June 10, 2024
Kuzushi works both in throwing and ground techniques. It’s based on sound mechanical principles as well as the forces of gravity. 8 Min Read
June 3, 2024
Hypoxia, which is an oxygen deficiency in the tissues, underlies or complicates almost every health condition. This is the reason I have proposed the term Metarobic exercise to describe the effects of Tai Chi and related exercises on the body. 9 Min Read
May 20, 2024
Though the martial side of Tàijíquán is for strengthening the physical body and for defense, the scholarly side of Tàijíquán is for understanding human nature and comprehending the meaning of life. Only if (you) can cultivate these, both internally and externally, can you reach the Dào of balancing physical body and mind, and (also) the dual cultivation of human nature and physical body.
8 Min Read
May 13, 2024
Speaking Japanese is different than “speaking Judo.” But for those who want to have a better understanding and appreciation of judo, learning how to “speak Judo” opens up the whole world of judo to them.
5 Min Read
April 29, 2024
In honor of World Tai Chi & Qigong Day 2024, YMAA Staff Writer Gene Ching examines tai chi demonstrations done in large groups. 6 Min Read
After Bodhidharma (Da Mo) passed down his qigong (chi kung) theory at Shaolin Temple around 550 A.D., the Shaolin monks trained the cultivation of Qi, and realized that muscular power could be enhanced to a tremendous level, which could make martial techniques more powerful and effective.
The goal of self defense is not to win a fight, but rather to avoid combat in the first place. After all the only battle you are guaranteed to walk away from unscathed is the one you never engage in. Taking a beat-down can seriously mess up your life, yet winners have consequences too.
Taijiquan was originally developed for combat in ancient times. Its fighting theory is to use the soft against the hard, and to use the round to neutralize the straight or square.
Lawrence A. Kane supervises employees who provide security and oversee fan safety during college and professional football games at a Pac-10 stadium near Seattle, Washington. This job has given him a unique opportunity to appreciate violence in all forms. Along with his crew, he has witnessed, interceded in, stopped, or prevented hundreds of fights. He has also worked closely with the campus police and state patrol officers who are assigned to the stadium. Here is what he says about aggressive behavior as well as the escalation process that precedes violence in crowd control situations.
What is Tai Chi? How does Tai Chi improve health? People ask me these questions all the time. Some ask because they see so many people doing these exercises in the park. Others ask because they can hardly believe there can be any benefits from such slow body movements.
Those who practice both Taiji and Qigong as separate arts soon realize that Qigong is included among the many layers encompassed by Taiji. Knowingly doing Taiji movement as Qigong not only adds the benefits of Qigong but also improves the quality of the Taiji movements.
Gang violence gets a fair amount of copy in the media. But another form of violence is mob violence. Mob violence rises up, explodes, and then recedes.
So how does one teach Taijiquan to seniors, rehabbers, and the generally unfit? Consult the ancients, "The best leader follows." These people are generally coming to Taiji because of a life urgency (old age, sickness, injury, etc.) which has created an opportunity for change.
Back in the day of the last millennia, I had my first venture into teaching Martial Arts to the elderly. I secured a nice gig at the local senior center. There were about twenty intrepid explorers ready for the unknown.
Recently I watched "Felon", a movie that makes some realistic and valuable points about self-defense. In most jurisdictions a person can only resort to deadly force to escape imminent and unavoidable danger of death or grave bodily harm.
How old are Taijiquan and Taiji philosophy? Recent findings indicate that the basic Taiji movements and Internal Arts theory of breathing and Qi circulation pre-date Zhang and Chen significantly.
The origin of Taijiquan is a controversial issue. Some trace Taijiquan to the Chen family in the 1600's and others trace the art further back to Master Zhang, San-Feng. Both are correct. And neither of them created Taijiquan.
In the practice of Taijiquan pushing hands, Taiji circle sticking hands, and Taijiquan free fighting, etc., you must practice until you have reached a stage where there is no discrimination of the opponent.
Dr. Yang's first Taijiquan master, Grandmaster Kao, Tao (高濤), who Dr. Yang lost contact with after leaving for college and moving to the U.S., was finally found teaching Taiji in Taipei, Taiwan in 2008. This article is a record of that time.
Originally formulated in Old Chinese, the Taijiquan Classics are very compact and poetic and can be quite mysterious when translated into Modern Chinese and then into English.
People are weird. They have an almost infinite ability to learn and communicate. At the same time, this amazing ability is used as much for fantasy and entertainment as it is for information and survival. Take, for example, the rhinoceros and the unicorn.
Almost every Chinese martial style, both external and internal, has its own hand-matching training similar to Taiji's pushing hands.
Introduction to Internal and External Jin (martial power)