Monday Morning Tai Chi Training Tip – #316
Genius Plays Tai Chi
Leonardo de Vinci was thought to say, “Start with what you can see, and learn from what you discover.” That idea is so important to me as a student and teacher. The form was given to me by a teacher, and that was just the starting place for me to discover what the form contains, because a form is only that, a structure to hold something, as distinguished from the substance.
It is easy, especially in the beginning, to view the form as “the” substance, and many people stop there. But with an explorer’s heart, we can enjoy endless years of wandering around our internal arts, never knowing what we will discover. It is the surprise that makes life interesting.
Schedule Change – The “Microscope”
Summer in Port Townsend is almost guaranteed to be perfect for playing Tai Chi in the Chetzemoka Park. Starting on June 2, we will be focusing our microscope on the 54 Form. I say “microscope” because we will be diving deep into the 54 Form in all its aspects.
When I first started learning Tai Chi in the late 1960’s, there were two main master instructors in the US – Choy Kam Man on the West Coast and Cheng Man-ch’ing on the East Coast. Both had modified the Yang Long Form (108) into shorter forms – Master Choy’s 54 was what I first learned. Cheng Man-ch’ing called his 37, but it was basically the same sequence as Choy’s. Both instructors had been students of one of Tai Chi’s greatest teachers – Yang Cheng-Fu, grandson of the originator of Yang Style Tai Chi Ch’uan – Yang Lu-Chan.
This summer will be a great opportunity for beginners and advanced alike to share the spirit of adventure and the wonder of our marvelous art. All people are welcome, free of charge. Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 9 to 11 – warm ups, qigong in the first hour and work on the 54 form for the second hour. Some people choose to only attend one of these times, and that is fine. Saturday from 9 to 11 is more free form with practice focused on the 34 and 108.
I have posted the 54 Form Reference video to YouTube. It can be download or viewed at: https://youtu.be/0–Z9wHiADA
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Michael at 360 385-5027. Hope to see you there.