Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

OK... I guess I didn't realize the depth of feelings involved with this discussion. Let's step back a bit. Pushing hands is a skill that cannot be described to someone and then VIOLA! they can just do it, it can only be learned through constant, and hands on, practice. So we are not going to be able...

I am most definitely not qualified to even begin to render an opinion on physics. What I know about physics would fit in a thimble and leave enough room for it to rattle around if you shook it. However, is there not a line in the Classics of TCC that, after translation to English, states, "Use ...

You are born possessing this energy, it is life itself. After that you have to obtain it from the food you eat, the water you drink, the air you breath, and the light you absorb through your skin form the sun and the moon. There are many names for it, so call it what you want; Chi, Jing, Shen, Jings...

(moved this reply from where I posted it incorrectly) GVI, All the "uses" you listed for the hook hand are things it can be used for. There are many other uses for the hook hand as well. My favorite use for the hook hand (Traditional Yang Family version) is for neutralization. I teach this...

My apologies, somehow I posted here when I intended to post on an entirely different thread.
Nothing to see here now, move along.

GVI, When I have enough students to do so I also run my classes in a similar manner as you describe. First we all do form work to relax and open. Then I work with the beginners while the more advanced students work together. Once I have the beginners moving in the correct direction then I will work ...

CD, Sort of like the question, "Which came first? Chicken or egg?" :lol: With Taiji we actually have an answer though: First there is Wuji, then Taiji Inside Taiji, which comes first? Yin or Yang? My reply to this query is always the same: Neither. Yin cannot exist without Yang, Yang canno...

I kept feeling like I forgot something... and I did. Fchai, A good catch on the 'floating' sensation comment. That's what I found the most disconcerting. I felt nearly unable to root after that type of training. That kind of freaked me out, to be honest, after so much time spent training rooting. Ho...

Fchai, Mindful core stability is one of the greatest advantages of TCC training. It is what keeps us from falling anywhere near as often as others and, even when we do fall, allows us to do so without anywhere near as much fear of injury. It also allows us to move with the grace and ease of motion t...

GVI, I have had one previous instructor who advocated wearing weighted ankle and wrist bracelets (not sure what else to call them) during form training, very similar to what you are describing. And for very much the same reasons. I found it induced and then forced me to hold too much tension to be a...

Dpasek, I have finally been able to read the article which you posted earlier. I have no issues with anything this author has printed in the article. It is a superbly written piece. His points regarding rou and gang jin are spot on in my PNSHO and help to illustrate a point that I have made ever sin...

GVI, "Didn't think about it, didn't plan it...I just did it." That's exactly how it works, eventually. That comes from repetition of practicing the form, the more times you repeat the postures in practice the more they integrate into your everyday movements. I tell my students that they wi...

Dpasek, I see, now that you've quoted me, that I left out a word: "Necessarily" Let's make that: "strengthening the flexing and extending muscles does not necessarily weaken the stabilizers" While I have no doubt that can be an effect of that kind of training I don't believe it a...

Woodenfish, Yep, that's what I said, because that's what I meant. Knowing those things wouldn't change what we do now one little bit. If that's something you're interested in I can certainly discuss that topic. What were you wanting to discuss about them? As for variations... I would recommend, high...

GVI, I will have to visit the Hobart school website from home. For some reason my company restricts access to that site. You have described a rather typical version of learning "Tai Chi" for most Americans. It's not like there's a whole lot of qualified instructors running around the stree...