May 17, 2019

Maggie Newman Videos

If you've never had the privilege of studying with Maggie Newman, this two-disk video compilation will give you a good taste of what it is like. Maggie, as she's known to her students, is one of Professor Cheng Man-ch'ing's most well-known students, having taught in New York City, Philadelphia, Rochester, and Washington, D.C. for many decades. Newman, who has now retired from active teaching, had a professional background in modern dance before becoming involved with aikido, zen meditation, and then t'ai chi. Among her talents have also been performing kabuki dance and brush painting.

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.

May 11, 2019

Taiji Brushwork!


A great taiji lesson from a master calligrapher Qian Shenbai.
Courtesy Massachusetts Cultural Council, 2013.

May 3, 2019

Zhang Yimou's SHADOW

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"[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.