An Author Archive
Hostels are inexpensively priced; they’re run by friendly folks with promising visions. Check out all they offer.
Read Three Salt Lake City Hostels »
§ Steven Smith’s Wisdom in a Nutshell
One posture point depends on another. You could Knee, Knee without Cat Feet, but you’d miss the subtlety of Cat Feet—the sinking. Likewise, with other posture points. So work your way down this list. Find each point’s point from the ground, up.
01 Cat Feet
Gently draw your feet up into cat paws. Lightly curl your toes; squeeze the ground, lightly gripping. The tips of your toes grasp softly. Sink your weight straight through your tibia (your big, sharp shin bone) through your foot, into the front of your heels, deep down in the ground.
02 Knee, Knee
Bend your knees until over your toes, you sink. Weight through heels, relax. Sink. The detail: sink into the front part of your heels, not the center of your foot, just behind the center.
While we’re on the subject: your knees are transfer joints, not weight bearing instruments. Wha-what?! That’s right: your knees transfer weight from your hips into your ankles into the ground, gently. Any knee pain you experience is not because the knee is the source of problems—the trouble resides in the hips and/or ankles (usually hips). Your knee may feel the pain, but movement distortions in the hips cause the distortions, dysfunctions, and the pain; it’s not the knee. The knee is a victim of anal-retentive hips—let go! Really, seriously…never get knee surgery for knee pain…it’s your hips.
For people with knee pain, this concept is a hard sell…oh, well. Do some research with your body, use your intellect’s internet research to support your body, not the other way. Go see a Soft-Tissue Expert, like a Massage Therapist before a Surgeon and get some Structural Integration or Cranial-sacral work before seeing a Common Medical Practitioner. Note that this advice is about knees, and I disclaim any responsibility for your pain. Get some Bodywork, and do real Qigong.
Read 10 Potent Posture Points Produce Practical Power »
The histories of Tai Chi Chuan often seem vague and mystical. Many books and internet sites attempt to remove Taijiquan (a modern spelling of T’ai-chi Chüan) from its violent historical roots, preferring instead to clothe the vibrant and colorful Zhang San Feng in the grey robes of the Sage. Such bland suggestions or proclamations, be it accidental or deliberate, should insult the reader. They muddy the reality of Taijiquan.
Motivations, at first, seem kind. People, generally, seem to seek some peace of mind, ease of body, and contentment of spirit. Certainly, in an age of unprecedented, phenomenally technological and barbaric warfare, the desire for local and global peace is necessary and nice. I am merely concerned that deception and lies, both accidental or deliberate, promote neither peace nor understanding. I propose that peace-seekers wage war, and war-mongers seek peace.
Read Mystical History of Tai Chi »
Real Taiji is World Taiji Boxing lessons in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Steven Smith is currently the only World Taiji Boxing Association Certified Instructor in Utah. You can train with Steven right now, through Real Taiji, in group classes Monday, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, private lessons by appointment, or monthly immersion workshops.
Reflecting on Yang Chen Fu’s Ten Important Points of Tai Chi Chuan
Tai Chi Utah organized its foundation around Yang Chen Fu’s Early Form. Check out Yang Chen Fu’s words in Yang Family Secret Transmissions or in The Essence and Applications of Taijiquan to glimpse the source of the following reflections on the oral instructions from Yang Chen Fu.
1. Lighten Up!
Stop thinking, scheming, believing, strategizing so much. Stop it. Chen Fu’s bit about “the energy at the top of the head should be light and sensitive” recommends lightening up. So relax; lighten up. Your head is built with highly sophisticated sensory equipment. Too much thinking, scheming, believing, strategizing is like filtering, filtering, filtering all such sensory information. Enjoy sight, sound, smell, taste. Lighten up.
