It's Easy To Close Your Mind Off to a Better Way of Martial Arts
Why Do You Study the Internal Arts -- Peeling the Layers of the Onion
When I teach, I try to give a lot of detail, especially about the body mechanics that make the internal arts so powerful. Sometimes, however, it's not good to overwhelm students who are just learning a form. We all occasionally need to take it one layer at a time when it comes to complexity.
I spent many years studying Taiji, Xingyi and Bagua without being taught some crucial details. The reason I wasn't taught it? Because my teacher didn't know the details. A lot of times, we think our teachers are masters because they say they are. Especially before the internet, there was no real way to know for sure. We just took a teacher at his word. That's not enough anymore.
The truth is, the internal arts can be as simple or as complex as you want them. If you want to do them for health and fitness, you can just learn the choreography and that might be enough for you.
I try to start every student's learning with the six key body mechanics that I identified after studying Yang style for more...
A Lack of Motivation to Practice Martial Arts and a Paradigm Shift
One of my online members asked a question in an email last night. He asked how I would respond to a student (himself) who found it difficult to motivate himself to practice.
I smiled when I read it, because I can't count the number of people who swore they would be my best student but dropped out quickly when they realized how difficult it is to learn martial arts.
I replied, "I would tell him that even 10 or 15 minutes a day can help you move forward. But what teachers THINK is that it's a lot easier to think about being a martial artist than it is to actually do the work to develop skill."
He thanked me for my fast reply, but I realized he had bought his first DVDs from me in 2016. So I replied back and asked him how I could help him.
What he told me next caused a real shift in perspective.
He told me he was so far along in kidney failure that he found it difficult to practice. He also let me know that he has diabetic neuropathy in his feet, making him unable to feel the floor....
Are You Leaking Energy in Your Tai Chi Movement and Breaking Structure
In my live online Taiji classes this week, I focused on the first two or three movements of the Laojia Yilu form and focused on what it takes to avoid "leaking energy."
You can leak energy throughout the form. When you step, or when you shift your weight, it's very common to see even people who call themselves "master" leaking energy and going "outside the frame."
When you leak energy during your movement, you have a break in your structure, and you put yourself in a vulnerable position, making it easier for an opponent to control your center.
Let's look at the very first movement in a form -- the Opening movement when you start with feet together, then you relax, sink, and step your left foot to the right. Then you shift your weight to the center before your hands rise.
Here is a Taiji instructor who will remain unidentified (this is about principle, not shaming). There are many instructors I could have chosen. In Image 1, he is preparing to step out. Notice the angle of his right...
Say No to Noodle Legs -- Do Not Collapse Your Legs in Tai Chi
A Focused Mind - Not an Empty Mind - Helps Your Tai Chi Practice
The chaos that our minds endure each day is no joke.
The Ground Path is Step One in Building a Strong Internal Structure
The first concept I introduce new students to is the ground path.
We do exercises with a partner to learn how to establish and maintain the ground path and combine it with peng jin.
But some people who see a photo like the one here make the mistake of thinking, "That's useless. You can't use that in a fight."
In this photo, my training partner Tom is pushing into my right elbow and I am grounding the push into the ground through my left foot.
Tom is not supposed to push with too much force, although as you can see in the picture, this particular drill is used to show that you can, in fact, set up a pretty strong structure using the ground.
The ground path is generally practiced without too much force because the idea is not to make you Superman, to meet force with force. Tai Chi doesn't fight force against force.
The idea is to provide internal strength to your body structure, but as you hold that strength in, for example, a self-defense situation, your goal will not be to meet f...
Sacrifice the Ego to Make Progress in the Internal Martial Arts
Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang was teaching us the proper way to do fajin ("issuing energy") with the Hidden Hand Punch movement from Laojia Yilu. He had each person stand in front of him and do the movement.
I had really been practicing, and I was particularly proud of the way I was able to close into the kua before firing the punch. I had been studying Chen Taiji for over five years, practicing and practicing. I knew I was going to get a "good" from the Grandmaster.
He stood and watched as I assumed the position, legs wide, and I closed into the kua.
He shook his head. "Too much," he said.
"Too much?" I asked.
There was a bit of a language barrier, but it was clear that he did not like what he saw.
"Too much."
He showed me, and he settled into the kua the way I had done. "Too much," he repeated. Then he did it again, closing into the kua in a much more subtle way.
"Just enough," he said.
Ahhh, just enough.
I tried to copy him, and closed much softer. Then I fired the punch.
He ...
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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