Friday, June 27, 2014

How to handle the teacher's teaching?

十年之内,对老师的东西要坚信不疑,一字不能差。
十年之后,要对老师的东西全部重新确认。一字不漏。

For the first 10 years, believe everything the teacher says without any doubt, with no changes to any word.
Beyond the first 10 years, verify everything the teacher says without missing any word.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

20 yilus a day for 20 years

Master Chen Zhonghua says if you want the real gongfu, you will need to give up something. To have real change, you will need to find someone who you can't defeat no matter what you do today. 20 yilus a day for 20 years are also needed to get real taiji.

If you don't understand something, write it down in your notebook

Master Chen Zhonghua: "If you don't understand something, write it down in your notebook." (Don't just remember it in your head, or say that you will not forget it, literally write it down)

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Notes for Every Move Must Be Adjusted

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/06/every-move-must-be-adjusted/

Notes:

  1. Every right move we make, we will make a wrong move as well. We need to strive to conceal or eliminate the wrong move.
  2. 5 parts must disappear: wrist (same as ankle), elbow, shoulder, kua, knee.
  3. Open one door, close it behind before opening another one. (I see sequencing in this description of actions).
  4. Train enough to the point where you can do what you are supposed to do automatically. Training means following a procedure repeatly until you get it. No need to think about why you are following that procedure. When you can do it, you will know why you did it the way you did it.

Notes for Todd Elihu and Wu Shaozhi Testing Energy Online Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/06/todd-elihu-and-wu-shaozhi-testing-energy-online-video-purchase/

Notes:
  1. If you don't know how to squeeze (ji), you cannot start, and are just fighting (i.e. not doing taiji).
  2. By comparing how Master Chen Zhonghua did the squeeze himself to how the two students did it, I can see the difference between the correct and not-so-correct ways, and hopefully in due time, I can get closer to the ideal. 
  3. Take note of Master Chen Zhonghua's commentary while the two students were trying the squeeze action. It is important to associate what he said to what was happening at the time, so one can start to recognize the deficiency in one own's action during training. The ability to recognize the issue paves the path to a higher level.