Lightness, Slowness, Roundness, Smoothness

http://www.whitedragonofeastcounty.com/
History_TaiChi.aspx

In traditional taiji there are no grades. Progress is measured by the development of qi—energy. But, how do you measure qi? According to Jou Tsung Hwa, Cheng Man-Ching defines skill in taiji according to three categories: humanity, earth, and sky. He further divided these into three levels each (nine in all). Jou, following Cheng's lead used the same three categories but further divided them into four sub-categories (twelve in all). The first level, humanity, would take a student three to five years to become proficient. Here are the first four levels a student needs to concentrate on

• Ching (lightness)
• Man (slowness)
• Yuan (roundness)
• Yun (smoothness)

In all the forms and postures students need an awareness of these four principles as qi develops.Watching a skilled taiji player you will notice the lightness, slowness, roundness and smoothness of her form. This takes great skill, but is a measure how progress in the art.

Begin again

I heard today that my examination was accepted and that Master Jesse Tsao (12th Generation Chen Lineage) has certified me an instructor. I feel truly honored and humbled. I am very happy that Way of Peace Taijiquan is associated with such a distinguished taiji master and wonderful teacher.

This feels to me like a beginning again. Back to basics. Back to wuji. Beginning taiji. Learning yin and yang. There is a long way to go.

Stay well!

Andy

Catching up

It's been over a month since a post. What have I been up to? Mostly helping students start a taiji club at the college where I teach. That has been a lot of fun! I have a wonderful group of students who are making great progress and have loads of enthusiasm.
I have also been getting ready for my examination for instructor with Master Jesse Tsao (reading, writing, meditating, thinking). It's been a while since an exam and getting back into it from the other side of "grading" is interesting.
The daily practice teaches much and when I have some time I will write posts on cane routine, more on taiji ruler, and getting more in touch with the taiji classics.
In the meantime, I have uploaded a few videos of various forms (under the video tab). The are for aide memoire only and not to be taken as teaching tools. For that, I suggest interested folk get hold of Master Jesse's teaching DVDs. Then you can see all the mistakes in my form! These videos are what form looks like after 300+ hours practice (in Way of Peace Taijiquan at level 6).

Stay rooted,

Andy