GrandmasterP

So you believe in letting go of beliefs?

Aye, not in our day hopefully. Oil'll run out first, that'll cause some hiccups.

Quite fancy ending my days as a party cadre secretary (retired). There's usually a sinecure or two on offer for compliant trade union officials after lifelong service to the party. Enough procrastination! WORK. The capitalist system will not subvert itself.

........ Good call. The Chinese working class are where we were back when the Carry On films were in the cinemas. Increasingly affluent working class wanting more stuff in better council housing plus a little family car. I like the cut of this new guy Xi's jib. He's a pragmatic one party liberal who has known hard times himself. China exports stuff not revolution and what territorial ambitions they do have extend to buying up large parts of Africa etc wherever there's raw materials they need. They pay the going rate. America's about on its uppers as far as being a world power is concerned. That whole superpower schtick is very last century anyhoo, war tending towards the economic these days and if that's to be the case then our primary schools are doing right by introducing Mandarin into the curriculum as many are doing.

............ Insightfully intuitive actually. My (black belt) pinny has a piccy of Homer Simpson on the front. He's saying.. Dooohhhhh! Hey ho, off to work. Think of me slaving away til 9pm comrades. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. :-(

Wow, that's handy to know. Many thanks Jetsun our ancient DVD player needs replacing anyway so will look out for one as per your recommend. Much obliged. :-)

OP related. The German (I think) couple who produce tha free journal have a really good little book out... http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Philosophy-Tai-Chi-Chuan/dp/1583942637/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353328455&sr=8-1 Very slender volume so buy it as cheap as you can find it but it is very good indeed.

.......... Absolutely. Whatever the form it is absolutely essential, beyond the very basics; to learn with and from a teacher who is in the same room with you when you practice so that immediate prompts, corrections and the essential encouragement may be given. In the MA you find many people who will say... "Well that's all very well but there is no teacher of ...... close by where I am". My standard response to that is , then find a respected MA teacher who you can get to and at least have a few lessons , whatever the form. There is a certain "student attitude" (sorta learning HOW to learn) and set of skills that can be learnt only by studying with and alongside a skilled teacher. At very least you will get to spend quality time with someone who has spent years perfecting their art , knows what they are talking about and can give you advice and guidance along your path. Very few places don't have a TaiChi teacher for example and it is a poor martial artist who has not played that useful form at one time or another. Some of the best guys on the MA tournament circuit regularly play TaiChi. OK maybe some of em don't like to broadcast that fact, but they do. Interesting trend though that I've noticed this past year or so in that more MA guys are kinda coming out of the closet as far as TaiChi or QiGong is concerned and fessing up to the benefits they get from playing one of those. There's a good piece on Qi in December Martial Arts Illustrated written by a guy who you'd maybe not, from the look of him in his photo; necessarily want to get on the wrong side of.

Free stuff here.. http://jsqg.sport.org.cn/en/index.html Enjoy. And good luck with that Xmas list. I hope that Santa brings everything you wish for yourself.

That's gotta be a good sign of successful cultivation. Posted elsewhere about master cultivators who could sit out in the snow all night and come mornng all around them is a warm, dry and snow-free patch of ground.

Any feedback appreciated if you do buy. MA Journal is always keen to receive reviews. Sometimes the first few reviews bigging up a product come from the producer or his chums posting in disguise. Bit like the guys on here subtly promoting their own proprietary systems. Can't blame any businessmen for doing that but real customer comments count for far more.

Trouble we have in UK is the format. USA DVDs don't work on our DVD players as a rule. Also it's worth checking exact titles on Amazon , sometimes Amazon partners sell DVDs cheaper than the producers sell them direct.

No idea, sorry. I just saw that subject in the online mag a while back. MA Journal is well worth a visit, most of it is free once you have registered and there are some real experts on there. I just remember stuff. 8 strands of silk brocade, that I know about. Anything else cultivation wise... Nah. :-)

Vast majority of TaiChi and QiGong played here in the UK is first level, what you'd call calisthenics. It's what keeps teachers in funds. Very few students indeed as a proportion of the many who attend a weekly class for keep fit or health reasons choose take it any further. For those who are led to do so there's a network available. TaiChi Union of Great Britain is our main organization. http://www.taichiunion.com/

http://www.kungfu4u.com/chen-taichi-dvds.html This one has a good rep in Martial Arts Journal HTH

Iron Shirt rules, well impressive to see serious players of that form going about their business. Chris Lomas from my old home town is a main man here in UK. Horses for courses really and what works for one might not suit another. Mountain paths go up the mountain but the seaside is a brilliant place to cultivate too.

Arm... Extend.. Tea. Lovely lovely tea. The cup that cheers but does not inebriate.Cheers. :-)

http://www.psychicnews.org.uk/

Oh boy big subject. We have a journal here in the UK. Psychic News. Will post a link. It's well worth subscribing online for what little it costs.. www.psychicnews.org.uk

.................. More of an "Extra Large" but yeah a semi pro medium in that I get paid when I do it but have a day job. Seems like just a lotta words on here and a sense of..."my words are better than your words". Your reference to a "pulpit" was surely apposite. My old dad said that anyone occupying a pulpit in a chapel considered themselves to be... "Six feet above contradiction"

Me too.

;-)

Zombie Apocalypse defence training..... http://martialtalkmagazine.com/enter-the-dojo-s2-episode-3-defensa-de-zombie/

Well if you had seen me this morning sweeping up leaves you would have seen some fine and dandy whirling brother. Japanese Maple has been glorious this back end with its red leaves, until last night when it decided to drop every last leaf, all at once. Woke up to a red front lawn. Tip run tomorrow with bags of leaves. We used to keep them to compost for leaf mould but the piles attracted rats. Dogs enjoyed chasing the rats but Mrs GrandmasterP was less enthusiastic so now all leaves must go to the tip.

Enjoy. Not all bad 'scientists'. :-)