Tai Chi
08-29-2009, 01:40 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Tai Chi
I've finally convinced my +1 to take Tai Chi classes with me. We're hoping to take 12 weeks of classes in South Carolina beginning in a few weeks with a Coastal Carolina program. I've read many good things about this form of "exercise" and wonder if any of you have any experience. I hope to improve my endurance, blood pressure, flexibility and hopefully it will assist with my hip pain. I'm looking for something we can do as a couple that will be mutually beneficial. I will welcome your comments/advice.
08-29-2009, 02:25 PM
#2
Check out QiGong. Much slower than tai chi, and with many other benefits. It's very much like some forms of yoga. Very meditative and personal.
I've been doing it a long time.
fltsfshr
I've been doing it a long time.
fltsfshr
08-30-2009, 03:40 AM
#5
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by RC - Ryder,Aug 29 2009, 11:59 PM
Damn, I thought this was about Thai food.
You guyz!!!! The more I read about this the more interested I become. Flts, thanks for your response. Sadly, Qi Gong is apparently not taught any where in this area. 
08-30-2009, 04:38 AM
#6
I have tried it many times with an instructor.
Each time, I drop out after a few lessons because I feel(and appear) uncoordinated.
Some of the moves are in my daily routine but that's about all I can do.
Each time, I drop out after a few lessons because I feel(and appear) uncoordinated.
Some of the moves are in my daily routine but that's about all I can do.
08-30-2009, 04:46 AM
#7
Val Tai Chi is part of martial QiGong. In effect you're doing a form of QiGong when you learn Tai Chi.
The other parts of Qi Gong might also interest you. I copied this for you.
It seems pretty accurate. The meditative forms of QiGong work well for pain management etc but that's a secondary effect that comes from the internal balance you gain from it's practice. As you practice it, you evolve your own kata (or movement sequence) that best suits you. It's easy to learn how to center and balance.
"Qigong is a Chinese word that consists of two characters: Chi + Gong, which can be roughly translated as energy work. Qigong is a collective term for a large number of very diverse (in both function and purpose) systems of physical exercise and meditation. Qigong is not exclusive to China. Every culture on Earth has a record of some system of consistent cultivation of energy. The energy in question has the same origin so it is no wonder that systems from culturally unrelated places often times overlap as far as methods and theory are concerned.
There are three directions in Qigong: Martial, Medical and Spiritual. All three directions have the same goal: freedom.
Martial Qigong aims at the freedom of movement. It deals with acquiring unusual abilities and reducing the vulnerability of the body. Shao Lin Temple fighting monks made Martial Qigong popular all over the world. Shao Lin Temple owes its fame to Indian prince Bodhidharma (Da Mo in Chinese) turned Buddhist monk who came to China around 500 A. D. After settling in Shao Lin Temple and sitting unmoved facing a wall in deep meditation for 9 years he produced a two volume manuscript titled Muscle/Tendon Changing and Marrow/Brain Washing Classic (see 18 hands of Luo Han). Most of the incredible feats of strength and sensitivity that we usually associate with Kung Fu are Qigong applications. Taoist masters of the Wudang Mountain fame produced their own version of Martial Qigong. Their so called "internal" martial arts are less popular because of the long time that it takes one to master them. Tai Chi is just one of the examples of such system. Although, mostly slow in practice and soft in appearance, internal martial arts were considered the ultimate in empty hand war technology. The ideal of Martial Qigong is return to the spontaneity, speed and power of an animal by tuning the mind and the body to the natural movement that is present everywhere.
Medical Qigong aims at the freedom from disease. It has as its goal uncommon longevity, elimination of disease, and improved ability to enjoy all facets of life. The collection of medical knowledge amassed over thousands of years of experimentation is awe inspiring. Some 1500 year old manuscripts contains evidence that Qigong practitioners knew the fact that bone marrow is responsible for maintaining the quality of blood and functioning of the immune system. Detailed location and function of various glands (importance of which was not re-discovered until recently) is described in the Qigong books of that period. Most of the things that we know about dreams were learned from Tibetan Dream Qigong masters. Many medical qigong masters life span exceeded 100 years at the time when one was lucky to survive past 50. The practice of acupuncture, herbology and other so called TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) all came from Medical Qigong masters. The precise location of thousands of acupuncture points was recently confirmed by electrical measuring devices. The ideal of Medical Qigong is return to the health, beauty and strength of a teenager by living in accordance with the natural cycles of life.
Spiritual Qigong aims at the freedom of the mind. The basic premise is that the harbored illusion of separateness from nature and other people in general introduces pointless psychological suffering. Fighting against Nature is hard on the body and the mind. The main evidence of this is stress and depression. In short, if "everyone will just stop trying to be happy, we can all have pretty good time." Once satisfied, all material desires give rise to more desires, the pleasure of satisfaction of which is inversely proportional to the complexity of the desire itself. Eventually, we hit diminishing returns, which manifest themselves as apathy, frustration and depression, since we always want to be someone else. The main tool of Spiritual Qigong is meditation. Taoism is one of the more mild and balanced examples of Spiritual Qigong inspired philosophy. Reading Tao Te Ching, the masterpiece written by ancient master Lao Tzu is highly recommended for those interested in this path. Attempts by Spiritual Qigong masters such as Buddha, Jesus, Moses, Shiva to eliminate problems on large scale gave rise to religions. The ideal of Spiritual qigong is return to the original nature of a child and beyond that (it gets really esoteric here) by re-discovering our minds as manifestations of Nature itself.
Qigong practice consists of mental and emotional conditioning (relaxation and focus), massage, breathing, herbology, acupuncture and moving exercises. The three most important elements of Qigong are conditioning of the body, the breath and the mind. When combined, the above allows one to control his or her body function to an amazing degree. The much touted longevity, intelligence and youthful appearance of qigong masters is supposedly due to the advanced qigong's methods of stimulation of hormone production and activation of a larger percentage of brain cells. Qigong, Yoga and Reiki are different names for cultivation of energy."
Ask your Tai Chi instructor, if you're interested. There's really no mysticism to it, it's all technique.
fltsfshr
The other parts of Qi Gong might also interest you. I copied this for you.
It seems pretty accurate. The meditative forms of QiGong work well for pain management etc but that's a secondary effect that comes from the internal balance you gain from it's practice. As you practice it, you evolve your own kata (or movement sequence) that best suits you. It's easy to learn how to center and balance.
"Qigong is a Chinese word that consists of two characters: Chi + Gong, which can be roughly translated as energy work. Qigong is a collective term for a large number of very diverse (in both function and purpose) systems of physical exercise and meditation. Qigong is not exclusive to China. Every culture on Earth has a record of some system of consistent cultivation of energy. The energy in question has the same origin so it is no wonder that systems from culturally unrelated places often times overlap as far as methods and theory are concerned.
There are three directions in Qigong: Martial, Medical and Spiritual. All three directions have the same goal: freedom.
Martial Qigong aims at the freedom of movement. It deals with acquiring unusual abilities and reducing the vulnerability of the body. Shao Lin Temple fighting monks made Martial Qigong popular all over the world. Shao Lin Temple owes its fame to Indian prince Bodhidharma (Da Mo in Chinese) turned Buddhist monk who came to China around 500 A. D. After settling in Shao Lin Temple and sitting unmoved facing a wall in deep meditation for 9 years he produced a two volume manuscript titled Muscle/Tendon Changing and Marrow/Brain Washing Classic (see 18 hands of Luo Han). Most of the incredible feats of strength and sensitivity that we usually associate with Kung Fu are Qigong applications. Taoist masters of the Wudang Mountain fame produced their own version of Martial Qigong. Their so called "internal" martial arts are less popular because of the long time that it takes one to master them. Tai Chi is just one of the examples of such system. Although, mostly slow in practice and soft in appearance, internal martial arts were considered the ultimate in empty hand war technology. The ideal of Martial Qigong is return to the spontaneity, speed and power of an animal by tuning the mind and the body to the natural movement that is present everywhere.
Medical Qigong aims at the freedom from disease. It has as its goal uncommon longevity, elimination of disease, and improved ability to enjoy all facets of life. The collection of medical knowledge amassed over thousands of years of experimentation is awe inspiring. Some 1500 year old manuscripts contains evidence that Qigong practitioners knew the fact that bone marrow is responsible for maintaining the quality of blood and functioning of the immune system. Detailed location and function of various glands (importance of which was not re-discovered until recently) is described in the Qigong books of that period. Most of the things that we know about dreams were learned from Tibetan Dream Qigong masters. Many medical qigong masters life span exceeded 100 years at the time when one was lucky to survive past 50. The practice of acupuncture, herbology and other so called TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) all came from Medical Qigong masters. The precise location of thousands of acupuncture points was recently confirmed by electrical measuring devices. The ideal of Medical Qigong is return to the health, beauty and strength of a teenager by living in accordance with the natural cycles of life.
Spiritual Qigong aims at the freedom of the mind. The basic premise is that the harbored illusion of separateness from nature and other people in general introduces pointless psychological suffering. Fighting against Nature is hard on the body and the mind. The main evidence of this is stress and depression. In short, if "everyone will just stop trying to be happy, we can all have pretty good time." Once satisfied, all material desires give rise to more desires, the pleasure of satisfaction of which is inversely proportional to the complexity of the desire itself. Eventually, we hit diminishing returns, which manifest themselves as apathy, frustration and depression, since we always want to be someone else. The main tool of Spiritual Qigong is meditation. Taoism is one of the more mild and balanced examples of Spiritual Qigong inspired philosophy. Reading Tao Te Ching, the masterpiece written by ancient master Lao Tzu is highly recommended for those interested in this path. Attempts by Spiritual Qigong masters such as Buddha, Jesus, Moses, Shiva to eliminate problems on large scale gave rise to religions. The ideal of Spiritual qigong is return to the original nature of a child and beyond that (it gets really esoteric here) by re-discovering our minds as manifestations of Nature itself.
Qigong practice consists of mental and emotional conditioning (relaxation and focus), massage, breathing, herbology, acupuncture and moving exercises. The three most important elements of Qigong are conditioning of the body, the breath and the mind. When combined, the above allows one to control his or her body function to an amazing degree. The much touted longevity, intelligence and youthful appearance of qigong masters is supposedly due to the advanced qigong's methods of stimulation of hormone production and activation of a larger percentage of brain cells. Qigong, Yoga and Reiki are different names for cultivation of energy."
Ask your Tai Chi instructor, if you're interested. There's really no mysticism to it, it's all technique.
fltsfshr
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08-30-2009, 05:46 AM
#8
Thread Starter
BG, thanks for your input. Flts, I appreciate the material. This is the description of the Beginners Tai Chi I class we're hoping to get into (by the time we get there, the class may be full, which would make me ):[QUOTE] This ancient Chinese discipline was developed as a means to improve health through the unique combination of postures.
08-30-2009, 07:50 AM
#9
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All very good material posted. I've been practicing Tai Chi for several years now. The thing I want to bring up is that many people claim their form of "exercise" as "Tai Chi". I've seen people teach simple "raise your arms, lower your arms" and call it Tai Chi -- David Carradine (RIP) taught such a form. Those are NOT true Tai Chi. Those are invented by greedy Americans who wanted to cash in on the Asian health awareness in recent times. There is also the "Qigong for weight loss" or some such, another crazy American invention.
The true Chinese Tai Chi grew out of both meditation and martial arts. As was already pointed out, it is closely related to Qigong -- the Qigong aspect is in the breathing control when practicing Tai Chi. But Tai Chi is not just physical exercise, it also stimulates the mind, in that you must memorize the flow of the different movements. It helps to have a Sifu (teacher) who understands the history and meaning of the different movements. Too many students just practice the movements without paying attention to the subtle details or the breathing, which defeats a lot of the benefits of art.
Good luck. If you do sign up, come back and tell us how it is.
I also want to mention that the younger generation (or even some of the vintage generation) of Chinese in China have adopted ballroom dancing to replace Tai Chi as a form or exercise. In terms of physical exercise, the two are quite close. But ballroom dancing does not have the meditative or breathing aspect that true Tai Chi has.
The true Chinese Tai Chi grew out of both meditation and martial arts. As was already pointed out, it is closely related to Qigong -- the Qigong aspect is in the breathing control when practicing Tai Chi. But Tai Chi is not just physical exercise, it also stimulates the mind, in that you must memorize the flow of the different movements. It helps to have a Sifu (teacher) who understands the history and meaning of the different movements. Too many students just practice the movements without paying attention to the subtle details or the breathing, which defeats a lot of the benefits of art.
Good luck. If you do sign up, come back and tell us how it is.
I also want to mention that the younger generation (or even some of the vintage generation) of Chinese in China have adopted ballroom dancing to replace Tai Chi as a form or exercise. In terms of physical exercise, the two are quite close. But ballroom dancing does not have the meditative or breathing aspect that true Tai Chi has.
Thanks, WhiteS.