dwai

indeed...I have used the law of parsimony to often indicate (in such discussions and I do believe even here) that to go from one to many or to go from one to nothing are both more convoluted and complicated (not simple) as compared to just staying with "one". True emptiness is not truly empty... Take Alaya Vijnana for instance...it is so ludicrous that it makes me laugh every time I hear or read someone arguing about it in seriousness... Its whole and sole purpose is to try and explain the non-dual experience without accepting the eternal self (so the infinite "non-dual" individual streams of consciousness interconnected via indrajaal)...it is posterior to the experience...an intellectual exercise to describe the indescribable. That's it from me...these discussions are pointless after a while...if seeds are planted they will germinate into trees...but if the soil is not prepared, seeds will simply not germinate...

Softness is what will get us to taiji. Without softness it is not possible to tell between yin and yang....without knowing that how can one enter taiji? Like my teacher said...soft not like a wet noodle but sof like a green branch...alive and yeilding...to a point that keeps getting finer and finer...

Its called the fair lady's wrist

Why would you want to do this? Heavy energy is to be grounded and light energy from the sky pulled in through crown point.

http://www.medhajournal.com/articles/philosophy/697-no-bamboo-staying-no-flute-playing.html

True...sometimes it is not enough however. My teacher often stops us and shows what we need to be doing...sonetimes he lets us go at it... Those times where we start "getting" our partner things can get charged up. Like i remember we were doing methods of inward outward and i got to a point where i had my friend completely off balance on one leg and almost into a wall...of course then it spiralled into an ego thing rapidly...so our teacher had to step in and remind us the goal was to learn not fight with each other...

Tui shou is not a competition...so we provide feedback, helping each other relax parts that are tense, become softer when we feel our partner's physical tension...we dont toss our friends into walls... I have seen the approach you mention from cooperative practice to combat...it is not a good idea when we re not really sparring. San shou is for that...not tui shou....imho From my teachers notes --

Yes, ian's videos are great. Master liao's teaches all the 2-person sets...hands attaching, roll hands, single hand push, four forms, moving four forms, ta lu, etc. its great because it is structured...and he usually demonstrates what is right vs what is wrong...goes a long way to finding the right alignment. As myth aker said however, no substitute to learning in person from a good teacher...

Indeed...but for those who have doubts in their minds and hearts (or confused beings like Sam Harris), its good to read these discussions...sometimes helps people see the "light" (or darkness thereof).

Hi Manitou, The important thing was the discussion that accompanied the article. Good efforts from both sides of the debate...

Im no master but i studied karate for a few years...while it doesnt have "pushing" it also doesnt do internal cultivation. Also agreed that a jin is not the end all of tai chi. But the 8 energies of ai cho are what makes it tai chi. Peng, li, an ji etc. so i dont see anything wrong in doing a push or a ward off etc....not all martial encounters need to maim and kill...,simply smacking someone into a wall might suffice in dissuading further aggression. From what i u dertand, each of these energies can be expressed in different ways, from different parts of the body...so retaining the form structure is a teaching tool...afterwards student has to improvise....

He seemed to demonstrate mainly wardoff and push. I think using split or press would cause internal damage...which is why most masters don't demonstrate with those. I don't see how his demonstrating technique with his students (whom he was obviously trying to teach) amounts to speaking volumes about this teacher? If anything, it shows him in very good light, imho. Ahem, for those of us who don't experience the fa jin from a video, looking at other characteristics, he seems to have the juice. How much is not the question (there are many masters who are capable of more maybe)... Which one? Which year?

oh of course! silly me...

Its difficult to gauge these things without actually crossing hands with someone. Wht i liked about his videos was thr power apparent in the execution. Have you seen anything tht is impressive on video? Do share

The worst is the "subconscious' which is not purified. As our witness strengthens it picks up movements of thoughts before they can become actions or energetic movement. This is very disconcerting when certain "unpleasant" crap becomes evident and the mind pond is stirred up with a spoon...

associated with this is the madness of having to go to a "Yoga studio"!!! In my experience, my practice has been strongest at home...there are just too many (spandex-clad) distractions in a studio and the energy is mostly non-spiritual. Home is where we can relax completely and therefore a home practice is more important than going to a studio. Yoga is a practical, personal practice and its best to do it in solitude. Sure, go for corrections and to learn new techniques etc but focus primarily on self-practice. Self-reliance is a key feature of a Yoga practitioner...

As usual vmarco is wrong...you are fine. don't worry about it...as long as yin and yang are flowing smoothly you are okay

Hi Cat, Glad I could help. Interestingly, Kali is one of the most misunderstood Deity (in the Western world) evoking fear, disgust, anger and so on. But if put in context, she is (as someone pointed out) a Heroine who rids the world of the darkness, fear, death, etc. The Dog motif is interesting because I think Dogs have been companions to humans for a long time and we probably get to witness primeval behaviours most closely through them.

This is a painting by my Late grandfather. The scene is in a cremation ground. The "Dog" that you see is actually a jackal/wolf (that used to frequent cremation grounds back in the day when they were still around). The story is after Goddess Kali's battle with the demonic hordes, she is in such a frenzy that she hasn't yet realized that the war is over...so she is still "dancing" her War dance. The other Gods realize that this will result in the dissolution of the universe (way sooner than they had planned), so they go and plead Lord Shiva to stop her. But Shiva is not able to stop her with words. So he lays down on the ground and has her dancing on his chest, to absorb the energy waves that she is generating. As she begins to dance on his chest, she regains awareness of the world as it is (after the war) and calms down. So, the symbolism there in is that Energy needs consciousness to temper it...uncontrolled energy has the potential to destroy. But when fortified by Clear Consciousness, Energy can be controlled and used for constructive purposes. BTW, the human heads that adorn her neck are the 50 phonemes of the Sanskrit Language (the 50 basic sounds) that lead to language, thus understanding and the chopping of the heads represent the conquest of each sound, thus defeat of ignorance.

And the stars now have aligned for this ground-shaking, earth-shattering, sky-collapsing spiritual wisdom now --

Actually I think that refers to our "Dharma" as human beings. Being human beings, we have certain "responsibilities" that need to be followed (as in dharma). A good source would be the yamas and niyamas of the Yoga Sutras. As members of social organizations we have certain responsibilities (protect the weak, provide for our family, help the needy, etc) which are also our dharma by virtue of such membership... Does this answer your question?

https://taichitaocenter.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=61 This precisely what we learn in our system...taught by master liao.