A Form for Basics...Practicing Left and Right Sides

Yesterday, Memorial Day, Shifu began showing us a Form that he had developed specifically for the practice of "kung fu basics." Apparently, this was the form he had shown and done for a demonstration a couple of years ago for the Tai Chi day demonstration. The highlights of this form are that it is done to improve the student's ability to use techniques on both sides of the body, the left as well as the right. The applications shown for the form are very straight forward and they were meant to also help the student recall and remember the form as well.

I enjoyed learning this form quite a bit. I also gathered from this experience that it is a good idea to recall and practice all the different forms Shifu shows us periodically so we don't forget them, these in addition to the four classical forms we normally practice in class.

Shifu on Sunday, had spent time explaining to us the Kung Fu, meant work or practice done over an extended period of time. Repitition and correct practice is the way to develop skill and competency; to strive to make the motions we do and practice natural and agile. Once we have the motions then we also combine them with appropriate footwork applications.

J

Last Week's Log

Here is a pic of last week's log. Happy to say, I did do 5.5 hours of Chen Tai Chi training (not counting weapons). Disappointed that I didn't make 3 sessions of calisthenics, but did do 2.

Frankly, I feel a bit burnt having gone to class on 3 successive days, but I intend to do a light practice later today (already was good and did calisthenics this morning, yay!) and then take a break from class today and see my girl later. I will post more on this past weekend's classes probably tomorrow.
J

More on the Core

Boy, this was a tough weekend. Memorial day weekend here in NYC, it was hot and humid and I really had to push myself to do 2 hours of class on Saturday, 2 hours on Sunday and then 2 hours on Monday!!

I did manage to do a bit of Chen on Friday, an hour, and then I did do my calisthenics.
A new one I added is pictured above; the side plank. I was straining with this one, so did not complete the raised hip motion, but rather focused on the starting position and sustaining it for sets of 20-30 seconds.
J

Improving Core Strength

Well, I was good last night, and started my calisthenic routine as I had hoped to do. Following my stretching, I decided to focus on some core activity. The core refers to all the muscles that are on the torso, that support and control movement of the spine and pelvis. Strength here is critical in order that we can sustain better posture, move/kick better, jump better and higher and often these muscle groups are not targeted sufficiently in exercising. For sure it works... this morning, I feel the strain of my ex's yesterday.

Pictured above is the 'plank' exercise with hip extension... we first begin in the regular plank starting position, then, gently try to extend first one hip upwards/lower and repeat, and then perform it on the opposite side. I found this one surprisingly difficult! I performed 3 sets of this exercise in addition to a few others designed to target hip/knee flexion to improve my knee strikes in application.

I'll be posting more of what i'm doing as adjunct training to improve my Chen Tai Chi training.
J

Simple Training Log

To ensure that I can make my goal that I set up in the earlier post, I have made a very simple training log, meant to be tracked on a weekly basis. Note that I added in cardio, in addition to working on Chen forms and weapons forms. I'm being optimistic lol, my goal as described earlier was just to get additional stretching and calisthenics in to improve my overall conditioning, so that is what I will focus on; however, i'll have the cardio option to monitor as well.

I'll be posting my progress on the blog for all to see.

Wish me luck! Maybe, if you're out of shape, too, you'll consider following my plan!
J

Lacking Energy

I look forward to my private training with Shifu a lot. So I would like to think that yesterday, being the warmest day of the season thus far had something to do with my early fatigue setting in, but I have to be honest, the truth is, I need to be in better shape! The broadsword form IS a killer; but I was running out of gas 3/4 of the way through. I was physically suffering from cramps and stitches in my side, and trying very hard to endure the rest of my class, but after a couple of hours I was shot.

I've decided that I really need to up my game. My goal for the next couple of weeks is to be sure to stretch and do at least an hours worth of calisthenics (including the stretching time)at least 3 days when I am NOT in class. I'll log in and post what I had done so you all can get an idea of what I will be working on, and if you so care to follow, you can feel free to do so. And if I fail to post, please be willing to call me on it, to help keep me on track.
J

Guiding Us Through an Open Door...

This past Sunday, Shifu was taking us through basics again, through the first few motions of the Lao Jia form. He went over a few applications, and then began speaking about how he would take us through a doorway, by showing us a number of applications, and then stated that it would be up to us to continue studying and pursuing understanding to learn our own applications and meanings to the different motions of the forms.

He stated that he felt it was not unreasonable an expectation. I agree. Certainly it is good to always watch Shifu's applications, but then as students we need to apply ourselves to study and try to understand the depths of what we are given through the forms.

It is not an easy path once through the doorway, but it would be enriching for sure. Sure beats doing things over and over again for years and not having a clue as to how we are supposed to use these movements for fighting.
J

No Dead Forms, please...

One of the things I love so much about Shifu's teaching methodology is that he is always concerned whether or not the students seem to understand the point of a given technique or motion. To achieve the goal of understanding, he is willing at times to change the way in which we perform our basic practice of Lao Jia Yi Lu, to make sure we are doing a basic technique correctly, and then he will show us the rationale and body mechanic to make something work right.

Today, in class, I noticed right away a couple of changes he was guiding us through during White Crane spreads its Wings. I asked him specifically about the changes and he told me that he had done that to make it more obvious to the beginners what he was hoping they would learn by doing the change.

I really admire that, Shifu is willing to make a momentary departure from the normal way we practice, in order that the students have an opportunity to learn the movement correctly. This way, all of us are not parroting the motions like zombies, but rather, we are moving with better intention. Later on, we can always easily 'fix' the form, when we understand the meaning and now we can better control and move as we see fit.

I think it sure beats going to those classes where the teacher stands in front of the room, everyone follows the same way over and over again, and the teacher doesn't bother ensuring quality control and understanding in all his students. Shifu always asks every student individually. Kudos and many thanks to Shifu!
J

Vid Clip of Chen Yu

Chen Yu
This is an interesting vid clip of Chen Yu. I like him a lot, because we have similar body types.

Looking Graceful and Embracing One's Feminine Side...

I know that sometimes people who do not practice Tai Chi, scoff or are skeptical that Tai Chi can be an effective martial art. Shifu has always told me that we strive to be graceful, that it is good "to move gracefully like a woman when practicing the form, but, when we hit them, grab them or lock them up, our opponents have no doubt they have been handled/managed/fought by a Man!"

Keeping a Fresh Perspective

We see this time and time again, students come and join our classes after having studied for several months or even years at another school or system, and then spend a significant amount of time trying to explain what they learned or saw elsewhere, instead of trying to be quiet and just accept and learn what is being shown or presented to them here.

Frankly, we don't care what so and so taught you. If you come in with preconceived notions or ideas, the only person you are hindering is your own growth when you come to class. Also, when you come to OUR class, and you are spouting nonsense or arguing with what is being presented to you here, you pose a distraction to the other students here in class. Please understand WHY you are here in our class. Are you here to learn or are you trying to justify what you have learned somewhere else?

Personally, I have teaching credentials in over 5 different martial arts spanning almost 40 years of training time. When I come to class, I listen to all my seniors here, and I listen intently to what Shifu has to say. In our Chen training, what I have done/seen or experienced means NOTHING. I am here to learn Chen Tai Chi as taught by Shifu.

Asking questions is good, so long as you are not debating what is presented to you during class. After class it is ok to discuss stuff if people are in tune with you.

Hopefully this post will make it easier for some of the new students coming into our group. Listen and watch, and learn. If you MUST talk about yourself, do it AFTER class. Thank you!

Master Yu Guo Shun and Some of his Students Demonstrate

This was the demonstration done this past Saturday here in NYC Central Park. Thank you to Sam for videotaping and allowing us to use the clip.
J

Personal Evolution of the Forms

In class this weekend, Shifu was speaking about how we should practice the forms, and how we would improve and develop over time. He suggested that we try to do the form 3x per day in our daily practice, he felt that would be ideal.

The trick in learning how to practice properly though is dependent upon doing each motion of the movements correctly. Doing something wrong, several times a day is perhaps NOT the best thing to do, as we don't wish to develop bad habits or incorrect motion.

As an example in the second movement of Lao Jia Yi Lu, Shifu focused on the basics of the spiralling action following rollback... almost none of us actually did it the way Shifu was showing us! So, we spent quite a bit of time practicing and trying to correctly learn the motion.

Following that, Shifu went into an explanation of "closing" our body's positioning and then "opening" of the body... explaining that closing we may pulling in or absorbing and then, with opening, we may be applying fa jin or explosive motions.

Shifu then proceeded to explain that we try to learn the correct basics and all the small details as we practice; however, as we may zero in on a particular application, in our PERSONAL expression of the form practice, the movement may be reduced much smaller overall and actually executed in a quicker and more efficient movement and expression. But we clearly need to understand the full, larger motion with all the details to be able to best decipher potential applications and improve our arsenal of basic techniques, and choosing our best fit for our own personal expression once we have garnered real skill and understanding of a given selected application from the potential storehouse we have absorbed in our long term training.

Our ultimate goal is to have a uniform and standard form all of our classmates know and can present consistently and accurately with appropriate intention, and THEN to also have our personal presentation which may look quite different than someone elses' presentation, and that personal presentation may also change and vary at different times depending upon the application we choose to focus on at a given point in time.

Very cool concept; very cool goals; however, all of it is moot, IF we can't actually apply the motions in a combative fashion in real time. Clearly, practice and intense study is worthwhile and rewarding.
J

How Real is that Tai Chi Master?

I was looking over some books on Chen Tai Chi, and thinking about which one I would spend my hard earned money on. THEN, yesterday, I came across a video of the author of a well known and recognized book on Chen Tai Chi! I was so excited, but then, watching him perform, I was very disappointed and saddened to see that his form lacked so many elements that I consider critical to true understanding and performance of Chen Tai Chi.

Examples of what I did not see was a lack of ANY trace of lumbar control during motions, a lack of any turning points and very limited spiral energy. In addition his fajin was clearly all externally muscled and his timing was also off with his weapons forms.

Having viewed his performance, I will give him credit for performing well in front of an audience; however, I won't be spending any of my money on his writing.

I was taught once that we cannot fault anyone for NOT knowing something and NOT being able to show or teach something they clearly don't know, yet I believe that it is NOT enough to accept things on blind faith or because the teacher you are training with has a famous lineage. True understanding and ability CAN be seen and CAN be found in different people and if we are true to ourselves and our desires to improve and be the best we can be, we need to find accurate and true sources of training and information.
J

Trying to Get It Right...

Sometimes when we are learning a new movement, for various reasons, our bodies and minds just lose synch and we have difficulty achieving the correct postures, motion, whatever.

In those times, as frustrating as it may be, the ONLY solution is to do it again, and again. Over and over and over again, until hopefully things will suddenly click and you have it down pat.

I think at these frustrating and difficult times, it is important to breathe, try to relax, perhaps take a momentary break, and then return to that difficult thing and keep on repeating it, over and over again.

IF you don't get the motion or movement correctly today, there is always tomorrow.

Do it enough times, and for sure, one day, you'll look back and wonder why it was so difficult to learn the first time!

Keep it up! The rewards and positive gains you make in your Chen practice will be worth all the hard work.
J

Feeling Grumpy

Wow, this past weekend was the first weekend I have missed my Chen training workout due to first my mom's medical condition on Saturday, and then, my own personal medical issues on Sunday. Today it is Monday and I am truly irritable and not happy! I can honestly say, it is because I have Chen class withdrawal. Thank goodness I have my private scheduled for tomorrow. Tonight I'll be sure to practice a bit, too, that should help.
J

A Very Interesting Book...

I did some reading of this new book, I just purchased. I was very pleased with it. Very informative and it also provides an excellent background to some of the history associated with different martial arts system, as well as Tai Chi.

Of particular interest to me, is found on page 184 of the book. The authors here discuss how Martial Arts and Chinese philosophy were meshed together. This particular chapter also highlighted the famous writer and martial artist Sun Lu Tang. Essentially, it is clear that prior to Sun Lu Tang's influence as an author, martial arts were not generally associated with the philosophy of Taoism.

In addition, it was Sun Lu Tang that initially presented the idea of training martial arts for health reasons. Prior to this writing and idea, people practiced Chinese martial arts to learn how to fight and to get paid for fighting.

Sun Lu Tang was born about 1861. Hence it is only in relative recent times that Tai Chi practice was surrounded with all notions of Chinese philosophy AND was originally passed down as a serious fighting methodology.

The point is: there are a lot of teachers that will talk about this or that theory or philosophy for extended periods of class time, and actually limit the time in class spent actually PRACTICING. Chen Tai Chi is an art that must be practiced, just talking about philosophy or ideals, takes away from the original intents and goals of practice. This is my opinion and my belief. This particular book supports my opinion.
J

Dao Basics

Shifu teaches the dao with a combination of forms instructions, and instructions in basics as he sees what we are having difficulty with.

One of the first basics he shared with me (which I very quickly forgot)was moving the broadsword around the front of my body, going around the back in a clockwise direction leading into a horizontal cut from my right to the left; then cutting from my left to a horizontal right, with the sword then travelling behind my back in a counterclockwise direction to finish with a guard position towards the front.

Later on, this same manuever was progressed; starting with a left foot forward guard position then shifting to allow the overhead manuever, followed by the same sequence of sword motions, but with greater adjustments of the body and additional footwork.

The manuevers are practiced slowly and steadily to develop familiarity and correct positioning; then gradually increased in speed.

Shifu even had us do some partner practice to make sure we understood the application and use of these basic motions.

Good stuff - I really love the weapons forms that Shifu shares with us.
J

Weight Shift with Fa Jin

Each and every time I go to class, I learn or realize some new subtlety or nuance that helps improve my form and basics. This past Sunday, Shifu was telling me about the proper weight shift with different fa jin strikes I was practicing. INCORRECTLY, I was standing in almost a 50-50 weight ratio, and getting satisfied with my practice. Once I realized that each particular strike in that given sequence required a different shifting of weight from one side to the other, it made MORE sense, and also had a different 'feel' and palpable expression of power release. It is critical to understand on which leg we are bearing more weight, and it is critical to understand how we will be shifting our weight as we spiral and generate the fa jin. Hope that helps!
J

Push hands Basics

This past Sunday we worked on push hands basics. I really enjoy this type of training although it clearly requires a lot of practice.

First we started off class with a small form:
opening-then turning/moving to the R side
ward off to the R
pull
ward off to L
roll back
press
roll back
push,
Then we repeat but turning to the L side and repeat, moving forward and backward.

After regular forms practice, we then worked on partner practice trying to learn how to respond appropriately to different energy pushes and changes of direction.

I apologize if I could not make this post a bit more clear.
J