my 20061106 entry continued

Others books that I have read are in the last few years are:

TAI CHI The Supreme Ultimate by Robert Galante, Weiser, ISBN 0-87728-497-0
From p. 89: "The Solo Form presented in this book is the 'short' Yang style as taught to me by Grand Master Cheng Man-ch'ing"

T'AI CHI Classics, trans with commentary by Waysun Liao, Shambhala, ISBN 1-57062-749-5
From p.95: "The T'ai Chi Form originated as the thirteen postures of meditation. these are the eight postures, or directions- ... - in combination with the five different ways to maneuvre the eight meditative postures ..."

Cheng Tzu's Thirteen Treatises on T'ai Chi Ch'uan, by Cheng Man Ch'ing, North Atlantic Books, ISBN 0-938190-45-8
From p. 91: " 'I'm not a meat rack; why do you hang on my body?' "

There Are No Secrets, by Wolfe Lowenthal, North Atlantic Books, ISBN 1-55643-112-0
From p. 61: "Mastery of the art of Tai Chi Chuan is difficult; one of the functions of push hands is to remind us of how far we have to go."

The Tao Of Health and Longevity, by Da Liu, Marlowe & Co., ISBN 1-56924-718-8
From p.52: "Each of the individual movements has a potential use for self-defense, and some are named after this use. Other are named after the movement of animals that they imitate."

"En los árboles canta el viento" : Federico García Lorca

flowers open
days grow
sun-heat again feels good

in our classes we always have a vase of flowers

present scheme of work

3 short forms each day, alternately left-hand side and right-hand side. First, a wake-up one, da capo, followed by a long slow one, adagio, this one is still my most difficult to practise, and then, my favourite, fast and cheerful, allergo. Now, I can look forward to my breakfast because I've made a start.

who maintain the Tao do not want to be full

"Chapter 15

In ancient times, those who were well educated were in communion with heaven, and were subtle, profound, mysterious and penetratingly wise.
Their depth was unfathomable.
Because of this, they appeared reluctant, hesitant, like one wading across a stream in winter;
Wary, as if there were dangers on all four sides;
Solemn, as if a guest;
Yielding, like ice on the verge of melting;
Pure, like uncarved wood;
Broad and expansive, like a valley;
Chaotic, like muddy water.

Who can still muddy water and gradually make it become clear?
Who can make the still gradually become alive through activity?
Those who maintain the Tao do not want to be full.
Just because they are not full they can avoid wearing out and being replaced. "

from
http://www.terebess.hu/english/tao/tamgibbs.html

written published sources

The five main written published sources in the last nine years are in the order I read them over about that time span are:

1 Tai Chi by Paul Tucker, Lorenz Books, ISBN 1-85967-503-4
2 Principles of Tai Chi by Paul Brecher, Thorsons, ISBN 0-7225-3474-4
3 T'ai-Chi, The "Supreme Ultimate" Exercise for Health, Sport, and Self-Defense by Cheng Man-ch'ing and Robert W. Smith, Tuttle & Co., ISBN 0-8048-0560-1
4 The Tai Chi Book by Robert Chuckrow, YMAA Publication Center, ISBN 1-88696-64-7
5 T'ai Chi Ch'uan Ta Wen by Chen Wei-Ming, North Atlantic Books, ISBN 0-938190-67-9

They all helped me at the stage I first read them, the last three in particular are still referred to regularly.

Need for Homework

You have to understand a field well before you develop a good nose for what needs fixing. You have to do your homework. See this article

El lugar y el momento es ahora

Short Form (LHS), GuardianSalutations 1 to 4 and Heart salutations are mostly what I work on alone.

A little more on Figures-of-8

Figures-of-8 have expanded quite a bit since the last time. 2 hands simultaneously describe figures-of-8 in a vertical plane, starting with palms up(say) in front of the the tantien or heart area, the top half reaching out and up for the heavens energy bringing it down through your head and the bottom half reaching down and out to take in earths energy, and then up through your coccyx.

Further expansion of this is when we describe a similar figure-of-8 in a horizontal plane, reaching out around the person in front and coming back through his/her heart to your own, and then continuing through to reach behind and gather the energy from the guardian and bring that back to your own heart.

Finally, we want to emit this to the partner(person in front) ...

Figures-of-8 with palm up & Figures-of-8 with palm down

I am now practicing 4 figures-of-8 with my teacher and fellow classmates. Two with palm up and two with palm down.

The palm up is where we began, at heart height, leading originally with the thumb. So, RH would go anticlockwise, following the thumb up and over the top "circle" of the eight at head height, down to starting position between "circles", thumb now pointing R, palm up and then continuing down to the R around the lower "circle" at tan tien height and on back to the starting position.

LH is similar starting clockwise outwards and upwards, and ...

Another RH one is to begin palm up and leading with pinkie-finger, anticlockwise, inwards and downwards to bottom and back to starting position between "circles", and the clockwise upwards to top and back to the starting position.

LH is similar, starting clockwise inwards and downwards, and ...


Palm Down. First, here is the hardest one. Leading with the thumb, inwards and upwards clockwise to the top, continuing around and down to starting position between "circles", and then down anticlockwise to the bottom and around to the starting position.

LH is similar, starting anticlockwise upwards to top, thumb now pointing L, around and down to starting position between "circles", and then down clockwise to the bottom and around to the starting position.

Much easier is the last one; RH, palm down, following pinkie, lead off outwards, downwards clockwise and back to starting position between "circles", and the anticlockwise outwards and upwards to top and around to starting position.

LH is similar ...

Every Which Way

I'll need everything I have, intellectually, emotionally and physically, to come up with the burst of energy to accomplish a new skill or take in that new lesson.

To know what I'm capable of constant challenge is needed, so that the form must get deeper and on top of the basics I must add more twists and turns that bring me into the form more and more.

Verve VE-R-VE Verve

I was in Barcelona recently and saw this beautiful picture by Matisse. It's gouache and paper cut-outs work done in 1943 measuring approximately 71 cm by 38 cm. Verve IV it's called. I like the hearts working, the dancing and the movement. Great picture to express the joy and movement of tai chi.

I'm back to Long Form again, and salutations and figures-of -eight.

winter work

Now that the evenings here are getting ever so slightly longer, despite the mornings getting later still, it is time to consolidate and practice the basics. Forms, partner work, figure-of-eights are the order of the day. It's months since I last did a long form, which I last did on a daily basis in June. The contrast between then, in Spain, at 07:00 at 24ºC and here now, where even at noon in the garage on a good temperature day, the temperature rarely gets to comforable is only one excuse. However, it's not all bad - good work is being done.

Daily Routine

I've established a routine of 3 short forms and the warm-up exercises. Yesterday, I did 3 left-siders; today, I'll do 3 right-siders. Along with that, I do some figure-of 8 work all the time; hands, feet, arms, waist and shoulders. Also, now refining the salutations.

Today's Overt Work

Half an hours warm-ups to begin with. There is a good description of these at http://www.thetaichicentre.co.uk/resources.html.

Later, 3 short-forms with ankle and leg weights on, to make me more involved and deliberate. I'm thinking about Fair Lady Works at Shuttles and how it works as an application. I saw a good description today at http://www.gilmanstudio.com/OnLine_Class/Lesson66.htm. I bought an adjustable ankle/wrist weights today to get a bit more sensitivity into my work with weights.

The third half-hour will be devoted to figure-of-eight work. Then tomorrow, off to my teacher for some more figure-of-eight work and partner work. I'll confer on Fair Lady Works at Shuttles which I'm teaching next week.

Brush Right Knee and Push, Brush Left Knee and Punch Down

Tonight's lesson for me to give. Funny, when about to tell someone else how to do a posture, despite knowing what to do, I feel the need to check with someone or some text, just to be sure. So, here goes.
Then onto some figure-of-eights and heartwork, a follow up to last Sunday's work and a look ahead to next weekend's intensive.
Time to go time.

MDCCCLXVI

Hands and feet are extensions of the heart, they "breathe" as the heart does, they open to grasp and close to expel. The grasp can be with the tigers mouth or with the little finger side, with the thumb, index finger or middle or "ring" or little finger or each one in turn as you practise.

accept it and live up to it

I saw a very agreeable post (from whence i get my title) in another blog today, with a very interesting quote from Buddha. So, I looked it up, and found another interesting one:

To keep the body in good health is a duty otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.

Buddha (563 BC - 483 BC)

Any taichiheartworker would agree. I have walked to work for the last 8 days as well, and hope to continue ...

Floating

Floating violates T'ai Chi Ch'uan. My thought for today, arising out of Wednesday's night practice where I found myself floating while trying to concentrate on the legs during partner work. I had no problem with the attention in the arms, but as soon as I moved it to the legs, there I was, floating.

So my objective has to be to regain my root.

Pliability

"Those who are pliable and weak are alive and those who are hard and strong are dead." << Lao-Tzu

I have practised T'ai Chi Ch'uan for almost 8 years. It has developed from Cheng Man Ch'ing short form to Ta Lu to Short form let-side to Long Form. Figure-of-eight work led to heartwork, which is what I'm working at presently.