doc benway

I will also disagree. One of the reasons I started practicing Taijiquan was back pain. The combination of the warmups, standing meditation, Qigong, and form practice have been great for my back. So much so that I now focus on the martial Taijiquan training. The more physical/martial training can be tough on the back but that is optional and not necessary for the healing and fitness aspect of Taijiquan.

"Why is creativity considered a feminine trait when women don't create anything except babies?" Maybe because women create life and men create bone-headed threads like this one?

What are your goals Eviander? Yoga and Taijiquan certainly have differences but also quite a few similarities. If you want meaningful advice on which practice makes sense for you, we would need to know more about you and your objectives.

Eight Pieces of Brocade is a relatively simple and safe set. It's always better to study with a teacher for many reasons but I don't think it would be unsafe to try it on your own.

What sort of journey John?

I believe I understand your point, Gold. Each of us creates our reality based on our conditioning, I agree with that. My conditioning is primarily within the scientific paradigm so the images I create of reality fall within that realm mostly. Much of my own work has been to drop as many of the preconceptions and images as possible and to experience directly, without that veil. This means letting go of explanations rather than accepting new ones. This probably is part of my resistance to ideas outside of my present paradigm.

Since we're doing some jazz - Snarky Puppy hTyd-Yfx_JE Alain Caron - the man is amazing qcsjlFFBU6M

With all due respect, I would say this video is bullshit. If he is skillful, it might take quite a bit more than two times to figure out how to resolve a good fajin strike. Your timing has to be excellent and that takes a lot of work to develop. Our tendency is to stiffen and "go against" and this has been conditioned your whole life. One of the most important principles in Taijiquan is - Zhan Nian Lian Sui Bu Diu Bu Ding. Bu Ding means "do not go against". What I mean is that there is certainly is magic in the fact that we are able to practice a martial art like Taijiquan and develop a high level of martial skill in it, but that is accessible to anyone with the time, determination, and a good teacher. Just like our very existence is magic, the smell of grilling meat is magic, and a wink from an attractive stranger is magic. Life is the magic - the things you can actually sense and experience. But we're always looking for that something more that we haven't experienced. Something special, as if everything at our fingertips isn't special enough. So I guess there is a fine line between "special powers" which represent the masterful application of the principles of physics in Taijiquan vs "magical powers" which represents having developed a power that transcends the laws of physics. That's the best way I can express my point. In my experience, the latter category is bullshit. But I don't know and haven't seen everything so hopefully one day I'll learn some "real" magic and eat my own words! I'll respectfully disagree. Fa Shen is real. You can develop your spirit to the point of completely intimidating an opponent and make them fall all over themselves, make them slip up, flinch, and exploit that. That's Fa Shen in a crude way. That's what we're seeing when an old master twists his students around barely touching them like in these videos. It's kind of like hypnosis. A lot of people, however, imagine that magic bolt of invisible force and call that Fa Shen, and I'll agree that is bullshit.

I believe that the most important qualities of a healer are compassion, patience, and sensitivity. Everything else is simply a function of paradigm. I agree that women are natural healers. Men can probably be equally effective but probably need to work more at it. Men dominate the field in patriarchical societies for the same reason they dominate everything else - fear.

Pretty good stuff! Very old school sound, I guess that makes sense since they've been around since '79. I don't know how I missed them.

I think the key is motivation. If you enjoy marijuana intoxication there needs to be some reason why you choose not to indulge. What might such a reason look like?

It can - you develop Fajin using a number of training methods, one of which is practicing on a heavy bag.

I don't think so, I know so. You're seeing it with your own eyes in that video. Watch very closely. There is easily enough tension. Light touch does not mean being flexible or having the ability to yield. I can touch someone very lightly and remain quite rigid, that's much easier than remaining song - song takes a lot of practice. The force comes quickly and without a relatively high degree of skill the opponent's natural reaction is tension. That tension can then be exploited. I'm not saying it's easy, it does take practice. And the yielding also takes considerable training. It's just not anything magical. There is no magic energy being expressed other than the sensitivity, coordination, timing, and proper posture that is the foundation of good taiji and fajin. Those qualities in and of themselves are quite magical in my mind but that is different than the imagined invisible Qi force that opportunists pretend exists and that people who aren't satisfied with honest, hard work over time imagine. There is no magic in Taiji. We all have the same potential. I do believe it can be figured out - someone figured it out at some point, didn't they? On the other hand, it is much easier to learn under the guidance of a credible teacher. It is simply a matter of timing, sensitivity, coordination, and diligent, correct practice. Another name my teacher likes for Fajin is 'coordination power'. Short force is more literal but 'coordination power' gives a much better idea for what's going on.

Neither video shows anything special. Fajin simply means short, explosive force. Both videos show that - that's a relatively easy skill to develop. The reason they look impressive to the uninitiated is that the subjects are resisting. Look at the elbows of Michael Phillips' subjects. You can see them subtly tense the elbow. At times they are nearly pushing themselves off, at other times he is just taking advantage of their stiffness and "bouncing" them. It's a drill we practice regularly. There is an extremely simple way to neutralize this - simply absorb the energy, don't tense the elbow. Then it is completely dissipated. The only trick is timing. A skillful Taiji player can cause you to tense, then take advantage of that in many different ways - that is exactly what you're seeing in the videos. These are useful skills in Taiji application and also impressive parlor tricks. It's not magic.

White Tiger's recent thread about practicing internal arts made me want to discuss the natural extension of that which is teaching the internal arts. What do you teach? I'll start - I primarily teach Taijiquan and Qigong. My major personal practice includes Taijiquan, Qigong, and Daoist meditation. I also practice and assist in instructing Xingyiquan and Baguazhang but they are secondary for me. Perhaps this might be a thread where we can discuss teaching the internal arts. The frustrations and rewards. Ideas for drills. Ways to keep it fresh and interesting. Anything. It's been fascinating experience for me. For those of you who practice and have thought of teaching and have the opportunity - DO IT! I feel like my own Taijiquan skills and understanding have improved dramatically as a direct result of my teaching responsibilities. My own teacher maintains that there are a number of steps to achieving mastery in Taijiquan and other internal arts. First we obviously have to practice diligently and properly for a long period of time. No matter how long we practice, however, that will only take us so far. Second, we have to incorporate meditation into our training method. Certain aspects of Taijiquan will only be achieved with proficiency in meditation. Third, we must gain experience in teaching to reach our highest potential. There is a deeper investigation that takes place when we are forced to help others understand. When learning ourself, we only need to look at the material in one way - the way that makes the most sense to us as individuals. When teaching, we need to look at the material from the perspectives of all of our students and we need to find ways that help them to understand. This necessarily leads to a deeper understanding for us. Furthermore, our students will raise questions that may never otherwise occur to us. Ultimately this results in a wider and deeper knowledge base and a higher level of confidence. Anyone care to discuss any aspects of teaching the internal arts?

People often talk about the dan tian like a radiator in a car and the pathways like a cooling system. Qi isn't stuff - it isn't water. That's only a metaphor. The energy pathways aren't fixed anatomic structures that can be seen or measured. They are wherever you imagine them to be. They are continuous throughout. If you develop adequate sensitivity, you can feel flow anywhere you choose. Try it sometime. We get too attached to diagrams and concepts - it's all a convenience of communication, nothing more. Just my opinion of course, YMMV.

I think this is a beautiful quote - it really speaks to me. I have no idea who said it and don't recall anything similar form Dao De Jing, but then again I'm not much of a scholar. It doesn't sound like something from Laozi. In any case, Laozi probably wasn't a historical individual anyway so i'm not too concerned with who said it...

1. I prefer the word Awareness over Mindfullness. Buddhist, Daoist, Christian, Jew, it doesn't matter. Be aware! Pay attention to yourself, to others, to what's going on - the little stuff, not the propaganda that masquerades as newspapers. Be connected with you everday activity. Not in a sense of controlling it, but rather in an attempt to simply experience it and maybe even "understand" it a little bit. Daoists do not believe in controlling anything. Who is there to control? What are they controlling? Wu Wei is a core principle of Daoism. It means to recognize your connection to everything else and simple go with, rather than against the flow of your life. Controlling means to go against. 2. Energy practices are not important but they can help to become more aware. 3. I don't know much about Reiki but many of the folks that get involved get caught up in some of the new-agey hype surrounding it, so be careful that it doesn't become a distraction. It is a healing method invented by a Japanese guy in the 1920's. I really like this and agree with it wholeheartedly. Clarity, in my mind, is akin to my use of the word Awareness, and has similar connotations to the way the Buddhists use the word Mindfullness. Be an integral part of your life. Get out of your head and into your life, as Stephen Hayes would say. The only thing I would add is that the Clarity must also be applied to that "little (or big) voice in your head". Perhaps it is possible for the voice to be quiet at times but I don't think the voice can or needs to (or should) go away. It simply has to be seen for what it is using that same light of Clarity. It is just the thought that separates itself from the others and calls itself "I". It's the thought that gives us the illusion that we are separate from everything else, and acts as the interpreter, judge, and decider. The thought may not go away but is just another thought along with all the rest. The end of the conditioning is not necessarily the extinction of the voice but rather putting the voice in its proper perspective.

I like this! Hmmm, kind of like a chess grandmaster? I'm glad you're still around gold - sometimes enlightening, sometimes exaperating, always entertaining.

I find that all drugs have a negative impact on things like meditation and qigong. Some of the more psychoactive drugs make you think that they are helping but it's an illusion, IMO. Drugs are toxins and I try to keep free from them as much as possible these days, whether prescribed or recreational. As I've become more skillful in my meditation practice, I find that I'm much more sensitive to the effects of medications as well as alcohol. I used to enjoy alcohol quite a bit, now it's relatively infrequent that I feel like drinking more than a taste. It just affects me too much.

I like both of these ideas because, to me, the Dao and all of us and everything is not "made of" stuff of any sort. The more we investigate the nature of things, the more we find that there is no stuff. There is just process and relationship. This is beautifully expressed in Daoist writings as well as the Buddhist philosophy. Here, I will respectfully disagree. I think that there are Western writings about Daoism that are very helpful, particularly to those with Western conditioning and sensibilities. Some Western Daoist writing is crap. Then again, so is some of the Chinese writing. Not all of the Daoist canon is valuable or meaningful in modern life and not all the Western writings are crap. YMMV

No need to state the obvious! You work too hard. Relax. I'm a fan of Guinness myself, as long as it's draft. Although Macallan's works pretty well too.

Cool - maybe there is more to you than just bile and bitterness after all. It's OK, some of us won't think less of you! And do you think it makes any difference at all where you live? The purpose of a guru is not to enlighten anyone - it is simply to show you how foolish you are in your efforts to try to become something other than you already are. Most 'gurus' don't realize that, of course, and simply exploit their donkeys. And most people love it! People don't want to wake up. It's much more comfortable to simply follow the conditioned patterns and indulge in the game. And it's very hard work to break out of that programming. It takes enormous energy. And it isn't something you just do once, it is an ongoing effort. Most people just aren't serious enough (or are way too serious, depending on how you look at it). And those that do want to get out need to torture themselves for a very long time, usually, before they realize that it's OK to finally stop because they've been there the whole time. But I don't mean to hijack Stig's thread... I'll shut up now.