Monthly Archives: March 2009

The Softer Side of Chen Zhonghua

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This is one of Master Chen Zhonghua’s rare relaxed demonstrations of Yilu. In most cases, he would demonstrate only one particular aspect of the form (such as how the joints move) that make him appear to be choppy and stiff. This video was the result of a demonstration for his long time workshop students in the Maple Ridge, B.C. Canada area [taken on March 29, 2009] [via Chen Zhonghua Yilu Soft Demonstration]

 

This is quite a rarity as I have never seen Master Chen demonstrate the Yilu in such a relaxed manner. This reminds me of something he said at the Milwaukee workshop.  One morning, Master Chen was demonstrating the positive circle for the class.  Afterwards, he went around the room and asked each student what he saw in the demonstration. A lot of students commented about the movement in the feet, others commented about the stretching of the body and joints.  Master Chen responded that regardless of what we saw, it’s all the same. The principles and movements are all the same, at times, he just chooses to emphasize different characteristics of the form.

I must admit that I am a fan of the “relaxed demonstration of Yilu” as for me, taiji is about relaxation and mental clarity.  There is a time and a place for fajing or an emphasis on stepping methods. Ultimately, my definition of taiji is something along the lines of moving meditation.

The Path to Mastery …

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The path to mastery is just 10,000 hours away.

In explaining the development of extraordinary talent, both Mr. Gladwell and Mr. Colvin zero in on seminal research by Florida State Professor Anders Ericsson and colleagues that suggests the threshold for world-class expertise in any discipline — music, sports, chess, science, business management — is about 10 years, or 10,000 hours, of persistent, focused training and experience.

Source: Wall Street Journal – Golf Mastery, Just 10,000 Hours Away

Based on my calculations, in order to get 10,000 hours in 10 years, one would need to practice roughly 3 hours per day, everyday.  I must admit that I do not practice 3 hours everyday, in fact, I do not practice 2 hours everyday.  Personally, I practice roughly 1 hour per day averaging 5.5 hours per week. At my current rate, it would take me 35 years to hit the 10,000 hour mark. Whoa..!?!! ;)

However, previously before I had more commitments, I would often train 2-3 yrs per day.  For example, when I first started learning chen taiji, I would attend a 2 hour class and then practice for an extra hour or so upon arriving home. Additionally, I would train at least 4 days during a week.  Just like anything, the more you do something, the better you will become.  I have been at this thing we call taiji since 1998 and feel I have only scratched the surface.

The Wall Street Journal article then goes on to state:

The most successful performers in any area engage in "deliberate practice." This is activity specifically designed, ideally by an expert teacher, to improve performance beyond a person’s current comfort and ability level. These activities are repeatable, provide clear feedback and are highly demanding mentally, even when largely physical. … The bad news is that deliberate practice is very hard, and usually unpleasant.

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But don’t expect this kind of practice to be as satisfying as whacking balls on the range. One drill that Ms. Nilsson and Ms. Marriott sometimes recommend is a super slow-motion, 30-second swing — the tai chi swing, they call it. "About 25% of our students find this to be so difficult and awful that they won’t do it," Ms. Nilsson said. I’m one of them. Each second is agony. Why? For people whose minds customarily operate at 100 mph, slowing to a snail’s pace is just plain hard, but being totally in the present moment is a key to great performance, Ms. Nilsson said. The slow swing also reveals blind spots in awareness of where our hands, limbs and the golf club are. This is surprisingly uncomfortable, but the best players are hyper-aware of their positions throughout a swing and thus can detect when things are off.

Reading the notes above about deliberate practice quickly reminded me of how I felt when I first started doing chen taiji. Time and time again, my instructor told me the foundation practice included standing meditation, single handed silk reeling and double handed silk reeling.  Even though standing meditation was physically the easiest, it was the hardest for me to do. The same was true for single handed silk reeling. It was more fun to do double handed silk reeling or form training.

Fast forward to present time, most of my training now is spent on standing meditation work.  Something just clicked in my life where I find more benefit and satisfaction from doing zhan zhuang.  Similarly, I now find great enjoyment in doing simple foundational exercises, the same ones that I had a hard time doing before. 

One of my favorite lines from the article is the take-away message:

… simply understanding how much hard work is required to make significant progress as a player reduces the power of the Grand Illusion… "One of the main problems [people] have is unrealistic expectations," … "They make themselves miserable when they should be having fun."

For me, I practice taiji because I enjoy the exercise and find mentally relaxing. Have my goals changed much from a quote in previous article I wrote called Cranking Widgets and Taiji?

What are my high level goals in practicing taiji? First and foremost, it’s to nurture my body after many years of wushu wear and tear. In addition, I enjoy the meditative aspects of the art. I don’t train in taiji to be a bada$$ martial artists, I don’t train to fight, I train to learn about myself and who I am. I train in taiji because it makes me a better person.

Not really.  For me, misery comes about when our actions are not in alignment with our goals. Practicing should not be grueling to the point that one avoids training.  Life is too short to do something we don’t like or engage in an activity that is not in alignment with ourselves.  The first question we should ask ourselves is, “What do I hope to gain/achieve from this training?” Only then, will you know what to do.

Chen Xiaoxing Workshop – Chicago – April 2009

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FYI:

Chen Xiaoxing seminar – University of Chicago

Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing will teach a 2.5 day seminar in Chicago on April 17th, 18th and 19th. Master Chen is a 19th generation Chen family direct lineage descendent and representative. He is the Grandson of the famous Chen Fake, nephew of Chen Zhaopei and Chen Zhaokui and brother of Chen Xiaowang. He is the Principal of Chenjiagou (Chen Village) Taijiquan School in Henan, China and has trained such notable masters as Ren Guangyi, Chen Bing, Chen Ziqiang and Chen Zijun.

Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing will teach and correct Chan Si Gong (“Silk-reeling exercises”) on Friday evening. On Saturday and Sunday he will teach and correct Laojia Yilu.

Friday – 6pm until 9pm
Chan si gong instruction and correction

Saturday and Sunday – 9am until 5pm
movement principals and posture corrections in Laojia Yilu

Location:
University of Chicago
Ida Noyes Hall Dance room*
1212 East 59th Street
Chicago, IL 60637

  • No street shoes allowed in the dance room. Please be prepared to practice bare foot or bring new white soled tennis shoes.

For more information, contact Andy Loria:
aloria AT uchicago DOT edu
http://home.uchicago.edu/~aloria

Below is a clip of Chen Xiaoxing demonstrating the Xinjia Yilu routine:

Chen Zhonghua Workshop Summary Part 3

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Conditioning Exercises

Master Chen introduced us to a lot conditioning and strength training exercises over the course of the 3 day workshop.  Master Chen often mentioned the idea  of vertical energy and how we could develop vertical energy to redirect an incoming horizontal force.  One way to develop vertical energy is by training static power using a wall.

Facing a wall, get into a bow stance with your front toe touching the wall. The knee should be directly above the heel of the foot and remain in that position. You can use some type of pillow or Styrofoam block to keep the knee in place. Next, place the forearm of the forward arm (if left leg forward, then use left arm) against the wall with your fingertips roughly at forehead height. The palm of the forward arm is also facing the wall. The palm of the rear arm is placed on the wall about solar plexus height. Bend the rear leg.  The idea of the exercise is to basically lock the shape of your arms, torso, and the space between you and the wall.  Then push against the wall using the rear leg. While pushing, try to lengthen/expand the back and spine. This exercise also helps in developing vertical force.

Other excises included using a rubber tube with the ends knotted together, making it look like a necklace.  One end of the tube was securely fastened and the other end of the tube would go around a person’s waist. The person would then run in the opposite direction to stretch out the tube. Once the tube was stretched, the participant would try and sink into a horse stance.  However, due to the force of the tube, the person was pulled backwards and off balance.  This is an example of being double heavy or double weighted.

The follow-up exercise is to do the same thing as above, except when going into a horse stance, you alternate up/down motions in each knee, resulting in a rotation about the center.  The participant would not be thrown off balanced initially, but the goal is to practice this until one does not become off balanced with tension of the rubber tube.

The second exercise is similar to the double heavy exercise above, except the person stretches out the tube and holds the tube in a fist. The idea is to use the elbow to draw the arm into the body and the hand leads the arm away from the body. The cord is used as a feedback method to show where the tension and what muscles are being used. Here’s a video of Master Chen Zhonghua doing both positive and negative circles with a rubber cord:

Liuhebafa Demonstration

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Below is clip of Paul Abdella performing movements of the Liuhebafa (Liu Ho Pa Fa), also known as the Six Harmonies and Eight Methods system.  Paul is a disciple of TT Liang and a student of Wai Lun Choi.  I have fond memories of studying the 12 animals of Liuhebafa with Paul.

Paul would teach students the choreography to one of the 12 animals.  Afterwards, we would break up into pairs and work on the martial applications of the animal form.  One of my favorites is the leopard animal form (the third animal form demonstrated in the clip). The qinna application in this movement is deadly, and the xingyi-like spring step was fun to train.