Stigweard

SereneBlue responded with: What caused this thought from me was thinking about those who are abused, especially children and women, and they acquire a guilty complex from thinking that it was something they had done wrong that caused the abuse. Kate mentioned this earlier in the thread. Straight out I will say that it is the abuser's fault that there is abuse. The abuser has a psychological problem and they will use others for the purpose of releasing their inner conflicts. With this in mind I made the statement, "I will add though ..." In the case of an abuser, the abuser must take full responsibility for their actions. However, taking responsibility for our actions and manifestations includes how these actions effect others as well. And we share the responsibility for the effect our actions have had. Let's face it. Not everyone is a Taoist Sage or a Buddha or a true Christian and is able to just let things come and go without being effected by them. We all have our emotions (feelings) and sometimes we are easily hurt. What I am pointing at involves that discussion recently regarding "intention vs. action". If we intend to cause others any form of pain then I will state freely that this is not the Way of Tao. However, if we caused someone pain without intention then we were simply operating in a faulty mode. I suppose that Manitou could come in now and say something like, "If we held love firmly at our center would would always consider possible consequences of our action or words before we did anything." And this is a valid way of looking at it. However, in the real world we don't always have the time to do this analysis. We will, on occasion, error and unnecessarily cause others pain. We must take responsibility for this result, at least in part, because we caused the pain. I welcome any and all to join in and help me explain what I am pointing at. Nice topic Mr Marbles Hua Ching Ni has an interesting take on Chapter 53 of Laozi. Stanza 4 and 5 goes something like this (from memory so maybe not exact): You know the future of a person by his virtue, You know the future of a family by its virtue, You know the future of a community by its virtue, You know the future of a nation by its virtue. By knowing the virtue of people and the world, you know the future. This has some interesting implications which touches on the one aspect of the Daoist world-view. Specifically that groups of people have their own collective cause and effect, meaning that families, communities and nations have their own group "karma" that can impact upon individuals. This means that the calamities or good fortune of an individual may be a result of the "karma" of the group in which they live. This throws a whole new and interesting dynamic into the idea of "taking responsibility" because, if this view has any traction, then your actions have an impact on the cause and effects of more than just your own experience.

Yay!!! I looove magic shows!!! When, when, when is someone going to show this stuff under proper scientific conditions??? >.<

Heheheh

Vaj frothing at the mouth and Ralis taking to him with a whip .... Ahhh ... all is right in the world ....

Just jumping in to say that I haven't had time to join in the fun properly, but I have been reading and enjoying the exchange.

Erm ... no ... that is a push-hands comp that is focusing only on one particular combat scenario. This is combat:

Can anyone please post a video of real combat where this has been applied? It frustrates me that we only ever see set up demonstrations where the assistant is obviously compliant.

Huzzah !!!!! Seriously Steve, we must catch up sometime. I am hoping to get over to the US in the next year or so, shall we call it a date?

LOL and that reason is to explore the realms of truth with each other. Sometimes in that process we will disagree passionately with each other and that is as it should be. Sometimes also people will get so passionate and personally involved that they feel they need to resort to slinging personal insults like "ignorant" and "arrogant," but that is also in tune with the Dao of TheTaoBums and if you can't handle the rough and tumble then perhaps quieter waters should be sought.

Firstly please go back and read my earlier posts: http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/19188-taoist-tai-chi-society/page__view__findpost__p__270377 http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/19188-taoist-tai-chi-society/page__view__findpost__p__270632 I expressed both my deep respect for Master Moy as well as pointing out the bare truth that the TTCS form has been modified away from the original. oat1239 tried to assert that "the self defense side of his tai chi was not compromised" and that in no way do these modifications "take away from the core benefits of tai chi." In my experience from both my Mother learning the TTCS form and having TTCS instructors come to my class this is wrong because they were unable to execute even the basic of coordination exercises of the traditional practice. They were disjointed in their body, carried their weight to high, stances were too narrow and unstable, and they did not know how to establish their root. This is just the plain truth. Deal with it. Call me ignorant, call me arrogant, but this doesn't change the fact that the TTCS has changed the form to such an extent that it most certainly does not achieve the same outcome of the authentic Yang style Taijiquan. I will however finish with my earlier comment that your knee-jerk reactions have overlooked: It is very true that Master Moy has delivered a great service to the world and to many people. TTCS can be a great place for people to start their journey and for many people it can be all they require. Any art can be a portal to understanding Dao.

I wake in the spring, Sleep finds me in the winter. The moment is gone.

Enough said.

Nicely said Steve

Excuse me BM, but by posting this here in the Contributed Articles you have officially become spam. Just a thought.

Being open and being afraid of being open is false "openess". I teach and train Systema and combat Tai Chi. Part of the training is to engage in a drill where you deliberately expose oneself to attacks. You take hits, you get knocked down, you get pushed and pulled. Why do we do this? The greatest fear is the fear that you can't handle it. So we engage in continous physical contact to learn that you can in fact handle the worst happening; to learn that the body has the ability to move, yield, adjust and change to mitigate the most aggressive intrusions. To cross-reference this with Daoism, there are certain sects whose adherents deliberately expose themselves to public ridicule and abuse. They dress as beggars, beg for food, and seek the ridicule of their friends and family. So if you are truly wanting to learn the lesson of openness, instead of looking for ways to protect your openness, which as I said isn't really openness at all, open yourself some more and learn that the only thing to fear is fear itself.

Heehehe .... exactly !!!

My current study has me plowing through the I Ching and I am working through the whole theory around the Ten Celestial Stems and Twelve Terrestrial Branches. Master Ni says, "The main reason for using the ancient energy-time system is to understand the nature of life. According to ancient spiritual understanding, time is neither the face of a plane nor a straight line. A unit of time is a phase of cyclic universal energy." In terms of cultivation, by knowing precisely what phase the Stems and Branches is present one can attune oneself better to Universal energy and thus tailor make and enhance your cultivation. Does anyone have any knowledge, insight, references etc they can share with me so I can broaden my understanding in this area? Cheers

LOL sure, I'll get to that straight after I finish my TTC translation You are right though to be able to get this into English would be helpful. Apparently there is a way to tune your daily practice to where the cycle is in the sixty-phases. Haven't worked it out yet so this is on the shelf for the moment.

Ahhh ... you want a rating ... OK I give you a 4.85. Does that help??

Images updated ... Better??

Perhaps just an example of people needing other people to believe the same thing so that they feel better about what they believe in (???).

Thank you oat1239 for pitching in to provide the positives sides of the TTCS. I acknowledge the achievement of Master Moy and applaud the fact that he has made both Tai Chi and Taoist culture more accessible to a wider community. I only met Master Moy once when he came to Australia to open a new school. My impression of his manner was one of sincerity and disciplined focus. It is always a challenge when a teacher tries to "make the teachings more accessible". It will almost inevitably result in some sort of dilution so that it is more palatable to a greater cross-section. Sorry but yes it has. My personal observation and experience with TTTC instructors is that they have no feel for martial application whatsoever. The integralness, quanjin, of their form has thuswise suffered. The emphasis on stretching, though I do understand the Yi Jin Jing benefits, and narrow stance has created a top-heavy form, they extend too far and expose their joints to chin na locks and shuai jiao take-downs. Because they are not connected properly with their root and have not linked the body together properly they are unable to transfer power properly from feet, legs, hips, waist, spine through to the fist. Again I am sorry but the TTCS form has missed some of the very basics of the Yang family form. Basics that come through pressure testing one's form through martial contact. I certainly respect and appreciate your contribution. It is very true that Master Moy has delivered a great service to the world and to many people. TTCS can be a great place for people to start their journey and for many people it can be all they require. Any art can be a portal to understanding Dao.

LOL ... not exactly what you would call "balanced", but I hear where you are coming from.

LOL ... And I still agree with them