The
Voice of TCAA
A
Newsletter from the Tai Chi for Arthritis Association
For more info about the program, an application form
February 2004 - Issue 3 - click on the title to view the article
CONTENTS
- Editors Letter
- President's Letter by Pam Kircher, M.D.
- Tai Chi and Martial Art by Paul Lam, M.D.
- An American at St. Vincent's by Nancy Kieffer
- How Yoga Helps My Tai Chi by Robert Kato
- TCAA: Its Members and How to Join
- Getting Insured
- Finding Stillness in a Raging World by Reverend Bruce Young
- Q & A
- Tai Chi in the Garden-My Style by Sue Smith-Heavenrich
- Miscellany
- Growth Through Perseverance by Pat Lawson
- Upcoming Workshops
Thanks to you, we've got a lot of copy for this issue so I'll make this brief. We're in between week-long workshops-Sydney last January, Asilomar (Monterey, CA) next June. If you were put off by a trip to Australia, do try and attend the one in California. You won't be sorry.
Again, this newsletter
depends on you for your questions, articles, and suggestions. Please keep
them coming in to me, nkieffer@astound.net.
In this issue, pay special attention to Dr. Paul Lam's article on the place of the martial aspects in tai chi as well as to our informative Q & A's.
Nancy Kieffer, editor
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PRESIDENT'S
LETTER
By Pam Kircher, M.D.
As I sit down to write this letter, I'm flooded with happy memories of our time together last summer in Connecticut at the first week-long Dr. Paul Lam/TCAA workshop in the United States. It's so enriching to spend a week immersed in tai chi and in the company of other tai chi enthusiasts. The increase in tai chi skills and the depth of relaxation of total immersion are hard to describe in words. It simply has to be experienced to fully understand it.
I do hope that many of you will be able to join us for the second annual week-long workshop at Asilomar in Monterey, California, June 21-27, 2004. Courses will be offered in Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructors' training, the 24 forms, the Sun Style Competition (73) forms, discovering the depth of Sun Style 73 forms, Tai Chi fan, the combined 42 competition forms, and the 36 forms-Chen style. Evenings will be filled with other optional activities including Bringing the Magic into Push hands, and selected Yoga techniques to enhance your tai chi and qigong, and a wonderful banquet on the last evening. You can view the workshop's brochure on Dr. Lam's website, www.taichiproductions.com. And for questions call, Stephanie Taylor at 831-649-2320 or the nearest master trainer listed in the brochure.
In last year's workshop evaluations, several participants asked that this year we offer a Tai Chi for Arthritis Part 2 and Update. In response to that request, we are offering a three-evening course that will allow you to be updated as a TCA instructor while also taking another course during the day. It's important that you know the initial 12-movement Tai Chi for Arthritis to both sides if you enroll in that evening course. Certified TCA instructors need to be re-certified every two years and this is an excellent opportunity to meet that requirement while also immersing yourself in a week of tai chi and tai chi friends. If you can't get to the workshop but are in need of an update and recertification as a TCA instructor, please do contact your original trainer or Troyce Thome who coordinates the TCA trainings. Her e-mail is tthomer@cox.net; and phone number is 949-492-5084. She will be able to tell you what trainings are currently scheduled or help you schedule one in your area. This periodic update keeps you abreast of teaching techniques and helps you to develop your own tai chi skills. Please do look at your original certificate and see if it's time to be re-certified.
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Tai
Chi and Martial Art
By Dr. Paul Lam
Tai chi was originally a martial art. And while nowadays the majority of people practice it strictly for its health benefits, the martial art component is extremely important since it's an integral part of tai chi. The martial art training consists of several different stages. Let's look at them and relate them to your tai chi goals. Note that if your goal in doing tai chi is strictly for health, the martial art stages that involve higher risk of injuries are not suitable or necessary.
The Different Stages of Martial Art Training
To gain martial art skill you first need to start with strengthening your muscles and improving your flexibility, balance, and fitness. You can do this by practicing the forms.
The next stage, the internal aspect, involves mental balance-improving the clarity of mind and relaxation as well as building up your internal strength and structures such as bones and ligaments. You can also gain these from practicing the forms, keeping your mind focused and using visualization techniques.
By now, you should be acquiring the skill to move your body in the most effective way for combat, which again can be gained from practicing the forms correctly.
As you progress, you'll learn the martial art intention of the movements and the correct posture including where your hands and feet should be as well as where to apply force, and how to absorb, redirect and control the incoming force. You'll also understand where the internal force should be and how to direct it. In other words, you'll learn how to control your own body and mind so that you can best control your opponent.
Up to this point in your practice, you've been able to enhance your skill by practicing the forms, the qigong exercises, and by using visualization techniques. These skills, as shown by medical studies, will improve your strength, agility, balance, mental concentration, fitness, immunity, in fact all aspects of health.
Practicing these can be enjoyable, challenging and fulfilling. This practice will bring you to a higher level of tai chi. In fact it will also improve your skill as a martial artist. For example, if you with your training were to fight someone of similar size who had spent an equal amount of training time in another physical exercise, the chances are you'll win the fight. That's because most of the components of an effective martial artist-strength, inner power, positions, effective usage of the body, clarity of the mind-are exactly what you've already practiced for better health.
The Final Stage of Tai Chi Training For Martial Art
Now we move to the
ultimate purpose of martial art: total control of your opponent. This
could mean severely injuring him or her. While tai chi is based on the
philosophy of yin-yang harmony and balance of nature, it was, after all,
designed to be an effective martial art. Most tai chi movements show martial
intention and have the potential to hurt someone. For example Golden Guard
Stamping Foot aims at hitting the chin, top of the head and punching the
abdomen with internal force. Such thoughts send shivers down my spine.
I, as well as most of my tai chi friends when we practice, certainly don't
want to think about hurting anyone. Naturally, there are different levels
of control. Ideally a high-level tai chi practitioner can control his
opponent without hurting him. But to reach that kind of skill and control
requires a lot of special training. And the more real the training the
more effective it will be. Bear in mind, though, that it isn't always
possible to achieve perfect control. Even the most skilful practitioner
could make a minor mistake, which could result in serious injury to either
party. Therefore,the more real the training the more chance of injury.
Chen style tai chi was the original style that demonstrated its martial
art power by using fast and slow movements when delivering force as well
as jumping in the air, kicking and punching. You can see these practices
have higher chance of injury. Most other styles are slow and graceful
like the most popular Yang style. To use the slow style for actual fighting,
you would have to modify it and train differently. It's not possible to
move slowly in a fight, and if you don't train to move fast, you wouldn't
be able react fast enough in a real situation.
If you want to experiment, have a friend throw a punch at you as fast as he can. (Make sure that he isn't actually going to reach you) One of the most accepted tai chi ways to receive a punch is to use one hand to touch on to his wrist, the other hand at his elbow. Ideally your joints would be loosened and your internal force would be ready to absorb and redirect the incoming force. Your body would be totally relaxed, in the right stance and balanced well enough so that you could move back without compromising your balance. You would try to receive your friend as fast as he comes.
Chances are, you'd find that difficult. Most likely your external muscles would become tense. It takes the average tai chi practitioner an immense amount of practice before that elastic loosening force is ready to absorb force. The same goes for the hands being placed in just the right position. Get your friend to punch from different directions and see how long you'd have to train to receive an unpredictable punch from anywhere in a fully ready tai chi way. It's likely that this could be an impossible stage to achieve for many tai chi practitioners. You and your friend would have higher chances of injury if you practice this at close range.
For Beginners
When you try to teach a new student the fighting aspect, the student will naturally tense up. Fighting is associated with the classic fright and flight reaction; thinking of it makes people naturally tense up. This impedes the learning of tai chi. When people are tense, they will have difficulty learning the essential principles of tai chi such as slowing down, cleansing the mind, loosening the muscles, focusing on precision, body awareness and weight shifting. Therefore for beginners it's much more effective to work on the essential principles without too much emphasis on the martial art application.
Pushing Hands
Pushing Hands in tai chi is an ingenious invention. It's a two-man drill to help the twosome feel each other's force and experience some aspects of combat. It can be fun if the participants stay within the artistic aspect. This isn't easy to do. The subtlety of push hands takes a great deal of time to acquire, and very often people use harsh force to try to "win" in pushing, predisposing the opponent to injury.
While pushing hands is a useful tool, it isn't a necessary practice in order to reach a high level in tai chi. No matter how much push hands a person does, he or she won't understand tai chi without practicing the forms.
Push hands has acquired a magical reputation that sometimes leads people to lose prospective. For years the National Push Hands Competition in China was won by weight lifters with no tai chi experience. Now, there's a rule that all competitors have to demonstrate a set of tai chi before they're eligible for the competition. The way I interpret that is while push hands is a great technique; it's very useful but not necessarily as magical in combat as some of us think. The magic of tai chi is in its health-giving property that comes from regular and intelligent practice. If tai chi were a pill, it would be the best medicine ever.
Conclusion
Tai chi is a most effective martial art, but training to use it for fighting is another matter. The training techniques that lead to the actual fight, such as sparring and fast punches, are the final stage of the martial art components. This stage has a higher chance of injury. Nowadays, there is little chance that we need to physically fight for our lives, and if that happens we would have little chance against anyone with a gun no matter how skilful we are.
The training of tai chi in the slow style is incredibly effective for building health and strength. Many studies have shown these training methods to be very effective for building a strong body and mind. In fact, this is why tai chi is gaining so much popularity.
The essential principles, which make tai chi an effective martial art, are equally effective for health improvement. Understanding them helps to correct the forms, improves inner strength and is essential to reach a high level of tai chi. The final stage of martial art training is not necessary to reach a higher level and is fraught with a significantly higher risk of injury. Therefore you should carefully assess the risks and benefits before embarking on this level.
(Please see the accompanying article below regarding the place of martial art application in the Tai Chi for Arthritis program.)
A
POSITION STATEMENT ON THE TAI CHI FOR ARTHRITIS PROGRAM.
By Dr. Paul Lam
Tai Chi for Arthritis is an easy to learn, safe, and effective program. The primary goal of the program is to relieve pain and to improve the quality of life for people with arthritis. Second, it will improve almost all other aspects of health for people with or without arthritis. High risk of injury is not consistent with our goals.
Anyone who is involved in teaching or practicing Tai Chi for Arthritis should avoid the final stage: the martial art application. Understanding the essential principles is important; visualization should be used for practice. Sparing, push hands, or training of fast force-delivering movements are not appropriate. To avoid the possibility of injury, demonstrating the intention of a movement should not be done with physical contact. Students or instructors who wish to pursue these endeavors should do so outside the area of this program.
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AN
AMERICAN AT ST. VINCENT'S 
(Not for Australian readers)
by Nancy Kieffer
"What's that for?" I asked, looking down at my ankle.
"It's your ticket," came the reply.
"Ticket for what?" I asked.
"Ticket for the theatre."
Well, that made sense. Everyone who goes to the theatre needs a ticket. But then she said something that really threw me.
"You can leave your knickers on."
"What?"
"Your knickers," she repeated, pointing to my underpants.
I'll explain. Last month, I was a Californian at St. Vincent's in Sydney. Not St. Vincent's College where I had been happily attending Paul Lam's week-long workshop but at St. Vincent's Hospital where I'd been diagnosed with a fractured elbow that required surgery.
It was the morning of the third day of the workshop. Back at the college I was thinking about whether or not it was clean-towel day when I tripped over a threshold, landing on my elbow. With the kind help of fellow workshop student and R.N. Bruce Roggiero as well as Anna Bennett, Paul Lam's workshop coordinator, I had switched from one St. Vincent facility to another. And there I was in the E.R., awaiting a visit from an orthopedic surgeon.
Fortunately my Australian friends hadn't deserted me. "A theatre? What's that nurse talking about?" I asked. They explained that the "theatre" is an operating room and the "ticket" a wristband, which in Australia, they also put on the ankle.
When the "authorities" came to collect my valuables, somehow my passport got overlooked. I mentioned it to the nurse, but she didn't seem concerned, at least not enough for me. Trying to communicate the importance of my dilemma, I said, "But. I'm American!"
"Well, that's all right, " she retorted condescendingly, as if to say they'd treat me anyway.
And so it went for the three days and nights I spent as an in-patient. They said centigrade; I said fahrenheit. They said kilograms; I said pounds. But all in all, I couldn't have asked for better treatment or a more caring staff.
Now, if only they spoke English…
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HOW
YOGA HELPS MY TAI CHI
By Robert Kato
As a newcomer to Hatha yoga, I have just begun to realize the many benefits of this art. Being a seasoned practictioner of taijiquan, I've discovered that Yoga is the perfect complement. As in taijiquan, Yoga emphasizes a sense of centeredness and quality of movement.
The core of the physical practice is built around the execution of asanas (postures). These asanas affect major and minor muscle groups and organs as they improve strength, increase flexibility and stimulate the internal organs. The practice of static allows closer examination of the human anatomy and consequently a better basis for the understanding of movement. The asanas are held steady for a period of time as the breath focuses the prana energy into certain energy meridians, glandular systems and organs.
In Yoga, the dynamic and powerful breathing exercises heal the body and expand the lung capacity. Breathing into the stretch brings a feeling of relaxation. This breath awareness ultimately leads to meditation and progressive relaxation, which I have begun to effectively incorporate into my tai chi practice. I have discovered that yogic stretching not only benefits the major muscles but ligaments, tendons and internal organs as well. Some of which I could not even begin to identify prior to studying yoga.
My flexibility as well as range of motion has improved dramatically. Arguably, not aerobic, yoga involves almost every muscle in the body. And as poses are held for longer periods of time, strengthening gives way to endurance, which eventually becomes the practice of moving into stillness. As a result of sustaining these static postures, my balance and sense of center has improved significantly.
I'm certain these initial observations only touch the surface of what there is to understand and appreciate in my practice of yoga as a complement to tai chi. The right hand washes the left, the left hand washes the right and both hands wash the face.
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TCAA
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
By Caroline Demoise and Doug Sams
As of February 1, 2004, the Tai Chi for Arthritis Association has 88 members, and we continue to grow each month. We would like to thank all our members for their interest and support TCAA.
Now is a good time to use your discount benefit to purchase videos and CDs before June 30, the close of your membership year. You are also eligible for a discount on the workshop fees for Dr. Paul Lam's USA Tai Chi Workshop in June 2004 at the Asilomar Conference Center in Monterey, California. Registration has already begun. It will be another great tai chi event, and we look forward to seeing you there.
On May 1, we'll be sending out membership renewal notices by for the 2004-2005 membership year (July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005). If you have changed your address since submitting your last membership dues, please notify Caroline or Doug (see below) so we can update our records.
If you're a prospective member and want to take advantage of member discounts on products and workshops before July 1, 2004, you'll need to submit your full 2003-2004 dues (current through June 30, 2004). Our member benefits package is based on a full year's dues rather than a partial year's dues.
Please contact Caroline Demoise at <taichi@frontier.net> or Doug Sams at <tcaa.treasurer@earthlink.net>, or by mail to TCAA, PO Box 21982,Lincoln, NE 68542-1982.
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One of the great benefits of becoming a TCAA member is your access to group insurance coverage. Specially designed for our members, the insurance package is underwritten by the Fitness and Wellness Insurance Agency, who have been in business for 18 years. It's the only agency that specializes in insuring fitness instructors.
The rates are stratified by where you teach tai chi, how often you teach, and whether you own or directly rent your space.
Check it out at www.fitnessandwellness.com. For general information, call the Fitness and Wellness Insurance Agency, 800-395-8075, and ask for Eileen Romosod, Ex. 167. If you wish insurance coverage, ask for Rick Felix, Ex. 153. You can also email him at rfelix@fitnessandwellness.com. Remember, you must be a member of TCAA to get this insurance.
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FINDING
STILLNESS IN A RAGING WORLD
By Reverend Bruce Young
One of the purposes
of Tai Chi practice is to find song, the ability to relax. In the world
in which we find ourselves, this isn't always easy. There's much to occupy
the mind and much to confuse it. The pace at which we live causes us to
be in a constant state of planning for what's happening next. We're never
living in the moment. What a mistake! Now is all we have.
The noise of our society deafens our senses, and the media bombards us
with more information that we can process. Television, radio, and the
Internet invade our homes. If we're able to pause for a moment, we can
see clearly that everything around us is more complicated that it needs
to be. For example, have you ever attempted to read your homeowner's insurance
policy? In the lengthy exclusions section of my policy, I found that I
was not covered for acts of civil insurrection and volcanic eruptions.
Often when we attempt to find peace in this world, we are confronted by
this kind of human-made confusion.
Tai Chi calls us inward to find that stillness which will bring peace
to our souls. When practicing Tai Chi, we always start with wu wei, an
emptiness, a stillness that allows us to feel the energy of the Tao around
us. A stillness that allows us to recognize that energy, and to accept
it. We call this being at one with the Tao. The ancient Hebrew psalmist
recommended that his hearers, "Be still and know God."
For our own good health, we must find time away from the raging world,
time to relax, time to find stillness; and in that stillness begin to
visualize the opening of our body's energy points, particularly those
on our hands (laogong) and feet (yonggong), which can be attuned to accept
the energy of the universe, the healing of the Holy Spirit, the flow of
Tao; and then to send it along the meridians of the body where it can
begin to refresh and restore.
Opening these points can be combined with two Yogic symbolic gestures
that can help to change the heightened emotional state in which we often
find ourselves today. These symbols, the yoni mudra and the abhaya mudra,
along with the practice of Tai Chi, open the soul and body to the regenerative
aspects of universal energy, and remind one, that to live, we must find
time to come away from the noise, to a place where stillness allows us
to find peace.
A former Superintendent of Schools, the Rev. Dr. Bruce Young has studied
and read widely in the martial arts for the last 12 years, and practiced
Hatha Yoga for six years prior to his martial arts training. He is a certified
TCA instructor and teaches qigong, meditation, the TCA and 73 Sun forms,
the 64 Yang forms, and the Yang straight sword form of Tai Chi Ch'uan.
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Q: A young girl in early pregnancy asked if it would be harmful for her to start tai chi. I just didn't know what to say, but everything in moderation comes to mind. Can you help me?
A: I think your philosophy of "everything in moderation" is excellent, and that attitude will probably work for your prospective pregnant student. To give her further protection, however, you might want to ask her to check with her doctor before she starts your class. And going one step further-and this is to protect you-you're perfectly justified in asking her to bring you a clearance letter from her doctor. You'd either keep it or copy it for your records.
Q: Does a married
couple always have to pay double dues to join TCAA? That's one question.
The other: They want to get individual insurance policies.
Because of that, do they need to have separate memberships in TCAA?
A: Each person must join TCAA separately. The insurance policy would be up to the insurance carrier, however. Chances are they would consider the couple as separately insurable people.
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DOING
TAI CHI IN THE GARDEN-MY STYLE
By Sue Smith-Heavenrich
I do tai chi in my garden, though not in the fashion you might imagine. My integrated style combines the forms known as "hilling potatoes," "push cultivator," and "fair lady carries water buckets." I incorporate my breath with the swing of a hoe, and-most appropriate for gardening-root myself.
When I first began to study tai chi my teacher said, "Take what you learn out of this studio and apply it to your daily life." I began with small things like vacuuming the rugs, and washing the wall of the shower. When the dishwasher broke, I decided to wash dishes by hand and use that as a mindful meditation.
Then there was the
garden. It was huge, with rows and rows of potatoes and corn and beans
and lots and lots of weeds. There was always so much to do, and never
enough time to do it. The potatoes needed hilling, tomatoes needed staking
and another section needed to be cultivated.
One day, while hilling the corn, I stepped into a sort of bow stance and
pretended the rake handle was a hose gushing water in my direction. All
I had to do was guide it. I relaxed my shoulders, took a deep breath,
and looked at the sky. There was beauty all around me and I hadn't really
seen it that day.
After four hours one of the kids came to get me for supper. "Aren't
you tired?" he asked. I wasn't. Sure, I was a bit sweaty and bug-bitten,
but somehow I felt refreshed. I had finally discovered how to do tai chi
in the garden. What started as a gardening chore on that day's "to
do" list became a meditation in movement.
Many years ago a friend taught me how to mow hay with a scythe. "It's a dance," she said. "Make the movements round and fluid. Breathe. Relax." Now I apply this wisdom to raking leaves, turning compost, spading a new garden bed. I let go of the need to hurry. I let my legs do most of the work. I relax, breathe, smile, and before I know it, I'm at the end of my row.
Sue Smith-Heavenrich is a certified Tai Chi for Arthritis instructor. She teaches in upstate N.Y. You can reach her at <taichimama1@yahoo.com>
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Two excellent web-based courses are available through the support of the Arthritis Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control.The Arthritis Challenge is especially good for people with arthritis, their friends, relatives, and even their TCA instructors.Arthritis: A Public Health Approach targets professionals in the field. Continuing education credits are available for both courses. They can be accessed through www. prospectassoc.com/arthritis.
Get a head start on World Tai Chi Day. April 24 is the date. Think about having a gathering in a nearby park. It's a great way to celebrate what tai chi has brought to your life and to give the rest of the community a taste of what tai chi can bring to theirs.
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GROWTH
THROUGH PERSEVERANCE
By Patricia Lawson, Master Trainer
There's a story told in management seminars about a tree in China. The tiny seedling, once planted, must be consistently watered and tended daily for 20 years. In that time, there is no change. Then suddenly in one month it grows 40 feet! The question posed: Did it grow 40 feet in one month, or in 20 years and one month? All those years were necessary for the root system to grow below the ground, for the foundation to be laid, for the energy to be garnered. If one day of care had been missed, the tree would have died. It reminds me of the tai chi student who practices and practices faithfully but sees no change. A year, maybe more, passes. Then finally one day the teacher sees a big improvement, and the student feels it. Did it happen overnight? Of course not. Daily practice was part of the process.
This can be true in building relationships, too. Here in my region of the country (Florida) I found that trying to develop partners to sponsor Tai Chi for Arthritis programs required consistent care. At times I was discouraged. It's hard to water a seedling that you can barely see. But through the hard work of David Brubaker, D.C. and one of our TCA instructors, the TCA program became known to our Florida Arthritis Partnership that is sponsored by the Department of Health.
Although we watered and tended the seedling, the growth was still slow. Two Florida Arthritis Foundation offices in Florida sponsored Instructor's Training workshops yet little seemed to develop from them. Then, many months later, a phone call came inviting TCA participation in an Arthritis Foundation community project called "Dessert with the Docs." This was a panel of experts, each speaking for 20 minutes on an assigned topic of interest to people with arthritis. It included nurses, doctors, and other professionals. What a wonderful opportunity to reach a hundred people! Not long after, the West Palm Beach AF office offered to collaborate on a TCA Update/Part II training. Hopefully more joint efforts will follow.
My own instructor certification was in 1999. Now almost five years later I have a new appreciation for the root system that has been developing. This has been a lesson for me on perseverance. Consistently take care of the right things, and when the time is right the tree will sprout. Our partners are there, and we mustn't give up on them.
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March 6-7, 2004, Nancy Kieffer is holding a Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructor's training in Cincinnati, Ohio. $200 includes morning/afternoon tea and materials. Contact Ralph Dehner, Mighty Vine Wellness Club, Cincinnati, OH, 45219 and mightyvine@juno.com or 513-241-9355 for info.
May 15-16, 2004, Jay
Van Schelt, Tai Chi from the Arthritis Foundation Instructor's training
in Columbus, Ohio, Parts I & II. Contact Nick Turkas,
Director of Programs & Services, Arthritis Foundation, Central Ohio
Chapter, (614) 876-8200 - phone; (888) 382-4673 - toll-free; (614) 876-8363
- fax
nturkas@arthritis.org
www.arthritis.org
November 13-14, 2004,
Jay Van Schelt is holding a Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructor's training
in Connecticut, Parts I & II. Contact Jay Van Schelt, CEO InnerChi
Methods and Systems,
www.InnerChimindbody.com
www.growthmanager.org
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