Comments on: Tai Chi Secret #1: How to Choose a Tai Chi Style

By: patrick

patrick — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 01:28:57 +0000

Master Bruce,
I just stumbled on to tai chi and the internal arts in the last few months and have engulfed myself. I am basically trying to learn on my own for there aren’t any “real” internal teachers in my area. I’ve mostly been wanting to learn neigong and it’s very meditative intensive aspect for reaching high level meditation is my number one goal. But i’ve also been trying to study yang style tai chi because i understand the forms aid in perfecting the body and developing the chi. I’ve got your first version of “opening the energy gates” and have been trying to follow it, but what i’m really interested in is ebing able to reach an extremely deep level of meditation for chi manipulation and also be able to bring that deep state to the tai chi form. Is there any advice?

By: Taichi Master Bruce Frantzis

Taichi Master Bruce Frantzis — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:46:14 +0000

Hi Mari,
We have launched a new series called Meditation Monthly which is a monthly release. I am going to be releasing a lot more this in the future so stay tuned. Meditation is my passion and I am just now fully starting to move into that teaching phase. This summer is the Longevity Breathing course which is really a basic requirement if you are going to go deep into mediation–so if you can make part or all of that it may help you.
Be good,
Bruce

By: Taichi Master Bruce Frantzis

Taichi Master Bruce Frantzis — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:40:25 +0000

Hi Charlie,
Yes as you know very few teachers teach the internal components which make up about 80% of the form. I will be teaching more tai chi in the coming years and with a little luck we will have some products that talk more about the internals…be good.
Bruce

By: Taichi Master Bruce Frantzis

Taichi Master Bruce Frantzis — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:37:12 +0000

Hi Afshin,
I learned the Chen Style from Feng…who knows maybe I will write a blog about that in the future….
Bruce

By: Charlie Montross

Charlie Montross — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:23:50 +0000

Hi Bruce,
I have read a number of your books, including both editions/versions of “Opening your energy gates”. (old and new) I started studying martial arts in the early 80’s and have deliberately migrated into the chinese internal systems, enjoying bagua, hsing yi and tai chi.
I learnt the Hao style from Sifu Sun Da Fa and he called it the Wu-Hao style and have some literature on it calling it so. He is known for his hard qigong and and Hsing-Yi and preferred he the Wu-Hao style because he could do qigong most easily with that style.
It is nice to be able to pick and choose styles of tai chi but if you have limited choices or are not in the circle of chinese martial artists or don’t know where to look to connect to the appropriate teacher, then you unfortunately have no choice.
I have had my share of teachers who know forms but nothing else or instructers who know some of the deeper aspects but only taught forms.. These type of instructers tend to strut around and there is usually a cloud of groupies around them.
From my experience, the key points you need to know, such as the coiling and alignment and opening and closing are rarely taught. Books such as from Mantak Chia have some of these concepts but he tends to dive into the esoteric aspects.
Applying your methodology from the new Tiger Dragon Qigong book to explaining the various internal aspects of tai chi would be useful.
regards
Charlie

By: Afshin Mokhtari

Afshin Mokhtari — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:59:11 +0000

Hi Bruce,

Informative article, thanks. I had heard of the Hao style once before but assumed it was a Yang sub-style. Now I’d love to see what their form looks like. YouTube here I come.

About your video above, is that Feng’s form that you are demo-ing, or laojia?? The latter can look sooo different depending on the practitioner that I can’t tell. BTW, my main Chen style teacher is from Chen Qing Zhou’s lineage though i did spend a few years doing Feng Zhiqiangs stuff. Hey, now there’s a Chen sub-style I’d love to read some articles about (hint, hint).

Regards,
Afshin Mokhtari, L.Ac.

By: Mari

Mari — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:21:04 +0000

Hi Bruce
I’ve read 5 of your books, also have some of your DVDs and thanks for these and also for the teachings you send out online. I am interested in learning more about Taoist meditation and combining this with other types of Tai Chi exercises. I have practised meditation in various forms for 40 years and now feel this is the way to go for me. To my knowledge, as yet there isn’t any teaching of this where I live (East Kent, UK, Matthew Brewer’s Tai Chi group, Daoist Internal Arts).
Could you please give some more teachings about this online?

Thanks again and enjoy your holiday!

Mari Shackell
Whitstable, Kent UK