BaguaKicksAss

His first 2 sentences definitely impressed me! OK I'll watch the rest...

No, I think that was where to put your opinions . (well most likely anyways lol)

30 days worth of pushups!!!!! Bet they are strong! Uhm, I'll just put out some flowers and candles and call it good .

It's OK C T, I can PM you the links to other forums he frequents if you like .

I think we call them pushups or planks around here .

Better yet, walk an octagonally shaped circle, 200 times.. .

Can you PM me a screenshot please?

I sometimes wish you lived locally Nungali .

There you go . Do you have a PPF you need the name changed in as well? Would you like a PPF?

Google community maps was closed down ever since November; don't expect anything to necessarily work on it. Perhaps Bing maps for some future somethng .

That's pretty common amongst cultivators. Watches stop working too. A friend of mine recently has taken to charging up dead batteries for fun and entertainment... LOL. This could be a useful service if I find that set of dead batteries we keep to recycle. Though I'm guessing he means a bit of charge not completely new, but he's only started the practice .

That is pretty pricey! (not inc food and lodging) though who knows, could be worth it. The problem with such things is that sometimes someone will do something like say bring a group of people over to meet John Chang, not OK it with JC first, them be told no, then them all losing their money (and the promoter guy keeping it). OR the other time where there was a 90% price increase that the actual teacher didn't know about (but fortunately found out later). Then having the same "promoter" show up in a new video with another international teacher... well that should raise a red flag or two.

Here's some more info on everything http://thetaobums.com/topic/24662-shaolin-yijinjing-gengmenpai-qigong-seminar-with-dr-jiang-feng-in-china-november-2012/

So many books on archive.org for free as well .

If anyone would like a super awesome expanded PPF to do this with, just let me know . See my JAJ book club in a sub forum of my PPF for more details on wonderful PPF enhancements which are available... I just listed all the section headings, so everyone could follow along, but didn't quite much at all for obvious copyright reasons.

But if you are only being "ethical" so you can selfishly not have to reincarnate again, or so you get "good karma"... well personally I think that is lame. I would personally not trust someone who is only being nice to people just due to fear of some repercussions. That is my main reason for not liking.... well I wouldn't say I don't like karma, I just don't like people's definitions of it, and how some use it. Also, I wouldn't say I really beleive in karma, but for example... say there was a qigong scammer, who brought a bunch of people over to train with his teacher... but charged them five times the price the teacher was charging, and didn't mention this to anyone.... well I think people like that bring about their own downfall (or call it karma if you prefer) since people who scam others know deep down inside that they are doing something wrong, and thus subconsciously self sabotage. Also when such a person goes to try to find new teachings or a new teacher... the nasty energy surrounding the person from things they do/have done can easily be seen by any new teacher, and thus the really good teachings are generally withheld. The above is just an example, I was reminded of. I also know a lot of teachers who are very choosy about who they teach what to. The first part is a real example, the second part is my pontifications about their future life in the arts, due to how I have seen people teach. Not many teach the real stuff to those they get a bad vibe from. That stuff sticks to you. Also the spirits and/or ancestors of a path can block an unethical person from getting or understanding certain info or teachings... Call it karma if you like though .

Airports don't tend to like homemade electronics gear, especially when going to places like China. Just make sure not to have it in your carry on luggage. Another option is to buy a fancy case for it, so it looks more legit, but still...

Hold on slow down a bit . I'm looking into site integration (see my merged posts above), as well as Bing maps.

We can no longer add to the map, google apps has discontinued it. (I did much research on this a few months back when it was brought up). I'm sure there are other ma apps though, just have to find a free one, that won't suddenly become paid or discontinued later. I'm looking into other community map options, preferably ones which integrate right into IPboards/the forum software... Don't get to excited or hold your breath though . But just thought I'd mention my current research project. Found our map... thread: http://thetaobums.com/topic/7242-the-tao-bums-map/ If anyone is curious why it is pretty much obsolete, igoogle stopped its services (inc imap) in November 2013. Looking into Bing, and etc., and so forth...

I've personally started meetup groups, or joined other meetup groups. The problem with meetup is you have 400 members (using an example of a real meetup group), 10 RSVP yes, 1-2 actually show up each week. I also make use of craigslist. I have found that if I advertise classes people want to show up, but not if I advertise a local practice group. Though I do live in a city which has TWENTY different Bagua teachers! Folks seem to say they are to busy to do regular practice meets . I tend to meet others in class, then some of them stay friends for years, even after we both move on. For the magical side of things, people just refer folks to me. OK so now problems...... Most meetups are just another way to promote a school or training for money, usually, since meetup charges, it has attracted this sort of person/meetup. An even bigger problem... folks noticing the quality of people which are attracted by some of the events I start, then carefully work to to get each and every person over to join *their* group! So it can get political fast, if there is a person who wants power or students really badly. Other problems, finding free practice space, since having complete strangers over to my house isn't really on my to do list. Fortunately we all practice martial arts outdoors though, but people usually like to stick to their particular system. Another problem is ego, with martial arts people bragging about how much better they are, even if it is only purely from having more years of experience. Also, locally (since there are 20 schools just for Bagua for example), there is far to much other school or teacher trashing. I have put on quite a few large and small events, and have run into many problems, but at least most of the people who show up do enjoy it. If I personally com up with some resource, it is going to be free events/meets only, or $5 or less ones, which aren't trying to promote their $40 weekly classes later .

Oh I love watching a video, or going through a rather difficult book with a friend or two and dissecting it bit by bit . My friends are all more experienced at martial arts than I am, so that helps too. I just bring my laptop out into the backyard. Has a SSD, so it's OK if I drop it lol. Trunk, on 11 Feb 2014 - 15:36, said: >I think that co-reading w/ a friend any classic is also a good idea. Reading the classics (of any tradition) helps you to develop deeper roots so that when you are learning a modern system you have a much better context of what the modern system is presenting. Important. I have been to many esoteric meetups, and practice groups over the years; sometimes we will all discuss a certain book. Sometimes it is extremely insightful, and other times it reminds of those 3 hour long office meetings where only 1-2 points get covered! It is good to have new ideas and viewpoints though. Trunk, on 11 Feb 2014 - 15:36, said: I think it'd be a good idea for the community to brain-storm ideas like this, nifty little do-able ideas for developing local culture outside of TTBs' digital sphere. www.meetup.com www.craigslist.org Trunk, on 11 Feb 2014 - 15:36, said: I think of TTBs not as a final destination, but more like a train station. Yeah, meet people, chat, connect with resources, learn, all that stuff ... but also, find a teacher/school, root that in personal local practice, develop that further by training with local friends. It takes more creativity and initiative, but contrast that arc with just focusing on TTBs forever without that local growth: not healthy. Not healthy for individual members, not healthy for TTBs, not healthy for long term growth of local cultures, not healthy for participating in life. - Trunk I still think finding a local teacher brings people further than all the books and vids they can get ahold of . Everyone wants the fancy famous teacher and thinks a vid by that person is better than the local one no one has heard of. This is unfortunate. Sure there are crappy local teachers, but still, you don't usually spend 5-10 years with someone like this, yet some spend that long learning from vids! Also though, local practice groups are hella fun! Trunk and chegg like this Like This I am doing a practice challenge. For every public post I make on TTBs I do an extra 15 minutes of practice. For every PM I send, I read 1-2 pages out of the medical qigong or neigong books . Care to join me? http://thetaobums.co...tice-challenge/ When Rotating in Worship of Heaven, the sound of thunder is everywhere and transforms everything.

That sounds like the what to ask a teacher thread . That would be very telling!