It’s cold and the roads are slick so stay home and practice. Class tomorrow is cancelled.

I’m reminded by the beautiful white scene outside the window that we are still in winter. Please be careful out there. Go out only if necessary during the storm.

In the event that Kathryn or I have to cancel Thursday morning class, we will call or leave a message with the center. I will also add a post here, so you can either check on line or call the center (608-270-4290) to check before coming to class. If driving conditions are not safe, please stay home. Take care and remember if you feel yourself slipping, point your (b__t or a_s) straight down.

Wishing you all a healthy and safe 2024!

A quick way to reduce stress – delete every incomplete resolution from 2023. See that was easy – a clean slate.

Set only 3 goals – don’t be greedy. These should be your highest priority goals. Ignore the rest. There, you got something you can work on and accomplish.

One of my top priority goal is to share more about taijiquan training this year. Last year, that sounds funny, I attended multiple classes with Chen Ziqiang and he taught me many many things. The first thing I learn from him is – don’t over correct or share. Only when he feels the student is ready, does he share more. His rationale is simple. If you share too much, the students might be overwhelm and progress will be slow. Be patient … wait … watch …. wait … for questions from them. His father, Chen Xiao Xing said the same thing and I forgot about it. I am eager to learn but my mind and my body may not be ready. That’s when a good teacher matters. I am fortunate to know good teachers.

More little nuggets to come. Be safe and stay healthy. Keep practicing.

A friend asked me if I had pics to share from my training with CZQ in France and that’s when I realized that I have not been taking pics. I’ve been listening carefully to what he is saying and practicing the corrections he gave me. My understanding of his family’s art has deepen with each correction. He told me that it is easy to mimic what looks right, it is more difficult to know what right is inside. He said not to think too about what the outside looks right. When the inside is correct, the outside with be correct.

The saying about when the student is tardy, the teacher will appear is so accurate. I can take pictures and videos all day long (which one student did) but to truly understand, I have to watch, listen and reflect. I need to discover within myself what’s right and what’s not and ignore what others are seeing or what I’m seeing.

Someone at the seminar asked me how long I’ve been practicing taijiquan and I said I started in 1990 (the year I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease). That’s 33 years ago!!! He said ‘oh, you must be good’. I said  ‘No’. I said, ‘I only get corrections 1 or 2 times a year whenever I get to see CXX or CZQ. The rest of the times I practice the same mistakes again and again.’ Some people think they just need a workshop and they know what taijiquan is. Or, they are upset that we couldn’t finish the form during the 3-day workshop. Pour moi  – only 1 jin gang is enough. Hands on corrections are the best form of corrections for me. I owe CZQ and CXX a lot for my progress.

Yesterday’s correction was minute but profound! At the end of the class Master CZQ asked – how has it changed your form. I said the  changes are huge and I’m now applying that knowledge and feeling to the rest of the movements.

https://www.facebook.com/1042240652/videos/296192672811564/

Sorry this is only through FB.

This book is now available on Amazon. I’ve mine, go get yours today.

Due to the extended Safer At Home initiative, Fitchburg Senior Center offered me the opportunity to make a video of our weekly warm-ups and silk reeling exercises and because the space is small and tight. I’m only doing the stationary portion of the silk reeling exercises.

The video is available at http://factv.fitchburgwi.gov/CablecastPublicSite/show/12329?channel=2 as well as scheduled air times. I hope by the time we get back together in person again, we can add on standing corrections, moving steps , and do the forms together. Until then, please stay safe, protect not just yourself but others through social distancing, earning masks etc until we are sure our healthcare system is ready for us to get the coronavirus. It is not “IF” but “when” we will get the virus.