Started to study Tai Chi on my own. Suggestions?

[Sahaj Nath]

Like in any other arts or science, the foundation is really important in taiji. Once you have gotten the foundation, you can move forward on your own. But in the beginning it is critical to have a good teacher.

 

If you start on your own, you'll have to re-learn the whole thing anyway unless you are VERY talented in body movements and coordination.

 

So many times I've watched new students coming to the class thinking 'what's so special in this taiji that I need a teacher' and who wouldn't be able to make even one simple step in a proper way.

 

there is a LOT of truth here. studying on one's own is NOT for everybody. you've really gotta know yourself and be honest about your ability, or you do yourself a disservice.

 

there tends to be two extremes: there are folks who believe that everyone needs a teacher for EVERYTHING, even pulling down the heavens! and then there are folks who believe that NO ONE needs a teacher for ANYTHING, not even for access to a specific lineage.

 

but i tend towards the later, when in actually it's better to err on the side of the former. fact of the matter is that these skills do not come naturally for MOST people. and without sufficient maturity & recognition of one's own limitations, it's far too easy to imagine oneself as gifted or "special" when in fact one is in need of in-person guidance.

 

everyone can benefit from in-person foundational training. someone with experience needs to observe your body, and while they make corrections, if you ARE talented, you'll quickly acquire an intuitive sense of what correct form and movement feels like, and you can take that with you into your independent study.

 

but at the end of the day, raw talent can never be a substitute for strong discipline.

 

i haven't ordered the videos recommended by tummoessence yet, but i've seen him move in-person and he's pretty much the only person in the area that i would trust to teach me about refined body mechanics. seriously. we have Grandmaster Bing Yeyoung here in sacramento, and i would still prefer tummoessence with regard to my practice. the man knows his stuff in this area.

[tumoessence]

Hey thanks Hundun for your kind words.

I am all for in person training also where possible. But a live body doesn't guarntee a good tai chi line, or ability to teach on the part of the teacher. I have learned much from Master Hwa's videos. I have also had the opportunity to study with him in person and get suggestions. But I wouldn't have been able to ask the right questions without the videos to work on first. But any one who wants to learn his form can then, with notice go see him, pop in for personal lessons. He is very generous in this regard. In fact as I have stated in other contexts he is one of the most generous human beings that I know. For example free weekend workshops. Free private lessons.

But which ever dvds you learn from go see your teachers and check in with them. It is worth it.

[gendao]

Also a note...Shinzen Young (Science of Enlightenment author) Said that the moving meditations are great but the true barometer of Happiness indpendent of conditions is sitting meditation because if someone who was doing these movement based mediations were to do that and they get bored then they still are not happy independent of conditions. Do you guys agree?

I'd like to think this is true. I believe the real foundation of Taijiquan is dantian development cultivated in stillness via neigong (but what do I know?).

 

Well, just for kicks, how many Taijiquan peeps out there can pass the "Dantian Challenge?"

The Magic Tortoise School offers the Jou Medallion* as a prize to any taijiquan player of two or more years experience who can toss a U.S. penny one vertical foot with their lower abdomen. Yang Banhou (1837-1892) practiced this demonstration of dantian development with rice grains; Jou, Tsung Hwa (1917-1998) suggested the one foot standard, and used pennies.

 

Master Jou constantly practiced dantian movement and the relation of that movement through chansijing to all other parts of the body. His primary method of cultivation was prebirth or reverse breathing, which he refers to in the 7th edition of The Dao of Taijiquan as "breathing without breathing": wu xi zhi xi. This was the centerpiece of his teaching, and resulted in a practice we now call "Yi Yue (One Moon) Neigong."

 

Master Jou was inspired by the story of Yang Yu (Yang Banhou), oldest surviving son of Yang Luchan, who liked "...to test his inner force by putting a few grains of rice on his abdomen, and while he was saying 'Ha,' the grains were launched to the ceiling." (The Dao of Taijiquan, pp. 57-58). Lying on his back, Master Jou could toss a coin several feet in the air from his dantian -- a casual feat he could perform at any time, even through his clothing. To him, this was a measure of qi in the dantian, which he referred to as "money in the bank." Master Jou believed that taijiquan players serious about following the classics should strive to toss a coin at least one foot.

 

The penny toss is not an end in itself; but neither is it a "parlor trick." While accomplishment of the one foot standard does not guarantee that a player will be superior in form, push-hands, or health, it does indicate that the player has laid a proper foundation for subsequent achievement. Forms and applications are like appliances: they must be plugged in to a power source to work properly. In taijiquan, this source is the dantian. Yet players continue to rely on muscular force because they have not tapped the dantian's potential.

 

The first step is to convert your dantian into a power plant through the practice of taiji qigong. The penny toss is simply a way of testing the energy levels the dantian is generating. Next, you must check your wiring: you must connect your power supply, through various breakers and switches, to the outlets throughout your house. Chansijing exercise, meditation, and the structural and dynamic considerations described in the classics will help you accomplish this. Finally, empowered directly by the dantian, the forms and applications of taijiquan will work as they were designed to work: the shiny chrome toaster will make toast instead of merely looking good on the counter. Or to use another of Master Jou's analogies: isn't it sad to see taijiquan players expending so much effort pushing their cars around? It's time to put the key in the ignition and start the engine. In taijiquan, dantian development is an essential step toward genuine ability.

Apparently, only 22 people have passed this fundamental groundwork test since 1999. And people wonder why Taijiquan "doesn't work" for 99.99% of people???

[Brian]

...

[Old Man Contradiction]

Don't neglect science.

Don't neglect reason.

 

Seek out many teachers,

choose the one who is most

Reasonable and Scientific.

 

Choose the best one.

 

Character comes from combat science, not a metaphysical wish.

Edited July 9, 2010 by Old Man Contradiction

[electric gravity]

last nite i felt such a serious pain in my heart when i thought about what tai chi really is and what is being taught in the mainstream taichi community.

 

please listen taichi is all about attaining the tao let ur focus be on that dont ever take your focus off the tao.

 

heavenly follows godly, and earthly follows the heavenly, man follows all 3 and emits peace energy (the harmony wave) and becomes a good child of creation.

 

being one with the tao is like going into the career your mom wanted you to go in.

 

every movement of tai chi has this.

 

1. intention (kong jin intention)

2. spirit ( the emotional feeling you express onto your oppenent)

3 chi circulation (the jing circulation)

4 a particular elemental energy that you are working with. (the elemetnal energy you are working with in that energy expression.

 

taichi is so much beyond forms. please think in this way when you train.

 

plus the alchemy involved.

Edited July 10, 2010 by electric gravity

[Martial Development]

I know the subject has been done to death, in this and other threads, but I have something more to say.

 

Honesty is a virtue, but not the only one. Stephen Hawking is honest AND a genius...who in their right mind would take Tai Chi Chuan lessons from him?

 

Maybe you just want to teach yourself, for your own reasons. OK, fine, but why stop at one person? You could accept a room full of students, and teach yourself and everyone else at the same time. It's more efficient and more fun that way!

 

My point is this: if you aren't qualified to teach that room full of people...then maybe you aren't qualified to teach yourself. If you think these students deserve better than to follow a guy who admittedly doesn't know what he is doing...then maybe you deserve better too. If you don't want to perpetuate a fraud...then don't accept one either. And so on.

 

You wouldn't take a class from a "master" that copied all his moves out of a picture book*, would you? So why are you willing to be that guy?

 

* Maybe you would take the class, if that master was totally awesome. Well, sorry, I've met him and he ain't.

[mYTHmAKER]

I know the subject has been done to death, in this and other threads, but I have something more to say.

 

Honesty is a virtue, but not the only one. Stephen Hawking is honest AND a genius...who in their right mind would take Tai Chi Chuan lessons from him?

 

Maybe you just want to teach yourself, for your own reasons. OK, fine, but why stop at one person? You could accept a room full of students, and teach yourself and everyone else at the same time. It's more efficient and more fun that way!

 

My point is this: if you aren't qualified to teach that room full of people...then maybe you aren't qualified to teach yourself. If you think these students deserve better than to follow a guy who admittedly doesn't know what he is doing...then maybe you deserve better too. If you don't want to perpetuate a fraud...then don't accept one either. And so on.

 

You wouldn't take a class from a "master" that copied all his moves out of a picture book*, would you? So why are you willing to be that guy?

 

* Maybe you would take the class, if that master was totally awesome. Well, sorry, I've met him and he ain't.

 

Good post