Tai Chi Happy Hour - Fridays @ 4pm - Body Balance Studio

Got chi? Come on over to Body Balance Academy every Friday from 4-5pm for open practice.  It's not a class. It's time for all students at all levels to come practice their forms in our beautiful Bamboo Studio. Enjoy the flow, whether you are learning fundamentals, Yang Long Form, Straight Sword, Ba Gua or Xing Yi.  The doors will be open. See you there.

Dancing in the chair - Dr. Zibin Guo's Wheelchair Tai Chi Chuan

Applied Taiji is the name for the modern application of the ancient principles of Tai Chi. Dr. Zibin Guo developed this seated Tai Chi form for people who use wheelchairs or who cannot stand for the duration of the form for any reason.  Think of it as a way to continue to gain the benefits of practice during illness or injury (as I learned so well over the past year after I broke my left ankle).

Wheelchair Tai Ji was demonstrated at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. Here are photos from the Applied Taiji website.

Here's a video of the 13 posture Applied Taiji form.

Now you don't have to imagine how the ancient principles may be available to all, whether seated or standing.

If you want to study further, this page  includes information on using Tai Chi to reduce pain. It has a chart that describes the muscles involved in back and neck pain compared to the muscles used in several Tai Chi forms. You'll see how and why the relaxation of Tai Chi can work to rehabilitate these muscles.

Tai Chi Benefits to Parkinson's Patient

Early Monday evenings, when other folks are rushing home from work, a group of 10 men and women who are in their 50s or 60s quietly learning the art of tai chi.

At St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Ill., Ron Taylor takes his spot in the front row, right next to his instructor Yi Karpen. He moves slowly and deliberately, just like all of his classmates. Yet in his eyes, a look of quiet determination shows he’s here for a serious reason.

Taylor isn’t taking tai chi only for the benefits of relaxation — he’s in the class because he is doing his best to beat Parkinson’s disease. While reading one of his Parkinson’s publications, he found an article touting the benefits of tai chi. Right away, he decided to try it out.

Taylor, who lives in Pleasant Plains, Ill., is dealing not only with Parkinson’s but also a crushed vertebrae and neurological problems with his left leg.

Read the full story here.

Jean Kono Black Sash Celebration

Wow! If you missed Jean Kono's Black Sash performances Friday May 4th at Body Balance Academy, you missed multiple and repeated demonstrations of his power, grace, internal and external strength, speed and talent. The Double Broad Sword and Broad Sword Vs. Open Hand were my favorites.

Every one of the Kung Fu demonstrations was stellar from the kicking Kung Fu Kids to the white sash forms all the way to the brown sashes and black tips. Stay tuned for photos from the event.

Thanks very much to the parents, family and friends of Body Balance students who support and encourage us to pursue our practice.

Xie xie to Summer Lujan for producing the event.

And finally, much gratitude to Shih Fu Eileen Hancock for creating this amazing community of Tai Chi and Kung Fu practitioners and holding up the Tien Shan Pai Kung Fu traditions.

Tai Chi Practice: "Doing Wrong" by Matthias Schossig

Thanks to Matthias for addressing the fear expressed to me by several students that they might somehow practice "wrong" at home. Read more tips about practice from David Parry-Jones. --Catherine

As to the question of your student, what one can do wrong, I have a few thoughts based on my own experience.

First of all, the student who asks this question already knows the answer, or else she/he would not have asked it. She probably just needs a confirmation. I am not sure if my thoughts will provide that confirmation.

I have learned from my study of music with Christiaan Boele, my singing teacher, and Bill Douglass, with whom I have studied the bass, that there is no such thing as a "wrong" note. The alternative is not wrong and right, it is conscious or unconscious, aware or unaware. If I practice Tai Chi or Chi Gong, I work with my whole body, with my external and internal senses (hopefully) turned on and not too much distracted by my thoughts. We are in the fortunate position at Body Balance to have teachers who are demonstrating and teaching very clear and consistent forms in various disciplines. Each and every student who is exposed on any level of instruction at Body Balance will learn in their own way, regardless what age or shape we are in. Lao Tzu says "The adept works for the internal body and not for the eye." Although there is something like an "objective form", towards which we strive in our practice, each one of us takes their own path and will approach and manifest the form in a different way. "The Lotus has a Thousand Flowers", and each one is different. None is rejected. So, my short answer is: No, you cannot practice wrong. The main thing is to turn on your internal senses, follow the flow of breath and chi in your body, take the suggestions and corrections your teacher is offering to heart and enjoy what the approach of your body to the form is doing for you.

Practice Poem for Shih Fu by Catherine Stifter

When you do this,
you align the three centers.
When you do that,
the three centers align.
Doing this or that,
the san jiao
becomes aligned.

In the beginning
do this.
To continue on the path
do that.

As breath enters the body,
expand.
As breath leaves the body,
contract.
Expanding and contracting
open the door.
Inhaling and exhaling
clear the way.

Practice is simple:
return to the source.
Inhale this.
Exhale that.
Over and over
again.

-1.28.11 

Tai Chi Practice Tips from David Parry-Jones

Thanks to PJ for these great ideas about practice. Read more about practice from Matthias Schossig.  Let me know if you'd like to contribute! --Catherine

Practice - Am I doing it wrong?
Practice at home is like practice at the studio when Shifu is working with someone else, or not watching you :) You are working towards a visual/mental ideal you have formed based on your instruction. You know that you are not quite achieving the goal, but you are trying and getting closer all the time. You can achieve that goal sooner if you augment your class learning with home practice.

Practice
To me the term practice means doing an activity to achieve an improvement. Therefore practicing Tai Chi is slightly different from doing Tai Chi - although you obviously learn each time you "do" Tai Chi - practicing implies a specific focus on certain areas to achieve technical or mental "perfection."

My practice thoughts:

• Practice daily, if possible, and at a time where you can be mentally and physically focused. Privacy is good also.
• Have a specific practice goal for that day/time: complete a specific part of the form you have just been shown; improve execution of a move/form; achieve an even flow of  movements; breathing, relaxation, etc.
• Make sure you are relaxed: do some Qi Gong to enhance your focus and relaxation.
• Practice the fundamental "drills" frequently in your practice - slow them way-down, looking for  fluid movements and a gradual weight shift.
• Break difficult moves down into smaller parts:
• Go over the starting and ending positions and the sequence of events between the two. Reviewing/understanding the elements of the move (block, strike etc) will help you "find" the interim positions
• Section 3 example: practice bending down and gathering and shifting weight to one foot utwitho performing the kick.
• Just do waist and arm movements without steps until you feel comfortable.
• Focus on the weight shift for a move without the arm movements (like the Tai Chi walk) - feel your center and weight shifting as you "ground" yourself.
•  Practice some strength building exercises: Qi Gong, Horse stance, Ba Gua
• Have fun - create your own "drills" piecing together some parts of the form that you enjoy or that challenge you - maybe that's all of the form :)
• Take the time to do some Tai Chi separate from practice. Complete the whole form or select something you have learned, and know quite well, and perform that the best way you can - closest to your ideal.
• Recognize the effort you have made and recognize your successes.