GrandmasterP

TaiChi is a martial art. Lots of weapons forms in TaiChi. QiGong isn't a martial art.

Nice cardigan on that guy in the last piccie, you have my wardrobe of choice right there. I always suspect threads with 'feminism' in the title. With the best will in the world no doubt, even if they aren't begun to have a pop at women then pretty soon that's how they all seem to end up. Before she retired my first Doctoral supervisor was Prof Miriam David who wrote 'Personal and Political: Feminisms, Sociology and Family Lives'. ( She was retiring anyway, it wasn't my doing! ). Miriam came up with the idea of 'waves' of feminism hence 'feminisms'. She was part of that 'first wave' and acknowledged that early feminism was white, middle class, university educated and tended to exclude women of colour and working class women whilst, along the way; alienating men. Second wave was better, early battles were won and women no longer had to give up a career path when they married. Third wave is about where most of us, hopefully; are now - treating with people irrespective of gender. Everyone is acknowledged to have the self same rights and responsibilities. Post- feminism is great fun but maybe still too fluid and baggy to be easily defined. "Feminism" as a bare descriptor is a bit like the term 'Political Correctness' in that whenever you hear anyone using either term you can pretty much guarantee that the next thing out of their mouth will be disparaging. All they are doing is situating themselves whilst saying nothing at all of merit on the subject in hand due to insufficiently thoughtful definition of terms.

For sure cultivation aids memory. In Mindfulness we teach about 'auto pilot' which is something most of us have experienced. You go into a room then think - "What did I come into this room for?" Mindfulness does away with 'auto-pilot'. Any disciplined regular cultivation aids focus and sharpens memory hence QiGong is super- excellent for seniors.

I watched a demo by some Krav Maga ( Sp?) players earlier this year. It's something the Israeli Army came up with apparently. That was bleddy impressive. Far as the MMA goes I reckon there must be rules for some and fewer rules for other styles. Here in the Midlands and North some MMA dojos run contests for money, quite big purses plus lots of side gambling on the outcomes of bouts. There are no rules beyond outright murder being frowned upon and I've seen seconds having to wade in to prevent that happening.

Q: Why are The Simpsons yellow? A: because yellow is an 'arresting' colour to humans hence channel surfers seeing the colour yellow pause for a micro second longer and may stick with the programme hence The Simpsons picks up a larger audience than it would otherwise.

Cracking post and, with your permission; Spotless I'll be using that " ...words meant for other bodies, other times." Lyrical that was.

The bottom one that you are using as a banner in that post. Nice colours. HTH

The Space Cadet's Panda forum is descending into a vehicle for one person's invective and foul mouthed abuse to such an extent that one has had concerns for his sanity. Hence I've wished Ken well with his own forum. Strikes me as a righteous dude does Ken. Sincere and above all, polite. We don't all 'have' to agree in order to get on together.

If it is a koan here's a coupla shots at answers... 1: who is asking? 2: no thank you. 3: there is no MoPai. 4: who moved my cheese?

Magus of Java came out in 2000 based on visits made to Java well prior to that year during the last years of the last century. MoPai books on the market by Jim and Kosta are ancient history in publication terms. It was an up- to- date list I was interested in. Hoped that if there was such a list that you might have it Ken. Apparently not. No biggie.

List and references please Ken. Who defines what is Nei Gong and how did they arrive at that mutual recognition of your 'about ten'?

First time for me at age 14, sitting on my uncle's hill farm cottage doorstep looking out at the town lights way down the valley. BANG! That was it. Total other- ness and 'no time', all one, everything. Strange thing was he kept pigs and a sow with her litter came up and all lay down right in front of 'me'. Still as all get out, even the piglets and those little guys seldom stay still for more than a few seconds at a time. Soon as the moment passed up they got and trotted off.

Anyone who calls their teacher 'perfect' hasn't learnt very much. Yet.

Cool thread. Is it a koan?

This thread reads like the script for a 1950s TV advert.

I'll be in the queue to buy one. Always fancied a go since I saw the movie. Handy for moving heavy stuff around without scratching laminate flooring too. Sure fire winner.

Time was in MA that people from other styles would pop in to new dojos to challenge all comers to a bit of mat work and see who was 'best'. You don't hear that happening much nowadays apart from in the MMA those lads do enjoy a ruck. Anybody wanting a style where there is minimal chance of being erse kicked could do worse than playing Bagua. No one can kick your erse if you are behind them whaling on their kidneys and popliteal fossae ( back of the knees, kick there and down he goes like a sack of spuds) really hard. They is going down whilst wondering 'WHY?' That said a decent MMA player will thrash most purists including Bagua purists nine times out of ten. There's no 'no fair!' with MMA because what we term 'fouls' those dudes call technique.

Could be a false flag I suppose but the guy seems genuine enough. He's got to that point without any obvious teacher and maybe that shows in the testimony which comes across a bit like one of those Xtian conversion ' I once was blind but NOW I see' riffs that we've all seen and heard before now. Any half way decent teacher would be congratulating the guy on his journey so far but reminding him that it's ALL journey and where he believes he has 'arrived' at is no sort of destination whatsoever. By the act and the fact of bigging up his 'experience' then whatever experience he did have has dissolved. Note that he speaks and writes in an implied past tense throughout " as a result of this I have become thus." Classic duality right there. That said it's a nice story, thanks for posting the link.

Apech! You really must stop giving away these secrets. There are commercial issues here. Some advertisers on here are charging $1,000+ for similar info, and getting it too.

BBC Radio 1 That sounds like gibberish to me.

Your cheque clears.

If I had Keanu Reeves bank balance and Keanu had a feather up his erse then both of us would be tickled.

Here's Kosta on the fact that the MoPai is a group of people and NOT a particular cultivation. "I have stated repeatedly that I have not been a member of the Mo Pai for a decade."

Hi kudos100. Might the remedy lie in your post? Two healing types interventions and after each one you are worse off than you were before. Maybe that's an indication for you not to look outside to another person to take on the responsibility for healing you but to have a go for yourself. Regular disciplined cultivation is a good start. Fresh air and lots of exercise. You'll sleep if you are physically tired from good healthy exercise. Lay off booze completely if you use that and avoid caffeine apart from good tea. Don't drink soda pop or anything 'fizzy'. Change comes from within. Warmest best regards to you for all success.

It's all good. I'm not out to diss Western MoPai. It is a real thing with real and undoubtedly sincere followers. The distinction is simply a labelling issue to differentiate between the MoPai done by MoPai in Java, people who can and are accepted into that MoPai and those ( mainly ) westerners who are not allowed into that 'original' MoPai as it is closed to them. Hence Western MoPai ( what we get on here and elsewhere online) and MoPai ( what we don't hear from or about beyond the MoPai themselves asking us politely to leave them alone). Take Soto Zen for an example. The HQ is in Japan but there are Soto centres in the west. It is the same Soto sect and praxes wherever you find it. If you want Soto Zen then to Soto you 'go to', wherever you happen to live in the world. You know that you are getting the real deal. Now if the Soto Zen HQ in Japan said... " We don't recognise such and such a teacher or practice as having anything to do with us at all." Then, if you wanted 'real' Soto Zen you'd likely avoid whatever it was that the 'go to' real Soto guys excluded as not being anything to do with them.