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Some years ago I met a Taijiquan & Qigong teacher who expected all her students to take off their jewelry during class. Even the wedding ring!

Personally, I like to keep my wedding ring on, but I would like to tell you some reasons why I recommend to take off your bling-bling.

Imagine someone standing next to you with a bracelet with charms or someone with many of those tiny bracelets. Now you get into your favorite Qigong exercise, you close your eyes and relax. You try to get into your own rhythm, but there’s this subtle “tsching-cling-tsching-cling” next to you. Instead of getting into your own rhythm, you adapt to your neighbor’s bracelet-tsching-rhythm.

What a bummer, right? Wouldn’t it be much nicer if that person would take off their bling-bling and everyone could relax into the exercise on their own terms?

But, maybe you are the one with the bracelets or necklace or earrings. Maybe you don’t even notice anymore, that your jewelry is actually making noise sounds. So please give yourself and the others in your class a rest. Take off your jewelry!

Additionally, you should consider that tight-fitting decoration could disturb your Qi flow. Especially if it is a ring and made of some metal. That was actually the reason why that teacher I met wanted everyone to take off every piece of jewelry. She wanted us to have the full Qi flow experience.

Or let’s put it this way: you get into comfortable pants, wear a wide T-Shirt and then your strangulate your wrist with a watch? Come on! You don’t even need that watch during class, your teacher will surely tell you when it’s over. 😉

If you are into Taijiquan, there are even more reasons why you want to put away your jewelry. Taijiquan is a martial art and usually you are taught applications or you do push hands. And jewelry increases the risk of injury.

Your teacher will much more likely pick someone with bare wrists to show applications. But isn’t it just amazing to experience them yourself instead of just watching?

And it is awkward to grasp your arms for push hands if they are loaded with rings, bracelets, and watches. Chains or necklaces, especially long ones, definitely disturb me during push hands. They dangle there in the middle and they make it harder to concentrate on the moves and the partner.

Finally, I would like to add: though I do not like rings, watches, and necklaces during classes, I have to admit that I do like these little Acupressure rings, e.g. when I sit at the computer. I always fiddle around with them. But I do not use them during training!

So all in all this is what I think about bling-bling: I really like to wear it, but NOT when I practice. And that’s why I really want to encourage you to take off your jewelry. There’s no need to showcase your family heirlooms during Taijiquan and Qigong classes!

What do you think? How do you deal with jewelry while practicing?

My experience with Energy Arts and Internal practices began in earnest some years ago with a Qigong form called Opening the Energy Gates of the Body, I bought Bruce Frantzis’ seminal book of the same title and arranged to have a few lessons with an instructor. After a lifelong but sporadic interest in martial arts and health practices, I had begun training in Wing Chun Kung Fu some years earlier. It was described as an internal/external style and the internal part fascinated me (more of that later). I really took to it and was soon training pretty much every day.

Wing Chun has lot of practices that develop sensitivity and the ability to feel, it’s very kinesthetic and requires you to be in the moment and aware. This did wonders for my health and stress levels, and opened a whole new world to me. The relaxed concentration used was akin to some forms of meditation, and I just didn’t worry or churn thoughts whilst training or in class. fantastic!

This led to an interest in the other internal styles – Tai Chi, Bagua, and Hsing I. I wanted to go further down this path and see what was there. I will say at this point that I had never been a physical or sporty person, so to engage in these things and love them was a surprise and a delight.

So what does ‘Internal’ mean? it’s about having your mind in your body, being comfortable, and using your relaxed intention to create results rather than any kind of strain or muscle tension. When you first discover that this really works, it’s quite the experience! So, as feeling and being aware led me into a whole new world, I started to find my health and internal state as fascinating as the martial arts. I also found out that I was in a near constant state of habituated tension, in my nerves and in my body, quite a common experience once you finally get out of your head/thoughts and into your experience a little. I had now taken stock of my situation and was ready to go about improving my health and experience of life… Back to Energy Gates Qigong ….

It starts very simple – You Stand. That’s it, or is it? There is always something going on whilst you stand. You notice where your body is misaligned and start to be able to release ‘stuck’ areas of the body. You also learn to ‘sink your chi’ or drop your natural energy through your body. The first time when I had let go and accomplished this somewhat, there was a mighty downward ‘whooosh’. A huge sense of emotional relief, and the INSIDE of my body started to feel increasingly wet, and well, really nice. Are you able to feel the inside of your body?

The Energy Gates form then progresses to ‘Cloud Hands’, a movement found in most Tai Chi forms. This seemingly simple movement encompasses pretty much all that you do in Tai Chi, so it was very appealing to someone eager to get started. In ‘Cloud Hands’ you learn to link and connect your body together, you move one part and all parts move. Sometimes it feels as if your body is moving all by itself, and some days it really doesn’t!! But it’s something you can drop into at any time of the day, and I consider it to be a mini and portable workshop that I can be in anytime of the day. The progress can be slow connecting yourself internally like this, but those days that you do look back at and see just how much you have progressed feel really good!

From there the form progresses to 3 ‘swings’ and the Tai Chi spine stretch. These exercises are about letting it all go, releasing downwards and outwards, calming the nervous system, and feeling very grounded. The form makes a person very aware of what tension and contraction feels like in the mind, emotions, and body and it slowly makes a habit of releasing it.

‘There are many long and intricate Tai Chi forms out there, Energy Gates is more about the qualities within those movements, your internal state and your alignments.

It feels like you’ve been given a gift (although you are required to do your part to learn it), a little gem you can retreat to anytime, be comfortable and enjoy developing. I’m so glad that I got started on this path and to do my own small part to spread this immensely valuable material. I have invited my teacher and friend Aaron Green over from the US to teach a five-day Energy Gates Qigong retreat in Anglesey, Wales, UK this October.

The retreat will serve as a solid foundation for beginners, and as a chance to go deeper for the more experienced practitioner.

Aaron Green has been teaching Energy Arts for more than 20 years and has trained extensively with Taoist Lineage Master Bruce Frantzis www.energyarts.com. Aaron is a seasoned practitioner and a gifted teacher of Wu style Tai Chi, Longevity Breathing, and various Qigong practices which embody a high level of energetic ability and sensitivity. For the past 10 years Aaron has also been using Craniosacral Therapy and Qigong Tui-Na to help his clients achieve various goals: from improved posture to chronic pain relief and remission of incurable conditions.

For more info on the Energy Gates Qigong practice and the retreats you can visit www.taichi-northwest.com or Facebook.com/Phoenix.Blu.Retreats/ or email Chris at phoenix.blu.retreats@outlook.com

Tui Shou (推手), or push-hands, can be used to train many things in the study of Taijiquan (太極拳), and different schools likely have numerous specialized methods for using this training tool. But, since I have seen online forums where practitioners question the fighting usefulness of push-hands (at least as commonly trained, especially as seen in competitions), I though that I would present my understanding of this training method.

Wikipedia does a good job of explaining Taijiquan push-hands (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pushing_hands). The article states that push-hands is the “gateway” to understanding the martial aspects of this art, but does not explain how practitioners would transition from the “gateway” of push-hands into fighting

It makes sense that such qualities as “leverage, reflex, sensitivity, timing, coordination and positioning” would be valuable for a fighter, and that training to “undo a person’s natural instinct to resist force with force, teaching the body to yield to force and redirect it” may differentiate Taijiquan training from many other styles of martial arts

In addition to the principles mentioned in the Wikipedia article, I would propose that a major aspect of Taijiquan push-hands is training in the middle range. To transition into fighting with Taijiquan, practitioners may need to practice additional methods not commonly taught in the push-hands format

If we look at martial arts fighting in general, the typical distances utilized tend to fall into the two categories of striking (long) range and grappling (short) range.

In both MMA and Chinese Lei Tai competition fighting, it is fairly common to see competitors using primarily striking and grappling/throwing (transitioning to ground fighting in MMA), and there are many styles of fighting around the world that emphasize one or the other of these skills. In Western fighting styles, these would perhaps be best illustrated by boxing and wrestling.

But Taijiquan focuses on a middle range not typically emphasized in other systems, and rarely seen in MMA or Lei Tai fights. While striking and grappling are important aspects of fighting, and should not be ignored by Taijiquan practitioners, the emphasis is initially focused on developing skills in the middle range.

To land a strike, an opponent would need to cross through this middle range. Similarly, grappling would need to get inside this middle range to be effectively employed. From this middle range, with proper body dynamics, both effective strikes and throws can be achieved by skilled Taijiquan practitioners.

The middle range is a difficult range to control (thus its relative rarity), and this is what push-hands seeks to train. To succeed in this middle range, Taijiquan emphasizes sensitivity (“listening” and “understanding” energies) as well as stick and adhere, connect and follow (zhan nian lian sui 粘黏連隨) and other concepts.

For more information on zhan nian lian sui see: http://www.ycgf.org/Articles/Z-N-L-S/arti_znls.htm

Fighters whose strength is in striking typically defend by moving out of range, blocking, covering, slipping the attack, etc. But these strategies generally do not gain physical control of the opponent when contact is made. The opponent is free to attack again.

Conversely, grappling arts attempt to get close enough that striking becomes less effective, and to remain close where throws, take downs, locks, chokes, etc. are possible. This strategy focuses on physical control of the opponent, often ending in groundwork, and generally inhibits the ability of the opponent to attack freely.

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The article Why practice Tai Chi? is reprinted on Slanted Flying website with the permission of the author Sam Langley from his personal Blog.

Why practice Tai Chi? When I ask new students why they are interested in learning Tai Chi, they usually have difficulty coming up with an answer. Of course, the myriad benefits of Tai Chi are well known and one could say they want to improve their posture, balance and general well being. A few beginners are interested in the martial side of Tai Chi, although many are unaware it even exists! When I started learning Tai Chi I was dimly aware that it was a martial art, that it was supposedly very good for you and that it in some way involved meditation.

Before starting Tai Chi I’d had a growing feeling that I should start meditation. I could feel that my mind was restless somehow and that meditation was the answer. I tried meditating without instruction which I found very difficult. I read numerous books on Buddhism, Taoism and every other ism and they all said the same thing: Find a teacher and learn meditation.

I first tried Zen meditation. In the first zazen session we sat meditating for an hour! It was an extremely intense experience. Suddenly my mind turned inward and I became aware of my breathing, my heart rate, my posture and my mad churning thoughts. I liked the zen sitting meditation and although I didn’t go back I continued to practice fairly regularly.

Around the same time I started learning Tai Chi. As I practiced more and more I gradually stopped the sitting meditation. It became clear to me that all of Tai Chi is meditation. Whilst practicing standing meditation, silk reeling and Tai Chi form I found my mind becoming increasingly still and peaceful.

As time goes on and as I practice more I find my mind is calmer, not just while I’m practicing but all the time.

It is this aspect of Tai Chi that I believe people are most drawn to. Everyone wants peace of mind. Personally, I love the martial side of Tai chi and am a keen advocate of the health benefits but really what makes me practice every day is not the promise of super human martial ability, or that it will make me live longer but that it is in itself an experience of sublime tranquility.

The student really is the teacher

Even as a senior Tai Chi student, when I taught a beginner it was always a great experience for me that they learned something. Not just a physical movement (like a strike or a weight shift etc) but the concept. The concept of thinking. Thinking differently. Acting and behaving in accordance with the discipline. Many students I’ve taught have been novice all the way up to senior students from other paths. I’ve enjoyed learning and sharing all my experiences amongst my martial brothers and sisters. When I pass someone on the street that I taught 6yrs ago or a current student an immediate bond re-connects. Its a great feeling.

Its a wonderful feeling to get inside the mind of a student. To learn how to teach them. To discover their hang ups, insecurities, fears, and physical limitations. All these conditions subside like the tides and after all the challenges you are left with a move. A student with one step further down the path of training in the way.

Many teachers these days get caught up with ego, politics, and status, etc. Many times the students get caught up in it as well. The pure and simple joy of learning and thus teaching is easy to forget especially when you engage in the mundane tasks of money, schedules, paperwork, etc. However, the zen I still return to after all these years is the joy I get when a student learns and feels a sense of benefit from my teaching. I think about my lessons all day, all week, and even after I teach. Did I say it right? Did everyone get it? Why were there so many deer in traffic tonight? Maybe I should shut up and not talk so much.

In a discussion with my best friend (and fellow teacher), we both laughed as we agreed that the students will NEVER love this as much as we do. Sometimes this is why we talk so much or give so much. However, it’s wonderful to see someone step up. The desire to be joined by another on this path is both welcomed, and honoured. As we know the success rate is quite low, so anyone to even last a year is rare.

But the student who realizes that its not a destination but a path. The path is the goal. A  student who can understand this (myself included) is thus a great reward and reminder of the ultimate continuation of cultivation of the inner self.

TAIJIQUAN – CHEN

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