Episodios
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Yes, its a chameleon moment once more when the teapotmonk says goodbye to one format and embraces another. Follow the new adventures of the mOnk over at the all new www.teapotmonk.com and subscribe to the all new podcast on itunes and stitcher called: Empty Your Cup with the mOnk. It's all new, its all shiny, 100% guru free, freshly brewed and served in an empty cup -
This week we are going to focus on weapons, because if one element appears anachronistic to a 21st century urban warrior, then it surely is the training in sword that Tai Chi practitioners still love to promote.
And the Tai Chi martial agenda is certainly broad : broad sword, sabre, staff, fan, ruler, compass, ball, poppadom, tortilla, fish-finger…the list of tai chi weapons is as endless as the debates and interpretations of the spelling of Tai Chi, or Tai ji, or Taijiquan or... -
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Do you practice full contact sparring for self defense or as part of a calorie controlled diet?
Do you wear steel capped Dr Martins for aesthetics or for devastating rib attacks?
And are exponents of health tai chi perverting the fundamentals of the style or are they riding the waves of a new historical tide? Find out today on the teaptomonks guide to Tai Chi as a Martial Art -
It's easy to remain content when you do not have to adapt and evolve, so every now and then, it's a good idea to step outside the temple and see what's happening in the world. The teapomonk presents 3 good reasons to step outside and let things happen. -
How long does it take to learn the form? Why are there different length forms and what does the elusive notion of time tell us about supermarket shopping, radioactive apples and the legacy of Steve Jobs?
Sometimes, when I'm in the supermarket, pondering the short shelf life of vegetables, wondering what they may have Been sprayed to make them glow from such a distance - someone will come up to me and say: Hey Teapotmonk, Id like to learn Tai Chi, but ive heard that it takes forever and a day to learn. Tell me, they say, How long does the Form take to learn? And Is it true that you remain a beginner for the first twenty years of your practice ?
So I usually push my trolley to one side, return the radioactively bright red apples back into their lead containers and nonchalantly throw the question back.... Iisten to the podcast... -
IN the last episode we looked at the structure of the form, it's roots, it's history and the way it is taught. IN this episode, I want to focus on something else...and that is one of my favorite themes: Teaching and Learning, because its all well and good saying to students, you must learn the Form, or... I will teach you the Form...when students have major difficulties not just with the techniques - but with the process of learning too. -
How can I teach what I need to teach more effectively? How can I learn what I need to learn more efficiently? Ways of Learning is the book that will show you how, and in this sample audio chapter, you will hear the author speak on "The Illusion of Certainty". Don't expect anything other than the unexpected in this quirky, and eccentric take on 21st century education by the teapotmonk.
For more visit teapotmonk.com and find out about the whole 18 chapters now available as an audiobook. -
Why do Forms differ from style to style, class to class and even instructor to instructor. And is it the postures or the spaces between them that define the tai chi form? This most symbolic and synonymous representation of tai chi.
And what did Bruce Lee mean when he said…When one has reached maturity in the art, one will have a formless form? -
What do we mean by authentic Tai Chi? What does traditional Tai Chi mean? And why are Tai Chi practitioners so obsessed in claiming exclusive access to these very elusive terms?
Many people say:
"Hey Teapotmonk, answer me this, if you're really an authentic teacher you must have trained in China, or learnt from a Chinese practioner of recognised lineage. How come you don't speak Cantonese like a local, and how come you don't you wear your silk pyjamas when teaching?"
The truth is, I have had teachers from many different countries and I can only say that nationality by itself does not convey good teaching skills. One of the best tai chi teachers I ever had was from Chile. I don't think Chile can be credited for that. It was simply she knew how to relate to people and convey complex issues in simple ways.
So when someone says, I'm looking for the best teacher- I say, forget tradition and forget nationality - and this week I'm going to tell you why....... -
Why do some teachers teach a hybrid form of Tai Chi?
Does this amount to sacrilege or is this the way of the world given the origins of the art and how it's developed over the years?
And what should a student look for in a class, if not purity and the all-important surname?
Find out in this weeks episode of TCC. -
What should you look for when considering which style of Tai Chi to learn?
Are there major differences between the different schools or do they share more than they would like to admit? And does your school offer a range of learning techniques for the different ways we all learn?
Find out in part 1 of It's all about Style with the teapotmonk. -
What caused tai chi to go west, and was it - like an exotic fruit - starting to decay upon arrival?
What role played the American Secret Services in opening up the practice to American audiences and what legacy has the innovators of the 1960's left for us - bewildered and bemused - practitioners of the 21st century ?
Find out on this weeks episode of Talking Tai Chi with the teapotmonk. -
In the previous episode, we started the history of Tai Chi, recognizing that little was in fact, factual, and that there was little point in attempting to substantiate the insubstantial, as history tends to lean heavily towards the partial and the subjective.
And so we ended up about to launch into the -totally unsubstantiated - two-minute version of the History of Tai Chi Chuan.
A version that takes into account a world suffering from attention deficiency and a world raised on a diet of social media updates and twitter length items. Therefore the Teapotmonk presents....
The Twitter History of Tai Chi in 5 Stages
Stage 1: The Mongoose
In the beginning, the world was composed of 10,000 things, mostly serpents and mongooses fighting each other in an unobserved manner. Later, a few human beings occupied the planet, mostly stiff and awkward types practicing single martial postures, bringing to mind those displayed by John Saxon in Enter the Dragon.
Stage 2: The Pritt Stick
Onto this stage comes Chang San Feng, possibly the most renowned mongoose observer of his time, and a dab hand at sticking together otherwise fragmented John Saxon like postures. With his trusty orang-utan buddy, CSF fuses the moves into a single simian form and changes forever the nature of the internal arts and the private life of the average mongoose.
Stage 3: The Peeking
Several centuries later, in The Village of the Chens, the legacy of Chang San Feng was held hostage until a certain outsider named Yang Lu Chan ‘the invincible’, peeked into the Chen training halls, video-taped their secret routines and uploaded them onto YouTube and at last the secret was out. When the Chens were sent an anonymous email with a link to YLC's video channel, they dragged him into their lair where - he reputedly 'whupped' the entire clan with one little finger and thereafter changed the direction of Tai Chi forever.
Stage 4: From Invincibility to Commercial Viability
The Video-Peeker's Grandson, Yang Chen Fu - a large and somewhat rotund figure - was burdened with the responsibility of continuing the lineage, so he peeked and learnt from the violent clashes of the Chinese Boxers and Foreign firearms so prevalent during the period. Discovering to his surprise that his generation had inherited little of his grandfathers invincibility, and without even sending a tweet to the Chen's - he unilaterally shifted the balance away from Tai Chi Chuan - as the Ultimate Martial Fist - to that of simply ‘Tai Chi’ the Ultimate exercise regime for all shapes and sizes.
(Now Available on DVD from all good stockists)
Stage 5: Shifting Sands
After this, the world shifts continues to evolve, and some practitioners decide to evolve with it, whilst others carry on bending spears with their necks and pretending they are still in the 18th century.
Some bits of Tai Chi flee political change by going West. Some bits stay in Asia. Everything changes, however, because it is in the nature of things to do so. In fact, some argue that Tai Chi is built on such foundations and is destined to effortlessly adapt to another time, language, culture and society.
Sadly, such evolution is then criticised for the next 50 years for having adapted from the Chen Lair, and stiff and unbending types all over the world fight to re-establish things the way they were, back before the time of the peeker, back before Mongooses were observed; with the aim of shielding us from the Weapons of Mass Information.
And thus ends the twitter history of Tai Chi Chuan.
In part 3 of the history of Tai chi Chuan, we add a more literal an account of how Tai Chi moved west and the legacy those immigrants who brought it with them, have left with us.
See you there. -
Where did TC begin and why? What were the reasons behind the splits in styles and techniques and why, after centuries of evolution do such squabbles between stylists still enrage even the most placid of practitioners.
Find out in this weeks episode part 1 of The Fascinating, but schizophrenic history of Tai Chi Chuan -
In Karate and Judo, In aikido and Hapkido, in kendo and taekwondo there are uniforms, belts and gradings. You know where you are with a Japanese or Korean Art. But in Tai Chi, there is nothing. No costumes, no headscarfs, no ninja styled fingerless gloves.
So why are some classes then taught by nights in white satin and others in jeans and flip-flops, and what does uniformity say about you and your class? Find out on This weeks episode of Talking Tai Chi with the Teapotmonk -
What does TC Mean? Why is it spelt in different ways? Why is it sometimes referred to as Tai Chi and others as TCC? And why, even after explaining all this do most people say afterwards, I'm no more clearer than before?
Literally it means the "supreme ultimate fist". Clear? Of course not...as as, this doesn't help at all..... so we need to take a look at something other than the literal meaning. And this is a good lesson generally in TC. Don't get hung up on literal meanings, for you are probably living in a culturally, politically, geographically and socially different time than when the art was conceived.
In short we need to move beyond definitions.
The two words, “Tai” and “Chi” together, mean the unity of Yin and Yang, or in Taoist circles: the mother of the 10,000 things.
See! I told you that literal meanings would get us nowhere! The "10,000 things" is just a name - - a name used to represent everything from the lunar winds to the clippings of your toenails. It was a description used a lot in early Taoist texts, and although it's not necessary that you grasp all the philosophy of Taoism to learn about Tai Chi, it is useful to know some of the concepts, such as Yin and Yang and Wu Wei. We will look at some of these in more depth later.
But for now just try to remember that when these concepts are brought together, “Tai” and “Chi” they mean the ideas and not just the physical movements.
So, when you add the third ingredient “chuan” to the first two, you get the complete name and the complete concept: T’ai Chi Chuan - The system of fighting based on the principles of the mother of all things.
There, clear now?
Okay, i hear you ask....so What's with the accents? Why is it sometimes written with accents after the T and the CH. ?
Well I could answer: Pedantry.
I could say...Who cares what the difference is, the important thing is what they are in themselves, not how they are written! And this would be a fair point of view. But, we do need to be aware of the arguments, even if we are then going to go ahead and pooh pooh them.
Tai Chi is often written with an apostrophe between the T’ and the ai. Technically, this is the correct spelling - otherwise the pronunciation changes from a T sound to that of a D sound. Can you imagine calling it Dai Chi?
However, popular use dictates we ignore the rule, much to the frustration of linguists, purists and fantatical forum activists on the net.
You seee, Languages, one has to admit, adapt and change and in this case the simple spelling of Tai Chi - without apostrophe - to denote the practice is used as a standard.
Even many teachers who claim to only use the apostrophe spelling end up using the simple version when it comes to selling a book or an article. As so often is the case, markets dictate, and individuals follow suit.
Which brings us to the question of why its called TC sometimes and TCC other times.
Well, the word ‘Chuan’ at the end of Tai Chi means fist and so the whole phrase ‘Tai Chi Chuan' technically refers to the practice of Tai Chi as a martial art. Therefore, some teachers have singled out the shorter phrase Tai Chi to mean the non-martial practice of Tai Chi Chuan. But not all subscribe to this view.
Confused? you should be because a lot of the time I believe that is the intention. The more confused u are, the more readily you will swallow anyones theory no matter how absurd it sounds.
Hmmm, i think im digging my own grave here....
Fortunately, we have the venerable discipline of Bean Curd Boxing to clarify matters.
Bcb's use whatever rolls off the tongue better, whatever is quicker to type and whatever avoids the use of tricky accents.
Having said all of this...you still may see TC written as Tai Ji Quan and may wonder - with some justification - if this is a distant relative
First, Don't worry too much because it is still pronounced the same.
What we are touching on here is the same problem practitioners of Chinese arts have had to deal with for decades...whether we are looking at Chi Gung or Qi Gong, Kung Fu or Gung Fu, and of course Tai Chi or Taiji.
It all depends on which transliteration of the original Chinese you are reading. Some systems favour the Tai Chi Chuan approach (Wade-Giles) whilst others favour the Taijiquan version (Pinyin). Followers of each argue about the merits of one over another, to the absurd point of throwing threats and challenges about on forums to try and win the point.
but perhaps we ought to remind themselves that the only correct version is that which is written in its original tongue. All other versions are simply translations.
If u visit my blog you will see the words Tai Chi liberally scattered here and there without too much caution. This is because I do not really want to spend an inordinate amount of time arguing about the order of the letters, or the presence of an accent.
(Something we have already spent far too much time on already)
I'd rather focus on the concepts and ideas behind them. Strip away the unnecessary. As a lover of language I want to see things simplified, not confused.
Ron hogans excellent rewording of the Tao te jing
48.
Usually, we try to learn something new every day.
But if we want to get right with Tao, we have to let go of something every day.
We do less and less, until we end up doing nothing. And it's when we do nothing that we get the job done
And that's where I want to finish today. Reminding ourselves that the objective of doing less, yet getting stuff done is a fine practice amongst bean curd boxers envy where.
So, if after all that you still wish to engage in debate, then go ahead and choose your weapon ....With or without, plain or accented, old or new,...... just remember ..scratch the surface, remove the fine robes and you'll find we're all pretty much the same underneath. -
*What do we mean by learning to root?
*Can Tai chi claim to offering better rooting skills or training than other disciplines?
*And What practical use is Rooting outside a text book glossary?
All this and more in this weeks episode of Talking Tai Chi with the Teapotmonk. -
Last episode we spoke about what happens in a TC class and today we are going to explore the crucial concepts of 'Yielding', ' and Sticking . I'm going to try and keep the topics broad and hopefully applicable to all the different styles and variations of TC out there. and I'm going to try and make the concepts useful, as Is the way of Bean Curd Boxing...applicable to your life outside the confines of the training hall. What is BEANCURDBOXIng? Come over. To teapotmonk.com and find out. -
Welcome to this weeks episode where we ask the simple, but surprisingly complex question...
Q2. What happens in a Tai Chi Class?
A. Well, The short answer is that in a class of Tai Chi, you learn tai chi.
The content of that learning experience however can vary from school to school, from teacher to teacher so much, that books and web sites and DVD's recommending one version over another, one style over another don't help an awful deal. What really helps is not how much you know about tai chi, but how much you know about yourself
Let me explain that a little.
What one person sees as soft, another sees as hard. What one sees as slow, another sees as fast. My dog can run pretty fast. But put against a greyhound and he looks like a tortoise. We think of a tortoise as a slow mover, but put one against a snail and youve got one speedy shelled creature - and so it goes on.
I have been to beginners classes that have had an inordinately complex structure. (for me) but for the teacher they have epitomized simplicity itself. I have been to advanced classes Where we have done little else that practice the first 2 minutes of the short form. Nothing is set. Everything is fluid. There is no such thing as absolutes or certainties. You have to learn to take it as you find it.
For that reason it's always best to go and view a class before enrolling, signing-up or committing yourself to a life-long apprenticeship with the loudest school with the biggest advertising budget.
Find out where your nearest classes because - geography is always going to be a big issue - and go and visit each one. Introduce yourself, say you are there to just to watch (or join in if invited) and just see what you think and how you feel.
So what are you looking for? Well, get your note book and and scribble down a couple of points.....
Listen on for the whole podcast or visit teapotmonk.com for more taoist nonense... -
Hi welcome to Talking Tai Chi with the teapotmonk.
Today we begin out journey and start our exploration of what is Tai Chi.
But instead of defining it - a rather meaningless task given the enormous cultural and linguistic issues involved, I'm going to begin with a question that is not only fundamental to all beginners of the art, but of equal importance to teachers, intermediate students and everyone seeking to improve their practice.
WHY LEARN TAI CHI?
A. Perhaps this is the question that begins our journey, but it is also the question to which we return again and again. Why learn, why practice for decades and why invest so much time and energy into this most noble of arts? Clearly, the answer will vary from person to person, but as a teacher im aware that a greater and greater number of students cite "health" as their primary motive. At times, health is referred to in physical terms, others mentally, spiritually, philosophically or even culturally. It is a complex picture, but throughout these podcasts we shall be looking into all of these interpretations.
but first let us step back from the specifics. Tennyson said that Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers." and Too often in Tai Chi we get embroiled in Details of knowledge, arguing over interpretation and authenticity. I'm going to do my best to avoid this tendency in these podcasts and instead, try to focus on the larger picture.
1. Letting go
When we begin to learn Tai Chi we embrace something unique in our lives. Tai Chi teaches us - in subtle ways - the benefits of slowing down, relaxing during tense moments and perhaps most importantly, to let things be. The concept of letting things be, or leaving alone is generally misunderstood as non-intervention, but this is only a partial interpretation. It doesn't mean - we don't get involved. Rather, that we choose the right moment with insight and patience. Well look more at this concept in later podcasts.
WHAT ELSE DOES TAI CHI TEACH US?
1. Stop the chatter
It teaches us that by emptying our minds we can find space for other things to approach. Often, we find this very difficult, as our present culture does not always look too favourably on emptiness and empty minds. Instead we are encouraged to fill up our heads with facts, dry knowledge that enables us to quote interesting stats, but says little about our capacity to keep quiet. .so to balance this tendency....tai chi shows us how to put aside a little time for ourselves....a time that is a genuine and qualitative moment that enables us to disconnect from the matrix - even if for just a short while. Consequently the spirit is replenished, the mind is quietened and our energy levels are recharged.
1. Go slow
Whilst the rest of the planet finds itself distracted by the communications age and consequently accelerates in order just to keep up, the Tai Chi practitioner slows down, steps back and watches as it all rushes by. Choosing the moment, the appropraite time to step in. We breathes deeply, and while we may be distracted by technology and the 10,000 things (see chapter on Philosophy) we are also diverted pleasantly by the texture of sunlight, the path of the moon or the movement of wind moving over water.
So in Conclusion.
Why do we learn tai chi? Yes we learn for meditative, spiritual and self-defense reasons - yet for many it begins, once more, with health. Physically, you are choosing to do something positive in life, something that will play a consistent, incremental and beneficial role in building your overall constitution, changing your posture, deepening your breath and improving your overall strength.
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Finally, it is good to learn something that will not disappear within a couple of years, Ending up redundant on a rubbish heap like like many an mp3 player,...it is good to practice something that has a value independent of the time in which we practice it.
Tai Chi has been around a long time and is getting more popular. In part this is because it is so open to all sexes, all ages and cultures. It is an art that you can practice today, and still be perfecting it when you are walking your last days on this planet. It is an art that is pretty cheap to learn, requires neither special equipment nor clothes, and can be carried with you everywhere you go! Imagine, if you will, an exercise and health regime in the 'cloud', which is always there, pushed down to you at any time, in any place.
Tai Chi is an art for life.
This was the first episode in the Talking Tai Chi series with the teapotmonk. Thanks for listening. Join me next week when we will be looking at
WHAT HAPPENS IN A TAI CHI CLASS?