Finally back after 5 years.A breakthrough beyond my imagination !!!

Finally a breakthrough after 5 years ! What is "Harmony with nature?`"天人合一, 道法自然"

Gravity and atmospheric pressure.

For the last 5 years , i was not sensing any improvements. I tried refining my strokes, my footwork,my structure. I realized that after 15 years of repetitive refinement, the room for improvement on the physical aspects is too narrow to burrow into. So what should i be looking into from here. I started to look into the non-physical aspects : Sensations! The pursuit of relaxation, the pursuit of "松" 

My late Grand-master"s final words : To find the new level of relaxation within relaxation relentlessly." So again , i am back to basics.

After 5 years of effort , i finally realized what " Harmonizing with nature " meant. Both Gravity and atmospheric pressure have always existed since the day we were born,everything on earth is subjected to it but how often do we sense it and capitalize on its existence? For the last 5 years ,i have been constantly reducing my tension in my whole body , over time , i begin to realize that the more i relax, the deeper my weight sinks, and the less i will resist atmospheric pressure. As for the part of resisting atmospheric pressure, its pretty much the same feeling of sinking to the bottom of the swimming pool and feeling the water pressure.

Slowly i begin to understand that at this level of sensitivity, i am able to neutralize much bigger force and expel with greater force as well. My body soon became a medium between the 2 forces(gravity and atmospheric pressure) . Sensing the existence of both forces have conditioned my body not to defy any of the 2 forces. 

As i mentioned , this is something that is not tangible nor quantifiable. It is a journey of sensation, nothing can guide you towards it except practice and practice and practice........

I hope this article can be passed on to the future generations of taichi enthusiasts .

Enjoy!!! 

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Footwork - the delivery of the mass

Forget about the strokes for the time being , Lets talk about footwork , moving forward , backward, turning to the left and right . By now , u would have been able to maintain the 4 points(the 4 corners of the shoulders and the hips) thereby holding the upper torso as a square and creating the mass . Now , u need the correct footwork to deliver this mass around .

Soften the bottom of the feet. You will be surprised at how tense your feet can be . Softening the bottom of the feet allows the weight to sink into the ground, the softer its is, more weight sinks in , giving you more balance. There are some teachers or articles advocating gripping the ground with your toes in order to maintain more balance - I am totally against it .

While in motion ,it is important not to allow the shoulders to initiate the movement, be it forward or backwards or in any direction for that matter, the initiation must come from the hips . The moment you allow the shoulders to initiate , you are plunching towards that direction , you will lose grip of your own balance. So how big a step should we take ? The distance is best determined by stretching out the feet without moving your body, total stillness on the body . Generally , its only about one feet forward  while maintaining  shoulder width apart.. And when u land your feet , do not let the feet tense up . I would like to add this important point as in moving in a zig-zag manner. If u intend to move your right leg forward, u should first bring your right leg towards the left before moving forward and landing on the right, and vice versa with the left leg.

Alighning the knees with the elbows forming a straight line contributes to the wholeness or mass of the structure. Do not allow the knees to stretch beyond being perpendicular to the ground.

 Zhaobao form is particularly concern with not over stretching the knee forward. We believe in "hiding the knees" , which is an expression behind keeping  the knees straight and not bent.

Please kindly bear in mind the above pointers, this article is extremely beneficial in maintaining your center of gravity and in determining the magnitude of the force you will be able to deliver .

xie xie !! Have fun and practice hard !!

Taichibug

Stillness in structure ,in Senses,and in Intention.

Stillness in structure, in Senses ,and in Intention. ( 定拳架， 定神， 定意念)

We know taichi is an exercise of continuous flow of actions or strokes, then， why is there stillness in structure , in senses and in intentions?

Stillness in this case is a figurative term. Stillness in structure (定拳架) refers to the consistency of the move or stroke. The initiation , the speed , the angle , the distance and the ending of the stroke has to be maintained with the same consistency throughout. This is difficult to achieve. When the legs move, the hands move - when the hips moves , the shoulder moves - when the mind moves , the body moves - but more often than not , we acted vice -versa.

Stillness in Senses (定神) lies in the eyes . When the eyes moves , the head moves , when the head moves , the shoulders moves , this reaction often breaks our sense of balance . Once the shoulder moves, it breaks away from the direction of the hips, the 4 points will be broken , thereby losing your balance. Stillness in the eyes is by far the most difficult to achieve. Learning to have a panoramic view is what you should be training for .

Stillness in Intentions ( 定意念 )is simply about decisiveness. Firstly , you have to be very familiar with the sequence of a stroke. Secondly, a stroke is made up of various actions, each action will intersect into another action , so you have to be able to feel when u should intersect into the next action. In simple language , synchronization!

Ladies and gentlemen , kindly practice what we have gone through in every lesson . You have to set your structure and refine your synchronization . Kindly remember : Refinement is infinite !!

谢谢 ， 欢迎观临 !!!!

Taichibug

Simplicity - Rarely accepted and most often neglected.

Here is a reminder for all students, both beginners and advance students :

Tucking in the stomach and sticking up the tongue to the palate.
This is one of the most basic features that u MUST practice when u are practicing taijiquan. In actual fact , this ought to be built into a natural physical feature in our daily lives. Most practioners do not pursue building this feature. Little do they understand that this is the foundation that decides how far they will go in the practice of any form of qigong or taijiquan. By the way , Taijiquan itself is a qigong . You do not need another form of qigong to complete or, so call " drive " the form in taijiquan .

Tucking in the stomach gentlely straightens the spine. Along with lowering the chin to a level where your vision is parallel to the ground ; pushing back the knees ,allows the practioner's posture to be perpendicular to the ground . Without a posture that is perpendicular to the ground , the internal forces will not be able to be exerted in full capactiy .

Sticking the tongue to the palate completes a chi channel called the " xiao zhou tian " 小周天“. Which is the union of the "Ren meridien" “任脉” and the "Du meridien" “督脉” . I shall not go into too much detail in this aspect . Apart from that , it also induces salivation , which is a very essential part of health . The enzymes in the saliva helps in the digestion process.

Ladies and gentleman , Please kindly pay attention to all the above features . If you do not adhere to such simple requirements , You will not be able to reap the full benefits of your taijiquan practice .

Our photo session

Here are the photos of both the advance class and beginners class. Welcome back Jenny and Alice .It a regret Mr. Sum could not join in the photo taking .

Zhaobao “He” style Taichi overview - For beginners.

1) The truth , myths and misconceptions of Taichi.

Much have been written about taichi . Lets start with the myths and misconceptions of taichi : Taichi have been misconceived as a form of ancient exercise developed for the older people , its is slow and soft , therefore, it has no self defense purposes. Taichi is an art which uses ‘chi’, only known to the east. Taichi is developed by the Taoist as a religious ritual to cleanse its body and mind.

All these are not true. The truth is :

Taichi is an ancient art developed by the Taoist , which based its knowledge and understanding of the Human anatomy , Physics , Philosophy and TCM methodology . Its most basic purpose is , through a series of slow and coordinated external movements , massages or influence the communication between the internal organs . The slow motion and fluidity of the moves allows the body to learn the optimal state of harmony (co-ordination), thus achieving a perfect state of relaxation.

As for the self-defense aspect, it’s a fact that the strong and fast will overcome the weak and slow. Taichi is an art which applies physics (rotational force) within its moves. This is where application of physics will not only bridge the gap, it will also allow the weak to overcome and subdue the strong. The velocity of the rotation and the optimization of the various rotations form the resultant force of a taichi stroke.

“Chi” existence is defined in many different ways, to sum it up. Its magnetic energy or force that has already exists in all living organism. This force or energy depletes with wear and tear over time and also abuses. In a more absolute definition, Taichi is a series of exercise that rejuvenates or replenishes this energy.

Certification 09/08/08 - Beginners

Certification 09/08/08 - Instructors