ViscountValmont Posted August 14, 2014 My name is Josh. I'm from Cincinnati, Ohio, but currently am a social sciences teacher in Shenzhen, China. I have done internal martial arts for 15 years. I have had a few prestigious teachers as well. But my progression through the internal arts has been an enlightening one to say the least. In spite of my doubts (instilled by traditionalist teachers) along the way that I in fact was wrong and the answers were indeed "Qi based..." that has been wholly untrue. I have achieved the skills of Cotton Palm and Hip Shaking Jing, Fa Jing, and Deep Root (among others of course) all entirely through physical means. It is ALL relaxation and mind-body awareness, principles of physics and bodily control. And though I admit my skill level has truly just begun to blossom, I have reached these skills through my own didaction and understanding of the internal arts. I watched my teachers, and after many years of listening to them, discarded much of their explanations and decided to seek my own. After years of being bogged down by archaic hogwash, and very little actual instruction toward HOW-TO internally, I found all my explanations through physics and personal experience. I am here to share ideas. I am currently working on sensitivity training for internal strikes, ie- learning how to direct the energy inside a person... And, I'm working on Golden Bell techniques- how to send an opponent's strike energy back to them. I can currently take a punch from someone nearly any size (I'm 5'11", 150 lbs), and can deflect it to the left or right, or absorb it downwards. I also have gained an awareness of my internal fascia, like Cotton Palm for the guts- I can relax into both emotions (more on this in a moment) and internal strike vibrations and pain. Lastly, the spiritual aspect of the internal arts for me has been extremely... interesting. What I have found, as mentioned above, is that the necessary means for achieving enlightenment is actually found within the physical body. Learning to relax the muscles within the areas that experience negative emotions has been a skill that is worth all the others' weight in gold. I feel as though I am relaxed nearly all the time now, and negative emotions last so briefly that they are hardly worth a notice. All of this is shored up by Taoist philosophical beliefs, which adequately describe the universe, shows the connected nature of all things, and gives adequate cause for complete dismissal of all notions of human judgment. Between these things, I live a wondrously carefree existence these days; something I cannot say about my past. Please, everyone, I am enthusiastic about discussion and learning. All questions are welcome, and I look forward to conversations with everyone. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chang Posted August 14, 2014 Hello and welcome to the Tao Bums. An interesting introductory post regarding your training in China and also your taking responsibility for your own progress. Something which we all have to ultimately face. You are now free to post on the forum but for the first seven days you will be restricted to ten posts per day. Before getting started please take the time to read the two posts pinned at the top of this welcome section and also take a look at the forum terms and rules http://thetaobums.co...um-terms-rules/ This covers all that you need be aware of when getting started. Good luck, best wishes and be sure to enjoy yourself, Chang and Tao Bums Team Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Basher Posted August 15, 2014 Nice intro post Josh (VV), welcome to TTB's & I look forward to reading more from you. Basher 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
