At TJC’s AGM on 12 December 2020 we looked back at the changes that had taken place during this challenging year, Shifu Liu’s message seemed particularly important, so we are sharing it with you.
This year thanks to all students attending classes this year through difficult time. Wishes everyone a happy holiday season and Christmas. Reflection on 2020 is good, but consider work for next year and how to prepare. Many middle aged [people] or over 50 should consider that we should live every day as very precious. Have happiness and be fulfilled, build strong and healthy body most important. Build Nei gong, inner strength and build balance and coordination. This will remain for many years into the future. One key is to be happy inside, don’t keep stress and anger in your heart.
Shifu’s responsibility is to find the way to teach all students this, our responsibility is to practice well and learn ourselves. Importance of lower dantian, if full and strong advanced age will be good, that is the focus (in practice). Don’t rush or hurry, do the work each day to improve the dantian. Frustrations in class when can’t remember, don’t worry. This means our gong fu is not right there. You can improve strength and balance and co-ordination to achieve success in dantian.
Every type of Qigong can address different ill health. When practice go inside and the outside world is not important. Many people don’t build up high level as too many thoughts and don’t focus on the simple focus inside them. Goal is to live long and strong life and not waste the ability we have. Many don’t understand when we react with anger in response to anger we waste our energy. This can lead to using up your energy. If you practice for 3 months and don’t see a change in your body you should consider if you are following the teaching properly.
Two goals of training
1. build up a strong body
2. help other people to get the same strength. Ying and Yang.
How do you measure success? if you can teach others successfully that demonstrates your success. When you help others you progress faster than when training yourself. First learn the correct way then transmit correct method to others. First you might feel teaching is difficult or if giving something away, but it is not.
Questions for Shifu? –
- Hard for me to calm my mind, explain more please?
Your breath is important, it comes to your dantian and it fills it up. Pay attention to this calm connection and you will calm down. I had the same experience too.
- Is training outside in the park which is not level ok or should I train on consistently flat surface ?
Relax and keep back straight. It doesn’t matter what is beneath your feet as long as relaxed hips and joints.
Tai ji quan, lao jia yi lu and tai ji jian (sword) important forms. Weapon training is important for development of taiji and we need to practice them all. Foundation and short form are prelude to the long forms. The practice progresses balance and movement in different situations to develop fully. The principles are the same at all stages. Schools practice their own interpretation of forms in order to develop their full understanding of the system. In beginning build up chi in body and then use it through weapons. Initially use body to move qi then later use qi to move the body. Balance ying and yang.
Shifu Liu Quanjun
From notes taken during the meeting, thank you Matt!
