by Admin | Sep 26, 2012 | history and philosophy, musings, Tai Chi
I’ve been asked this question often: Why study Tai Chi? What’s the point of dedicating countless hours to a practice that brings no obvious benefits beyond what you would get from a yoga class or a mild exercise routine. It’s a fair question. And I think most of us...
by Admin | Sep 8, 2012 | history and philosophy, Tai Chi
The Cultural Revolution created a massive break in Chinese culture. From then on there was a Before and After when talking about Chinese culture. The last 50 years have been an attempt to rediscover traditional Chinese culture. Thankfully China has been a literate...
by Admin | Sep 6, 2012 | history and philosophy, Tai Chi
There are many stories on the origins of Tai Chi, most of which try to link the modern forms to some ancient source. But there are a few, more recent, events that are perhaps more relevant. All modern Tai Chi has been impacted by two major events: The fall of the Qing...
by Admin | Jul 31, 2012 | Tai Chi
The Chinese divide fighting techniques into four categories: hand attacks (fists, elbows, push…), feet attacks (kicks, knees,…), wrestling (throws, grappling) called Shuai Jiao, and joint locks (or Qin Na). These are broad categories that are common to ALL...
by Admin | Jul 18, 2012 | Tai Chi
A core idea of Taoism is the concept of Sancai, or the trinity of the universe. The number three reflects the generating power, the imbalance of forces needed to move forward. In the Tao Te Ching we see: The Tao gives birth to One. One gives birth to Two. Two...
by Admin | Jun 18, 2012 | 13 postures, Tai Chi, Uncategorized
Another core idea is that one uses: Circles to Deflect, Squares to Attack This means that moves that are considered offensive will follow straight lines. Moves that are defensive will be circular. Defensive Moves are Ward Off and Roll Back. These two moves are...
