Sifu’s second real master was Southern Shaolin Hung Gar master Mr. Chan. With him it was the traditional way so for example you had to first watch.. ‘Let’s start at the beginning.’
“0ne beginning for example; Mr. Chan showed us the opening greeting in his first basic form once. He would then say ‘Now you go and practise’.
But of course none of us were that good at watching; we had a division of labour. You(watch his)right arm, him left arm, a third right leg etc.. you have no idea what pampered pooches you are, perhaps that is why you have such ego.
So this is what I mean by technical analysis on the purely physical level, this is what I suggest for you.”
Sun, 17 May 2015 10:49:34 +1000
++ I really appreciate Sifu’s coaching style in teaching (the Socratic way, this is also an art)
Aron
At the start of our skype lesson today Sifu had me stand facing him with my eyes closed. I felt energy transfer across the ether which put me into balance! Result?
A really bad backache removed by the effortless flow of Yuan-Chi.
Dagmar
After class Sifu briefly spoke about the number one thing in learning Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan: “Come to class!”
I started learning Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan under Master Ric Lum in November 2005. It has weaved its way into all aspects of my life, providing immediate benefits in my day-to-day life and health, whilst also allowing me to catch glimpses of the eternal, ever-changing, un-changing energy of life. Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan to me is a craft so rich and intricate it will provide years of learning and development.
Gregor Ptok
“You have mentioned that Tai Chi contains the potential for ‘Chi’ to awaken spontaneously… I didn’t realize it could happen so quickly.” Janaki
“The arrival and departure of this force was spontaneous – I didn’t make it happen, I didn’t try to hang on to it, I didn’t make it go away.” Magda
“The Master leads by emptying people’s minds and filling their cores,
by weakening their ambition and toughening their resolve.
He helps people lose everything they know, everything they desire,
and creates confusion in those who think that they know.
Practice non-doing, and everything will fall into place.”
Tao Te Ching Ch.3
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2018 19:49:15 +0000 (UTC)
Repulse Monkey: performing myself, together with Sifu then repeated by myself.
There was a difference between the 3 repetitions.
Myself: doing as I could, as I felt it, slow motions, nothing emphasized
Together: this was a new lesson, Sifu’s movements in Repulse Monkeys were recoiling from the hips / Kundala. The turning of the body for the physical eyes seemed forced a bit, but the movements were similar to the recoiling in Cloud hands and the step backs reminded me of snake-like movement, the turning and recoiling dragged the leg in front towards the center of the body, orientation also gets back to the front for a couple of moments, before the new repulse monkey starts.
Myself again: couldn’t reproduce it. I just got the idea and need to practise it more.
Aron
The words that Sifu said to me last time about what does it cost to be prepared have been haunting me ever since. Whenever I am going out I think what does it cost to be prepared – absolutely nothing! Thank you. Vanessa A
I felt my body and my weight shift because of an inner movement, in contrast to previously feeling inner movement because my weight was shifting.” Magda
“Unless I’m prepared to forget what I learnt and experience every move as new and fresh, I will not progress.” Gregor
Students’ quips:
“It is very simple when you know how – the difference with Yuan-Chi Tai-Chi is the knowing isn’t just mental knowledge, it is a physical and emotional knowledge that we gain by doing and feeling the moves, not just thinking about them or describing them in words.” Magda
“..when I am more receptive, I have the best experiences of strong vibrations (Shen Chi). More recently I have been having deep experiences of meditation, in particular with Push Hands Andrew
“I understand now what you mean, when you talked to me about real Tai Chi Chuan!” Stefanie
“I do think it is quite difficult for many people who are educated in a “western” system to adapt to what the “west” has sometimes called an “eastern” approach.” Brenda
“As a student if you judge the teacher then there is struggle as it comes in the way of the training.” Janaki
“As for my Southern Mantis Tong Long and Choy Li Fut Gung Fu, well, I have to say that I have taken a giant leap forward,” Master John
“Focusing on “U-Knee” is like discovering a whole new story.” Gregor
“The lessons are superficially easy, but there is always more to extract from them.” Jon
“..the dog attack only lasted a split second or two but definitely felt like 30 seconds of Tai Chi to me.” Master Michael
“..it is really reinforcing the correct alignment of my waist and entire spinal column” Cameron
“Idiosyncrasies reflect people’s ability, where they are up to in Tai Chi Chuan. In due course there’s a right way of doing it.” Amy
“My mind can’t grasp much but my body is having very new experiences -” Sally