T'ai Your Own Chi

[Tabula Rasa]

Greetings

 

Freeform Taiji. I have already heard the cries of "heresy" many times over the years, and I will not debate it.

 

However, if any one is interested in discussing the practice and art of freeform Taiji from any positive perspective, I will enjoy participating.

 

I began diligent practice of T'ai Chi Ch'uan in 1972. My training includes Yang Style Long Form, Yang Sword Form, Twei Shou, and two person San Shou.

 

After 20 years of formal practice, while in my 40's, I attended workshops with Chungliang Al Huang, and expanded my horizons in freeform taiji. I had already read his book years before, "Embrace Tiger Return to Mountain, The Essence of Taiji" and resonated with it. (Living Tao Foundation, livingtao.org)

 

At that time, Chungliang had begun creating and teaching his own forms. I moved on with my path of pure freeform Taiji, and began teaching classes with a self healing perspective, as I was a practicing massage and acupressure therapist at the time. (Jin Shin Do Bodymind Acupressure, jinshindo.org) It amuses me to call this pure freeform practice, T'ai Your Own Chi.

 

Now I live remotely in the hills and woods, on a small nature sanctuary hermitage, with two other hermits (who do not practice Taiji). I rarely leave the land, and I do not have any one else to share my practice with at this time. I enjoy the art of Freeform Taiji, both solo and two-person; and I feel that it is the foundation to my good physical health, peace of mind, and joy of being.

 

For now,

 

Carol

[Ramon25]

Im quite curoius? How is it done

[Epicurious]

ya...i find a dam good bounce on a bed with a game old gal ta be the foundation a my health happiness n peece a mind...each ta there own...freeform fukin...hahahahahahaha...bet theres money ta be made n a dvd a that...damn...

[Taiji Bum]

Got any videos, Carol?

[doc benway]

Sounds very cool Carol.

I personally think teaching a standardized form in the beginning is very valuable.

Once the student has a reasonable grasp on the basic principles, I encourage them to link postures together in new ways.

Same thing goes for the martial training.

We start with specific drills in pushing hands and martial applications.

Ultimately, as a martial art, taiji is completely free form but within that freedom is a firm foundation in specific postures and basic principles.

I'd also like to see an example if you feel like sharing.

Edited June 7, 2009 by xuesheng

[Tabula Rasa]

I agree with you, xuesheng, that learning the form first is the best way to move beyond form into the formless/freeform movements. Obviously I found it extremely valuable that I had 20 years of grounding in formal practice before shifting to freeform.

 

Also, two person San Shou practice was amazing, and the people that I have found that are able to flow with Taiji movements while interacting with another person have been few.

 

While Taiji forms are martial in nature and form, I never practiced or sparred with a martial perspective myself, even with Twei Shou (push hands) and San Shou (two person form).

 

Sorry but I never made any videos of my freeform or the classes in it, great idea.

 

I am reflecting on how to respond to your general question, Ramon. What is your current level of familiarity with Taiji?

 

Thanks guys, for your thoughtful responses.

 

Carol

[Aetherous]

Sorry but I never made any videos of my freeform or the classes in it, great idea.

 

It would be very cool to see.

[Tabula Rasa]

Im quite curoius? How is it done

 

Thanks for your question, Ramon.

 

While it is beneficial to have at least some formal T'ai Chi practice along with a Freeform T'ai Chi practice, it is not absolutely necessary. I have had students from both sides of the equation who enjoyed the practice.

 

In the Ultimate Art of Freeform Taiji, which is called by other names these days, such as "Presence through Movement", or "Moving Meditation", there is no need for the physical movements to actually look anything like Taiji forms.

 

I noticed with interest that Eckhart Tolle's partner, Kim Eng, practices Freeform Taiji and that is how she and Eckhart connected with each other. She began sharing it at his retreats and is now teaching her own classes and retreats with great success.

 

Each movement, in each moment, by each practitioner, is a unique expression of that Now, of Life expressing Life, of Tao.

 

Allowing movement to arise naturally shifts the mind into the state of no-thought, while moving energy, chi, through the system of pathways, meridians, unblocking tensions and promoting health.

 

It is helpful to have an understanding of the energy meridians while practicing Freeform T'ai Chi. It is helpful to know the basics of T'ai Chi movement. Out of this awareness it is easier to let go and allow the body to move freely.

 

I hope this introduction is a useful primer for anyone who is interested in this topic. I am watching to see if there are any Freeform practitioners at Tao Bums, beginner or advanced, to get more in depth into a discussion.

 

There aren't going to be any videos any time soon, so no reason to belabor that point.

 

Thanks all,

 

Carol

[Ramon25]

I tried it but my movements look alot like chen tai chi some fast then some slow. It feels good. But are you sure that the movemnts clean the channels and dont cause any problems that we wont be aware of? Will it really promote a free flow of chi like the other arts? I seem to have a small chest pain on the left side after. Could it be clearing of the heart and lug meridans as I know I have quite a few emotional blockages in that area? Thanks alot for the response.

[rodgerj]

Edited March 22, 2010 by rodgerj

[Tabula Rasa]

I tried it but my movements look alot like chen tai chi some fast then some slow. It feels good. But are you sure that the movemnts clean the channels and dont cause any problems that we wont be aware of? Will it really promote a free flow of chi like the other arts? I seem to have a small chest pain on the left side after. Could it be clearing of the heart and lug meridans as I know I have quite a few emotional blockages in that area? Thanks alot for the response.

 

 

Wow, Ramon, what amazing flow you allowed by choosing to take an immediate leap, and practice shifting your Chen form T'ai Chi into some freeform moves. Thank you for sharing your experience! My Freeform often resembles Yang Long Form, as that was my foundation of practice, so I hear what you are saying.

 

Regarding your questions....

 

We humans tend to create what we fear. If we fear problems arising that we won't be aware of.....watch that. As with learning anything new, practice is a process. We learn as we go. In my experience, I have only had positive effects from my practice, by approaching it with gentleness, and paying attention to sensations along the way.

 

Since you are familiar with the chi channels, you may choose to incorporate slow movements of your hand, with no-thought awareness, along the meridians, especially in any areas that feel uncomfortable or out of balance.

 

Ultimately, it's your body and your freedom of expression and movement. You say it felt good. There you go.

 

Practicing Freeform when it feels right for us, in no way dictates a need for giving up our formal Taiji practice. I still practice my forms when that arises also.

 

Thanks so much for participating.

 

Carol

[Tabula Rasa]

Not really Taiji but comments on movements, style, energy etc welcome.

 

FcqAfEOTXbQ

 

 

Rodgerj, thanks for the video!

 

As to whether or not it is (Freeform) Taiji/T'ai Chi, or whether or not Freeform T'ai Chi should even be labeled a style of T'ai Chi, that is for each to decide. From Wiki: Taiji (太極) is a state of being from Tao and Wuji. It is a state of absolute, and of infinite potentiality.....

 

As with formal T'ai Chi practice, with Freeform there is the simple doing/being of it whenever it is done at all, which is always beautiful and fine just the way it is, IMO......and there is also great depth of study, observation and honing of skill possible.

 

As for comments on movements, style, energy....there are no requirements or restrictions from outside, so the answer is whatever discovery there was in it for you in that moment of doing/being it.

 

The root is always presence, awareness of chi flow, and our ability to choose mind-space rather than thought-space while allowing natural spontaneous movement through the body.

 

So, if we come from some T'ai Chi training, then it often happens that our free movements resemble moves that we have learned. And that is fine if that is what is happening naturally in the body at that moment and chi is flowing freely.

 

With practice, more openness to allowing other movements to arise and fulfill themselves happens. It can look very odd and even ugly from an outside perspective at times, certainly not always what we would call graceful. No matter.

 

So much can be said. I am a hermit and don't communicate with people very much so I am doing my best here, lol.

 

I breathed with the space in your moving. Thank you.

Edited June 7, 2009 by Tabula Rasa

[Pranaman]

Learning optimal and most efficient mechanics inside a form, allows them to be implemented in freedom.

 

I do freeform when I walk around my house. and it seems to me that yichuan is closely tied but not the same as freeform.

[forestofclarity]

I like doing freeform practice. I learned it from Sifu Wong Kiew Kit and Santiago (e.g. Vajrasattva). I would enjoy hearing more about it.

 

Sifu Wong teaches that beginners should do more form practice, then switching to free form. Over time, the balance shifts.

 

Free form seems to encapsulate some of the deeper teachings of Taoism and Buddhism.

[Stigweard]

[rodgerj]

Edited March 22, 2010 by rodgerj

[Stigweard]

I allow the energy to 'switch on' and the Chi seems to T'ai me!!

Aye I tell my students: "Don't move the move let the move move you!"

 

 

Do you slow your movements right down and try and coordinate them with your breath?

[rodgerj]

Edited March 22, 2010 by rodgerj

[Stigweard]

As far as the movements go, I do nothing at all. My body is being moved completely by my energy. It's not me doing that. All I did was walk to the middle of the room and then when it stopped I patted my stomach and went to turn off the camera :-) Breathing though... I do not necessarily try and coordinate anything, I just breathe into my stomach. My mind is completely separated (as much as possible) from what my body is doing. I don't think about what I am doing or influence it in any way.

 

Part of the reason for my posting is that because these movements are coming from nowhere, I wanted to see what people that know Taiji thought about them. Especially from the context of Carols question regarding Taiji being practiced freeform. If what my energy is doing is Taiji then I am perhaps doing it backwards. Freeform before learning the form. And I wonder if perhaps I might benefit from learning Taiji or just staying 'free'.

What you are doing is more than ok, don't let 'techniques' interfere with the innocence and spontaneity of what you are doing. You have obviously engaged sufficiently in some good formwork before ... the stability of your stance, your connectedness and your natural fluidity reveals this.

 

I would however offer the suggestion that Taiji is about a unification of mind and body ... Jing, Qi, Shen operating as one energy and the Dao of achieving that is through mindful awareness of your breath in coordination with your physical movements. You want to become an integrated being.

 

Try this as a playful exercise:

 

Imagine that you are a fountain ... water flowing up through you from the ground, through your torso, out over your head, and then that water cascades out and down to pool again under your feet. When you breathe in follow the course of that energy up through your body and out above your head, and when you breathe out follow the return of the energy down to under your feet. Really get into the 'groove' of that flow and let it become a kinetic experience. What I mean by this is that you let your body spontaneously move with the flow of the motion. Don't force it, just let it flow ... with your already established practice this should be easy.

 

Let yourself become playful with the flow of this energy. Can you send that energy horizontal instead of vertical? Can you send in a different ways? Can you step with that energy, can you move your root?

 

Integrating your Shen, Qi, and Jing like this can lead you to interesting discoveries. Enjoy

[forestofclarity]

Does it make a difference if you follow, or should you let the move actually activate the motion?

 

Aye I tell my students: "Don't move the move let the move move you!"

 

 

Do you slow your movements right down and try and coordinate them with your breath?

[Tabula Rasa]

Does it make a difference if you follow, or should you let the move actually activate the motion?

 

In still presence the activation and following are one.

 

Do you practice push hands (Twei Shou)? An excellent practice for honing skill at being one-mind in the leading and following movements with another person.

 

Also, the nature of push hands is freeform as players "choose" (let arise and flow naturally if possible) the number of steps forward or back, the direction of the turns, which hand is being used, etc.

 

Wha Na Da.....Yield, Neutralize,Strike....Receive, Accept, Return....Separation flows into Oneness in the Now

 

Your awareness of the still space between the activating and following is deep in presence. Thank you for sharing.

Edited June 8, 2009 by Tabula Rasa

[evZENy]

Carol,

 

sorry if I take your point too far, but I actually believe, that there is NO OTHER form!

Only Free form, which looks form-less.

Just last night me and my partner started a practice together and everyone went into his formless-form, as we both got quite well "connected".

 

Once you go deep inside and the energy takes control over the body - there is no form!

There is Flow, which one goes with.

 

The Forms we study are just a way to teach the body of the possible Energy Flows - one feels one way and we call this way Ward Off, the other one is different and we call it Roll Back. They are not just body mechanics - they are the type of feeling that the body movement helps us realize!

Once the body learns to feel them, you can be sitting in an airplane 10 km above the Earth and have your Ward Off, Roll back, Press without moving!

 

The Forms are just tools.

The Styles are just different ways to use these tools, and reflect the specifities on the people who made them (short/tall, slow/fast etc.).

It is all about learning the Energy Flow patterns.

 

IMHO, of course :-)

[Tabula Rasa]

Carol,

 

sorry if I take your point too far, but I actually believe, that there is NO OTHER form!

Only Free form, which looks form-less.

Just last night me and my partner started a practice together and everyone went into his formless-form, as we both got quite well "connected".

 

Once you go deep inside and the energy takes control over the body - there is no form!

There is Flow, which one goes with.

 

The Forms we study are just a way to teach the body of the possible Energy Flows - one feels one way and we call this way Ward Off, the other one is different and we call it Roll Back. They are not just body mechanics - they are the type of feeling that the body movement helps us realize!

Once the body learns to feel them, you can be sitting in an airplane 10 km above the Earth and have your Ward Off, Roll back, Press without moving!

 

The Forms are just tools.

The Styles are just different ways to use these tools, and reflect the specifities on the people who made them (short/tall, slow/fast etc.).

It is all about learning the Energy Flow patterns.

 

IMHO, of course :-)

 

Edited June 22, 2009 by Tabula Rasa

[evZENy]

In the way we study Tai Chi, two person practice starts very, very early - 5-6 class maybe.

One can easily build the sensation of one's own Chi, yet for any application (martial, healing, reading) one should be able to go outside. The explanation is, that this is done by one's Jing and it can be felt by others, but not by the self. Hence, in order to see how far is the progress, one needs a partner to assess the feeling of what is projected. We can feel and understand only the levels of our Chi, not our Jing.

 

I don't know if this is true. Don't know if I am using the right words.

But we experience the importance of a partner, so I feel what you say...:-(

[Tabula Rasa]

Edited June 22, 2009 by Tabula Rasa