This coming Sunday, 1st New Meetup for 2011!

We have a Sunday meetup class scheduled this weekend.
8:45am arrival time is recommended for a 9am start.
This will give you newbies a chance to warm up and start to feel
comfortable with all of us.

The first meetup is always free. Hope to see you there.
Come and join a small, really nice and dedicated group to learn
Chen Style Tai Chi with!

390 Broadway
2nd Floor
Just two blocks south of Canal St.
For info:
Jeff
347-641-9215

Another Vid Clip of Master Yu Guo Shun

Wow, I was really excited to find this video clip. This is one I hadn't seen before.
Hope you all enjoy.
J

Master Yu Guo Shun Demonstrates Xin Jia

I am still learning the Lao Jia Yi Lu, but I love watching all the Chen forms and trying to see what the differences are. From what I understand, training in the Laojia will strengthen and condition the body to do the Xinjia which may be more physically demanding and challenging due to the lower stances, and smaller movements. At least that is what I have heard from some of the students. Please, any errors in that statement, are on me and NOT a reflection of the teaching I have received.

Sure hope you all enjoy watching this video clip.
Master Yu Guo Shun's ability demonstrating is always so very beautiful to watch and aspire towards.
J

Blizzard in New York City!

Man, all of you here in the NYC area know we were hit hard by snow over the weekend.
Here is a pic of a much more stronger guy than me. He's got the right idea, imo.
But I was taught long ago, that if a person had 3 square feet, he or she had enough room to practice tai chi and I believe that wholeheartedly.

During inclement weather conditions, finding creative ways to practice can make us more successful in our martial growth. Practice of one particular stance can prove useful; I personally like to practice standing on one leg, as I think my balance is too easily challenged. Working on deeper stances is another thing we can do. Flexibility in our hips is useful and can slowly and steadily be developed with a minimum of space indoors.

Personally, I don't think there is anything wrong with practicing in one's mind, going through the form with shorter steps, or maybe less attention to the bigger picture, and then when we find an area we are not certain of, then, slowing down markedly and THEN focusing on the smaller detail we need to improve. This allows us to retain memory of the movements in the form, and then improve on our trouble spots.

Another indoor activity is to check out the various media available: cds, books, dvd's, posters, etc. By doing this we can examine things like history, how to progress, philosophies, characters, and maybe get new ideas for supplementary training to improve in areas like flexibility, or strength, or endurance, or even just overall conditioning.

But, if you have the gumption and the appropriate clothing and a nice warm temperment, you can be like that guy in the picture; head out for a nice patch of snow and start pounding the mortar or just enjoying the beauty of the practice outdoors. More power to all of you!
J

More on the Tai Chi Balls

I'm fairly obsessive i've been told, so I've been actively seeking out and searching for sources of where to find suitable balls for tai chi ball training. Apparently, some are made of wood, some are stone, and the ones we see sometimes are made of metal spheres, phew!

Weights vary, obviously depending upon size and weight. I just got off the phone with a great guy, named, Roger who makes a variety of classical/traditional asian type of weight training apparatus. His website is http://www.atomicathletic.com

The prices seem high, but I believe that to find good quality and unique esoteric equipment is VERY difficult, and if you're serious, it's worth the expense. Roger seems like a really good guy, and he will travel to experts to get his designs just right. He even sells and manufactures the stone padlocks that the shaolin temple, here in Flushing uses! That's great stuff.

More to come as I learn and grow in my research about the tai chi ball training!
J

This is the pavilion in Columbus Park, Chinatown, NY. When I was a kid, I used to play here with my cousins. We'd play ball, run around, and played with caps and cap grenades. I wonder how many of you remember those?

Anyway, this pavilion is where I trained quite a few times with Shifu. It's a great place to practice tai chi, and I will always remember learning my Chen style sword form here.

As I've stated before, I don't know what it is about training here in Chinatown, but it just feels really right to me. My close friends who train in other systems here in Chinatown have also expressed the same feelings as I.

It's neat to have my childhood memories of this place, and now as an adult it feels really neat to be making more memories now, doing something positive for myself.
J

After Class...

Christmas morning, we had class in the park. It was awesome to go work out, clean up alot of detail in my forms practice, and then get ready to enjoy the rest of the day.
The picture above is the lunch/brunch I had prior to going to piok up my love for the holiday. Perhaps it wasn't the healthiest meal, but it sure was filling and tasted really great, too!

2-2.5 hours of Chen tai chi training will build up quite an appetite. The meal above was from a very nice vietnamese restaurant here in Chinatown. It's one of the benefits of training here; after class we can always find a delicious and inexpensive meal.

For more detail on my lunch above... there is tea, a pineapple milk shake, beef cubes with fried rice, and a couple of sunny side up fried eggs...While I ate, I reviewed the corrections I received in class, plus sat and absorbed the application theory that Shifu showed us in class. Really, these are great times. My life really feels fuller with Chen Tai Chi in my life.
J