere, even in the U.S. The idea about the trucks is ridiculous! China is the home of tea. Much of it comes from small plots/small farmers. That is why it has been so hard to get certified organic teas, the farmers just can't afford the extra costs. Using trucks(added expense) to dry the tea makes no sense if you have studied tea at all. I've seen this type of xenophobia working in retail produce departments over the years. It is funny to me that up until very recently, getting Chinese products(especially tea and china) was a luxury experience. China now seems to be more and more demonized as it rises into a 1rst world power. Every country that produces anything on a large scale will have some problems but just as Mexican produce has been demonized I see Chinese products facing a similar fate.

WRONG! Real masters always look cool...no matter what! Don't you watch movies?

Exactly. For every statement a person makes another person can make an opposing statement. People in a setting such as this don't get preyed on. They make a decision. Hardly makes sense to ban people because you disagree or do not like them.

Congratulations on the raise. Hopefully it doesn't require much more responsibility and is a result of good work already done. On topic...it bums me out how much money I have lost in recent weeks and months but the markets are always a gamble to some extent. The financial world is mostly an illusion and the real problem we have right now is faith. People should realize that fear is just lack of faith. I hope people find what they need to be comfortable during these seemingly turbulent times. Ultimately I am much more concerned about a global flu pandemic than I am about the financial crisis. That's when all that stored food and water would come in handy!

He has retired. And I will take your opinion for what it is.

I would suggest looking for an acknowledged student of Grandmaster Wai-lun Choi. I do not believe he has any discipled students.

I don't know where you live exactly but where I live there are at least 3 stores within 30 minutes of me that I could purchase a staff at. Try google-ing "martial arts supplies" and whatever city you live in(Portland?). But as others have said make sure you try it out and make sure it suits your purposes.

Why snub Christianity/Judaism/Islam? There are ideas in most of the religions of the world that make sense to me. And many things don't work. To slam those religions with blanket statements like what you are making is unfortunate. I want this place to be open. You come along and say this is no place for Christianity and you stifle that openness. You really seem to be harboring a resentment. I feel it taints your arguments.

You might want to speak for yourself. That link goes to a quote from the Bible that is no more dogmatic than what is contained in the Buddhist's precepts or many ideas from the Tao te Ching. That quote was hardly beating anybody over the head. A person should be able to hear about another's way and be more and more in accord with his own. At least that's what Forrest Whitaker says in Ghost Dog!

What do you mean by "ecological" vegetables vs. "normal" vegetables? Do you mean conventionally produced vs. organically produced vs. biodynamically produced vs. IPM(Integrated Pest Management)? Or is this some type of trademarked thing?

I am actively studying Yang style T'ai-Chi Ch'uan under Master T.T. Liang's 2 lineage disciples here in the Twin Cities. I also hope in a couple of years I hope I will be able to start back into Liu Ho Pa Fa in a couple years, as I just love it. Right now my focus is the T'ai-Chi as it is such a good base for all internal styles. In the past I have also dabbled in 7-star Praying Mantis and a little bit of Hsing-Yi. All-in-all I have been studying these various styles for the last 10 years. Twin Cities T'ai-Chi Ch'uan is where I study. The harder stuff I have studied is really fun and flashy but, for me, I just find the internal styles to have a greater depth and meaning in my life especially as it relates to my spiritual practices.

But one does not have to eat meat to "be" a Taoist. They just don't exclude it like most Buddhists do based on a "not causing harm" ideology. I have always been wary of the Atkin's diet. They way they look at fat and protein doesn't quite make sense to me. I think if a person lowers their grain(carb.) intake and increases protein as well as fruits and vegetables you can't help but be more in line with what nature intended.

From what I have read and been told by those who have read the texts in Chinese, it is all grains. Millet, rice and wheat is what I have seen mentioned mostly. Beans/legumes would be another. From what I can remember of my conversations on this topic several years ago, a lot of it stems from the Ancients distrust for agriculture. Anything that took man from his "natural life", much more hunter-gatherer, was frowned on. We should remember that agriculture is still quite a new phenomena to humankind. For the 10-20k years we have been eating this way, there were millions of years before that we weren't. In my professional life I have seen a lot of the problems that grains cause in people's systems. It's interesting that so much of this ancient wisdom is now being proofed out today. That said I think every person has to make a choice about his/her own body needs. The Taoist talk about living on pinenuts and roots(burdock) and such. Ascetic foods to sure...but not so tasty on their own. I really just try to limit my grain consumption. Because of the Taoist thing and the because my wife is gluten-free we tend to have a bit of rice and I have oatmeal pretty regularly. But I find it hard to be completely grain-free as I bike between 15-25 miles a day and practice T'ai-Chi Ch'uan most every day. Along with general conditioning I waste away without some rice! FYI, the only thing science has found to extend life, the only thing they are sure of...is to reduce your caloric consumption. The less you eat, the less taxing it is on your body. Oh yeah and meat. Taoists eat meat!

I would try to find a practitioner that resonates with you. That may be a naturopath, massage therapist/polarity therapist, traditional Chinese medicine. And work with that person until you see results or decide that it is not the path of healing for you. I, myself, have had great luck with a TCMP in the past. Herbs and acupuncture coupled with some outside massage therapy. And then my T'ai-Chi practice too. Really helped my get back on track after years of not being on track. But now that same path didn't resonate or yield results for my wife. She is still trying to find her path to health, if one exists. Good luck with your search!

I think most people intuitively know that how they eat is not based on anything rational. It is more often based on what our parents fed us or probably even more often is that coupled with our own emotional eating patterns. And once we find ourselves on a new path for spirituality, moral code or physical training we wake up to this. I know that once, and this has happened more than once, I awoke to a different way of seeing the world and how I wanted to be in the world it gave me incentive to ask if I am doing everything I can to optimize my existence. My food consumption is just one aspect of that. If someone is attempting to reduce fat bulid-up or become overall leaner, then most people will need to look at what they are eating, not just exercise. And it is about different ideas as well. I have read plenty about the Taoist texts that talk about completely avoiding grains. Which can make sense if you realize that grains are a relatively new introduction to the human diet. Many Buddhists practice some level of vegetarianism to avoid harming(killing) living beings. I could go on and on based on whatever a person is trying to accomplish either spiritually or just physically.

You swore in that one post so you seemed upset to me. No matter. And again, I completely agree with you that drugs hold a false promise. But it seems to me that a huge part of the Eastern spiritual revolution that took place in the United States in the 1960's and 1970's came on the heels after so many spiritual seekers drug-induced false promises collapsed.

Thanks for sharing. Keep coming back!