We have been busy adding audio tracks to the videos in our Video Vault. The first one we’d like to share with you is the Tai Chi Yang/Chen 12 Form. Developed by Grandmaster Yong So himself, this form aims to mitigate some of the challenges that Tai Chi presents to students with physical limitations, such as arthritis. This short form eschews some of the most demanding forms, such as Heel Kick and Snake Creeps Down in favor of forms that require skill and balance, but not exceptional flexibility. The biggest challenge to overcome in this form is that it changes direction twice (front to rear to front) during the performance. Both front and rear views of this performance are included in the following video.
Our news roundup this month starts with a unique article relating Tai Chi with economics. Apparently the basics of economic (and any universal phenomenon) can be understood through the forces of Yin and Yang. Gary Jiang, the President of American Tai Chi Association, explains:
When too many bad sub-prime mortgage loans failed, which is one of the Yin factors in the economic system, it triggered the negative chain reaction in our economic system and out-powered all the healthy economic practices, which is the Yang, as the capability to originate new mortgages from the banking system diminished.
The Mayo clinic has published a nice article on Tai Chi, naming stress reduction, balance and agility as benefits you reap from a regular practice.
And finally, the Orlando Sentinal reports on a study tracking centeniarians. What is the secret to living to 100 years of age? Emotional stability. The study concluded that “longevity was associated with being conscientious, emotionally stable, and active.” Tai Chi makes an appearance in a list of tools that type-a personalities can use to change their ways.
An article at Bella Online features a video of the Wu Shu Tai Chi performance in the Olympics opening ceremony. The second half shows 2008 Tai Chi performers moving in perfect unison. It’s quite amazing. They also have a video from the 2006 Traditional Wushu Championships in China.
In more Olympic news, taekwondo gold medalist Chu Mu Yen credits Tai Chi for helping him achieve his gold medal aspirations in this article.
And finally, an article in Tampa Bay Online says Tai Chi can help those with mobility problems.
The Web site of the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability lists several benefits of tai chi, including promoting relaxation, improving lung capacity and cardiovascular and respiratory function, improving balance and posture, increasing flexibility and reducing pain.
In other Tai Chi news for July, BlogCritics Magazine has a review of 1993 film Tai Chi Master starting Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh. It is a work of Yuen Woo-Ping who has choreographed martial arts scenes for Kill Bill: Vol 1 & 2 and the Matrix trilogy. Read the review here.
If you’re in St. Paul, MN this summer, head over to Rice Park for free Tai Chi sponsored by the St Paul Public LIbrary. Get details here.
In the latest Tai Chi news, SeniorJournal.com reports that Tai Chi helps seniors sleep better and can even be as beneficial as a shingles vaccine.
[The study] showed that practicing tai chi chi alone boosted immunity to a level comparable to having received the standard vaccine against the shingles-causing varicella zoster virus.
Stuff.co.nz has an interview with Tai Chi expert Loo-Chi Hu. Loo-Chi Hu is the subject of a documentary called Huloo that is screening at New Zealand International Film Festival in Wellington and Christchurch in mid-July.
Before I learned tai chi, I learned the hard martial art and with the hard martial art your behaviour is hot and you sometimes fight with people. My father advised me to practise tai chi, and since I have never got in a fight.
And lastly, GadsdenTimes.com reports on a variety of meditative practices becoming popular among psychotherapists. Mindfulness Meditation, Tai Chi, Transcendental Meditation, and Yoga are among the most popular.
The National Institutes of Health is financing more than 50 studies testing mindfulness techniques, up from 3 in 2000, to help relieve stress, soothe addictive cravings, improve attention, lift despair and reduce hot flashes.
News from Hollywood (or rather Korea) has Keanu Reeves planning a new tai chi movie. From CinemaBlend.com:
[Keanu Reeves] has been talking to Matrix stunt choreographer Yuen Wo Ping about doing a new kung fu movie. The film is called Tai Chi Tiger, and Keanu would be the villain. A guy named Tiger Chen Hu would star as the movie’s hero, a Tai Chi master.
And finally, CEE-foodindustry.com carries on the recent spate of articles linking dairy production with tai chi. Organic dairy farmers in the UK say it helps relax their cows which makes for good milk production:
Being an organic dairy farmer is hard work. I want to make sure I am as relaxed and focused as possible. My mood definitely transfers to my cows and as organic farmers we believe happier cows produce better milk.
At long last, Tai Chi for Everyone is now available in paperback on the Amazon website. Click here to see the listing. The book is intended for the beginner who would like to learn a short Tai Chi workout in a minimum of time, with or without class instruction. It includes a history of Tai Chi and several Tai Chi and Chi Gong forms that you can follow and learn at your own pace.
Tai Chi for Everyone is also available as a PDF download at a reduced price from Lulu.com. They have a preview of the book which will show you the first 30 pages before purchase.
Naples Daily News (that’s Naples, Florida) has a long feature article on Tai Chi and Qigong. The article includes history and styles of both Tai Chi and Qigong as well as their applications for physical and mental ailments including joint pain, immune function and mental health. Click here to read the article.
A shorter article can be found at the Fayetteville Observer about a retired Army officer who suffers from multiple sclerosis. He credits Tai Chi with keeping him mentally fit and out of a wheelchair.
“If all I did was sit at home in front of the TV or the computer, I’d probably be in a wheelchair by now,†he said.
Aaron Hoopes is the founder of Zen Yoga, a mix of Indian yoga, Japanese zen, Chinese tai chi and qigong. In his book and accompanying DVD he says that yoga and tai chi naturally compliment each other since yoga focuses on flexibility and tai chi opens the joints.
“If you combine this concept of movement and circulation through the joints with the lengthening and strengthening of the muscles in yoga, then you get what Zen Yoga is trying to accomplish in getting the whole body working and flowing with energy,” he said.
At long last, Tai Chi for Everyone is now available in paperback on the Amazon website.