Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

Hi Audi and others, I’m enjoying reading your discussions of the jins—I’m learning a lot. DP, I wrote most of this just before you posted your message about Lie, so some of it is similar. Audi, you asked: <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font fac...

Hi CFTC, <font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"> Li (rollback) and Lieh (split). </font> Oh! Of course…I’d forgotten Lu could be spelled Li, and usually hear the word “split” instead of “Lieh” and when it is used, my ear has difficulty deciphering that one. Thanks for your explanat...

Hi Audi, Sorry for messing with your head! http://www.yangfamilytaichi.com/ubb/smile.gif [QUOTE]<B> "spring"... is the likely definition you will find in a dictionary for the original Chinese word quan2. Another word that appears often is "fountain." Now, I recognize that the Eng...

Hi Audi, No apology necessary! I too struggle with the public/private format and did not even think that your comment was aimed at me. I thought that your caveat about not taking footwork requirements too literally was a good one and meant to support it. Tone can be difficult on the Internet. When I...

Hi Audi, <font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"> Kal, I liked your points and they inspire me to pose a question about how to describe what "shoulder width apart" means. I find that beginners often seem to have trouble applying this to a Bow Stance. </font> Thanks. I agre...

Hi Bamboo Leaf, Thanks for your insights about fear and unease. I agree that smiling and generally conveying warmth, openness, and an interest in sharing is a good way to put people at ease and show a good spirit for practice. There is one instance in which it has the opposite effect, however. I thi...

Hi Jerry, I like to start beginners out with relentless drilling in footwork: all the requirements for toe position, loading weight into the feet, knee position and alignment, rounded kua. I think many people are too head-oriented, spending their days sitting and thinking and talking, and that payin...

Thanks Bamboo Leaf and CFTC for your excellent responses. I hope to have time for a longer response later in the week. For, now I am catching up at work.

Kal

Hi CFTC, Can you explain what Li and Lieh are, please? Maybe I have seen them, but I don't know these words. Thanks for the pointer about the elbows--perhaps tai chi people are lazy about guarding the elbow because few people think about attacking with it until they are trained to do so. We practice...

Hi Bob, I’m glad to know that it’s not unheard of for women to be good at push hands. It’s not something I really see in tai chi literature, magazines, etc. Does anyone know of any books or essays that talk about women doing push hands? Maybe the women who do practice don’t talk about it much, or do...

Yes, they were very strong and very fast, but had a tendency to over-commit which allowed me to borrow their strength and momentum when I was able to stick to their leading 4 oz. Also, once they'd "struck" (we were only pushing, not striking) they didn't come back as fast so there were gap...

Hi all, Jerry—I think part of difference between hsing-i and tai chi may be something of an apples and oranges divide. B.K. Frantzis had some interesting things to say about the differences in martial philosophy and outlook. On hsing-i: "Hsing-i focuses on the direct approach, on being aggressi...

Hi Bamboo Leaf and CheeFattTaiChi, Thank you both very much for your responses! Thanks for the story about the samurai swordsman and the tea master. The more I study, the more I understand that enlightenment, compassion, love, morality, and virtue are part of what's possible from the dedicated study...

We had a practice in a park here in Seattle. There was a downpour, so we holed up under a large covered area and did the long form, sword, saber, and push hands. Many of the attendees were beginning students who's never seen the weapons or push hands before, so it was fun to share that with them. Th...

CFTC, I really liked that description of inner worlds that you related and also the clarity of the example you provided. I'm still learning to stay calm. Do you have any suggestions for this? When people have heightened emotions and are going into survival mode I have a hard time not getting pulled ...