steve

Thank you all very much, my father has been very ill and passed early this morning. 

I value all of your good wishes and friendship.

12 hours ago, Apech said:

ok? Just ok?

 

is that a no ok or a yes ok?

 

or an ok ok?

 

or a perhaps ok?

 

 

 

 

Just Ok, I don’t have much energy to debate or discuss at the moment. Some tough personal stuff happening right now.

✌🏽

Ok

Quantum mechanics, subatomic physics, the study and applications of light, time reversal, complex numbers, string theory all, among many other areas of inquiry, go beyond the gross physical. 

2 hours ago, Apech said:

Not really it’s just that ‘science’ doesn’t allow for anything other than the gross physical

sure it does

2 hours ago, Apech said:

 

and is therefore limited.

 

limited yes, but the methodology is sound and allows for growth

Nice to see you @Encephalon

19 hours ago, TomBrad said:

I'm curious - can different Nei Gong systems be trained in concurrently?  e.g. can Damo Mitchell's system be studied at the same time as Wang Liping's?

I'm also curious, do you practice a neigong system currently or in the past?

We have never been separate from wuji for an instant.

To conceptualize it as something distant or only occurring before birth or after death or at any point in time is misleading, imo.

It is independent of time and space and ever-present as the undifferentiated, unmanifest source of all. 

Taiji and wuji are not separate in time and space, that is a misunderstanding, imo.

This may qualify as one of those unpopular opinions but I think people are more likely to harm themselves with sitting meditation than with standing meditation, both physically and mentally.

Chess warfare! Hikaru tossing Gukesh's king into the audience at a recent match.

Truth is, it's more about entertainment than anything else. 

I think if we stand simply for the sake of standing, with no expectations or demands on ourselves, there is little risk of harm and it can be a wonderful practice, even for beginners.

If we stand to reach some objective, with a certain set of expectations. that is when we tend to cause problems for ourselves.

I find standing practice to be a great way to introduce people to meditation.

It is less challenging in many ways than seated meditation and has additional physical benefits.

9 hours ago, ChiDragon said:

However, it has to be in one position as defined by the martial arts practitioners with consistency in communication.

Agreed, in practice we stand for a time before we begin and after we end. My teacher encouraged standing for as long as possible after completing the form, 5 minutes minimum.

I think to define wuji simply as stillness, as opposed to dynamic, whether in practice or ontology, is misleading. Wuji is not “other than” or “opposed” to anything else, it is better expressed as undifferentiated, imo, not static. I certainly allow the body to move if it arises, standing quietly before or after the form or zhan zhuang. Taiji expresses motion vs stillness, their mutual arising both in form and meaning. Wuji embraces and does not favor ANY position relative to any other. All is completed and yet nothing is done.

On 10/2/2025 at 7:48 PM, Krenx said:

You notice the effects of the Jin happens mostly in the one getting issued, not the one expressing the jin. 

If you get good at this, I suggest practicing in a small room with a mattress against one wall.

If you get displaced by a healthy fajin, a brick wall just won't do...

2 hours ago, ChiDragon said:

Thank you, Steve. I believe you had indicated, here, is the application in combination of the multi Fajin methods. However, each method should be a stand alone posture. 

Yes, that is the best way to learn and practice them in the beginning, and to teach them, one at a time - clear and consistent.

Eventually the techniques must come alive, adapt and respond to the circumstances, and one must be able to flow into any other.

If you try to use a technique and your opponent neutralizes, you need to adjust and continue without interruption or it's over.

This is the nature and part of the utility of tui shou. 

And the solo forms, 2 person forms, and tui shou drills are an encyclopedia of techniques, combinations, and adaptations waiting to be investigated but it really helps to have a good partner.

2 hours ago, zerostao said:

 

That is a fine looking set. It displays mucho character.

Glad you like it.

I bought it directly from a Hungarian chess master who designed it.

His design was copied by the company in India that produces the majority of the Western world's sets.

They never paid him a penny, of course, but for him it is a labor of love.

2 hours ago, Taomeow said:

However, that post of mine was not a serious foray into the subject.  I just pity those cats who look like alien chickens... 

Understood, me either.

I once took some cooking lessons.

The chef's dogs were Mexican Hairless... the Xoloitzcuintle

Oy!

4 minutes ago, ChiDragon said:

@steve
I don't know can see going into this site. If you do, please look at:

@ 00.17  掤 resembles the gesture of 野馬分鬃. 
@00.35 is the gesture of 靠. It is only using the shoulder.

This is, only, my argument no more or less. Please don't say more to confuse the issue.

Yes, I could see the video. Peng does resemble ye ma fen zong and kao does involve the shoulder. 

If that is your understanding and you want to leave it there, I am happy to accommodate you.

4 hours ago, Taomeow said:

We are the only hairless primates for the same reason we have bred the Sphinx cats. 

When I first got into running, I read a great book called Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.

One assertion the book made is that we are hairless due to natural selection. Our lack of hair and ability to sweat gives us a distinct advantage in hunting over hairy, four legged animals that are much faster. They can run faster but can only lower their temperature through panting so they are forced to periodically stop and rest or they overheat. Humans, on the other hand, can lower temperature through sweating so it is possible for us to keep running for hours, even days, without stopping. As long as we can keep the faster animal in our sight, we will eventually catch them. McDougall postulates this is one reason we have come to dominate other species. The book goes into some interesting territory, including the Raramuri people of Mexico who are amazing runners. One just won an ultra-marathon, in fact, running in traditional sandals and a long skirt with no formal training. Before running the ultra, she walked 14 hours just to get there. 

https://www.onlygoodnewsdaily.com/post/indigenous-runner-wins-canyon-ultramarathon

8 minutes ago, ChiDragon said:

I don't know have you done any investigation.

Yes, I've studied with two masters (one in Yang and Chen Pan Ling styles, one in Chen style) beginning around 2003, competed in many tournaments, read a few books on the subject, and did some workshops with other masters here and there. I taught for my shifu for about 12 years, mostly taijiquan but also some xingyiquan and qigong. I spent years working through all of the taijiquan forms (solo and two-person) and tui shou techniques we were taught with my training partner and we made all kinds of discoveries about the possible applications of the various postures. 

I'm not arguing, just sharing my understanding. Ignore my posts if you aren't interested but others may be. If you look a bit more closely at 野马分鬃 (meaning practice the movement and the possible applications, preferably with a partner) you will find it contains many possibilities - 靠 and 挒 are both implied in the posture, as is 掤 of course. With a little imagination, and depending on the opponent and type of attack, there are other possibilities, such as 捋, 采, and 肘. It's good to start with the basic posture and a single intention. Over time it is good to be open minded and creative and look for all possibilities. Every technique has obvious, hidden, and secret applications just waiting to be discovered by a dedicated student. My teacher would show one or two and expect us to discover what we can through diligent practice. The best students would be rewarded through their hard work and investigation, shifu didn't just spoon feed us. 

2 hours ago, ChiDragon said:

To be exact, 掤 is equivalent to the gesture of 野马分鬃。

I'll have to disagree here.

野马分鬃 is an example of a specific technique making use of 掤勁 but the two are not exactly equivalent.

There are many ways to use 掤勁 that are not 野马分鬃. In addition, 野马分鬃 is not limited to 掤勁 and can also express 挒勁 or 靠勁 among others. 

7 hours ago, ChiDragon said:

Of course, all methods of Fajin are external. How can anyone expect it to be internal?

Don't mistake the external appearance for the internal 勁. 

By internal, I do not mean anything that is woo-woo or unmeasurable. Internal can simply refer to all of the things that are happening in the mind/body, the physics and anatomy, that combine to generate the resulting force/strength that is not necessarily visible to the eye. It is easy and convenient to describe techniques by their external appearance but that does not capture the essence of the 勁.

Anyone can hold their forearm up and push it outward - that is not the 勁, it is not 掤.

掤 is the force or strength that results from a particular and precise way of using the mind/body.

None of the eight methods are limited to a particular posture, direction, or body part, they describe energetics that are very flexible and lend themselves to infinite variations once understood.

One of my favorite songs sung in Arabic 

Listening to alot of flamenco lately, trying to figure out how to accompany singers and dancers on guitar.

Particularly fascinated with Bulerías.

In addition to the eight specific techniques, 掤, 捋, 挤, 按, 采, 挒, 肘, 靠 (peng, lu, ji, an, cai, lie, zhou, and kao); there are other types of 劲 that can be described and were an important part of my training. They were collectively referred to as 發手 or 八 大 勁. The formal and descriptive names of the methods are below in Hanzi with the short, informal names we used in English. Some may object to the use of the word strength, substitute whatever you prefer, it's the English word my teacher most often used when discussing them. 

1. 靈 蛇 吐 珠 (纏 絲 勁).  Coiling strength

2. 葉 底 藏 花 (按, 才履 寸 勁).  Pushing strength

3. 隨 步 探 珠 (波 浪 勁).  Wave strength

4. 禦 步 擒 龍 (螺 旋 勁).  Revolving strength

5. 移 形 拿 穴 (認 穴 陽 勁.  Striking vital point 

6. 陷 陣 破 敵 (靠 打 陰 勁).  Covert strength

7. 如 封 似 閉 (分 合 勁).  Integrated strength

8. 引 進 落 空 (折 疊 勁).  Folding strength

These are related to the fajin methods you describe but not as firmly related to specific techniques; rather they are more descriptive of combinations and categories of energies that are important in playing tui shou and in martial applications. I don't know if you've come across these in your training or study but thought I'd share as they are very valuable concepts and methods and worthy of deep exploration. 

On 9/30/2025 at 8:25 AM, Surya said:

https://www.esotericmeanings.com/spiritual-paradigm-of-chess-part-1/

Is this your blog @Surya?

On 9/30/2025 at 8:32 AM, zerostao said:

Pawns are the soul.

On 9/30/2025 at 8:39 AM, Surya said:

Protect them at all cost, Knight.

When I recently bought a new chess set, I selected one with HUGE pawns. The designer of the set is a chess master himself and I believe designed them with this in mind.