Dan's Wujifa

Notes in the Raw #28

2011-05-27T22:36:00.001-07:00

Deeper theory explains the previous theory
- You can use connection to explain separation, but not the other way around.

Go for depth.

The Whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Notice what connects - I have a tendency to put too much energy in a specific issue, and not notice what's related. Notice The Patterns.

Optimal Force - Motion Analysis of Tai Chi

2011-05-11T11:17:00.001-07:00

In lieu of my regular "Notes in the Raw" format, I would really like to share a video clip I found on a friend's blog. His blog "Cook Ding's Kitchen" regularly collects some very interesting martial arts and cultural data from around the world. This particular selection is from an article of his entitled "Motion Research on Martial Arts".

Go Here and click the Video called "Student Project: Tai Chi"

What you're going to see is a kinematic analysis of Tai Chi master Chen Xiang demonstrating some very powerful strikes, along with some student hypotheses about what makes these strikes so effective. One cool thing is how the students are thinking about the underlying factors and making some guesses. Another cool thing is how much precision they discover in Chen Xiang's movement. And there are more cool things! So go check it out, and see what YOU like and what inspires you.

Notes in the Raw #27

2011-05-11T00:23:00.000-07:00

What are you choosing? Do you really want to choose that?
->intention

Choose - Forms an intention
->distractions may come up.

Notes in the Raw #26

2011-05-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

Notice mistakes, admit - learn and do something about it.

Notice the partly right and encourage it and notice the partly wrong and watch out for it.

Yin/yang, either/or won't get wujifa
-> find a "neutral" position to grow from

Notes in the Raw #25

2011-05-03T00:20:00.000-07:00

Fascial Stretches are the method to link things up
-> once things are connected, it feels like nothing
-> then, fascial stretches are all about intention

Standing your ground is part of what stance is about

I'm curious about how to relax my lower back to find that really cool fascial stretch with a relaxed belly and butt.

What does a pear taste like to me?
-> what does rice taste like? After you chew it for 5 minutes?

Notes in the Raw #24

2011-04-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

Truth for me right now, next step - Our right now truth of the next step

"I know" is like a brace...
"I don't know" - open curiosity - internal strength
->being in the moment
->response-ability

Notes in the Raw #23

2011-04-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

Connection - Wujifa is about connection
-Being connected and having an intention

Reconceptualize stance - Wujifa, not Yin/Yang
Understand the basic feeling of internal movement. Moving this way will "feel" different.

Doing stance, just go there, to the level, and refine the feeling.

Keywords - acceptance and connection
Growing the connection

Trust - you can't prepare for everything.

Wujifa Class Notes 4/17/11

2011-04-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

Couple of notes from an awesome class this Sunday...

1. Bringing my right side along - my right side feels "different" from my left side, so through some guidance, I let my left side MEET my right side where it was, and then let my right side lead and my left side follow, which allowed me to find a really cool balance I was not noticing before. Instead of trying to get the right side of my body to "catch up" I went back to meet it, and let both sides relax and expand together.

2. There is no path outside of the goal, the goal is the path. "working at" relax is not the way to practice relax. "Relax" is the way to practice relax. This is a difference, for me, in the flavor of my intention. I can still have a solid relaxation intention without so much "working at". Thanks for the reminder on that one!

"balance"... "relax"... get both, and structure shows up more too for me.

Notes in the Raw #22

2011-03-12T14:19:00.001-08:00

The Party Metaphor!

The whole body is a party - encourage and bring everyone (all of our body) together.

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(Additions and explanation)
Look at the whole body like a party. Maybe you have some folks on the dance floor. Others standing against the wall, sulking.... Maybe a few who are passed out drunk. Everyone is together, it's all a party, but not everyone is following the same intention.

Now, what about a party where everyone is happily joining in to a big conga line! Maybe if most people are conga-ing, and the wall flowers see how much fun is being had, and are given the right kind of invitation, they will join in too!

I tend to get serious with stance... very important work you know, coming into alignment. Sometimes it might be helpful for me to let my seriousness just hop into that conga line and "lighten up" a little bit.

Notes in the Raw #21

2011-02-28T20:29:00.000-08:00

Perceive, Process, Participate - Active

Activity/flow - life
anywhere that's not activity/flow - will notice more stuckness/ dead post or resistance to participate

NO can be the start of a process... yes to your no's... activity.

Notes in the Raw #20

2011-02-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

If your intention is all over the place, there may be a different intention you are not noticing.

Quickest way to go to dead stance:
-Go blank
-Resist Future, Hold on strong to past.
-Searching for data is past/present/future
-Isn't that interesting? (more alive)

Notes in the Raw #19

2011-02-16T19:35:00.000-08:00

It's not wrong, it's the way you're discovering it.
- must keep principles and understand the idea of medicine

Method is not the truth. Once you get the feeling, get rid of the method.

Want the person to get the principle first.
- understand the principle of the medicine

Notes in the Raw #18

2011-02-14T20:38:00.000-08:00

When people start w/ outside or inside path - it sets up polarity, but middle path jumps out of polarity and goes into connection with unity.

***I'm going to depart from my "RAW" format for a minute to talk about resolution of paradox, and what this post means, including some other Wujifa philosophy for clarity.

When we talk about "middle" we don't mean middle in terms halfway between this and that. As far as you zoom in towards that middle, you're always going to have half be "this" and half be "that".

We're talking about the resolution of the paradox. The third thing.

Einstein said that no problem could be resolved from the state of mind that created it. In essence, this means that the paradox can't be resolved by finding the right "blend" on the slider.

Yin/Yang, Wuji. Wuji is not a point between Yin and Yang, but something outside of yin and yang. It's not a 50/50 blend. It's something completely different. To put it in physical terms, it's not "tilt the pelvis back" or "tilt the pelvis forward"... you could get stuck on that forever. It's not a tilting it just right and then holding it in that position. The solution is "Drop". You can (I can [and have]) get stuck on fiddling around with a slider, when in fact, the solution is the third thing - jumping outside of the slider in a way that accomplishes what you've been looking for all along.

Notes in the Raw #17

2011-02-08T00:10:00.000-08:00

It's okay, that it's not okay, that it's not okay.
-----3 levels down, the okay is there.

Ask myself "is it okay?"
Telling myself it's okay doesn't work.
Joy in noticing myself a little more deeply.

Notes in the Raw #16

2011-02-07T09:48:00.000-08:00

Freedom is the reality. All there is to do is realize it. You can choose, I can choose.

Good and Bad - judgments based on positionality.

----

Feeling changes - getting stuck on a feeling limits practice - gets stuck in the past instead of noticing what is developing.

Notes in the Raw #15

2011-01-31T20:32:00.000-08:00

The only reality is what you can do. Don't worry about what you can't, because that's not real.

Where you are is the only starting point.

Notes in the Raw #14

2011-01-30T18:34:00.001-08:00

You're okay just the way you are.

I love you.

Notes in the Raw #13

2011-01-30T18:27:00.000-08:00

Temptation in practice:

Being human in itself leads to attachment
Striving Leads to more attachment
we can notice when we get "hooked" and even how, and by doing that we can lessen the pull of these hooks.
Striving to do and doing are different.
Live turns into a zen/buddhist practice.
Happiness "can't" be maintained for an indefinite period of time.
Move into Wuji instead of getting caught in the 10,000 things.

A story about intention, part 2

2011-01-29T17:40:00.000-08:00

The exciting conclusion of the story about intention! View the first part here!

The reality that I'm never going to find this key starts to sink in. I can't even reliably find the two spots I sat down. Yeah, I panic a little bit at this point, but breathe it off, and start looking for solutions. My mind is open, combing the sands for something that will afford me the necessary stiffness. A little piece of bamboo catches my eye, and a pen. Maybe I can put them around the wire somehow, and keep it from bending. I pick them up and take them with me.

I find another item on the ground. It's some kind of black tube, slightly flexible, and about two feet in length. At this time, I believe this is going to be Key Item #2. I immediately put it around my coat hanger, which now has a bit of bamboo on the end with a pen sticking out of it, and head back, picking up a couple more thin sticks to put in the tube next to the coat hanger, for additional reinforcement. I also find a spoon, which I put in my pocket. Just a regular old spoon. Unbeknownst to me, this was to be Key Item #3.

I'm back at my car, just fiddling with this stick/tube/pen/coat hanger contraption I made. It just about reaches the button, and does with a little bit of extra wiggling. I notice it depresses slightly. A glimmer of hope. I keep going at this for quite some time, but it's just not quite doing it, the bamboo keeps sliding off the button, and my hand keeps getting caught under the sun roof protector. At this point, I think if I can modify the bamboo somehow, It will become a better pusher. I remove the whole thing from this 5/8" gap I've left open in the sunroof, and take a look at it. I push it against the ground to test its strength, and it snaps. This is a low point. This plan is just not going to work.

I fix up the stick with the pen, but it's not as stable as it was before. Once I get it in the car, it's not the right length or angle, and it's just not happening. Frequent breathing breaks are becoming necessary. Just take a breath, and calm down.

I think that maybe if I get the sunroof visor thing off, life will be easier. The only thing is, it's got a phillips head screw on it, and palm tree pieces don't make very good screwdrivers. There are also finger tighteners on the underside, but I can't get a grip on them because of the small space. I try using the spoon. A spoon is a crappy approximation of a phillips head screwdriver. This takes enormous patience and concentration. This is something I should have been mentioning. Everything is taking enormous patience and concentration. I have to use extreme care not to drop my tools into the car, where they would be inaccessible, and the smallest movement on the end of my coat hanger really makes a big difference at the business end. After some serious spoon work, the visor is removed. Yes.

It is way easier to get the coat hanger contraption in through the gap. Which is something I'm extremely happy about. However, pushing is just not going to work. There is no way to put enough force on this curved thing to get the door to open. Bummer.

Then it hits me. My keys are in the glove box. If I can just get it open by pulling the little lever, I can fish out my keys, and be in the good. So I take out my contraption, use the spoon to put a little bend in the end, and shimmy it back in. The bend isn't quite right. Fish out... adjust, fish in... still not right, more adjustments. Then... Sweet success! The angle is just right, and it pops open, exposing the keys! My wallet is to the right of them, and my iPod cord is behind them, sticking up slightly.

My wallet, which is precariously half and half in and out of the glove box, topples out easily when I push it. Good, more room to get around the keys. Hooking the iPod cord, I jiggle it slightly, which moves the keys into grabbing range. Right on the edge.

It's moment of truth time... so close. I remove my tool. I need to be sure that the hook, once on the keys, will not let them go. I put a good bend in it, and sink it back into the car. It's like brain surgery. With a little skillful manipulation, they're hooked, and slowly, I draw them out up to the sunroof, and yank them free with my hands.

Oh, I let out such a victory yell, that lady on the balcony must have dropped her poodles. I was in! I stood there for for a couple minutes with this huge grin on my face, just locking and unlocking the door. Three and a half hours, numerous setbacks, and some decent sunburn later, and I was in.

This is it... This weird looking this was the product of a strong intention, a refusal to get stuck, a flexible mindset, and what we call "Going to McDonalds". I had arrived, and the burgers were sweet.

Afterword:
Going to McDonalds... I mentioned that there were numerous "setbacks" along my way. These all happened when it became apparent that a plan I had just wasn't going to work. Setback may be the wrong word though, because I was always going forwards. Learning. These setbacks were all guiding me to "the right plan" The one that eventually accomplished my intention. Like we say in Wujifa, the roadblocks just show you which way to go.

A story about intention, part 1

2011-01-29T16:23:00.000-08:00

In Wujifa, we talk a lot about cultivating intention. I had an interesting day today, and after the situation I was in passed, I felt that my practice in Wujifa was something that probably contributed greatly to the way things all went down.

It all started this morning when I went for a walk down at the beach. I left my house at about 9:30, trying to get out and see if I could find some cool crab shells and whatnot. When I got down to my favorite spot, I took my wallet and keys out from my pockets, and put them in the glove compartment. I had left my phone at home - I wasn't expecting any calls. I grabbed my spare key (Which is a $2.50 deal I got made up at the "Dock Shop" so that I wouldn't risk losing my real keys at the beach) put it in my pocket, and head out.

It was a great morning, I found some cool crab shells, a big mussel shell, and part of what I believe to be a skull. I went and put them in my car to free up my hands, locked the door up, and head back to the beach. At that point it was about 11 probably.

This time I was just walking and soaking in the sights, and I had made it a mile or so down the beach when I decided to turn around. I found a couple spots and laid down in the sand to watch the waves, because at the point I was doing this, it was probably about noon and I had been out for a couple hours already.

Now, about half way back to my car, I check my pocket. No key. Hmmm... I check my other side pocket... no key. Check all the pockets, and the news doesn't get any better. I'm officially locked out.

Crap... at this point, I'm reasonably calm. Back in Albuquerque I had locked my keys in my car when I was stressing about phone situation, hence the spare key for security's sake. At that point, I had to call up a locksmith, and it was about $60 for him to put this little pressure cuff thing in the door, inflate it, and then fish around for the unlock button with this pole until he got it to open. I was not going to blow another $60, especially since that money was earmarked for food, and even though I have a job now, it will be a week until I get paid. I could not afford another locksmith.

So what I did was I went along, gathering up: A- a wedge like item to try and get some space in the door, and B- a stick like item to push at the lock button. When I got back to my car I had 2 sticks, half a frisbee, a comb, a plastic monkey, a bit of rope, and an abandoned child's tank top shirt. My plan was to wedge the comb in the door, get the frisbee in there, stuff the shirt in to open the gap, and then hit the button with the stick. I don't know why I picked up the monkey... I just liked him.

Here's what I learned.... wedging open a door, though it looks easy when done with a pressure cuff, is not. Not at all. I'm happy to learn my car is so hard to break into, since there was no way I was going to force the door open even a sliver with the tools I could muster. Damn.

Well, I still had the long stick, and out of good fortune, my sunroof was open a bit under three quarters of an inch. First off, let me mention that there is a big old plastic overhang to prevent stuff from going in the sun roof, and to make it more aerodynamic. Now, the "stuff" that this thing was preventing from going in was my hands (in any comfortable way). I can just barely fit them under this thing, and even then, because of the small gap, only my fingers can fit in, up to my hand. It was not working with this stick either. There was no way to get it to touch the unlock button without the ability to warp space. Not going to happen.

This surfer dude sees me and says "Locked yourself out, huh? You oughta get a coat hanger and get that in there, so you could manipulate it a little more, maybe ask that lady on the balcony up there... she might have one"

Good advice from the surfer dude, but the lady on the balcony is deep in a phone conversation, and I feel uncomfortable going up to a beach house and knocking on the door. My assumption is that rich people live there, and probably don't want to be bothered. I guess if I lived in a beach house, I would look for a hanger for some dude who needed it though. Anyway, I end up going up to this plumber who has his truck open on the side of the road. He's got this awesome pipe wrench, which is about a head taller than the young kid who's standing next to him.

"Hey" I said, "You wouldn't happen to have a coat hanger, would you?"

"Well, actually I do... locked yourself out of your car, huh?"

I am amazed this guy has a coat hanger. This is a craftman's truck, and I'm asking him for closet supplies. I thank him, and head back to my car. This coat hanger turns out to be Key Item #1.

Now I'm armed and dangerous. I can bend this thing to the point where it will reach the button, but barely. I got the end of this thing in the tips of my fingers, not wanting to drop it in, because then I figured I would really be sunk. After a half hour or so of Jimmying this thing around, I get it where I need it, and set it on the button, and move it over to push it, and it just bends like crazy... not nearly enough force gets to the button to effect a change in the lockedness of the door. Poop. Also, this sunroof guard thing is really getting in my way, and adding another element of challenge to the whole ordeal.

I got this hanger, but it's no good. The bendiness allows me to reach the button, but that same bendiness is what does not allow me to push said button. I even try wrapping some roots around it for stability... nope, not happening. After another half hour, I head back out to the beach... maybe I can find the two spots I laid down, and dig around until I locate the key. I take my coat hanger with... because at this point, it's basically "the precious" and without it, I feel I would be totally lost...

Stay posted for Part Deux!

Notes in the Raw #12

2011-01-27T17:44:00.000-08:00

Whenever I get really confused, just look back to nature.

The method is not the truth, once you get the feeling, get rid of the method.

Sleep - get connections before going to bed, see what happens to them by morning.

Pay attention to fascial connections

What is reasonable to expect from other people?

Noticing is the fuel to change.

Loosen up a bit before stance.

Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance

2011-01-26T13:58:00.000-08:00

Taking a break from my "Notes in the Raw" to give a Really Cool Quote from a book I'm reading...

"Of the value traps, the most widespread an pernicious is value rigidity. This is an ability to revalue what one sees because of commitment to previous values. In motorcycle maintenance, you must rediscover what you do as you go. Right values makes that impossible.

What you have to do, if you get caught in this gumption trap of value rigidity, is slow down – you’re going to have to slow down anyway whether you want to or not – but slow down deliberately and go over ground that you have been over before to see if the things you thought were important were really important and to... well... just stare at the machine. There’s nothing wrong with that. Just live with it for a while. Watch it the way you watch a line when fishing and before long, as sure as you live, you’ll get a little nibble, a little fact asking in a timid, humble way if you’re interested in it. That’s the way the world keeps on happening. Be interested in it."

Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance, p.399/400

Notes in the Raw #11

2011-01-25T16:10:00.000-08:00

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How questions

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Notes in the Raw #10

2011-01-24T22:22:00.000-08:00

Honesty - Radical Honesty. Honest about what I'm attached to/ why (maybe includes armors, I'm attached to them)

Discipline - Building Discipline every day on simple stuff (breathing, eating, standing, sitting, whatever) will give me the tools I need in the future.

use of Pressure - Pressure can create growth, but too much pressure can kill. Like a tomato plant being watered only when it begins to wilt grows a solid root system which can tolerate drought (lack of water being the pressure). A tomato plant given tons of water will have a poorly developed root system, drought will kill it. A tomato plant with a good root system will survive the drought and be stronger for it. If your eyes are not ready to see the light, it will blind you, if your ears are not ready to hear the thunder, you will go deaf.

Notes in the Raw #9

2011-01-23T09:08:00.000-08:00

Haha, how perfect. Just hit the page of my notes on breathing.

BREATHING
Long, Quiet, Slow, Slender, Deep
1 minute inhale, 1 minute exhale
80% lung capacity
Exhale is most important
Will not be comfortable
Easy, don't push
Don't let air in/out too quick

Heart is a metronome for breath (In 4, out 4. 6 or 8)
Static Rythmic breathing (In 4, hold 2, out 4, hold 2)

Let breaths ease out
Feeling at end of exhale, go into it a little bit, little bit.

Notes in the Raw #8

2011-01-22T12:03:00.000-08:00

One part moves all parts move leads to "community" if you're not common, can't be part of the community. Practice Commonality.

Be ordinary / connected so that when you change, the world changes with you. One part moves, all parts move.

Facing boredom is one of the toughest problems to go through and a critical step in becoming great.

Notes in the Raw #7

2011-01-21T17:45:00.000-08:00

Intention- HOW we do things is important

The method is not the truth, once you get the feeling, get rid of the method.

Feeling is the ultimate goal. Be organic, not mechanical in feeling. That is not to say that sometimes you won't want to go back to mechanical practice to "fix" things, but these practices are medicinal, and medicine should be taken no longer than necessary. Really Sense. Really Feel.

Feel.

Feeling is like a wine, as it ages the flavor/ texture gets richer. Richness you get out is related to what you put in.

Be organically purposeful. Be doing what you're doing.

Notes in the Raw #6

2011-01-20T19:25:00.000-08:00

QiGong - Study of Energy
If we don't understand what things are, we tend to mystify them.

Western Terms of why exercises are good:
-Emotional/mental
-Physical
-Spiritual

Follow Physical Laws in Energy

Notes in the Raw #5

2011-01-19T10:41:00.000-08:00

It's not so important where things are from as what you do with them.

Look at purpose. But look at purpose of purpose. Go to the big picture. Look at primary purpose.

See your weakness as a big opportunity. A great chance to improve!

Notes in the Raw #4

2011-01-18T16:55:00.000-08:00

There is no wrong, only partly right

Function always precedes purpose

Tension and Pressure are not the same, but they may feel the same to the beginner.

Figure out what's important... and apply yourself.

Notes in the Raw #3

2011-01-17T17:01:00.000-08:00

I have so many pages of notes, I'm gonna keep this coming just about daily... Here's a fresh set...

Wuji - The mother:
In the beginning there was the nameless Dao, which cannot be talked about since the Dao that can be talked about is not the Dao. From there, everything became grey and unnamed. This was the mother, Wuji, of all things. From this was born yin and yang, black and white, male and female.

Before enlightenment, chop wood carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood carry water, but it is completely different.

Notes in the Raw #2

2011-01-16T19:42:00.000-08:00

Here are some important quotes from Listen Little Man by Wilhelm Reich

"Recognize the smallness and narrowness of thoughts and actions" and how that endangers happiness p. 7

Lost all feeling for the best that is in you, stifled it...small and want to stay small p.23

p 18 "Knowing yet naive; trusting yet cautious; streaming with love and kindness, and yet able to hit hard; gentle and yet strong, just as the child of the future is"

p 22 "Does a flower live "as if" it were a flower, or a deer "as if" it were a deer? Does a flower or deer proclaim itself as a flower or deer? They are what they are. They live it. They function it."

Journal philosophy #1

2011-01-12T15:57:00.000-08:00

Hello! Inspired by some of my school brothers, I will share notes from my journals, starting at the beginning. They will be no-frills, and without commentary.

Levels of Combat
1. Killing Everyone
2. Fighting the Men
3. Hostages
4. Getting what you want without them ever knowing

Levels of Teaching
1. Form - Hands here, feet there. This/that relaxed
2. Technique - springs/visualization
3. Principle - Fascia all moving, body as one
4. Philosophy - One part moves, all parts move / isn't that interesting

Mysticism part 3: Resonsibility in training.

2010-12-13T08:32:00.000-08:00

It is so cool to see the discussion that has sprung up around the first two articles in this series: part one, and part two.

Basically, a lot of it has come down responsibility. Or, as we say in the School of Cultivation and Practice "Response-ability", the ability to respond or act in a situation. The question is "Where am I putting the responsibility?" The main worry that has be posed by many of my school brothers is that mysticism puts the responsibility "out there" and on "something bigger", instead of placing the focus on the individual.

I really learned some things in doing these posts. For one, words have baggage. A word is just a symbol representing a concept, and part of how we understand language is the assumptions we all make about those representation. If I want to use the words in a different way, there's gonna be a lot of work involved in bringing people along with me. For example, words like "religion" and "mysticism" might as well be the cargo hold of a 747 for all the baggage they have on them. I got seriously frustrated by what I saw as an essential misunderstanding of "my" use of these words as I was attempting to define them, but really, next time I will expect it.

This goes back to the idea of responsibility. My definition of religious mysticism, as a process, is the process of connecting with a direct experience and awareness of reality. This process, in my experience, is connected with a sense of wonder at the amazingness of everything, from every steel train bridge to the bum taking a dump in the street to the sun shining down through lake Michigan as a float in it. Inherent in this definition is one's personal responsibility. We have a saying in Wujifa "you are where you are, and that's where you start". We also value what is practical and direct, as well as concepts. In fact, without the practical and direct, concepts are just shadows, and they are separated from direct experience.

It's real, and it's direct, and it's practical. I could say I'm having a mystical experience of my laptop right now, as I am connecting with it through my fingertips and I am experiencing this connection. As I notice how beautiful and amazing it is to be able to communicate with friends who may be in different parts of the country in this way, I am filled with joy. As I allow myself to notice more about it, I am filled with a sense of wonder. It runs on electricity that comes through a little cord from a plug in my wall which comes through the power lines, originating in a power plant somewhere which runs on oil, most likely. This bad boy runs on dinosaurs. Tell me that's not cool.

Monks meditate, mother Teresa serves the poor, and the Dalai Lama works out international relations. Very practically, they actively apply their beliefs. It is these actions that bring their beliefs into the real world.

Mysticism and Imagination (continued)

2010-12-01T11:33:00.001-08:00

After discussing my last blog post with my school brothers, I realized how many ideas of mine (and others) were in there, and how little personal experience it contained. In order to supplement my last post, I will elaborate here on how I came to some of those ideas, and the experiences which have led me to an appreciation of what might be called "mystical" experience.

Much of my upbringing was Catholic. When I was young, I went to church every Sunday. Surely, some good advice was shared in the sermons, but I never really had an "experience" of something more than myself (other than the community, and even that felt disconnected). I fell out of this practice, and began searching for a personal connection with "something more".

Meditation was the next step for me. From where I started, this practice narrowed my focus and tended to remove me from context. As such, I ended up delving deeply into subjectivity, and lost track of how I fit in, but gained some interesting insights into my personal responsibility for my thoughts and feelings, meaning that I could have some choice in this area.

So right now, I'm experiencing more of the "re-connective mysticism" I talked about in the previous article. What happens is, when I do my practices in the woods or in nature (I'm sure these experiences aren't contingent upon the setting... that's just where it happens for me now) sometimes I have a wonderful feeling of belonging, and my thoughts focus on my relations to everything around me. There is also often an accompanying sense of beauty and wonder. For example, noticing myself standing in relation to a tree, or trees, or blades of grass, and feeling like I have a place along side of, and in connection with, those things as part of the grand scheme of life. It feels like a connection with truth in some way, and an appreciation of "things as they are". I got this feeling walking down the street one day, and I saw a street sign and thought about all that went into it... the miners who harvested the metal, the refiners, the people at the sign factory, the installers... and I appreciated how that sign was not just an object, but the result of work and humanity and cooperation. Occasionally, I've even thought the silliness of calling anything that exists "unnatural". Even a car came about by processes of nature. Nature created people, people created cars, ipso facto - nature made cars.

Anyway, there may be more thoughts and experiences on the way about this, as it really is such a rich and important topic to me.

I also am really curious about other peoples' experiences of "something more", and I would love if you would share yours in the comments. Thanks so much!

On Imagination and Mystical Experience

2010-11-27T05:54:00.000-08:00

Image via WikipediaA great friend from the School of Cultivation and Practice just wrote an excellent article about Internal Gong Fu Paradigms. In it, he elucidated wonderfully (in my opinion) the different paradigms that underlie various internal gong fu practices, covering everything from Chi to Mechanism to Functional thinking.

In this article, two paradigms are discussed about which I have a certain fondness: these being the imagination paradigm (which he calls the fantasy paradigm) and the mystical paradigm.

Now, before going into what I believe to be the merits of these two kinds of experience, I will discuss what I believe to be the groundwork of a workable paradigm, which is an orientation to reality. In my practice of Wujifa, Functional thinking has been upheld as a philosophical cornerstone. In the Internal Gong Fu Paradigms blog, it is explained this way:

Functional paradigm: Looks to generalize principles
found in natural, scientific and various other processes.
Not based on rules or methods.

I will reiterate for emphasis: to generalize principles. In my view, this means to discover connections. Originally, the concept of functional thinking comes from the work of Wilhelm Reich, who used it as a way of understanding basic underlying patterns and principles of nature.
Reich broke down functional thinking into four main principles ( From Wilhelm Reich Selected Writings: An Introduction to Orgonomy p. 218)

1. Every living organism is a functional unit; it is not merely a mechanical sum total of organs. The basic biological function governs every individual organ as it governs the total organism.

2. Every living organism is part of surrounding nature and is functionally identical with it.
3. Every perception is based on the consonance of a function within the organism with a function in the outer world; that is, it is based on vegetative harmony.
4. Every form of self-perception is the immediate expression of objective processes in the organism (psychophysical identity).

The basic idea is that instead of pure subjectivity or objectivity, we acknowledge that these two things form a functional unity. Mechanism and Mysticism, under Reich's defintion, split this unity and give emphasis to either pure subjectivity (in mysticism) or pure objectivity (as in mechanism). However, since these two things are infact interrelated, any splitting of one from the other results in a deviation from realistic perception of things as they are.

Therefor, the principle of connection as discussed in Wujifa is at play here, in realizing that our experience comes from a functional unity of internal and external factors.

Now, back to imagination and what might be called "mystical" or "religious" experience. (as an interesting sidebar, the word "religion" comes from the prefix "re" and the root "legare" which means to connect, so religion means reconnection). Mysticism, as defined in Wikipedia"is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight"

Continuing on the discussion we began, I find great value in this kind of mysticism, which is to say, a mysticism which is based in direct experience. This kind of mysticism, to my reckoning, does not break the principle of functional thinking, since it is, at its core, a reconnection and not a disconnection from reality. (not to say that disconnection from certain things is not useful or functional, I can see how exploring disconnection would teach us some interesting things about our perception and experience as well.) However, in the reconnective form of mysticism I aim to discuss here, experience recognizes the unity of subject and object, and is therefor highly functional under Reich's definition.

So what do I mean by religious mysticism? As I said before, it is philosophy of mysticism that is based on experience of connection. Connection to what though? In Wujifa, we would say "yes"... connection to what. Beginning from "you are where you are and that's where you start" it's always looking for those connections. Maybe right now it's connection to your lower back, or connection to the environment around you. Maybe later on there are other cool connections that start to show up.

The tricky part is what the Internal Gong Fu Paradigms blog was talking about in terms of "often getting lost and failing to develop validate-able skills". What exactly does this mean specifically... well, I can imagine that roots are going out of my feet into the ground, but that doesn't necessarily mean I am developing internal strength or "rootedness" in terms of something that can actually effect my way of being in the world in any way.

In Wujifa we have a saying, "The method is not the truth, once you get the feeling, get rid of the method" (this is discussed a bit in the blog Wujifa: Mental and Physical Means for Discovery and Growth) What this means is that methods are not "bad" they are inherently useful as ways of discovering more of what we're looking for (Relax, Balance, Structure : Ease, Equilibrium, Connection : Power, Poise, Unity) [from Wujifa Triangles] as long as they lead us to greater feeling, understanding, and awareness of our principles.

So then, what is the difference between Imagination which is a useful method in Wujifa and that which is not? My hunch is that Imagination as a useful method leads to a physical/emotional shift. For example, maybe imagining roots coming down into the ground is a good way to "suggest" a certain kind of connection with ones feet and legs, or a sinking. At any rate, my guess would be that a useful imagination as a method would lead to a change in actual experience of oneself. To keep things functional, if one part (imagination) moves, all parts (physical, mental, emotional) should show a corresponding variation.

The problem, I believe, is the separation between head and body which Internal Gong Fu Paradigms discussed under the heading of Mechanistic thinking, and which was put in the category of Euro-American paradigms. It is, unfortunately, part of our culture that separates ideas from experience. Perhaps in a more connected place, ideas and experience would be more integrated, and imagination would be connected with a shift in experience as described above. Again: Connection, Connection, Connection. Always connection.

Please take all these ideas with a grain of salt. They are my experiences, and yours may be different. However, I am glad to share them, because I have found them very helpful and useful. Also, these ideas are in progress, which is to say they are in a process of development. As I keep exploring them, I will add more posts here to the blog.

Thanks!

Developing "Down" force - Wujifa Methods

2010-10-19T06:22:00.000-07:00

Ho... I have been sitting on this post for a while. It's time to talk about some really cool exercises for developing down force (and internal strength in general) in a flexible way.

picture standing with arms relaxed on suspended bag

What you see in the first picture here is me with my hands on a punching bag which is hanging from a bungee cord. Notice that the posture is very similar to basic standing posture as we practice it in Wujifa. The difference here is that my arms are supported by the springiness of the setup we have going. What we were doing was keeping the arms relaxed in this position, and then "sitting down" more to accomplish a pulling down of the punching bag while maintaining this relaxation through the arms.

picture after "sitting down"

Notice that the bungee cord has become more stretched, which has been accomplished through a sinking of the body. Pay special attention to how the hip area moves here.

So in the video here, you see how my arms are staying relaxed, allowing the bag to bounce when pushed by my school brother as I sink my body, pulling the bag downward. Now, the upper part of my body is still fairly still here, optimally, the sinking movement would be evident everywhere. As we say in Wujifa, you are where you are and that's where you start, and methods are employed based on where the student is to serve as a bridge to "something more".

Continuing to look at this critically, you can also see how I'm using a lot of leaning with my body, and how at times it appears that if the ball were to disappear, I would fall over. You can also see where some good movement through my hips is showing up, and how at times the movement starts to look a little more connected throughout. A senior school brother also pointed out that I'm doing something weird with my lower back, but I'm not noticing that in the video... maybe a bit of a blind spot for me.

We always talk about how important the "feeling" is. For me, it was cool just realizing how relaxed my arms could be while still effecting a downward movement upon the bag. Cool stuff, and I can't wait to keep exploring how relax fits in to internal strength. Actually, a school brother of mine has been putting a lot of good posts on feeling and relax up on Internal Gong Fu, which are totally worth checking out if you haven't already.

I'll leave the post with this question from my practice:
Practicing Wujifa Dancing today - (Internal martial power probably generates a different kinesthetic feedback for a "strong" push... how can I find the new feedback for "strength" so that I can use it to guide my practice?)

Sunday Class Report

2010-10-11T05:47:00.000-07:00

This Sunday was a pretty cool day of class. We started off doing a bit of side to side. My question had to do with some new feelings I was getting in my inguinal creases where instead of feeling like I was pulling something apart, it was more of an opening feeling. One of the senior school brothers pointed out something about how I was using focus, how I was really focusing into one area. The movement looked pretty stiff to him, but when I slackened up on the specific focus to talk to another of my senior brothers, he noticed that things started to flow a little more.

Isn't that interesting. Distortion, Deletion and Generalization are the three things are brains are capable of, says NLP. Senior Brother #1 said that I was using Distortion in the way I was focusing so heavily on the inguinal crease. My focus had warped the experience of the exercise like a fun-house mirror warps a reflection, then I added, I was deleting out much of the rest of the sensory information coming in from my body to focus intently on the creases. What is the bigger question? He asked, and I replied that it was to find more connected full body movement.

I was losing the bigger question when I focused down so specifically, but by playing with the specific focus within the bigger intention, (always keeping the bigger intention in mind) I still got to explore the creases intensely, but also allowed myself to notice other connections throughout my body (how my chest was contributing to the inguinal crease) and looking more from a one-part-moves-all-parts-move perspective.

Allowing was something I asked a question about later in the class, and feeling like I was forcing things in my life and in my practice. After a bit of psychological stuff, I noticed that my conception of being an adult had a lot to do with being in control. Being an adult means being in control of everything all of the time. Really? Well, that's a thought that's in my head. We have a saying that is "you are where you are and that's where you start". There was also this word "begrudgingly" that came up in our discussion of allowing vs. control, and how I "begrudgingly" accept things, which is different from just accepting. Begrudging has more judgment to it.

On further exploration, begrudging is like the parent that looks at the angry or crying child from across the room with folded arms shaking her head, and accepting is like the parent that goes over to the child and is with them and hugs them because angry or sad or whatever, it's okay.

In stance today, I worked with that kind of a feeling, the "it's okay" of a mother holding a child. It was a very different feeling than trying to get everything in the right place. Maybe my stance didn't look as pretty, but the FEELING that was there during stance has lasted up until now, along with a feeling of more ease, and more equilibrium, more connection. The middle triangle really likes acceptance and it's okay, I notice.

Last part of class had to do with some dancing practice. We tied up some sticks to the ceiling of the back porch, rested our hands on them and did a little Wujifa dancing practice. Letting my arms rest into the sticks and letting the resting connect down to the rest of my body gave me a really cool hint into down force, and when I danced with that feeling without the sticks, my ESB (Elder School Brother) noticed that it was looking pretty good. Also working with some more twisting of the spine while dancing.

Emotional Biproducts

2010-05-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

In my last post, "Wujifa Bi-products: Single Leg Squats and the Zero Inch Punch", I discussed the idea that the physical Bi-products which people are seeking from martial arts develop out of a diligent practice in the basics of a system. In the process of working on the fundamentals, we discover the "flashy skills" without looking for them specifically, and they show up when the time is right, and are nourished by our deepening understandings of the root of our practice.
So often, people are looking for happiness, but perhaps happiness, like internal strength, is a bi-product. Henry David Thoreau said, "Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder." But what are these other things we are to turn our attention to? What is the root of practice that leads to happiness showing up on its own? I'm beginning to think it has something to do with the practice of authenticity.

I've noticed that I can calibrate the degree of authenticity I am embodying by a certain feeling of rightness. Occasionally, this rightness feels like happiness - when conditions are right. Often the feeling of rightness will accompany fear, sadness, or anger as well, and gives it a certain joy all its own. There's a liveliness and Life that accompany this process. Here's another quote I read by Camus that really speaks to me on the subject of this kind of happiness. He asks, "But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?"

Friends, how much harmony is there between you and your lives? How much liveliness can you let yourself experience day to day? I believe the practice is in listening to your heart, and the guidance you receive is a feeling of rightness. Not rightness as in justification, not in an "I'm RIGHT and you're WRONG" kind of way, but in a way in which your whole being opens up and greets the day. The feeling of rightness happens when regardless of circumstances, you allow your actions to be in harmony with who you are. Not who you KNOW you are, but who you are discovering yourself to be in the moment.

Speaking of living your life, the beautiful photo is by my friend Carol Wingert of iPhotographGod. She and her husband 20/20 aka Mr. Nature are out there living every day. Thanks for the inspiration, guys!

Wujifa Bi-products: Single Leg Squats and the Zero Inch Punch

2010-04-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday at class, we were having some fun with Wujifa, and exploring some of the biproducts of training. Now, in our school we really focus on the Roots of the system, and when the flowers and fruits show up we simply appreciate them and move on.

We have a little story in Wujifa called "Driving to Disneyland". Following any intention is like following the intention to drive down to Disneyland. What's important is staying on the road. Biproducts that come up are like the signs on the road. When you see the signs that say "658 miles to Disneyland" or "256 miles to Disneyland", you may get excited, but you don't stop and set up camp around the sign and have your vacation there. You keep on driving.

One of the biproducts which we notice is increased balance, structure, and physical strength. One place where this is evident is in one-legged squats.

Again, this is just kind of a fun way to see some of the balance and structure that can be developed by practicing Wujifa.

Another Fun thing we play around with is the "zero inch punch", which is simply what it sounds like. It's a way of using your body to generate power over very short distances. I am by no means a pro at this one. In fact, I got so nervous in front of a camera thinking people were going to see it that I got the shakes. After I calmed down a little bit, we made this video:

Some of the punches are pretty decent, but there's a lot of work for me left to do too. I'm really excited about continuing to train and developing some real skill, which I will accomplish by really developing the roots of my practice.

It's cool, I watched the movie "The Drunken Master" the other day, and "So Hi", Jacky Chan's master, had him really focus on doing the basic exercises of the style for a long time before he got to anything that looked like "kung fu". Then, when he finally had to fight, he was amazing! The lesson is that focus on the basics is very important, and builds the foundation for real skill. Truly one of our beliefs in Wujifa!

Ma$ter

2010-03-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

We live in a country where the word "Master" has a lot of selling power. You have people calling themselves Reiki "Ma$ters", Qigong "Ma$ters", all kinds of martial arts "Ma$ters". What does this word really mean? Can anyone truly call his or herself a "master" and be truthful about it?

The Mistake of Mastery
I believe we Americans have a cultural obsession with being "good" at things. I know I have had this for a long time. In the past, I have gotten a lot of my feeling of self-worth from how "good" I was at one thing or another. This is something that starts early: "Oh, you're such a good pooper!" Is something that all children hear. We learn that we get love when other people see that we're accomplishing something to their standards. Later, we adopt these standards for our own, and feel good when we are living up to them.This is why Narcissism is so rampant in our society. Narcissus fell in love with his image, and that's what killed him. He stared into that pool for his whole life, and never was able to really move and be alive. Our culture is obsessed with images in much the same way. We have our models, ideal image of beauty, We have the image of what it means to be successful, all kinds of images that people strive for. Unfortunately, this tends to leak over into areas where it is not appropriate.

What happens when you, deep down, NEED to be good at something that, by definition, you can never be good at? We have a saying in Wujifa "There is no end to feeling, understanding, and being aware." The Buddhists talk about "Beginner's Mind." Both of these are warnings about putting stock in achievement. Both of these statements suggest that there is always more to learn, and that "mastery" is a concept that may not hold a lot of water.

We tend to hold up achievement as a guiding light. The formula goes like this: study, achievement, retirement. Once you say "I'm good at this" (achievement) there is a danger of ceasing to be curious about it, to explore it, and to realize that what one understands is merely only a certain level of awareness.

What it means to be a Master
When someone says "I'm a master at this or that" it is meaningless. Since there is no end to feeling, understanding, and being aware, there is no point at which it's beneficial to say "I've got this! I understand this!" because it's always just a point in development, never an ending.

For me, each person is a master. We are masters of our own destiny, and we can choose how we will live our lives. A master is not someone who has reached a certain level of skill, or of understanding. A master is not someone who takes a weekend class and pays $400. I believe a master is a person who has put time into something, who maintains their fascination with that thing, and who always sees how far they still have to go down the path. I don't believe this kind of person would ever say "I have mastered my skill!" But they may look at someone who is learning and say "I remember when I was there too, let me help you a little further down the road."

Motivation

2010-02-23T05:47:00.000-08:00

Image by EricMagnuson via Flickr

Lately, I've been examining motivation, since I need a lot of it to get to the next level of my Wujifa practice. Motivation is like the gas that makes the car go, or the hunger that drives the cat (or fox) on to catch the mouse.

I used to think that the process itself was the motivation for me... for a while, this was working pretty well, but lately processes are not giving me the juice they once did. This left me in a very confused state for a while, wondering "why isn't this working anymore?". Well, now I've noticed that I'm changing and a new motivational strategy is emerging for me.

It's about results. It's not doing the laundry that motivates me, it's the clean socks. It's not the doing the stance that motivates me, it's the ease and power I am developing. It's not the process that holds the juice for me, it's the results. I am glad I went through a stage of really focusing on process because now I can appreciate whatever process I'm involved with WHILE I'm going for my goal or vision.

It's something we talk about in class a lot... "purpose" or "intention". At one point in my training I was pretty confused about what these two things meant... more specifically my ideas about these concepts were on a different "chunk size" as my capability for action. I was kind of a "head in the clouds" kind of guy. Now I'm beginning to connect concepts and action in a different way. Now, for me purpose is a more practical thing. For example, to have the money to do the psychology and martial arts training I want to do.

The really cool thing is - when I get the right sized purpose, I get this really cool feeling inside that just naturally drives me through the process. That, I believe, is motivation!

Special thanks to:
Wujifa - I don't have the words to say how important Wujifa has been in my life.

Mr. 20/20 - I really want to thank 20, because a lot of these ideas have come from him, and I'm just discovering how they work for myself now, some 2 or 3 years after I met him. 20, I miss you, man. When are you coming back up to Michigan? :)

Home is a feeling

2010-02-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

When I think about home, I think about belonging. I think about a sense of stability, a groundedness. I think of that old phrase "Home is where the heart is". Home is a feeling.

Image via Wikipedia

Many of us have felt lost in our lives. I know I have. I can't stress enough how painful it can be to feel completely lost - like there's nowhere you belong. If you've ever felt this way, you know. This is where I was when I got into studying Wujifa.

As a practiced the simple exercises like Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation) I began to feel my body more and more. I began to feel more and more at home in myself.

Everyone deserves to feel like they belong in their own skin, in their own body. It's a home that never leaves - it's always there for you if you choose to claim it.

So at class, we were talking about ways to feel even more at home, to be at home in push-hands. It was clear that the more I felt the principles of Wujifa (Relax, Balance, Structure, Connection, etc.) the more "at home" I was in the practice, and the more sturdy and grounded my home was. There was also the idea of the "mobile home" as a metaphor for the Wujifa practitioner's body. This means that you don't have to stay stuck in one place. Home is a feeling, and you can move and adjust to maintain that feeling. This can also mean sinking your home into the ground more so that it can maintain itself in response to external pressures.

Home is where the heart is, and my heart is in my body in a very literal sense. Thanks in an large part to Wujifa, now my heart is with my body in a much deeper way as well. It's there in the feeling of connection I have to my body as a living organism. It's there in the love that I feel for myself as a person. It's there in the grounded structure that keeps me in alignment even when other pressures start to come in. It's good to be home.

Why it's better not to know.

2010-01-18T13:08:00.000-08:00

What a great class this Sunday at The School of Cultivation and Practice! Such great sharing with some wonderful friends as we all found ourselves in the moment. I am so thankful for all of my brothers and the insights we were finding together.

A while back we were working on the phrase "I... don't understand... yet... I'm open" Which is kind of a cool non-mantra mantra which can be interpreted and expressed many different ways.

This Sunday, as we were finding ourselves in the moment, the idea of "I know" came up with its buddy "I don't know" and this found it's way (as things often do at the School) into a push-hands demonstration. Now, at the school we talk about the difference between "brace" and "internal strength" a lot. Now, the brace idea is basically locking your body into the strongest possible linear structure in opposition to a force, whereas true internal strength has much more freedom and flexibility inherent in it. Brace is strong, but tends toward rigidity.

So we're pushing hands a bit, and my partner is showing what happens when "I know" starts to creep in. As soon as you commit rigidly to one way of doing something, as soon as you say "I know" and stop paying attention, you get stuck. This is when brace shows up. Saying "I know" locks you in. It's "dead post".

Now contrast this with the statement "I don't know" in the sense of "I don't understand yet I'm open" and you get more of a process going on that's connected to the moment. Relating in this way leads to a more internal push hands expression.

Wujifa is all about connection - how are you connecting? We play with refining our connections so that we will experience unity - both in our bodies and in our lives.

Our Mission

2009-12-29T08:34:00.000-08:00

Image via Wikipedia

I've been teaching Wujifa for a while, but starting 2010, I'm really focusing on building it up, and bringing what I know and have practiced out into the world more. As part of this goal, I've developed a mission statement, and thought about who would really be interested in the practice. Keep in mind, this is just a personal mission statement, and I don't speak for all of Wujifa here.

Our Mission statement:
To understand what it means to be a Human Being and increase each person’s direct experience of the freedom of knowing and being who they are.

Who would be interested?
You’re curious. There may be aches or stress in your life, and you’re beginning to wonder if it really has to be that way. Maybe you’re tired of looking to answers from the outside, and you’re ready to start increasing your own role in your life. You’re ready to start understanding who you are and what you’re truly capable of. If you are ready to grow in Self-Awareness, and ready to discover the freedom that comes with it – this practice is for you.

Where do we start?
We start at the beginning. We start with what we can directly see and feel so that we know we are doing something real. This means focusing physically – on our posture and how we support ourselves as we stand – to gain a fuller direct experience of ourselves. The practice we do is a container for connecting with ourselves. It’s more than physical, mental or spiritual because we are more than bodies, minds, or spirits: we are Human Beings.

The two classes
We are partnered both with Bodyworks Healing Center and with Donna Harber's Embodied Meditation.

Starting January of 2010, classes will be at the Bio Self-Emergence Institute in Southfield, MI every Tuesday night from 6 to 7. Click the link for directions. I'm really excited to be partnered with Donna and her Embodied Meditation, because both of our practices are really focused on helping you discover yourself more fully - in differing but complimentary ways. I really encourage you to check out her website and learn more about the amazing work and understanding she brings.

There will also be a class most Wednesdays at Bodyworks Healing Center in Plymouth from 7 to 8. Click the link for directions. Bodyworks is amazing in going above and beyond as a healing center dedicated to providing for members of the community through an extraordinary number of healing modalities and classes integrating Body, Mind, and Spirit. Please check them out and see all of the wonderful things they do!

We start at the beginning, and each person is met where they are. Classes are not part of a sequence, and the learning is ongoing.

Please, send me any questions and I will be sure you get what you're looking for! My email is todiscoverfreedom@gmail.com, and I'd love to talk to you.

Also, check out this article, which explores the benefits of Zhan Zhuang, which is one of our main practices. Also visit here for some great and insightful information about Wujifa - this blog has some really valuable stuff to contribute, and if you're at all into internal martial arts, I would highly recommend it.

2009-12-09T09:38:00.000-08:00

Image via Wikipedia

Wujifa, like everything, is an exploration of life. Zhan Zhuang should be "alive", as the core practice of our art and science, but what does it mean to have life in your practice? For me, when I consider life, I think of breath, movement, flow - and awareness of these things as the self-consciousness of life. An exploration of this, not as a theory but as direct experience lies at the heart of Wujifa.

When we stand, we adopt a certain posture. What is the meaning of this posture? Tai chi and Qigong call it "Chi Flowing" but what does that mean to us, as practitioners of the practical method of Wujifa? Obviously, there is a physical human experience these ancient methods and ways of speaking are pointing to, so how can we better understand and experience this without becoming ungrounded from reality?

Take a look at the heart pictured above. Physically it is no different from the one in your chest right now. What is this picture missing that your living heart has? Your heart is connected to the rest of an integrated system, for one. Your heart moves. Your heart is involved in the flow of blood through your body. What is missing from the heart in the picture might be called "life".

In stance it is no different. Is your stance just like a picture in a book? To what degree is there connection, movement, and flow? I'm starting to notice this in my practice, and beginning to ask myself if I'm focusing on the heart in the picture, or the heart in my chest. One looks beautiful, but has no life, the other is part of who I am. Which will you choose to listen to?

Look at the amoeba in this video - and notice how everything moves through its whole body toward its food. If this isn't "Chi Flowing" I don't know what is.

2009-11-13T13:26:00.001-08:00

The Triangle of Balance, Relax, and Structure is the first of the three Wujifa Triangles!

Each one has its own meaning... If you look back to the post I've linked to, you'll see that relax is not limp, structure is not rigid, and balance is not polarity.

Thinking a lot about the words lately, and keeping them in my attention to see what new meaning develops. A little while ago, I had a bit of an "AHA!" moment about balance.

You see... I always used to think balance was about just stacking the blocks (look at the rolfing picture). Then, all of the sudden, we were talking about weebles - you know weebles wobble but they don't fall down, like we have before so many times and how they're balanced and if finally clicked for me - blocks which are stacked up are balanced, but so is a Weeble - in a similar, but different way.

A weeble, in addition to being an undisturbed, vertical structure, with no deviation of one part being precisely stacked above the other parts, also has a low center of gravity. therefor, it is IMPOSSIBLE to tip over.

So in stance, in addition to getting the structure aligned, we're also relaxing to "sink the chi" so that we find balance - Balance, relax, and structure are all interwoven in this definition - and that's the key to the Wujifa Triangles.

THOR'S MIGHTY HAMMER

2009-10-24T14:00:00.001-07:00

Hahaha... so Rick showed me this exercise which is called "Thor's Hammer"

It's an exercise where one takes a hammer, hand-held sledge variety and holding it out, as an extension of both arms, flings it rapidly up and down by bowing and unbowing at the hips.

It is important to:
-Keep the arms in the same relative position with the body (so it's not the arms moving, but the hips).
-Bounce the hammer toward the opposite side at each endpoint.
-Pay attention to the connected springiness feeling.

I've been playing with it a little bit, and it's been helping show me where I'm holding tension (and a break in my lower back)
Right now I'm just bouncing it low, trying to get the feeling of what it's supposed to be like, and so I don't hurt myself.

I'm hoping to bring it to Rick's on sunday, and get some feedback on how I'm doing.
_________________

Alright, the above part of this post was written last week, but I didn't want to submit it until I had done a little bit more practice, so here's the update.
__________________

On sunday Rick took a look at the practice, and helped me become conscious of the front and back connections, and how they related to the different endpoints of the hammer swing. At the low endpoint, I feel the stretch through the back channel, and at the high endpoint, the stretch goes down my front to my toes.

There were some little breaks that Rick also helped me see, like breaking at my shoulders, or midback, or near my sacrum, and I'm still playing with how to get all three at the same time.

I'm also still getting some tweaking in my hips/lower back, and I think it has a lot to do with not letting that area move and holding it rigid... so I have more to explore here.

Also, to those of you who didn't know if it would happen- I exchanged the hammer for a new one, and per a suggestion, went with the 4 pounder instead of the 2.5

Happy training to all!
Dan

The New Paradigm

2009-10-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

Image by Toni Blay via Flickr

Hey, I've decided to take a more informal stance to my blog... not going over "big ideas" for the most part, because it's hard to think of them :-P and also I get caught up in that and it's not really helpful to my practice to force them out. SO - now I'm just going to use the format of talking about what I'm working on.

I've been working a lot on keeping my hands level in stance. It seems fairly straightforward, like just about every other structural component of stance. Just put your hands a level place, so they're even. Simple, Right? Apparently not so much. Why can't I consistently do this one simple thing? I swear I've been working on it (on and off) for 3 years... It's like my achilles heel, my " Dan's Left Arm".

So far these have been the issues keeping my hands from evenness:
1. My left hand "wants to be" higher than my right.
2. Sometimes when I think it's even, it's still higher.
3. If my attention drifts, there go my hands again. (And to be honest, my attention is only so-so)

But I've been working on focusing on my hands, and things have been getting better. Lately I've been putting more attention and intention in structure (still trying to remember relax), and it's been paying off... I'm starting to notice more connections starting to show up.

Anyway, that's how things are for now, look forward to more posts soon!

Beauty

2009-09-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

Usually I don't post other peoples' articles up, but this one really warrants it. It's the story of how people decide what is beautiful and worth their time, and the story of how a musician who pulls in $1000 a minute to perform made 37 bucks in an hour.

Pearls Before Breakfast

By Gene Weingarten
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 8, 2007; Page W10

HE EMERGED FROM THE METRO AT THE L'ENFANT PLAZA STATION AND POSITIONED HIMSELF AGAINST A WALL BESIDE A TRASH BASKET. By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play.

Full article

Sometimes beauty and value is not where you expect it to be. Do you have time to see a master even if he doesn't wear the tai chi pajamas?

Benefits of Zhan Zhuang

2009-08-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Benefits of Zhan Zhuang (Standing Meditation):
I have noticed a TON of benefits from exploring this simple exercise, which is the core of my wujifa practice.

Image via Wikipedia

I'm a bit of a Zhan Zhuang fiend, I'm all about it. My friends and I get together about once a week to help motivate each other and give each other help on whatever we're working on in our lives, and whatever issue a friend of mine brings up, I find myself drawn to say "Stance practice would help with that"

"I'm having trouble focusing" - practice stance
"I get so angry I can't deal with it in a positive way" - practice stance
"I can't poop" - practice stance

whatever... I pretty much think that if it's practiced with the right mindset, stance can do anything you need it to do for you.... that's why they call it the million dollar secret of qigong. It's so simple too!

There's plenty of information on specifics in training in these few posts by Rick, which I would recommend checking out:
The Concept of Sit Down in Wujifa Training
Basic Tips for Zhan Zhuang and the Pelvis
More on Zhan Zhuang and Movement

I'd actually recommend reading and following Rick's blog, since he's always putting out top shelf information on internal martial arts. He may be one of the best IMA teachers in the united states today, definitely one of the best whities.

So returning to my recommending stance practice for anyone for anything, this just comes from my experience, that whenever I've had a problem and I've gone to my Zhan Zhuang practice for answers , I've tended to find them. I believe in the spiritual truths inherent in a wide variety of religions, and I'm a christian, or maybe a bit buddhist, but not really any of these things - however, my religion is pretty much standing meditation.

Sometimes you meet those fanatics who are all about "the answers you need are in the bible/quran/talmud/sutras/gitas/whatever" I'm kind of nutty in the same way for stance, but the cool thing about stance is that it's INTERNAL... which means that you're exploring yourself and looking for the truth there instead of going on someone else's word. In Christianity, they say "The kingdom of Heaven is within you" and the Buddha said (and this is paraphrased) "Don't take my word for it" so I figure stance kind of fits both of these ideologies.

At any rate, try it for yourself. There's a lot of good information out there, especially on the blog I suggested. You're the only person who can see how great stance can be for you and how many benefits you will find in it.

Will and Willingness

2009-08-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

What will you do?

What are you willing to do?

There is certain power in making a decision - in setting an intention. When you are willing to follow an intention - through all doubt and uncertainty - with faith that what you have decided will be, you get to discover something new about yourself.

Now, we can fight through it - we can beat our doubts or fears, facing our "wills" against theirs, OR...

We can be willing to follow our intention - to say, "this is the face and voice of fear and doubt, and it is my choice whether I will follow its path or the path I have set before myself." - and we can make that choice to follow the path we have intended.

We can become great fighters, but in my life it seems that fighting is hard on the heart, even when you "win".

So just being willing... willing to follow through an intention, even if it's as simple as to stand for one hour - not fighting to stand, but choosing to stand - can show us so much.

Willingness, Noticing, Intention, Openness... just a few words at the foundation of Wujifa. Are you willing to explore what they can show you?

Image from Wikipedia licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported

Opportunity, Discomfort

2009-07-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

We talk a lot in Wujifa about opportunity. Mentally, I've been working around with this one for a while, but something new just clicked for me. Nothing changed in my head, but the feeling is totally different. When I can honestly view something as an opportunity, I get excited about it, and this excitement can be fuel for my training. Lately, I've been looking around the internet (youtube, google, etc.) for different videos and people in t

Image by Chris Gin via Flickr

he IMA area. There are people out there who really know what they're doing in terms of internal martial arts, and I'm convinced that Rick is one of them, and that I'm on the path to becoming one of them myself. Training with Rick has been a HUGE opportunity for me, and continues to be a wonderful opportunity. The fact that I'm working with such a knowledgable teacher is a very exciting prospect for my own growth, and when I take the time to notice and appreciate this, it really fuels me up.

Also, I've been exploring how discomfort is an opportunity. Today, I appreciated it so much, it almost brought tears of joy to my eyes. I realized that my discomfort provides me with a direct pointer of something new to explore to deepen my practice to teach me more about comfort, discomfort, and myself.

This is a quote from Rick's Wujifa blog about how we notice, and opportunity:
"Intention and how you notice is important as well. Learning to eat bitter is a common saying. What I mean by this is that some people will notice opportunity as they practice. This is a good method. Some may want to notice what is wrong, yet if you go one step deeper you can notice there is opportunity in there as well. This can even be suggested as a deeper understanding of being open. I will say at times it is good to be critical of what one is doing, although noticing opportunity in this is still possible. Imagine later if sparing the difference in noticing an opportunity or noticing what is wrong. Building in this kind of intention early on is a good idea."

Currently, I experience discomfort in some areas of my body, and when I connect through them, a different feeling comes up, with some discomfort as well. I'm talking specifically about my diaphragm and lower back, and how when I connect through my front and back, a new feeling shows up in these areas, with some emotional discomfort to it. It's almost like a scary feeling or a running away feeling. Today, there were a few breaks in stance where I noticed I was resisting the new feeling, and when I stopped resisting, the emotional scariness went away, and there was less of an emotional attachment to the feeling... I just felt it more.

So discomfort, as well as comfort, are such great opportunities, just like training with Rick, to deepen and expand my practice.

Being a Student

2009-07-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Last night in my meditation, I was considering what it means to be a student, and how maintaining the student mind seems to open up a great relational dynamic. I'm going to try to give a little flavor of my thoughts and experience, and we'll see here how good a job I end up doing. It won't be perfect, and there will always be more to add, clarify, or refine.

I think it's a really good thing to be able to doubt properly. If I'm not able to question the assumptions and first steps I have made, how will I ever be able to see when they are no longer useful to me? This doesn't mean that I have no confidence in what I have gained already. On the contrary, since my learning has withstood the test of doubt I know these beliefs are strong, to a point. I do not yet know if anything is true, but I've found things that are widely applicable.

I have some habits, and ways of doing things in stance. Some help me get closer to my intention, and some lead me away from it. Sometimes what I think falls into one category falls into the other. It's useful to keep an open mind about good and bad habits. Cultivating awareness is part of being a student, and part of this process is "taking responsibility, experimenting, and getting results."

Beginner's mind is okay if you don't really care about what you're doing. If you're doing something, and have an intention, I think the student's mind is much better because the student is a process. Being able to critically examine learning, knowing, and doing with openness helps advance the process. Buddha didn't reinvent meditation everyday, but in another way he did, and this is what I believe it means to be a student.

Fresh eyes, not a fresh start. Knowing your starting point, yet not starting over... This is what I think studenthood means. Making mistakes is part of it. Confidence is necessary. Doubt is necessary. Habits are necessary. Habits can drag a person down. There is a wonderful interplay in being a student between knowing and not knowing.

I've been purposefully confusing, because being able to relate to confusion is important sometimes. If none of this makes sense, go ahead and read it one more time, and remember, I could be completely wrong.

Volitional VS. Natural Support

2009-06-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

Image by Duo de Hale via Flickr

This section is the result of my own explorations and practices in Wujifa and Psychology, coupled with studies and reading, and this series of videos posted by Rick from wujifaliangong.com.

Everything we do in the world is a product of muscular action. Today before I did my practice, I watched a series of videos that Rick compiled about tensegrity and the fascial system. They basically explained that the body is, in its natural state, supported by the fascial system. As I was standing, I noticed many areas of gentle, connected stretch, a "soft stretch" that I've been looking at in my practice lately, and other areas in which there are muscular action feelings of tension which I experience as a kind of a rigidity, which do not feel integrated into the connected stretchy feeling through the rest of my body.

This got me thinking about the concept of Natural Support and Volitional Support. Naturally, our bodies support themselves through the interplay of structure, maintained by our bones, and the stretchy support of our fascial system. This interplay is called "Tensegrity". However, as I noticed the areas which felt tense and disconnected in my body, I noticed how I was attempting to support myself in those areas through muscular action, and was overriding the natural support that would be there with a volitional means of support.

Wilhelm Reich calls this unconscious, though still volitional, maintaining of tensions in the body "armoring", which is a way of using our mind to control our body in order to mediate our interactions with the outside world. In wujifa, we talk about freedom and control as poles on a spectrum. These armored areas in my body are areas in which I am currently insisting on maintaining control instead of allowing more natural support, which is the very thing I'm heading toward with Wujifa practice.

We only have so much energy, and muscular action uses it up. When we engage in volitional support, this is energy that is not available for use in our lives, and on top of that, the muscles which we are using will actively resist the smooth manifestation of our intention (if a metaphysical interpretation is throwing you off here, please consider this physical experiment: tighten your biceps muscle and then, holding the tension, attempt to stretch out your arm. Notice how much more effort it takes here on the part of the triceps muscle than when you extend your arm normally. This is the same process that is going on with every tight muscle in your and my body in relation to the rest of the muscles in our bodies.)

So this one cool thing about learning and practicing Wujifa, we get to free up our bodies toward a more natural support so that we fight ourselves less, and have more energy for living!

2009-05-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

So I'm practicing Side to Side...

Side.....................................................................................to side

I'm noticing how my butt moves - in connection with the whole deal - wow!
---
and what's not moving... okay.
---

I'm feeling the connections down my legs, and man... is it ever different than I thought at first. It feels solid, but mobile, and there is a twisting in the muscles of my legs, but this twist does not feel like it's jiving my knees, which I like!
And also there's my upper body.. hanging out... right there where it's always been, asking me when I'm going to pay attention to it in more of a way than just making sure it stays above my hips. (I think it's really cool that it's asking for the next step)

And here I am again.

Side............................................................................to side
Side............................................................................to side
Side............................................................................to side

noticing when it's:

Side..&@^*#$))*(^!...........@#..#$!..........................to side

or

Side....................!@#$.......!@#%!#$^..*!%@$(!^!!..to side

and looking for more............................................................

Wujifa in my life

2009-05-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

Wujifa is a big part of my life. I've been practicing for 6 years, ever since I turned 18, and the joy and growth it has brought me has been huge. When I first began practicing Wujifa, I was pretty depressed and shy as well, and although I still struggle with these factors in my life, I feel that they are no longer in charge, but just something to be noticed as I follow my intention. This is a big part of what Wujifa has been for me, a way to become more fully myself, and find my ability to surpass the obstacles I find both internally and externally, to develop my internal strength.

Internal strength is physical and mental, you might even say it's a spiritual thing, and Wujifa is a system of developing all of these. I'm reminded of the greek phrase "Know thyself", and how Wujifa has been a way for me to know myself more fully, not in a static way, but a knowledge that is a growing and a becoming as well as an essence and a being. There is no end to feeling, understanding, and being aware.