dwai

Dao is the Non-Dual Truth A person has to first empty himself/herself out completely to be able to realize Dao/be truly in The Way. According to the lineage I'm a student of, there is a part of the Dao in all of us, it is called the Te (De). This is obscured by the nature of our existence - in a dualistic universe, and with time and as our worldly knowledge grows, keeps getting obscured further (layer upon layer of dust on the proverbial mirror). Once the dust is cleared, i.e. via our practices, we can empty our our mundane existence (self/jiva), we connect with the De (Self/Atman). That is non-different from Dao (Brahman). Dao is empty (nothing), yet full of potentiality (for everything) To further elucidate my perspective - there is a difference between the mundane self and our original Self Nature. The mundane self is what we normally consider being our "self". The original Self is that which remains after all the things that define/constitute the "self" is understood and let go off. So the original Self, is also the No-Self (Anatman of Buddhist perspective).

You are right of course, but still, each weapon helps train one primary element. The Jian form seems pretty vigorous (compared to the empty hand form), yet the flow there in is water. I haven't trained the other weapons yet, though hopefully I will when my teacher is ready to teach me. The point I was trying to make is that, imho, the "application" of the forms are not apparent in their physical manifestation, it is internally only that they will reveal themselves. Also, that taiji forms are not primarily for combat/martial application - they have far more significant internal alchemical significance (provided it is taught that way). By 26 taiji energies do you refer to the various Jins? That should be 36 in number, albeit they are all combinations of peng and lu essentially (with associated vectors and vibrational frequencies)?

Have you factored in the differentials depending on the point of contact on the sword blade, the angle of the blade, the rotational gradient of the blade??? No....??? Then how can you reduce this to some middle-school physics equation? I'm not even going to go into Fourier Transforms etc...

I think the practical use of weapons (or not) in Tai Chi is to train the five elements. Sword is Water...empty hand is earth, staff is wood, spear is fire and broadsword is metal. The associated energetics then must try and express the elemental properties. Depending on the type of material being used, a different "dimension" of energy must be projected into the weapon to extend one's awareness into the weapon/tip of weapon (HINT: a ting jin/tong jin reference that a certain "pesky" dragon can recirculate later as being his own concept). I know this kind of talk makes many people roll their eyes, but I see this in practical with my Teacher (who walks the talk). As much as I would love to be reductionistic, I think its a fallacy to try reduce Tai Chi Chuan to fighting. It is far far more - and is as complex as the 10,000 things that rise from the interplay of yin and yang.

I'm considering a 7 or 8 string, but seems like a bit of an overkill

In my experience it is the other way round. If the blade is too rigid, you cannot use it to feedback qi projection. I wouldn't rely on Chi Dragon's testimony if I were you - he doesn't even believe in Qi... So, my teacher says, start with a moderately flexible sword. Then go to a fully flexible or a rigid one after having developed some skill in both projecting as well as sensing the flow of Qi into the blade.

In the preparation form, the opposite hand is usually holding the sword at the guard, with the middle finger resting against the length of the hilt (at least that's how we're taught in Temple style). The flat of the blade lays parallel along the length of the forearm (back of the forearm), the back of the upper arm, past the shoulders to the eye level. Sifu told us that is the best position to gauge blade length.

With Sword form I realized that it is even more important to have the energy flow going otherwise the form that we practice is pretty physically challenging. While I enjoy the physical challenge, when I see my Sifu move, its like watching water flowing. Effortless movement, soft yet powerful. Like Steve pointed out, the sword gets heavier as the form progresses if we use our muscular strength. Only way to flow through the form is to at least project the energy to the tip of the sword (if not beyond). Another important point of sword selection is the length of the blade. With the sword held at the side, the hand holding the sword hanging comfortably below the waist level (elbow slightly bent per Tai chi edicts), the tip should be at the temple/eye level. That is the correct length of the blade/sword.

You mean "THE" teacher...

3Bob please do share more. I think we get too caught up in differences. Mahadeva is Brahman - Shankaracharya has said so too. In fact he has used several deities to demonstrate that at the end, they are non-different from Brahman.

Here's a good article written by my Sifu about the subject -- http://www.gbolarts.com/pages/notes_archive/notes-029.html He categorizes swords by blade categories (there are chinese names for these but I don't remember them anymore) --Yang (least flexible), Yin-Yang (moderately flexible) or Yin (very flexible). I have one Yang blade and another Yin-Yang blade. My Sifu uses a very Yin blade (almost like a belt). The Yin-Yang is best according to me, since the blade vibrates well. Good ones should vibrate almost throughout the length of the sword. Bad ones vibrate only half-way through the length (from tip). I've found good swords in San Francisco, where I keep traveling. There's a Martial Arts store (which unfortunately I heard closed down during the economic downturn of the past few years) - it was Brendan Lai's Martial Supplies. Good swords are hard to find and really good ones cost in thousands of dollars. Mine's pretty decent for the 60$ I paid for it, and the 80$ I paid to ship it to Chicago from San Fran.

Hi Michael, Good observations/inferences there of. WRT softness/lack of strength. My Sifu has a nice, simple way of showing this. He will ask you to push/pull his arm with him standing in a normal way, no bow and arrow, etc. Then he will use physical strength - muscle strength. And with some effort you can push him or pull him. Then he completely relaxes, and starts condensing his energy. There is no tightening of the muscles in his arm. It still feels soft on the surface (unlike how a flexed muscle feels), but its like pushing into a balloon (or like pulling the bumper of a truck, depending on what you choose to do). As more physical force is introduced (say by the person pushing or pulling), it just gets used to condense more and more. No, letting go of strength, really means that. No muscular strength. The energy takes over. Of course, there are those who don't believe Qi is real or it is a type of energy, much like electricity is. What I'm trying to tell you is that if you have the degree of softness/relaxation needed, read Chapter 2 of the book and there is enough material in there to keep you going for 3-4 years at least. It is not overly complicated, no elaborate routines of physical contortion or mental acrobatics. Real simple stuff, and it simply works. We just have to work at it... As far as Erle Montague goes, I saw many of his videos early on. I feel he is very physical. In our system, each and every application is taught, methodically. But you have work towards it. Can't pay a few hundred bucks over a 5-day seminar and learn it. I don't think there are many people who know this stuff besides Master Liao and his senior students anyway. This is way beyond physical and biomechanics/alignment etc.

I've been learning from my Sifu for the past 12 years. When I got Master Liao's book first and read through it, it seemed all fine and dandy, but I couldn't figure out where the relevant sections of meditation and practice were towards developing jin (or jing as is termed in the book). My teacher keeps no secrets. He told us the same things within the first 6 months, as he tells us now. But every time he says it (at various intervals of time), it makes different sense. When I first attempted to do condensing breathing, my mind couldn't even visualize how the qi needs to be condensed, because the meridians were all blocked and as a result the yi couldn't lead the qi. But as practice unfolded over time and I softened up (relaxed/became more sung), things started to fall into place. Things that seemed to operate at a physical level earlier began to make sense from an energetic level. Many beginners attempt to do condensing breathing by using muscular strength (tension and relaxation of the muscles), thinking they can "squeeze" the qi into the bone marrow. But that is a wrong approach. Once one is sensitive (as a corollary being relaxed enough), the qi becomes more tangible as a real energetic flow. Then the condensation becomes a feeling, a real palpable feeling. Then one can condense. The first and foremost criterion for good tai chi is to let go of strength. As Lao Tzu says in the Tao Te Ching, the soft and pliable will always overcome the strong and inflexible. It is not just about psychology or about the natural world. That is the first and most important pre-requisite for Nei gong (and nei jia as a result), imho (and as I have understood the teachings). So, I didn't have to clean toilets and wait on my teacher hand on foot. He freely shared with me and my brothers and sisters. Right from the beginning. He only began to make sense once I got out of my own way. Everything has its own way (Dao). And to force a different way onto something that is naturally/inherently different will yield, well, some other result... I missed the question about "practical application of vibrating palm". There is more detail to what happens after condensing is done successfully. That is using the vibrations achieved via condensing to issue what is called short power, long power, cold power etc. The way the energy is vibrated results in a particular type of effect that will be caused in an opponent. Best. D

The type of Tai Chi I am learning doesn't require physical "strength". It is all in the Jin, which most certainly is not physical strength.

Hi Silent Thunder, What do you mean by body weight training? Is it the same as free-hand training? Ie push ups, chin ups etc?

in my late teens through early twenties I did hard karate - goju Ryu. We did mainly free hand training - hundreds of push ups, squats, Russian sit-ups, barrel walks, etc. and that was just warm ups. Then we'd do drills - punches, kicks, blocks, chops etc, then free sparring. I didn't find any thing more intense than that. In the prime, my 200+ lb friend would push me full on and bounce back. I weighed a puny 150 lbs... None of this involved weight training. In fact my sensei would tell us to avoid weights because bulked up muscles slow our reflexes down. With internal arts it's even more critical, IMHO. If you are building up strength you are losing qi sensitivity.

I tried doing strength training but found that it affects my energetic sensitivity and softness, which are paramount in Taiji Quan. But I feel the need to do stretching beyond the realm of typical tai chi practice, and the tai chi sword form we do is good with that, being more "physically demanding" than empty hand forms. The Jian is around 8 lbs and so being able to hold it up for a 20 minute practice session is somewhat exerting (which moving it in any which way as is typical of the sword forms). And then to switch sides and do it with other hand (so we do both left and right hand forms). That being said I haven't done the sword form at all this summer and winters in the midwest are a bane for any outdoor activities. Hopefully i'll get a few weeks of continuous sword form practice before it gets too cold this year... Also, I think I'm going to resume the yoga surya namaskar regimen (sun salutation) which involves lots of stretching and isometric strength training) and doing continuous repetitions of it (with less than 1 minute break between each set builds both strength and stamina) will do the trick, imho, without bulking up and impairing chi sensitivity that muscle building does.

Shaken, not stirred, ask me if you will.

That's my understanding too

i'm pretty sure it is not. Erle Montague seems to be a very physical oriented guy. I don't see any overt similarities (based on videos I've seen of Erle Montague)

Some say it's a variation of Yang style. Master Liao, the person who brought this system to the West in 1970 says it is the style of Tai Chi he learnt as a student in a Daoist temple in Taiwan. He says the way Temple Style is taught is the original style (like ChiDragon suggested in his response) - single form practice, zhan zhuang, nei gong and finally Dao Gong.

I practice Temple Style Tai Chi as taught by Master Waysun Liao. I study with his direct student of 30+ years. The is some material in Master Liao's book titled "T'ai Chi Classics".

We do extensive zhan zhuang. In fact, many of our advanced practices are standing practices, that we do for long periods of time. Master Liao has some of these documented in his latest book (although he calls these Chi Gung, they are the basic standing practices we start with) -- http://www.amazon.com/Restoring-Your-Life-Energy-Well-Being-ebook/dp/B00AJSI7FI/ref=la_B001K8IR56_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406213848&sr=1-3 Also, since we do single form practice, every single form is done repetitively, then there are some specific ones that we do in static posture (e.g.: tai chi stance - aka embrace the tree, raised hands stance, golden rooster, etc). Even in the static posture there are variations in how we approach them. Sometimes we approach them to expand our energy, sometimes we approach them to focus on internal flow, sometimes both (with varying degree of nuances that sifu introduces as he deems appropriate for us). Even condensing breathing is a zhan zhuang practice...because there is no physical movement (or practically none) - and don't go by BS material by a notorious pretender on youtube whose name rhymes with mary slyman. The practices aren't anything like that...

Hi Michael, IMHO, the difference between pushing and striking is in the nature of the power being used. Long power is usually pushing, short and cold power are striking. Because an explanation I've heard is that long power is like giving one tug to a long rope...a solitary, slower wave results in such a tug. Long power is like that...so a single pulse of jin (in fa jin) affects the opponents, thereby resulting in his/her being uprooted and physically moved. Short power is like a rapid fire series of short pulses, resulting in a dense waveform, will both physically uproot the opponent as well as cause damage to him/her internally (if the right amount of power is applied). Cold power is like an explosion inside the opponent, and applied power literally explodes within their body. When applied with sufficient power, it can stop hearts, explode organs etc. My sifu tells that long power, short power are easier to cultivate. Cold power is hard. There are other powers that are possible, but only a few know how to do this.

We are taught short power, long power and cold power. These are different ways in which the energy can be vibrated to cause certain effects.