January 2012
3 posts
What is Ma Gui style Ba Gua?
Ba Gua can be considered the whirling dervish of the internal arts. The practice of walking in endless circles performing complicated turning movements verges on dance. It is a martial art that uses agility to outmaneuver an opponent and attack from unexpected directions.
While there are several stories of how it was developed, most branches credit Dong Hai-chuan (1798-1882) with inventing Ba...
What is Chen Style Tai Chi?
Tai Chi (taiji) is probably the best known of the internal martial arts. Slow, fluid movements practiced by groups in parks is a quintessential icon of Chinese culture.
While there are several stories of how it was developed, Chen Wang-ting is most commonly recognized as the creator of Taiji. He was a Ming dynasty general who lived from 1580–1660. Combining his knowledge of Shaolin martial arts...
December 2011
5 posts
Personal Computing
When I was growing up, the first personal computers were being created. They were full of potential and short on practical uses. Storing recipes and text-based games were among the early achievement of these computers. As programming languages have become more nuanced and as computer hardware have become more capable, computers go way beyond the visions pioneered in the 1970’s and...
Ancient Chinese Secret
While sometime technical in its language, this three part presentation will be of interest to anyone practicing an internal style.
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...and the intellect will always over complicate... →
Class Schedule
Qigong Class Schedules
Daytime Qi Gong classes Classes are being held at Evergreen Seniors Centre on Monday and Thursday mornings. These classes emphasize the Qi Gong set know as, “Eighteen Postures for Daily Practice” (Lian Gong Shi Ba Fa). This is a Qi Gong form that integrates East and West in a series of gentle exercises designed to maintain and enhance health. Adapting classical...
4 tags
As we age, if our joints become stiff the muscles* will become weak. The internal arts aim to keep the joints flexible and allow the muscles* to remain robust.
* ‘muscles’ includes ligaments, connective tissues, fascia, nerves, etc.
November 2011
5 posts
In a rush
Teachers of internal arts are never in a rush. This will frustrate impatient students, but there is a taiji saying that until 10 years of practice, the student is still a beginner.
Teachers don’t rush because they have a long view - an understanding that skill comes from practice and the important learning is done by the body not the mind.
When teachers rush, the impatient mind is...
October 2011
4 posts
September 2011
2 posts
calm versus relaxed
In qigong, movement is what you do; posture is what aligns you.
Attentiveness is what is practiced; learning is the result.
‘Relax’ is something you do; ‘calm’ is what you cultivate.
August 2011
5 posts
WatchA few training drills from the summer’s Magui Bagua Extravaganza, recorded in rough form so I don’t forget them.
Students can view the full clips for their practice:
T-Step drill
Tiao Da drill
Tan, Chuan, Zhuang drill
on values cultivation
The internal arts are as much about the development of character as they are about health or martial arts. This is a transition from seeing the world in absolute terms and having morale relativity to seeing the world in relative terms and holding an absolute morality.
(photo by Shay Haas. Click image to view more.)
Jack Yan Tai Chi in Guelph
Starting in September, Zhigang (Jack) Yan will be teaching regular Chen Taiji classes in Guelph. A teacher with his experience and reputation is hard to come by. He has been studying Taiji since the age of 14, holds a Ph.D. in Wushu from Shanghai University of Sport and is an indoor disciple of Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei. (Here’s a link to his full bio.) On top of all that, he is a genuine...
Bagua Training Extravaganza 2011
The weekend began on the Friday, but I didn’t arrive in Quebec until the Saturday afternoon. What follows is a summary of the second half of the training extravaganza held in Quebec City, August 12 to 14.
Saturday afternoon Following bell ringing practice, Andrea took us through a number of drills to apply the concept of full body power. Crossing Arms partner drill was done with the...
Bagua Power & Freedom
“It is the most wonderful feeling, to do baguazhang. It is both natural and difficult – you are training hard to take yourself back to when you were a child. Every day, even when you start out tired or unenthusiastic, you finish with a feeling of peace, power, and energy. Some people love it because there are so many things to learn. I love it because it is all one thing. You are free when...
July 2011
2 posts
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When does learning happen?
When a teacher shows a student a new sequence, there is some learning that happens, but it is easily forgotten. When a student follows the teacher there is some learning that happens, but mostly it is just following. When a teacher explains something to a student there is some learning that happens, but it is easily misunderstood.
When a student practices and they have an opportunity to integrate...
June 2011
4 posts
trace. copy. re-create.
Jack Yan compared the stages of learning the taiji sequence to learning Chinese calligraphy. First, the student traces the characters, to learn the strokes. Second the character is drawn free-hand, copied from an example in a textbook. Lastly, the character is re-created from memory without the need to consult a book.
Many Taiji students can trace the postures then copy their teacher as a routine...
Spear Seminar Summary, June 4th, 2011
The seminar started with Andrea Falk teaching a couple of spear handling drills
Lan, na, zha (cover, trap, thrust);
Right reverse grip, thrust from behind the back. Lan, na, zha form the foundation skill for spear, while the behind the back thrust, along with the handling drills taught in previous seminars teach how to work with the spear and how to slide the hands to properly guide the...
Bagua Seminar Summary - June 4 & 5, 2011
The first day of the seminar included a review of Dragon single palm change, double palm change, following palm change and triple palm change with beginner students. Intermediate students built on the instruction in Lion changes from last seminar by learning Bagua Sabre techniques.
Dragon dodging body change (the fifth turn) was taught, while intermediate students reviewed the other Dragon...
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Subtle fundamental change
The practice of Qigong is more than getting a moment of calm, more than the stretching out of tension, more than even a feeling of tingling in fingers. All of these are important, but are not the endpoint for an internal practice.
In the same way wind and rain will gradually shape rock, the goal of the internal arts is subtle, fundamental change.
Photo by Justin Liew (www.justinliew.com). Click...
May 2011
7 posts
Circle Walking for Health Seminar
Bagua is one of China’s famous internal styles of martial arts - focussing on both health & self-defense. The Magui style is a little known lineage, even in China and mastered by very few. It makes use of slow & deliberate circle-walking to build internal strength & to train ‘full body power’. Join us for a one hour seminar on this ancient art of health cultivation.
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Ignore the quaint commentary in this 1980’s BBC documentary, to see glimpses of two-person xingyi drills and bad American fashion sense.
April 2011
3 posts
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The meanings of numbers
Tao engenders one,
One engenders two,
Two engenders three,
Three engenders the ten thousand things.
Tao Te Jing chapter 42
Any study of theories behind an internal art eventually leads to the meanings of numbers. Two refers to yin and yang, five refers to the five phases, 12 refers to the circulation of Qi through the 12 meridians, etc. Each number has associated meanings and broad...
March 2011
2 posts
Dropping things
Because the training of an internal art is so different from other things it is easy to get caught in a catch-22. To do the movements properly you need an understanding of internal power. To get an understanding of internal power you need to practice the movements.
To get past this, the first thing to do is to drop pre-conceptions: muscular tension is not the only way to express force; moving...
February 2011
5 posts
on rebuilding true yang
In the US, the problem is not one of limitation but the lack of limits. People work hard and then play hard. They can go anywhere, do anything, have anything that their credit allows… They are also physically and emotionally, living beyond their energetic means… Forever engaged in yang activities, there is neither the commitment nor knowledge of how to nourish the yin which is...
the original spirit of the spear is in the circle
A link to the full clip which covers the 5 core techniques of Xingyi Spear can be found on the Class Resources page under the Xingyi heading.
January 2011
7 posts
Bagua comes naturally
According to research from the Max Planck Institute,
“Humans can’t walk in straight lines. If there’s no fixed point of reference, we just walk in circles”
Fast and Slow
In the internal martial arts, beginning students often want to learn quickly, but teachers want to teach beginning student slowly. I think there are two important reasons for this.
Learning slowly means spending time on the basics. A good foundation protects a student from injury and is required to reach higher levels of ability and understanding.
Secondly, learning slowly helps build...