Multiple Strikes in a Given Motion

Shifu offered up some useful information to me yesterday regarding one of the first striking motions of the left arm. In that motion, he told me, first you hit with the forearm, then the wrist, and finally, the hand. "Forearm, wrist, hand!"

In application, we may be dealing with someone moving forward or trying to move away.
While we may take one step in the practice of the form, sometimes we may be able to reach different targets, or subsequent targets in our application against an opponent.

To me, this was a very deep concept, that reflects the sophistication of this martial art. Originally, I thought we were just trying to look beautiful and flow, but now it is clear that the form is a true vehicle for passing on key components of fighting application and theory. The key to understanding is a great teacher and practice and insight into fighting.
J

How to Improve our Stances and Postures in the Form

There are different ways to improve our stances and postures in the Chen Tai Chi form. Each and every class, Shifu will talk about the same corrections over and over. The most difficult thing is to learn how to feel and gauge/judge our personal body awareness in space. When we are NOT sure how our alignment is, it helps to have visual cues. A large mirror comes in handy to give us immediate feedback to how we are positioned. The first thing I check is foot position. It is important to know, which direction are our toes/feet pointed in? Shifu often will say, more open here, or more closed here when looking at the feet.

There are common points of tension when we do the different motions found in the form. Neck and shoulder tension are very common. When these areas are tense, we tend to be somewhat shoulder shrugged or upwards or our head is forward. We need to look and see if we notice that we don't look natural.

Chest more open is another thing Shifu often wants us to be aware of. Sometimes, our arms are too close to the body, and that may mean that we are using the wrong muscles to do a movement; learn to relax the arms/shoulders and expand the chest to a more natural motion.

Shifu always wants us to have our hips down, and lowered. Many of us don't position our legs/hips wide enough, and then don't bend our knees outward. Some of us, like me, sometimes moves our hips/knees too wide.

If a mirror isn't available, have yourself videotaped! This way you can pause at the conclusion of every move and examine how you look. If video isn't available, use a still camera and catch the images and examine your positioning. At all times you correct yourself, try to recognize how your body is and how it feels.

You can also ask a senior student to look at your uncertain postures and ask for feedback.

Of course, asking Shifu will also give him an opportunity to give you correction and ensure that he has a chance to direct you to your best postential. Don't by shy about asking him, Shifu WANTS your skill to improve!

Chen tai chi isn't all about static postures though, alot of times, it is how we move incorrectly that causes frustration and difficulty in learning correct motion. One of the things I was taught to do was, at any given problem area, do it with the opposite foot forward and perform a given motion on BOTH sides to figure out what it is that we are trying to lean and absorb.

Those are just a few pointers. Hope that helps!!
J

"It looks too hard to do this..."

We recently had a visitor come by and after watching class for a few moments stated that the "class looks really difficult to do." Very few things that are worthwhile are easy to achieve and learn. The thing to remember is that you are not learning in a vacuum, you are not by yourself! Once you join our group, you are guided by Shifu and by the senior students.

I've mentioned it time and again, that all the senior students here are VERY warm and supportive and we all want each other to improve! Shifu is really good about repeating something over and over. He welcomes questions and works very hard to help us all improve one small step at a time. He very rarely gets impatient and is an awesome teacher.

Students have the benefit of other students having gone through similar learning difficulties at different points in the form. Me? Things go in my ear, and sometimes in a few days, i'm at a total loss for the sequence I just learned. I can honestly state that as time goes by, I recall more and more of the form and that recollection is demonstrated in class and it may seem frustrating at times, but there are different ways to measure your growth, skill level and understanding.

So, to all the potential newbies out there... sure, it may look hard to learn and achieve, but we all get better, one small step at a time. The journey is a steady one, and we all learn different things at different rates. If you join our group, I promise everyone here will help you improve!

J

Variations in how a movement may be practiced in the forms...

In class last night, one of the key points Shifu mentioned to me was that there is sometimes different variations in how we may do a move in the form. The variations are a direct result of what we have in our mind's intention for that given movement in application. The problem arises when we have a given move that may give birth to 10 or more different interpetations. When that happens, IF we only practice the form one specific way, we may remember only one given method of application. Therefore, as we mature in our practice, we may do it one way today, another way in a couple of months, another way a few months after that, etc, etc.

It boggles my mind to try to keep all the applications i've seen in my head, AND to be able to pull them out and apply them in practice.

Just got to keep on plugging away.
J

More basics...

Last night in class, Shifu went over a few basics he wanted me to work on. These basics essentially involved correct weight shift, and lumbar/hip motion. The proper alignment of the body and the arms when combined with the appropriate sequential pattern of movement results in a good throw or a good joint lock.

Another basic we went over was how to make hand contact on a limb, and then NOT losing that contact while applying torque or a change in the positioning of our limb on an opponent's to effect a throw or a lock. Shifu emphasized that there was a point in the middle of my palm that was strong, as opposed to gripping and just putting strength in my fingers to hold and control an opponent.

Then we went over yin yang theory applied to techniques.

My head is still spinning with all the techniques we went over. I know that I need to just practice daily on one of the key points regulary and I will see improvement in my Chen Tai Chi.

I also learned that the word 'kao' in chinese translates to "bump."

Hope that helps all of you!
J

Kicks in Chen Tai Chi

Many of my friends have often questioned me about my tai chi practice. "Do you do kicks?" "how hard is it to do those kicks?" "how do you kick in slow motion?" etc, etc.

Kicks have always been the bane of my martial arts existence, lol. Back in the day, when I was a teenager, learning tae kwon do, seriously... what was I thinking? Anyway, 30+ years later, and almost 150 pounds heavier than those times, the kicks haven't gotten any easier.

Shifu is very encouraging. He assures me that if I just keep at the practice, the kicks will get better. So, I stretch, and I practice, sigh...it's alot easier to practice the chan si, and the lumbar motions, lol, than it is to do the kicks, but I must remember to perservere.

Thankfully the form has less than 10 kicks in it. I think i'd rather practice jumping around and spinning 360 than do kicks, but I don't want to discourage anyone.
Every once in a while I get off a good kick that I can smile about. That helps to ease the pain of practice.

Sure hope all of you out there, can kick better than me!
J

Chi and Dan Tien... Rotation, Breath and Intention

I think that one of the biggest obstacles to learning any Kung Fu system is understanding the English translations of Chinese Terminology, and then transmitting that understanding into action and perspective.

Shifu is always talking about Chi. Chi, many of us understand is "energy," or "air." This is a term that has to be taken on faith. We all have Chi. We can circulate or "direct" chi, depending upon our ability to breathe, AND, the intention of our mind, or imagination. Shifu has told me, "the chi will go where I want it to go... we have to visualize it and then direct it."

Shifu talks about us being able to use the lumbar area, or the lumbar spine during the movements of tai chi. As I learn more about the chan si and the rotation/circling of limbs; now I also understand that we have rotation and movement of our spine as well. Different sources on the net will discuss rotation of the dan tien.

The "dan tien" can best be described as a point several inches below the navel, inside our lower abdomen, near the center between the kidneys. By shifting motion of our lumbar spine, and pelvis, and control of our abdominal muscles, we can create motion of the lumbar spine that is supposed to work in conjunction with our arms/hands and legs, too.

This implies A LOT of motion taking place in any given action found within the tai chi forms. To get the appropriate motion and timing of the sequnce of motion to cultivate proper and accurate form, and hence REAL useful and functional application in fighting, will require slow and concentrated practice. First we learn to feel the motion, we want, then we get the motion and timing down, and then, try to apply it... faster and faster without losing any of the things we now understand are supposed to be present.

Clearly this requires patient practice and steady practice over time. I believe that gross motor movements can be learnt quickly and be applicable in very short time of training; however, to really master the motions and apply sequences in their entirety at speed, well, that may take quite a long while.

First we learn the terms. We familiarize ourselves with what the terms mean. We learn to control those aspects of our bodies, and then we apply them to practice. Then we apply them in our forms practice, and finally, we learn to apply all in a given moment's time.

We can do it!! Tai chi isn't magic, although it is magical. There is a science, there is an applicability we can and will learn.
J

A pic of some of the 'guys' from class. Here we were all gathered for a New Year's celebration with Shifu. It was a great time had by all. Everyone in my class is a supportive and NICE person that makes me so glad and happy to be sharing time with in class and outside, as well.
J

A teacher and his students...

In Martial Arts training, how a teacher interacts and communicates with his or her students is very important. It is a teacher's responsbility to reach out at different times to all students that are present at any given moment, whether it be in class, or at a social event or gathering.

Over the past half year, i've been so fortunate to be studying with Master Yu. In class, everyone feels comfortable asking questions, and asking Shifu to repeat a movement or repeat an explanation, or whatever. Shifu may not speak great english, but his eyes, his facial expressions and his caring are very obvious for all those that interact with him, whether it be in class or at a restaurant.

This is in marked contrast to a teacher that places him or herself on a high pedestal over his or her flock of students. On a very personal note, I've seen a well respected instructor who speaks very fluent english, choose to ignore the vast majority of students with him at a dinner table, and yes, i've also seen this same teacher ignore the masses of his students during his 'teaching' of martial art, as well.

When deciding upon a teacher of a given martial art, lineage may or may not be important to you. Master Yu's lineage is very clear and very impressive.

Looking at style and grace and presentation, is important as it gives you a clear picture or model of what you can aspire to.

Learning about how a teacher shares and interacts with his students will give you an idea of what you may expect in terms of being able to approach the teacher and ask for guidance or instruction. Master Yu truly shines in all of these different arenas.

I admit, i'm biased. I look forward to every encounter with Shifu. Each class, I hunger to train hard, to sweat, to get tired, and to try and do my best under Shifu's watchful eye. I know from speaking to other newbies in class, and my seniors, that i'm far from the only one who feels this passion and desire to grow and do well in class, under Shifu's tutelage.

I really wish more people would come to class and expose themselves to training with Shifu. I really believe you'd be giving yourself a gift that you can enjoy over and over again, and help enrich the passion you may already have for a great and happy life, that can ONLY get better with training in Chen Tai Chi.

Early Morning Thoughts

Don't know why, but I was literally up at the break of dawn today. After my thoughts of my ex-girlfriend, I immediately thought about my Chen training. As I looked out the window, I couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness thinking about all the years and time I had spent practicing other forms of tai chi in the early morning while believing alot of the crap that had been fed to me over the years. I remember the stuff about facing the east to absorb the energy of the rising sun, and how regular practice of the form would help my health and physique, and how, it (meaning other forms of tai chi practice I had trained in) would be useful for self defense application.

Very frankly, there is an awful lot of bunk out there being tossed around.

My very good friend, Chris, he used to say that, "we can't blame teachers for not teaching stuff they don't know!" Sure, sure, but I always felt that teachers have a responsibility for learning all they can about their given art, otherwise, don't teach!

Each lesson, I watch Shifu teach, and then demonstrate the meaning of a given move. There is no warm up to his demonstration, there is no slow rehearsal and timing practiced with his partner, just "ok, like this, watch!" And bingo, bodies are flying, limbs are locked up, and students are moving around like caught fish. It's kind of funny actually...

Based on what Shifu has taught me in class, I have been working on actually applying Chen Tai Chi. Shifu told me, each move of the form will have the basics for you to practice. As an example, in the second movement of the form, we have the development of skills to: how to begin grabbing an opponent's arm, and points of control, such as the wrist and elbow. We have escapes off an opponent's grabbing our two or single wrists. We have a release and ward off of a push. There is a warding off of an incoming punch, grabbing and throwing down. There is an arm lock with circular motion using one's elbow to force an opponent down, in preparation for a variety of strikes, and there is a leg sweep, or leg/kick/destruction along side the warding off of a punch. Also, analysis of the form and the application of the above techniques will help in developing the correct footwork and adjust of body position relative to an opponent's position and approach offensively.

That's a real lot of stuff in one darn move no kidding. No BS. I can apply all those. I have been getting partners to work on those things.

When speaking with Shifu, I am constantly reminded of how grateful I am for his teaching. He really just wants all of his students to be as good as they can be.

He was telling me, that for many people it is important to learn Kung Fu basics. It is certainly possible to get good solely practicing Chen Tai Chi, but clearly he felt that basics are not emphasized enough in most people's training. He recommended that if you are working solely on the movements of the form, to take a given movement and work the aspects of that movement in repetition over and over to make that an accomplished skill.

Anyway, hope that helps!! Chen tai chi is ultra cool. I can't express enough, how happy I am to have found the wonderful people of my class and my Shifu. No BS being tossed about here, just real Kung Fu training by a teacher with integrity.
J

Meaning and Significance of Pictures

The other night, Shifu and I were discussing ideas for logo design.
I mentioned snakes and cranes, as I had thought from my classes, what I was seeing was a combination of snake characteristics, and the movements of a crane flapping its wings.
Shifu grinned, and he said, no, and he laughed. Instead, he drew the yin yang symbol.

Ok, I thought, so I said, "relative opposites, ying and yang? Right?"

He said, "actually, it's two fish!"

Aha!
I always wondered how that symbol came to be. Apparently the dot is the eye... No, Shifu didn't say that, THAT is My presumption.
J

Demonstration Form vs Practice Form

I was first drawn to Shifu's class watching him perform on youtube. In the early going during my first few months of class, being able to watch and refer back to that youtube clip helped me learn and reinforce the form training for me. It wasn't long before I realized that the demonstration form was different than the way we practiced it in class.

I asked Shifu about the difference. He told me that when doing the form for a demonstration, we often work on flow and fluidity, and making it look good. The form we do for practice will go into much more specific details and the movements are done for practice of application process and training.

As time goes on, I've watched Shifu also demonstrate how we can progress certain movements and transitions, from the most basic of footwork, to a different emphasis on foot placement and timing of landing, up to a level of slight jumps and leaps.

Each progression is slightly more challenging and each variation is one that is always practical and functional in its purpose.

Truly, learning Chen Tai Chi is a process, the more time and more effort we put into learning and growing, the more the reward and the benefit of our training.
J

Watch Me Now, We do Serious...

I never got tired of watching Shifu demonstrate something in class. Since I began my training with Shifu, I have heard him say the above statement each and every class, he goes, "watch me now, we do this serious..." and then he moves very deliberately and slowly through a move or a sequence of movements.

What I find useful is to examine things he does in a sequence... how does Shifu move his feet, what is the timing between the foot contact and the movement of his arms...how are his arms placed at different times during the movement, how do the hands actually move, and finally, how does he move his spine or body throughout the movement?

Thankfully, Shifu will demonstrate something he feels important several times to us. Each time I try really hard to remember everything I see, I try to file away all the pertinent data I collect as he does the movement.

Some of the key things i've learnt about how Shifu will move his arms/hands are:
is he touching his body with one or both hands, does the whole hand and wrist touch, what is the distance of the elbow from the body, how close are my hands to my head, etc, etc. Today, I noticed and heard Shifu talk about chest and shoulder expansion, and how THAT moved the hand/elbow, it was NOT an elbow driven motion, but one that was driven by the shoulder/chest! Subtle difference, but one has significantly more power and strength inherent in the strike!

It is amazing to me how I have watched as closely as I can in class, trying to catch everything, and i've seen him do these moves over and over again, yet... as time goes on, I seem to notice More and More things with moves I thought I had already gotten! Dang. Just keep an open eye, and an open mind, and KEEP watching like a hawk.

Together we'll all improve... one day at a time!
J

Getting Tired and Winded During the Long Form

I felt and sounded like Darth Vader today while doing my form in class. I am approaching the entire form now, and I puff, and wheeze and struggle as I hit the low stances, and move and kick and do things that are not natural to my body.

Shifu told me today, that the first half of my form was ok. But the second half, I began to rush and move too quickly. He said that actually it is better to slow down and try to relax more, to move more naturally during the practice of the second half of the form to better and more accurately do the practice.

He said that as we tire, our chi goes higher up in the chest. We need to try and relax and allow the chi to drop lower. Relax the upper body, the chest and the shoulders; breathe more naturally.

I need to continually remind myself to relax and slow down.
J

How to Turn, or Go from One Position to the Next

Today, in class, Shifu emphasized to us the need to adjust the pivot or anchor foot, prior to moving the body, along with movement of the arms.

Shifu stated the ability to pivot or adjust the feet is one of the reasons for the differences in weight distribution during the stance phases.

As we move from one position to the next, we must not lose the opportunity for Chan Si if it exists.
J

Promoting Chen Tai Chi -- Some great help!

It isn't easy to promote a school here in NYC without having to spend exorbitant amounts of money usually. Very recently I had the wonderful pleasure of working with a terrific lady, Megan, of buildasign.com.

If you are looking to have a sign made up for a personal reason/gift/support idea, or for a business, you really need to check out her website.

I used to own and operate my own personal Karate/Martial arts school, and remember the hundreds of dollars I had spent on decals and promotional ideas, which weren't half as nice and no where near the inexpensive costs found on Megan's site. Plus, she was always very pleasant and thoughtful and awesome with her advice, too. Good customer service, we can never put a price on.

In the meantime, Shifu and I are working on some more ideas to make things happen positively. We feel pretty confident that with Megan's help, we will succeed!
http://buildasign.com

Escaping Grabs and Counters

In class yesterday, Shifu was demonstrating to me, how we can uselessly use strength and flail wildly to try and escape, or how we can merely learn to relax and then just seek the one angle of escape where with a minimum of effort we can escape and counter. Shifu demonstrated that from a variety of grabs and holds along different areas.

Shifu then demonstrated how important the use of spiral action is, by merely moving the opposite hand (if not grabbed or held) in assisting escapes and releases.

There are such fine subtleties that are to be learned. Shifu continues to emphasize that as we learn the correct detail of EVERY move in the form, and then we learn how to apply those movements, that there are certain things to always consider in the doing. Using external force and strong muscular contraction isn't one of those things.

Sounds confusing, I know. I hate not being able to be more exact in my descriptions, but somethings really just need to be seen and felt.
J

Saturday Classes on 26th Street...

Last Saturday Master Yu Guo Shun began teaching classes on 26th street. It's a very nice location. If you'd like to come by and watch class, or wish to begin on Saturdays, you can do so.

The address is:

151 West 26th Street
5th floor
Manhattan

Hope to see some of you there!
J

Relax, Slow Down... Let the Chi sink down

I have a very bad habit in class of moving too quickly through the different movements of the form. Moving quickly isn't a good thing for several reasons when one is a beginner; first off, there is so much detail in every aspect of every motion, chances are good, that if you are moving too quickly, you may be sloppy or not paying attention to finer points. The other thing is, the lao jia yi lu form has 74 movements, chances are very good that you'll be very tired or exhausted completing the form.

Sometimes, when we are moving quickly, we are not completing body turns, or we are using mostly arm/hand motion which brings the chi upwards. With the chi shifting upwards we become easily off balanced, and we are not using the appropriate body mechanics.

Many of the movements need quite a bit of body turn to support the motion of the arms and as we turn and sink down, we then learn how to use appropriate body mechanics for things like throws and take downs.

J

Being Sick... Missing Class

Last week, I missed class because my body felt terrible and there was just no way to get out of bed and drag myself over to class. Then, the weather was very bad, and I had to miss yet another class. I was rapidly going through class withdrawal...

As each week goes by, I recognize that mindlessly going over the form over and over will have little beneficial effect. Shifu is always talking about intention and being serious.
He also insists that we try to do the form in a "natural" way, meaning that we don't force ourselves to drop into too deep a stance, or make stances too wide, unless we can sustain those positions with somewhat relative ease.

What I did this past week was to work on a few motions that were giving me difficulty in class. Examples are standing on one leg, in different motions, and trying to do some strength building at home working on lower stances, trying to hold them lower and longer and gain comfort in these positions with my knees/hips/quads, etc..

At work I sit at a desk, and during a few breaks, would work on my hand/arm spiraling motions, trying to understand the function, trying to make them smoother and easier.

Clearly, improvement in the art will be improved by going to class. But there is much work to be done when not in class that will be supportive and aid in one's development of skill, strength and application.
J