Green Tiger

I think you trust your eyes too much. "Don't think, feel." Just watching the movements, it might appear inefficient, but you have to be aware that you are not looking at a qi gong ballet. You are watching someone connect with a very sophisticated vibratory energy. Sometimes they may not move in a way that appears to follow 'proper' body mechanics, but that may be misleading. They are flowing with the energy as they feel it. Unless you can feel into their body or see the energy moving through it, you probably won't be able to discern how efficient the movement really is. As Kempomaster said: I just thought I would mention that, if you are looking for them, you can find Peng, Lu, Ji, and An in the GOT sets. I can feel Peng in the first movement and Ji in the second. Also the 'push, push, pull' movement is an obvious example of An and Lu.

I usually do 20-30 minutes of s-m in the morning. If I don't, I will sometimes just take a fifteen minute break at work and go do it. I prefer to practice the entire GOT I set at a time, but if I'm pressed for time I'll just do three movements or six or whatever I have time for. Lately I feel like I can tell when I need to practice. In the beginning it was more a matter of scheduling time and planning a routine but now it's more like, "I feel like doing this . . . " and I just go until it feels done. You are an inspiration to us all, Brian!

I think there are warning signs, but I couldn't say for sure what they are. Different people will experience different things. If you are concerned that you may have an entity issue, you might want to contact someone who is skilled with that sort of thing. I know someone who has quite a bit of experience dealing with all sorts of entities. PM me and I can get you in touch with her.

Wild! My French is pretty rusty, any idea what the words and symbols mean? EDIT: Okay, I'll point out some stuff I think I know. The lower-left column seems to be listing the primordial elements fire, water, earth, and air. The lower-right column indicates which organs in the body those elements reside, namely the heart, the liver, the lungs, and google translate seems to think that last one is the bladder. I threw the first line at the top into google translate and it spit out: Earth's Natural Dark Man

TzuJanLi, It's amazing that we have a professional push hands judge available to comment on these videos. Thanks for being a part of the discussion! What, specifically, do you see that indicates he is lacking internal skill? Would you say that Meredith's rear heel lifting was one of the main indicators to you that he is losing his connection, or was it something else? JustBHappy, Walls don't move, I'm not sure this exercise really demonstrates what you seem to be saying. You seem to be saying that, no matter the circumstances, no one should ever, ever, EVER lift their back heel when pushing. Maybe it's a matter of optimal structure for root. I could see where the root usually feel strong with both heels down. I don't think that means that you lifting the back heel is an automatic indicator that someone has lost their root. I can still feel pretty damn solid on one leg. I could probably push you through your brick wall while weighted on one leg, but that is neither here nor there. Huh? What? You're totally right about the unknown masters. Just because someone wrote a book, doesn't mean they are anything special. His book is good though. I really enjoyed it, and I would enjoy taking a seminar with him. Luckily, though, I have my own 'hidden dragon' just a few blocks from home who is one of the most powerful practitioners I've ever met. He's also a really nice guy with a childlike enthusiasm about practicing internal arts. The thing I think my Sifu and Scott Meredith have in common is that they make tai chi practice fun. Meredith's book is FUN. The criticisms I've seen about him in this thread have struck me as being the peevish objections of stuffy old curmudgeons. The wall will save us all. I do agree, though, that you have to feel push hands for yourself to understand it and I must concede that my own push technique feels better when I have both feet firmly on the ground. I can push off the back heel, but it doesn't feel nearly as strong as shifting my entire body forward. My heel is never more than a few centimeters off the ground. I feel like, when I push lately, it feels more like a xing yi movement than tai chi, though. Just sayin . . . I also practice some kickboxing style exercises, and those feel completely different. I often feel like I'm 'on my toes' when doing those exercises. Ultimately, like all things of this nature, I will have to take it up with my instructor tonight at our tai chi class. He get's the final say in all matters tai chi, so far as I'm concerned. I suspect my instructor will tell me something similar to what Meredith said in his recent blog post:

You first. You're the one claiming that you can recognize exceptional skill. I'd like to see an example of something your keen eye approves.

Well, I haven't read everything he's written so couldn't say for sure. My impression was that about half of it was either new or at least stuff I hadn't seen before. I know the last 100 pages or so focuses on spiritual transformation and creating the golden fetus, which is something I haven't seen in any of his books. There's a fair amount of what I'll call 'taoist magic stuff' that I haven't seen before but could be in his other books that deal with taoist magic. I haven't read any of those. There's a large section on the three dan tiens that may contain info unique to this work, but of course he's talked about the dan tiens in his previous books. I know some of the basic stuff like the 20 dao yin posture points and the five yin organ exercises are covered. That stuff was in his original medical qigong text and on his qigong video. There are several sections I wouldn't mind reading. He has a section on going celibate for 100 days that I'm sure would be interesting. I don't remember seeing anything about that in the internal martial arts books, although it might have been in his new medical qigong series. I haven't read any of those volumes.

Okay. Show me one.

If Scott Meredith's videos are examples of poor push technique, could you provide video examples of good technique? I really enjoyed Meredith's book and, even though I can't claim I've achieved the energetic 'ARC' he talks about, I think it makes sense theoretically. Aside from the energetics, I think his book is a really good, accessible, and practical guide to learning tai chi. The most memorable thing for me was the graphics. He's got some really good ones. My favorite was the one demonstrating how the body structure should be relaxed but not collapsed. You can find that image here: http://cattanga.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c34a453ef017c32df4895970b-800wi I would have included it directly in the post, but the forum would not agree to it.

From the sounds of things it's like an encyclopedia for all the cultivation techniques he's ever learned. It brings together several disparate cultivation practices that he described in his earlier books and also added many new ones that he's never published before. I haven't actually seen the new book, but based on conversations I've had with people who own it, the new info is mostly very advanced practices. Too be honest, that made me not so interested in it. I don't want to play around with the advanced practices unless I've got an instructor from that tradition on hand to guide me.

I'm envious of the lucky bums who get to practice in Hilton Head this year. I went last year and it was an amazing experience! Nothing quite compares to waking at dawn and practicing Gift of the Tao by the ocean, while dolphins play just off shore.

I'm sorry, you failed to prove your thesis. Go back ten spaces and roll again.

Ah! I see. Thanks for clarifying ChiDragon. So the argument is about whether or not J.A. Johnson is a Taoist fundamentalist or not. I would say he is almost certainly NOT. Christian fundamentalists would probably say the same things about him. "Well, he's all into this 'Tao' thing so he can't really love Jesus like he should. So he isn't really a Christian." Really? As though there could possibly be some correct understanding of emptiness. Jesus wasn't far off, but I think that Jesus (or whomever you'd like to attribute the writings from the gospel) knew that understanding of emptiness cannot be achieved. All you can do is talk around it, not about it. Emptiness just is.

It would be interesting to hear what Dr. Johnson himself would say to the accusation that he can't be a Christian and a Taoist, or that he can't have Jesus in his heart and also be at one with the Tao. Personally, I've often been perplexed at the assertion that someone has allowed Jesus into their hearts. What does that mean, in the practical sense? Obviously they don't unlock a little door in their left ventricle and ask Jesus to step through. I've known Baptist ministers who seemed to think this was like an alchemical transformation a person goes through. Maybe the concept of accepting Jesus into one's heart has a Taoist counterpart. Perhaps it is just another way of saying 'merge with the Tao.' Obviously I'm spit balling here, but until Dr. Johnson has a chance to explain what he means, I'm not going to pass judgement.

They had silver dollar machines? I always thought it was just quarters. I think the sage might have dropped one silver dollar in a machine. Just one.

Well, if the sage is too scared to use the cup method, maybe he could hire some hookers to scoop them out of the tub. And then, you know, reward the hookers. With tea.

Nog. There are much more important concerns than footwear. Although, I must admit, lately I've been wearing arch supports when I practice. Wow! I noticed a HUGE difference the first time I did a standing meditation. After 10 minutes my feet were burning. In a good way though. I feel like my feet and ankles have gotten stronger since I started wearing them. Oh, and the inserts are made of foam and rubber, I think.

I've often seen debates here and in other places about whether or not such-and-such teacher is enlightened. It's a sticky subject, fraught with peril. The only thing worse than trying to gauge someone else's spiritual maturity, is trying to gauge your own. I don't torture people by asking them if they're enlightened, but I do like to hear how people answer that question. Dan Millman's response on his website's FAQ was a particularly good response:

Is your grandteacher Jerry Alan Johnson? I've heard him tell that story. I often recall it when people start preaching energetic fundamentalism.

I know this is slightly off topic, but . . . How did you know a high level 'immortal' spirit was watching you? Have you written about this experience elsewhere? Also, where can we find Michael's recent audio interview?

Oh yeah, I've heard of him. I thought he was more of a wing chun guy.

Cool! Thanks for sharing. That would be interesting, but not necessarily 'better.' From a practitioner point of view, this format is really more interesting.

Yeah, but I prefer to only bungie jump after a professional jumper dude has securely rigged my ass up and explained to me the finer points of jumping. Amateur bungie jumpers tend to have short life spans. Yeah, that makes sense. There is a big difference between focusing your intent on a specific point and visualizing energy movement. The Stillness-Movement system also avoids visualization, for the most part and Bruce Frantzis advocates actually feeling energy movement rather than visualizing it. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that visualizing energy movement can be harmful but I wouldn't be terribly surprised to find out that it can be.