Martial Development

One frustrating practice that old teachers, Chinese teachers, and master teachers all seem to have in common: they often answer the person who asked, not the question that was asked. It is an important distinction. When two different people ask the same question, two different answers may be appropriate. Since we don't know you or your teacher, it is difficult to say whether he gave you a good answer. I will say that answers which are good in theory can be bad in practice, and answers which are bad in theory may be good in practice. Hope that helps a lot!

From my point of view, it is all about adhering to a standard. Winning fights consistently is hard, and winning them without relying on speed and power is even harder. So if this is your goal, high standards and careful discrimination are an absolute necessity. And if you're doing it wrong, the other guy will always let you know, immediately. There is no reason that someone can't achieve a deep level in Taijiquan without focus on martial arts applications, except that you need both a clear motive and a strong method. "Learn the moves in the form" will only get you to six months of skill. "Feel your chi" or "relax your body" may get you a few months farther. Push over some weaklings inside a Tai Chi class? Three years, tops--that is as good as it gets. If that is your motive, then even if you practice for decades, you probably won't get any better. And then, even if you aren't interested in martial arts applications, finding yourself unable to use them nevertheless betrays any claims to expertise!

In Yiquan and other martial arts (and qigongs), multiple postures are, or can be used...not just the most popular "standing squarely while holding a ball in front". Normally the form and the intent will be coupled together...different joints will have different intents within a single posture, and there are multiple "valid" sets that can be employed within any single posture. The effect of any such practice is related to one's ability to perceive it (and thus adjust it), which is a function of one's inherent sensitivity, the power of the practice, and the presence of distractions (and one's amenity to distraction). The power of the practice is in turn related to the posture itself and the length of time it is performed. Naturally, when you adjust even a single finger, you are also adjusting an organ function. This practice is not a cure-all. Just a few months ago, I saw a gentleman pass out after he exceeded his own capacity. Thank goodness he didn't hit his head on the way down, but we called an ambulance anyway. So, in summary, everything is related to everything else. It's all very simple.

Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. How do you learn to practice perfectly? By doing it wrong. IME its effects are very much dependent on the posture chosen AND the intent used with it AND the length of time it is held AND the pre-existing condition(s) of the person holding it AND the environment in which they practice...

It seems to me that 99% of the people grappling with the "true value" of the Mo Pai, are in fact assessing the perceptions of the 3-4 Westerners who came forward to publicize it. That is no more fair than writing a review of Lady Gaga's new CD, based solely upon what a friend told you it sounds like. Don't leave your heart and your head on the dance floor, people.

How to Find a Five-Star Martial Arts School

This is the best way to start turning Japanese. HTH.

"After we had conducted thousands of experiments on a certain project without solving the problem, one of my associates, after we had conducted the crowning experiment and it had proved a failure, expressed discouragement and disgust over our having failed to find out anything. I cheerily assured him that we had learned something. For we had learned for a certainty that the thing couldn't be done that way, and that we would have to try some other way." (Thomas Edison, American Magazine, January 1921)

Respectfully, the statement is not correct.

I've learned so much here over the past few days. Tai Chi is whatever feels right for you, Kundalini cannot be awakened, Taoism is not a religion unless you want it to be, and the masters you invent are as good as any others...

Most honorable grandmaster Siji Tzu forget first rule of made-up names. Make up something plausible. Humble sage Siji Tzu neglect second rule. No disrespect culture you misappropriate. I not tell him third rule. If he know then he probably break too!

Can you imagine mastering 100 different musical instruments, because "they all make noise" and are therefore similar? Or if you don't like that analogy, how about mastering 100 different sports, because they all use the human body and are therefore similar? When a modern athlete reaches the pro leagues in two different sports, that is already newsworthy. This guy says he is an expert in more than one hundred! My personal views on Tai Chi can be found on my website.

Actually, I have a little familiarity with Chinese Shao-Lin Center. I live across the street from one of their branches, and I have visited the basic and advanced classes. They seem to be of the opinion that, if you practice your Kung Fu slowly, it automatically turns into Tai Chi. It is an unorthodox viewpoint, to say the least. Their lineage head says he has mastered "over 900 forms from over 100 fighting systems"!

I think the short answer is that because Taoism does not first presume the world is inherently Good, it is not compelled to explain the source of Evil. It comes from where all things ultimately come from--nothing.

Isn't Effie Chow in San Francisco? http://www.eastwestqi.com/html/north_america.html#sanfrancisco

FWIW, I cannot think of a single martial arts franchise operation (with the possible exception of Jingwu), that has a good reputation within the martial arts community. Regardless, you should check at least 3 different schools before making a decision. There is, or should be, no harm in joining a class 1-2 weeks late, if it comes to that.

If you start a regimen to improve the strength and flexibility of your back and lower body, you may subsequently find that your "energy problems" in the half-lotus posture disappear.

"I was even-tempered before, but 10 minutes of zhun zhuang makes me angry all day. I must have used the wrong posture." That I would find hard to believe. "I was both chronically angry and emotionally repressed before, but after 10 minutes of zhan zhuang, I want to express myself without restraint. And as it turns out, I am not as nice as I thought." That I would find easy to believe.

I wish the second page of this thread had been as genuinely entertaining as the first.

"Groundfighting" was not even in the lexicon before the Gracies put it there. Grappling, tripping, and occasional sacrifice throws, sure, but intentionally going to the ground together and staying there for the duration, as a strategy? Can you name one CMA, more than 20 years old, that does it? They really did a good job with their marketing. Even Mike Tyson couldn't convince everyone they needed to have an "ear game" in order to be a "balanced fighter".

Why don't we see more MMA guys in push hands tournaments and forms competitions?

Yan Xin experimented with altering radioactive half-life, it was discussed in "Scientific Qigong Exploration".

All those capable to calculate "the interests of the Tao", please raise your hands.

Step one is to accept that meditation isn't turning you into someone else--it is revealing who you really are. Then, since you are obviously a man already, you can investigate what exactly you were pretending to be, and why.