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Welcome to the taichido monthly
email Newsletter where Mark gives you news about taichido
and Doshi Gary Robinson gives his thoughts on aspects (both
practical and esoteric!) of tai chi and related areas.
Hello, and welcome
to the 21st edition of the Taichido.com monthly newsletter.
In this issue Gary talks about the three different parts
of the Yang form, expectations and other aspects. We also
bring you up to date with the latest news regarding the
Taichido Tai Chi instruction CD-ROMs, and what we're doing
next.
The Series is Complete!
at last, we are proud to announce the completion of the
Long Yang Form Interactive Tai Chi Instruction CD-ROM series!
A gargantuan undertaking of almost a year from the conception
of the cds to finish, the last Part (Part Three) of the
CD-ROM completes the series and is now available online
at www.taichidoshop.com
As well as being able to buy each part separately, also
available is an 'omnibus' set of the complete form, containing
all three Parts. We hope that you get as much out of them
as we have put into them, and for further details see the
bottom of this newsletter or visit www.taichidoshop.com
New articles for the taichido wesbite
A large sigh of relief from myself and Gary that this project
is now over, and so the next item on the agenda is to move
our focus back to the taichido.com website and have a general
sort-out, add new material, articles, etc that we have (partially
in the course of making the cd-roms, partially from my own
writings and partially from Gary's prolific authoring) accumulated.
Look out for new stuff as its added.
More CD-ROMs?
One of Gary's great loves is the art of chi kung (qiqong,
etc), the chinese art of revitalisation and health through
breathing. Tai chi effectively has chi kung interwoven through
it, and it is certainly an important complementary form
to any of the tai chi styles. Our next project looks like
it is going to be producing either a single or a series
of interactive CD-ROMs dedicated to this wonderful form
of excersise.
Gary on...
Preparing the text for the CD series
I do hope that this series of CD's will be of use, in part
or whole, to all Tai Chi enthusiasts - from beginner to
expert. If followed through from beginning to end, the whole
series could act as a single source of instruction capable
of providing a 'distance learning' facility for the whole
of the Long Form.
Likewise, we do hope that any part of the series may be
of assistance as a supplement or 'session between session'
for those already attending classes and those practicing
enthusiastically in their daily lives.
My main responsibility within the project was to produce
much of the text. Some of this was of the rather tedious
"you put your left leg there" type. Mark has his
own stories of staying up half the night risking repetitive
strain injury as he waded through miles of video repeating
some mind numbing process. My version of the story tells
of equally arduous hours looking at those videos, analising
what I did and searching for the most succinct words to
describe it.
The more creative and abstract text inclusions on the CD
series are the sections describing the "Symbolic Meaning"
and a suggested "Visualization" - at least one
for every single posture.
It was of primary concern that every word spoken or written
on the CD series be from the pen or mouth of Mark or I alone
and thus guaranteed 'in house' or 'original'; therefor every
'sym' and 'viz' was researched all over again and eventually
rewritten "in my own words".
What does "in my own words" mean?
"There's no such thing as an original thought".
I don't know who said that, but he/she was right!
By "in my own words" I mean, "I have thought
about it, and this is what I think" or "in my
experience".
When writing the tedious type text all of words of instruction
I use must be in nature unambiguous and consistent. The
'sym' and 'viz' text is an entirely different matter and
there is anyway no direct or uninterrupted line of communication
- particularly in the written word - between the "original"
symbolic meaning or visualization associated with any particular
Tai Chi posture and here, where You and I are now, and therefor
there is anyway no definitive, consistent or unambiguous
words or rules.
The Beginning
Over the years that I have been teaching the art of Tai
Chi it has become apparent to me that the appreciation of
Tai Chi is a process of personal experience. Therefore,
when teaching a person 'in person' I do try to pass on only
what I know; that is, only what I know is so - and not what
I think is so. I do not 'elaborate'. My theory is very simple:
"You do this ... and this happens. You do something
else ... something else happens". Accordingly, when
teaching someone 'in person' I stick to what I know; I keep
it simple and ... I always start from the beginning. When
thus starting from the beginning I stress the important
of patience and warn against over expectation by saying:
Newcomer's come expecting all sorts of things from Tai
Chi. Many have expectations of 'weird' physical sensation.
The most expectant always wait the longest!
Some come hoping to connect with some other power and perform
fantastic physical feats. Those people have a long way to
go.
Some come expecting nothing. They are possibly there already.
Those who expect the most are always become the most disappointed,
and those that just 'do for the doing' are always the most
satisfied and surprised!
The visualization associated with 'Beginning' is "the
Sun rising slowly above the horizon" and the purpose
of practice is to train the body to react instinctively
and without thinking or at least without calculation of
gain or loss. The Sun comes up, the Sun goes down. The Moon
comes up and the Moon goes down. That's it!
Concentration and Consolidation
It is my experience that "You do this ... and this
happens". In this instance, i.e. what happens when
a student is told to concentrate on the fundamentals is;
the students mind begins to 'settle'. So, they do that ...
and then ...
By the time a student is ready to venture into Part Two
of the Yang Long Form, the GST sequence (which accounts
for nearly half of the time it takes to perform that part)
should be more or less committed to memory and muscle groups
trained to respond automatically.
The study and practice of Part One effectively provides
the practitioner with the opportunity to become intimate
with the fundamentals of the Grasp the Sparrows Tail sequence
and certain other essentials such as the 'key' posture of
"Single Whip".
Part Two then acts as a consolidation and, in the midst
of all that, it introduces other 'key' postures such as
"Wave Hands In Clouds" - this being a posture
'key' to the understanding, application and practice of
'Sticking (or Push) Hands techniques.
Part Three then introduces other postures (such as "Part
Wild Horses Mane", "Fair Lady Works at the Shuttles",
"Snake Creeps Down etc.) which are multidirectional
developments of those two 'key' moves formally identified
as "Single Whip" and "Wave Hands".
In effect, all of the 'new' postures in Part Three are developments,
variations or elaboration of all of the postures that have
gone before; and not one of these 'new' postures may be
properly appreciated without some intimate knowledge or
understanding of all that has gone before. Looking for a
short cut is therefor futile and pointless. If you read
the last chapter of a Who Done It Novel before the first
you may find out who did it … but you won't know why!
Those that try to learn the Yang Long Form find out soon
enough that the depth and complexity of Tai Chi is such
that any sense of achievement or reaching an end is counter
productive to good practice. The undertaking of this project
confirmed this again to me, for after all, what I have Mark
and I done? We produced the 'definitive' Netguide and then
what did we do? Well, we did it all again didn't we! We
cleared our minds of preconceptions and ... started all
over again from the beginning!
Each of the CD's have one other section of text that I
have so far not mentioned. Each individual 'Instructional'
CD in each pair (the other CD contains that Part just done,
uninterrupted and with no accompaniments) has a 'front end'
of short pieces considered appropriate or relevant to that
Part. I conclude this Newsletter with a couple of pieces
of text produced for, but eventually no used anywhere on
the CD series. I believe that both pieces confirm again
that in Tai Chi there is "no beginning and no end".
The Universal Truth of No Truth
The Universe is a totality that cannot be rationalized
and put in order or listed as - first this, and then that,
and now … and there it is! The Truth, or the Tao,
in other words just … 'the way things are' - "cannot
be spoken of". Maybe one day - or maybe even right
now - we may be able to say how it works; but truthfully,
none of all that goes any further towards saying or what
it is!
The philosophy or 'spirit' of Tai Chi as handed down by
Taoist Masters, does not claim to have any answers to any
questions at all, and indeed perhaps the only certainty
proposed is that any man made and imposed order is "rivers
and mountains" away from 'the truth'.
In the Tao, and thus in the Spirit of Tai Chi, discriminatory
views thinly veiled as 'certainty' are cautiously avoided
- because NOTHING IS ALL BLACK AND NOTHING IS ALL WHITE
… and there is no beginning and there is no end. This
theory, as represented by the image of the Yin Yang and
enacted or celebrated in the playing of Form is the 'thought
of no thought' which, in turn, is the 'spirit' of Tai Chi
and the Tao. When encountered this way - without expectation
- there are no other terms or conditions and the Tao becomes
yours to "draw from it as you will, for it will never
run dry".
You do this ... and this happens
So, if you just start from the beginning and take it one
step at a time, you will arrive here - ready and able to
perform any posture and any sequence in the Yang Long Form.
The best advice that I can give you now is: "Do this
a thousand times and it becomes yours". That's what
my teacher told me, and I do suppose that this is 'why'
or 'how' I became a teacher in this highly personalised
art. I pass on to you that advise from my teacher in the
sure and certain knowledge that: You do this … and
this happens. You do that … and that happens. You
do something else … something else happens.
I don't want something else to happen so I'll not tell
you to do something else. I just want you to do Tai Chi
and live a peaceful, healthy and fruitful life so I suggest
here only that you just do Tai Chi for the doing. When you
can do that, be kind and happy - just for the doing …
and see what happens then.
Gassho
Gary Dai Chi Robinson
gary@wheelswithinwheels.net
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