Why Your Tai Chi Skills are So Weak - Top 10 Tai Chi Requirements
There is an article on the Internet by a tai chi instructor based in Los Angeles. It outlines the 10 most important concepts you should remember when practicing Tai Chi. And it's the reason most Tai Chi being practiced in America is so weak.
This isn't a personal attack. I don't intend to insult this teacher or his group. I'm sure they're completely sincere, so I won't bring this guy's name into the discussion, but he's typical of so many Tai Chi folks I've met who focus on the wrong things, thinking they're doing Tai Chi. They do this because their teacher taught them a weak version of this art, and they believed he or she knew what they were talking about. It happens everywhere. The result -- you meet their students and see quickly that they have no concept of body mechanics.
Here--briefly--is his list of top ten important things to focus on:
Concept 1: Tai Chi is done with an emphasis on every movement. The fashion of every pattern must be connected with one another.
Concept 2: ...
This is Why I Do the Online Internal Arts School
A wonderful message we got in our discussion board from a new member to the online school. This is why I do it. I have edited a bit to protect this guy's identity:
"My name is _____, it is a tremendous honor and privalege to join this group. I have heard of Sifu Ken once before from another discussion group, the moderator mentioned his online school and said that he believed Sifu Ken was the "real deal". Well I am currently in Afghanistan (that was my unit on CNN yesterday...unfortunately) and have no access to training other than what little we have from the internet. I googled online martial arts training and...lo and behold...Sifu Ken pops up and here I am.
My background includes Kaidoku-ryu, recently Jing Wu taught by a friend of mine while in Iraq (very interesting), that friend also stressed the internal arts greatly and sparked my interest in them.
I hope to learn as much as I can from the school. I have been told that Hsing-I, Baqua and Tai Chi were among the best arts to learn...
Are My Health Issues Related to Bad Qigong?
I received a very nice email this morning from a man in Rio who suggested that I've been having breathing problems due to performing chi kung improperly.
I certainly appreciated his concern and the fact that he reached out, and I understand he has good intentions (he has worked with chi kung for 30 years) but -- it will come as no surprise to those who know me -- I couldn't let this go by without a challenge. Don't blame me. I'm a stickler for facts and critical thinking.
Here's another way to look at it. Perhaps my condition hasn't gotten a lot worse because I do chi kung properly.
In my reply to this nice guy in Rio, I asked him if he could supply me with any clinical evidence to back up his theory. I prefer, of course, peer-reviewed trials, preferably double-blind but at least something that can be duplicated by other medical trials.
I would like to issue this challenge to anyone reading this. Can you supply me with valid, objective clinical trial evidence, peer-reviewed, that ...
The Road Back - Keeping My Eyes on the Prize
I'm spending tonight in the hospital. I was here a week before Christmas, and I've spent the months since trying to overcome the near-disastrous impact of a bad case of pneumonia.
I've been coughing up blood since February, and after a break of over two months, it started up again two weeks ago and I've deteriorated since. This morning I thought I would bleed to death. It looked like someone had been blown away by a shotgun in my sink.
No one has been able to tell me why this is happening. During these months, I've continued teaching, doing the online school, making video lessons and DVDs, and working as hard as I can to get to the bottom of this condition. I've never really been sick in my life and in 2009, I haven't been able to get well.
In 2008, my heart decided to start beating funny and I wanted it fixed so I could get back to full kung-fu activity. I had three laser ablation procedures, where spots were burned in my heart, before they finally disconnected the rogue electrica...
Chen Xiaowang Performing Xinjia Erlu - Cannon Fist
Chen Xiaowang demonstrates the Chen Village version of Xinjia Erlu, also known as Cannon Fist. This was filmed in 1977, almost 50 years ago.
Fun with Tai Chi Self-Defense - Single Whip
This is a video I shot in 2008 showing some fighting applications for the Tai Chi movement "Single Whip." It's an example of the kind of instruction you'll find on my website.
The Road Back - One Step Closer to Recovery?
So they rammed a scope down the old gullet this morning. It wasn't bad. I stayed at the hospital all night -- didn't sleep much. A pitiful old woman was in the next room crying out all night, unable to breathe. There may be some dementia involved. I felt sorry for her. There are people in this pulmonary unit in pretty bad shape. So I watched TV, worked on my laptop, read a little bit, watched more TV -- an old monster movie on AMC -- and slept an hour at a time for about 4 hours or so.
I had to warn the nurses and remind the doctor about my powerful gag reflex. I've been through two scopes in the past year and a half that went horribly. Even though they tried to numb my throat, I gagged and choked all the way through the procedure. So they thanked me for warning them this morning. Once they hit me with the happy juice, I wasn't too aware during the scope. I remember coughing a lot, and they told me to try to stop, but I was fading in and out, seeing monitors that--without my glasse...
Congratulations to Student Kim Kruse
Kim Kruse showed a bit of spunk this weekend when she was the only one of our little core group to travel South to Keokuk, Iowa, for a great annual tournament that attracts martial artists from several states -- Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Georgia, and more. It's always a great tournament with a lot of talent, and it's hosted by my friend Frank Pennington.
Kim has a blue sash in our system, and she won first place in empty-hand forms with a Hsing-I form called "Five Element Mountain Storm." She also won first place in weapons with a tai chi form. She competed against karate and TKD folks. She also won 3rd place in sparring.
Kim started in 2006 when Nancy and I had our school in Bettendorf. We closed it in 2007 to move to Tampa but Kim and a few other students kept practicing and improving. She's living proof that if you have a passion for these arts and keep advancing forward, step by step, you can begin developing a reputation for your skill.
Congratulations, Kim. Hopefully, I'll be...
Is the Science of Acupuncture Wrong? Evidence Mounts from Clinical Trials
I believe that acupuncture works to a certain degree on some pain. I don't believe the ancient Chinese science on the subject. I don't believe that chi circulates through meridians -- in fact, since chi has never been proven to really exist in an actual clinical trial, I am extremely skeptical about its existence. From an internal arts perspective, I believe that all skills are physical, the result of hard work and practice, not "chi cultivation."
One problem I've always had with articles and books about acupuncture is the sloppy science and anecdotal evidence used to back up theories and results. Most articles in magazines or stories on TV are done either by reporters who don't question the results, or by people who have a financial interest in making acupuncture look effective. What we've needed are double blind clinical trials that eliminate the rigging of the results.
It has been proven that a majority of clinical studies coming out of China are deceptive, making Chinese cultural...
Online Internal Arts Training Can Be Effective
I received a video from a member of the online school last week. He's a capta in in the army and has spent some time in the Middle East. He joined the online school a few weeks ago and has been studying the Internal Strength section (I recommend everyone start there no matter how long they've studied in the past).
He sent me a video last week so that I could coach him. His wife was on the camcorder and his daughter stood on a chair and pushed him in different ways so he could demonstrate the ground path.
I was impressed. His ground path was solid. He had never seen this concept before, although he has studied other martial arts and has army training. It was clear that he had learned it well.
In his next coaching session, he'll send me a video of silk-reeling so I can coach him on his whole-body movement, dan t'ien rotation, use of the kua, and spiraling movement.
Some people believe you can't learn the internal arts online. I'll be the first to admit that hands-on correction is the...
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.
Stay connected with news and updates!
Recent Posts
Categories
All Categorieschen taiji fighting applications
chen xiaowang straight sword form
critical thinking in martial arts
full contact vs point sparring
how to succeed in martial arts
how to use chi kung in daily life
how to use qigong in daily life
internal fighting arts podcast
ken gullette on kung fu conversations podcast
mindset of successful martial artist
principles of body mechanics in martial arts
what is body method in tai chi