The journey to becoming a Tai Chi master?

[Peaceful Hulk]

I'm mainly a powerlifter type of guy. I'm 260 pounds and can do one pull up. I can squat 315 pounds for 12 reps.

 

I trained for eight months in an MMA gym for their Judo curriculum. I havent been able to make time to continue the Judo, but I've been training hard in powerlifting for over two years now.

 

I have a book and a long video of Shifu Yan Lei, a Shaolin monk specializing in Qi Gong exercises. I'd rather make that a priority before going back to Judo. I am doing it for spiritual development.

 

I guess my question is... If I start with Yan Lei's book and video, getting into a routine with his exercises and stuff... What's next? How do I know I'm improving? How do I know I got good enough for the more advanced stuff?

 

I don't even know what I don't know. What milestones in my Qi Gong and Tai Chi practice that I'm looking out for? Stamina on the horse stance? A certain feeling in my Chi?

 

How? What?

 

Much appreciated.

[silent thunder]

remember to stretch

Edited Monday at 02:56 AM by silent thunder

[Sahaja]

Milestones for qi gong and tai chi are to some degree a function of teacher and approach but  in the end basically  they are about  how far down the rabbit hole you want to go. For qi gong in particular the rabbit hole is quite deep, so deep one could indeed spend a long time training and not find the end.

 

a lot of people stay pretty close to the entrance to the rabbit hole in their study of internal arts. They may practice these things at a more physical level, for example many people do tai chi without much in the way of focus on specific qi or Jin development. They practice it more like an external martial art using conventional body mechanics. However, they will still likely experience the health benefits of relaxation and improved range of motion. Similarly in qi gong they might choose to focus on breathing and movement forms that have some basic  experience of chi at the nervous system level,  usually in the hands or at skin level depth. Similarly they will likely experience relaxation and improved circulation/freedom of movement. Often some mental benefits of improved concentration are found at this level of practice as well.

 

In contrast to this, those who choose  to go deeper may elect to do an internal system that is based on the Yi Jin Jing tendon changing principles (principles not exercises)This is an approach where you use qi to change how your body and ultimately your mind operate to make them more efficient. This involves many  hours of static stance and seated practice along with some movement based practices to open the body’s joints and channels, strengthen the nervous system  and develop the mind’s attention capability while building, gathering  and mobilizing qi. Rather than focusing on muscles and muscle contraction to build strength, it uses release of tension (hanging the flesh off the bones) to change tissue by stretching and stressing it with gravity not contraction. This  leads to the building of new tissue inside that connects everything together in a different way and enables one to build more qi.. Initially in this approach one may experience zi fa gong (spontaneous movements ) as qi used for holding tension is released inside, starts to circulate and hits blockages. It may be  like someone is touching you with a tense machine creating involuntary movements  (it also can unleash other weirder stuff too) Later this calms down and evolves to a more magnetic experience of qi fields and internal connections between parts of the body that you wouldn’t typically understand to be associated. It also enables qi and Jin to flow under direction of the shape of your body and release of mental tension. This approach may also change the shape of the body as more qi building tissue forms between the muscles and bones. Having more qi also provides fuel for spiritual development which is further down the same rabbit hole.  It’s a lot easier resting your attention on a meditation object when the qi is there providing an assist.

 

There are many variations between these levels and certainly some that may go even deeper or use different means . Regardless of how deep you decide to go, doing internal arts at whatever level often require a different skill set than external arts. Internal arts require some level of change to how you practice as they are usually based on release of contraction (physical - muscle contraction and mental - strong intention)This is in many ways opposite of “normal” body behavior  and development techniques that are based on muscle strength/contraction and leverage and having a  strong mental intention. Conventional strength and health make you better at internal arts but initially the biggest challenge is to find/develop your strength in release of tension (not muscle contraction/leverage/bracing ) even when you are under pressure by someone or something. This different approach can be a big  change that can take time to emerge. It may initially result in feeling like you are going backwards, getting weaker not stronger. However, this changes with time and practice. 

best wishes with your training. 

 

 

[lightminefire]

Main things to consider - how much qi, qi flow, qi storage and opening channels are miles stone to adhere.

low beginner - qi flow difference 

middle cultivator - more opening channels,increase qi flow (most people)

high cultivator - strong internal power produce faqi like telekinesis, electric qi  or pyrokinesis with each systems may produce similar results. 

These are beginning path for Neidan path.

 

 

practice lower Dantian meditation (sitting)1-3hrs daily (depend on each systems)

practice taiji 3hrs daily with revere breathing daily  

You will go far ✌️

 

Im keeping simple here!

 

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 02:49 AM by lightminefire