A thought about the ebb of flow of success and failure. It appears that the problem we have with the accumulation of attachments is that we build permanence and security into our lives where none exists, we build security into our little triumphs where none are necessary. This relative condition is simply that a condition and so all conditions can change.

All success through ego clinging needs to therefore to be clung to and all failure is a mini death, all things die and new life arises. One of the meditations that Rudolph Steiner taught his students was to observe well the birth of one season with the death of the last.

To meditate on things that are living and things that are dead. This continuous flow between the two could simply remind us that we are part of cyclic existence. What standing meditation aids with is the quality of feeling, being connected to a core feeling and having a firm and clear connection with the ground beneath my feet. To be able to really stand alone and to be well within oneself.

125,798 people have watched this Wu Shu Tai Chi Champion from Henan province on Youtube. The question is, is this anything like Tai Chi as performed by the founding fathers of the art? I could utilize ballet more effectively as a martial art than by attempting performance art version of Tai Chi.

Tai Chi Chuan never was a performance art.
An empty form is a form that has no core, no substance and no function. It is purely for show. Sadly I have met a few English people who have paid large amounts of money and time to take their Tai Chi fantasy to a new level by training with people who are quite happy to sell Chavvy martial arts, like the guy here in the Youtube video.

What do you want?

If you decide you would like to train the Gong Fu of any of the Internal Arts 9 not just tai Chi Chuan ) and realise the promise that they develop internal power then you have to take in board the notion that they were termed Internal for a very precise reason. The inside is more important than the outside. The facade, the exterior movement by does not indicate that there is much going on on the inside.

 The reason why the internal arts are good for health is that they work the internal environment of the person incredibly well, they massage the internal organs, lengthen and unwind constricted tissue and by doing so increase the flow of vital force via the meridian system and produce phenomenal bio- tensegrity and whole body communication.

Exaggerated forms are utterly useless and frankly plain pointless, what can happen is that when some genuine old boy does a visually muted yet internally generated form people demean it.

For example: one of my masters the late Tian JIng Jia was a phenomenal Tai Chi man. He practiced a version of Tai Chi Chuan that predates all modern forms, a clip on Youtube drew awful comments, yet this old man at the time would really mess you up if you tried anything on him.

The problem seems to be that internal arts are very difficult to visually appriase when the artist has internalised the movement principles. In fact the only sure way to test an internal martial artists work is to cross hands with them and feel what they have under the skin, a lawnmower engine or a V8. Then you will really know.

Whilst playing soldiers as children we are aware that we are pretending. Pretending to do something is not doing something. Equally any one performing Wu Shu should be under no illusion of what it is they practicing. Wu Shu is not martial arts.

Waving your arms about and squatting your backside on the floor and leaping high in the air are poor indicators that what your are doing will work or that it is at all related to the Internal Arts that they are passed off as. Wu Shu performers often are consummate athletes, but so are gymnasts, who as things go are more closely related to Wu Shu than Wu Shu performers are to Martial Arts. There are dozens of comments on Youtube arguing about the validity or lack of it of these forms. All this emotionality one way or the other misses the point.

There are many Wu Shu performers I can appreciate from a performing and athletic perpective, I have personally known much better Wu Shu performers than the guy in the video. One of my old friends used to compete in China vs Jet Li. So before anyone gets all hot under the collar, I admire all athletes. I do not admire empty forms. One however must distinguish between IMA and Wu Shu. They are really not the same.

check out my blog for the video:

http://realtaoism.tumblr.com/

check out the diguised list...be informed 

Hidden Sources Of MSG In Foods
From the book 'Excitotoxins - The Taste That Kills'
By Dr. Russell Blaylock, MD
3-6-3

http://www.rense.com/general35/hidd.htm

http://pakuachangjournal.com/editorsNote.php

Dragon and Tiger Qi Gong is a relatively simple seven movement set that provides a way method which allows the practitioner to focus on the felt sense of ones immediate Qi (Chi field - Aura)

Our nervous systems and our minds can be attuned to sensing our life giving Human energy field. This field has been observed for millenia by varied cultures of the world both East and West, in China, India  and ancient Greece.

In the 20th Century many people in Western Science such as Semyon Davidovich Kirlian and Dr. Wilhelm Reich researched the aura of the Human energy field. Back in 500 B.C., the Pythagoreans believed that there is a universal energy pervading all of nature. They taught that its light could effect cures in sick patients.

The ancient Chinese 2500 B.C developed a methodology that allowed anyone to cultivate an awareness of this field as a felt sense phenomena and this led to movement systems that promoted self awareness and an increase in vital energy and blood flow. Masters of such arts could act as catalysts for the releasing of blockages in a patients field, simultaneously influencing the cells and tissues of another being. The power of the treatment had much to do with the personal strength of the masters own energy field and his good will and intent. A master’s personal energy field is trained much like an athlete would train his physical body. In reality all fields are interrelated and a master of considerable practice can sense blockages in another person and effect a change at subtle levels of being, not simply at the gross physical level as happens with regular physical arts.

The beauty of Qi Gong practice is that one can learn to work gradually over time to become more integrated with self and others in a positive way that benefits all. Qi Gong is a construct, an idea that can help those who feel they have no control over circumstances or their health. Qi Gong is a mindfully based movement system utilizing natural motion with deep breathing.

http://realtaoism.tumblr.com/post/13776063094/clearing-qi-to-the-lower-dan-tien-the-first

On the 17th December, we will be ending the year with a free members workshop.

10am - 1pm This is a chance to refresh your Hun Yuan practice or catch up. I will also demonstrate some of the qi gong I have learned over the last 25 years including some of Master Ma's advanced qi gong and form.

Workshop Timetable:

10am Hun Yuan Form 8 10.45 / Hun Yuan Level 2 Qi Gong  / 11.45 Hun Yuan Level 1 Qi Gong

1pm Demonstration of Dr Cohen's heat-able Acuball with Bridgit Lucas

This is a pretty cool product that can be used in your work situation or at home and as an adjunct to your qi gong practice, can be used as a warm up to massage out stubborn and hard to get to areas. The ball is heat-able and produces heat for over an hour. I can vouch for the quality of the product and use it myself and have met Dr. Cohen. Bridgit Lucas a UK rep for the Acuball, KMI structural integrator and Qi Gong practitioner has kindly agreed to come to the studio and give a presentation for the members.

If you are stuck for a xmas present then these are a healthy stocking filler, the large Acuball retails at £30. Come along and experience the Acuball for yourself.

http://www.acuball.co.uk/acuball_howitworks.php

made his debut teaching the rare Snake System of Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan in the UK in late October. The snake system workshop was warmly recieved by the Tai Chi Players attending the workshop and Master Boyd will be returning in 2012 to continue teaching the Snake long form. if anyone woyld lik to be added to the snake mailing list please, simply drop us an email realtaoism@gnail.com

For full workshop report on the Snake System workshop please follow this lnk http://realtaoism.tumblr.com/