doc benway

I immediately began rereading A Tale for the Time Being. Astonishing.

I wonder how many competent and skillful players and teachers breathe today as compared to centuries past? In the modern age, traditional martial arts skill is a bit less valuable in society and so it’s no surprise folks aren’t as committed to the intensity and duration of training needed to really excel; but the access and awareness are so much greater and there are good teachers out there around the globe nowadays.

It seems to me learning is related to knowledge and unlearning to wisdom. I think both are needed in turn to develop skill in taijiquan.

And to unlearn …

The 8 are correct: peng, lu, ji, an, cai, lie, zhou, and kao. The 5… yes and no. While the footwork demonstrated in the video is legit and effective in taiji and other martial arts, I think the “5 steps” or 5 directions in taiji generally refers to: move forward, move back, turn left, turn right, and central equilibrium.

Here is a pearl: When you are watching your teacher demonstrate a new technique, focus on their footwork first. People focus too much on the hands and eyes and breathing… you must get the footwork first, then everything else comes much more readily. Feet, then waist, then upper. Everything in taiji is rooted in the feet, transfers through the waist and expresses in the extremities and torso.

I think that is a reasonable objective. Yes, for me that speaks to the ability to really embody taiji principles in taiji quan. A worthy goal and definitely achievable with skillful practice. One thing I observed and learned first hand practicing and teaching taijiquan - The way to discover the essence of taiji in the quan is to learn and train as close to martial application as possible, meaning in terms of stance, body movement, attention, breathing, training with partners, etc... The art and method are finely tuned to optimize elements that are martially applicable. Focusing on the martial expression ingrains habits that help us to find the wave and ride it, if you will. Practicing with too much of an eye toward theory can actually be counter-productive as the mind may misguide us into emphasizing the wrong things in our training. Not sure if I'm communicating well but I've seen people too focused on theoretical aspects not penetrate deeply enough into the art to really grasp the essence of taiji it contains, if that makes any sense. I wish you well on your journey, it's been a wonderful path for me that continues.

I appreciate you sharing your perspective on this and I acknowledge and understand your points. I'll offer a different perspective. Taiji as a Daoist concept and description of the balance of opposites is simply that, a description of a principle in operation in our day to day reality. Taijiquan is an attempt to adapt this principle to practical martial arts applications, and of course there is an additional benefit to health and wellness. It is effective at a practical level and makes perfect sense once we have some instruction and have developed some basic skills. Taijiquan is not taiji theory but a practical training method that takes advantage of the theory. For example, my opponent attacks with force, I yield. My opponent yields and I destroy their base. It is not unusual to conflate ourselves as practitioners with conceptual principles and theory. I see this frequently in discussions of spirituality, particularly in traditions like zen and dzogchen. Practitioners are people making use of theory and principles in order to optimize outcomes but theory is simply that, a way our thought process labels and categorizes trends and patterns in our realm of experience, nothing more. FWIW, I thought that worth sharing.

Here is a link to the book in English. I have a copy of the English book (which is softcover by the way, not sure why they list is as hardcover in the description). I also have a copy in Mandarin which is in hardback. Thank you very much for the link to the video of Chen Jin Pao doing Master Chen's taiji form. I've never come across that before! If you ever come across any others, please share. I would love to see him demonstrating xingyi and bagua. Much appreciated!

I also practice xingyi quan, bagua zhang, and zhan zhuang, but not yiquan. If you stand for long periods of time (over an hour, IMO, qualifies for a long period of time), it is normal and healthy to experience spontaneous movement. The wave you are feeling is also completely normal and expected. I have a friend who believes the wave experience is related, at least in part, to the wave effect within the cerebrospinal fluid that bathes our brain and spinal cord. I'm not completely sure of the explanation and don't generally concern myself with explanations but it is real and normal and not in any way pathological. Spontaneous movements certainly can be an indication of various blockages and obstacles within the body, energy, and mind which are naturally attempting to unravel, release, and restore balance. We all live with blockages and obstacles at any given moment, it is inevitable. My personal approach to this is NOT to analyze and explain and not to try to identify specific sources or locations within the body, energy, or mind. It's not necessarily wrong to do this but I've not found it helpful. My recommendation is to simply allow the practice to express what needs to be expressed in its own way and in its own time. Trust in the practice and focus on the process more than the outcome. One caution I have is not to push yourself too hard when it comes to standing and circle walking, or training in general. There is too much, not enough, and just the right amount of training and this can vary over time or even day to day depending on your condition and other factors. The right balance is something you need to discover for yourself through patience and commitment to the practice. It comes in part from listening carefully to the body. Of course, a qualified teacher can be indispensable. IMO 2 hours is a VERY long period of time to stand, especially if you've only been training for a year and a half. That said, I do not practice yiquan. My neijia teacher always suggested 30 minutes per side in santishi and one hour of continuous circle walking to be plenty in a practice session for any level of practitioner. Of course there are stories of the masters doing far more but they are the masters and developed these skills over decades of dedicated practice. As with all things Daoist, balance is the key. Too much of a good thing can sometimes be toxic and counter-productive. I'm put in mind of a parable, can't think of the source at the moment: Student - how long before I reach mastery if I practice with great commitment and intensity? Master - 10 years S - what if I practice twice as hard and long? M - 20 years S - what if I practice 10 times harder and longer? M - 50 years! S - I don't understand, why is it the harder I work, the longer it will take?! M - If you always have one eye on the prize, how can you stay focused on the path? (... or something like that) Sometimes we can practice so intensely and dedicate so much time and effort that we damage our body, energy, and mind. We can burn ourselves out or injure ourselves. We can neglect other aspects of our lives that are equally important in the long run. We need to balance training with play and we need to prioritize things like nutrition, hydration, restful sleep, rewarding occupation, and warm relationships with those we care for. Sorry for the rant, I hope it's worth something...

He shared so much of his time and love for the benefit of this community! Thank you brother @Trunk! ❤️

Currently reading A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. I am blown away by her literary voice and her ability to incorporate her wisdom, she’s a Zen nun, into her fiction. I previously read her book, The Book of Form and Emptiness. It took me a long time to get into that one and I gave up a few times, but once it grabbed me it didn’t let go and the ending was beautiful and powerful. I’m finding A Tale for the Time Being to be more accessible and engaging. It’s inspired by chapter 11 of the Shobogenzo by Dogen Eihei, for anyone familiar with that masterwork.

Yes, I studied and continue to practice Chen Pan Ling's internal arts - taiji, xingyi, and bagua. My teacher studied with his student, Chen Jin Pao. Very good stuff. His book on Taijiquan has been translated into English and is very useful.

An act of Wu Wei Old Mrs. Crow stuft’ with straw Gives Birth to a Sun

With due respect to your teacher, I think it can be a mistake to tell people things like "not a big deal." It may, in fact, be a very big deal to a given person under the right circumstances. Something may be, from an absolute perspective, not a big deal at all, for nothing really is. But from the practitioner's perspective that may not be the case, we are human practitioners after all, not the absolute "itself." ( I know, I know, we are not something other than the absolute ever, but that is not always our experience). The Two Truths doctrine tells us that things can legitimately be a big deal, which is why we practice. I once had an experience that for me was a very big deal. My teacher at the time sort of brushed it off with what I felt was a sense of arrogance and dismissiveness that didn't sit right with me. It wasn't the sole reason but definitely contributed to my looking for a different teacher. My current teacher listened to me and responded in a way that was much more supportive and helpful. He didn't really give me any more information but he did give me a powerful, non-verbal teaching, a transmission if you will, that had a major impact for me. Teaching and guiding people is a tricky thing.