Hara

Walt posted this over at a Plainly Hidden View. Below is an excerpt. The whole post may be read here.
Upright, firm and collected — these are the three marks of that posture which is typical of the Japanese who knows how to stand, and taken together, show the presence of Hara.
Modern man in his self-assurance holds too strongly to what he believes is his by his own efforts. Not only does he not hesitate to attract attention to himself but he even emphasizes his "persona." This means that he lacks the wise restraint suitable both in social life and toward those greater forces which are present everywhere and which may suddenly fall on him and attack him. Regarding these, man is better prepared either to ward them off or deliberately to let them in, if the deep-centeredness of the soul-body posture at least counterbalances the outward thrust and striving of the mind or, better still, slightly preponderates over it.  For avoiding all postures emphasizing the ego the Japanese has one sure remedy — his firm Hara.

– excerpted from Hara, The Vital Center Of Man, by Karlfried Graf Durkheim

Stillness

Try to do nothing

And you are doing something-

Not that it matters

The greatest sound is silence. In movement, there can be stillness. One often accomplishes the most by doing nothing. Do not be enslaved to the modern idea that time spend doing nothing is wasted. There is nothing to do, yet all gets done. Spend the morning just laying in bed. Listen to the raindrops on the roof and the window. They are speaking to you.

from Roshi Hogan’s Teachings Of The Tao by Roshi Hogan

Welcome to the Year of the Dragon

Welcome to 2012 the year of the Dragon more specifically the Water Dragon! Dragon is a legendary animal and it is symbol of emperor in China. Since the Dragon is coated with mysterious color, Chinese consider that the dragon is unpredictable, untouchable and people cannot see its head and tail at the same time. Therefore, we can might see something unexpected happening in 2012.  The Water Dragon is also an emblem of optimism and growth that comes around only once every 60 years.

Be impatient with Classical Tai Chi but don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.

from Classical Tai Chi Blog by Classical Tai Chi of Buffalo

Enter the New Year by first recognizing then taming  your dragons of impatience, frustration and boredom. How do you tame them?  Realize that you can’t fight them but you can learn to live with them with some equanimity by simply remaining  aware from whence they come.

Speaking of impatience, one wonders how many students are so impatient that some will only read my email notice for 10 seconds and not the blog.  Who wants to even admit they are impatient, right? I have met many students who talk about the  Tai Chi as an art that has to prove itself to them. It has to prove its efficacy and its fighting ability over other martial arts.I don’t attempt to talk about the efficacy of Tai Chi over other martial arts here but I do attempt to analyze why students may feel this way.

The most common scenario is a student who in various ways expresses their displeasure over the "slowness of the learning curve" whether for health or martial purposes.  They express their impatience at their "slow" rate of "progress" in gaining experience or new skills in Tai Chi.  Most simply leave the training early on rather than verbally expressing their displeasure. It is interesting that each student who expresses this seems to feel that they are the only student in the world who experiences this.   Additionally, they state they alone are "impatient", they never mention "I guess I am not unique but  I’m really like all the other students who have such impatience".  If they did admit that they were not alone I think they would   realize that they have literally fallen prey to boredom, impatience and frustration, which are states of mind universal to all humans and not Classical Tai Chi per se. 

In falling prey,  they blame the Tai Chi for their impatience but in truth  they are  not aware of the source of those maladies.  The source is something that every bored, impatient and frustrated student possesses and that is a nervous system.  They figuratively throw up their hands or slap their sides and disavow the Tai Chi . In that moment how can they see what they experience as "impatience, frustration, slowness, boredom" is really proof that they need the benefits of Tai Chi even more.  The more impatience over slowness of the learning curve, the more you need the benefits of the Classical Tai Chi.   I wonder if they know that the true meaning of "learning curve" is really to present a graphical representation of a common sense principle.  In the case of Classical Tai Chi the principle being that the more one does something, the better one gets at it.  The common sense of it dictates that the more one works to curb their impatience, frustration, boredom, the better one gets at it.

My own teacher Stephen Hwa addressed this common sense principle and even provides a methodology for achieving it just recently, to a student who expressed his impatience at the slowness of the learning curve when it comes to martial application.     
There is no mystery to be good at martial art application.This is discussed in my book and video.

One needs to go through three steps:

1.Develop internal energy or power through Form practice, so that one can deliver the power at any angle and position.

2.Practice the form such that the ability of delivery becomes instinctive, no need to think.

3.Practice push hand and sparing to develop sensitivity and finesse.

Some students visit me in Florida and express their impatience but also show me they are  not close to master step 1. They are able to use internal at several moves but not all angles. From their description of your sparring experiences, (Tai Chi vs. Wing Chun, etc.) they  still need to think when they move. No wonder they were always one step behind, and being controlled by the opponent.

Step 3 needs a partner to practice. There is no short cut to that.

I understand this a little better now in light of this analysis.  Those many students also do not see that we all swim in a literal culture of impatience. The dubious virtues of multi-tasking, and hurry, hurry, hurry are extolled to say nothing of our being unaware of how much we even compete with the very machines we design to "make our lives better".   When we do the Tai Chi we bring a desire for Tai Chi to get into the batter’s box and knock one out of the park.  What’s it worth, how good is it, how fast can I get it, why can’t I "get it" now?  Then even though we are "swimming in a culture of impatience", it does not mean we are aware that we do so.  So what we are working with is like a house with a poor foundation for living that we don’t know has crumbling brick.  What kind of an environment do we have here for success in Tai Chi?  If the environment is shoddy to begin with, why would we add to such impatience with more impatience of our own?    Then there is the inherent difficulties one faces in remembering "how to do things" in Tai Chi. What else to do   but throw in the towel?

I cannot help but think here of the many students who do not even make it past basic walking practice, much less get on the path to martial expertise.  The common refrain I hear is when I see students wobbling and even losing their balance.  The refrain goes like: "I thought Tai Chi was supposed to improve your balance".  To which I say, "what it does is point out to you where you are unbalanced, the improvement is up to you".   That’s Classical Tai Chi, it shows you where your work is cut out for you, doing the work is up to you.  Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.

Taoism and Circle Walking

Tung Hai-Chuan (1813-1882) became a member of the Chuan Chen (Complete Truth) sect of Taoism. This sect was part of the Lung Men (Dragon Gate) school of Taoism which was originated by Chou Chang-Ch’uan. Interestingly enough, Chou also invented a method of meditation whereby the practitioner would walk in a circle and, wouldn’t you know, this method was practiced by the Chuan Chen sect. Delving further into this Taoist connection, Professor K’ang Kuo Wu was able to find a section in the Taoist Canon which reads:’A person’s heart and mind are in chaos. Concentration on one thing makes the mind pure. If one aspires to reach the Tao, one should practice walking in a circle.’This bit of evidence inspired Professor K’ang Kuo Wu of Beijing to try and find out more about the circle walk meditation method practiced by the Chuan Chen Taoists. What he discovered was that this practice, which the Taoists called Chuan T’ien Tsun (Rotating in Worship of Heaven) is very similar in principle to the circle walk practice of Pa Kua Chang. Researching Wang Chun-Pao’s book, ‘Taoist Method of Walking the Circle,’ Professor K’ang found that while walking, the Taoists repeated one of two mantras. The first of these mantras was used in the morning practice and translates to mean ‘When Rotating in Worship of Heaven, the sound of thunder is everywhere and transforms everything.’ The second mantra was used in the evening practice and translates to mean ‘When Rotating in Worship of Heaven, the great void saves us from the hardship of existence.’ It was said that the practitioner should repeat the mantra with each movement in the circle walk practice so that ‘one replaces one’s myriad thoughts with a single thought in order to calm and ease one’s mind.’ The Taoists said that in walking the circle the body’s movements should be unified and the practitioner strives for stillness in motion. This practice was described as a method of training the body while harnessing the spirit.” - Jiang Hao-Quan Chinese Martial Arts Institute”The solo aspect of its circular solo practice is beautiful, yet exotic, full of graceful twisting movement, sudden stops and changes of direction, swooping and lifting actions as well as explosive hand movements. The functional aspect is harshly effective, without sporting elements as its martial effectiveness was refined by the many practitioners at the turn of the century who earned their living as personal bodyguards and merchant convoy escorts.  Like the other internal arts, pa-kua emphasizes balance, natural breathing and relaxation, stability of stance, the development of twisting strength and internal power both for healing and martial purposes as well as the use of the mind to create intent and lead chi flow.  Most defensive and offensive movements are done with the open hand; the horizontal energy of the twisting torso is emphasized; the weight of the body stays on the back foot when walking in a circle (though not necessarily when doing postures within each “change”; the steps are rather tight, the knees staying in close proximity one-to-the-other; and, kicks are normally aimed low, to the ankles, shins and knees.  The essence of the art is learning to be upright, stable and comfortable in your posture and body mechanics while cultivating the ability to change quickly to deal with the tactics of an opponent. The smaller student learns to evade strikes while counter-attacking and the larger learns to batter his/her way through the attacker’s arms as a prelude to counter-attacking.”-  Michael Babin, Studying Pa Kua Chang Walking Meditation Ways of WalkingRipening Peaches: Taoist Studies and PracticesBagua Zhang (Pa Kua Chang)Dragon Qigong

Principles of Taoist Neigong

"The Taoists call the science of how you develop strong energy flow or internal power neigong. 

Neigong has sixteen components:

1.  Breathing methods, from the simple to the more complex.
2.  Feeling, moving, transforming, transmuting and connecting energy channels of the body. 
3.  Precise body alignments to prevent the flow of chi from being blocked or dissipated. 
4.  Dissolving physical, emotional and spiritual blockages. 
5.  Moving energy through the acupuncture meridians and other secondary channels of the body, including the energy gates.
6.  Bending and stretching the body, both from the inside and from the outside in.
7.  Opening and closing (pulsing) all parts of the body’s anatomy including the joints, soft tissues, fluids, internal organs,
spine and brain as well as all the body’s subtle energy channels. 
8.  Manipulating the energy of the external aura outside the body.
9.  Making circles and spirals of energy inside the body, controlling the spiraling energy currents of the body and moving chi in the body at will. 
10.  Absorbing energy into and projecting energy away from any part of the body. 
11.  Controlling all the energies of the spine. 
12.  Controlling the left and right energy channels of the body. 
13.  Controlling the central energy channel of the body.
14.  Learning to develop the capabilities and all use of the body’s lower tantien.  
14.  Learning to develop the capabilities and uses of the body’s upper and middle tantiens. 
15.  Connecting every part of the physical and other energetic bodies into one, unified energy."

-  Bruce Kumar Frantzis, Dragon and Tiger Qigong, 2010, xxviii  

Chinese Swords and Swordsmanship

It’s high time to discuss swords again, don’t you think? Below is an excerpt from a post at appeared at Be Not Defeated by the Rain. The full post may be read here.

I wanted to spend a little promoting this website. ChineseLongsword.com is a research and translation project of ancient Chinese sword manuals led by the Historical Combat Association (Singapore). Their goal is to preserve the ancient wisdom contained in these manuals for future generations. Their founder Jack Chen has also been in correspondence with my Sifu. Their efforts should be deeply commended and appreciated by the martial arts community. I hope that I can meet with them next time I am in Singapore.
The first manual they worked on was ???? "Dan Dao Fa Xuan", a Chinese swordsmanship manual, written and drawn by ??? (Cheng Zong You) during the Ming Dynasty, when the Japanese pirates fought with the Ming soldiers. He was taught by ??? (Liu Yun Feng), who learned Japanese swordsmanship (Kenjutsu) directly from the Japanese.

This has since expanded to include writers such as ??? (Yu Da-You) a famous Ming-Dynasty General who defend China against the Japanese pirate invasions. Legend has it that General Yu visited Shaolin Temple, and improved on the monks’ Staff techniques with his own teachings. He later wrote and compiled ???? (Zheng Qi Tang Ji), "Compilation of Vital Energy". In his book, is a section called ?? (Jian Jing), "Sword Treatise" Other authors cover the spear, shaolin staff, shield and wolf brush and many others.

by Rick

Why Practice Slow?

by Rick

Below is an excerpt from an article which was posted at The Better Movement blog. The full article may be read here.

Why Slow Movement Builds Coordination

I’ve written quite a bit on this blog about the benefits of moving slowly for improving coordination. Of course, my two favorite movement practices, the Feldenkrais Method and Z-Health rely to a great extent on slow mindful movement as a primary means to develop coordination. Many people will look at very slow and gentle movements and think – how can these possibly do anything? Isn’t harder and faster better than slower and softer? This post is an answer to that question.
There are several excellent reasons to use slow and gentle movement as a means to develop coordination. Probably the most interesting reason (I’ll start with that one) is based on an obscure principle called the Weber Fechner rule. The Weber Fechner rule describes the relationship between the magnitude of a particular stimulus and the brain’s ability to sense differences in the amount of the stimulus. The basic rule is that as you increase the stimulus, the ability to tell a difference in the amount of the stimulus decreases. This is a very common sense idea. Imagine you are in a dark room with only one candle lit. It will be very easy to sense the difference when one additional candle is lit. But if you are in a room with two hundred candles, you will have no idea when an extra candle comes on.

This rule works for all varieties of sensory perception, including sensations of muscular effort. So, imagine you are holding a one pound potato in your hand while blindfolded. If a fly landed on the weight you would not know the difference, but if a little bird landed you would know. Now imagine holding a fifty pound potato. You wouldn’t be able to feel the little bird landing. It would have to be an eagle. The point is that when you increase the weight from one pound to fifty pounds, you become about fifty times less sensitive to changes in the amount of muscular force you are using to lift the weight.
Why do we care? Because if you want to make your movement more efficient, you have to be aware of when you are working too hard. If you slow down and thereby increase your ability to sense differences in muscular effort level, you increase the brain’s ability to sense and correct any potential excess and unnecessary effort. Imagine that every time you try to extend the hip, you are at the same time slightly contracting the hip flexors instead of relaxing them. This means that your muscles are cross-motivated – the flexors are fighting the extensors a little in their effort to extend the leg, making them work harder. You will be much better able to sense and inhibit this inefficient co-contraction by moving very slowly and easily. By contrast, if you move fast and hard, you will never be able to sense and correct the problem.

A Resource for Japanese Martial Arts

from Cook Ding’s Kitchen by Rick

Here is a link for Gottsupedia. Gottsupedia is a wiki which is a source of information about Japan and related topics, with an emphasis on history and the martial arts, particularly Aikido. "Gottsupedia" stands simply for "Gottsuiiyan Encyclopedia".
Below is an excerpt from their article on Yoshinkan Aikido. Please pay a visit.


Emphasis on basics
Yoshinkan Aikido has some 150 basic techniques which are practiced repeatedly, enabling the student to master the remaining ones, which total some 3000 overall. The syllabus contains no weapons forms, although they are practiced as an adjunct to the open hand techniques. Like many styles of aikido, Yoshinkan eschews competition; instead, it emphasizes practicality and self defense applications. Yoshinkan aikido is one of the martial arts that is taught to the Tokyo police
Distinctively, Yoshinkan places heavy emphasis on basic movements, which are practiced in the form of kata. The reason for this, in Shioda Gozo’s own words, is;

"Today’s Aikido is so dimension less. It’s hollow, empty on the inside. People try to reach the highest levels without even paying their dues. That’s why it seems so much like a dance these days. You have to master the very basics solidly, with your body, and then proceed to develop to the higher levels…. Now we see nothing but copying or imitation without any grasp of the real thing…."

Yoshinkan aikido methodology is based on the idea that proper form leads to effective aikido technique and is the key to "kokyuu ryoku"; Yoshinkan’s emphasis on basics and instilling them in students through repeated drills is a direct product of the difficulties encountered when Yoshinkan first began teaching exceptionally large groups, such the Tokyo police. Another reason for Yoshinkan’s teaching methods, which Shioda points out in his book Shugyo, is that because modern people think more in terms of logic, no one would respond to Ueshiba Morihei’s style of intuitive teaching. Ueshiba did not give exact instruction, instead he would show a technique and let everyone figure it out saying "That’s fine, that’s fine" to everyone’s way of doing it. He would also exclaim "Become one with heaven and earth", which Shioda says would be nearly impossible to swallow for people nowadays. Shioda points out that unless precise and systematic instruction is given, people will be unable to grasp techniques, will fail to progess, and soon quit.
Another difference between Yoshinkan and Aikikai and other styles is the position of feet and hips. Most aikido styles use a kamae (generally translated as "stance", but can also be interpreted to mean "ready" or mental and physical "attitude") with the front foot pointing straight forward, the back foot at a 90 degree angle to the front foot, and the hips on a slight angle to the side. In the Yoshinkan kamae, the hips are square to the opponent (partner), and both the front and back feet are angled outwards at approximately 45 degrees (and on a 90 degree angle to each other). The Yoshinkan kamae is not intended as a combat stance, rather it is to instill and reinforce the body’s "centre line" (????chuushinsen).
Yoshinkan’s main interest is in teaching a form of Aikido based on the sharp and clear pre-war aikido techniques of Ueshiba Morihei. In establishing the Yoshinkan Dojo, Shioda did away with much of the esoteric components that had been a part of Ueshiba’s teachings, however "spirit" and attitude were strongly emphasized in Shioda’s teaching.
The name "Yoshinkan" comes from the dojo his father owned – "Yo" means cultivate; "shin" means spirit ("Shin" uses the same Chinese character as "kami," which means divine, deity or god(s) – however it is generally interpreted to mean one’s own "spirit" or "mind", rather than anything to do with deities in this case), "kan" means house. Thus "Yoshinkan" is the house for the cultivation of the spirit. Shioda’s, and subsequently most of his disciples’, teaching style is focused in the physical realm of Aikido techniques, and techniques are spoken of in terms of Centre Power (??: chuushinryoku?, Focused Power (??? : shuuchuuryoku), and Breath Power(???? kokyuuroku), and less in metaphysical. Yoshinkan will talk about energy flow and power in terms of "chikara" ("?" literally strength or power) rather than in metaphysical terms such as "ki". Despite not adhering to the religious aspects of Ueshiba’s teachings, however, the Yoshinkan honbu dojo does have a kamidana at theshomen (front) of the dojo.

Fong Ha demonstrating Taiji Ruler

Here is a link of Sifu Ha demonstrating Taiji Ruler. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=386013880735