September 28, 2003, Sunday
Fearlessness
When threatened or attacked one's natural reaction is to tense up the
muscles. Dangerous
situations can suddenly cause the muscles to tighten, sweat to appear, emotions
of fear to
overpower one's consciousness, and even one's hair to stand on end. A
frightening
experience can lead to extreme muscular tension to the point of shaking,
paralysis, and
even moving into a state of shock. A martial artist can ill afford to
allow this kind of bodily
reaction to occur during a martial confrontation.
One approach to overcoming this natural tendency is to toughen the body -
physically
condition it to a high level by rigorous and painful training. Appropriate
response to
attack becomes more automatic, thoughtless, conditioned. The martial
artist might
not be relaxed during combat, but he is not physically
paralyzed by fear.
The martial artist must use psychological training techniques, value systems,
and
religious beliefs that encourage him to face danger with fearlessness, courage,
tenacity, bravery and resoluteness. A belief that he is willing to die in
battle as
a worthy sacrifice to a higher social-religious-political cause is a strong
foundation
for fearlessness. The Way of the Warrior, Bushido, the Goodness of the
Martyr, and
other Soldier's Codes of Conduct provide these sorts of value systems that
contribute
to courage, bravery, self-sacrifice and fearlessness. This pathway can
sometimes
produce the fighter who is relaxed during combat.
One can also train consistently in staying relaxed, centered, focused, and
loose
during combat simulation situations. This practice leads to confidence in
his
improved fighting skills insofar as relaxed movements can be more agile,
quicker, correct, and technically proficient. He comes to realize that
superior
performance requires that he stay relaxed, calm, loose, and in control of
emotions.
This confidence leads martial artist to believe that he will succeed, will
prevail,
will overcome the opponent. Relaxed confidence
contributes to fearlessness.
September 26, 2003, Friday
Karen, Betty and I went to Chico this afternoon. Chinese food for lunch,
shopping, new and used bookstore browsing. Delightful autumn afternoon.
I have been reading two books:
Taiji
Sword, Classical Yang Style: The Complete Form, Qigong and Applications.
By Yang, Jwing-Ming. Edited by James C. O'Leary. Boston, Mass., YMAA
Publications, 1999. Index, glossary, list of form postures, 205 pages.
ISBN: 1886969744. MGC.
Ultimate
Guide to Tai Chi. (The Best of Kung-Fu Magazine). Edited by John
R.
Little and Curtis F. Wong. Chicago, IL, Contemporary Books, 2000.
301 pages.
ISBN: 0809228335. MGC.
Continued to improve the Taiji Sword webpage.
September 25, 2003, Thursday
I did some reading and research on the Tai Chi sword (jian).
I hope to
begin learning to use the Taiji Jian (sword) in October. This is an
activity that I have never done before. Kind of goofy - an old man
sword playing?? Goof On!!!
Today, I purchased my first Tai Chi sword, four books, and two
videotapes on the subject. This should get me off to a fine start in
the
coming months. I purchased the Doc-Fai Wong videotape on the traditional
Yang sword form because the people I study with in Chico at a monthly workshop
do this sword form; and Master Wong comes to Chico or we go to San Francisco
to his events. I also purchased the Paul Lam 32 sword form. I really like Dr. Lam's
videotapes
for learning. He is an excellent teacher via videotape. Also, I will
meet
Dr. Lam
at a workshop in Monterey this coming October. I am sure I will also
study Tai Chi Sword with others in the years to come.
September 24, 2003, Wednesday
After surgery for my double hernia on Monday, I was back walking
today and doing Yang style Tai Chi sets. Although I still have some
soreness and cannot get up from my bed or chair very easily, I
feel pretty energetic and have little pain. .
One of the real advantages of Tai Chi is how one can do sets in high,
medium or low stances. Generally, I do Yang style in a medium stance
with legs fairly widely spaced. My teachers frequently tell me to shorten
my stance and stand up higher. I feel more powerful, more martial,
more focused in a medium stance. I cannot go as low as my friends
who do Chen style because of my long legs, age, and flexibility.
But,
I like getting lower. Someday, I need to learn Sun style sets which use
higher stances with legs closer together and use more nimble and agile
leg/foot movements than we do in the Yang style. Today, I did Yang style in
a high stance with legs closer together. It felt good! Only low
kicks
were made. For the next few weeks - high stances, gentleness,
easy does it form work.
Tai Chi does have proven advantages for persons recuperating from
some health setbacks.
Spent a lot of time reading and writing the past few
days. I did some
research on Ba Gua Zhang. I'm going to a one day
Ba Gua workshop
in two weeks.
September 20, 2003, Saturday
My Tai Chi practice and physical conditioning program has been set back
somewhat by my having an enlarged left inguinal hernia. I will have
surgery on
the hernia on 9/22/03.
I've been working on the Yang style long form notes.
Reading books and
looking at videotapes on the subject. The Terence Dunn videotape is
the best instructional videotape I have studied on this
subject.
Added a number of links to the Chen style Taijiquan document.
I split the large bibliography/webliography into parts on Taijiquan
and
Qigong.
September 14, 2003, Sunday
Read Tai Chi Classics.
Lots of walking and Tai Chi today. Beautiful cool mornings, windy, with an autumn feel.
September 13, 2003, Saturday
Added a number of links to the Northern California and
Oregon Tai Chi Directory.
September 12, 2003, Friday
Updated the Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan webpage.
"According to a long-held
tradition, Huang Ti, the so-called Yellow Emperor, who began
his rule around 2700 B. C., practiced a form of exercise called Tao Yin
with the aim of
increasing his life span. The word Tao means "guide," and
Yin means "leading." These
terms give a hint of how the exercise works: the movements of the limbs guide
the
circulation of the blood so that the tissues throughout the body can be repaired
and
cleansed more efficiently. The movements also lead the breath in and out
of the lungs,
so that more oxygen can be inhaled to nourish and energize the body and the
poisons
can be exhaled more efficiently. ... Essential to the practice of Tao
Yin was the way in
which the movements of the limbs were combined with the breathing. It is
actually this
combination that make the exercise so beneficial for health. Huang Ti's
exercises
were also know as T'u Na. The word T'u means
"exhale," and Na means "inhale."
- Dau Liu, T'ai
Chi Ch'uan and Meditation, 1986, p. 3.
September 11, 2003, Thursday
"Breathing Out -
Touching the Root of Heaven,
One's heart opens;
The Dragon slips into the water..
Breathing In -
Standing on the Root of Earth,
One's heart is still and deep;
The Tiger's claw cannot be moved.
As you go on breathing in this frame of mind, with these associations,
alternating
between movement and stillness, it is important that the focus of your mind does
not shift. Let the true breath come and go, a subtle continuum on the
brink
of existence. Tune the breathing until you get breath without breathing;
become
one with it, and then the spirit can be solidified and the elixir can be
made."
- Chang San-Feng, Commentary on Ancestor Lu's Hundred-Character
Tablet
Translated by Thomas Cleary, Vitality,
Energy, Spirit: A Taoist Sourcebook, 1991, p. 187.
Poetic interpretation by Mike Garofalo of expository text of
Chang San-Feng.
Let us hope our leaders in the United States can revise their thinking and
change
their course of action. Let is not remember our fallen citizens from 9/11
by
unleashing destruction, pain and suffering on innocent people in Afghanistan and
Iraq because of what 20 Saudi Arabian citizens did on 9/11. Let us not
ourselves
continue to behave like terrorists, striking out in anger and bitterness,
leaving
the path of peace, friendship, cooperation and compassion. We need to
move beyond fear and anger and revenge to a higher vision and path.
September 10, 2003, Wednesday
Added a link on the Cloud Hands Homepage to the Chen
webpage, and improved the
Chen Style Tai Chi webpage.
September 9, 2003, Tuesday
The Harvest Moon
rises in a cloudy sky -
Taijiquan students smile.
Ten students joined me in the Gerber School Gymnasium for my class
on Yang Style Taijiquan Long Form. We did some push
hands and
the Bear (5) and Archer (2) movements from the Eight
Section Brocade.
I enjoyed myself and hope they did.
Some people hold tension and weight in their upper back and shoulders.
The stiffness comes from awkwardness, imbalance, uneeded tension.
The natural tendency when uncomfortable, awkward, or feeling out of
place is to tense up and stiffen up. Taijiquan works to counter this
tendency and emphasize Shoong. How can we be
alert, aware,
and assertive as well as relaxed at the same time?
Used creative hand gestures to emphasize key points about Taiji and
Yin-Yang philosophy, and about Taijiquan.
September 8, 2003, Monday
Reading:
Cheng
Man-ch'ing: Master of Five Excellences. Translation and commentary by
Mark Hennessy. Berkeley, California, Frog, Ltd., 1995. 166 pages.
ISBN: 188331903X. Discussion of Master Cheng's work in calligraphy,
poetry, painting, medicine and tai chi chuan. MGC.
"The Tao of Heaven is yin and yang;
The Tao of Earth is hard and soft;
The Tao of Man is compassion and duty."
Cheng Man-ching's comments on I Ching,
Cheng
Man-ch'ing: Master of Five Excellences., p. 156.
September 7, 2003, Sunday
I enjoyed reading The Way of Qigong by Ken Cohen. This book is
essential reading
for all Qigong practioners.
The Way
of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing. By Kenneth
S. Cohen.
Foreword by Larry Dossey. New York Ballantine Books, 1997. Index,
notes, appendices,
427 pages. ISBN: 0345421094. One of my favorite books:
comprehensive, informative,
practical, and scientific. MGC.
September 6, 2003, Saturday
Updated some information in the Northern California and
Oregon Tai Chi Directory.
"How many taiji players does it take to change a light bulb?"
The answer; "One hundred. One to change the bulb, and ninety-nine to say
how their teacher does it differently!"
Met with Carmen
Farruggia at his home in Redding. Carmen's house is right on
the Sacramento River in a beautiful setting. We talked about our interests
and
shared some of our experiences. Carmen showed me exercises for silk
reeling, tan tien rotation, jing training, pole shaking, and gave me many
good
ideas about how to begin training in Chen style Tai Chi. We did some
Push
Hands work and discussion of techniques. His jing energy in part of
our
play was real and strong.
September 5, 2003, Friday
"Regulate the breathing, and thereby control the mind."
- B.K.S. Iyengar
The
Yoga of Breath: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pranayama. Boston,
Shambhala, 2002. Index, notes, 304 pages. ISBN: 1570628890.
MGC.
Reading and writing about Breathing during Tai Chi Chuan.
September 4, 2003, Thursday
Prepared handouts and flyers for the Tai
Chi class that I will be teaching on Tuesday
nights.
"Far from my body's being for me no more than a fragment of
space,
there would be no space at all for me if I had no body."
- Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of Perception
September 3, 2003, Wednesday
Reading and writing about Tai
Chi Chuan and Diabetes.
A beautiful summer morning for walking and tai chi practice - cool, spectacular
sunrise, and cloudy.
September 2, 2003, Tuesday
Reading and writing about Silk
Reeling - Chan Ssu Jing - Spiral Energy.
September 1, 2003, Monday
Reading and writing about Shoong
- Relaxed, Open, Yielding, Loose.
Red Bluff, Tehama
County, North Sacramento Valley, Northern California, U.S.A.
Close to the Cities of Chico, Orland, Corning, Los Molinos,
Cottonwood, Anderson, and Redding CA
© Michael P. Garofalo, 2003, All Rights Reserved
Cuttings: Haiku and Short Poems
Cloud Hands: Tai Chi Chuan and Chi Kung Website
Tai Chi Chuan, Taijiquan, T'ai Chi Ch'uan,
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