A Tai Chi Mistake to Avoid - "Swimming Knees"
Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) is a lifelong journey. It can take years to develop skill. That's why it helps to have a teacher who has skill and will coach you in a constructive way.
One of my goals as a teacher is to save time for my students and help them discover information that took me many years to learn.
Here is a video I made last week about a common mistake we all make until a good teacher tells us to stop doing it.
It's the problem of swimming knees. I encourage you to watch this video, then watch yourself in a mirror or record your own movement to see if it is something you need to work on.
How to Embarrass a Teacher When You Violate Martial Etiquette
I have found that manners in martial arts can be a bit tricky. And depending on who you study with, you need to think from a different cultural perspective.
In a recent podcast interview, Chen Taiji instructor Nabil Ranne of Germany explained how he violated martial arts etiquette during an early conversation he had with his teacher, Chen Yu.
He asked Chen Yu how many times each day should he practice the form that some of us call Laojia Yilu but is also known as "Old Frame First Form," or "First Road."
Chen Yu replied, "Five times a day."
Nabil says he responded to Chen Yu by saying something like, "But your grandfather said you should do thirty routines per day."
Later, when Nabil understood more about martial etiquette, he realized and regretted his mistake.
By responding to Chen Yu as he did, in Chinese culture he was telling Chen Yu that either Chen Yu was wrong, or that his grandfather was wrong.
Listen to the interview with Nabil by following this link. Or play and downl...
Don't Rise to the Occasion -- Sink to the Occasion
Tai Chi Self-Defense - There Are No Transitions in Tai Chi
When I was first learning Tai Chi, the word "transition" was used often. Holding the Ball was a transition into Part the Wild Horse's Mane. Circling the arms was a transition for Brush Knee Step Forward. After changing teachers and styles, I learned a simple truth:
There are no transitions in Tai Chi.
As I later learned, a self-defense application is built into every movement in Tai Chi. Every movement.
No matter where your hands and feet are, a fighting application is there.
Here is a case in point, one of 108 self-defense applications demonstrated through 259 photos in my new ebook, Yang Tai Chi 24 Form Self Defense. The ebook is only $4.99 through Amazon Kindle -- a great reference for those who practice Yang style Tai Chi, particularly the 24 Form.
Let's say that someone comes up behind you and grabs your shoulder, preparing to punch your lights out. Now, this could even be done from a clinch position or against a punch, but I'm showing this particular set-up as a way to d...
Ego Is Holding You Back in Martial Arts and Your Career
When I worked in TV news, few veterans took the time to coach me. I had the good sense, however, to watch good people and take note of the way they were writing and delivering the news. I pushed myself to get better.
I probably hit my peak just before I left the business when I did an award-winning series called Robb's Life, which is now on YouTube in about 36 episodes.
In 1989, I became a news director -- in charge of the entire newsroom. I decided that I would do for people what nobody had done for me -- give them real coaching so they could cut years off their development. I would regularly sit down with employees -- reporters, videographers, anchors, producers -- and I would look at their videos and give them tips on how to push the creative envelope, how to shoot better video and tell a story, how to write more clearly.
Once, I was coaching a sports veteran whose stories were tired and cliched -...
How to Save Years of Time Building Tai Chi Skill
I received an email from a guy in Kansas a couple of weeks ago. He had seen one of my videos and began asking questions about the internal arts. He had practiced several arts over the years and was now studying Wing Chun from a guy who also teaches Tai Chi but only for health purposes.
He wondered if he was getting the real deal.
I asked a few questions and told him some experiences I've had with instructors who taught Yang tai chi for meditation and health, versus the Chen style instructors I've had who teach body mechanics for internal power. This is not mystical -- it's physical.
Finally, I directed him to the school of Chen Huixian, a niece of Chen Zhenglei who teaches in Overland Park.
At the same time, he signed up for a free course I was offering. Here's what he wrote after seeing the second or third video, when I explain peng jin and clearly demonstrate the physical nature of this skill:
"Ken, you have no idea how much that has helped because I really did believe those va...
Some People Make Fun of Silk Tai Chi Uniforms
A teacher I've never met started dissing me on an online martial arts forum a few days ago. One of the things he criticized was wearing a Tai Chi or Kung-Fu uniform in my videos -- Chinese pajamas I think he put it. That showed him I'm not serious about using Taiji, Hsing-I or Bagua for real self-defense.
That was news to me, especially considering his own teacher wears the pajamas.
By the way -- I don't always wear a uniform for practice. Sometimes I wear a Bruce Lee t-shirt. Sometimes a "Chillin' With My Peeps" t-shirt. Sometimes I wear a sweatshirt if the weather is cold.
But if I'm doing a video I'll wear a uniform.
For one thing, it looks more "professional." I don't want to appear like all the backyard masters who you see on YouTube.
For another thing, I've always thought a uniform is cool, and isn't that why a lot of us got int...
There is No Doctor in the Dojo
Don't take medical advice from someone who is not a doctor.
A martial artist in Europe contacted me recently and said that about two and a half years after he began practicing tai chi, hsing-i, bagua and qigong, he began feeling exhausted each time he practiced.
When he does other activities, the student feels good. But when he tries to do the internal arts, he is drained of energy and feels horrible.
His teacher told him that these arts "touch the soul and feelings." In short, the student must be doing something wrong.
There are a lot of quacks in the world of internal arts. "If you do this technique wrong, it will hurt your gall bladder, and if you don't do this movement correctly, it will harm your large intestine."
And people believe it. But, as we can see during this political season, or in churches throughout the world, people will believe just about anything. It doesn't have to make sense.
I advised this student to see a doctor. Have some tests run. Find out what's going o...
Bursting the New Student Bubble with a Taiji Reality Check
All teachers enjoy seeing new students come to a class or practice to check out the arts. For many of them, it's a new world -- mysterious and fascinating.
The first session with me is often a reality check for new students. They often have many tai chi misconceptions. Recently, a great young guy came to our practice -- tall, with his own tai chi uniform already, and moves suggesting some decent experience in other arts.
One of the first things he said was how excited he was to study with "a great master."
Bubble Burst #1 -- There are very few masters in the United States. There are some very good teachers but I could probably count on one hand the people I would say are masters, and I might have a couple of fingers remaining after the count. So I corrected the new guy and told him I am farther along than he is and can teach him, but I don't have enough time in this lifetime to become what anyone would describe as a "master."
I've been lucky to study with teachers who are much far...
20 Years of Tai Chi and No Body Mechanics
I have a good friend who found me online and called me up. We talked for a few minutes and decided to meet in a park and compare notes.
"I've studied and taught Tai Chi for 20 years," he said. I was impressed and thought that perhaps I could learn from him, too.
We met and talked for a few minutes, and the subject of silk-reeling energy came up. He said he had been taught silk-reeling and practiced it.
I asked him to show me. He stood up and did a silk-reeling exercise. His hips swung wildly and there wasn't much connection.
I was raised in the South, where we try to be polite. I didn't say much, but began showing one of the silk-reeling exercises I learned from Jim and Angela Criscimagna and some members of the Chen family, including Chen Xiaowang.
My new friend tried again and again, the connection wasn't there through the body. There was too much obvious arm movement and no whole-body power.
I asked him if he ever practiced fighting applications, and showed him the Chen moveme...
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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