Why do you practice?

[~jK~]

Do you simply want a happy life?

Do you want to push yourself to beyond your limits and into mastery?

Do you seek a naturally healthy body?

Do you want to be the best you can be?

Why do you practice?

 

I practice in order to be the best I can be. This intense training in the style of i-chuan has been the most challenging, painful physically and mentally, than anything else I've seen. I feel I have a once in a lifetime opportunity to train with someone as skilled and experienced as my Sifu. In a way, I am training to master the art and make it my own. A creative task that as of yet is undeveloped, but one that my Sifu encourages. In truer terms, I am pushing to be my own best. The daily burning pain, profuse sweating, and shaky legs is worth it.

 

Post the reason that you train, and what exactly you train, whether it's qigong, taichi, i-chuan, yoga, meditation etc...

 

thank you and I hope this is a good thread.

 

 

Practice is what gets results as well as Perfection.

[Liufeng Sibi]

Do you simply want a happy life?

Do you want to push yourself to beyond your limits and into mastery?

Do you seek a naturally healthy body?

Do you want to be the best you can be?

Why do you practice?

 

I practice in order to be the best I can be. This intense training in the style of i-chuan has been the most challenging, painful physically and mentally, than anything else I've seen. I feel I have a once in a lifetime opportunity to train with someone as skilled and experienced as my Sifu. In a way, I am training to master the art and make it my own. A creative task that as of yet is undeveloped, but one that my Sifu encourages. In truer terms, I am pushing to be my own best. The daily burning pain, profuse sweating, and shaky legs is worth it.

 

Post the reason that you train, and what exactly you train, whether it's qigong, taichi, i-chuan, yoga, meditation etc...

 

thank you and I hope this is a good thread.

Here's a re-post from a conversation with NeiChuan:

 

i like tai chi classics by Waysun Liao

 

there are other books as well, but nothing like studying with a good teacher! you didn't mention that you have one?

 

also, if you feel that your path has a devotional base to it; i recommend the Aghora books by Robert Svoboda.

 

for tao philosophy i like the I Ching translted by Wilhelm/Baynes

 

for chi/nei kung (any system really) there are various systems out there and many individual practices.

this can get either confusing, or potentially 'water-down' your practice so that one has a lot of material with little depth. at this point if i just wanted to 'go through' all of my material; it would take me about 6-8 hours! so, it is good to have some type of 'set' with a decent number of repetitions for a select number of key exercizes.

 

for me these days, i like to do my chan si jing routine (1 hour), i chuan standing meditation (40 min), chen lao jia yi lu 2-3 times (20-30 min), chen ball exercizes (strength training; 30 min). also i have some hsing i elements that i need to improve on, then theres i chuan walking, my guan ping form, peng lu ji an (chen), etc. i also have more material and as you can see this is a tall order.... are we aupposed to have a social life? what about eating? we're advised not to eat 30 minutes before or after practice.

 

in reality i attend a 2 to 2 1/2 hour chen class 2x weekly, a 1 hour guan ping/hsing i class 2x weekly, and workout with a fellow student 2 hours 1x weekly. that's about 8 hours a week, and i don't get to all of that material even on a single day.

 

another pitfall i found was that with my sights set on the transcendent, i would get frustrated easily if i wasn't essentially a monk. i think it is good to have reasonable goals, pick the most important exercizes/meditations, and if i feel inspired, do a bit more. that way, i feel a sense of accomplishment if i have met my goal, and am further inspired instead of disappointed with myself.

 

i dont know if you have those issues, but its something i wish i knew a long time ago.

from your emails it sounds like you are doing well.

 

 

 

 

-i hope this was relevant!

Edited March 7, 2010 by Mal
fixed quote (I think)