Mick Smith, Mascot
I have been doing Tai Chi Chuan with Ric since December
2007. After studying for a short time for the Catholic
priesthood, my direction in life changed when I decided to
get married. I then studied industrial chemistry and worked
in the cement industry for 15 years.
After a life crisis, I developed an interest in meditation.
During this time, I was informed about the potential
benefits of Tai-Chi. After many years of searching for a
Tai-Chi master, I accidentally bumped into Ric at Glebe
while he was filming an instructional DVD.
I have now developed a love ofYuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan and have
experienced wonderful moments of inner peace and stillness.
Updates:
Subject:
Flu Symptoms Date:
Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:42:38 +1100
Today
master Ric helped heal me of my cold and flu. As we sat in the
crowded cafe` with others sitting at the table chatting away, Master
Ric placed his foot on my foot and proceeded to have his lunch. After
a short time, I noticed my body temperature increase almost like I
was sitting in a sauna. I felt the urge to sit up straighter and I
could feel a very strong Cool Breeze through both hands (which were resting on my lap).
Towards the end of this informal procedure I felt very dizzy. It was
here that Master Ric stopped (he had also just finished his lunch). After
this procedure, I felt much stronger and clear headed and by the time
I arrived home I felt great! This prompted me to write this
account. Sent:
Sunday, October 10, 2010 7:57 PM
Subject: Sat.9th Oct.,2010
During the form this Sat.
my hands and arms felt much lighter as I glided through the
movements, making these upper movements much easier and
effortless than normal. I don 't know why this would be
although I did put more focus on appreciating and following
the Chi energy through the form as a result of my current
step that I have been practising over recent weeks. I am
quite excited with this as I feel I am making real progress
in getting closer to mastering the true Tai Chi that we
practise.
Although I still get easily
distracted during the dance by people and dogs passing by
etc., especially outsiders practising very close to us
now who become quite vocal at times, despite all this I am
feeling a growing peace and tranquillity throughout the
dance. Could this be due to a closer connection to the
invisible Chi as a result of my progress? I feel very sure
that it is.
Sent:
Sunday, May 16, 2010 8:09 PM
Subject: Migraine headaches
Hi Ric,
It's been 12 months now since you suggested to me to stop
taking pharmaceutical drugs whenever a migraine headache
occurred. Your suggestion to relax and slowly go through the
"All Pervading-Ultimate Manifests" at the start of section
one each time a migraine showed signs of starting, instead
of taking a drug and lying down, was attempted by me. This
was very difficult at first as I had been taking
pharmaceutical drugs since the age of about seven or eight.
These drugs consisted over time of Ergodryl, Mersyndol,
Dolased, Fiorinel and to a lesser extent Nurofen.
I feel very confident now
that I've been able to go twelve months without a migraine
pharmaceutical drug that I'll now be able to do this for the
rest of my life. Of course there were times when I couldn't
do Tai Chi movements such as on a bus or at work and it was
during these times when I just kept going and lay down when
the opportunity arose. But no drugs were taken.
This is a very big
achievement for me, one I thought I would never be able to
do.
So thanks Ric for your suggestion.
Regards Mick.
Sat 11th April 09
Today's lesson was
completely different than ever before as Ric stood before us
as our "mirror" and instructed us to emulate his movements.
The movements were very simple but very slow and continuous.
After about 5 minutes of this we were each asked what we
experienced during this time. For me my main experience was
constantly focusing on Ric's movements. We did this again
and the same occurred except this time it all seemed a
little easier or effortless. Again this was repeated only
this time it appeared my movements were easier and in fact
drifting along independently of me which made me panic as I
was concerned that I would be moving differently to everyone
else, so I came back to my mind to continue the movements
wilfully and on purpose using my muscles to do the work.
As we did this exercise
again it wasn't long before I experienced this independent
flow which required a lot less effort than before only this
time I simply relaxed into it. I was very surprised that I
had established a "flow" with little effort on my part. This
felt rather beautiful, something that I have experienced
before but only fleetingly and very rarely and seemed out of
my control.
I couldn't wait to try out
this "new" effortless way of doing the form at home. The
next morning (being a Sunday) I set the timer for 45
minutes, said my usual prayer "I wish - - -" and went about
doing the form and allowing as much effortless flow as
possible just observing what was happening. As I kept up
just observing I felt I was moving too quickly but was very
surprised when the timer went off about half way through
section 3.This has never happened before (usually I struggle
to go the full 45 minutes and quite often finish well before
this).
I feel that this has been
my greatest achievement since learning Tai-Chi and
overshadowed somewhat my successful completion of WOLF.
Sat 22 Nov 08
This was a strange Tai Chi
practice with about 5 different seasonal weather changes in
the 1.1/2 hour session. Nothing seemed to go "perfectly" and
there were a few times when the senior students Miranda and
Sharon were caught laughing at the more junior students Ken
and myself. Despite our pride being shattered and after much
laughter I did experience some delightfully peaceful moments
in which I think the "Chi" was experienced.
A group of us at "coffee"
afterwards discussed this "Chi" phenomenon and how evasive
it is.
Sat 15 Nov 08
Another challenging format
again today with very slow repetitions which seemed to go on
and on. I felt humbled and quite deficient in ability as I
watched with Ken as the more advanced students went through
some challenging solo formats and were then judged by the
other students for the slightest flaw or idiosyncracy.
Sat 8 Nov 08
I found the different
format to be more challenging than normal today. The slower
movements needed more effort and concentration on my part
and I also found myself becoming disoriented quite often.
However I remembered Ric's
statement last week that weight on each foot is constantly
changing throughout the form and that the only time the
weight is equally distributed on both feet is at the
beginning and at the end of the form.
I didn't experience any
deep seated peace today unfortunately. I did however learn
some subtle changes to parts of the form.
Sat 1 Nov 08
Am feeling more at home
with the form and am beginning to observe my body moving
.Unfortunately these moments are fleeting but at least they
are occurring. I have more work to do on maintaining proper
positioning throughout the form as I am still wandering and
have to correct this regularly. I also have short periods
where I forget what comes next.
Overall I'm noticing a
little bit more silence and peace through out the movements.
Sat 25 Oct 08
Am a lot more conscious now
of my footwork and weight distribution. This has made an
enormous difference to my understanding of the form
throughout.
Time is another aspect that
is changing for me as I am now noticing that the form feels
a lot quicker. Ric advised me that last Saturday's form
lasted 53 minutes which is longer than it normally is and
yet this felt much shorter than normal.
Sat 18 Oct 08
During the form, I felt the
pace changed from slow to a little faster and changed here
and there through out....this could have been my imagination
though.
I remembered before we
started that there is always movement throughout the form
and in the words of Ric "You stand still before you
begin......you stand still after you finish"
I am having trouble keeping
proper position throughout the form and I don 't know what
to do about it at this stage. I remember a few weeks ago as
we were about to commence the form Ric picked up a twig and
broke it in half and placed an "X" where he stood. At the
end of the form he finished where the "X" was. I hope to be
able to do this one day.
Sat 11 Oct 08
During the form, I felt
everyone was about at the same pace and I felt a lot easier
going through the movements. I appreciated the movements
more as I am becoming more familiar with them. There were
times when I felt a lot of peace but these moments were very
fleeting unfortunately. Regarding time; I felt that it went
very quickly this time compared to six months ago when I
felt the form would never end.
The peaceful moments were
quite beautiful though.
Sat 4 Oct 08
During the form, I felt it
went a lot quicker than usual, possibly because of the rain.
Each week, I learn something new. My focus was on thinking
about the new moves and thinking about the other moves.
I didn't feel the flow
that I had before without so much thinking. I don't know how
I can create that flow again. However, I feel that I am
making progress every week.
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