Tai Chi teacher Hsu Fun Yuen (1928 – 2018) passed away at the age of 89 years old on August 27th, 2018. He lived in Chicago for many years where he taught Tai Chi until he retired in his 80’s.
Hsu Fun Yuen began learning the Chinese martial arts at an early age, first with Shoalin kung fu to help strengthen him as a sickly child. He continued with studying martial arts throughout his school years. After High School, as a young man he met Cheng Man Ching, with whom he learned Tai Chi Chuan.
In 1951, Hsu began teaching Tai Chi, and later would travel to countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand to spread his knowledge of Tai Chi. Later, he moved to Taiwan where he founded the Tai Chi Chuan Association of Taipei which attracted thousands of students.
In 1977, Hsu Fun Yuen travelled to the United States and taught Tai Chi in New York City and Miami. He was invited to teach Tai Chi in Chicago in 1978, and eventually opened his school, the Hsu Fun Yuen Tai Chi Academy, in 1981. Hsu was also an author of a book on Tai Chi titled Tai Chi Chuan, An Investigation Into the Methods of Practice.
Hsu Fun Yuen will truly be missed by the world’s Tai Chi community. Our condolences go out to his family, friends, and his many students.
ad·dict
noun: addict; plural noun: addicts
a person who is addicted to a particular substance, typically an illegal drug.
“a former heroin addict”
synonyms: Informal / junkie, druggie, -head, -freak, pill-popper, dope fiend
“stealing money for your next high, just like the addicts out in the street”
informal / an enthusiastic devotee of a specified thing or activity.
“a must-buy book for the crossword-puzzle addict”
In the spirit of Hwa Yu Tai Ji Master John Chung Li moving to south Florida in 1977, in order to introduce Hwa Yu Tai Ji to its retirees, so I moved to Mexico´s Lake Chapala area, a center for ex-pat retirees, especially from U.S. and Canada. Prior to moving there, to test the waters, I posted on a Chapala social media site, giving an introduction to Pushing Hands, and a self-introduction to my own experiences, as learner and as trainer. I emphasized that the training offered was initially at no charge, and that later donations would be accepted.
Several months prior, in San Cristobal de las Casas (SCLC), Chiapas, I had advertised my classes (including tuition cost) via posters on walls. This is the custom there, and I never had any problems, even though, according to the immigration law, foreigners are only allowed to work in Mexico if they have a Work Visa. But, in actual practice, especially at (small-scale) English Schools, the law is not strictly enforced.
However, I quickly realized that the situation in the Chapala area is quite different. On the Chapala Board, while 100+ folks viewed the announcement, and several expressed interest, there were several posts that were Red Flags, apparently from foreigners who warned/threatened me that my Tourist Visa status specifically prohibited such a venture, even on a ´´donations accepted´´ status. One of the threat-makers was active on the Board as a legal specialist for foreigners and their Immigration-Residency matters. I was informed by several long-term foreigner residents that my proposed Pushing Hands project was vulnerable, because there were some unhappy-nasty foreigners living in Chapala-Ajijic area, and that they could inform the Mexican authorities about me and my ´´donations accepted´´ Pushing Hands classes.
Shortly after deciding to follow their advice, I noticed a building with a (Spanish) sign–Center for Treatment of Addicts. Ahaaa! I introduced myself and scheduled a meeting with the Director. We had a good rapport. I showed him my Posters for my classes in SCLC, and he saw that I could understand and speak Spanish well enough to explain the benefits of Pushing Hands training. Soon I was teaching three 1-hour classes every week.
It was a short walk from my apartment, to the gate, then the barking dogs, then the gentle greetings to the folks unlocking the door for me. Here is the visual record, shot in SONY Posterization format, exquisite for earthy tones.
The folks were locked in for the 1st6 weeks of their residence. At my classes we always had 100% attendance, heh…heh. There was one chap who, initially, would show up every time with the group, but he´d stand stiff and silent, and basically catatonic-style. I assumed he was being treated for heroin addiction, and later was told that was the case.
To open the Gua acu-zones in the loins, we began with the Nei Gong exercises taught by Master Li—Walking and Rowing. Once we began Pushing Hands training, I was pleasantly surprised to see that these men were not trying to ´´win´´. I had assumed that there would be significant evidence of Anger management/Passive Aggression/etc. issues, but that was not the case. The vibe there was truly cooperative and light-hearted. The men enjoyed the movement and the Flow. In this video, I am telling them:
´´Todo el cuerpo!´´ (All the body!)
´´No solamente los brazos!´´ (Not only the arms!)
´´Sentarse!´´ (Sit down!)
They enjoyed the format of the 2-hands to the shoulders. As long as they were moving-in-spirit, I felt it was good-and-meant-to-be. In this video, I am emphasizing:
´´Erecto!´´ (Stand straight!´)
´´Un paso!´´ (When you are pushed, turn that push into your own step forward!)
Here I am introducing the ´´CONTRACT´´´. That is, as a means of mutually opening the GUA zones, A slowly pushes B, and B is Yin and slowly sits back-and-down, until just before reaching the maximum. Then B gives a slight turn of the wrist. This is the signal for A to convert to Yin, to listen to the Yang approach of B, and to likewise sit back-and-down.
Also seen is the exercise of training the Yin element in the arms, by turning the body and having the arms hit the back. The more Yin, the louder the noise. The chap with the heroin addiction can be seen in the background, stationary. Other times he would be active.
Here is the final video I shot. The month was over, and it was the final class.
I was gratified that they were saying thanks-and-goodbye by putting energy into their movements, including the ex-heroin addict. Hopefully, they are on their way to becoming addicted-to-exercise.
Tai Chi Chuan, also known as Tai Chi, Taiji, or Taijiquan, is an ancient form of Chinese martial arts (Chinese Boxing), and has been dated as far back as 800 years ago. Originally, it was taught as a martial art and a wellness exercise to help increase the lifespan. The Chinese government even promoted it to the public to help keep citizens in shape and healthy. Today, millions of people still practice this ancient exercise and martial art worldwide and it is not only good for physical fitness, but is good for many health benefits including easing arthritis, back pain, and more.
There is no sound evidence showing precisely where Tai Chi Chuan originated, but legends have been passed down through the ages that discuss the beginnings of this exercise. As legend tells us, Zhang San Feng, a 13thcentury martial arts master created Tai Chi Chuan after watching a snake and a crane fighting on the Wudang Mountain. This would have been nearly 800 years ago.
After its creation, Zhang then passed the technique down to others who in turn passed it down to the Chen family who developed it further into their own style. From Zhang, Tai Chi Chuan as well as several other forms of Tai Chi Exercises were developed and grown over the years.
Now that we have established that Tai Chi Chuan dates back as far as 800 or more years ago, you may already know that it can be confusing to understand this martial art because there are many different styles that people use today. Some practice the original styles while others practice styles that started in the 20th century and even later. While many forms are used primarily for exercise and health, others are used for competition. With all forms however, balance is key when it comes to performing the various stances.
You may be asking where Tai Chi Chuan came from, and the answer is within the name itself. This form of martial arts came from focusing on the soft movements that are made by not just one body part, but by the entire body as well as the breathing patterns and relaxation benefits that make Tai Chi a healthy exercise for people of all ages. Tai Chi Chuan takes the art of martial arts to another level and the name alone means Supreme Ultimate Exercise, and for those who take part in this skilled exercise, it is an ultimate exercise that benefits mind, body and spirit.
Thanks to detailed historical data handed down throughout the years, it is thought that Tai Chi was developed in the Henan Province in the People’s Republic of China by the Chen family. The Chen style is what is considered the main style of Tai Chi. The Chen style is known for its use of low to the ground stances and power filled movements. Tai Chi has of course progressed into the modern forms that we know today, but those older styles are still used worldwide as well.
Many styles, including Chen which is fast and powerful, must be performed with relaxed moves and no tenseness or Yang, which is used for exercise and is a simpler form of the art. Tai Chi was designed to help provide relaxation and is known as an exercise to coordinate the yin and yang, or the passive and active fundamentals of the body and mind. Tai Chi Chuan is considered a martial art and practitioners can use it with or without the use of weapons when they practice this martial art.
While there are many styles today taught by masters at schools worldwide, the forms range in numbers from 24 to 108 depending on who is teaching. No matter which number you are practicing however, the stances all begin either with your weight on the rear foot, weight forward or with your weight slanted to the side. The various forms that are performed are all named for the image created by the movement. This includes names such as cloud hands, grasping the birds tail and brush knee as the stance a person is in during these resembles the actions for each of these. In many schools, students learn to consider the various forms as a line of poetry or short story telling a beautiful tale because the movements flow together so smoothly, and they really do seem to tell a beautiful tale.
No matter the age of the person, Tai Chi Chuan is a healthy exercise and one that will be a great benefit to the lifestyle of the practitioner. Since Tai Chi is a harmonious form of martial arts and exercise, it is an ideal way to enjoy the energy of the body combined with that of the mind.
“The Taiji Boxing Treatise of Wang Zongyue of Shanxi” (山右王宗岳太極拳論) as presented in Li Yiyu’s (李亦畬) 1881 manual (as translated by Paul Brennan) states:
“There are many other schools of martial arts besides this one. Although the postures are different between them, they generally do not go beyond the strong bullying the weak and the slow yielding to the fast. The strong beating the weak and the slow submitting to the fast are both a matter of inherent natural ability and bear no relation to skill that is learned. Examine the phrase ‘four ounces moves a thousand pounds’, which is clearly not a victory obtained through strength. Or consider the sight of an old man repelling a group, which could not come from an aggressive speed.”
From this, we can infer that strength, speed, youth, etc. are matters of “natural” abilities that are different than what is developed through the practice of Taijiquan (太極拳). “External” styles of martial arts seek to increase these “natural” abilities, becoming stronger, quicker, and with increased endurance, for example. My understanding is that “internal” martial arts like Taijiquan tend to focus instead on fundamentally altering “natural” attributes until the altered principles become natural to the practitioner.
Some school traditions talk about Taijiquan as using “natural” principles. But Wang’s treatise further states (Brennan translation) that “Although there is an endless variety of possible scenarios, there is only this single principle [of yielding and sticking] throughout.” So, if this is what distinguishes Taijiquan, is this principle of yielding and sticking throughout a natural quality?
I do not think that it is. What is natural for humans is the fight-or-flight response. We tend to either resist (fight) pressure, or retreat (flee) away from it. Taijiquan instead works on something in between these two – we seek to stick-adhere-connect-follow (zhan nian lian sui 粘黏連隨), which is controlling a partner/opponent through contact without resisting (fighting) and without collapsing (fleeing).
Part of the reason that it is so difficult for practitioners to accomplish this skill (of yielding and sticking throughout) is that it goes counter to our natural instincts. In order to accomplish it, we need a calm awareness that allows us to avoid anger (fight) or fear (flight). We need to have a neutral, ego-less mentality; we want to avoid likes (seeking, or going towards, what we desire) and dislikes (going away from or avoiding what bothers us). We need a body that is capable of fluid and controlled movements without the tensions or the slackness that would inhibit the ability to fluidly change in order to match another person’s movements. We should not resist (fight), but also should not separate (flee).
While having a calm mind during conflict is not unique to Taijiquan, it is also not natural; people typically freeze, flinch, tense (e.g., instinctively locking our joints in order to become “stronger” when under pressure), panic, or get angry, for example. It takes training and familiarity being in conflicts to overcome our natural tendencies. Taijiquan may be somewhat different than many other martial arts in that aggression is not cultivated; we train to remain calm and to use an opponent’s aggression against them.
Even solo practice reveals that Taijiquan often does not follow “natural” movements. For example, normal walking is more of a controlled fall, where our forward momentum has us falling forward, at least until our rear leg moves in front of us to catch us and prevent us from actually falling down. Taijiquan practices maintaining balance as the foot moves forward. Unlike natural walking, Taijiquan walking can be done quite slowly since we never lose our balance (we never begin falling forward).
An untrained (or unaware) person might “naturally” tend to bend over at the waist to pick something up from the ground. We need reminders to use the legs (to squat) when picking up heavy items in order to avoid injuring our back. In Taijiquan, we also need reminders to remain upright in our training, especially when engaging in push-hands (tui shou 推手) play or sparring. Wang (Brennan translation) states: “With your head-top pressing up naturally and energy sinking down to your elixir field, there will be no leaning in any direction.”
There is a tendency for humans to lead with their head, since our major senses (especially eyesight) are located here. For some people this may lead to a forward lean of the torso, in other people it may result in the chin jutting forward. These “natural” actions would be considered as errors in Taijiquan because it is often easiest to influence someone to go in the direction that their head is leaning. This is because the weight of the head is, on average, about 8% of the mass of one’s body, and this weight is located on the body’s uppermost tip and can therefore lead one’s entire body.
Because our sense of touch is so dominant in our hands, we “naturally” reach out with the hand without thinking about connecting it, or driving it, with our body. Often we try to open doors or pick up objects, etc. just by using our hand and arm. Only if the object ends up being heavier, or more difficult to handle than we expect, do we try again with better support and better full body coordination. This can be expected because of the way that we receive information from our environment, which is reflected in the “cortical homunculus” or neurological map as discussed in the following Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortical_homunculus.
The practice of Tai Chi has been shown to be beneficial to patients dealing with cancer. Recent studies have shown that tai chi has physical benefits for patients of cancer. These include improved balance and stamina, relaxed deeper breathing, and helping with the reduction of stress.
Below is a video from TV channel WIBW in Topeka, Kansas, looks at an exercise class that features Tai Chi for cancer patients.
“It’s kind of a flip from what a lot of people think of as exercise. It’s a slow; it’s rhythmic; it’s kind of continuous movement,” explained instructor Linda Gray, who is a two-time cancer survivor herself. “I got range of motion back personally in my neck through this so I know it works.”
Tai Chi teacher Hsu Fun Yuen (1928 – 2018) passed away at the age of 89 years old on August 27th, 2018. He lived in Chicago for many years where he taught Tai Chi until he retired in his 80’s.
