Taiji 太極 (literally "great ridgepole") is a Chinese cosmological term for the "Supreme Ultimate" state of undifferentiated absolute and infinite potentiality, contrasted with the Wuji 無極 "Without Ultimate". Taiji is best known in the West from the name Taijiquan (or T'ai chi ch'uan) 太極拳 "Supreme Ultimate Shadowboxing".
Please join us on Wednesday, December 2nd for an evening of enlightening discussion about Zen and it's practice through the martial art of I Liq Chuan. I Liq Chuan is called by it's practitioners "The Martial Art of Awareness".
Naturally everyone is concerned this year about catching the flu. Here's some interesting information you may not have read before that was forwarded to me by my best friends mom.
I happen to keep some mouth wash in my locker anyway, so I've been extra motivated to make sure and use it twice a day!
Another great workshop with Master Sam F.S. Chin has come and gone. What a great time! I was happy to meet some new practitioners and revisit friends and was sorry to have missed several this time around. I am also happy to announce that I have been graded by Master Chin and received Student Level Five ranking in the I-Liq Chuan system.
This working document is designed to be viewed after completing the Five Most Important Teacher Skills Survey. The idea is to see if the brain research presented on Learning Orientations affects your views on Internal practice teaching methodologies. Just for fun.
Use the comments feature to share your thoughts.
Summary
There are three basic learning orientations or learner types posited by recent brain research. source
Transforming Learners are generally highly motivated, passionate, often persistent even in the face of failure, and highly comitted learners. They most often place great importance on learning ability, committed effort, independence, vision, and intrinsic resources.
They use personal strengths, ability, persistence, challenging strategies, high-standards, learning efficacy, and positive expectations to self-direct learning successfully.
Thanks to Robert Hoffmann M.A. Date: 06 July 2007. Please note the 'How to do it' in the last paragraph. Enjoy! -kg
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Last week in the Pleasant Valley class, Sifu [Sam F.S. Chin] expounded on the importance of maintaining awareness of the interdependence of Yi (mindfulness), Chi (internal energy) and Li (physical force expression). Sifu asked that this edition of 'Sifu Says' deal specifically with the interconnection among these three aspects of iliqchuan.
It is important to be aware of how Yi (awareness), Chi (internal energy) and Li (physical force expression) coordinate in the practice of iliqchuan. Iliqchuan, is not separate from the wholeness of being. Iliqchuan is an art of awareness. Awareness reveals the interdependence between the nature of mind, internal energy and physical result. These three aspects must coordinate without a gap in order for ones expression of iliqchuan to reach the higher levels. Naturally, when students can coordinate these three aspects of being without fault, the mind stays calm and the ability to remain dynamically balanced is enhanced, without effort or egotistical attachment.
"A block of wood that is not yet carved has no set form, it is thus infinite in potential."
The UCB Program makes you more natural and comfortable... To 'Return To The UnCarved Block'. Our passion and committment is to help you 'Rediscover Natural Power & Grace'.
Health, fitness, and martial skills are effects of practice and not ends in themselves. We cultivate awareness as the cause. Enjoy!
The UCB Program consists of solo and partner exercises that develop your awareness & concentration. If you have the awareness, you can get the feel for a movement. If you have the feel and can concentrate, you can become more natural. Martial skill grows from this awareness. This practice can affect permanent change in one's condition. Our curriculum is based on Taiji (Tai Chi) Principles, drawing from Taoist & Chan (Zen) Buddhist techniques. Practice includes:
Please join us on Wednesday, December 2nd for an evening of enlightening discussion about Zen and it's practice through the martial art of I Liq Chuan. I Liq Chuan is called by it's practitioners "The Martial Art of Awareness".
