Body Work

Do you do tai ji?  What style?  What sort of exercise do you do to strengthen your body?  Feel free to post anything as taoism, chi and energy are all inclusive and does not discriminate.  We will all learn from each other here so don't be shy to post any thoughts you may have.
For me, I do the Yi Style tai chi chuan.  Our grandmaster is Yi Da Kuen from Taiwan.  He is 93 years old and can still gracefully do all the tai chi routines that his ancestors have developed.  You have to be patient and committed in order to learn tai chi. 
Qigong on the other hand is easier to learn and can generate energetic chi within your body quicker than tai chi and can be as potent as tai chi.  Maybe one day I can have digital video podcast of qigong routines and tai chi routines for everybody to follow while on their computer.  Maybe somebody right now can do so, please feel free to do that.  
Please do not get intimadated if you do not do any of this.  Taoism is only a word.  Just like Buddhism, Buddha did not used the word or invented the word “buddhism”.  But even though you do not put a label to it, you may be a “taoist” more than you think you are.  It is a frame of mind.
Let us all support each other in our journey together.  Thank you!
Samme

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Re: Body Work

Your grandmaster must be amazing. Tai ji is good.

I gain my strength from karate. It strengthen my body, mind and spirit. It consists of basics, katas and kumite. It requires, disipline, focuse and teaches coordination, balance, concentration, confidence and much more.

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I've been practicing the Guang Ping style (which is a Yang family variant) for over 20 years.  I started and continue to practice through an local adult education program which has made Tai Chi available to the community for free all that time.  I have become one of the class' instructors by social promotion, but I simply consider myself to be the hardest working student in the class.

I also teach Tai Chi to guests at a local destination spa.  Teaching Tai Chi in this environment has unsual demands.  What meaningful things can you say to a spa guest in an hour's time that might possibly stay with them for a lifetime?

Here is a video clip of me demonstrating the “spa form,” and another of my rendition of a 32 posture sword form.

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I love TaiJi, I believe what I have been taught is Chen style. My instructor is spending the Boar year living in Yosemite, so if anyone in Tucson, AZ knows of any free/very low cost classes, please let me know :-)

In the meantime, I practice in my home with a video or on my own.

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I started out learning Tai ji  when I was living on Okinawa.  My teacher put a lot of emphasis on it being a “martial art”, albeit softer than karate, for instance.  I soon discovered Qigong as a result of raised energy consciousness, and now prefer it to Tai ji.  Currently, I practice a form called  White Crane, which has 128 movements, divided into 5 sets. 

Unfortunately, qigong instructors are rare here in the US, so if anyone has any tips, or techniques to share, I'd love to hear them. 

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Hi Samme, I practice Wu Ji Jing Gong Tai Chi. It 's a form I've learned at Silver Tiger studio nearby. Here is a link to the school: http://silvertigertaichi.com/ . I've been studying for about 3 years.  I am limited by time and money but practice what I have already learned daily. I have learned the first section of three and some applications. I have also learned the set of qigong exercises related to this form.

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Re: Body Work

Hi everyone,

I practice the taoist martial art ot Ba Gua - the sister art to tai chi. Before this I practiced karate. I find that Ba Gua is a very deep and extremely demanding martial art.

In all honesty I expect many more years of basic practice before the art starts to flow within me, although the circle walking is very energetic and I can get a sense of it's power and grace.

There are also various qi gong moves (none static) that seem to torture me with their twisting and stretching postures. On the occasions that I focus correctly they are again very powerful and can be very invigorating, totally different to static qi gong postures.

In ba gua alot of work is required in order to prepare the body to move chi to where it is needed to defend yourself. The chinese masters have figured out lots of elaborate ways to find new muscles to twist!

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