Finalized - Snake Tai Chi and Qigong

January 16, Sifu Steve writes:
Had 2 days off, so this is 35/100. We have a deal with the Delta Hotel health club for the use of a space. It's only a 10 minute walk for me, so I'm taking advantage of it!

The Snake Tai Chi and Qigong are finalized! Here's the Tai Chi sequence:
1. Snake Moves its Body, Hibernates: Start with feet together (bingbu) and Python Moves its Body; then circle down and back up, thenstep out L foot into wujibu with middle fingers pressed into navel and palms cupped, Snake Hibernates (meditate on heat).

2. Snake Wakes and Hunts: Turn from side to side 3 times, on 4th. L Lohan block as you turn to the R and then pivot on ball R foot to throw L. Steps out with L. foot and lock arm.

3. Snake Sticks out Tongue: step up with R. foot and then out with L into White Snake Sticks-out Tongue (Brush Knee), then repeat to R. with Carry Tiger to Mountain.

4. Snake Hunts the Monkey: Shift R and follow step L into Cross Hands to Penetrate (fingertip strike w. R. hand), circle arms and shift R foot parallel to L in Fist Under Elbow (in wujibu). Then shift weight to R and execute back-weighted Cross Hands to penetrate and entry into Repulse Monkey; second Repulse Monkey morphs into Old Yang Single Whip.

5. Up the Tree and Down (Heaven and Earth & Snake Creeps Down): Yin-Yang Palms as transition, the Snake Creeps Down 3X both sides, slow and lower each time. 

6. Waiting Snake, R Lotus Kick: Twist step L with R. forearm block and up into L empty stance with R palm out and L palm down under R elbow. Sweep Lotus.

7. Conclusion: Step back R to wujibu with turn of torso and accumulating circles, then Snake Hibernates with diminishing circles. Then dispersing circles and water path conclusion with sinking the qi.

The Qigong follows the same sequence, but I have not written it out yet. There's been opportunity to test-drive it in small groups, and it seems to 'cook'. Two club members who, due to health Hx have depleted qi and are usually cold, found that it heated them right up. The back weighted "White Snake" / "Cross Hands" really works the kidneys and, I suspect, has an effect on the immunes.

Key to the Tai Chi is extreme softness and doing it slowly.

The Dragon is coming as well. The Dragon Qigong from Dr. Shen requires no modification. The new Tai Chi form is probably going to fall in three sections, of which the first is tentatively complete, focusing on the earth dragon. The next section will be centred on wood and water.

I shall leave Tiger alone until the Dragon is complete.

Getting the Snake ready for CNY debut...

January 4, Sifu Steve writes:
The Snake qigong and Tai Chi forms are now complete and ready for our New Year event in February. The Tai Chi form consists of 7 compound movements; the qigong of around 20, which gives a pretty reasonable idea of the actual number of individual movements in the Tai Chi. So, continuing my project, I am now deeply engaged in developing a Dragon form.

Initially, it was intended to be brief as well; however I realized that this stage of the project affords me the opportunity to explore the development of a longer form with the technical problems of energetic development which that involves. Randall Templeton has given me some great input about this, and while his concepts differ somewhat from my own his insights have been very valuable.

One issue is that there are various kinds of Chinese Dragon. While the blue-green Dragon has in common with the Snake a watery coiling aspect, it also shoots forth like lightning or lightning, or like a river bursting its banks. The golden Dragon has a different character, representing the centre, the concept of hierarchy and order, and also a balanced powerful shaking kind of movement reminiscent of the waves of power emanating out from an earthquake.

To this point I have the first 10 movements of the dragon Tai Chi form. They are drawn from the old Yang family middle-frame, and from the Chen family new and old frame, particularly the old-frame "Cannon Fist".