taichi.html

T'ai Chi Articles

by Roger Bastick

T'ai Chi Good for Injuries:

T'ai chi (Pinyin: taiji) is very good for your health and healing old injuries. A fundamental principle of the Yang family t'ai chi is that it must be natural - that is in accordance with what is natural for the body. This is the Taoist influence, that indigineous Chinese philosophy that stresses working in harmony with Nature. A maxim of Yang taiji, therefore, is that it must be naturally good for both health and self-defense. Its training principles produce at one and the same time great health benefits and practical self-defense skills.

But it must be taught properly by an instructor trained in the Yang family way. The school operating at the Toowoomba East-West Centre (4 Thorn Street), the Authentic Yang Style T'ai Chi School, offers this type of quality instruction training the way it is done by Yang family official disciples. Taiji is often very beneficial to people who have trained in other martial arts. Many people who train in these other often 'harder' styles sustain injuries. We have had several people like this in our school. They benefit from the 'soft' approach of taiji and yet at the same time can follow up very sophisticated martial techniques available in the style if they wish.

Because it was designed to overcome the seeming advantages of weight, size and speed taiji is not based on these factors. It uses the intrinsic strength of the body and its postures, which with the proper training can develop power, and strength regardless of gender or age. The art works on the flow of internal energy or ch'i (qi), which can only flow when the body is soft and relaxed. This is why the training is so good for your health. However, something that is very soft can also become very, very hard when it releases its power. New classes our now recruiting at the school; if you're interested in joining please contact us on 48097760 or our website at www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba (free information package available).

More Than Beautiful Movements (5/2/01):

Tai Chi is usually associated with slow-moving, aesthetically-beautiful movements, especially the Yang style (one of the five major styles in China). It is, however, much more than this. Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese exercise system that has achieved a worldwide reputation as an effective means to relax your body and mind, revitalising young and old alike. However, originally it was developed as a sophisticated martial art aimed at overcoming advantages of size, strength and speed in combat.

A maxim of the authentic Yang style is that the movements and attitudes must be naturally good for both health and self-defence. To gain the full benefits it needs to be taught properly and accurately. This involves paying a lot of attention to the individual postures so that they are naturally strong without relying on overt physical strength. This is achieved within the traditional art by posture testing which is almost unknown in popular tai chi.

If the posture is correct it has a natural, intrinsic strength that derives from the fact (according to traditional explanation) that the pathways are open and allow unimpeded ch'i (qi ) circulation. This can be tested empirically - if the posture is correct they can withstand being pushed on, if not they collapse. The internal power brought out through this type of training is accessible regardless of gender or age.

If the postures are not taught properly the effectiveness and health benefits achievable are only ten to twenty percent of what the art can bestow. The training offered at the Authentic Yang Style School comes directly from the way it is taught by Yang family disciples.

New courses are starting this month, for enquiries and free information booklet please ring Roger at the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre (TBC) 4659 7760.

Quality Tai Chi (9/3/01):

To gain the full benefits of T'ai Chi require training in the authentic principles of the art, as taught by official Yang family disciples. I was fortunate enough to study for a decade under Master Chu King Hung, the officially recognised number three disciple of the Yang family. The next sentence, therefore, is not meant to be a controversial or arrogant one. The great majority of teachers of the many versions of T'ai Chi around these days have not received this training, which is at the heart of authentic T'ai Chi.

There still is a vast lack of knowledge around about what tai chi really is. And yet these days it is particularly easy to find out the facts of the matter, if you really want to. There are books on the subject in the library and bookshops, there are hundreds of websites on the internet, including official Yang family ones (like www.geocities.com/RodeoDrive/4687) and there are magazines around which detail the facts of these matters. They describe the five different styles, how they differ, family lineages and the like. In these sources you often read comments like this one,'Tai Chi is not being taught properly, if it is not taught as a complete art, both martial and meditative,' from Jenny Peters in the magazine Tai Chi, Vol.1, issue 9 (p. 8)

To gain the full benefits of T'ai Chi it needs to be taught properly and accurately. A maxim of Yang style taiji is that the movements and attitudes must be naturally good for BOTH health and self-defence technique. This involves grounding the art in its martial arts principles to get the full health benefits, even if you don't wish to follow up the martial art side.

Both these sides of the discipline derive from structural principles that open internal energy (qi) flow. The nature of the required relaxation-in-posture necessary for this is widely misunderstood - as members of the Yang family to this day are continuously pointing out. If the postures are not taught properly and accurately the health benefits and effectiveness that you gain is only 10-20% of what the art can bestow. For quality instruction in Authentic Yang Style T'ai Chi Ch'uan, beginners' classes are enrolling now at the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre. For details and free information package contact Roger on 4659 7760.

Intrinsic Energy in Tai Chi (25/3/01):

One thing that surprises a lot of people when first introduced to posture testing in Tai Chi is how strong these postures can be without using muscular tension. But this only works if they are correct according to the traditional principles. Tai Chi was originally designed as a martial art that could overcome advantages of size, weight and muscular power. So for this to work it obviously has to use something other than muscle power, weight and size. Tai Chi's track record as a fighting art bears testimony to its effectiveness in this regard. The founder of the Yang style, Yang Lu Chan (1799-1872), for example, was known in Mandarin as Yang Wudi, which means 'Yang of No Equal', because he was never defeated in combat, and yet he wasn't a big man.

The human body when structurally aligned the right way has a natural, intrinsic power. The traditional theory is that if it's structure is correct the qi (ch'i) energy circulates unimpeded through the acupuncture pathways and the positions are naturally strong. All the limbs of the body as well as the hips and torso have to be linked together and the muscles, ligaments and tendons have to be relaxed for this to occur. Once it's right the intrinsic energy is immediately there in this aligned, loose and relaxed structure, regardless of age or gender. If one tenses up it goes. Muscular strength is powerful depending on the size of the muscles but it is limited by this very factor. The internal qi based power is influenced by one's mental intent and is considered unlimited .

Its use represents a sort of return to an original state. Infants who simply haven't got the muscles to use demonstrate incredible power, especially in comparison to their body size. All animals have it - a loose, springy, alive, relaxed stability and highly concentrated internal power that they can release explosively upon demand. We have it too but we loose it as we become tense both physically and psychologically as we grow up - an unfortunate by product of our thinking minds. But it can be recovered, refined and built up. The Wednesday night class (7-8.45pm) in authentic Yang style T'ai Chi Ch'uan being run at the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre still has space for beginners. Enquiries can be directed to Roger on 46597760 (free information package available).

Yang Family Style Tai Chi (30/5/01):

T'ai Chi invigorates mind and body, revitalizing young and old alike. A new round of recruitment in authentic Yang style t'ai chi ch'uan is starting over the next couple of weeks at the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre. Students who enrolled in the last wave are enjoying the authentic training, authentic in the sense that it's being taught as it is by the special disciples within the Yang family. Sometimes this type of training is described as traditional. Some of the students have studied tai chi before and are finding this training much deeper.

Training within the traditional style can continue the whole of one's lifetime - it just gets deeper and deeper. The program is vast and certainly can't be covered in a short period of time like ten weeks or even a year. It involves first of all standing qigong, which is the basis of the art's health benefits and self-defence power, and health exercises that help loosen the body, promote qi circulation and deep breathing.

At the same time you start training in the form the traditional Yang family style form as taught by official family disciples. An important part of the tuition within the Yang family curriculum is known as posture testing. This aspect of training is vital for health and self-defence, but little known in popular styles of tai chi. The underlying philosophy drawing largely on Taoism principles of flowing, soft overcoming hard, minimum effort maximum return are taught and illustrated as an implicit part of the syllabus.

Self-defence applications, that do not require external strength, that in fact were designed to overcome advantages of size, weight and speed, are introduced from virtually day one. But initially this is mainly to make sense of the movements you are doing. Later they are taught in more depth once you have achieved the necessary bodily coordination and unity from correctly practicing the form. Later push hands and weapons are studied. Roger studied for a decade with Master Chu King-hung in London, who is the officially recognised number three disciple of the fifth generation Yang family, he also keeps in touch with John Ding the recently recognised sixth generation disciple based in London. For enquires please ring the TBC on 46597760 or approach us through the website on www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.

Movements of Magic:

Tai chi has sometimes been described as 'movements of magic'. People are struck by the gracefulness and animal-like mystery of the moving form. It takes quite awhile for people who study the art to develop the degree of coordination and fluidity of movement that it requires for the moving form to become truly graceful. There is a certain point where you can see that they just suddenly cross this threshold.

One thing that makes it difficult to achieve is that each posture requires very exact postural form - that is, if the art being taught is an authentic version of tai chi. In the true practitioner of real tai chi, even though they can move incredibly gracefully, there is also present in their movements all these exact structural elements. They may well be hidden from all but the most trained or discerning eye. Achieving this balance of fluidity and at the same time exact postural structure is what makes the art so fascinating to study and work with over the years. It is thus an art you can play with or ply for the whole of your life.

It is also this balance of structure and fluidity that yields the famous health benefits of the art and its famous martial arts prowess. However, they both have to be present to achieve the former beyond a merely superficial level, and without them the latter skills are impossible to develop. The authentic approach of Yang family disciples is used to teach the art at the TBC please contact 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba for a free information package.

What is T'ai Chi Ch'uan? (14/6/01):

Few people know the truth about t'ai chi ch'uan (Pinyin: taijiquan). Is it a mysterious occult art, an exercise for old people, a deadly dance, a 'pretend' type martial art for hippies afraid to get involved with the "real" martial arts, a magic ritual bringing secret inner strength to the iniates? At one time or another one hears all these labels, and more, used to describe tai chi, the popular internal martial art of China.

Tai chi is many things to many people. To some it's an esoteric dream-like ballet. Many think of it in terms of a unique health technique, consisting of exercises that nourish peace and harmony in mind and body. While to some it is a devastating martial art endowing the tai chi expert with mysterious powers that enable him or her to toy with one or more assailants.

With all these interpretations of the art, it's little wonder that people are often confused about how to select a tai chi school to meet their needs. Not only are there different interpretations and five major styles of the art, each with its own set of forms, but there are also many minor schools and little-known versions of the art, some of which are offshoots of the five major systems and others which are independent family styles. Many of these have become highly 'watered-down' versions of the original art as it has spread throughout the world.

There's also a great diversity of focus among teachers. Some stress the development of health only, while others emphasise the martial art side. So how does one go about finding the 'real' thing? The best way is to arm yourself with knowledge.\ These days it is particularly easy to find out the facts of the matter, if you really want to. There are books on the subject in the library and bookshops, there are hundreds of websites on the internet, including official Yang family ones (like www.geocities.com/RodeoDrive/4687) and there are magazines around which detail the facts of these matters. They describe the five different styles, how they differ, family lineages and the like. In these sources you often read comments like this one, "Tai Chi is not being taught properly, if it is not taught as a complete art, both martial and meditative," from Jenny Peters in the magazine Tai Chi, Vol.1, issue 9 (p. 8). A new round of recruitment in Authentic Yang style tai chi is now starting at the TBC; for free information package and enquires please ring the TBC on 46597760 or approach us through the website on www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba. A new round of recruitment is starting at the TBC for free information package and enquires please ring the TBC on 46597760 or approach us through the website on www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba.

Authentic Yang Style Tai Chi Training (21/6/01):

The students at the Authentic Yang Style school in Toowoomba are learning the way tai chi is taught by Yang family disciples. First they learnt the form the 37 postures which are repeated quite often so that the complete sequence is two or three times as long. Many schools count 80, others 106, and some 128 postures of the same sequence.

Whilst they learn the form they do posture testing. This is to show how the postures, if carried out in strict accordance with the correct principles, are strong without reliance on muscular strength. This also reveals how to hold the body in the right position for unimpeded qi circulation; so this training is also very good for health. The students are also shown some of the self-defence or martial applications of the postures so that at this stage they are clear about what they are doing and why and therefore how to do the posture properly.

Once they complete the form they go on to learn the yin/yang form. This differentiates the form in to postures going upward, forward and opening (yang) and those going downward, backward and inward (yin). This form also encourages a compression or contraction and expansion of the bodily movements and so stimulates the qi flow. It also emphasises hip and waist movement in a yin and yang way which begins to bring the student more into contact with moving the whole body from the centre. The yin/yang form has been described as the first step through the gate that will lead to the deeper 'secrets' of the traditional Yang style.

Then as their training becomes more advanced the student learns to add in opening and closing movements of the limbs, which bring out the spiral qi. This teaches you how to express the force of the body for martial and self-defence applications. At this stage the student if interested starts systematic training in these applications and also in pushing hands training. All of this further stimulates the qi circulation. Finally, you learn the centre move, which really is part of the 'secret' of the Yang style. Tiny movements in the core of the body (the dantian) are transmitted almost gyroscopically through the opening and closing limbs to generate tremendous power. This takes a lot of training but many of the students in the school are reaching this stage now. A wave of recruitment is occurring now at the school located at the Toowoomba Buddhist Centre. Please direct enquiries to 46597760 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba - a free information package is available upon request.

More Than Beautiful Movements (3/8/01)

Most people associate T'ai Chi with the graceful, slow motion movements of Yang family T'ai Chi Ch'uan (Pinyin: taijiquan), one of the 5 main styles. But the art is much more than just beautiful movement. T'ai Chi is an ancient Chinese exercise system that has achieved a world-wide reputation as an effective means to relax your mind and body. However, originally it was developed as a sophisticated martial art aimed at overcoming advantages of size, strength and speed in combat. If practised correctly, the art has remarkable benefits, including: 1) Recapturing bodily co-ordination and flexibility lost since childhood. 2) Improved qi circulation, by removing blockages, balancing the qi and refining its quality thereby promoting healing, suppleness, poise, lightness and great speed. 3) De-stressing by reducing the pressures from modern living and developing relaxation and calmness of spirit, thereby revitalising young and old alike. 4) Accompanying psychological and spiritual development by raising one's self-awareness and overall level of consciousness. 5) Self-defence skills effective for women and men well into old age through power that is accessible and useable by advanced students. 6) A fascinating education in one of the most comprehensive Chinese martial 'arts' (and attendant philosophy) ever created.

This may sound a lot. It is - so, not surprisingly, you need a competent teacher trained in the authentic Yang style. Classes in Authentic Yang style T'ai Chi are currently enrolling for beginners at the TBC. For more information and free information package contact Roger at 46597760.

T'ai Chi Good for Injuries (15/10/01):

The Stages of Tai Chi (18/10/01):

At the moment we have people at three different stages in our school. There are beginners who are learning how do standing qigong, also known as zhan zhuang (pile stance), and the form. The standing qigong builds up your qi and opens up the acupuncture pathways in the body. The form is like moving qigong it circulates the qi through the pathways further opening up the pathways and training the qi circulation for self-defense applications. Within months the beginners are reporting improved blood circulation and have demonstrably improved in their posture, coordination and relaxed movement.

The people at the intermediate stage are just finishing the yin/yang form. This teaches you to clearly differentiate the movements that collect or gather qi (yin) and those that discharge it (yang). It is said that this form is the gateway to the true Yang family style form. They are also beginning to learn pushing hands. This balances the solo activity of the form by allowing you to test the structure and stability of your postures by having a partner push on you.

The advanced students are learning what we call the 'spiral qi form' or the 'open and close form' and 'centre move form'. This teaches you how to optimise the use of your body so as to be able to discharge energy from whole-body movements that are incredibly powerful. They are also learning how to use this power for self-defense and soon will be going on to more advanced forms of pushing hands and learning the taiji sword form. Classes are recruiting at the moment; if you're interested in joining please contact us on 48097760 or our website at www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba (free information package available).

Tai Chi's Intrinsic Strength (25/10/01):

If the body's posture adheres to certain structural principles it has an intrinsic strength. This inner strength derives from the fact that the channels of qi energy flow are open, according to traditional tai chi explanations. If the posture is incorrect they are blocked and the posture is not intrinsically strong. The intrinsic strength is readily apparent because although the body is relaxed and loose with no external tensile strength being used it can withstand being pushed on strongly and has a natural resiliency. If you tense up or fight back with muscular strength the posture collapses and can't withstand the push. In an authentic school of Yang family t'ai chi like ours this can and is demonstrated from day one. Our new students are discovering this already and find it quite amazing.

Yang Cheng-fu, the founder of the modern Yang family style, said if you did a whole taiji form without correct postural principles it was not real taiji; he said, one posture from the form done correctly was a more real form of taiji. In fact, although the different styles of taiji (like Yang, Chen, Wu and Sun) have very different forms and look different they all have a common set of postural principles at their core. So testing these postural principles has always been an important part of authentic taiji. Yet many popular schools of tai chi know nothing about it. I have for a while been thinking running some weekend workshops on posture testing for experienced taiji practitioners and instructors. If you are interested in this, or joining the school (which is recruiting at the moment) please ring us now on 46597760 or visit our website at www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba, for a free information package

The Wonder of Tai Chi (4/02):

In our school, where we teach the classical Yang style of t'ai chi ch'uan (taijiquan) the authentic family way, a group of intermediate students have just finished learning the form. Their posture, coordination and gracefulness have increased noticeably. They all report that the standing qigong and form training has had an effect on them (one of them said he doesn't shout at his children as much!). It's taken them about six months to learn the form.

Next they are about to go back over the form and correct it and learn the yin/yang form. Traditionally this form is known as the gateway to the Yang family secrets of t'ai chi. It breaks the postures up into those that collect or gather qi and those that release it. It is very compressive and expansive and helps to drive the qi around the pathways in the body. So it's very good for your health. The yin postures tend to be those going downwards, backwards and inwards and the yang those that go up, forward and outward. Also a lot of emphasis is placed on loosening and using the hip and waist area of the body, which connects the upper and lower body, in this form.

This moves the students nearer to moving their whole body from the centre. Next they'll learn the open/close and centre move form, which completes the training in how to use the natural spiral force or jin of the body. Tai chi is a wonderful life-long form of training that naturally and systematically yields good health, a fascinating study and self-defence skills good for men and women alike into old age. If you're interested in reading more of these articles you can do so on our website. At the moment we are about to start a new round of beginners, so if you're interested hurry and contact us now on 0410608791 or www.fwbo.org.au/toowoomba (free information package available). We're also thinking of starting classes in simplified tai chi, which will be less challenging than the classic approach and shorter but can also act as an introduction to the classic training; let us know if you're interested.