In Tai chi, tuishou, and martial arts in general…in fact, in many things in life, there is a tendency to add more and more effort until we feel resistance, and then add still more effort until we overwhelm that resistance. But the true skill is in finding mechanical efficiencies. We must learn to pay attention, . . . read more
This is a topic I will say a lot more about in future videos. Internal power and external power are used by both “internal martial arts” and the so-called “external martial arts.” The way that the different types of power are trained varies not only from style to style, or school to school, but from . . . read more
I sometimes feel sorry for lineage holders. They cannot be regular martial artists like other people. They have to be curators of their lineage and protectors of their school’s reputation. They cannot have a friendly match, or appear to be anything but the most respected person in the room. They cannot deviate from tradition. They . . . read more
Internal Power is used by “internal martial arts” like tai chi. But it is also used by the so-called “external martial arts.” The combination of both internal and external power is essential to successful tactics and strategy. A large part of the problem with teaching internal martial arts is that the terminology is confusing. Internal . . . read more
My recent trip to Europe allowed me to meet some very cool people and to do tai chi in some beautiful places. I will be back in Europe this autumn to work out with teachers and students, and to promote my new courses. So far, I have scheduled dates in Antwerp and Cornwall. Other locations . . . read more
After my recent travels, and changes to my life, I will be able to revamp my curriculum. This will involve dedicating myself full-time to developing the best online tai chi lessons I can devise. It will include a newly designed tai chi curriculum, including a new approach to teaching fundamentals common to all styles. It . . . read more
This is moment from a talk I gave recently in Sweden. An effortless push can be said to involve removing all the parts of the push that are not contributing to the result you want. This is in contrast to increasing the pressure so that most of the effort is wasted.
This is the extended version of the foundation routine that I teach to my students. The 10 form and 24-form are good for beginners. But this routine has the elements of the traditional routines, taught in a way that they used to be practised in the old days. You can play one section at a . . . read more
In this exchange, I was reminded of teacher Yang Yang when he spoke of the subtle, profound, and mysterious experiences of tai chi. I also wanted to remind people that what looks magical or mysterious is often just subtle, and not even profound. The mind can be easily deceived by preconceptions about Newtonian mechanics and . . . read more