Daqingshan in the Clouds on April 13, 2024.
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Daqingshan Photos on April 11, 2024.
Presenter: Chen Zhonghua Length: 1 mins Difficulty: 3/5 Language: English  
Year: 2024 Location: Edmonton Chen Zhonghua Taiji Academy
Edmonton Practical Method Workshop 20240106
If you like this video, there is an even greater value in purchasing one of the packages below.
Purchase 202401 Edmonton Practical Method Workshop Video Package
NOTE:
- Video packages are designed for the convenience of students.
- Some packages are in fact classifications of videos.
- Some videos in packages might have been published and purchased by you individually.
- Average prices of videos in packages are considerably lower than individual videos. The number of videos in the package will increase until the sum of all individual video prices equal to two times or more of the package price.
- In view of this, if you have purchased a video that are also included in a package your have purchased, or vice versa, we will not give refunds or equivalents.
- All videos in packages are paid videos. They are restricted to your personal viewing and other usage. You do not have copyright of the videos and therefore you do not have permission to give/share with others.
- Please note that as a customer/user of the website and/or student of Chen Zhonghua, you have given him and the companies/organizations he represents permission to use videos or photos with you, both personally and commercially.
- Making a paid purchase constitutes agreement to the above terms.
Inaugural Tianjin Practical Method Seminar Photos 20240316.
2024 Daqingshan Scenic Photos.
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Presenter: Chen Zhonghua Length: 1 mins Difficulty: 3/5 Language: English  
Year: 2024 Location: Edmonton Chen Zhonghua Taiji Academy
Edmonton Practical Method Workshop 20240106
If you like this video, there is an even greater value in purchasing one of the packages below.
Purchase 202401 Edmonton Practical Method Workshop Video Package
NOTE:
- Video packages are designed for the convenience of students.
- Some packages are in fact classifications of videos.
- Some videos in packages might have been published and purchased by you individually.
- Average prices of videos in packages are considerably lower than individual videos. The number of videos in the package will increase until the sum of all individual video prices equal to two times or more of the package price.
- In view of this, if you have purchased a video that are also included in a package your have purchased, or vice versa, we will not give refunds or equivalents.
- All videos in packages are paid videos. They are restricted to your personal viewing and other usage. You do not have copyright of the videos and therefore you do not have permission to give/share with others.
- Please note that as a customer/user of the website and/or student of Chen Zhonghua, you have given him and the companies/organizations he represents permission to use videos or photos with you, both personally and commercially.
- Making a paid purchase constitutes agreement to the above terms.
Presenter: Chen Zhonghua Length: 2 mins Difficulty: 3/5 Language: English  
Year: 2024 Location: Edmonton Chen Zhonghua Taiji Academy
Edmonton Practical Method Workshop 20240106
If you like this video, there is an even greater value in purchasing one of the packages below.
Purchase 202401 Edmonton Practical Method Workshop Video Package
NOTE:
- Video packages are designed for the convenience of students.
- Some packages are in fact classifications of videos.
- Some videos in packages might have been published and purchased by you individually.
- Average prices of videos in packages are considerably lower than individual videos. The number of videos in the package will increase until the sum of all individual video prices equal to two times or more of the package price.
- In view of this, if you have purchased a video that are also included in a package your have purchased, or vice versa, we will not give refunds or equivalents.
- All videos in packages are paid videos. They are restricted to your personal viewing and other usage. You do not have copyright of the videos and therefore you do not have permission to give/share with others.
- Please note that as a customer/user of the website and/or student of Chen Zhonghua, you have given him and the companies/organizations he represents permission to use videos or photos with you, both personally and commercially.
- Making a paid purchase constitutes agreement to the above terms.
Presenter: Chen Zhonghua Length: 1 mins Difficulty: 3/5 Language: English  
Year: 2024 Location: Daqingshan Chen Zhonghua Taiji Academy
Daqingshan in the Snow 20240120.
Presenter: Chen Zhonghua Length: 5 mins Difficulty: 3/5 Language: English  
Year: 2024 Location: Toronto Practical Method
Toronto 2024 Practical Method Workshop.
If you like this video, there is an even greater value in purchasing one of the packages below.
Purchase 202401 Toronto Practical Method Workshop Video Package
NOTE:
- Video packages are designed for the convenience of students.
- Some packages are in fact classifications of videos.
- Some videos in packages might have been published and purchased by you individually.
- Average prices of videos in packages are considerably lower than individual videos. The number of videos in the package will increase until the sum of all individual video prices equal to two times or more of the package price.
- In view of this, if you have purchased a video that are also included in a package your have purchased, or vice versa, we will not give refunds or equivalents.
- All videos in packages are paid videos. They are restricted to your personal viewing and other usage. You do not have copyright of the videos and therefore you do not have permission to give/share with others.
- Please note that as a customer/user of the website and/or student of Chen Zhonghua, you have given him and the companies/organizations he represents permission to use videos or photos with you, both personally and commercially.
- Making a paid purchase constitutes agreement to the above terms.
Presenter: Chen Zhonghua Length: 3 mins Difficulty: 3/5 Language: English  
Year: 2024 Location: Toronto Practical Method
Toronto 2024 Practical Method Workshop.
If you like this video, there is an even greater value in purchasing one of the packages below.
Purchase 202401 Toronto Practical Method Workshop Video Package
NOTE:
- Video packages are designed for the convenience of students.
- Some packages are in fact classifications of videos.
- Some videos in packages might have been published and purchased by you individually.
- Average prices of videos in packages are considerably lower than individual videos. The number of videos in the package will increase until the sum of all individual video prices equal to two times or more of the package price.
- In view of this, if you have purchased a video that are also included in a package your have purchased, or vice versa, we will not give refunds or equivalents.
- All videos in packages are paid videos. They are restricted to your personal viewing and other usage. You do not have copyright of the videos and therefore you do not have permission to give/share with others.
- Please note that as a customer/user of the website and/or student of Chen Zhonghua, you have given him and the companies/organizations he represents permission to use videos or photos with you, both personally and commercially.
- Making a paid purchase constitutes agreement to the above terms.
Single Whip
The right hand beak must be strong.
Line up the beak with the left shoulder.
As the left shoulder goes backward, it drives into the right peak.
Once it is connected, we can further use the left elbow to drive into the right beak.
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Trust in the Process
Strangely, everything changed once I stopped resisting. The opponent who was aggressively attacking suddenly started to back away from me. And in turn, that made me feel more confident to get close. I could feel the moves the opponent made were not as effective and he was getting more and more tired as the match continues. And finally I was able to take advantage of a moment when he was trying to execute a move to execute mine and scored a point. Shifu has demonstrated this many times, that he is able to get in close to his opponent effortlessly. He has always reminded not to power up, but somehow it has always felt very counterintuitive for me before. I had tried not to power up but there was always some hesitation within me in the past. It is at this stage of training where I fully trust in the system that I appreciate his words. What appeared to look weak turned out to be really strong!
Just Keep Practicing
I realized the only way to truly trust in the process and remove all doubt and hesitation is through consistent practice. Even if you do not feel it now, all the practice will slowly accumulate over time and bear fruit eventually. In the past, I was not able to feel the effectiveness of the system and thus was not confident enough to rely on it, so I always end up falling back to my physical strength. But through all the practice, I began to become more aware of the various connections within my body and am now able to execute moves that my body was not capable of in the past. This year, I’m finally able to feel my lower body’s connection to the ground, which in turn strengthen my mindset that no matter how hard the opponent pushes, I’m confident that I will not fall so easily. So at the end of the day, it was the practice that brought about the change in mindset. So practice, practice, practice!
The Toronto Practical Method workshop will be back on Jan 11 to 14, 2024. If you have not yet attended one, you will be amazed by the magical taiji skills of Master Chen Zhonghua, and his insightful guidance in your taiji journey. He has the missing piece that many people are looking for. If you have been here before, we are looking forward to training with you again.
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A Hike on Daqingshan on October 21, 2023. 大青山涉足20231021-1
Daqingshan Mountain Taiji Resort Photos October 2023.
Daqingshan Mountain Taiji Resort Photos September 2023.
Daqingshan Standard Group Buffet Photos 20230830. This is a USD$5.00 meal.
大青山标准团队餐20230830.
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The elbow rubs against the side of the body. He had us practice that and pay attention to it. I don’t yet know why it is important, but I will work to remember to do it this way
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the foot of the side going forward drives the movement (without moving much).
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The body or parts of the body are often very fixed and you don’t move in space at all, and by using that constraint, then create pressure and the pressure goes through your body more. When you let the body part move, then the power leaks out. I need to not let my body move so that when I apply power, it goes through my body in the desired path, rather than leaking out near the parts that move. He did a vastly more subtle version where it was almost more energetic, and as if he had 2 layers in his body, an outside and an inside. I don’t understand it at all and I don’t think it is where I am yet. He also showed what it was to be equally full everywhere, and to keep that even as moving. These were super cool, very enlightened things. Maybe after many years of hard work I can start to work on these.
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Often there is a body part that doesn’t move at all (and more, keeps the same pressure and direction of pressure, if I am in contact with someone), and then other parts move. I saw this illustrated in a place where we stepped forward with our qua hinging down below someone as our hand stayed fixed against them. Another example in a moving step positive circle … I come in on them in the part where the arm comes in, and then extend the arm after I step.
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Direction – I still need to work on better aim (a lot). However, sometimes I get it pretty well (I think). Easier for me when the person is directly in front of me (but I still vary up/down, even then). But the idea of aiming through a spot was helpful for me. This was similar to a pole exercise Kelvin did, where you both pushed on the pull in a push-a-war (instead of tug a war). By aiming through their hand, the power transmitted beautifully. There was also spiraling the power in, which I can do a little bit of, but I don’t understand why it works at all, only that it does 🙂
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Pung. The sense of stretching in all directions. You can also stretch inwards, and I believe (not sure) that there is often a sense of compression and expansion which sometimes alternate. I should pay more attention to see when it is one or the other so that I am clear. Another example is The arch of the legs & the exercise to pull the Qua away from each other … actively pull the qua away from each other or from one or the other if it is a fixed point. I think stretching is something I need to pay more attention to … he’s mentioned it to me twice in the zoom class, and also has mentioned that my body is too loose. This is probably one of the bigger takeaways for me. (Although there are so many!)
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In my own body and when watching him …. do I know what the fixed point is? He made the comment in six sealing four closing that the fixed point could be the back qua (or the front, but he showed mostly with the back qua fixed). I believe the qua is fixed and the muscles move around it, enabling extra motion.
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in opening the qua … I need to be more strict in my standards. Don’t let my centerline give at all, and my qua doesn’t move much. Then stretch more to get a little extra movement. And look at my shoulders … have they moved forward relative to my qua at all? If so, then I was not strong enough. This also makes me more aware of the facing of the hips .. because then that is also the facing of the torso … I let my waist turn a small amount many times … I need to use my qua, and also sometimes my foot placement. For example, before I would step straight forward more often, and I see now that the feet are typically not straight forward on a line, with the hips completely facing that line.
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1 cannot see 3. The upper body relates to the qua/dantien and they relate to the feet. But if the upper body relates to the feet, you lose power. Similarly the shoulder relates to the elbow to the hand.
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Feet facing mostly forward ( I was too turned out)
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Pung, be more actively full. I need to work on this more and actively. It is not my instinct.
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the push is not in the arms (we always say this!)
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My line / Point … wants to veer left. Then right. Then up. Then gets stuck in the wrist … go through the fingers. I think I need to practice with a stick.
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Things must be so tight that there are no other possibilities. This was very interesting and I did feel it.
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He pushes me and my qua is a gear, but my elbow must move in and screwdriver ever so slightly.
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He slaps arm and qua redirects (note, shoulder also goes down as a consequence of the qua)
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Push from the qua … but there is no push!! It is the rotation of the gear, in response to a different imaginary gear. This is the tai chi symbol. It feels like this is the beginning of a big idea.
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Then there is a lock of the qua to the elbow. A spiral drilling from shoulder, elbow, wrist into the line
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In passing – Curve spine … huge curve, Head down like curve, then pull hea duplicate and find vertical. Everything is always extreme. I don’t think this was as important for me as some of the others, but something to remember.
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He was pushing me. You get stuck … then push with the rear qua more … then split more (right/left) … then spiral in more
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The Rotation / Spiral in the elbow was the same in other places … there was a place where we were pushing our opponent away, and the elbow spiraled in, in a similar way
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Do not let the shoulder move. It wants to cause my spine to bend sideways. And also to rotate
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My qua doesn’t have that much mobility. Don’t let myself over-rotate in either my qua or my shoulders (but do work on getting a bit more through stretch)
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keep my hand on the line
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many other things above (the bridge/arch of my qua/thighs / pung, etc.)
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Method 1
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in a position where I have a leg behind them and the same arm in front
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push with arm to lock them
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then just go down in to the pit
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lock their body with underhooks, hips facing them (probably any lock will do)
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reach back with a leg
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bring my opposite shoulder to that leg
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somehow this squeezes them out
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lock a part of the person’s body
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imagine the opponent has a fixed line going through them vertically
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work around that fixed line (for example, left hand locking their body and pushing up and over their back, while right hand locks torso and pulls down and to my back)
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aim narrowly through them with my elbows and hands
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make this line increasingly narrow
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pretty soon their line is too small and they are squeezed out
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you can change the battle by keeping the pressure but changing the spot that has the pressure (their left hand to your right, for example)
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you can change your body, while keeping the direction, place & line of pressure the same
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if they are pushing you, you can dissipate things by keeping them on the same line and moving ever so slightly back on that line
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push hard into the table, and power will shoot up against that push
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Stretch through your body, past the opponent’s body (perhaps with some curl in your spine & reach through your arm / forearm / hand). Pointing past him in the line helps.
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You can then pick up your opponent / go around behind them. I think this helped cause them to lose power
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Then crank, but not from your shoulder – keep your hand / front shoulder / back shoulder locked as one unit, and crank from below. I think also keep your shoulder connected to your qua
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He also mentioned that he would make the lever even longer by orienting it behind him … I saw him do it and my eyes saw it, but I don’t understand at all how to do it.
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Walk Diagonally and Twist Step:
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the first step
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aimed forward very directly, and the aim is also my body curled so that the curve of my spine also aims forward
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elbows behind fists
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body turned a little sideways, so my right shoulder is somewhat behind my left
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stretch more, just a little bit in front of the horizontal line, and often roughly shoulder level. This happened a few times
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I was rising up … I didn’t understand one of his earlier instructions. It should be “as if” I was rising up, without rising up
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Buddah’s Warrior Pounds Mortar
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Extend the leg by digging down and then having it pull me forward while the back also resists (from Spencer’s class)
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wrist is strong, and as hands go up, the body goes down & upper back curls a little. I was curling my wrist to get up and that isn’t it. It is about the down of the body changing things
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back qua is fixed
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left hand doesn’t move at all … usually it moves, causing the cut to be dramatically reduced
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there was a correction for spencer where the 2 sides where long and the impact on the beak hand caused the other hand to shoot out energy. Then even more amazing, the open hand shot energy to the beak. It was amazing and I bet this is just another example of “it’s always like that”. Probably every correction is just an example of “it’s always like that’.
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the same shock of single whip above carried through to the following movements. I am not at this level yet, but still amazing.
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My right hand was too high – eye level
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he corrected someone that energy is in the back as well as the front – very interesting
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the right elbow comes in (not the hand – almost everyone was doing this wrong, certainly including me!)
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then there is a small circle (from the dantien/qua) so that the right hand encircles the opponent’s hand
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lock left leg more where it was when I grab my opponent
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the punches are elastic
I am so lucky that I have access to a master who is a great practitioner, a great teacher, very open with information & willingness to let you feel him do things, and who speaks English and is in North America.
You can also see a few pictures here.
Last Snowfall on Daqingshan 20230213. In this area in China, snow like this is rare.
Push hands is an exercise that examines your understanding of the Taiji principle: Separation of Yin and Yang. While form training transforms your body, push hands provides an opportunity for you to apply your Taiji knowledge and skill. It has also become a popular sporting event both in China and abroad. This workshop is suitable for beginners as well as people at different levels of their training. If you have never tried it before, this is a great opportunity for you to do it in a friendly and safe environment.
推手是一种让人检查对太极原理(分阴阳)理解的练习。 套路训练可以改变人的身体结构,而推手则提供了运用太极拳知识和技能的机会。 它已成为国内外流行的体育赛事。 这训练班适合推手初学者及不同程度培训的太极爱好者。 如果您以前从未尝试过推手,那么这是个让你在友好与安全的环境中初次尝试的绝佳机会。
On 12/13 November, Carlotta Viviani and me met Vincent Den Hengst and some of his students and friends in the picturesque, centuries-old university town of Utrecht. All three of us signed up to participate in the Championships of the STN Taijiquan Nederland.
The STN (Stichting Taijiquan Nederland) takes place every November. It was founded in 1982, and this year it’s been the 40-years anniversary. We were happy to score in these categories:
– Fixed Step Push Hands – Carlotta: 3rd place
– Fixed Step POush Hands – Vincent: 3rd place
– Individual Form, Chen Style – Carlotta: 2nd place
– Group Form: Carlotta, Vincent, Sven: 3rd place
Thanks to the STN Taijiquan Nederland for inviting us, and to Vincent and his friends, especially Lucas, for the wonderful hospitality!
Kelvin Ho will be running a yilu correction online class starting on Nov. 1, 2022. He has practiced yilu over 38000 times and counting, and has set a record of completing 200 yilus on a single day. He has been awarded by Master Chen Zhonghua the title of Qingshan Instructor since 2019. In this class, he will correct the students’ form in detail by integrating the principle into the form, and providing focused drills to hone the required skill. This class will be meeting twice a week, and is included as part of the yearly program. This class is suitable for people who are able to perform yilu by oneself, and are looking for ways to breakthrough the current plateau and/or to improve his/her yilu overall.
Schedule:
Monday: 2 pm Edmonton Time
Tuesday: 7 am Edmonton Time
To purchase this class, please go to: https://en.zhenbudong.cn/product/202211-kelvin-ho-yilu-correction-online-classes-and-videos-mon-and-tues-only/.
For more information about this class, please see:
https://practicalmethod.com/2020/01/practical-method-yilu-class/
This is the first Toronto Practical Method workshop by Master Chen Zhonghua since covid-19 started. We had a very good turnout, 25 people attended over the 4 days of the workshop. Participants came from Toronto, Markham, Aurora, Newmarket, Oakville, Georgetown, Ottawa, Michigan, Iowa, Arizona, California. One of the participants commented:
“Everyone here expressed and interacted freely and deeply, just like a big family.”
In this workshop, we focussed on training with drills, solo and partnered. The drills allowed us to develop gong, and techniques that would be useful in push hands. Many of the drills were video-recorded and will be available for purchase. We also included one lesson of Hunyuan Qi Gong, and Master Chen said he would begin to integrate more energy work into Practical Method through some Hunyuan Qi Gong training.
The following were intended to remind myself of what happened at the workshop, and they were not to be instructional. However, if you have any questions and need clarification for any part, please feel free to make a comment below.
Day 0
Power or No power? Read more
Daqingshan Clouds 20220929.
2022.09.01 悉尼笔记锺百豪 (英文) Sydney Notes by Brian Chung (English)
- We will be entering into a new era.
- We are retro fitting new technology into our old systems. A change requires something totally new.
- Do you understand money?
- Master noticed the foot of a bird was damaged.
- Students are making vast progress with online classes. Consistency.
- What was your enlightenment?
- Write it down and publish it. Other people will read it and may learn.
- Did you try it? Your next step is the physically try it.
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Master’s elbow is open. I held onto his bicep. It did not move.
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Fix the front, move backwards.
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Size of the stance for training vs fighting. In training we go from a perfect position and stretch out. In fighting we adopt a smaller position to go into the perfect position.
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Hand to elbow.
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Foot on the wall.
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Rear kua down, rear knee up.
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Pivot on middle of the thigh. Rear kua goes lower.
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Actualise a dot in space.
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Pulling two ends of Marcus’s fluffy vest.
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There are no moves. Only rotation.
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No space.
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Hong. Rotation and a stretch.
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Back on wall. I could not push. No direction.
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Master showed how to go through. Chest sound. Finger of steel.
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Empty space.
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Forearm lever. Positive and negative. Entice into emptiness.
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One piece to pull and push.
- Sinto repeats one move.
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The reality is, I am stronger than you. Structure (distance), angles, timing. I use my efforts to make myself strong, not fight with you.
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Procedure of learning. Do not use your own body.
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Hand attach to phone. Elbow. Kua.
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Forearm on chair, no move. Move the rest of the body. Worry about the relationship later.
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Master demonstrated turn with waist in Six Sealing Four Closing. I was touching his elbow and wrist. There was no movement.
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Master used his fingers to go through a dot on on my left chest. I took two photos of the position.
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2022.09.02 悉尼笔记锺百豪 (英文) Sydney Notes by Brian Chung (English)
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Whatever you I do to my body, you will feel.
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Push hands exercise. Stretch out front hand, rear elbow. Rotate shoulder. Turn Waist. Legs.
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Peng is to stretch out your opponent. Five points stick figure. Five points struggle out. This is full. Wu Dian Wai Zheng.
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Three ring spiral. Shoulder (small) kua (mid) foot (large).
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Peng exercise. The waist reverses the mid.
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Bie is a pair of scissors. Gap, paper will fold. On is stuck.
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The flip. Cannot engage muscles. Emptiness.
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Bie with a gap on my elbow and wrist. Two actions locked onto the middle.
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Master showed multiple variations of bie locking onto a dot on my forearm, elbow, bicep, rear shoulder, rear foot.
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I held Master’s rear kua and knee while he pushed Rory. There was a stretch from the knee going out and around. The toe was lifted.
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When two two ends are equal, the result is balanced.
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Balanced is not moving. Not moving is the physical property.
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In learning, the original cannot be lost. We have to go deeper without changing.
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Song is everything in its original state.
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Han xiong ba bei. This is lock the two ends and move the middle.
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Example of lock middle move two ends (A) is a lever. Example of lock two ends move the middle (B) is a bow and arrow.
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Both are bie.
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We must fit everything into our logic. Is this example that worked (A) or (B)? It must be one or the other, you just can’t see it. Do not allow others to change your logic.
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To be precise is clear. The opposite is muddy.
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Cai is plucking. To yank grass.
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Lie is to break the middle.
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Zhou is to twist. Twist to break the structure.
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Template for training the front hand on a dot. (1) Hold onto something. (2) Star on the mirror. (3) Laser pointer.
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Hong’s Taiji is the original Taiji. Something that is right cannot be improved.
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Elbow on the table. Match the elbow with grip. Match with muscles in forearm.
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Exercise to bend the wrist. Use the elbow to shoot power to the finger. This is stretching the two ends of a rubber cord to make the middle strong.
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When you are stuck in a problem, the solution must come from someone else (outside).
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To know something, continue without, advancing, without changing. No deviation from the original design. E.g. Rotation is a continuous lever.
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Hong said distance is fake. When two dots line up there is no distance. How to line up? Small.
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Story about Hong speaking French.
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Three dimensions. Front and back (elbow), left and right (waist), up and down (knee).
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No confrontation. Reverse and go over. We went through different variations on this. Master was holding my right forearm. My rear shoulder had to go back towards the fridge.
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Master showed the connection to his elbow, front shoulder, rear shoulder and rear elbow. Used my push to follow and reconnect.
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Waist and knee separation. I held onto the knees and the waist turned. I held onto the waist and the knees turned.
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Knee pump.
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Knee can only move backwards. Forwards will cause injury. Master showed this is still the case in stepping.
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I held Master’s front ankle and front knee. It inflated like a strong rubber tube.
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2022.09.03 悉尼笔记锺百豪 (英文) Sydney Notes by Brian Chung (English)
- (1) Kai kua (open kua). (2) xuan zhuan (rotate). (3) budong (not moving).
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One fixed dot controlling everything.
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Quan. Hong said Authority is the counterweight on a scale.
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We must touch something solid. Facts are solid.
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Fix Hand Exercise. (1) Fix one hand hold onto a non moving pole. (2) Let the rest of the body go. (3) Whatever you let partner does to push and pull, do not respond.
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Activity on the rear shoulder vs front hand.
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Active vs passive usage of the dot.
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Back on Wall Exercise. (1) Place the back of your front shoulder on the wall with one dot touching. (2) Partner pushes into front hand. (3) Compress the two ends. (4) Switch the dot on the rear end that is touching the wall to a dot closer to the middle of your back. (4) Continue this nine times until the dot on the rear end is on your rear shoulder.
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Yao dang zhuan huan (switch). There is a Lid on the waist. Master showed the transfer of energy.
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Xia ta wai nian (lever). The original is a mudslide.
- Master showed an exercise to hit the back on the wall.
- Everything comes out of nothing.
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I had my finger on the bar. Master said to isolate one dot on the rear knee against the middle finger. Eventually the foot. Only one, let the rest go. He demonstrated this with a pull while I held his wrist – isolating one at at time the elbow, shoulder, kua, knee.
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Exercise. (1) Place a elbow against the wall. (2) Partner pushes into it. Pretend to fight. (3) Align elbow against push. Forearm solid. (4) Use your finger to cross over their centre.
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Finger Reverses Push Exercise. (1) Partner pushes your arms. (2) Do not respond with upper body. (3) Align the rear foot. (4) Use fingers to aim back at their centre.
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Switching Exercise.
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There are three directions. (1) Forward backward. (2) Left right. (3) Up down.
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Space and no space. Both are the same. Master made a huge ball. There was no space for me.
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Ba Chang. Telescopic rod of a tripod. To attach yourself. To pull yourself open.
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Yilu with Power. Kenny corrections. My corrections.
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I was working on the move after initial closing. Fix the left kua and thigh. Turn the waist to the left. Stretch the rear heel out. This causes the tension to be not lost.
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Master adjusted a student’s feet.
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Master corrected my stance smaller.
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Zhuo. We do not know how to contact.
- To line up without deviation, use two perpendicular straight lines at each end. Master used a book as an example. A secondary example was a cup.
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Fix the contact, move the feet. Master said this is winding a clock. There is a delayed build up of tension. I felt there was no push.
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Lid on the kua, use the knee to open backward. I must practice this. Secondary example was Master pushing my back down from a bent over position. This is the same thing.
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Rick Pietila story of hummer gun. The machine gunner is locked into one piece.
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Open into an arch. Back must open up, buttocks must go down.
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Push chest exercise into foot.
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2022.09.04 悉尼笔记锺百豪 (英文) Sydney Notes by Brian Chung (English)
- Boiling point. At 98 degrees, the water is still water. We have to go past the threshold.
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Learning is breaking the pattern. This is very rare.
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Look for the pattern in human behaviour and make notes.
- In promotion, the order is photos, videos, writing.
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We never lose power. We only change structure.
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The curvature never existed (Six Sealing Four Closing).
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Two sticks on a rail. Everything is stiff. The setup makes it look smooth.
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Master held my forearm and touched a dot on my chest in Six Sealing Four Closing. Stretch back against the front hand.
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Six Sealing Four Closing with power. Master said power was on my chest. He pointed to use the dantian.
- I held Master’s thigh. It did not move.
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Hong’s number one characteristic is a half pipe with the back on the wall.
- Pushing Exercise. (1) Touch the chest. (2) Fix the elbows. Stretch the fingers. Forearm is 45 degrees forward. (3) Rear foot in. Opponent is on the edge. (4) Then move the feet. This is a snow plow (blade 45 degrees, vehicle is straight). The trajectory of the contact is an arch. Continue the track the opponent with your hands (Example is of a tiger tracking prey jumping up and landing down on it).
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Snow plow. Master asked me to explain the main points. Do not change the structure. Do not deviate. Our human nature is to deviate on what we see.
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We must find a method to motivate us.
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Step up exercise. Action of the front foot. The front pulls the rear. Every push is a pull.
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Intention is fine tuning the angles to adjust longer.
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Exercise. Pinch forearm. Master showed how to catch the entire body, allowing him to walk in.
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Master showed his forearm while I held onto his wrist. He said he is actually pulling the ligaments inside.
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Inside of the glass cup. Hong told Master Chen he was wrong as he was touching the outside. The inside eventually relates to the core. The outside is unrelated. The inside is about the restriction.
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Exercise. Line up front hand and rear elbow touching the the wall.
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Exercise. Rear foot line up with dantian. Hold the compression. Step forwards.
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Block Touching Coat application. (1) Intercept punch (2) Pull to your left side (3) Seven inch knife on throat (4) Catch neck (5) Stay on neck and push out.
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Four Corners Exercise. Get stuck. Turn the waist.
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Hand elbow exercise. Touch the wrist and elbow. Hand must always touch the elbow. We have to reverse our normal habit. Line up and pull the elbows in.
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Horizontal Rod exercise with James Strider pushing us. The rod is the point of reference. This allows the body to be very calm. Without it we always stumble.
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Five flowers. Four circles intersecting one middle. Watch the video again on Hunyuan.
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Bu liu shui. Not moving water. Master demonstrated this. The fist stopped on my chest. Power went through. I tried it, Master said I am too stiff.
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Talk about Jing Qi Shen.
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Story of Liu Yang challenge.
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Story of Sun Yang challenge.
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Normal power is based on movement. We create power without moving. To fight someone strong, do not allow them to move.
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Pieces of information can be taught. Do not try to combine them. It will happen automatically.
- We need new ideas to conduct real Taiji research. Example, photo analysis from western science practitioners.
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Story of Hong’s photos.
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2022.09.05 悉尼笔记锺百豪 (英文) Sydney Notes by Brian Chung (English)
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Bicycle chain. We all have one extra piece.
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Normally our shoulder is out. We have to totally change the body until it all fits.
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There is only one move. It is so tight, it only moves as a conveyor belt.
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Bie. Knee, calf, toes. Toes grip, knee back. Calf erect. I need to work on this.
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Exercise. Touch the wall.
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My rear foot was moving. Master put his foot against mine. Only hand on the wall and rear foot are solid. Middle is empty.
- Touching the wall timing exercise. Horizontal and vertical.
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I was pushing the wall with my left palm and rear foot. Shifu touched my left ribs and left thigh and stretched them out.
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The unbendable arm. This is Peng. Exercise. Partner pulls down on your elbow. Stretch the two ends (front hand and shoulder).
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Going over exercise. Long stick on the two arms. Lock the body as one piece. Stretch the two ends. Fix a dot on your chest in the middle. Go over it.
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Master let me feel what stretching the rear is. This is a rotation. Not a push.
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Vertical is length. Horizontal is width.
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Power is on the vertical.
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Story about Zhang Lian En.
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I asked Master how to bie the knife, I need three dots. If I draw a diagram, there are only two. Where is the third? He said write an article about this.
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The third is created. It is very elusive. The action is two separate trajectories meeting at the middle.
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Master was holding my wrist. Pull the elbow in. Crunch dantian. Connect elbow to dantian. Connect both to front heel. Get this feeling. Only work on the three dots.
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Pulling exercise after fist draping over body. Engage. Squeeze down to waist. Connect R arm to L kua. Here must be there. Lift L heel. Open L knee straight to L foot and L kua. L kua has a total vertical restriction. This causes a rotation and the L heel to grind out.
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There is a switch of side on the fingers in closing the first move.
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No Chou. No pulling (to pull the shoulder up).
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Six Sealing Four Closing. Front elbow and front kua can open or close. It must be one or the other.
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Turn Left to Pound Mortar. Kick from the right heel to cause the waist to turn. It must spin like a top.
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Brush the Knee. Turn over a dot in the middle of the chest. We must continue to expand.
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Master showed the rotation on brush the knee. Slide. As you rotate, the chest goes down. The correct feeling is nothing to hold onto.
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When I rotate, there is no surface.
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We repeated the learnings at the Chinese online class.
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Use a stick to go over. Forward backward, left right, up down.
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Unbendable arm.
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Pie Shen Chui.
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Discussion with Kelvin. He is very clear.
The Toronto Practical Method workshop will be back on Oct 8 to 11, 2022. If you have not yet attended one, you will be amazed by the magical taiji skills of Master Chen Zhonghua, and his insightful guidance in your taiji journey. He has the missing piece that many people are looking for. If you have been here before, we are looking forward to training with you again.
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Kelvin Ho is organizing a free Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method online (zoom) introductory class (1 session/week for 4 weeks) in July 2022. If you are interested in finding out what Practical Method is about and would like to give this a try. To register, please send an email to kelvin.ho@practicalmethod.ca or wechat to kelvinkwho with your practicalmethod.com account.
Dates:
- Saturday, July 2, 2022 Toronto Time 9 am – 10 am Done
- Saturday, July 9, 2022 Toronto Time 9 am – 10 am Done
- Saturday, July 23, 2022 Toronto Time 9 am – 10 am Done
- Saturday, July 30, 2022 Toronto Time 9 am – 10 am Done
To join the zoom class, click the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87304810317?pwd=CNcC1IsbFges4zthZtT0z3b8eTA1gO.1
The following video is a sample of how a Practical Method online class is like.
Today we did an exercise to rotate the torso horizontally from left to right (first gear), while the arm with the elbow straight as a stick rotated in Ni Chan (second gear). The second gear’s rotation was driven by the first gear. The result was like how the train wheel turned, and the rod attached to the wheels moved along the rotation without changing direction.
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If you are interested in joining this class, please purchase the June package at:
Push hands is an exercise that examines your understanding of the Taiji principle: Separation of Yin and Yang. While form training transforms your body, push hands provides an opportunity for you to apply your Taiji knowledge and skill. It has also become a popular sporting event both in China and abroad. This workshop is suitable for beginners as well as people at different levels of their training. If you have never tried it before, this is a great opportunity for you to do it in a friendly and safe environment.
推手是一种让人检查对太极原理(分阴阳)理解的练习。 套路训练可以改变人的身体结构,而推手则提供了运用太极拳知识和技能的机会。 它已成为国内外流行的体育赛事。 这训练班适合推手初学者及不同程度培训的太极爱好者。 如果您以前从未尝试过推手,那么这是个让你在友好与安全的环境中初次尝试的绝佳机会。