Where Does Tai Chi Movement Begin? Geek Out with Me
This is the type of question that gets the juices...errr...I mean the Qi flowing.
Are you ready to geek out with me?
Where does movement begin in Tai Chi (also spelled Taiji)?
During my first ten years of Taiji study, I was given abstract, near-mystical ideas of what internal movement was. I have read countless books and magazine articles that describe internal movement in ways that are, frankly, difficult to decipher. In 1997, I began studying Chen style, which takes a less mystical approach that is grounded in good body mechanics. Not everyone approaches it that way -- you'll find a Chen teacher occasionally who loves the woo woo, but as a group, they're pretty grounded, and that's a good term to use for this post.
Everybody has an opinion, and I am not going to say a different way is the wrong way, but I'll tell you what I think based on the past 37 years of my experience.
Let's pretend I am doing Laojia Yilu. I have completed "Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds Mortar" and have...
It's Easy To Close Your Mind Off to a Better Way of Martial Arts
Are You a Failure at Martial Arts?
I received an email from one of my online members who said he hasn't been practicing much lately because of a busy work schedule.
He felt like a failure as a martial artist.
The truth is, you should never feel like a failure at martial arts. Sometimes, life, work, family, and other important activities can get in the way of a regular practice schedule. It happens to all of us occasionally. It's okay.
I don't know why you got into martial arts, but I got into it for three reasons:
Reason 1 -- I wanted to learn how to fight more effectively, like Bruce Lee and Kwai Chang Caine.
Reason 2 -- I kung-fu is cool.
Reason 3 -- To impress women. Of course, this is why some of us guys do anything.
I might be in my 70s now, but I still like to impress Nancy. That's why every now and then, I whip out my broadsword.
As Joe Biden would say, here's the deal. Don't get suckered by the tough keyboard warriors online who pretend you're not worthy if you aren't ready to enter an MMA ring. That i...
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....
A Chen Style Taijiquan Workshop with Nabil Ranne in Philadelphia
I spent a few days training with Nabil Ranne in Philadelphia a week ago. I met Nabil through an email exchange in 2020 and interviewed him for my Internal Fighting Arts podcast.
My journey with Chen style Taiji began in 1998 and focused primarily on the Chen Village branch of the art as taught by Chen Xiaowang, Chen Xiaoxing and others. In recent years, I became intrigued by the differences in the Chen Zhaokui/Chen Yu branch in Beijing, so after the interview with Nabil, I did a couple of private lessons with him and then signed up for his online classes.
What impressed me most about Nabil's teaching was the level of detail. And there were differences -- in the shorter stances where feet are parallel most of the time, in the shifting of weight, in the awareness of different jin in each movement, the fullness of the dan t'ien and the coordination of the mingmen, the opening and closing of the chest and back, the folding of the chest and stomach, the closing power in the legs, the gro...
Tai Chi Master Zhang Xue Xin Dies at 94 -- An Interview with Zhang Disciple J. Justin Meehan
Taiji master Zhang Xue Xin passed away in China surrounded by family on February 25, 2023. He was 94 years old.
He began studying Chen style Taiji in 1963. One of his teachers was Chen Zhaokui. Later, he studied with Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang and became an indoor disciple.
Master Zhang moved to the United States and began living and teaching in San Francisco. His classes were held at Golden Gate Park. He emphasized silk-reeling spiraling movements and applications, particularly chin-na (joint locks). He retired in 2013.
My first Chen style teachers, Jim and Angela Criscimagna, studied with Master Zhang for around eight years. I never studied with him, but I visited San Francisco on business a couple of times in the early 2000s and stopped by to visit his class. The photo at the top of the post was taken the first time I met him.
We have lost a great one with Master Zhang. I heard of his passing from his indoor disciple, J. Justin Meehan, who lives and teaches in the St. Louis area...
Top 10 Tai Chi Movements to Practice During the Holiday Season
The holiday season can be a stressful time. Beween buying gifts, going to work parties, and reuniting with family, it can knock you out of harmony with the universe.
In fact, compared with the summer months, statistics show that Tai Chi practitioners at this time of year are 37% more likely to rip out an irritating family member's heart and show it to them before they die.
That's why I recommend stopping for a few moments to breathe, calm your mind and center yourself by doing a short Tai Chi form designed to relieve your holiday stress and prevent your hand from striking out with five fingers of death.
Whether you're dealing with Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Festivus, this form will help you remain One with the Universe during the hectic days between now and the first of the new year.
Here are the Top 10 Tai Chi Movements for the Holidays:
- Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds Egg Nog
- Grasp the Elf’s Tail
- Part the Wild Reindeer’s Mane
- Hidden Spiked Punch
- Fair Maiden Works in...
A Wise Taiji Master Once Said We Should Practice the Method Not the Form
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...
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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