A Real-Life Use for Qigong -- Getting a Cardiac Stress Test
I went in to the hospital yesterday for a cardiac stress test. After a freak side-effect from a medical procedure nine years ago this month, my left pulmonary veins shut down, meaning my left lung is virtually useless. Doctors at Cleveland Clinic tried to stent one of the pulmonary veins, tore the vein and accidentally pierced my heart with the wire.
That set off complications that I have survived, barely it sometimes seems. But my chi is strong, right? Still, I sometimes have to get tests to make sure nothing is getting clogged up.
Cardiac stress tests have changed. They used to hook you up to electrodes and put you on a treadmill.
It's All in Vein
Now, they stick an IV in your arm, hook you up to electrodes and slide you into a tube, as if you're getting an MRI or something.
They pump radioactive crap into your vein and then take pictures. The new pictures are supposed to be a lot better than even the ones they took during my last cardiac stress test three or four years ago.
"A...
William C.C. Chen's Daughter Says I Am Arrogant Over a Book Review
William C.C. Chen's daughter Tiffany called me arrogant the other day. She also mentioned "gossip," and implied that I do not understand what I was reading.
At first, I couldn't believe it. Then, I thought it was funny. But the more I thought about it, the more bizarre and creepy it became.
Here is what happened.
I pulled a book from my martial arts library this weekend: "Body Mechanics of Tai Chi Chuan," by William C.C. Chen.
Since body mechanics is something I am very interested in, and somewhat knowledgeable about, I wanted to read his take on it.
I respect all teachers, unless they claim supernatural powers. I have always heard very good things about William C.C. Chen. His name is among the most famous of American tai chi teachers. You have to admire someone who has done so much to spread tai chi in America.
On the back of the book, he writes, "My book.....deals with the human body under the action of given forces and is based on practical physics such as body leverage and t...
A Little Old Man Kicked My Butt at a Tournament
A little old man kicked my butt at a tournament in Keokuk, Iowa in 2000, and it is one of my favorite memories from my years competing in martial arts tournaments.
It was a hot, August day in a gymnasium that was not air-conditioned. I had been out-pointed by a black belt from Georgia in a match for first place, so I was next paired with a nice old guy to fight for the third place trophy.
My opponent was short, feeble, very slow, left himself open, had slow reaction time, and could hardly get a kick above his own waist. He wore hearing aids in both ears.
I had seen him perform at the tournament at least two other times, but he never went home with a trophy. He didn't even come close. It was a fluke that we were put in the ring to fight for some hardware.
The center ref told us to bow to each other, then bow to him. He signaled us to begin.
In that moment, I felt a connection to my aging opponent. In other tournaments, I had encouraged him to stay with it, even though he competed a...
How to Meditate While Doing Tai Chi and Internal Arts -- Mindfulness
A philosopher asked the Buddha, "What is your method? What do you practice every day?"
"We walk, we eat, we wash ourselves, we sit down," the Buddha explained.
"What is so special about that? Everyone walks, eats, washes, sits down," the philosopher said.
"Sir," replied the Buddha, "when we walk, we are aware we are walking; when we eat, we are aware we are eating. When others walk, eat, wash, or sit down, they are generally not aware of what they are doing."
In Buddhism, mindfulness is the key. -- from Zen Keys by Thich Nhat Hanh
Are you mindful when you practice your gongfu?
Are you mindful when you are at work? Does your mind wander when talking to other employees or when sitting through meetings?
When in public, are you on a cell phone instead of being engaged in the world around you?
When your significant other is talking, do you zone out or are you mentally engaged in what they are saying?
Are you constantly multi-tasking?
Psychology Today reported that we lose 40% of...
The Joy of Teaching Tai Chi to an Older Group of Students
Something happens when you start getting older, when your health begins to go South and the hair turns gray.
Suddenly, you feel differently about the old people you see in the store or on the road. You suddenly develop empathy.
Oh, I get it. That old man still thinks of himself as the strong 25-year old that he was just a few minutes ago. Wasn't it just a few minutes ago?
No, it was 40 years ago, before the losses started piling up; before his parents died, before his friends started dying, before his earning power began dropping, and before his heart began beating like a bad carburetor.
Now, when I see a healthy 25-year old, I think to myself, "It seems like just yesterday." When I was 25, life seemed endless and everything seemed to come easily.
As the years passed, I lost a daughter, I lost jobs, marriages, and eventually, my perfect health declined. There were some gains along the way, too, but the losses pile up.
As we get older, it becomes even more important to maintain ou...
Internal Energies and Takedowns - The Holy Grail of Taiji Self-Defense
The Holy Grail of Tai Chi self-defense -- in my opinion -- is when you can "feel" an opponent's energy when you are in a clinch and you can break his structure and use Tai Chi "energies" to take him down.
On Saturday, about a dozen martial artists of different styles gathered at Morrow's Academy of Martial Arts in Moline, Illinois and we practiced some of the basic concepts and energies. We recorded the workshop and the video is already going up on my website -- www.internalfightingarts.com -- and I am putting it together for a DVD.
Anyone can use muscular force to pick someone up and throw them to the ground.
But can you use Tai Chi energies to unbalance, uproot, and control your opponent's center so you can take them down?
You have to be able to do a few things:
** Determine how your opponent's center is turning
** Break his structure to unbalance him
** Have your hands and legs in place to help his center turn
** Then turn his center and take it where it wants to go.
The te...
Teaching My Wife How To Do A Tai Chi Takedown with Split Energy
My wife, Nancy is my videographer. She is usually behind the camera as we record lessons for DVDs and the website.
Yesterday, as we were recording some tuishou instruction about using tai chi "energies" and methods to do takedowns, we pulled her out in front of the camera to learn how to do a takedown using "shoulder" energy.
I enjoy teasing Nancy. She has a great sense of humor. One of the reasons I started in martial arts was because I thought it was fun. I still do, so I often include outtakes and jokes in my DVDs and video for the website.
This is a short video showing Nancy learning a good technique. The Chinese term for the technique is at the end.
Reflections on Earning a Black Belt 20 Years Later
20 years ago this summer, I got canned from my last job in TV news.
It wasn't a total shock. In fact, it was a relief. Despite award-winning work, I was the manager of a newsroom, and it was a fate worse than death.
Anchors acting like prima donnas, reporters angry because they wanted to be anchors, videographers dinging news cars, inexperienced kids on the air and me having to answer for their screw-ups.
I got into news to be a writer, reporter, and to be creative. I found myself in a living hell as the top decision-maker in the newsroom.
Suddenly, I was canned. It happens in the news business. The life expectancy of a news director is 18 months. I had been there three-and-a-half years.
Two days after losing my job, I had an idea. I was 44 years old and I had been one test away from black sash since 1991, but I had moved away from Omaha, where my teacher was, I was working more than full-time, I was a single (divorced) father with two teenage daughters living at home, and was al...
Are You Getting This Important Benefit from Your Qigong Practice?
I stepped into the ring, holding my broadsword and feeling butterflies in my stomach. I wanted to do well in my first tournament performance as a black belt.
It was February, 1998 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and at 45 years old, I had studied different martial arts for 25 years, had been in the internal arts for more than 10 years, and had practiced qigong diligently for more than a decade.
"Just get into the zone," I told myself as I calmed down and prepared to do my broadsword form.
God, there are a lot of people, I thought.
"Settle down," my inner voice said. "Detach. Rise above the pressure."
It was the worst advice I could have given myself.
A few movements into the form, I turned to my right to do a sweeping cut and noticed a young boy was walking across the ring, just a few feet from me.
Within another movement or two, I completely spaced out and forgot where I was in my form. For a flash of a second, I was mentally paralyzed, then I made up some movements, wrapped up the for...
Chen Huixian -- A Great Chen Tai Chi Instructor Living in the U.S.
What would you have if you attended a workshop with a highly-skilled member of the Chen family who deepened your understanding of body mechanics, structure and movement, showed fighting applications that amazed you, spoke English to communicate the information, and made the atmosphere joyful and full of laughter as your legs burned and you sweated and grew stronger?
You would have Chen Huixian, the niece and indoor disciple of Chen Zhenglei who lives in the Kansas City area with her husband Michael Chritton, another talented Chen teacher.
I have learned from Chen Xiaowang, Chen Xiaoxing, Chen Bing, Chen Ziqiang, and I admire each of them. I have learned excellent things from them (and especially from their American students/disciples, who studied with them and other teachers) and would study when them again in a heartbeat. I have had some excellent moments with each one. But the two workshops I have done with Chen Huixian are the most satisfying of any of my experiences in martial ...
Author - Instructor
Ken Gullette
I have practiced martial arts since 1973 and began studying the internal arts in 1987. My goal is to cut years off your development time by coaching you in the real skills for high-quality Tai Chi, Xingyi, Bagua. To see more about my bio, click the "About Ken" link on the menu at the top of this page.
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