Taijiquan Journal

Massage is Good! Scientific Proof

2012-02-07T20:55:00.000-06:00

Why and how does massage work? Researchers have explored this at McMaster University in Ontario.
"Massage's healing touch may have more to do with DNA than with good hands. A new study has revealed for the first time how kneading eases sore muscles—by turning off genes associated with inflammation and turning on genes that help muscles heal. The discovery contradicts popular claims that massage squeezes lactic acid or waste products out of tired muscles and could bring new medical credibility to the practice." Read the article at Science Magazine.

Yoga Practice Caveats and Lessons

2012-01-07T13:40:00.000-06:00

When is a good thing too much? When it creates problems. That's the case for some yoga practitioners, as described in this New York Times Magazine article. According to yoga instructor Glenn Black,

...a number of factors have converged to heighten the risk of practicing yoga. The biggest is the demographic shift in those who study it. Indian practitioners of yoga typically squatted and sat cross-legged in daily life, and yoga poses, or asanas, were an outgrowth of these postures. Now urbanites who sit in chairs all day walk into a studio a couple of times a week and strain to twist themselves into ever-more-difficult postures despite their lack of flexibility and other physical problems. Many come to yoga as a gentle alternative to vigorous sports or for rehabilitation for injuries. But yoga’s exploding popularity — the number of Americans doing yoga has risen from about 4 million in 2001 to what some estimate to be as many as 20 million in 2011 — means that there is now an abundance of studios where many teachers lack the deeper training necessary to recognize when students are headed toward injury. “Today many schools of yoga are just about pushing people,” Black said. “You can’t believe what’s going on — teachers jumping on people, pushing and pulling and saying, ‘You should be able to do this by now.’ It has to do with their egos.”

While tai chi practice seldom leads to injury, the lessons of yoga practitioners--students and teachers alike--should give pause for thought. How far does one push oneself? How does one work out safely?

Books: History of Chinese Martial Arts

2011-12-03T09:40:00.001-06:00

Chinese Martial Arts: From Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century, by Peter Lorge (Cambridge University Press, $ 29.00, 340 pages)
Publisher's description: "In the global world of the twenty-first century, martial arts are practiced for self-defense and sporting purposes only. However, for thousands of years, they were a central feature of military practice in China and essential for the smooth functioning of society. Individuals who were adept in using weapons were highly regarded, not simply as warriors but also as tacticians and performers. This book, which opens with an intriguing account of the very first female martial artist, charts the history of combat and fighting techniques in China from the Bronze Age to the present. This broad panorama affords fascinating glimpses into the transformation of martial skills, techniques, and weaponry against the background of Chinese history, the rise and fall of empires, their governments, and their armies. Quotations from literature and poetry, and the stories of individual warriors, infuse the narrative, offering personal reflections on prowess in the battlefield and techniques of engagement. This is an engaging and readable introduction to the authentic history of Chinese martial arts."

Arthritis and Exercise

2011-11-28T14:00:00.001-06:00

Exercise is the way to deal with arthritis, experts say. "Three years ago, federal health officials recommended that people with arthritis exercise moderately every day for about 20 minutes. But that's not what's happening. A recent study at Northwestern University looked at activity among 1,000 adults, between 49 and 84 years old, who had osteoarthritis of the knee. Ninety percent of the people were not exercising, according to lead scientist Dorothy Dunlop....Even more alarming, 40 percent of men and nearly 60 percent of women were total couch potatoes, Dunlop says." Read the entire article at NPR.
Tai chi, of course, is widely practiced for arthritis.

China to Build First Tai Chi Theme Park

2011-11-26T07:47:00.000-06:00

"China will build a theme park showcasing the traditional martial art of Tai Chi in Wudang Mountains area, legendary home of the marital art and a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned as a center of Taoism," reports Xinhua News Agency in China.

This is to be a joint venture with the American company Landmark Entertainment, and is aimed at increasing tourism. Hollywood-directed performances of tai chi will be featured along with the Daoist (Taoist) heritage of the mountains.

New Movie "Man of Tai Chi" to Feature Keanu Reeves

2011-11-21T07:29:00.000-06:00

Actor Keanu Reeves will make his directorial debut with "Man of Tai Chi," a martial arts film that will have at least forty minutes of fighting! "I want to make a good, solid kung fu movie. Good story, good plot — but let's get some good kung fu going!" He was interviewed on MTV.

Ed Young Art Exhibit

2011-11-10T11:32:00.002-06:00

Ed Young, children's book artist and tai chi teacher, will be having an exhibit of his works in Abiline, Texas, November 11, 2011-January 28, 2012 at the National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature. Young, who is about to turn 80, immigrated to the United States as a youth, and studied architecture, before turning to illustration.
In 1964, he happened to meet Professor Cheng Man-ch'ing, who was visiting the United States. After Cheng decided to stay on, Young became one of his assistants and translators, and became a taiji teacher himself in the New York area.

Young's book Lon Po Po, the Chinese Red Riding Hood story, won the Caldecott Medal, the highest US honor in children's book illustration. Two other books, The Emperor and the Kite, and Seven Blind Mice, by Young himself, have won Caldecott Honors. Recent books include Wabi Sabi (with Mark Reibstein), Moon Bear (with Brenda Guiberson), Hook, and Tsunami (with Kimiko Kajikawa). His newest book, The House Baba Built, a picture-book memoir about his boyhood in wartime Shanghai, is meeting with critical acclaim.
For an article about the exhibit, see the Abiline Recorder.
A video of Young discussing The House Baba Built can be seen at the BBC's site.

Tai Chi for the Blind

2011-11-08T00:01:00.001-06:00

A troupe of people with visual impairment performed this September as part of Beijing's National Day celebrations. The team members were massage students from the Zhangcheng School for the Blind, and had only been practicing tai chi for three months. (Xinhua, September, 2011)
Wan Zhouying, the instructor, reported that his teaching techniques needed to be adapted for the team. "Sometimes, Wan could not explain some specific actions or poses by words then he would ask students to touch him. However, even those students imitated him by touching, Wan still had to correct their actions one by one." The students derived health, confidence, and betterment of massage skills.

New Books and Media

2011-10-28T07:21:00.001-06:00

Celestial Healing: Energy, Mind and Spirit in Traditional Medicines of China, and East and Southeast Asia by Marc S. Micozzi, MD, PhD, with Kevin Ergil, MA, MS, LAc (Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, Qi, and Qi Gong), Laurel S. Gabler, BA, MSc (Thai Medicine) and Kerry Palanjian, BA, MBA (Shiatsu).
"Historically, the influence of Chinese medical traditions, thought to be revealed from divine sources, extended East to Korea and Japan and as far South as Indochina, the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian Archipelago. As the distinct medical traditions of these regions encountered the ancient medicine of mainland China, they absorbed and transformed them based on their own indigenous healing practices, and herbal and plant resources. In Celestial Healing, Dr. Marc Micozzi has made the fascinating history and ingenious practice of these ancient traditions accessible to the Western reader."

Theory and Practice of Taiji Qigong by Chris Jarmey, Lotus Publishing, 2011
"Taiji Qigong is an easy-to-learn system of energy-enhancing exercises, which coordinates movement with breathing and inner concentration. If practiced regularly, it will give you more energy, improve health and help prevent illness. Taiji Qigong is widely practiced throughout the Far East and increasingly throughout the Western world. Research indicates that Qigong relaxes the muscles and nervous system (so improving the function of the body systems) and benefits posture, balance and flexibility of joints. This book acts as an in-depth instruction manual for the practice of the 18 Stances of Taiji Qigong (Taiji Qigong Shibashi), which is widely practiced throughout the Far East and increasingly throughout the Western world. Many of the exercises are loosely based on the movements and stances of Taiji Quan. The book covers: the theory and practice of Qi and Qigong; the general principles of Qigong practice, and the 18 Movements of Taiji Qigong."

"The late Chris Jarmey MCSP DS MRSS taught shiatsu, qigong, bodywork therapy and anatomy, and founded the European Shiatsu School. He was the author of many books on anatomy and bodywork."

Tai Chi's Ability to Change Mobility

2011-07-31T10:20:00.000-06:00

People who take up tai chi practice are often surprised by the positive changes it creates in their lives. A report in the New Zealand Marlborough Express captures well the benefits of tai chi for someone who's been challenged by mobility problems.
"Seventy-year-old Lynda Neame said she started modified tai chi classes in 2008 after suffering from concussion, which caused vertigo and dizziness. "I thought I would learn how to stand up straight, walk in a straight line and get control of myself."
The benefits proved more extensive. Mrs Neame also suffered from osteoarthritis and had resigned herself to gradual loss of mobility because of the pain in her shoulders, legs and hips. "I spent an hour recovering after half an hour in the garden and thought `this will be my life'."
But with the tai chi, she can now also enjoy pilates, bike riding, swimming and her beloved gardening."
Marlborough Express (7/13/2011)

In Memory of Robert W Smith

2011-07-02T21:03:00.001-06:00

The legendary Robert W. Smith passed away July 1st, 2011. "Mr. Smith," as he was commonly known, was a martial artist with an intellectual bent, sharp wit, great erudition, and great kindness. He served on the editorial board of Taijiquan Journal, and never hesitated to share of his expertise.
Born in 1926 in Iowa, Smith had a fascinating life full of reading, study, practice, much of it revolving around the Asian martial arts. After service in the Marines, he delved into Asian studies, and then became a CIA analyst in Taiwan, then an important US Pacific ally. Smith used his spare time in Taiwan to meet and study with as many martial arts masters as he could. One of his main teachers was Professor Cheng Man-ch'ing. After returning to the US, Smith and his family settled in Bethesda, where he worked and taught taiji classes for many years. In 1988, Smith retired and moved with his wife, to the Asheville, North Carolina area.
Smith's output of writing was quite remarkable. Beginning in the 1950s, he wrote reports for numerous magazines about his encounters with martial masters in Asia, blending history, anecdotes, observations, and philosophy, often in a conversational manner that belied his scholarship. These articles were followed by many books about individual martial arts. He collaborated on books with such figures as Donn Draeger, Cheng Man-ch'ing, and Benjamin Lo. He never hesitated to help other writers or to give advice (always signing his letters with a scrawled "R. Smith").
Robert Smith was also known for his sense of humor, which included three tongue-in-cheek books written under the name "John Gilbey" (which some mistook as serious). In addition to his wit, Smith was a very erudite man; and his writing and speech was always peppered with quotes (and jokes) from great literary figures.
Smith's own impact on Western adoption of Asian martial arts should be researched. It is safe to say that he helped pave the way for the blossoming of those arts in the West in the 1960s, particularly through his articles in Black Belt, Strength & Fitness and other magazines that preceded the fitness craze of more recent years. Though his focus was on the martial arts end of things, he also understood the power of the martial arts to help make one a better person, and was outspoken about the need for that in the world.
Robert Smith's presence will be sorely missed by all who knew him. We are fortunate that he left behind such a rich written record and a most interesting memoir: Martial Musings: A Portrayal of Martial Arts in the 20th Century.
For further information about Robert Smith, see the Tai Chi Center's article. An extensive bibliography of his writings is found on the Electronic Journal of Martial Arts.

Tai Chi for Heart Health

2011-04-26T11:24:00.000-06:00

A recent study reported on in US News found that tai chi "could boost heart patients' quality of life. Researchers split 100 patientswith heart failure into two groups: Half participated in a 12-week tai chi program, while the others spent 12 weeks in an educational program learning about heart-related issues, like low-sodium diets and heart-rhythm problems. At the end of the study, the tai chi group reported improvements in mood, less , less fatigue, and more energy than the others—and those in the first group were more likely to continue with some type of physical activity, according to findings published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine. "Maintaining an exercise regimen is important in heart failure," study author Gloria Yeh of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center told HealthDay. "Tai chi may be a suitable alternative or adjunct exercise for these patients."

Tai chi is much more than sheer exercise. Yes, those who do take up tai chi find it has many unexpected benefits: improved balance and gait, mental focus, straightened posture, lower stress, improved immune system, and more. But tai chi is also "philosophy in motion," a martial art (improved balance and posture do wonders for "standing up for oneself"), and it can be a window into understanding more about Chinese culture. It is a calming, yet is exercise, and can be modified to fit anyone's physical needs, regardless of age.

New Tai Chi Books

2011-04-04T09:30:00.001-06:00

Reading Taijiquan and the Search for the Little Old Chinese Man is a mixture of ethnography and memoir, the book examines how identity is constructed through the practice of an art---in this case, taijiquan. At times reading like Mark Salzman's Iron and Silk meets Margaret Mead's Coming of Age in Samoa, the book covers author Adam Frank's study of taijiquan in the US and China with Pang Tianzhu, among others. The author is Professor of Asian Studies at Honors College at the University of Central Arkansas.

Cheng Man-ch'ing (Zheng Manqing), the taiji master and artist, was a practicing doctor of traditional Chinese medicine from the 1930s on. Cheng's Insights on Women's Medicine (女科心法 Nu'ke xinfa) has been translated by Douglas Wile, (Sweet Ch'i Press; order through Redwing Books). Cheng wrote several books about Chinese medicine on topics related to women's health, cancer, and orthopedics, as well as newspaper columns on meditation and tai chi. His books on medicine discuss theory, application, and prescriptions, and have interesting anecdotes about cases.

World Tai Chi and Qigong Day

2011-03-26T19:42:00.001-06:00

People around the world will gather in local parks and gyms Saturday, April 30th, 2011 to celebrate World Tai Chi and Qigong Day. This annual grassroots event helps build awareness of tai chi and qigong practice, and provides students and teachers with a chance to mingle with fellow practitioners.
Tai chi (taiji) has its roots in Chinese martial arts traditions, and early on, became known for its health benefits. Its practice spread throughout China in the early twentieth century, and by the 1960s, began to spread rapidly overseas.
Western medical research has affirmed tai chi's benefits for a wide range of health and wellness quests: practice of tai chi--and its sister art, qigong (ch'i-kung)--improves balance, lowers blood pressure, diminishes symptoms of Parkinson's, MS, depression, shingles, and much more.
Just as important, though, is that tai chi and qigong are simply enjoyable to practice!

Low-tech Play Still Popular with Children

2011-03-16T08:19:00.000-06:00

Do you wonder about kids and the onslaught of technology and how it will affect kids, creativity, and play? "Children still enjoy playing traditional games like skipping and clapping in the playground despite the lure of mobile phones, computer games, and television, a study published on Tuesday found.
Playground games are 'alive and well ... they happily co-exist with media-based play, the two informing each other,' it said."
The two-year study by researchers at the Universities of East London, Sheffield and the Institute of Education was titled "Children's Playground Games and Songs in the New Media Age."
An interesting side-project: the British Library is collecting "oral histories" archive of childrens' games, and invites submissions of films and letters. (Reuters carries the full report.) It seems that this bodes well for the future of tai chi and other movement traditions.

New Tai Chi Books

2011-03-14T10:21:00.003-06:00

Three useful new books give tai chi practitioners interesting perspectives on practice from a very practical angle, with much attention to body mechanics.

The New Rules of Posture: How to Sit, Stand, and Move, by Mary Bond (Healing Arts Press, 2007). The author, a movement therapist with a background in dance and Rolf, presents a very accessible approach to understanding and correcting one's posture. This book will appeal to anyone who experiences postural problems or pain, or for practitioners. It will be helpful to tai chi teachers in analyzing structural problems that students commonly face.
A Tai Chi Imagery Workbook: Spirit, Intent, and Motion, by Martin Mellish (Singing Dragon, 2011). This compendium supplies tai chi enthusiasts with a wealth of ideas and images to use in practice. Good for self-study as well as for teachers, this book is a welcome and innovative addition to everyone's tai chi library. Mellish, who has a background in mathematics, uses such things as fractals--in easy to understand terms--to describe concepts of movement. The wide-ranging and always interesting material is presented in text, drawings, and photographs.
Robert Chuckrow's Tai Chi Dynamics: Principles of Natural Movement, Health, & Self-development (YMAA, 2008) approaches tai chi in a similarly analytical manner as Mellish's book, however Chuckrow's is from a more intellectual view. In addition to details of body mechanics, he has included insights and techniques gained from his studies with Cheng Man-ch'ing (Zheng Manqing)

Tai Chi Queen Makes Good Showing in Contest

2011-02-08T08:45:00.000-06:00

Who says there's no royalty in tai chi?
Tai Chi Queen, a six-year-old New Zealand mare, has been doing very well in the races, with over seven wins.
Read about her here.

Kungfu in New York Times

2010-12-09T09:05:00.000-06:00

Kungfu has hit the New York Times! Philosophy professor Peimin Ni of Grand Valley State University has written a thought piece for the NYT Stone column. "Mistaking the language of Chinese philosophy for, in Richard Rorty’s phrase, a “mirror of nature” is like mistaking the menu for the food. The essence of kung fu — various arts and instructions about how to cultivate the person and conduct one’s life — is often hard to digest for those who are used to the flavor and texture of mainstream Western philosophy."

Texting and Tai Chi?

2010-11-10T09:31:00.000-06:00

Excessive texting is clearly a problem. As reported in the New York Times, A study at Case Western Reserve University "suggests that the high school students who spend the most time texting or on social network sites (or both) are at risk for a host of worrisome behaviors, including smoking, depression, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, and absenteeism."
Mental focus, calm, self-image, self-control, stress management? Hmm, maybe tai chi can help teens with this.

New York Times on Tai Chi

2010-10-01T17:21:00.001-06:00

Jane Brody, the New York Times' pre-eminent health columnist, points out in her article the many wonderful benefits of tai chi practice, and rightly says, "A Downside to Tai Chi? None That I See: The graceful, dancelike progression of meditative poses called tai chi originated in ancient China as a martial art, but the exercise is best known in modern times as a route to reduced stress and enhanced health. After reviewing existing scientific evidence for its potential health benefits, I’ve concluded that the proper question to ask yourself may not be why you should practice tai chi, but why not.

"It is a low-impact activity suitable for people of all ages and most states of health, even those who “hate” exercise or have long been sedentary. It is a gentle, calming exercise — some call it meditation in motion — that involves deep breathing but no sweat or breathlessness." Read the complete article at the New York Times website.

Tai Chi Helps Ease Fibromyalgia Pain

2010-09-08T11:32:00.000-06:00

Tai Chi has been practiced for hundreds of years, and has been studied scientifically for several decades. Medical reserachers have clearly demonstrated tai chi's usefullness for treatment of numerous conditions: arthritis, diabetes, balance problems, fall prevention, bone density loss, high blood pressure, shingles, stress, anger management, schizophrenia, and for improvement of general well-being.

"The ancient Chinese practice of tai chi may be effective as a therapy for fibromyalgia, according to a study published on Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine.

A clinical trial at Tufts Medical Center found that after 12 weeks of tai chi, patients with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, did significantly better in measurements of pain, fatigue, physical functioning, sleeplessness and depression than a comparable group given stretching exercises and wellness education. Tai chi patients were also more likely to sustain improvement three months later."

Read the complete New York Times article here.

World Tai Chi and Qigong Day Coming

2010-04-20T07:02:00.000-06:00

World Tai Chi and Qigong Day is almost here! This fun, grassroots event is held around the globe each spring as a means of building community, promoting harmony, and sharing ideas. Check with your local groups to find about events in your area or visit the official website for further information.

Tai Chi in Church Flap Stirs Controversy

2010-03-28T08:34:00.001-06:00

A British church has created a big flap by kicking out a tai chi group:
"Rachel Barrow, a Christian who teaches tai chi to heart patients in Sheffield's hospitals, said the church community has nothing to fear from the martial art because it has nothing to do with religion. Her call comes after a tai chi group was kicked out of All Saints Church in Totley after leaders decided the martial art was incompatible with their faith. Rev David Rhodes, said: "Our understanding is that the basis of tai chi is an Eastern religion, and from the church's point of view that isn't something that we want to be involved in." Click here to read the compleat article in the Star.

Tai Chi Teachers, Beware

2010-02-09T11:19:00.001-06:00

Have you ever received a query about classes like this one? Don't get excited, it is not a lucky break for your school. These people are scammers whose goal it is to pass bad checks and stolen credit cards. Beware!

Greetings Dear,

I'll be in the country with my friends for a one month vacation.
During our stay, we would like to book for 3 weeks classes for 1Hr
each day,Monday to Saturday (morning or Evening hours) for 6 persons.
We are asking for 1Hr per day for the 3 weeks-which is a total of 18Hrs
We would be coming over for a short Vacation and as part of our plans to keep fit during the vac.,we need
Private group training in either Karate,Taekwando/Kungfu/Ju-Jitsu/Self defense training
Do you have a training Gym/facility where you conduct the classes?
What Forms of the listed activities above do you teach best?

COMMENCEMENT DATE: 3rd May 2010-22nd May 2010
I would love to get the total cost or a quote/estimate for everything.
What are your payment options for registration? Do you accept credit cards(Kindly indicate cards accepted)?
We'll be grateful if you'll be willing to do the work to teach quality classes to us and make our visit a memorable and fun-filled one.
Please send a confirmation to this email(AS PLAIN TEXT AND NOT AS AN ATTACHMENT) so that we can know what to do.

Best Regards

2010 Tai Chi and Qigong Events Coming Up

2010-01-26T10:06:00.003-06:00

A great variety of tai chi and qigong events are coming up this spring and summer:

World Tai Chi Day Saturday, April 24th, 2010. This annual grassroots event is held in hundreds of locales. See their website for events in your area.

The annual Zhang Sanfeng Festival has split into two separate events:
• Tai Chi Fest April 29 - May 2, 2010, Hudson Valley Resort, New York. Presenters: Pedro Cepero Yee, Gene Ching, James Donnelly, Dale Dugas, Doug Gray, John Green, Jiang Jianye, Ken Lo, Yuzhi Lu, Marcus Callis, William Phillips, David Dorian Ross, Avi Schnier, Gary Torres, Wang Rengang, Ocean-of-Wisdom Sakya, Tina Chunna Zhang, and Zhou Xuanyun. Pre- and post-conference workshops also held.
• Tai Chi Gala June 4-6, 2010 in Albany, NewYork. Presenters: Shifu Bob Castaldo, Pedro Cepero-Yee, Dale Dugas, John Green, Jiang Jianye, Yuzhi Lu, John Painter, William Phillips, David Ritchie, Wang Ren-Gang, Sean Wang, and Loretta Wollering. Pre- and post-conference workshops also held.

National Qigong Association Annual Conference "Qi= mc² | Qigong: Playing With Universal Energy" August 20-22, 2010 in Chaska, Minnesota (suburban Minneapolis). Pre- and post-conference workshops also held. Taijiquan Journal editor Barbara Davis will be one of the presenters.

Books and Other Media Received Winter 2010

2010-01-24T13:05:00.004-06:00

Silk: Meditations on T'ai-Chi Ch'uan & Other Poems, by Morgan Grayce Willow (Shu-Kuang)
Chen: Living Taijiquan in the Classical Style by Jan Silberstorff (Singing Dragon)
The Last Lama: The Secret Martial Art of Tibet, by Yogi Tchouzar Pa (Destiny)
Meditations on Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence, by Sgt. Rory Miller (YMAA)
Attack Proof: The Ultimate Guide to Personal Protection, by John Perkins, Al Ridenhour, and Matt Kovsky (Human Kinetics)
Qigong for Multiple Sclerosis: Finding Your Feet Again, Nigel Mills (Singing Dragon)

The Year of the Tiger by Justin Roth (Immedium Publishing) features young Teddy the tiger who is the prince of the jungle. In his explorations, he meets the girl Su. But will living on different sides of the tracks endanger their friendship?

Knee Health Through Gentle Exercise

2009-12-01T15:31:00.001-06:00

More studies show risk to knees. And gentler exercises such as tai chi can be of help.
"Middle-aged men and women may be risking arthritis if they overdo their exercise regime, research suggests.
A US study of more than 200 people aged 45 to 55 and of "normal" weight found those doing the most exercise were the most likely to suffer knee damage. Running and jumping may also do more damage to cartilage and ligaments than swimming and cycling, researchers said."

Read the full story \ BBC 12/1/09

No Pain, No Gain: Togetherness Counts

2009-10-20T07:58:00.001-06:00

Tai chi players take note! Researchers are finding that athletes do better when training with others. Emma Cohen at Oxford University found that rowers' pain thresholds were higher when working out in a group, as opposed to in isolation. "Data in other studies suggest that co-ordinated physical exercise can heighten social bonds....As the rowers had been teammates for nearly a year it is possible that the mere presence of friends explains the observed effect." (Reported in The Economist, 9/19/09).

Getting to Carnegie Hall

2009-10-12T12:21:00.001-06:00

Carnegie Hall is presenting a fabulous festival of Chinese culture this fall in New York City: everything from the Shanghai Orchestra to the Zhang Family village band and puppets, Lang Lang to Yo-Yo Ma, urban to rural, secular to religious, traditional to contemporary, art, dance, percussion, pipa, qin, calligraphy, films. Not to be missed!

"Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture pays tribute to a vibrant culture and its influence around the globe with 21 days of events and exhibitions at Carnegie Hall and partner institutions throughout New York City. It features leading Chinese musicians, including artists and ensembles traveling outside of China for the first time, performing myriad genres of music. This festival also includes traditional marionette theater, dance, exhibitions, and much more—a true immersion into a world that mixes ancient and modern, familiar and new."
For information, see their site.

Tai Chi for Dizziness

2009-10-05T09:37:00.002-06:00

Dizziness is no fun for those who suffer from vestibular disorders. Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery reports on a study "Tai Chi as a form of vestibular rehabilitation" by Paul S. Lee MD, that used tai chi to help people with dizziness who've not been helped by conventional treatments.

"Researchers conducted a questionnaire study from April 2008 to March 2009 at an outpatient rehabilitation program, utilizing the activities-specific balance confidence scale and dynamic gait index survey, both prior to therapy and at the conclusion of an eight-week course. A total of 21 patients (18 females, 3 males) completed the study to date. Patients reported subjective improvements in their vestibular symptoms. Researchers theorize that the technique may be effective because Tai Chi promotes coordination through relaxation, rather than muscular coordination."

The findings were presented October 2009 at a conference of the American Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery.

The Brain-Power Workout

2009-09-16T09:22:00.003-06:00

Tai Chi for health? You betcha: balance, relaxation, lower blood pressure, coordination...the list goes on. Now here's what one article says: "Studies have long shown that tai chi improves balance. Now research demonstrates it may also protect the area of the brain responsible for the sense of touch. In a recent Harvard study, 50- to 60-year-olds who did tai chi had a more acute sense of feeling in their fingertips, equivalent to that of people nearly half their age." The article offers a one-week "brain-power workout" to help brain function. ("The brain-power workout" India Today 9/16/09).

International Taiji Symposium a Great Success

2009-08-29T23:25:00.002-06:00

"More than 400 Tai Chi masters, scholars and practitioners from across the world came to Vanderbilt this summer for a special symposium sponsored by the Vanderbilt Center for Integrative Health." Read the article at the Vanderbilt Medical Center's Reporter and a report by a participant at the Yang Family Bulletin Board
. Taijiquan Journal's editor Barbara Davis' findings on creating short forms for special populations was presented.

Tai Chi is "Medicine in Motion"

2009-08-29T20:35:00.008-06:00

Around the US, people continue to discover the benefits of tai chi practice. In New York City, there's a plan to "overhaul or build new [seniors' centers], which would offer a range of activities and services, including tai chi classes and bloood pressure checks." (New York Times 8/26/09).

Meanwhile, in nearby Baltimore, the newspaper extolled tai chi in a lengthy article, calling it "medicine in motion. The story in the Baltimore Sun, for the full story that outlines research in the field from tai chi's use in arthritis, fall prevention, Parkinsons, breast cancer, and more. (8/25/09)

New Books--August 2009

2009-08-17T11:46:00.003-06:00

Two books on taijiquan:
The Complete Taiji Dao: The Art of the Chinese Saber by Zhang Yun (Blue Snake Books). "The dao, a single-edged sword with a curved blade, is one of the most popular weapons in traditional Chinese martial arts. The art of Taiji Dao is a set of skills for using the dao, derived from the popular martial art Taijiquan. One of the most important aspects of Taijiquan practice."

The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan: Wisdom from Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Other Great Thinkers by Freya Boedicker and Martin Boedicker(Blue Snake Books) "The essence of Tai Chi Chuan lies in the rich philosophy of ancient China. While most Tai Chi practitioners are aware of the value that studying Chinese philosophy can bring to their practice, it is often difficult to pick out those texts that are most relevant to Tai Chi...."

Two new books from Three Pines Press focus on Daoism:
Beyond the Daode jing: Twofold Mystery in Tang Daoism by Friederike Assandri
"Developing at a time of intense interaction and debate among Daoists and Buddhists, Twofold Mystery integrates many originally Buddhist concepts into a Daoist theory of salvation based on, yet going beyond, the Daode jing. Heir to the philosophical tradition of Dark Learning or Mystery Study as well as to Daoist devotional and immortality schools of the Six Dynasties, Twofold Mystery is key to understanding medieval Daoist thought."

Internal Alchemy: Self, Society and the Quest for Immortality book coverInternal Alchemy: Self, Society, and the Quest for Immortality edited by Livia Kohn and Robin R. Wang
"Internal alchemy (neidan) has been the dominant system of Daoist spiritual practice since the Song dynasty, when it was defined as the complex integration of multiple forms of Daoist self-cultivation. Its practitioners transform body energies into subtle levels of spirit and pure cosmic being, hoping to find illumination by returning to the fundamental order of the cosmos and in the process reconcile physiological training with intellectual speculation."

New Chinese Martial Arts Journal Starts

2009-08-09T08:50:00.007-06:00

A new Chinese martial arts journal has recently made its debut. The Journal of Chinese Martial Studies is a twice yearly English-language publication from Hong Kong. Featuring scholar-practitioners such as Ma Mingda, Lam Chun Fai, and Taijiquan Journal advisor Stanley Henning, the journal's first issue features articles on Shaolin boxing, taijiquan, ancient boxing manuals, the archery tradition of the Orochen minority group, and other subjects. Similar in approach to the Journal of Asian Martial Arts in the desire to blend practice and intellectual reflection, this new entry focuses strictly on China. The first issue of the journal is available online as a PDF.

Explaining Tai Chi

2009-06-19T09:52:00.002-06:00

An extensive article on tai chi in the Oakland Examiner says: "Tai chi may be the next yoga. But for the moment, this Chinese martial art still puzzles most Americans. It's a 3,000-year-old sport without balls, superstars or competition. Old folks do it. The rules are slowness, softness, yielding and letting go. The postures can take years to comprehend. And there are no sexy outfits or accessories to buy. What’s the point?"
Read the whole article here.

International Taiji Symposium to be Held

2009-06-08T09:07:00.004-06:00

Traditional Tai Chi Chuan:
A View Through the Lens of Science
July 5-10, 2009
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
In July of 2009, the world’s foremost authorities on the five traditional Chinese Family Schools of Tai Chi Chuan, as well as other top Tai Chi Chuan practitioners and scholars will come to Vanderbilt University in Nashville Tennessee for an international level Tai Chi Chuan Symposium. The theme of this Symposium will focus on bringing together the wisdom of Chinese culture with the precision of modern science through evidence-based academic sessions, Master’s workshops and other special events designed to foster an exchange of knowledge and cultures.
For information visit the website

Books Received May 2009

2009-06-08T08:13:00.010-06:00

• The Essence of T'ai Chi Ch'uan: The Literary Tradition, Second Edition; translated by Benjamin Lo, Martin Inn, Robert Amacker, Susan Foe, IRI Press
• Tai Chi Chuan: State of the Art in International Research by Youlian Hong; Karger Publishers, 2008
• Seeking the Spirit of the Book of Change: 8 Days to Mastering a Shamanic Yijing (I Ching) Prediction System, by Zhongxian Wu, Singing Dragon
• You Are How You Move: Experiential Chi Kung, by Ged Sumner; Singing Dragon Eternal Spring: Taijiquan, Qi Gong, and the Cultivation of Health, Happiness and Longevity, by Michael Acton; Singing Dragon.
• Meet Your Body: Core Bodywork and Rolfing Tools to Release Bodymindcore Trauma, by Noah Karrasch; Singing Dragon.
• Beyond the Daode jing: Twofold Mystery in Tang Daoism, by Friederike Assandri; Three Pines Press

Tai Chi Improves Balance

2009-04-30T05:09:00.004-06:00

The scientific community continues to explore tai chi as a theraputic modality. A recent New York Times article reported on a research study involving stroke patients. "While the exercise group showed little improvement in balance, the tai chi group made significant gains when they were tested on weight-shifting, reaching and how well they could maintain their stability on a platform that moved like a bus." (New York Times 4/7/09)

New Taiji Park in Ontario

2009-04-26T13:37:00.003-06:00

The Peng You Taiji Quan Association in Thunder Bay, Ontario (朋友太極拳協會) has won the designation of their practice area of Marina Park on the shores of Lake Superior as "International Taiji Park." The group was host to the International Forum on Taijiquan in 2006. "Plans are underway to give this area a special visual appeal. Maybe it will be a moongate which frames the Sleeping Giant," the iconic landmass visible from this northwoods town.

World Tai Chi Day 2009

2009-04-05T09:29:00.004-06:00

World Tai Chi Day is coming up--check your local newspapers or the official site for events, or, lacking any, go out to a park and do some tai chi yourself--help spread the word about this wonderful health-enhancing practice!

Tai Chi, Mastery, and Golf

2009-04-05T08:41:00.001-06:00

Did you know that tai chi practice can help your golf game? A Wall Street Journal article recently covered the topic of practice and mastery—and lo, and behold, some golfers are using what they call the "tai chi swing" to help straighten out their golf technique. The slow pace of tai chi helps golfers analyze swings that would otherwise be done at high speeds that don't allow time for observation of accuracy.
Mastery, though, as Malcolm Gladwell says, can take 10,000 hours of practice. Time to start work!(Wall Street Journal 3/19/09)

Knee Arthritis Helped by Tai Chi

2009-02-20T12:03:00.000-06:00

"The traditional Chinese form of exercise known as tai chi can help reduce pain and physical impairment in people who have knee arthritis, researchers said this week.
In their study, one group of people in their 60s with severe knee osteoarthritis performed tai chi for an hour twice a week for 12 weeks, while a similar group did the same amount of conventional stretching exercises over the same period.
Those who did tai chi experienced greater pain reduction, less depression and improvements in physical function and overall health, researchers led by Dr. Chenchen Wang of Tufts Medical Center in Boston reported at a meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in San Francisco." Read the whole Reuters story at Canada.com. (Image: Andrew Wong/Getty Images)

Golf Benefits from Tai Chi

2009-02-16T11:25:00.001-06:00

"Golfers hoping to improve their swing could do worse than to try their hand at Tai Chi, according to a Nantwich health expert.
Julia Hudson, a postgraduate researcher at MMU Cheshire, has found that golfers who practise the ancient Chinese art have a better chance of combining power and control in their game....'I recommend Tai Chi because of how it encourages the whole body to work in harmony. Golfers came back with their back pain gone and they also observed that their game had improved by couple of shots per round.'" Read the complete article at Crewe Chronicle 2/11/2009

T'ai Chi in the Art Museum

2009-02-14T10:37:00.006-06:00

Taijiquan Journal editor Barbara Davis led an overflow crowd of children and parents in a fun set of t'ai chi exercises at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Chinese Lantern Festival Family Day.
Over 4,000 people attended the day's events which included pipa music by Gao Heng, painting activities withe Bob Schmitt of Laughing Waters Studio (Bob designed and did layout of the print edition of Taijiquan Journal), paper lantern-making, and performances by the CAAM, the Chinese Dance Theater. This annual event is one of the Art Institute's monthly family activities that highlight different parts of the museum's diverse, large collection.

Random Acts of Coffee Kindness

2008-12-30T10:42:00.004-06:00

Remember tai chi teacher Arthur Rosenfeld's "Random Act of Kindness" in diffusing an irate man's temper at a Starbucks? Read about it from Arthur's point of view on the Huffington Post.

Tai Chi 2009 Events Planned

2008-12-16T07:03:00.006-06:00

It will be difficult to surpass the excitement of the 2008 Olympics in the tai chi world, but several major events are planned.
•The Zhang Sanfeng Festival returns with its usual eclectic mix of classes, June 4–7, 2009, in the east coast of the USA.
•Great Britain will host a variety of European-based teachersTai Chi Caledonia July 3–10, 2009 in Stirling Scotland.
•The International T'ai Chi Ch'uan Symposium will be held July 5–10, 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. This event will feature the top masters of all the major lineages: Chen Zhenglei, Yang Zhenduo, Wu Wenhan, Ma Hailong, and Song Yongtian.

Ethel still enjoys a life of exercise

2008-12-16T06:40:00.004-06:00

"After more than 40 years teaching yoga and tai chi Ethel Lote is retiring – at the grand age of 88. But the Aldridge grandmother has no plans to give up exercise herself as she knows the benefits.
A nurse during World War Two and a dental health lecturer for much of her life, Ethel was first introduced to the benefits of yoga more than 40 years ago and has practised it, and now tai chi, daily ever since.
The sprightly pensioner is living proof of the benefits. “I only found out about yoga accidentally,” she says.
“I was on a training course and I walked into a lecture on yoga and thought it all made really good sense. So I came back and did some more reading about it and decided to train with the All India Board of Yoga.”
Nearly ten years ago, Ethel also took up the ancient Chinese exercise of tai chi, which is particularly suited to older people. She has been running classes combining the two ever since." Read the complete Birmingham Mail article. (12/16/08)

Acupuncture Works?

2008-12-11T09:08:00.004-06:00

A recent survey shows that 38% of American adults use "alternative" health therapies. "More than one-third of adults and nearly 12 percent of children in the United States use alternatives to traditional medicine, according to a large federal survey released today that documents how entrenched acupuncture, herbal remedies and other once-exotic therapies have become. The 2007 survey of more than 32,000 Americans, which for the first time included children, found that use of yoga, "probiotics," fish oil and other "complementary and alternative" therapies held steady among adults since the last national survey five years earlier, and that such treatments have become part of health care for many youngsters." See the whole article at Washington Post 12/11/2008

Duchess of Cornwall Knows Health Helpers

2008-12-06T10:44:00.000-06:00

A recent article reports that the Duchess of Cornwall is considering taking up tai chi or pilates to help guard against the osteoporosis that runs in her family.
"The Duchess, 61, urged mature women to lead more active lifestyles at an exercise class organised by the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS), of which she is president.
The campaign to prevent the bone-wasting condition – which affects one in three women over the age of 50 – is particularly close to the Duchess's heart as it claimed the lives of her mother and grandmother. She yesterday admitted to feeling "quite naughty" about her own lack of exercise.
"I did do a bit of yoga and used to do a lot of walking before I got married but I have let things slide," she said at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, North London, after watching an instructor put a group of women through their paces at the NOS's recreation club.
"I thought I was doing enough to protect myself from osteoporosis but it seems not. I think I am going to have to make it my New Year's resolution – maybe to do some pilates or even some Tai Chi." The Telegraph 11/20/2008

T'ai Chi for Lowering Blood Sugar

2008-12-05T10:56:00.003-06:00

Concerned about blood sugar?
"Regular walking can help control blood sugar, lower blood pressure and fight metabolic syndrome. But what if you don’t enjoy walking or the weather is too cold or too hot? Are there gentle indoor exercises that can help?
A recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed that regular practice of the gentle, relaxing exercises of tai chi and qigong may do the trick.
Eleven participants, aged 42 to 65, with elevated blood sugar attended tai chi and qigong exercise training for one to one and a half hours, three times a week, for 12 weeks. They were also encouraged to practice at home. Most people stuck with the program and the tai chai and qigong health benefits were evident. Body mass index, waist circumference and blood pressure showed significant improvement and there were small improvements in fasting insulin and insulin resistance." See full article at Stop Aging Now, 11/11/2008.

Lecture on Tai Chi History & Cheng Man-ch'ing

2008-10-28T10:51:00.003-06:00

“Cheng Man-ch’ing:
Master of Five Excellences”
A talk by Barbara Davis
Director, Cheng Man-ch’ing Biography Project and editor of Taijiquan Journal
Saturday, November 8th, 2008, 6:30 pm
Sun Gallery, 4760 Grand Avenue South
612-822-6388
Learn about this intriguing master of painting, calligraphy, poetry, medicine, and t’ai chi. Cheng is most well known for his role in the spread of t’ai chi into the US in the 1960s. Come explore his life, his dreams, and his prodigious talents. Slides and movies of his artwork and t’ai chi will also be shown .
For further information, read the project blog, call 612-822-5760,
or email editor"at" taijiquanjournal.com.

Taiji is True North?

2008-10-06T09:11:00.004-06:00

Ever wonder why we face certain directions in taiji practice?
One might argue that it's because "taiji" can refer to the Pole Star, or because the Chinese emperors faced south, or because of the placement of a courtyard used for practice, but the real reason might be in our bodies.
A recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences "Direct observations of roe deer revealed that animals orient their heads northward when grazing or resting. Amazingly, this ubiquitous phenomenon does not seem to have been noticed by herdsmen, ranchers, or hunters. Because wind and light conditions could be excluded as a common denominator determining the body axis orientation, magnetic alignment is the most parsimonious explanation. To test the hypothesis that cattle orient their body axes along the field lines of the Earth's magnetic field, we analyzed the body orientation of cattle from localities with high magnetic declination. Here, magnetic north was a better predictor than geographic north."

{Picture} Rob Taverner in the UK practicing taiji in front of his herd. Metro.co.uk

Think Twice About Incense

2008-10-03T08:29:00.008-06:00

Incense is a mixed blessing, it turns out. Used by some as an aid to rituals or mental focus, heavy use of incense is now linked to some respiratory cancers.
A recent study at the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen followed 61,000 Chinese in Singapore for twelve years, and found increased risk of certain types of cancers. This is further exacerbated by cigarette smoking. (Reported in Cancer October 2008.)

Dressage the Tai Chi of Olympic sports

2008-08-18T09:47:00.007-06:00

The New Zealand Herald reports that dressage—the "ballet" of horse training featured at the Olympics—is most like t'ai chi ch'uan. It is a sport that involves balance and flexibility, responsiveness and grace.

"For someone brought up on rugby, cricket, basketball, tennis, and boxing this one takes work to grasp its niceties. I didn’t get it, until I realised it is actually Tai Chi with four legs, six if you count the rider....[it] is slow, detailed, and requires utter concentration." (Denis Edwards New Zealand Herald 8/10/08; painting by Xu Beihong).

In a related topic, the Summer 2003 issue of Taijiquan Journal featured three articles about t'ai chi ch'uan and horses:

•"The Taiji Horse Riding Form" by Michael Stenson, a horse trainer
•"The Cauldron and the Horse: Internal Cultivation and Yijing by Zhongxian Wu, qigong master
•"All Stances are Horse Stances: Taijiquan's Equine Ancestry" by Paul Magee, acupuncturist

Limited quantities of back issues of Taijiquan Journal are still available at an Olympic special of $5 each (US orders). Offer good until September 17th, 2008. See our website for further information.

Olympic Pageantry Features 2,008 T'ai Chi Performers 太極拳在中國奧林匹克

2008-08-09T07:10:00.011-06:00

The story of the 2008 Beijing Olympics is being told from many viewpoints: the athlete (as one would expect); the political and economical significance of China's rise (certainly not the first time in its long history); and the cultural—witness the opening ceremonies filled with symbolism, history and pride; not to mention the local, everyday scenes. T'ai chi is being featured both in the ceremonies and the neighborhoods as exercise, embodiment of culture, and as martial art.
The China Daily (中國日报) gives a wonderfully detailed description of the whole Opening Ceremony program. Here's the excerpt about the art of t'ai chi:

"Nature: You can interpret this number as a call for biological protection, but that would be reading too much pragmatism into it. It is about man's relations with nature, embodied in the movements of tai chi. It expounds on the philosophies from The Book of Changes, which contains an ancient system of cosmology intrinsic to Chinese cultural beliefs. The cosmology centers on the ideas of the dynamic balance of opposites.

“The 2,008 performers doing tai chi in a circle that surrounds a rectangle is an epitome of the notion of "heaven is round and earth is square". And the boxing itself perfectly illustrates Lao Tzu's teaching -- 'The soft and the pliable will defeat the hard and strong.'" China Daily

Here are other observations by reporters on the scene:

"Clearly the organizers of the opening ceremonies in Beijing spared no expense in putting this spectacle together. The Tai Chi sequence alone was a marvel of synchronization, athleticism and grace." said the Edmonton Sun.

"Amid forests of sheer fabric on which shifting images of water and light skittered, Tai-chi dancers offered a glimpse of a peculiarly Chinese environmentalism – the unity of mankind and nature." Wall Street Journal

"China hails the Beijing Olympics as the fulfillment of its "100-year dream", a slogan that harks back to a time when China was "the sick man of Asia" and looked to sport to help it return to its former status." Reuters

"You never have to travel a million miles to get cool martial arts in China - kung fu was a major feature, despite China's failure to have it installed as an Olympic sport. The sight of thousands of white-gowned tai-chi experts going through their paces was impressive." Variety

For those inspired by the Beijing Olympics to take up t'ai chi, use the links to the right to find t'ai chi groups near you.

China Steps up to Olympic Plate

2008-08-02T09:51:00.004-06:00

"WHEN YOU MENTION the Olympics in Beijing, there is a Chinese proverb you are likely to hear from smiling retirees practising their tai chi early in the morning in the city's lovely parks, or from hungry bureaucrats scoffing noodles in a bustling jiaozi restaurant, or even from the migrant workers from Sichuan and Anhui building the new megalopolis. It is "bai nian bu yu", which is best translated as "We've been waiting 100 years for this". The 2008 Olympic Games are China's big coming-out party and everything is going to work, no matter what." Read the full article at: Irish Times 8/2/08

T'ai Chi Helps Dental Workers

2008-08-02T09:20:00.004-06:00

"I was exposed to Chinese martial arts as a child. In my small rural community, our family shared a common alley with a grandmaster of kung fu. I listened as people spoke of the grandmaster and his secret. Students would come in hopes of learning this elusive chi (internal energy) from him, and I watched while he effortlessly bounced and threw his students. I knew this elderly Chinese man — this Kung Fu Grandmaster — as gentle and soft spoken, with an indescribable presence. Even now, I remember how intrigued I was with his inner calm and centeredness....From the day I started practicing tai chi, it felt familiar. Surprisingly, while practicing clinical dental hygiene one day, it came to me — the principles of tai chi are applicable to the practice of dental hygiene. A knowledge and practice of tai chi might help dental hygienists work effortlessly, manage the demands of ergonomics, and cope with internal and external stresses." In this highly informative article for dental workers by Carol Lee, RDH, BS, the author outlines the important points of t'ai chi

Taekwondo Champ Tries T'ai Chi

2008-08-01T09:08:00.000-06:00

"Taiwan's first gold medallist Chu Mu-yen is confident he will retain his taekwondo title in Beijing while girlfriend Yang Shu-chun is hoping for success in the women's competition.'An athlete has to climb up and seek a breakthrough to win and I think tai chi helps stabilise Chu to bring him to the next level,' [coach] Chang said. Tai chi, which is meant to harmonise body and soul with slow and flexible movements, is popular in Taiwan particularly among elderly people."
Chu is dealing with the Olympic pressures with tai chi and staying with his teammates on a retreat to a Buddhist monastary in southern Taiwan. Read the full article at: The Telegraph 7/31/08

Exercise by Pill Proxy

2008-07-31T08:18:00.000-06:00

Researchers report that they've developed pills that mimic the effects of exercise. Tested on mice, the pills "reproduce many of the biological benefits of exercise, helping cells burn fat better and boosting endurance, said Ronald Evans, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California. One of the pills may some day help people enhance their exercise or training, while the other might be more suited for couch potatoes who need to kick-start themselves, Evans and colleagues reported on Thursday in the journal Cell."
Of course, they've already developed a way to test athletes for the presence of the drug. Read the whole article in Reuters 7/31/08.

Wheelchair Tai Chi Olympic Hopeful

2008-07-25T10:48:00.003-06:00

"More than 1,000 Chinese people in wheelchairs hope to demonstrate a new activity at the summer Olympic or Paralympic Games in Beijing this summer: wheelchair tai chi. Led by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga anthropology professor Zibin Guo, the demonstration is designed to show the world that wheelchair tai chi can boost strength, relaxation, flexibility and confidence for people with physical disabilities."

Free wheelchair tai chi classes as part of a research project will be offered at Siskin Hospital, and co-sponsored by UTC, and will "measure the effects of tai chi on participants’ breathing, heart condition, psychological functioning, and ability to cope."

“People in wheelchairs often feel confined. Tai chi, with its circular movements, creates a sense of infinite space. And the gentle movements improve circulation and mobility,” Dr. Guo said." Read the complete article at the Chattanooga Times Free Press (6/26/08)

Books and Media Received

2008-07-15T09:21:00.005-06:00

Chen Style Tai Chi Progressive Silk Reeling Series, with Jose Figueroa (Dragon Door, 2008)
1--Qi Cultivation and the Secrets of Minipulating Energy
2--The Deeper Secrets of Moving with Strength and Energy
3--Fa Jing and the Secrets of Explosive Power

The Ninja Handbook, by Doug Sarine and Kent Nichols (Three Rivers Press, 2008)
Tai Chi Dynamics: Principles of Natural Movement, Health, & Self-Development, by Robert Chuckrow (YMAA, 2008)
Items may be scheduled for review in our newsletter.

Summer Events

2008-06-27T08:20:00.006-06:00

The National Qigong Association annual conference will be held August 8–10, 2008 near Baltimore, Maryland. This year's theme is "Qigong: Embracing Healthy Change." Speakers include Kevin Chen, Ph.D. MPH. an associate professor in the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Chen researches substance abuse and efficacy of Chinese energy therapy for treating osteoarthritis and addiction. Introductory keynote will be by Thea Elijah, former Director of the Chinese Herbal Studies Program at TAI Sophia Institute and at the Academy for Five Element Acupuncture. She specializes in principles of energy medicine in a cross-cultural context, with a particular emphasis on heart-centered healing.

Tai Chi Keeps Pace with Olympics

2008-06-18T07:58:00.005-06:00

Despite China's woes this year—earthquakes, weather, viruses, protesters—Olympic excitement is building. Yet with all of the attention on Olympic sports and the glamourous features of newly rebuilt Beijing, many news outlets are also reporting on the quieter, normal back-street areas, and on traditional activities such as tai chi. As one reporter writes, Jingshan Park near the Forbidden City "provides excellent views of Beijing and an introduction to China's slower passions — bird rearing, tai chi and long, leisurely strolls."Atlanta Journal Constitution

Tai Chi for Pain Conditions

2008-06-18T07:30:00.000-06:00

Tai chi is being explored in a study at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences by pain researcher Pao-Feng Tsai.
"Imagine being in pain and not being able to tell someone. You may be able to speak but no longer can form the sentence to communicate how bad you feel. Many people with advanced Alzheimer's are in this Twilight Zone, making it difficult for health professionals to detect their pain and leading to underreporting or overmedicating....In a quiet, windowless room at UAMS, they are testing the obvious but unproven theory that gentle exercises tailored for someone with memory loss can reduce pain and delay cognitive impairment. Seven study participants, most in their 70s, follow the lead of certified Tai Chi instructor Nola Ballinger as she takes them through modified movements of the Chinese martial art. The sound of a single flute comes from a boom box, and cool air whooshes through the air ducts. Think about a needle going through cotton, Ballinger tells them. You want it to be smooth and soft.... Left foot forward. Right foot forward.... Now wave hands in the clouds." Study results will be available late in 2009. UMAS

Tai Chi Featured on NBC News

2008-05-08T10:25:00.004-06:00

NBC is running a series this week The Mind-Body Connection" on the Nightly News. The series features tai chi, acupuncture, food, massage and more. Dr. Shin Lin of UC-Irvine discusses with them researcch he is doing about the efficacy of tai chi practice in the areas of complementary and alternative medicine, mind/body signaling, qigong, tai chi, acupuncture, and exercise physiology.

For further information on research about tai chi, see our links column at the side.

Taijiquan Journal at Twin Cities World Tai Chi Day Event

2008-04-23T07:32:00.001-06:00

Taijiquan Journal will be at the Minneapolis-St. Paul-area World T'ai Chi Day celebrations at Normandale Community College on Saturday, April 26th, 2008, from 9–1. Editor Barbara Davis will give a talk on the I Ching (Yijing), the Chinese Book of Changes. Come visit Taijiquan Journal's booth, where you'll be able to purchase back issues, books, and other items, including "I Love Tai Chi" bumperstickers. See the website for the program schedule.

Tai Chi Caught in Olympic Torch Political Crossfire

2008-04-16T09:36:00.002-06:00

A conflict erupted between Tai Chi enthusiasts promoting Olympic good will on the San Francisco leg of the Olympic Torch Relay and pro-Tibetan protesters. For the complete story, see Mercury News.

Farmer Ch'i? Tai Chi Practice Helps Cows Produce Milk

2008-04-16T08:36:00.006-06:00

Reminsicent of Chinese health exercises for farmers developed in the early PRC, the Federation of Organic Milk Groups through their website "Love Om" in the UK has posted instructions for tai chi exercises that farmers claim increases by 10% a cow's milk production. As one of the farmers says, "The happier I am, the happier the cows are. And the happier they are, the more milk they produce."
The movements, grouped by day of the week, are adapted to Western sensibilities using such names as ‘Lazily Buttoning Overalls', adapted from ‘Lazy about Tying Coat' (Lan Zha Yi).
The accompanying music however, is thoroughly Chinese, rather than fiddle and fife or bagpipe. BBC News, 4/14/08

Tai Chi Helps With Parkinson's Disease

2008-04-03T13:44:00.002-06:00

"Tai Chi improves balance and mobility in people with Parkinson disease" is the title of an article in Posture and Gait M. E. Hackney, and G. M. Earhart that describes the use of tai chi on balance, gait, and mobility for helping people with Parkinson's disease. Subjects showed improvement on numerous tests, including backward walking. An interesting thing to note is that neither the tai chi group or the control group improved on forward walking or one leg stance test. (April 1, 2008). Author Hackney has also done research on the use of tango dancing for the same population.

All the Chi in China

2008-03-31T08:18:00.004-06:00

An admirably indepth and lengthy look at the morning taiji scene in Beijing's parks by Stanley Stewart of the Sunday Times in London:

"T’ai chi is illustrative of what is so different about Chinese exercise. There is lots of mental concentration and very little sweat. Exercise is elegant, graceful, almost sedate. Not for the Chinese the muscle-pumping of the gym, the slog of the jogging track. Nobody here is going for the burn. Instead, it is all about balance and concentration and flexibility. In a western fitness programme, t’ai chi would register only as an elaborate warm-up, a series of stretching exercises. In China, it is the main course, because it involves thought as well as movement." (See the full article at Times UK Online edition 3/08/08).

Taiji for Parkinson's

2008-02-18T17:37:00.004-06:00

Doctors at Mass General Hospital are warming up to taiji as a therapy for their patients with Parkinson's disease.
Over 1.5 million Americans have the disease which causes involuntary and rigid movements. Taiji helps by keeping the muscles relaxed and loose, and improving balance. Read more....

Chinese New Year Back Issue Special

2008-02-03T09:18:00.001-06:00

Deepen your practice of taijiquan (t'ai chi ch'uan) with Taijiquan Journal. Our back issue special includes all eighteen issues of the print edition for only $99 plus shipping! These timeless magazines include how-to articles, history, translations, book reviews, interviews, art, and our unique cartoon "The Yang and the Rootless" by New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Jackie Urbanovic. Articles include:

• Al Chungliang Huang Interview
• "No, Mom, We're Not a Cult" by Ben Harrison
• Zhongxian Wu on The Yijing and Horse Stance
• Biography of Wu Tunan by Harold Lee
• Art, photography, and writing by David Chen
• Taiji history with Stanley Henning
• Maggie Newman on Teaching
• Ju Ming, Taiji Sculptor by Cheryl Powers
• Bataan Faigao on Buddhism and Taiji
• Huang Chien-liang on Health
• Chen Weiming's Introduction
• Questions and Answers with Huang Sheng-Shyan
• Theory and Technique with Li Ya-shwan, Liu Hsi-heng, Dong Yingjie
• Plus, the taiji poetry and literature of Allen Ginsberg, Henrik Ibsen, Mark Strand, Bill Holm, Mose Allison, Lynn Sharon Schwartz, and "The News from Lake Taijiquan" by Barbara Davis

QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED
Offer good until February 29, 2008.

All eighteen back issues are $99 plus shipping, total of $110 (US orders. Contact us at editor(at) taijiquanjournal.com or call 612-822-5760 for international rates).

Books and Media Received February 2008

2008-02-03T09:07:00.000-06:00

Recent releases of books and media include:

Cheng Man-ch'ing: The Master Tapes a documentary style four-hour DVD collection of footage shot in Cheng's New York School in the 1960s (Mastedon Productions, 2008).
Journal of Asian Martial Arts features a landmark article by Douglas Wile on "Taijiquan and Daoism from religion to martial art and martial art to religion."

Taijiquan Classics Garners Review

2008-01-26T11:30:00.000-06:00

Taijiquan Journal editor Barbara Davis' book The Taijiquan Classics: An Annotated Translaton is reviewed by Chinese martial arts historian Stanley Henning in the Fall 2006 issue (published Fall 2007) of the prestigious China Review International. He writes, "Taijiquan, as we see it today, did not develop in a vacuum, but reflects developments in one style of Chinese boxing under conditions that influenced all the Chinese martial arts, to one degree or another, over the past 300-plus years. Chen Weiming (1881–1958) helped twentieth-century Chinese taijiquan students gain a better understanding of its concepts and dynamics. Barbara Davis has placed this in context, and through her translation, made it available to a global audience in the twenty-first century....Davis' chapters on the language and literature and ideas in the taijiquan "classics" provide the "icing on the cake"—the insights into Chinese culture, from which to savor her translations....I wholeheartedly recommend this book not only to taijiquan practitioners but also to anyone interested in Chinese martial arts and their place in Chinese culture."

Signed copies of the book are available; write to editor "at" taijiquanjournal.com for ordering information. For those who already own a copy of the book, an errata page can be found at the The Taijiquan Classics website.

Taiji Spoofed in Onion

2007-12-25T11:21:00.000-06:00

A picture is worth a thousand words? The Onion, a national satirical newspaper ran this picture of some taiji players with the headline Tai Chi Practitioner Really Slowly Dislocates Knee. Possibly more worrisome is the yawning student. As everyone knows, practicing outdoors means the risk of gnats flying in your mouth. The Onion 6/26/07

World Tai Chi and Qigong Day April 26, 2008

2007-12-19T11:14:00.000-06:00

Plan ahead! World Tai Chi and Qigong Day 2008 will happen on April 26th at 10 am local time. All around the world, people will gather to welcome the day with these health-enhancing, fascinating exercises. Many groups will be offering free demonstrations and classes for the public. Check your local listings or see the official site. (Photo couresty WTCD event in Perth, Australia)

Tai Chi Master Cools Tempers With Free Coffee

2007-12-14T16:26:00.000-06:00

A Starbucks coffeeshop in Pompano Beach, Florida became the unlikely site of a taiji lesson. Taiji teacher and writer Arthur Rosenfeld was waiting in a drive-through line when the man behind him began honking and yelling at him. Instead of getting all hot under the collar in response, Rosenfeld yielded and created a "chain of kindness" by paying ahead for the man's drink. What he started lasted all day and became a welcome surprise for later customers, who kept it up.

"It wasn't an idea to pay anything forward, nor was it even a random act of kindness, it was a change of consciousness," he said. "Take this negative and change it into something positive." Rosenfeld is a popular taiji teacher in the area, and is author of The Cutting Season from YMAA's new martial fiction line, Diamond Eye, and The Truth About Chronic Pain among others. (KSDK Channel 5 12/14/2007). To see the video, click here.

Taijiquan Journal Writers and Artists Featured

2007-11-20T08:56:00.000-06:00

Afaa Weaver, a long-time taijiquan student, poet, playwright, and professor of English is featured as the cover story in the November-December issue of the prestigious Poets & Writers magazine. Weaver is a disciple of Huang Chien Liang, grandmaster of the Tien Shan P'ai system, and has studied in Taiwan. He wrote an article "Taijiquan and Healthy Living: Tien Shan P'ai's Grandmsater Huang Chien-Liang Shares His Views" in the Winter 2004 issue of Taijiquan Journal. Recipient of an NEA fellowship, an MFA from Brown University, a Fulbright Fellowship to teach at National Taiwan University, and a Pew fellowship in Poetry, Weaver is now professor of English at Simmons College in Boston.

Creator of "The Yang and the Rootless," Taijiquan Journal's original (and probably the first ever) taijiquan comic strip , cartoonist, author, illustrator Jackie Urbanovic's children's book Duck at the Door hit the New York Times Children's Books Bestseller List. A sequel Duck Soup will be out in January.

Science writer Sandra Blakeslee's book The Body has a Mind of its Own: How Body Maps in Your Brain Help You Do (Most) Everything Better. The book, written with her son Matthew, explores the interesting areas of brain science--how the brain forms "body maps" and how those shape our perceptions and can change our lives. Blakeslee interviewed Taijiquan Journal editor Barbara Davis for background on methods such as taijiquan for improving body sense. Blakeslee's article "When the Brain Says 'Don't Get Too Close'" appeared in the Fall 2004 issue of Taijiquan Journal. She is a science writer for the New York Times with a special focus on the brain and how it works.

Back issues of Taijiquan Journal are still available! See our website for further information.

Books and Media Received

2007-11-20T08:04:00.000-06:00

Julie Black Belt: The Kung Fu Chronicles by Oliver Chin, Illustrated by Charlene Chua, Immedium Books
Taiji & Shaolin Staff DVD by Yang Jwing-Ming, YMAA Publishing
The Martial Arts of Ancient Greece: Modern Fighting Techniques form the Age of Alexander, by Kostas Dervenis and Nektarios Lykiardopoulos, Destiny Books.
The Body has a Mind of its Own: How Body Maps in Your Brain Help You Do (Most) Everything Better, by Sandra and Matthew Blakeslee, Random House.
The Taoist Soul Body: Harnessing the Power of Kan and Li, Mantak Chia, Destiny Books.

Taiji for the Heart Health and Stress Reduction

2007-11-02T10:24:00.000-06:00

A recent article explaining the ins and outs of heart palpitations suggests lowering stress can help reduce them. "If you have unexplained palpitations, start with the simple things first: Try cutting back on caffeine, or giving it up altogether, to see if it is contributing to the problem. Stress and anxiety are two other key triggers of palpitations. A two-step approach can help here. Meditation, the relaxation response, exercise, yoga, tai chi, or other stress-busting activities may help keep palpitations away. If they do appear, breathing exercises or tensing and relaxing every muscle group in your body can ease the panic or anxiety spurred by palpitations that sometimes feeds into creating more of them." Read the whole article at the Buffalo News.

Martial Arts Master on Run from Crime

2007-10-19T13:08:00.000-06:00

The murder of Anan Liu and the abandonment of her 3-year-old daughter at a Melbourne railway station led police to suspect husband and father Xue (Michael) Naiyin, a martial arts master. A history of family violence had already brought them in touch with police over the past year. This event has shocked the taijiquan world.

Xue, 54, who according to his website, had once been Chairman of the Liaoning Taijiquan Association and a coach at the Liaoning Taijiquan Training Center practiced xingyi, bagua, and Wu style taijiquan and had immigrated to New Zealand in 1996, where he had set up shop as a Chinese-language magazine publisher.
In 2000, Xue had spent a number of months in Los Angeles touting himself as a master, during which he misrepresented his skills and training, and alienated many people in the taijiquan and Chinese communities. Xue was so convincing, he was featured on the cover of T’ai Chi magazine that year.

Anan Liu’s remains were found in the family car’s trunk. Grandmother Liu is to take custody of the unfortunate child.
Xue, now wanted for murder and kidnapping, escaped to the United States, where he was last seen in Los Angeles Chinatown. An international force is in search of him with full support of the Asian media in California. Anyone with information is urged to contact the authorities immediately.(Compiled from the Sydney Morning Herald, USA Today, and other sources, October 2007)

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre to Tour

2007-10-04T11:30:00.000-06:00

The acclaimed Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan will be touring North and South America this September and October, visiting Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Minneapolis, Chapel Hill, the University of Kansas, New York City, and Sao Paulo. See their website for dates and ticket information.

Cloud Gate's rich repertoire has its roots in Asian myths, folklore, and aesthetics, but it brings to these age-old beliefs and stories a contemporary and universal perspective. The company is made up of two-dozen dancers whose training includes Tai Chi Tao Yin (an ancient form of Chi Kung), meditation, martial arts, Chinese Opera movement, modern dance, ballet, and calligraphy.

Wild Cursive is the result of a long journey into the ancient practice of movement and spirituality. In 2001, Lin Hwai-min further explored the possibilities of Tai Chi Tao Yin and martial arts, and created Cursive, with its title derived from Chinese calligraphy. After studying Chinese calligraphy masterpieces, Lin found, despite the differences in styles, all the brush works shared one common element: the focused energy with which the calligraphers“danced”during writing. He asked Cloud Gate dancers to improvise by facing blown-up images of calligraphy. The dancers absorbed the energy, or Chi, of the writer, and imitated the linear“route”of ink, full of lyrical flows and strong punctuations, with rich variations in energy. The exercise produced unimaginable movements, with subtle slow motions and dynamic martial-arts-like attacks. These eventually became the movement material for Cursive, a work of stunning beauty that has received rave reviews in Europe and the U.S., where it opened the American Dance Festival in 2003.

Inspired by the spirit of “wild calligraphy,” Wild Cursive utilizes paper as its only set. On a stage covered by white marley, streams of white rice paper cascade to the floor with black ink pouring from hidden pipes above, and seeping on to the paper slowly and almost invisibly. The ink feathers and spreads in abstract patterns true to the spirit of chance as set forth in I-Ching -- The Book of Changes. With these traces of time accumulating, an art installation of“set in progress”emerges. As the ink breaths through the performance, the lighting design illuminates the transparency of the rice paper and thereby enhancing the power of the flowing black images.

Hong Kong Gathers Taiji Crowd

2007-10-04T07:47:00.000-06:00

What do you do with an old airport? You set up a taiji event—a really big one! More than 20,000 people did taiji together on September 30th in a celebration of the Hong Kong special administrative region's 10th anniversary. The Mega Tai Chi Show was sponsered by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Wushu Union, the Chinese Martial Arts Dragon and Lion Dance Association, and the Tai Chi Association, and featured local and national masters. More at Hong Kong government news.

Elsewhere in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Tourist Board organizes classes for tourists. "Depending on the day of the week, the Meet the People program highlights feng shui, tai chi, traditional medicine, Cantonese opera, cake-making and Chinese tea. There are also guided walks, a kung fu demonstration and a ride on a Chinese junk." More from Dallas News.

Chinese Medicine Conference in Virginia

2007-09-23T07:56:00.000-06:00

"Transformation: Individuals in Balance, Families in Harmony" is the title of an upcoming conference in Chantilly Virginia, Ocotber 18-21. If you're interested in learning more about Chinese medicine from a number of different perspectives, this conference has a wide variety of offerings such as "Standing Form Qigong and the Immune System," "Arts in Medicine: Expressing Healing the the Brush of Calligraphy," "The Five Phases of Attention Deficit Disorder," and "The Chinese Medicine View of Health and Illness in Early Childhood." There are also qigong, taiji, and mediation times. For information see Building Bridges of Integration for Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Taiji Battles Flu

2007-09-10T09:24:00.000-06:00

Here's yet one more way taiji can help your health: it can increase the efficacy of your flu shot. In an article in the American Journal of Chinese Medicine, well-known taiji teacher and researcher Yang Yang found that five months of an easy taiji and qigong routine could "improve the magnitude and duration of the HI anti-influenza antibody titer response in a small cohort of older adults.” Yang will discuss his results at a conference in September at the Mayo Clinic. Click here for the entire news release.

Taiji Drama on China Television

2007-09-10T09:07:00.000-06:00

A dramatic series "The Legacy of Guangfu Taiji" will be launched soon in China. Featuring actress Eva Huang (Kung Fu Hustle) the television show will serve as a tribute to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, according to director Du Jun, and is being filmed in taiji's birthplace. Huang and others are taking taiji training from Wang Shaojun. Click here for the full article. (Xinhua News)

Taijiquan Journal News Summer Issue Out

2007-08-14T22:39:00.001-06:00

Check out our summer newsletter. A few more pages will be posted shortly. Taijiquan Journal News comes out semi-annually and includes articles, reviews, columns, and more.

Check out our booth at the National Qigong Workshop this weekend in Chaska, Minnesota.

National Qigong Association Conference

2007-07-25T20:57:00.000-06:00

The National Qigong Association annual national conference "Dancing In Stillness" will be held in Chaska, Minnesota this August 17-20. This is a chance to explore qigong and t'ai chi-related topics with some of the world's leading experts, including Chunyi Lin.
A sampling of some workshops: Zhongxian Wu - Chinese Shamanic Tiger Qigong, Cari Shurman - Bringing Tai Chi and Qigong to the Schools, David Haines - 20 Minute Body/Mind Routine: Tai Chi and Qigong for Busy People, Jianye Jiang - Qigong for Diabetes and High Blood Pressure, Lawrence Galante - Basic Principles of Push Hands. See their site for registration information, or click on above image for more details.

Books & Media Received: General, Health, Philosophy, Qigong

2007-07-25T18:42:00.000-06:00

GENERAL

The Book of Martial Power:The Universal Guide to the Combative Arts, by Steven Pearlman
Chi and Creativity: Vital Energy and Your Inner Artist, by Elise Dirhlam Ching & Kaleo Ching
Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey by Brian Kennedy & Elizabeth Guo
Combat Fitness for the Elite Female Martial Artist, by Martina Sprague
Empty Force: The Power of Chi for Self-Defense and Energy Healing, by Paul Dong & Thomas Raffill
The Overlook Martial Arts Reader, Volume 2, by John Donohue, ed.
Sun Tzu: The Art of War, Lin Wusun
Training Women in the Martial Arts: A Special Journey, by Jennifer Lawler & Laura Kamienski
Zen Body-Being, by Peter and Laura Ralston

HEALTH

The Knee Crisis Handbook: Understanding Pain, Prenting Trauma, Recovering from Injury, and Building Healthy Knees for Life, by Brain Halpern, M.D.
The New Rules of Posture: How to Sit, Stand, and Move in the Modern World, by Mary Bond

PHILOSOPHY, Daoism / Taoism, Yijing / I Ch'ing

Breathing Spaces: Qigong, Psychiatry, and Healing in China by Nancy Chen
The Living I Ching: Using Ancient Chinese Wisdom to Shape Your Life, by Deng Ming-dao
Nine Nights with the Taoist Master: Deluxe Study Edition, by Waysun Liao Nourishing the Essence of Life: The Outer, Inner, and Secret Teachings of Taoism, by Eva Wong
The Practice of Presence: Five Paths for Daily Life (T'ai Chi & Taoism, Jung & Individuation, The Teaching of Gurdjieff, Prayer & Meditation, F.M. Alexander's Mind/Body Integration, by Patty de Llosa
Qigong for Staying Young Shoshanna Katzman
Revealing the Tao Te Ching: In-depth Commentaries on an Ancient Classic, by Hu Xuezhi
Vital Breath of the Dao: Chinese Shamanic Tiger Qigong, Laohu Gong, by Zhongxian Wu (Dragon Door, $29.95)

Taijiquan Books and DVDs Recently Received

2007-07-02T10:05:00.000-06:00

Here are some books and DVDs recently received, selected ones of which will be reviewed in our future newsletters:

Chen Style Taijiquan:The Source of Taiji Boxing, Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim & David Gaffney
Chen Taijiquan: Lao Jia Yi Lu & Straight Sword, video, Ren Guangyi
Classical Northern Wu Style Taijiquan: The Fighting Art of the Manchurian Palace Guard, Tina Chunna Zhang & Frank Allen
Drawing Silk: Masters' Secrets for Successful Tai Chi Practice, Paul Gallagher
Hwa Yu T'ai Chi Ch'uan: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Five-Word Song, Glenn Newth
Like a Long River: Some Tai Chi Thoughts, Wolfe Lowenthal
A Little Beneath the Surface of the Tai Ji Quan Classics, Ping-siang Tao
Old Frame Chen Family Taijiquan, Mark Chen
Seven Treasures of Taijiquan: Six Classical Texts, Jurgen Licht
Scholar Boxer: Chang Naizhou's Theory of Internal martial Arts and the Evolution of Taijiquan, by Marnix Wells
Sunrise Tai Chi: Simplified Tai Chi for Health & Longevity, book/video, Ramel Rones & David Silver
T'ai Chi According to the I Ching: Embodying the Principles of the Book of Changes, Stuart Olson
Tai Chi Connections, John Loupos
Taijiquan: Through the Western Gate, Rick Barrett

101-Year-Old Taiji Practitioner

2007-05-15T16:59:00.000-06:00

Meet Rose Hacker, a British writer, doer, thinker--and centagenarian taiji practitioner. You can read the inspirational story of her active life at the Daily Mail.

Taiji Helps Immune System

2007-04-23T21:41:00.000-06:00

Recent research has demonstrated taiji's efficacy on the body's ability to fend off illnesses. An article in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society reported on a study conducted at University of California, Los Angeles' Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology that showed dramatic . "Also in the works are five federally funded studies examining whether regular practice can help patients contending with heart disease, osteoarthritis and cancer fight off threats such as depression, infection and the pain of joint inflammation. Other studies are probing whether tai chi can improve balance and reduce falls among the elderly, and improve the well-being of patients with HIV."Sun-Sentinal, 4/20/07

Upcoming Taijiquan Events

2007-04-21T08:17:00.000-06:00

Spring and summer bring numerous taijiquan events. Join in and learn!
April 28th is World T'ai Chi & Qigong Day. This event is held each year on the last Saturday of April, and is organized in a grass-roots fashion. You can check your local newspapers for events in your area or look on the WTCQD site.
The annual Zhang Sanfeng Festival will take place May 31 - June 3 in East Stroudsberg, Pennsylvania, and will feature many well-known teachers.
Taijiquan's flagship event A Taste of China celebrates its 25th year of summer seminars June 28-July 2 in Winchester, Virginia. This year's theme is "The Art and Science of Taijiquan's Power," and will be the last large-scale summer event, but director Pat Rice promises new directions in the future.
Dallas, Texas, is the location of the 10th Annual Taiji Legacy features seminars, master's demonstrations, lion dance and competitions, July 20–22. One of North America's largest taiji events.
The National Qigong Association Conference will be held in Chaska, Minnesota from August 17 – 20, 2007. This year's theme is "Dancing In Stillness," and will feature a wide range of programming.

Welcome

2007-04-16T09:34:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the Taijiquan Journal blog!
You'll find here news, ideas, links, and other information about taijiquan (t'ai chi ch'uan).

Please note that our print edition is not currently being published, however back issues are still available.