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Year of the Cat
07-15-2006, 08:01 PM
It's a crazy question but I had to ask.
Three weeks ago I was demolishing a closet that housed a hot water heater that died. The new tank was too large for the space, so I tore into it as quickly as possible before the guy arrived to install it. I found I could use tools equally well with either hand. IOW, I became ambidextrous after a lifetime of right-handedness. It hasn't "worn off".
Anyone else experienced that, or heard of it? I started Wu Hao Taiji a year and a half ago. That's the only thing I can think of to explain the sudden onset of being ambidextrous.

SevenHands
07-17-2006, 10:20 AM
I noticed a few years back (before I started KungFu) that most of my daily routines involved using my right hand/arm/upper body. Things like brushing my teeth, combing my hair, using forks and spoons when eating, opening doors, etc always seemed to be done by using my dominant side. My left side was being neglected so I tried a few things with my non-dominant side and noticed how uncoordinated I was at these seemingly trivial tasks. The amount of conscious thought to perform these trivial tasks went up considerably also.

All in all I think trying to be ambidextrous is a good exercise for getting the brain and muscles to adapt to different situations and KungFu/Tai-chi is about as ambidextrous as one can get compared to other less balanced sports like baseball and hockey.

btw, If you want to feel completely incompetent, when on your computer, try using the mouse with your left hand. :)

JohnnyMnemonic
08-02-2006, 04:32 PM
It's a crazy question but I had to ask.
Three weeks ago I was demolishing a closet that housed a hot water heater that died. The new tank was too large for the space, so I tore into it as quickly as possible before the guy arrived to install it. I found I could use tools equally well with either hand. IOW, I became ambidextrous after a lifetime of right-handedness. It hasn't "worn off".
Anyone else experienced that, or heard of it? I started Wu Hao Taiji a year and a half ago. That's the only thing I can think of to explain the sudden onset of being ambidextrous.

Yes Tai Ji will rewire your brain. In much more drastic ways than you describe.


Most people do not understand the power of Tai Chi because they have a flawed view of the body. Most people think they have a body and a brain or a head. This is wrong. Your body is one big large one piece unit. Anything that changes the body will change the brain. It is unavoidable.

Tai Chi uses this. The Tai Chi exercises will change anyone's head or brain and change them into a new person. An intelligent person will pause here for a minute.

What kind of changes? How will the Tai Chi practitioner change? Do you really want to experience the changes Tai Chi will put you through?


Tai Chi acts like a.......blanket or a sedative for violent people. That is why you hear lots of stories of violent external martial artists turning to Tai Chi, then changinging demeanor. The Tai Chi literally physically changes them from angry ******* external people into less angry external ******* people.

You should notice many more changes to yourself besides more use of your left arm and hand.

JohnnyMnemonic
08-02-2006, 04:35 PM
btw, If you want to feel completely incompetent, when on your computer, try using the mouse with your left hand. :)

This is a valid idea. If you really want to be a kung fu guy, try this. If you cannot use your mouse with your left hand, how can you punch or grab or block or any other fighting move? Those all take strength and co ordination. Moving a mouse takes one finger. If you can't use the mouse with your left hand, why?

It will probably take you a few years before you can do it. Try playing a video game with your left hand on the mouse if you play video games. Then you will find out exactly how out of whack your left arm is.

YiLiQuan1
08-12-2006, 01:38 AM
Yes Tai Ji will rewire your brain. In much more drastic ways than you describe.

If someone listens to you, Tie Chee will teach you to see "energy vampires" and "zombies" all around.


Most people do not understand the power of Tai Chi because they have a flawed view of the body. Most people think they have a body and a brain or a head. This is wrong. Your body is one big large one piece unit. Anything that changes the body will change the brain. It is unavoidable.

Most people overestimate the power of Tai Chi because they have a flawed view of history, the development of fighting arts (specifically Taijiquan in this instance), and a misunderstanding of the benefits of either exercise or martial training.

By JohnnyMnemonic's descriptions elsewhere, he implies that Taijiquan does not equal exercise like weight lifting, he states emphatically that weight lifting will damage you for the long term, and that Taijiquan is apparently intended to develop non-physical attributes... Here, however, he states that "anything that changes the body will change the brain," which would seem to support the old Shaolin-attributed statement that a weak body cannot develop a strong mind, and a weak mind cannot be housed in a strong body (allegedly the genesis of Bodhidarma's seclusion in a cave to develop a fitness program for the monks unable to remain awake during meditation due to a severe lack of physical development).


Tai Chi acts like a.......blanket or a sedative for violent people. That is why you hear lots of stories of violent external martial artists turning to Tai Chi, then changinging demeanor. The Tai Chi literally physically changes them from angry ******* external people into less angry external ******* people.

If you could only realize how stupid this sounds... :rolleyes:


You should notice many more changes to yourself besides more use of your left arm and hand.

Like increased physical stamina, strength, endurance, as well as increased balance and coordination... All benefits that can be developed to the same degree, more or less, as other martial arts practice or physical exercise of sufficient intensity.

Nothing magic, just practice and movement.

RAF
08-12-2006, 02:26 AM
http://www.richardrestak.com/

http://www.soundmedicine.iu.edu/segment.php4?seg=274

Dr. Restak also talks about tai chi, an exercise regimen that activates the imaging ... Maybe we should. Richard Restak, MD, thinks we'd be smarter if we ...

Exercises For the Brain

Air date: February 1, 2003

Hosts: Barbara Lewis, David Crabb, MD

Interview: Richard Restak, MD
clinical professor of neurology at George Washington University Medical Center

What difference does three pounds make? It's the average weight of the human brain. These three pounds are critical to our physical, mental and emotional health, so why don't we obsess about exercising it the way we do our bodies? Maybe we should. Richard Restak, MD, thinks we'd be smarter if we only used our noggins more. Dr. Restak, neurologist and neuropsychiatrist, is clinical professor of neurology at George Washington University Medical Center and author of The Secret Life of the Brain, a book accompanying the PBS series of the same name.

Dr. Restak says performing brain exercises improves our ability both to think and remember, possibly even improve IQ scores. We can see the plasticity of the brain in the form of memory. If you do brain exercises to improve memory, you can test yourself with a shopping list, for example. He acknowledges it takes a little longer for older people's brains to remember and process information, but the brain can always improve capacity if challenged. Dr. Restak also talks about tai chi, an exercise regimen that activates the imaging parts of the brain as well as balance and coordination.

Additional Resources:

* Research published in the February 2002 Journal of the American Medical Association showed that stimulating mental activity could reduce the risk of Alzheimer disease.
* These brain exercises from About.com were created as study aids for students, but anyone can use them.
* Dr. Restak's latest book is Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot. It offers techniques for improving intellectual health in the short term and helping prevent dementia in the long run.
___________________________________

Heard him talk about how the practice of Tai Chi can rewire the brain, however, this is not unique to Tai Chi.

Hope this this helps.

Al Stewart

JohnnyMnemonic
08-12-2006, 08:04 AM
If someone listens to you, Tie Chee will teach you to see "energy vampires" and "zombies" all around.

Yes it will. You may change the nomenclature used to describe these people, but that is what will happen.



By JohnnyMnemonic's descriptions elsewhere, he implies that Taijiquan does not equal exercise like weight lifting, he states emphatically that weight lifting will damage you for the long term,

Weight lifting is only good in Kung Fu once you have developed your body properly. Then it will help. If you do weightlifitng before your body develops properly, you will most likely never develop your body properly. Or you will waste years undoing the damage that weightlifting did and then trying to develop your body properly.



and that Taijiquan is apparently intended to develop non-physical attributes...

Of course it does. I have a book here by some Chinese masters saying it does. Any Chinese person will tell you it does. Except. Chinese people are pretty close mouthed unless they think you are a friend. With your attitude they probably wouldn't tell you.



Here, however, he states that "anything that changes the body will change the brain," which would seem to support the old Shaolin-attributed statement that a weak body cannot develop a strong mind, and a weak mind cannot be housed in a strong body (allegedly the genesis of Bodhidarma's seclusion in a cave to develop a fitness program for the monks unable to remain awake during meditation due to a severe lack of physical development).

Uh....Yes I said that. Yes it is true. You say it like I said "frogs are as big as dinosaurs"?



If you could only realize how stupid this sounds... :rolleyes:

If you could only realize how arrogant, close minded, and naive this sounds....... :rolleyes

You really need to find some real kung fu teachers. One of my instructors told me that stuff that you are rolling your eyes at.

How old are you any ways? I am treating you like you are in your 30's or 40's. If you are a 20 year old telling us how kung fu works, I am gonna be shaking my head at how easy it is for kids to fool me.



Like increased physical stamina, strength, endurance, as well as increased balance and coordination... All benefits that can be developed to the same degree, more or less, as other martial arts practice or physical exercise of sufficient intensity.

Nothing magic, just practice and movement.

Not magic. Something based on deep knowledge of the body. Something many other physical practices do not take into account.

OK. Since you know it all, tell us why Tai Chi practitioners live to be 80 and look 50, while people in all those other physical practices usually live to 60 or 65 and look 60 or 65? You are claiming all these exercises are the same. Why do people end up looking different?

YiLiQuan1
08-12-2006, 11:24 AM
Yes it will. You may change the nomenclature used to describe these people, but that is what will happen.

Except there are no such things as "energy vampires," regardless of what you call them. If you feel drained or listless around certain people, it isn't because they are doing something to you, it's just that you cause yourself to feel a certain way around them because of your own feelings for them. No vampire at all, just your own attitudes.


Weight lifting is only good in Kung Fu once you have developed your body properly. Then it will help. If you do weightlifitng before your body develops properly, you will most likely never develop your body properly. Or you will waste years undoing the damage that weightlifting did and then trying to develop your body properly.

Spoken like someone with plenty of weightlifting and exercise experience, I'm sure. What does "developed your body properly" mean? Sitting around, thinking deep thoughts about how great you'll be someday? Or does it mean good, hard, muscle-fatiguing exercise?


Of course it does. I have a book here by some Chinese masters saying it does. Any Chinese person will tell you it does. Except. Chinese people are pretty close mouthed unless they think you are a friend. With your attitude they probably wouldn't tell you.

Taijiquan was originally an unknown, village specific, local form of fighting. Though I'm not sure of the authority level of the site, a simple Google search yielded this website (http://members.fortunecity.com/chenfamilytaiji/taiji_history.html#), on which it frequently references Taijiquan as a fighting art, not a meditational character builder.

As I've said before, the non-physical attributes cultivated through martial arts training are a direct result of the holistic combination of fighting (physically confronting resistant opponents, not just punching the air), overcoming physical hardship through training (e.g. arduous, rigorous exercises, hard falls, hard hits, etc.), as well as meditational methods to focus the mind. But Taijiquan was never, is not now, and with any luck will never become, some sorry excuse for people afraid of physical exertion to meditate their way into some fear-induced fantasy of martial mastery.


You really need to find some real kung fu teachers. One of my instructors told me that stuff that you are rolling your eyes at.

Perhaps your instructor was wrong?


How old are you any ways? I am treating you like you are in your 30's or 40's. If you are a 20 year old telling us how kung fu works, I am gonna be shaking my head at how easy it is for kids to fool me.

My age is unimportant. Facts are facts.


Not magic. Something based on deep knowledge of the body. Something many other physical practices do not take into account.

Cite the physical practices that do not take into account non-physical development and reaction to training. Further, cite the specific non-physical benefits of Taijiquan practice that are not developed through other exercise modalities.


OK. Since you know it all, tell us why Tai Chi practitioners live to be 80 and look 50, while people in all those other physical practices usually live to 60 or 65 and look 60 or 65? You are claiming all these exercises are the same. Why do people end up looking different?

Please, cite your sources for the early mortality of people who exercise through methods other than Tie Chee(se). Please, cite Tie Chee(se) practitioners living to advanced age while looking decades younger that are not Asian. Please, cite the specific differences in longevity, quality of life, wellness, etc., that are encountered between Tie Chee(se) and any other exercise.

Otherwise, stop making assumptions based on inaccurate information passed on through the opinions of your books, movies, and super Chinese masters (who certainly have no personal stake in your believing their myths in order to better bond you to them and solidify their hold on you and your wallet).

JohnnyMnemonic
08-12-2006, 06:39 PM
Except there are no such things as "energy vampires," regardless of what you call them. If you feel drained or listless around certain people, it isn't because they are doing something to you, it's just that you cause yourself to feel a certain way around them because of your own feelings for them. No vampire at all, just your own attitudes.

You are wrong. I told you I could prove it to you, and you respond with a denial. Not an interest in seeing what I have. Just a flat out denial. That does not seem like reasonable behavior.



Spoken like someone with plenty of weightlifting and exercise experience, I'm sure. What does "developed your body properly" mean? Sitting around, thinking deep thoughts about how great you'll be someday? Or does it mean good, hard, muscle-fatiguing exercise?

It means you want to get your body connected and balanced before you weight lift. If you are unbalanced and you lift weights, you will tend to become more unbalanced. You are exercising your unbalanced muscles so they get bigger but they are still unbalanced.

Weightlifting solidifies your muscles. It makes them very hard. For internal martial arts, you want your muscles to be soft and bouncy like a baby muscle. If you weightlift or do an external martial art which also solidifies your muscles, you are causing yourself years of delay when you do decide to do internal martial arts. Before you can do the internal martial arts, you first must work and wait for your muscles to turn from solid blocks of steel into something pliable and flexible. Only then will you really begin to build your internal strength.



Perhaps your instructor was wrong?

Or perhaps it is you. He was an older chinese man. I think you are a young white guy by your speech. I will trust him before I trust you.



Cite the physical practices that do not take into account non-physical development and reaction to training. Further, cite the specific non-physical benefits of Taijiquan practice that are not developed through other exercise modalities.

Tai Chi is specifically designed to knit your body into one large piece. A person may knit their body into one piece through other exercises. These exercises are usually not specifically designed to do so.

YiLiQuan1
08-12-2006, 06:50 PM
You are wrong. I told you I could prove it to you, and you respond with a denial. Not an interest in seeing what I have. Just a flat out denial. That does not seem like reasonable behavior.

You're going to show me what, precisely, in your photographs of vampires? Why would I be interested in seeing pictures that show nothing?


It means you want to get your body connected and balanced before you weight lift. If you are unbalanced and you lift weights, you will tend to become more unbalanced. You are exercising your unbalanced muscles so they get bigger but they are still unbalanced.

You've obviously never lifted before... You learn the proper form for lifting, then you lift. Takes all of a few minutes to learn to do properly.


Weightlifting solidifies your muscles. It makes them very hard.

You have no understanding of physiology whatsoever. Muscles do not "solidify." They grow, and their tone increases. They don't get "hard;" meat is meat. The meat will firm up with increased tone.


For internal martial arts, you want your muscles to be soft and bouncy like a baby muscle. If you weightlift or do an external martial art which also solidifies your muscles, you are causing yourself years of delay when you do decide to do internal martial arts.

There's a difference between relaxed muscles and poorly toned muscles. It seems you confuse the two. I've seen "soft and bouncy" people take just as long as "hard" people when learning to relax their body for proper form and alignment. However, the student that was fit before they began training developed far more quickly than the "soft and bouncy" weakling...


Before you can do the internal martial arts, you first must work and wait for your muscles to turn from solid blocks of steel into something pliable and flexible. Only then will you really begin to build your internal strength.

Because Taijiquan requires no physical strength whatsoever, right? :rolleyes:


I think you are a young white guy by your speech. I will trust him before I trust you.

Did your psychic powers tell you that? Because you're way off...


Tai Chi is specifically designed to knit your body into one large piece. A person may knit their body into one piece through other exercises. These exercises are usually not specifically designed to do so.

Nope. Taijiquan was specifically designed to defeat an opponent. Nothing more. Any side benefits were completely unintentional and secondary to its original purpose... All the new age mumbo jumbo is a recent development, usually popularized by people frightened of the reality of martial training.

Next, please... ;)