Some great Q&A/Articles on his site.
When did you come to realize that Taiji would become an integral part of your life?
One of the symptoms of my heart defect was that, during the winter time, I could not keep my body warm. At night time, I would have to stay with my father and brother. The Chinese doctors said that my Qi was not strong and could not reach the extreme of my body. After I began to practice Taiji, I could feel my body getting warmer and warmer. Such a big improvement is perhaps not so obviously manifest in those practitioners who begin the study of Taiji in relatively good health. Eventually, I became much stronger. Where before I was much too weak, I was now able to play sports with other children. I remember especially wrestling with larger boys, something that would have been impossible before. This made me more and more confident. In 1977, I passed a physical check up, which was a prerequisite for entrance into the university. By that time, all symptoms of my congenital heart defect were gone. This was quite fortunate for me. If the doctors giving me the physical exam had detected a heart condition, I would not have been allowed to attend college. Taiji practice is what cured my poor physical condition, and allowed me to pursue studies at the university. At that time I realized what a miracle Taiji is, and decided to devote my whole life to studying and sharing this treasure with other people.
As you know, Taiji is very popular nowadays. It seems, however, that a great number of people practice only the form. Do you feel that any real benefits can be derived from this kind of practice?
People practice Taiji for mental and physical health and self defense. Taiji training is a system. It should cover qigong, forms, silk-reeling, pushhands, and weapons. For different reasons, some only receive or practice a part of the complete training. A good example is those who only practice forms. If practiced correctly, forms can build the connection between mind and body, improve flexibility and balance, and cultivate internal energy to a certain degree. However, form practice is much more efficient when combined with other parts of the system. We are living in a very fast-paced society. Our time is limited everyday. To get the most from the time we have to practice, we need a better training package. A Chinese saying illustrates this point well: "Shi ban gong bei", which, roughly translated, means if you practice something the best possible way, you need only spend half the time to learn it well. This is my goal in my workshops around the country: to introduce the whole training system to Taiji practitioners. It has been well received.
Last edited by Lucas; 02-04-2011 at 11:45 AM.
For whoso comes amongst many shall one day find that no one man is by so far the mightiest of all.