One wisdom from Chinese Martial Arts for developing speed and power is through stillness and slow movement. You will not know the miracle of moving without mastering stillness. This nurturing approach leads to longevity of power and speed with minimum injuries.  

The Chen Style 48 Form was developed by Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang. In this well-respected training sequence, he highlighted unique movements from traditional Chen forms and eliminated lengthy repetitions. In addition, he introduced structural and energetic changes to enhance the nurturing character of form practice and to develop enduring power. Dr. Yang will lead you through the ingredients of each movement to build optimal health and a solid foundation for martial arts application.

Life has surprising turns for us, good and bad. When it is bad, or disastrous, it can disable us, or we can transform the calamity into a blessing or benefit.

T’ai Chi: The Balance of the Body and Mind

T’ai chi (taiji, taijiquan) was created as a martial art with three main training modalities: solo practice, push hands, and free sparring. Push hands is a partner-training method aimed at cultivating physical and mental balance in which one training partner tries to disturb this balance by disrupting the center of his/her partner.

Taijiquan practitioners have long understood the value of Taiji training for balance and mobility. Yang Laoshi, for instance, provides a nice overview of potential benefits of training in Chapter 7 of his book Taijiquan: The Art of Nurturing, the Science of Power. Most longtime practitioners have a very deep and nuanced understanding of how Taiji supports their well-being, and now medical science is starting to contribute to this conversation in its own way through the publication of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Wa-Qi.com is a gem of an educational website, and the tuition is very modest. All of the sessions are recorded for your review and daily practice, usually only 15 minutes a day to reap the benefits of the practice and Dr. Yang’s wisdom.

Like many longtime students, I have not lived near enough to Dr. Yang to attend regular weekly classes, and I was deeply disappointed when summer camps were canceled for two years in a row. Such is life in the pandemic. Sunday online classes seemed like a pale substitute for summer camp, but they have been invaluable, particularly because of the deep detail addressed.

It is my 60th birthday. According to Confucius, at 60, you know who you are and what you can offer the world. Looking back on my life, one word summarizes my feelings: gratitude.

T'ai Chi and Qigong for Back Pain: Using an Eastern Practice for Better Spine Health

Dr. Yang was a guest on the Weill Cornell Medicine Center for Comprehensive Spine Care’s “Spine Time” Zoom conference, hosted by Dr. Roger Hartl and Stephen Pier, Artistic Director of the Dance Division at the University of Hartford Hartt School.

The short Evidence-Based T’ai Chi (EBT) was developed for Dr. Yang’s doctoral research study at the University of Illinois. Yang adapted the individual movements from the 48 Chen Form, and most are important movements represented in all t’ai chi styles.

The average age of study participants was 80, and within 3 months they appeared 10 years younger on measures of strength and balance. In addition, they demonstrated significantly improved immune function.

This 7 movement form, along with the essential Qigong from the WaQi curriculum has also demonstrated positive effects on stress, sleep, cognition and general wellbeing in several scientific studies.

You might have heard the Greek story of Hedgehog and fox: the fox know many small things whereas the hedgehog knows one big thing. When I read this story, I was thinking about the names: a Taiji hedgehog or a taiji fox. It is an issue of depth vs width of your taiji practice.