May 17, 2019
Maggie Newman Videos
Newman's students have put together a two-disk compendium of her material including demonstrations, teaching, and an extensive interview. On the first disk, "Following the Ch'i," Newman performs the solo T'ai Chi form and the sword form. She introduces each section with her philosophy intercut with portions of an interview with Joel Sucher. The second disk, "Nourishing the Spirit," includes the full interview with Joel Sucher, rare footage of Newman teaching, highlights from her New York push hands meet, photographs and reflections from one of her many students.
While these disks are but a sampling of Maggie Newman's teachings, there are so many valuable insights to be gleaned that you may want to watch just a few minutes at a time before pressing "pause" to take time to contemplate her words. Highly recommended, even if you do a different style of t'ai chi.
Labels: Cheng Man-ch'ing, dance, DVD, Maggie Newman, reviews, t'ai chi
May 11, 2019
Taiji Brushwork!
Labels: calligraphy., tai chi and art
May 3, 2019
Zhang Yimou's SHADOW
"
"[Zhang Yimou's] Shadow doesn't rush to battle, unlike such earlier Zhang martial-arts spectaculars as Hero and House of Flying Daggers. The movie spends about an hour sketching the backstory and observing the machinations that will lead to war....
Zhang,
known for the feminism of his earlier films, doesn't give the women
central roles, but he does offer some playful tweaks of masculinity. The
tai-chi symbol expresses the unity of supposed opposites, including
male and female. Shadow doesn't achieve that, but it does harmonize
contrary impulses much more deftly than The Great Wall balanced Beijing and Hollywood.
Read the complete NPR review here.