First - My apologies for the VERY late Post..... right around the 1st of July, I got caught up in another adventure.. Read next months post... Its a thriller... and I forgot (yep, thats right!) to post this. Next Months, will be up on time. Promise.
Second... Tai Chi - Very cool. I highly encourage you to try this form of 'moving meditation'. Its good for every age, physical condition.
Thanks for Reading!!!
Dave
*********************************************
I guess word is getting around that I'm always willing to try something new cause I was recently invited by friends Matt and Tamis to join them in a Tai Chi class. Tai Chi is a form of martial arts that dates back thousands of years. The art is handed down from teacher to student unchanged over and over again.
My Teacher at the Spotsylvania YMCA was Rob Petit. He can trace the lineage of his Tai Chi education back through his teachers as far back as 1924. And those had been taught by others who could be traced back for lifetimes.
In these thousands of years the basic movements have not changed. The art of Tai Chi Emphasizes softness, stating that a rigid form in combat is actually more brittle than one that flows from movement to movement and then uses the opponent’s energy against them. This form was initially taught in secrecy only to family members.
Our class started outside on a Sunday afternoon. We started with some basic warm-ups and then moved onto a Qigong (Key-gong) exercise with the intent of centering our energy and breath. We did something called “reeling silk”. Standing with a semi-wide squatting stance, arms held sideways about chest high, hands cupped as if I were holding a ball; Rob instructed me to move my hands and arms sideways as if I were moving that ball from one side of my body to the other. Breathing in while moving to one side and out while moving to the other. I was to lead this movement with my hips. To emphasize this point, Rob told the group “your hips are the commander”. I suspect he was trying to get a greater point across having more to do with true martial arts than my hips.
Rob teaches the “Sun” form of Tai Chi which involves 98 movements. The movements simulate a defensive posture awaiting an attack from a would be offender. Motions are tied together in a free flowing dance anticipating each attack and then responding with a block and subsequent attack. Using Tai Chi for the health benefits each move is done very slowly emphasizing its beauty. Speeded up it is a considered a full on martial art.
You have to understand. I can’t even line dance. I happen to know that most small children are able to Macarena right out of the womb, but not me. So for me to try to follow these steps and channel my energy into any form other than frustration was extremely difficult. The regulars in the class intently focused on the transition from movement to movement. There I was doing a stilted version of Ballet. I finally understood what my son was going through in the Karate class I had enrolled him in when he was five. I was embarrassed by him way back then, but now I fully understand. Shane, I offer a public apology 17 years late.
The second part of the class involved a broad sword called a Dao. I learned that an adrenaline rush right into the veins of manhood can be achieved just by putting a combat weight sword into my hands. Using the sword involved a separate set of moves. These moves although flowing and rhythmic involved the thrusting, blocking and slashing of the sword. The key was to do it all in a controlled manner. Because of my inability to do this I openly expressed a concern for the safety of my class mates.
Rob went through the short form weapons training sequence with the group at first and then alone with me. While he was working with me Matt, Tamis and the others performed a two person simulated combat version of the same movements. Matt and Tamis are happily married, but I couldn’t help but imagine how this two person approach could go horribly wrong if either one of them were having a bad day.
This art can be performed by anyone. Once I learn the form, I see that it has great potential for creating calm and centering energy. I encourage anyone to try it. I plan to continue.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Tai Chi
First - My apologies for the VERY late Post..... right around the 1st of July, I got caught up in another adventure.. Read next months post... Its a thriller... and I forgot (yep, thats right!) to post this. Next Months, will be up on time. Promise.
Second... Tai Chi - Very cool. I highly encourage you to try this form of 'moving meditation'. Its good for every age, physical condition.
Thanks for Reading!!!
Dave
*********************************************
I guess word is getting around that I'm always willing to try something new cause I was recently invited by friends Matt and Tamis to join them in a Tai Chi class. Tai Chi is a form of martial arts that dates back thousands of years. The art is handed down from teacher to student unchanged over and over again.
My Teacher at the Spotsylvania YMCA was Rob Petit. He can trace the lineage of his Tai Chi education back through his teachers as far back as 1924. And those had been taught by others who could be traced back for lifetimes.
In these thousands of years the basic movements have not changed. The art of Tai Chi Emphasizes softness, stating that a rigid form in combat is actually more brittle than one that flows from movement to movement and then uses the opponent’s energy against them. This form was initially taught in secrecy only to family members.
Our class started outside on a Sunday afternoon. We started with some basic warm-ups and then moved onto a Qigong (Key-gong) exercise with the intent of centering our energy and breath. We did something called “reeling silk”. Standing with a semi-wide squatting stance, arms held sideways about chest high, hands cupped as if I were holding a ball; Rob instructed me to move my hands and arms sideways as if I were moving that ball from one side of my body to the other. Breathing in while moving to one side and out while moving to the other. I was to lead this movement with my hips. To emphasize this point, Rob told the group “your hips are the commander”. I suspect he was trying to get a greater point across having more to do with true martial arts than my hips.
Rob teaches the “Sun” form of Tai Chi which involves 98 movements. The movements simulate a defensive posture awaiting an attack from a would be offender. Motions are tied together in a free flowing dance anticipating each attack and then responding with a block and subsequent attack. Using Tai Chi for the health benefits each move is done very slowly emphasizing its beauty. Speeded up it is a considered a full on martial art.
You have to understand. I can’t even line dance. I happen to know that most small children are able to Macarena right out of the womb, but not me. So for me to try to follow these steps and channel my energy into any form other than frustration was extremely difficult. The regulars in the class intently focused on the transition from movement to movement. There I was doing a stilted version of Ballet. I finally understood what my son was going through in the Karate class I had enrolled him in when he was five. I was embarrassed by him way back then, but now I fully understand. Shane, I offer a public apology 17 years late.
The second part of the class involved a broad sword called a Dao. I learned that an adrenaline rush right into the veins of manhood can be achieved just by putting a combat weight sword into my hands. Using the sword involved a separate set of moves. These moves although flowing and rhythmic involved the thrusting, blocking and slashing of the sword. The key was to do it all in a controlled manner. Because of my inability to do this I openly expressed a concern for the safety of my class mates.
Rob went through the short form weapons training sequence with the group at first and then alone with me. While he was working with me Matt, Tamis and the others performed a two person simulated combat version of the same movements. Matt and Tamis are happily married, but I couldn’t help but imagine how this two person approach could go horribly wrong if either one of them were having a bad day.
This art can be performed by anyone. Once I learn the form, I see that it has great potential for creating calm and centering energy. I encourage anyone to try it. I plan to continue.
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