Some people think that that our teachers, Hawks (no last name) and Jeff Bartfelt, are too uptight about the way they have us do things.
“This is a science, and you have to do it right.” –Hawks
The sets we are working on now are good for summer (releasing and moving the heat) and winter (warming in the cold).
Standing
- Standing = hugging tree / holding a ball = good for structure
- Standing = with arms at “side center” = palms up = “holding a tray”
- Standing = with palms up in front of third eye / pituitary = holding a ball
- Standing = “Fire and Water” = like a bear = with wrists at sides = “Dragon Claw Palm”
These standing exercises are all good for Tai Qi Chuan and Shing Yee. Although they are good for health, they are really more for structure than health; also good for increasing your ability to use the energy in the structure.
There are thousands of different forms of Qi Gong and Tai Qi Chuan being taught through the U.S., China, and all over the world. Many people have not seen our style, because it is one of the most ancient, unchanged lineages = second generation Yang style, from the Shaolin.
Hawks says that Yang Cheng Fu looks similiar to our grandfather teacher, B.P. Chan.
Here is a brief paragraph about the history:
Yang Family Style
Yang Family style Tai Chi Chuan is the most wide-spread system. Its origin, like ancient tai chi, is shrouded in mystery and legend. One story (considered apocryphal by authorities but perpetuated in the popular literature) says that Yang Lu Chan studied the art by disguising himself as a servant in the Chen family household and spying on the practitioners at midnight. (This version has a couple of variations, oneof which has him as a servant who could not speak; the other that he joined the Chen family as a servant when he was a child).
Another story has it that Yang Lu Chan was already an accomplished Shaolin Long Fist martial arts master who joined the Chen family to learn their system. Still another story (not necessarily the most reliable) has Yangstudying not the Chen family style, a southern Shaolin style (“Cannon Fist Boxing”) that later became known as tai chi chuan, but another style taught by a mysterious boxing master who was visiting the Chens. A story that crops up occasionally in the literature is that Yang also studied with a Taoist monk.
Whatever the truth behind the confusing claims, the Yang Family style, asit is known today, was developed by Yang Lu Shan’s grandson, Yang Cheng-Fu, who revised the family style to make it more simple and accessible to the public. In the 20’s and 30’s up to his death in 1936, Yang Cheng-Fu propagated Yang style tai chi chuanas he traveled around China. Among the masters who learned the style from him were his oldest son Yang Sau-Chung (now deceased who was 28 years oldwhen his father died), Tung Ying-Chieh (deceased), Chen Wei Ming (deceased), Tin Shao Lin (Shanghai) and Cui Yi Shi (Beijing).
–this information is from the website page, “In Search of Yang Cheng Fu”.
Practice Tips:
For the first one to ten years of practice, utilize the “Dragon Claw Palm” for the “Fire and Water” standing practice. If your hands are on a 45 degree angle properly, you can’t really straighten your elbow.
Regarding the Internal Arts: “If one does Qi Gong and Tai Chi Chuan correctly, it leads to slow and steady healing. If not done at all, or done incorrectly, it leads to slow and steady death.”
Some people don’t like to hear that.
Proper form, like anything that requires mastery, takes years to achieve a high level of proficiency, and even then, you are practicing for the rest of your life. It is no different than a musician, athlete, chef, teacher, etc.
Once you get the structure and the foundation down, then you can often do anything you want = because you have a foundation and understanding at the cellular unconscious level.
Thank you.
Technorati tags: [Qi Gong], [Qigong], [Qi Gong Tips], [Qigong Tips], [Dr. Andrew Colyer], [Tao Yin], [Shaolin], [B.P. Chan]
