Chang

In martial arts, qigong and life in general the reason for not locking the joints - we are specifically talking of the knees and elbows here - is twofold. As regards martial arts a locked joint is easily broken either by a blow or a lock. Not locking the knees and elbows is simply self preservation. With qigong and life in general the locked joint obstructs free circulation of both blood and energy. Locked knees is one of the reasons soldiers faint on parade grounds, especially in hot weather, the locked knees preventing the free flow of blood, the brain becomes starved and the poor squaddy faints, falls to the ground, relaxes and the blood flows freely again. Don't lock the joints.

Ah the mob with their stinking breath. "Bid them wash their faces and keep their teeth clean."

The many coloured Coat of Joseph was dandy Swanky as candy

"See the happy moron, He doesn’t give a damn, I wish I were a moron, My God! perhaps I am!"

There is a lot of dirty washing being done in the public arena of this thread. It is a rather boring soap opera.

Trump-a-doodle-do I have made a fool of you And there's more to come.

Is it sad that you have become disillusioned with your fellow man? It simply means that you are now rid of illusion and are possibly closer to seeing things as they really are. This can appear pretty damn awful but it is only an intermediate stage. Beyond this comes the point where you are no longer affected by others for you have become imperturbable. To be able to suffer the company of ones fellow man is the true mark of the master.

When a superior man hears of the Tao, he immediately begins to embody it. When an average man hears of the Tao, he retains some and loses some. When a foolish man hears of the Tao, he laughs out loud at the very idea. If it were not for that laugh, it would not be the Tao. My own view is that this also holds true for Tai Chi. The microcosm reflecting the macrocosm.

. You appear somewhat lost and rambling here. You are quite correct that you have only seen humans practicing Tai Chi. The Tai Chi Form does two things. Firstly It re educates us in correct stance, posture and movement, secondly it shows us a series of possibilities in martial arts. In other words it provides a method of training. As regards "Everything else practices Wu Wei". Well the natural world may naturally practice Wu Wei but we humans have moved away from what is natural, hence taoisms urge for us to return to the state of the uncarved block. You remind me of the man who stands on a mountain and mumbles "Are This". You may well have reached a state of attainment but I rather doubt it. I for one am still working towards spiritual and physical improvement. Taoism is a path and translates to many things, one of them being "The Way" Taoism and Tai Chi (as one of many Taoist Arts I practice) is my path to self realisation.

This topics heading is rather antagonistic “Tai Chi is a Bastardization of Daoism” but everyone is entitled to an opinion. Tai Chi is certainly classed as a Taoist Martial art but it could equally be called an Internal or soft martial art. I consider myself a Philosophical Taoist and have practiced Tai Chi for twenty five years. I consider my practice to be part and parcel of my Taoist discipline but kpodhaski is quite correct when he states that Tai Chi would have been unknown to Taoists of the classical era. Associated practices such as Tao Yin would have been familiar however. Taoist is a system of constant change and growth and so, although it is a relative newcomer to Taoism I am of the opinion that it fits perfectly into the Taoist scheme of things. It really does not matter to the Tao what others think and so I shall not worry myself about that either.

Yet fools bow and scrape Politician’s whinge and prate Through the hard day’s night.

Your throne a dung heap Hardly worth the striving for Yet fools bow and scrape

Top of the food chain Will make you King of the Hill Your throne a dung heap.

And the Cultural Marxist social experiment of mass immigration of an alien culture and religion into Europe is doomed to end in bloodshed - which has already began and will increase in intensity as time goes on and the number of migrants grows. I rest my case.

The creation of borders on anything other than racial or tribal lines is doomed to end in bloodshed.

We did indeed when we re-drew the maps after the final collapse of the Ottoman Empire in WW1. It is easy to be wise after the event but we appear not to have learned our lesson after all these years.

The history of Western interference in the Middle East is a catalogue of disaster. We should have simply protected our borders and left well alone. Unfortunately that is the one thing politicians are incapable of - leaving things alone.

You're so very kind I see your crocodile smile With the sharp white teeth.

As always your posts appear the epitome of reason and sound common sense. But appearance is not always reality. What you fail to accept is that Islam is simply not happy to follow its own way and happily co-exist with followers of other religions or no religion at all. Muslims are told to fight unbelievers until they are either dead, converted to Islam, or in a permanent state of subjugation under Muslim domination. I know from previous posts that you are fully aware of this fact and yet you still suggest that the west is in some way to blame for what Muslims are honour bound to do - subjugate, convert or kill unbelievers. The most that far right groups can expect to achieve is spur Muslims on to a more fundamentalist manner of following their Prophets wishes. I do not doubt that you are good man Michael and your posts remind me of a prayer I repeat often. "May God protect us from good men."

To be of value Be of use and ornament A thing of beauty

She will go but first a viable replacement must step forward. There will be much whispered discussion in shadowy rooms by men whose faces you could not put a name to. Interesting times.

A catastrophe Is but opportunity To the brave of heart.

I believe that Theresa May's position is untenable and it is difficult to imagine that she will be leading the Tories into the next election. I have just been talking to a Conservative Party Mandarin with whom I worked in a previous incarnation.He tells me that the Tories are of the opinion that the next election could come as quickly as October. The Tories are still catching their breath at the moment but come tomorrow, after a good nights sleep and a hearty breakfast, they will get to work sharpening their knives and looking for a leader who has the charisma to take on Obi Wan Corbyn. It is difficult to see who that might be but one man springs to mind as the contender.

Theresa May has indeed created an unholy mess. Thinking to increase her small majority in Parliament she went to the people, thinking Jeremy Corbyn so unpopular that she would wipe the floor with him. Now her small majority is even smaller and her own position must be deemed untenable. During the campaign she resembled nothing so much as the unpopular Headmistress of a Secondary School whilst Corbyn has emerged as a sort of Obi Wan Kenobi figure who has galvanised the youth vote and furthered the Marxist cause in the U.K. Brexit is now destined to descend into farce and we must not expect the new parliament to run its full course. How long it will be to the next election is hard to predict but I fear that it will be sooner rather than later. Corbyn has been lauded as the only politician who speaks the truth and the young have believed this seeing him as a Marxist Messiah. It is all damned mess and we are in for interesting times.

A sweet seduction The cornucopia offered Just give me your vote.