I remember studying with Master Jou Tsung Hwa at Tai Chi Farm outdoors almost every day, even in the extreme heat. And as is in most of China, on Tai Chi Farm we did not have air conditioning either. So you can imagine how that felt on a hot, humid August day in...
Classic writings on tai chi tell us to relax and move from the waist. But most people don't interpret "the waist" properly from the Chinese. This will mess up your tai chi! The tai chi waist, or "yao" refers to a very large area of the body - the lower transverse...
Tai chi exercises or qigong are often concluded with a "clearing" move by many masters. Most people think of it as a way of calming down and sealing the energy. Also, it gives a sense of closure. But there is SO much more you can get out of a clearing if...
Think that a good pair of eyeglasses helps you learn tai chi better? Guess again! You may be surprised to know that simple things - like wearing bifocals or trifocals - can train your body and energy to cause more harm than good! Find out how you may actually improve...
Your tai chi is like garden soil - the more balanced nutrients it contains, the more nourishing will be your harvest. So learn ways to "power up" your tai chi so that you can get all the good health, wisdom, qi and self-defense (both physical and "psychic") training...
Tai chi videos and tai chi books seem like good tools to help you learn. Sadly, the opposite often happens: people realize they can't follow the videos/books, so they quit. This does not need to happen! I'm going to share with you, 4 tips on video, and one extra...
Tai chi exercise is powerful way to gently release knee stiffness, knee pain and injury. But as teaching was passed on in the Chinese healing arts & martial arts, many tai chi and qigong exercises got misunderstood or lost important details. One...
Are you sure you're doing your tai chi moves as best as possible? Proper twine steps will load a tremendous amount of energy into your kua. You can use that energy for effortless and speedy change of direction, invigorating and powerful tai chi kicks, or...
Grandmaster Jou was famous for his uncanny youthfulness at an advanced age and after conquering a history of illness. Here we go over his special daoyin taiji diagram stretch that he only taught in his chan si jin workshop. This stretch works very fast to...
A typical tai chi class: the instructor admonishes his students, “Relax!” They go ahead and do what they think is “relax.” And here's where the trouble begins. Ask a roomful of people what the opposite of tension is and you’ll get the unanimous reply,...
There is a tai chi, qigong and daoyin exercise that people often teach and do to "warm up" or "loosen" the knees. And it is the absolute worst thing you can do to your knees. It will "loosen" them alright - to the point that you may need surgery in a few...
I constantly remind my students that real tai chi chuan practice is not about being fixated on memorizing the postures of the form. Sadly, a lot of people will never understand this fact of traditional tai chi. But the ones that do, soar like eagles. Their...
The traditional schools of tai chi chuan (taijiquan), along with the other Chinese internal arts, emphasize the development of "silk reeling energy," or "chansijing," in Chinese. The oldest documented and codified style of tai chi chuan known to man is Chen style....
I try to remind my students that real tai chi chuan (taijiquan) practice is not about fixating on memorizing the form. A lot of people will never understand this. But the ones that do, soar like eagles. My teacher, Master Jou Tsung Hwa, always emphasized that the...
One of the great old founding masters of tai chi chuan (taijiquan), Wang Zong Yue, stated in his tai chi classic, known as the Taijiquan Jing: "Yin cannot be separated from yang and vice-versa. When yin and yang complement each other, you will interpret the...
What is meant by the phrase, "All tai chi chuan (taijiquan) is to be done as a Torso Method?" The old masters of the traditional Chinese internal arts - such as tai chi chuan (taijiquan, baguazhang, xingyiquan, etc) mentioned the crucial skill of using the body as a...
Master Jou taught mentioned three Taoist rules of success that helped him develop an incredible life, despite having survived a brutal war and experiencing the resulting deaths of family and friends. He lost everything he had in his homeland China in World War II. He...
The first thing you must consider is: Should you play music while practicing tai chi or not? As long as any music or sound is not the main focus, or a distraction, to your practice it doesn't matter. You just need to make certain that you don't get dependent on...