Ottawa Workshop Notes Nov. 18-19, 2017

How do you evaluate if someone has learned the real taiji or not?
1. Time/Chronology (Does that person exist in the timeframe as the claimed teacher?)
2. Location (Is that person ever at the same place as the claimed teacher?)
3. Details (Does he talk about things that are unique (not common knowledge)? Does he talk about things that another person knows as well and can attest to it?)
4. If something makes sense, it is not real. (Is that person's story too perfect? Is that person try to prove something? Someone authentic will not feel the need to prove anything.)

Certificate is needed only for a special event. If you are doing the same thing often, you do not feel like needing a certificate anymore.

When someone asks about how not to deviate, he has deviated already.
When someone has deviated, there is no way to return because in his mind, he has not deviated.

Learning is very difficult. You need blind faith.

Most of the time, you think that you are learning from someone only because you happen to match his thought on the topic. You are really just acting out in your own desired way. When the time that he tells you to do something that does not match your desire, you will refuse to do it, which means you are not really learning from this person.

If someone tries to bully you, deal with it in a way that he can't continue.

Teacher is right.
If you can see it, you get it.
If you can hear it, you get it.
If you can understand it, you get it.
One thing right, all things right. Most people can't get even one thing right.

3 bows/triangles in structural power:
1) Hand, elbow, shoulder
2) Shoulder, kua, knee
3), Kua, knee, foot

What's the relationship between moving and non-moving? Stretch
What's the demarkation between moving and non-moving? Stretch
What's neither moving nor non-moving? Stretch

I need make my actions very big.
Don't power on the top, power from the bottom.
Throw the waist into the opponent.

Play with a stick. get someone to hold the middle of the stick and you fight with it on the outside.
Getting stuck is the position we want to start.  Pretend to get a stuck is a method decided by Master Chen 30 years ago.

Fix two ends, move the middle.

To pull your opponent into you, it is to push with the front foot.

Grandmaster Hong Junshen summarized taiji into ten Chinese words:
In with elbow no hand. Out with hand no elbow.

What is real?  It is not recorded, and it cannot be recorded.  That's the method to test if something is real.
e.g. If you wear makeup, the real you is that does not have makeup.

Master Chen emphasized pulling the opponent in using initial closing.

Getting in deep.

My bottom is getting shorter. watch out to make it bigger again.
We need physical size at first, later you need the structure to stretch to make it long.

Understanding "Rotation is the result of linear movements"

Recently, I understand more about the statement: "Rotation is the result of linear movements." Our actions are like on the tangent of a circle. The non-moving dot is the centre of the circle. Every linear action is very small. The direction changes all the time. The sequence of such actions along with non-moving dot cause the rotation. The actions are continued on top of each other, and they have a relationship with the non-moving dot. In the form, it is like dragging the flesh around some non-moving rod or dot. It is almost like someone pushes the arm on one side for elbow in, and someone else pushes the other side of the arm for hand out. This is related to the stretch that Master Chen Zhonghua showed on the inside or outside of the forearm. Another example is that if someone touches me in the front, I don't move the front, but I stretch the back over or around that non-moving front.

According to Master Chen, all of the above are actions of oneself, and yin yang separation of oneself. It describes the relationship of self-actions. Actions in relation to the opponent is done by regulating the distance between the self-action and opponent. It is achieved by the stepping of the feet, without ever changing the self-action. This is a more detailed explanation of Grandmaster Hong Junsheng's rotation vs revolution.

I realize that if I am able to 合 (he) (as if tied by a rope) with the opponent, my actions will have an effect on him. The better I become, the farther I can be away from the opponent without losing the 合. As a beginner, we start by getting close to the opponent, otherwise, it is too difficult to have any effect on the opponent. Master Chen always reminds us that we need to get in, get in, get in. Master Chen's analogy on this is about how a rotating circular saw blade cannot cut wood until wood is pressed onto the saw blade, or the saw blade is pushed onto the wood. Master Chen says that all of these are effort to resolve the riddle, "If it is too loose (lack of engagement), power is lost; If it is too tight (jammed together), power cannot come out."

Master Chen indicates that my understanding comes from knowing the theory, personal practice, and teaching. It is especially important that I am teaching people who are not combative, and I am allowed to push with thinking in it. The teaching has allowed me to think about how the actions are supposed to fit into the principle. If I don't do it quite well, I will just try again on the same person indicating that the last one is not good and why it is not good. 

Related article:
http://practicalmethod.com/2014/01/rotation-is-the-result-of-linear-movements/

Reaching 22,800 yilus

Shifu's comments: You are taking a different approach now. Torso vertical rod is still not strong or clear enough.