A publication of the Canadian Taijiquan FederationUne publication de la Fédération Canadienne de Taijiquan

August 2010 Août Volume 17 . Issue 3 Numéro

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TongRen August/août 2010 Volume 17 . Issue 3 Numéro

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Published by the Canadian Taijiquan Federation, P.O. Box 32055, London, Ontario, Canada N5V 5K4

www.canadiantaijiquanfederation.com

Editor: Michelle McMillan, KI DESIGN, Guelph, OntarioCopy Editors: Charles Dunphy, Oakville, Ontario & Bob Chessell, Barrie, Ontario

TongRen provides a forum for the discussion, expression, and experience of Taijiquan and related subjects. Articles, reports on events, biographies, letters, book reviews, poems, illustrations, scholarly research, and philosophical musings are welcomed. Please email submissions for consideration for publication in TongRen to the editor, Michelle McMillan <ki.design@sympatico.ca>

TongRen is published quarterly: February, May, August, November. Submissions must be received by the first day of the preceding month to be included. The Editor reserves the right to determine content of each issue. Priority is given to content submitted by CTF members.

Next issue will be published in November 2010Submission deadline: 1 October 2010

TongRen fournit un forum pour discuter, exprimer et vivre le Taijiquan et ses domaines connextes. Articles, reportages, activitiés, biographies, lettres, critiques de livres, poèmes, illustrations, textes savants et réflexions philosophiques sont les bienvenus. Veuillez soumettre tout matériel à fin de publication à la rédactrice de T o n g R e n , M i c h e l l e M c M i l l a n <ki.design@sympatico.ca>

TongRen est publié quatre fois par année, en février, mai, août et novembre. Toute sumission doit être reçue avant le premier du mois qui précède la date de publication. La rédactrice réserve le droit de décider du contenu de chaque numéro. On accorde priorité au contenu soumis par les membres de la FCT.

Le prochain numéro sera publié en novembre 2010 Datelimite des soumissions: 1 octobre 2010

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Dennis Meeking and Dennis Pounal

“Maio Dao Sabre pierces the Heavens”

CONTENTS August 2010 Volume 17 . Issue 3 TABLE DES MATIÈRES Août 2010 Volume 17 . 3 Numéro

Article Authour / Auteur Page Front cover photo: Brian Bruning, Dan Djurdjevic and Jim Ransom in Taiwan (see article on page 7) Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Taijiquan Federation 4 20th Anniversary of Cold Mountain Internal Arts & Sam Masich Workshop 5 Letter to the Editor Hajime Naka 6 Our Trip to Taiwan Brian Bruning 7 Is Qigong Placebo? Joh. Friedrcih 8 Kootenay Lake Tai Chi LIves On Hajime (Harold) Naka 10 Taijiquan “Internals” and Nei-Yeh Bill Hulet 11 Adriaan Blaaw and Jill Heath Workshops (advertisement) 12 The Evolution of a Taij Boxer Dennis Pounall 20 Adriaan Blaauw & Jill Heath Workshops 21 Events/Événements 22 CTF Mission & Membership Information 23

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by contributing authors and advertisers do not necessarily reflect the policies or beliefs of the Canadian Taijiquan Federation; its executive, Board of Directors, Editor, or members collectively or individually. All material in this publication is provided as information only and should not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No physical activity or medical action should be initiated based on the contents of this publication. Always consult appropriate health care professionals. The Editor reserves the right to edit or decline submissions. All rights reserved by the Canadian Taijiquan Federation under the authority of its executive.

Décharge: Les opinions exprimées dans TongRen par les auteurs et les annonceurs ne reflètent pas nécessairement la politique ou les positions de la Fédération Canadienne de Taijiquan, de son conseil d’administration, de ses dirigeants ou de ses membres, collectivement on individuellement. Tout matériel dans TongRen n’a qu’une valeur informative et ne constitue en rien des avis on des directives médicaux. Aucune activité physique ou action médicale ne devrait être enterprise en fonction du contenu de TongRen. Il est recommandé de toujours consulter un spécialiste de la santé avant de s’y engager. La rédaction se réserve le droit de revoir ou de refuser tout matériel soumis. Tous droits réservés par la Fédération Canadienne de Taijiquan en conformité avec le mandat de ses dirigeants.

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TongRen

TongRen (T’ung-jen)TongRen is the 13th hexagram of the I Ching (Yijing)meaning “Fellowship” or “Sameness with People”.

“Sameness with people means other people and oneself are as one. As for the qualities of the hexagram, above is heaven, strong, and below is fire, luminous: employing strength with illumination, making illumination effective by strength, being truthful within and adept without, developing oneself and others as well, it is therefore called sameness with people. “

The Taoist I Ching (trans. Thomas Cleary, Shambala Publications, 1986 ISBN 0-87773-352-X bk)

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Our Taiji Community Gathers & Celebrates!DAY ONE

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Bring a lunch and eat in or go out to a neighbourhood restaurant, then come back for:

Saturday activities are FREE to CTF Members and will be held at Calvin Presbyterian Church,

248 Westmount Road East, Kitchener, Ontario

Contact: Alpha Montermayor ksparks@rogers.com

The 2010 Annual General Meeting of the

Canadian Taijiquan Federation11am - 12 noon

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The 20th Anniversary CelebrationofCold Mountain Internal Arts1pm - 7:30pm

1:00-3:00 Technical foundations to InternalismSam Masich and Steve Higgins

3:15 Lion DanceRobin Young and Jing Mo Kung Fu Club

3:30-5:15 Martial Arts Demonstrations

5:30 - Potluck Dinner (please bring a contribution & ingredient list)

Our Taiji Community Learns & Plays!

DAY TWOSunday, October 3, 2010

ONE DAY ONLY! 10am-4pmYang-style Taijiquan 108:

Inside and Outwith Sam Masich

The traditional Yang-style 108 movement bare-hand Taiji routine is what started the modern Taijiquan revolution.  This is a chance look at key sequences, movement intent and application.

Sam's approach to this form is extremely traditional and highly principled. His work over thirty years with such masters as Yang Zhenduo, Yang Jun, Yang Jwing-Ming, Brien Gallagher, Raymond Chung and others have placed Sam in a unique position to research and transmit this art. Opportunities to study this form with him are rare and if you ask Sam he will say of the Yang 108, "It's my best thing". 

A passionate and gifted teacher, Sam Masich never fails to inspire students along their path. Sam works with beginning, intermediate and advanced practitioners encouraging a focus on the integration of classical principles with traditional and contemporary forms. He has been awarded gold medals and praise for his performances in competitions and demonstration in North America, Europe and China.

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$100 for the day

Waterloo Community Arts Centre,(the Old Button Factory),

25 Regina St. S., Waterloo, Ont.Contact: Alpha Montemayor

ksparks@rogers.com

www.sammasich.com

In the summer of 2008, Grandmaster Chen Yun Ching, son of Chen Pan Ling and heir to his father’s Martial Arts legacy, invited 19 students from the United States and Australia to come to Taiwan in January 2009. They were to attend a training seminar and be part of a special traditional Chinese ceremony called the “Bai Shi”. This also included Master Chen’s adopted brother James Sumarac and his wife Shou Mei, from Australia.

Jim Ransom and I were selected from the Rochester T’ai Chi Ch’uan Center in Rochester, New York, to be among those select few to become Master Chen’s first “Inner Door” students. This is our story.

Day 1(Thurs.-Fri. Jan. 15-16) From Rochester to Kaohsiung

Our trip started on Thursday, January 15, 2009, with an air temperature of 0 degrees at the Rochester International Airport. Jim Ransom and I departed at 7:25 am. After a stopover in Chicago, we arrived at Tokyo Narita Airport in Japan at 3:15 pm and continued on to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, arriving on Friday the 16th at 9:15pm. The total travel time was around 19 hours 45 minutes, which was the longest I had ever been in the air. It would have been tolerable except that two hours into the trip over the Pacific the video signal to

the screen in front of me died and stayed that way for the next eleven hours. The whole row I was in was affected, but no other. I watched a few videos on the portable dvd player I brought with me and then tried to get some sleep. Although the shades were down for most of the trip and it was quiet, it was impossible to rest due to the small seats and no leg room.

Jim and I were glad to be on the ground and enjoyed the mild temp of around 70 degrees. We met Shou Mei’s brother who took us by cab to the Kingship Hotel on Cisian 3rd Rd, Yancheng District.

The hotel lobby was attractive with several carved wooden figures including a huge one next to the check in desk, In the waiting area, covering the wall, was a large relief of plaster horses. Our room was on the ninth floor and it had some

interesting features such as rock hard beds, a tub you had to step up into (not much headroom) and a metal post bolted to the floor by the window. There was a long rope coiled into a plastic case high up on the wall next to the window, presumably to tie to the post and throw out the window to slide down on in case of fire.

From almost anywhere in Kaohsiung, you could see the Tuntex Sky Tower, or 85 Skytower. It is an 85-floor skyscraper located in the Lingya District.

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Our Trip to Taiwan(Brian and Jim’s Most Excellent Adventure)

By Brian Bruning

The structure is 347.5 m (1,140 ft) high with an antenna pushing the building height to 378 m (1,240 ft). The building was constructed from 1994 to 1997 and is the tallest in Kaohsiung. It replaced the Shin Kong Life Tower (244.2 m (801 ft)) as the tallest building in Taiwan when it was completed in 1993 but lost that distinction by the construction of Taipei 101. The tower has an unusual 'prong' design with two separate 39-floor sections, which merge into a single central tower rising to a point.The design was inspired by the Chinese character Kao (or Gao meaning "tall") and is also the first character in the city's name. It reminds me of a giant upside down tuning fork.

We rested that night and enjoyed some Taiwan television, especially the “Kung Fu Puppet Theater”. It had marionettes like the old TV show “Supercar”, except with Kung Fu fighting. It also had the usual religious cable channels seen in the States but with Buddhist monks, and like in the US, it had many channels with reality shows, games shows and soap operas.

Each day we had breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant with some western style food available and then traveled by a charter style bus to the temple for training. I can still hear “Auntie” Mei greeting us loudly exclaiming “Good Morning Taiwan!”

We dined on great local food (after we found a suitable restaurant) cooked fresh and hot and served in the usual manner - on many large, shared, platters placed on “lazy susans” which covered most of the table tops. There were a few dishes I could not recognize but I tried

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everything. Of course, the fish and chicken were cooked with all their parts attached – head, tail, and feet. It was a little strange to see our food looking back at us!

Every day we heard a musical tune playing outside our window, nine floors up, and found out it was what I called the “Happy Garbage Truck”. It reminded those of us from the USA of the ice cream trucks that traveled our streets when we were kids; however, the music here alerted residents, reminding them to bring out their garbage to throw it into the truck themselves. The system works quite well, only we got sick of hearing that tune every day – morning, noon, and night.

Day 2 (Sat. Jan. 17) – Local Sightseeing

Jim and I met some of our fellow students: John Scott, Mark Small, Terry Price, Randy and Salma Causey, Karen Jensen from the USA and Dan Djurdjevic from Australia. We decided to go for a walkabout to explore Kaohsiung. We traveled down the streets and alleys – some quite narrow – and arrived at the Gushan Pier. We took the Qijin (Cijin in Wade Giles) Island Ferry that connects Qijin Island to the Gushan District of Kaohsiung.

Qijin Island was once a peninsula connected to the mainland at the southern tip. In 1975 it was severed to create a second entry point to Kaohsiung harbor. Qijin was the first area of Kaohsiung to be cultivated by early settlers to the southern region of Taiwan.

We walked past the waiting tourist rickshaws and to our first stop – the Tianhou Temple, one of the most famous temples in southern Taiwan. It is one of Kaohsiung's oldest temples dedicated to Mazu, protector of mariners and fishermen, and is one of the oldest architectural structures in Kaohsiung (constructed in 1691). This was built in traditional Southern Fujianese style, with finely crafted, colorfully-painted stone carvings.

Next stop was Qihou Mountain (Cihou-Wade Giles) which occupies a strategic defensive position at the western entrance to Kaohsiung Harbor. In the late 17th century, a battery was established here and installed with six Chinese-style cannons. With the opening of Dagao Harbor (today's Kaohsiung Harbor) in 1863, the battery grew in military importance. Governor Shen Pao-chen sent Huai Army Provincial Military Commander Tang Ting-kui and Regional Vice Commander Wang Lu to oversee the construction of a new battery and hired a British engineer to design the fortifications. The new fortifications consisted of two batteries: one on Qihou Mountain at the south side of the harbor entrance and the other on the north side of the harbor entrance. In 1884, Governor Liu Ming-chuan hired a German engineer to rebuild the southern half of the Qihou Battery. At that time, four British-made Armstrong breechloaders were installed at the south side of the battery, facing the Taiwan Strait.

On the top of Qihou Mountain we first came to the Qihou Fort, which has a long and interesting history. In Emperor Tongjhih's 13th year, the

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Ching Dynasty sent Shen Baojhen to Taiwan to resist the Japanese army and to built forts at Qihou and Syongjhen North Gate. They are Chinese style constructions. The word "si" is set into the entrance brickwork, and the forts are inscribed "Shaking Heaven's South" and "Guarding the North Gate." The top of the fort is open so there is an excellent view of the island, harbor, and Kaohsiung City, although the day we were there the sky was hazy.

The fort consists of three linked compounds arranged from north to south. The northern section, used for training, has thick inner walls in which the troop quarters were located. The central section was the command area, and the southern area was the site of the cannon emplacements. The fortifications are made of iron, cement and brick. The troop quarters are topped by a thick iron-cement roof reinforced with closely set timbers. In the brickwork near the battery entrance is the character for "Double Happiness”.

The Qihou Battery was brought into action when the Japanese navy attacked southern Taiwan during the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), intending to land at Dagao. At that time, the defending army was commanded by Liu Yung-fu, famed leader of the Black Flag Army, and his adopted son Liu Cheng-liang, who was commander of the battery. That day, as seven Japanese naval ships approached the harbor, the guns at Qihou and Dagu mountains fired on the Japanese ships, slowing their advance. During the subsequent Japanese occupation period the battery suffered extensive damage. The Japanese army finally removed the guns and rebuilt the battery fortifications. Farther up the walk was the Qijin Lighthouse built in 1883 by British engineers as a military outpost during the confrontation with France. Mark and I went into these cave like fortifications where the big guns used to be and got a great view of the harbor, just as the soldiers of old might have.

After a long day of walking, our group stopped by the western shore at the end of the day to rest; however, before long we couldn’t resist practicing some Bagua drills in the shade of the circular

pavilions. On the way back to the hotel, Jim and I took an alternate route and got lost, of course. We stopped by a local police station for directions. It was quite a first day!

Day 3 (Sun. Jan. 18) – Training Day 1

We started our daily training with T’ai Chi Ch’uan on the grounds of the Kaohsiung Confucius Temple. The Temple is located on Lotus Lake (Lianchihtan) at No. 400, Lian Tan Rd., in Kaohsiung's Zuoying District. The building is modeled in the Sung Dynasty's unique and majestic architectural style. It is Taiwan's largest Confucius temple. The first temple was established here as early as 1684, just outside the North Gate of the old city wall, at a site that is beside the present Lotus Lake. It was damaged by storms and rebuilt twice during the Ching Dynasty to form the large, complete temple that

exists today. The New Confucius Temple was completed in 1976 with an area of 1800 sq meter.

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Fo Guang Shan Temple Taiji in main garden

Taiji in main courtyard Confucius Temple garden

Hsing I Staff Suba in rear courtyard

Taiji under treesT'ai Chi under trees

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The temple is built in the style of the Sung dynasty Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong Province, which includes the Wanren Wall, Companion Pool and Bridge, Minlun Hall, Li Gate, Yilu House, Lingsing Gate, Tacheng Gate, Tacheng Hall, Dongsi Chamber and Chongsheng Shrine. The Tacheng Hall that forms the main building resembles the Taihe Hall from the Forbidden City in Beijing. The temple is also the site of the annual Teachers' Day celebration, which takes place on September 28th to honor the birthday of Confucius.

We spent most of the day training in the Chen Pan Ling T’ai Chi Form, with Grandmaster Chen Yun Ching looking on and working with us to refine our postures. We started each day with the T’ai Chi form. Sprinkled in at times was some practice in “Listening Hands”. We were also treated to a Chen Taiji form demonstration by Master Chen’s friend Master An. We were sore for the next couple of days but could not let that stop our training. During our week of training we tried a couple of different areas such as the main courtyard in front of the Temple, the rear smaller courtyard and under the trees outside the entrance. This area had two sections, which were tree covered and gave us relief from the warm sun. The other section had local couples practicing western style dancing to music playing on a portable stereo. A couple of days later our young, precocious Katie couldn’t resist a dance with one of the gentlemen.

That day a small class of local school children were visiting and drew pictures of us training and had a great time showing their work to us.

During our daily training, some of us visited some of the temples around Lotus Lake such as the Yuandi Temple of the High Heavenly Xuan God. The “Great Emperor of the Northern Pole” was worshiped by Taoists for his ability to expel monsters and cure illness. The Temple, commonly known as the “Zuoying Great Temple” located at 100 Lian Tan Road, is the primary temple in Cijia, Zuoying. It was originally built during the Ming Dynasty, with reconstruction beginning in 1973 and lasting three years. The enormous statue of the High Heavenly Xuan God stands in the Lotus Pond at the front of the temple, at the end of a beautiful bridge wonderfully adorned with statues and wall reliefs. Terry and I entered through a great gate, passed a small pond with a “moon bridge” and walked the main bridge past two pagoda-like extensions to either side of the bridge. It had a great view of the whole Lotus Pond with all the temples in sight.

Day 4 (Mon. Jan. 19) – Training Day 2

This day was dedicated to HsingI, covering the Five Elements, Linking Form & Suba Form in the morning. We spent the afternoon learning the Hsing I Kun (Staff Form).

Day 5 (Tues. Jan. 20)– Training Day 3

In the morning, we continued with the HsingI Kun and in the afternoon reviewed that form. We also did some work on the Swimming Dragon Ba Gua Zhang with some reviewing the 46 posture Chen Pan Ling T’ai Chi Sword.

Day 6 (Wed. Jan. 21) – Bai Shi and Ceremony

After the ceremony, we all spent the afternoon on a field trip to the Fo Guang Shan Monastery (in Pinyin, Fóguāngshān literally means "Buddha's Light Mountain") and is an international Chinese Mahayana Buddhist monastic order based in Taiwan. On the way, we stopped for lunch at a local market where Jim tried the traditional “ear

candle” for an ear wax problem, which cropped up on the way to Taiwan. The headquarters of Fo Guang Shan, located in Dashu Township, Kaohsiung County, is the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. The organization itself is also one of the largest charity organizations in Taiwan. The order also calls itself the International Buddhist Progress Society. Its official motto is “May the Buddha's Light shine upon the ten directions. May the Dharma stream continuously flow towards the five great continents".

Founded in 1967 by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, this monastic order promotes Humanistic Buddhism, a modern Chinese Buddhist philosophy developed through the 20th Century and made popular by this and other modern Chinese Buddhist orders. Humanistic Buddhism aims to make Buddhism relevant in the world and in people's lives and hearts. Like most modern Chinese Buddhist organizations, the ordination lineage is from the Rinzai Zen (Pinyin - Línjìzōng) school. Fo Guang Shan declares clearly that it is an "amalgam of all Eight Schools of Chinese Buddhism". The complex was quite expansive and we spent time touring the main Temple, Museum, Meditation Hall (we all took some time to reflect here), and the Calligraphy room where we all tried our hand following “draw by tracing”. We were led on this tour by one of the Buddhist nuns who used a small amplified speaker. She had a sore throat that day and needed the boost but her voice was still quite soft and serene.

In the Museum I was particularly fascinated by the naturally formed rocks which contained impressionistic patterns much like the traditional paintings of Asian landscape.

The Fo Guang Shan Monastery will be the venue for the next Taiwan Training Tour January 2011.Participants will be staying and training in the Monastery.

That night, we all were treated to a vegetarian feast that couldn’t be beat to celebrate our

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induction that morning into the Ling Yun Pai family via the Bai Shi Ceremony.

Day 7 (Thurs. Jan. 22) – Training Day 4

On this morning, we reviewed Ba Gua Zhang and began the Mountain Top Boxing Forms Series 1 and 2, continuing on into the afternoon.

Day 8 (Fri. Jan. 23) – Training Day 5

We reviewed the Mountain Top Boxing Forms while some continued their work on the T’ai Chi Sword. We started to learn the “Mother of all Sword Forms”, the Chung Yang Sword. That night, we all gathered at the local “jazz bar” for a birthday celebration for our youngest fellow students Katie and Glen.

Day 9 (Sat. Jan. 24) – SightseeingKaohsiung County

We spent this day traveling to the Meinong Hakka Village around 40 kilometers northeast of Kaohsiung City. We drove past many fields of flowers, fruit plants and rice on our way in and around the village. The ancient town gate or “Dongmen meaning East Gate” originally built in the 18th century, was an imposing entrance to this simple village

The village of Meinong has preserved much of the culture and traditions of the Hakka people, which are one of the four peoples of Taiwan (the others being Taiwanese, Chinese and a dozen different aboriginal peoples). The Hakka are a subgroup of the Han Chinese people who live mostly in the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Fujian, China. Their ancestors were said to have arrived centuries ago from what is today’s central China. Hakka (Mandarin: Kèjiā) literally means people who are visitors. In Taiwan, Hakka people comprise about 15% of the population and are descended largely from Guangdong Province, China. Many Hakka moved to the hills or remote mountains to escape political persecution and many continue to live in these hilly locations of Taiwan. The Hakka are well known for their hard work and have grouped together to form

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successful agricultural communes that dot the island and produce abundant high-quality crops including fruit and rice as well as being a huge source of flowers.

In hopes of preserving the Hakka culture, the Kaohsiung County government built the Meinong Hakka Culture Center which we enjoyed spending some time visiting. Among the 1.5 million citizens of Kaohsiung City, about one quarter million (or 17%) are of Hakka origin and with more than 90% of the residents in Meinong of Hakka descent; it made Meinong the best place for a Hakka cultural museum.

In recent years, Meinong has become synonymous with the making of painted oil paper umbrellas. The paper umbrella is a symbol for prosperity and is a symbol of good luck for the Hakka people. This craft is actually a relatively recent introduction to Taiwan. In 1920 a Hakka businessman from Meinong visited mainland China and, after seeing the beauty of the umbrellas made there, decided to import the skill to Meinong. There are three traditional workshops in Meinong city center but we visited the Yuan Siang Yuan Cultural Village paper umbrella store on Jhongsing Road. This establishment contains shops selling hand-made pottery, works of art, Taiwan glass beads and other gifts, along with some of the most celebrated umbrellas in Meinong. On our way back to the hotel we stopped in the township of Gishan and visited the former British Consulate at Dagou, on the hill east of the harbor opening across from Qihou Fort. The architecture is

Baroque, using red bricks and round arches to give a unique appearance. There is a great view of Kaohsiung from here, day or night. It is now a national Class Two ancient monument managed by the Kingship Hotel in Kaohsiung. It includes a port-view Hall, sea-view Hall, and Kaohsiung Hall, as well as a food court, Cultural Creation Shop, Exhibition Rooms A and B, and the Prison Maze.

After dinner that night a group of us visited the Liu Hao Night Market, Cianjin District, which is one of the most famous night markets in Taiwan. It was much like our flea markets in the states except that it was many blocks long, brightly lit – and with much of the same fare. The shops along the streets had spilled out onto the sidewalks and into the streets, with a crowded pedestrian path sometimes very tightly shared by scooters, and at other times with cars.

Day 10 (Sun. Jan. 25) – Training Day 6

This was our last day of training. We reviewed all that we had covered during our time here and were presented with certificates for this training before leaving Taiwan. That night was Chinese New Year but Jim and I rested after our busy day. The city had displays of red lanterns hanging in rows in many sites and we didn’t see any huge fireworks display that night but listened to individuals setting them off all over the city all night long.

Day 11 (Mon. Jan. 26)– Departure

Jim and I departed at 3p.m. from Taiwan, with a short stopover in Hong Kong airport, and continued all the way to JFK airport in New York. We arrived over 15 hours later at 8p.m. that night, crossing back over the International dateline and gaining back some of the time we lost on the trip over. We got back into Rochester around midnight and nestled back into our own beds early Tuesday morning, Jan. 27th, ending the trip of a lifetime.

It seemed that while in Taiwan just about everything we did or saw was related to history and tradition - whether it was training in the martial arts of Chen Pan Ling on the grounds of a Confucian temple, or visiting a famous Buddhist temple high on a hill and an historic Hakaa village where early “visitors” settled. It all came together in the Bai Shi - an emotion filled ceremony with much cultural symbolism based upon centuries of traditional Chinese history. The new “inner door students” of Grandmaster Chen Yun Ching were now part of his lineage and “family”- Ling Yun Pai. Jim and I now have many new “brothers” and “sisters” along with a new “aunt” and “uncle”, and a responsibility to carry on an important legacy.

Brian Bruning has been a Yang Taiji student since 1978, Chen Pan Ling Taiji student since 1989, and Instructor since 1997 at The Rochester T'ai Chi Ch'uan Center Rochester N.Y. USAwww.rtccc.com

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This piece of work is going to do one of three things. One, I will be politely asked not to write any more such articles, or better still, leave the Canadian Taijiquan Federation, never to be heard from again. Two, you will just not read my stuff anymore and ignore me. (Not as bad as one). Three, it will stimulate open discussion about the true effectiveness of our practice of Taijiquan and Qi Gong, including the medical aspects of them. I am secretly hoping the latter will be the end result of my efforts. But then, I am an eternal optimist.

To be sure, I should clearly outline just what it is I am attempting here. The question is simply ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS WE DERIVE FROM OUR PRACTICE OF QI GONG AND TAI CHI AND THE PROJECTED QI FROM A QI GONG HEALER NOTHING MORE THAN PLACEBO EFFECT? Without close examination of this question we, that is those of us who are doing Taijiquan and Qi Gong on a regular basis, would clearly reject the notion that the benefits to our health are just imagined. The skeptics on the other hand will simply say that there is no scientific proof that the perception of health benefits from Qi Gong come Tai Chi and energy medicine generally are just that, placebo effect.

It is important to clearly define the terms PLACEBO and PLACEBO EFFECT. These terms mean different things to different people. What is a placebo? My old Oxford, mind you, it is old, says “Placebo; Medicine given to humor, rather than cure, the patient; dummy pill etc. used as control, blank sample in test.” I don’t know of any physician that would give a dummy pill to a sick patient to humor him/her. I reject this definition for the purpose of our discussion. (I dare to question Oxford?).

Here is the best definition I found. It will be the one used for the rest of this article.

“An inactive substance or other sham form of therapy administered to a patient usually to compare its effects with those of a real drug or treatment.”

The Latin meaning of placebo is “I shall please.” This is where things get interesting. If placebo pleases, it would imply that there can actually be some real or perceived health benefit from an administered inactive substance or therapy. IF, remember now, I said IF, the practice of Qi Gong and Taijiquan is indeed nothing more than placebo, then we would all truthfully argue that we are pleased with it. The crux of the matter is of course in the question of is it real or perceived. Here is one definition of PLACEBO EFFECT:

“Such an intervention (meaning the administration of an inactive substance or other sham form of therapy) may cause the patient to believe the treatment will change his/her condition; and this belief may produce a subjective perception of a therapeutic effect, causing the patient to feel their condition has improved.”

The above definition would only imply a subjective perception. Those who adopt this definition argue that Placebo Effect is not a real improvement in a condition, but a perceived improvement. Are there any GOOD scientific studies that bear this out? What do I mean by GOOD scientific study? We need to clear this up

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IS QI GONG PLACEBO?by Joh. Friedrich RP CRA

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because the findings of many so-called scientific studies break down when measured against stringent protocols to be used in such research. My criteria for a GOOD scientific study is simply this. One; was the research methodology designed to answer the given hypothesis or question? Two; can the results be replicated by another study using the same, valid methods?

Back to our definition. The most often quoted detailed analysis of the actual effectiveness of the placebo effect was done in Copenhagen and reported in 2001. It analyzed the findings of some 114 research studies with 8525 patients suffering from 40 medical conditions ranging from carpal tunnel syndrome to hypertension. Research studies included in this effort were those that compared the administration of a placebo to no treatment at all. The conclusion was that there was little or no beneficial effect of the use of placebos except in the treatment of pain.

The above study was replicated by the same researchers, namely one Hrobjartsson and one P.C. Gotzsche, both of the Nordic Cochrane Centre, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark and reported in 2004. 52 new randomized trials, comparing no treatment with placebos resulted in the same findings as the original study.

Has the above study ever been criticized? Let me be the first. Should the replication of the findings not have been conducted by a different group of researchers to eliminate bias? Is that not a bit like a government suspected of corruption investigating itself for that alleged wrongdoing? Here are the words of David Freedman, a statistician at the University of California; “I just don’t find this report to be incredibly persuasive. The evidence of a placebo effect is maybe a little bit less than I thought it was, but I think there’s a big effect in many circumstances. This doesn’t change my mind.” He explained that the statistical methods used, “pooling data from many studies and using metanalysis to examine them could give misleading results.” Go figure.

Then there is this other definition of PLACEBO EFECT. Note the subtle difference.

“The placebo effect is the measurable, observable, or felt improvement in health or behavior not

attributable to a medication or invasive treatment that has been administered.”

The key word in this version is MEASURABLE. By measurable I mean as in an increase or decrease in blood pressure, body temperature, brain activity, or changes in the chemical composition from one sample to another. You get my drift. The word observable lends itself to at least some subjective interpretation. The changes of the colour in a person’s complexion can be clearly distinguished when there is a crass difference. But just how much of a difference there really is may well be seen differently from one observer to another when the changes are more subtle. Felt improvement can only be expressed by the patient. We could possibly be right back in the other definition of PLACEBO EFFECT where the patient perceives an improvement without there actually being one. In this effort we are going to stick with MEASURABLE.

A three month double blind, randomized study conducted in a number of different facilities implanted pacemakers in 40 patients without activating the devices and in 41 patients with activated devices. The patients who had the switched off devices experienced “significant improvement in perceived chest pain, dyspnea, and palpitations.” Agreed, these parameters are hard to measure. Actual measurable heart function, however, also improved. The improvements were significantly higher in the group that had ‘working’ devices. Subjective as well as objective, measurable improvements however were clear in the placebo group of patients. Not only that; the study was a crossover study, meaning that after a specified time period the placebo group was switched over to the ‘working’ mode and the ‘working’ group’s devices were switched off.

Was there any criticism of the research protocol? In my search for critiques of the above study I could only find more confirmation that other studies, if not direct replication, have also found the placebo effect in pacemaker implantations. Does that imply that this research effort could not possibly be faulty? Hardly. I don’t think there is any research study that could not be critiqued by someone. All I can say is that my efforts to find

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any criticism have failed. How about this? Is it not possible that during the crossover phase that the effects of the ‘switched on’ group lingered into the ‘switched off’ segment of the study? Just thinking out loud.

Does that leave us with the unenviable task of having to choose one of the above definitions of PLACEBO EFFECT over the other? The first one clearly rejects any contention that there might actually be some real benefit from the placebo effect. The second one however allows for actual measurable objective benefit as well as observed and felt benefits. That made it easy for me to prefer the second version. Let’s look at some evidence that supports my decision.

Even the Copenhagen study in support of the first quoted definition conceded that there were benefits in the use of placebos in studies dealing with pain. GOOD scientific research confirms that the release of endorphins in the brain, measurable with PET brain scans, brought about by the administration of placebos, relieves pain. With the use of fMRI technology blood flow in the brain was measured when test subjects were subjected to pain after treating them with a placebo cream as a pain reliever. Sure enough, the pain was measurably reduced.

What about conditions other than pain? How about Parkinson’s Disease? A study in British Columbia established that the use of a placebo released more dopamine into the brain, the very substance that is in short supply in this disease. It improved the condition in test subjects.

Or depression? A group of 51 patients were given either the antidepressant Effexor, Prosac, or a placebo. 52% of the patients taking real antidepressants improved and 38% felt better on the placebo. Not a small placebo percentage in my view but fairly common in many studies. The important thing here is that the improvements were actually measured in brain activity changes. Researchers noted that it is not just the dummy pill that causes these changes but also the very fact that patients are being treated with care. More importantly, they had decided to participate in the study. Those factors alone can have a placebo effect. Another interesting result was that when placebo patients were eventually told that they had taken a dummy pill, they gradually lost

the positive effect of placebo and had to be put on real medication. Then there is another factor that must be considered in any study using placebos. Many illnesses fluctuate naturally in intensity. Is it possible that patients on placebo were just experiencing improvement, measurable or otherwise, due to natural regression of the disease? Some of them, yes; 38% of them not likely. Besides, the researchers conducted their analysis with this factor in mind. Let me quote Dr. Pizzagalli, one of the researchers; “placebo has a very important and remarkable effect on the brain. It shows the power so to speak, of the mind for affecting biology.”

What, you are actually still with me on this? Read on. He said “the mind for affecting biology.”

I think it would be fair to say that our body is a biological structure. So we have “the mind affecting the body.” Is that not what we are into in our practice of Taijiquan and Qi Gong, internal arts which interconnect mind and body? We say Qi follows Yi as in energy follows the mind or the intention. I might add that the Shen (Spirit) and the Zhi (Willpower) also play a role in this. A way to clarify this is to say “you bring about what you think about.” When a patient decides to seek treatment for their illness and participates in a scientific, medical research study, would that not qualify as an intention? Wait for it, I am not saying that Qi Gong and Tai Chi is just placebo effect. I am not done yet.

Here is a study dealing with Medical Qi Gong from both perspectives; internal Qi Gong (meaning the patient practices Qi Gong exercises) and external Qi Gong (the projection of Qi etc. into the patient by a Qi Gong master). Twenty six patients who had been resistant to the standard treatment for late stage complex regional pain syndrome type 1, where they suffer from severe burning pain in the extremities, were the subjects of this research. One group of these patients were given Qi projection and trained in Qi Gong exercises to do at home. The other half were also shown some exercises by someone who really did not know Qi Gong.

Right then and there you would rightfully argue that this study is not a double blind study since the sham Qi Gong expert knew he was a fraud.

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This is just one example of how difficult it is to do research into Qi Gong and its benefits that meets our rigid protocols.

I quote directly; “Among the genuine qigong group, 82% reported less pain by the end of the first training session compared to 45% of control patients. By the last training session, 91% of qigong patients reported analgesia (as in pain relief) compared to 36% of control patients. Anxiety was reduced in both groups over time, but the reduction was significantly greater in the experimental group than in the control group.” The study concluded that more research should be conducted using stringent controls. Agreed, some of the criteria was measurable, others less so.

What if we take away the placebo effect? We know that Electromagnetic Field Therapy is used in the healing of fractures as well as in soft tissue. The West End Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Clinic in Hamilton, Ontario uses this technology for their patients under the auspices of our health care system. In this experimental study EMF was used to effectively, and measurably, “modulate the rate of phosphorylation of myosin in a cell-free preparation.” (Myosin is an enzyme involved in the contraction of muscles and physphorylation is an alteration of that enzyme). Enzymes in a test tube are not likely to have any intentions or expectations. EMF did indeed reduce the alteration in the enzyme. Next, two independent Qi Gong masters projected Qi at enzyme samples that were prepared for this in the same way as they had been for EMF treatment. Sure enough, their treatment of the enzymes reduced the alteration in the enzymes. Interestingly enough, one of the Qi Gong masters deliberately reversed his technique and actually achieved an increase in alteration. Qi followed Yi into the enzymes, but they could not have any Yi themselves. Or could they?

It must be stated here that the above experiment, though carefully executed, is just that, an experiment. Much further research is needed to clearly document the effectiveness of Qi projection. Another, equally as experimental and subject to further tests, experiment was conducted at York University in Toronto. Three copper coils were set up for this. It is known that

if a magnetic field passes across a copper coil, an electric current will be produced in the coil. Because of the low frequencies of such currents, an amplifier was hooked up to the coils in order to get measurable results. Such an apparatus does not have any intentions, only the experimenters do. Three Qi Gong masters, using their hands and fingers, projected energy toward the coils and induced measurable current in them. EMF, come Qi, strikes again. These preliminary results show, that Qi projection may not just be placebo effect.

“The force which flows from many people’s hands.” Hippocrates

How about internal Qi Gong? That is what most of us practice; Qi Gong exercises and Taijiquan. Lets look at a sample study dealing with hypertension, or high blood pressure. The control group was subjected to the same rigorous testing as the group involved in 10 weeks of doing Qi Gong exercises. Blood pressure was significantly reduced in the Qi Gong group while it remained unchanged in the control group. The problem with this and many other studies that replicated the results in China and South Korea is that they were not double blind studies with a placebo group. Exercises other than Qi Gong have similar beneficial effects on blood pressure.

Let’s think about that. Numerous studies, all with the same result, namely lower blood pressure. Was that result all because of placebo effect? That would be giving the placebo effect an awful lot of credit for an awful lot of healing. It would say that the placebo effect has been given a bum rap. Or maybe we have shown that Qi Gong and Tai Chi really works after all since it works the same way as the placebo effect. The placebo effect has been shown to release endorphins, dopamine, serotonin and other opioids from our brains into our bodies. So has the practice of Qi Gong, Taijiquan and many other forms of exercise.

Can we manipulate energy, Qi, inside of our bodies with Qi Gong exercises? Here is why I think so. (Yeah, that means I can’t prove it). We have seen that Qi Gong masters can project Qi from their hands into cell samples and copper coils with measurable results. How did they

develop that ability? If they can use their YI to concentrate and then direct and release QI, as in electromagnetic field, does it not suggest that we can use that same YI to direct QI from one part of the body to another? Mind you, we all know that takes some practice. Then, it follows that if we use that ability to balance our Qi for better health, or send Qi to an area of concern in our bodies that this activity is more than just the placebo effect. Just because the evidence is lacking at this point in time does not mean it cannot be done.

Lets take this one step further. Banting and Best hypothesized in the 1920s that insulin exists in the pancreas. They tried to prove it with experiments using dogs. It turns out that they had misinterpreted “the results of their own animal experiments! Indeed, if Banting and Best had been truly competent scientists, they would have realized that their animal experiments did not in any way, shape or form, prove that insulin exists.” Had the work of Banting and Best been terminated upon this critique I would be dead today. Are we to reject the likelihood that the development and evolution of Qi Gong over some 5000 years has real value in our health and wellbeing because we have few, if any, double blind studies to prove it’s value? Just because we cannot prove the existence of our energy meridian system, which has so precisely been placed and located by that same 5000 year history, does that mean they don’t exist? Insulin does.

The development of our sophisticated allopathic (meaning our western way of healing) medicine took just as long to mature to today’s capabilities as did medical Qi Gong and other energy medicines. In the long run both developed because of centuries of trial and error. Our double blind research has blinded us to ignore the power of our minds, something we have used a lot longer than a prescription from our doctor.

“The power over which a man’s imagination has over his body to heal it or make it sick is a force which none of us are born without. The first man had it, the last man will posses it.”

Mark Twain

Joh. Friedrich teaches “Medical Qigong Prescription Exercises” to people with specific conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease, MS, Asthma, Stroke, Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis. He is studying Medical Qigong through the International Institute of Medical Qigong. He teaches Taiji at the Royal Botanical Garden in Hamilton. Should anyone be interested in a list of sources used for this article, or in a dialogue, please contact Joh. at <johfried@sympatico.ca>

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The Dao that is mindlessly travelled leads to a mindless destination. Habits are formed and reformed. Tension layered over tension until the body feels like a clenched fist. So Sana Shanti’s work is never done, guiding people back to center, aligned, relaxed, and rooted. Supreme ultimate non-fist.

Dao de Bling

The summer saw 15 enthusiastic folks take the ‘Dao less travelled’, mindfully driving along a narrow, winding, gravel road leading up to Johnson’s Landing Retreat Center to revive the 30th Kootenay Lake Tai Chi Retreat.

When ‘King’ Eric Eastman closed the Dao to his Tai Chi Retreat in 2005 (after 29 Qi-full camps), I developed a case of camp withdrawal and was in need of a Qi-fix. After a couple of summers, feeling ‘Qi-less in Kelowna’, I was thinking of starting up another Taiji Retreat to fill the void, when out of the blue I received a phone call from Richard (who owns JLRC) asking me if I would be interested in continuing Eric’s Tai Chi tradition at his retreat center. I told Richard that he must have been reading my mind. He said that he would provide the facility accommodations, meals and do the advertising and registration. I gave him names of instructors who had taught at Eric’s Retreat – then a date was set. After many months of anxious waiting we arrived at JLRC to resurrect Eric’s Tai Chi Retreat and carry on the spirit from his camp (which was located further down Kootenay Lake).

Sana Shanti (who has submitted a series of articles on Taijiquan in TongGren), Arnold Porter (teaches Qigong, Acupressure and Jin Shin Do) and myself facilitated the retreat, loosely following Eric’s camp schedule. After five days of playing Taijiquan, sharing stories, laughter and tears, enjoying friendship and delicious gourmet vegetarian meals, there was a desire to do it again.

That was Zen, This is Dao.

Sifu Bryan Knack from Spokane, Washington joined our teaching staff. He brings with him a wealth of experience and his teaching style inspires students to learn.

This summer (Aug. 7-14) will celebrate the 33rd Kootenay Lake Tai Chi Retreat and I invite everyone to come and play Taiji. Although JLRC is off the beaten path, it has modern conveniences such as wireless access, sauna, hot tub, pay phone (cell phones don’t work here).

For info: info@JohnsonsLandingRetreat.bc.ca

Phone Toll Free 1 (877) 366-4402.

I just want to wish Eric Qi-full surfing wherever he is.

Qi-fully yours,

Hajime

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Kootenay Lake Tai Chi Lives Onby Hajime (Harold) Naka

Taijiquan “Internals” and Nei-YehBy Bill Hulet, Cloud Walking Owl

One of the things that I heard a lot when I first started learning Taijiquan was that people had to learn the “internals”. I think that the people talking to me were just repeating something that they had heard someone else talking about and didn't really understand what the term meant. But the Sufis have a saying that “a pitcher can bring you water without taking a drink itself”, which means that just because someone doesn't understand what they are saying doesn't mean that nothing can be learned from what is said. So from this beginning, always in the back of my mind was an interest in learning just exactly what the “internals” of Taijiquan could be.

I've heard the phrase “internals” used to refer to an awareness of something very concrete – such as the geometry of the body while doing the set. I've also heard it refer to nebulous concepts – such as the flow of chi. I think that these sorts of understandings have merit but I think it would do a lot of Taijiquan players a lot of good if they looked at a little book that I suspect almost none of them have even heard of, let alone read, the Nei-Yeh (or “Inward Training”.)

Scholars believe that this book was written at about the same time as the Dao De Jing. They also believe that it came out of an oral tradition and was edited into a final version through exactly the same process. People traditionally ascribe the Dao De Jing to an individual person named “Laozi” but most scholars believe that this is based on an ancient misunderstanding of a term that really meant “the old ones”. In a sense, therefore, it could be argued that both the Nei-Yeh and the Dao De Jing have the same author. Most people will not have heard of Nei-Yeh, however, because even though it has been treasured and studied by Daoists from its first creation, it has never been popular with the general public. As a result, Westerners haven't bothered to translate the book into English until relatively recently, when more and more people became interested in “religious” Daoism. Luckily, we now have what I believe is a very good translation by the scholar Harold D. Roth: Original Tao: Inward Training (Nei-yeh) and the Foundations of Taoist Mysticism .

So what exactly does the Nei-Yeh talk about?

One of its key themes is how one can control the human mind in a way that will allow someone to maintain their vitality in a world that will drain it out of you if you let it.

All the forms of the mind Are naturally infused and filled with it [the vital essence], Are naturally generated and developed [because of] it. It is lost Inevitably because of sorrow, happiness, joy, anger, desire, and profit-seeking. If you are able to cast off sorrow, happiness, joy, anger, desire and profit-seeking, Your mind will just revert to equanimity. The true condition of the mind Is that it finds calmness beneficial and, by it, attains repose. Do not disturb it, do not disrupt it And harmony will naturally develop. (“Chapter” 3)

The essential way to control the mind is through reminding yourself to avoid identifying with the fleeting mental states that arise in our minds from the events of our day-to-day lives (i.e “happiness, joy, anger,

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desire, etc”.) Instead, the person should strive towards a form of equanimity that comes from constantly reminding himself or herself that he or she is not these specific emotions but rather something else. This is expressed through the phrase “holding onto the One”.

Those who can transform even a single thing, call them "numinous"; Those who can alter even a single situation, call them "wise." But to transform without expending vital energy; to alter without expending wisdom: Only exemplary persons who hold fast to the One are able to do this. Hold fast to the One; do not loose it, And you will be able to master the myriad things. Exemplary persons act upon things, And are not acted upon by them, Because they grasp the guiding principle of the One. (“Chapter” 9)

People have mentioned that this “holding onto the One” sounds remarkably similar to the Buddhist idea of “mindfulness”, and there are similarities. But there are differences too. Daoism believes that the mind and body are intimately connected. As such, Nei-Yeh emphasizes the necessity of proper body awareness and posture as an essential element of “holding onto the One”.

When your body is not aligned, The inner power will not come. When you are not tranquil within, Your mind will not be ordered. Align your body, assist the inner power, Then it will gradually come on its own. (“Chapter” 11)

When we practice Taijiquan, these two points are very important. First, we have to be constantly aware of our posture and how the different elements of our body fit together. Is my knee over my foot? Am I double-weighted? Am I remembering to breathe right? – ”Align your body, assist the inner power”. Second, you have to make sure that you don't get distracted. If you think about what you're going to say to your boss when he asks why the latest job wasn't done on schedule, you will lose your place in the set – so remember to “hold onto the One”. Another way in which Nei-Yeh differs from Buddhism is that it specifically talks about governance and how people interact with each other. Buddhism tends to dismiss the human world as “maya” (or “illusion”). In contrast, Daoism believes that the here and now is just as important as any other place. It describes the universe in terms of “Heaven and Earth”, not “Heaven above and Earth below” – as Indian and European religions do. Becoming in tune with the Dao through inner training is supposed to help you do a better job of working within institutions and getting along with others.

With a well-ordered mind within you,Well-ordered words issue forth from your mouth,And well-ordered tasks are imposed on others.Then all under heaven will be well-ordered."When one word is grasped,All under the heavens will submit.When one word is fixed,All under heavens will listen."It is this [word "Way"] to which the saying refers. (“Chapter” 10)

Since one of the more annoying parts of the martial arts world is learning to navigate the strong egos and internal politics, it helps immensely if people can learn through “inner training” to speak “well-ordered words” and ask people to perform “well-ordered tasks”. (I certainly wish someone had worked with me on this when I started learning Taijiquan – but then that entire organization from the Daoshis in charge to the local teachers did many crazy things, so I doubt that they would have been competent to teach the Nei-Yeh.)

Most people study Taijiquan for its health benefits. In order to get any benefits, you have to practice regularly. For most people who study, their fundamental health problem is that they are not the sort of people who remember to exercise every day.

For all [to practice] this Way:

You must coil, you must contract,You must uncoil, you must expand,You must be firm, you must be regular [in this practice].Hold fast to this excellent [practice]; do not let go of it.Chase away the excessive; abandon the trivial.And when you reach its ultimate limitYou will return to the Way and the inner power. (“Chapter 17”)

Even if people are exercising regularly, they need to learn a “Daoist” way of looking at the world in order to benefit from Taijiquan. Taijiquan is not just something you scotch-tape onto a life that is out of control, its value resides in its ability to get you to re-evaluate your priorities and change the way you live. “Internal Training” is the process whereby you do this sort of thing. Nei-Yeh offers practical advice about how to change your life that goes beyond simply “holding onto the One”. It suggests that one way to control our inner mind is by consciously choosing what we are going to expose ourselves to.

As for the vitality of all human beings:It inevitably occurs because of balanced and aligned [breathing].The reason for its lossIs inevitably pleasure and anger, worry and anxiety.Therefore, to bring your anger to a halt, there is nothing better than poetry;To cast off worry there is nothing better than music;To limit music there is nothing better than rites;To hold onto the rites there is nothing better than reverence;To hold onto reverence there is nothing better than tranquility.When you are inwardly tranquil and outwardly reverentYou are able to return to your innate natureAnd this nature will become greatly stable. (“Chapter” 22)

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I sometimes suggest to people who get agitated about the latest environmental catastrophe that they go on a “news fast” in order to stop dwelling on negativity. The “Old Ones” who wrote the Nei-Yeh go one step farther and suggest that people seek out specific forms of cultural expression that have a specific effect on the psyche – much like a friend who one told me that when she feels sad she watches a very sad movie to “cry the sadness out of me”.

There is much more that could be said about the Nei-Yeh and I am not the person to say it. What I hope this little essay does is excite some reader's interest in getting a copy so she can read it and come to her own conclusions. I think that a little reflection and a lot of personal experimentation sparked by this little book can go a long way to explaining what the “internals” of Taijiquan really are. In doing so, I would suggest that you would help your own practice – and the practice of the art in Canada – advance a little more.

“The Cloudwalking Owl” is the name adopted by Bill Hulet, a Daoist urban hermit who lives in Guelph, Ontario. A Canadian of non-Chinese extraction, he was initiated into a heterodox form of Quanzhen Daoism several decades ago by a couple of “Daoshis” from Hong Kong. He has also practiced Taijiquan for over 30 years, but is not an expert on either Daoism or Taijiquan. He does, however, have a Master's degree in philosophy. If you'd like to learn more about his idiosyncratic life, he publishes a blog that can be found by Googling the phrase “Daoist Hermit” or at: http://urbanecohermit.blogspot.com/

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When you joined the Canadian Taijiquan Federationdid you receive your official complementary crest?

If not, please send an email to the CTF President through our website contact page at

www.canadiantaijiquanfederation.com

I have been involved in Taijiquan for the last 30 years. I was introduced to martial arts by many teachers and influenced by a few. During my time of study I began to understand that martial arts is both a discipline and an art form. Pursuing the discipline, one should acquire a combination of proper instruction, adept understanding and appropriate application.

These factors, along with a wholesome traditional foundation, separate modern from traditional martial arts. In today's society, the most challenging aspects of the arts are the modern lifestyle and global attitudes. To most young people today, the reasons for choosing and studying a martial art are variable. Some may see it as a way to become famous – to be the next winner of the ''Ultimate Fighting Championship'' commonly known as the ''King of the Octagon''.

Others may pursue another path where they choose the tournament circuit as their arena and pursue recognition by winning trophies and titles.The original purpose for martial arts was self-defense and later became a method of personal development. There are different ways to achieve these goals so one must first identify one’s own real purpose for training. One of my key principles is definitely a system with traditional foundation, which includes meditation, applications, form, function and feeling.

In a traditional approach there should be some philosophy, some theology and some room for adaptation and innovation. This allows both the art and the artist to maintain their essential principles, yet develop and add to their traditional forte; allowing room for continued growth, keeping it a living tradition, and maintaining a vital system where the art's full expression stays dynamic and the essential discipline of the style never gets lost. Thereafter, each generation of practitioner will add a little more to the system; breathing fresh life into the martial art and making it relevant in the time and environment in which it is practiced.

Taijiquan and Taijiboxing are heavily steeped in artistic expression – depending on which family’s style is practiced – and archaic principles founded in a symbiotic relationship between Taoism and Buddhism.

In an article written by Gene Ching from an interview with Master Taiji player, Dr Yang Jwing-Ming, in Kungfu Taiji Magazine, March/April edition (pages 33-44), some very poignant questions are asked:

“Question: ''What do you see as the biggest challenges facing traditional Chinese martial art today?''Answer: ''Today's lifestyle has changed as well as the peoples attitudes. A new 'MacDonald Culture' has taken over with a fancy of quick and low

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The Evolution of a Taij BoxerBy Dennis Pounall

Dennis Pounal – “Return to Buddha” stance –  Wuij becomes Taiji; unity of

mind, body, and spirit posture

quality martial arts. Their attitude is, fast training and fast result. No time for dedication. No time to practice and no patience is the today's motto, henceforth the evolution of 'Mixed Martial Arts' is in trouble.”

Dr. Yang Jwing Ming stated: ''Most people don't care for traditional Chinese martial arts the same way they don't care for classical music.'' Dr. Yang Jwing Ming then went on to show that due to dedication, perseverance and patience, the people of the past were able to produce refined music called classical music. As much as many people today listen to rock music, classical music still survives the test of time. Rock music, on the other hand, keeps changing genre with each ever-changing generation; however, people still like the classical rock of the 80's as well as any other decade.

Consequently, if people did not hold on to tradition and add to it, there would be no foundation for the next generation to stand on. Therefore, it is important to preserve the traditional martial arts – its path and method – away from modern distractions and focus on living one's life to the fullest potential. The key to mastering the art is in the discipline, traditions, flexibility and longevity of the human capacity towards rising above unavoidable everyday existence.

With today's 'MacDonald Society' and the immediate gratification and social recognition ideology, it is easy to understand why many young athletes might view practicing traditional martial arts as a waste of their time.

A reasonably fit and motivated individual might be able to learn the basics of the art, possibly win U.F.C. titles and earn a sizable income and endorsements but the true essence of the art might be lost. They might get lots of money or even become a famous 'movie star' collecting endorsements or royalties. The “Ultimate Fighting Championship” is the only recognized professional martial arts venue that is not based on an Asian-affiliated martial arts tradition, thus widening its appeal to the everyday martial arts

practitioner with the desire and guts to put the time, effort and training into their self-generated career. This, I believe, is one of the fundamental reasons for its growing popularity among the upcoming generation of martial artist and professional athletes.

On the other hand, if you train in a good traditional system you may get peace of mind, maintain a healthy body weight, develop a peaceful attitude and learn how to avoid personal confrontations.

Which would you choose?

Both require effort but the latter can be life-changing and be done for a long time and just like classical music can improve with age. With traditional martial arts you train a higher level of awareness and a higher level of alertness along with the ability for a peacefully integrated mind, body and soul.

Today most of Taijiquan instruction is based in traditional theories with traditional curriculums. It tends to attract more gentle midlife practitioners who practice for various reasons yet the underlying principles remain consistent regardless of style or focus. Most Taiji players receive an inherent benefit of peace of mind, a willingness to learn and understand that practice makes perfect – not seeking perfection by external gratification but accepting the personal benefits of daily development.

Some learn patience and some delve a little deeper to learn perception and the ability to take the basic principles and add to them to create something else. Others learn transmission. This is another skill – the ability to bring encourage or enlighten a fellow practitioner about interpretation and applications. These hidden qualities are sometimes overlooked and not mentioned as part of the ongoing evolution for the universal movement of Taijiquan.

Taijiquan instruction and traditional martial arts schools should strive to teach life principles, life skills, and practical applications for today's

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students. This could mean not holding back and be willing to keep learning and keep sharing. This gives each player the ability for ongoing evolution as both a disciple or as a player in this great musical adventure called life.

Taijiboxing as a martial art is a journey of self-discovery that requires one to understand and except the elusive concept of ''Wuji". This slow unraveling of truth is the difference between legend and mastery, fact and fiction. The key is not to be attached to either definition, but to go straight. Adopting a doing, not unravelling attitude. I would encourage everyone to discovery what their version of Taijiboxing is.

Thanks for your interest. I hope you enjoyed my ideas, be well aware!!

Peace. Sifu Dennis Pounall

Sifu Dennis Pounall lives and works in Elliott Lake, Northern Ontario, as a paramedic. He has been tirelessly practicing martial arts for over 30 years. His styles include Yang style Taijiquan, Pang Gi Noon, Chinese Okinawan Gung Fu, and Kook Sool Won. He teaches workshops and participates in national and international competitions in various styles. He is affiliated with Atado Schools of Defensive Arts and Taijiquan. Dennis can be contacted at: well_a_ware60@yahoo.ca

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Dennis Meeking and Dennis Pounall – “repulse monkey with toe kick

retreating step”

Dennis Pounall and Dennis Meeking –

“separation of right foot toe kick”

Saturday / Sunday workshops & Free Friday Push Handsin Gatineau, Quebec

Saturday Workshops in Milton, Ontario

August 2010 – June 2011

Taiji For Two, Empty Hand & Sword,5-Section Chen, Taji Fan, Push Hands for all!

with Adriaan Blaauw & Jill HeathMilton Seniors Activity Centre, 500 Childs Drive, Milton, Ontario

Chen (11am-1pm Sat.); Empty Hand (2-4 pm Sat.); Sword (5:30-8:30 pm Sat.)New this time! Taiji Fan (2-4pm Sat.)

Chen, Empty Hand & Taiji Fan in Activity Room; Sword in Games Room

Centre de Tai Chi Gilles Vaillant, 109 rue Wright, Gatineau, QuebecFREE FRIDAYS! Push hands free play zones! All are welcome!

Sword (1-4 pm Sat.); Empty Hand (12-2 pm Sun.); Chen (2:30-4:30 pm Sun.)

Information: Adriaan Blaauw: ablaauw@sympatico.ca or Jill Heath: jillmheath@earthlink.net

Fees & Payment (per curriculum): $50 each 3-hour workshop; $40 if previous in series attended. $40 each 2-hour workshop; $30 if previous in series attended. Pay in full in advance for six 3-hour workshops: $225. Pay in full in advance for six 2-hour workshops: $170. You may pay via cash, cheque or electronically (email transfer, hyperWALLET, PayPal).Gatineau: Attend entire weekend for $120; $90 if previous in series attended. Pay in full in advance for six entire weekends: $500. Push hands are free and all levels of experience are welcome.

Push hands: Not a formal class, but an opportunity to cross hands in an informal environment with other players of varying levels of experience, training backgrounds, and styles. Some instruction available.

Chen: The study of Chen continues via the 5-section form, including solo and two-person work. Newcomers welcome

Taiji For Two: Empty Hand: Two-person empty hand study including work on the 5-section 2-person choreography. Partner work helps to develop greater understanding of techniques and energies. In turn, this transfers greater depth to solo practice as the movements acquire more meaning to the practitioner.

Taiji For Two: Sword: Two-person sword study, including work on that rarity in taiji: a two-person sword form, in this case, the 5-section. Partner work helps to develop greater understanding of sword techniques and energies. In turn, this transfers greater depth to solo sword practice, much in the same way that studying two-person empty-hand work can improve solo form.

Taiji Fan: Both veteran fan wielders and newcomers are welcome. Refinement of form for those who are already familiar with the choreography. Introduction to the Flying Rainbow Fan Routine for newcomers.

PLEASE NOTE: Fan class taught by Jill; Empty Hand by Adriaan. Other classes team-taught by both.

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Saturday 14 August 2010 Saturday 11 September 2010 Saturday 13 November 2010 Saturday 04 December 2010 Saturday 08 January 2011 Saturday 12 February 2011 Saturday 05 March 2011 Saturday 02 April 2011 Saturday 04 June 2011

Friday - Sunday 17-19 September 2010 Friday - Sunday 05-07 November 2010Friday - Sunday 10-12 December 2010 Friday - Sunday 14-16 January 2011Friday - Sunday 18-20 February 2011 Friday - Sunday 11-13 March 2011 Friday - Sunday 08-10 April 2011 Friday - Sunday 10-12 June 2011

Toronto Push Hands PlayFacilitated by Colin OutramMonday 2 August 2010www.outramcolin.com/push-hands-play

5-Section Workshops in Miltonwith Adriaan Blaauw and Jill HeathSaturdays: August 14, Sept.11Milton Seniors' Activity Centre,500 Childs Drive, Milton, Ontario, Canada5-Section Chen (10am - noon) 5-Section 2-Person Empty Hand (1-4pm)5-Section 2-Person Sword (5:30-8:30pm)Contact: Adriaan Blaauw ablaauw@sympatico.ca Jill Heath jillmheath@earthlink.net

Temple Knights Workshopswith John Oliver-Peel and Valerie Houston-PeelWu Shu Camp: Sunday 15 – Sunday 22 Aug. 2010Temple Knights Martial Arts Academy1018 Moot Road, Muskoka, Ontario, CanadaContact: (705)767-1177 info@templeknights.com www.templeknights.com

T’ai Chi in Sacred Places: A T’ai Chi & Qigong Retreat Weekend hosted by Phoenix T’ai Chi CentreFriday 20 – Sunday 22 August 2010Five Oaks Centre, Paris, Ontario, CanadaContact: (519)439-8875 www.phoenixtaichi.ca

Wudeng Saberwith Michael GilmanFriday 28- Sunday 30 August 2010Gilman Studio, 913 L St., Port Townsend, WA, USAContact:(360)385-5027 michael@gilmanstudio.comwww.gilmanstudio.com

Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Methodwith Master Chen Zhonghua Monday 20 – Friday 24 Sept. 2010 (9am-4:30pm)

Saturday 25 – Sunday 26 Sept. 2010 (9am-5pm)Rough Woods Community Centre110 Shirely Drive, Richmond Hill, Ontario,CanadaContact: Ki Nam Choi (416)860-1431 kinam.of.kchoi@gmail.com Cora Li (416)687-4237 cora.li.cora@gmail.com

Grand Master Chen Zhenglei Taichi GalaNorth American Chen’s Taichi AssociationFriday 24 September (6:30-10pm)

Chen’s Taichi Single Sword with Chen ZhengleiSaturday 25 September 2010 (9am-3:45pm)

Chen’s Taichi Old Frame Routine One & Twowith Chen ZhengleiSunday 26 September 2010 (9am-4pm)Milton Seniors' Activity Centre, 500 Childs Drive, Milton, Ontario, CanadaContact: Jack Yan(416)677-3886 jack.yan@taishanclub.com

Cheng Hsing Workshopwith Peter RalstonFriday 24 - Sunday 26 September 2010Rochester T'ai Chi Ch'uan Center80 Rockwood Pl. Rochester NY USAContact: Frank Lamanna (585)461-0130fl.kodi@frontiernet.netwww.rtccc.com

YMAA Workshops in Californiawith Dr. Yang Jwing-MingYMAA CA Retreat Center, Miranda, CA, USAContact: (617)524-8892 or (707)502-8739www.ymaa.comTaiji Ball QigongTaiji Yin-Yang Symbol Sticking HandsFriday 6-Friday 13 August 2010

Qigong-1 (Theory and Spine Qigong)Friday 13-Friday 20 August 2010

Qigong-4 (Soft Qigong, Taiji and Soft White Crane Qigong)Friday 20-Friday 27 August 2010

EVENTS / Événements

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YMAA Workshops in BostonYMAA International Headquarters38 Hyde Park Avenue, Jamaica Plain, MA, USAContact: (617)524-8892www.ymaa.com

Chin Na – Joint Lock-and-Controlwith Jim Noble & Paul GreenSaturday 7-Sunday 8 August 2010

Seven Star Mantis – Beng Bu Sequencewith Walter WongSaturday 14-Sunday 15 August 2010

Baguazhang – Emei Dragon Shape Baguazhangwith Adison MartinSaturday 21-Sunday 22 August 2010

Staff I/II Foundation, Matching & Qi Mei Gun Sequencewith Nicholas C. Yang & Ben WarnerSaturday 28 August 2010

Straight Sword Liang Yi Jian Sequencewith Nicholas C. YangSaturday 11-Sunday 12 September 2010

Pushing HandsGetting From Stationary To Movingwith Jeff PrattSaturday 18 September 2010

White Crane PrimerUnderstanding Four Corners and Soft-Hard Jinwith Nicholas C. Yang & Ben WarnerSunday 19 September 2010

Shuai Jiao – Introduction To Takedownswith Nicholas C. Yang & Ben WarnerSaturday 25 September 2010

Chin Na in Ground Fighting –Intro. to Grappling & Submission Wrestlingwith Scott TarbellSunday 26 September 2010

Qi Healing Introduction –Becoming the Master of Your Qiwith Lisa B. O’SheFriday 1 October 2010

Annual General Meeting of theCanadian Taijiquan FederationSaturday 2 October 201011am-12noonCalvin Presbyterian Church, 248 Westmount Road East,Kitchener, Ontario

20th Anniversary Celebration ofCold Mountain Internal ArtsSaturday 2 October 20101-7:30pmCalvin Presbyterian Church, 248 Westmount Road East, Kitchener, OntarioContact: Alpha Montemayor ksparks@rogers.com

Yang-style Taijiquan 108: Inside and Outwith Sam MasichSunday 3 October 2010Waterloo Community Arts Centre,(the Old Button Factory),25 Regina Street South, Waterloo, OntarioContact: Alpha Montemayor ksparks@rogers.com

Martial Arts of Chen Pan Lingwith Grandmaster Chen Yun ChingWednesday 6 - Sunday 10 October 2010Rochester T'ai Chi Ch'uan Center80 Rockwood Pl. Rochester NY USAContact: Brian Bruning (585)461-0130rtccc@juno.comwww.rtccc.com

EVENTS / Événements

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Canadian Taijiquan Federation / Fédération Canadienne de TaijiquanA registered Non-Profit Corporation / Un organisme à but non-lucratif dument enregistré

1. To encourage development in the practice of Taijiquan and preserve its characteristics as an expression of Chinese culture and philosophy.

2. To stimulate public awareness of and participation in Taijiquan.

3. To inclusively link practitioners of Taijiquan from various styles and traditions without precedence – whether as individuals or gathered in groups, clubs and organizations across Canada – as they join the Federation family.

4. To network nationally and internationally with other Taijiquan practitioners, groups, clubs and organizations with the aim of broadening and strengthening the Canadian Taijiquan experience.

1. Encourager la pratique du taijiquan et préserver son caractère culturel et philosophique chinois.

2. Stimuler la connaissance et la participation du grand public en matière de taijiquan.

3. Relier tous les praticiens de taijiquan, peu importe les styles et les traditions, qu’ils soient seuls ou affiliés, partout au Canada.

4. Élargir et renforcer l’expérience canadienne du taijiquan en créant un réseau national et international pour les individus, les groupes, les clubs, et les autres organisations.

Annual CTF membership includes:

• A subscription to the CTF’s quarterly journal TongRen

• One complementary official CTF crest for each new membership

Benefits of CTF membership:

• Access to Taijiquan Teacher Training workshops sponsored by the CTF and facilitated by experienced Taijiiquan teachers

• Access to the CTF Taijiquan Teacher Certification program

• Email notices of CTF-related news and upcoming events

• Access to the ‘members-only’ section of the CTF website which includes expanded event postings and links, an archive of back issues of TongRen, photographs, blogs and forums

• Postings to the public-access pages of the CTF website for your club/school, workshops/seminars and other Taiji-related events

• Opportunities to connect, meet, share and further your Taijiquan-related knowledge and experience with other practitioners

• Opportunities to get involved and make a difference in the Taijiquan community by sitting on the CTF Board of Directors and its various committees (volunteer)

• Discounted enrollment is often extended to CTF members for workshops and activities organized by CTF members

• Purchase of official CTF T-Shirts and crests

Une membriété annuelle vous offre:

• Un abonnement à TongRen, la revue trimestrielle de la FCT, que vous recevrez par la poste

• Un écusson gratuit de la FCT si vous êtes un nouveau membre

Avantages supplémentaires:

• Accès aux ateliers de formation des instructeurs, ateliers parrainés par la FCT et donnés par des enseignants chevronnés

• Accès au programme de la FCT de certification des enseignants de taijiquan

• Avis électroniques des nouvelles et des événements à venir de la FCT

• Accès à la section pour les membres du site web de la FCT qui présente une liste étoffée des événements et des liens, les anciens numéros de TongRen, des photos, des blogs et des forums

• Pages publiques pour annoncer votre organisme, vos ateliers et tout autre événement lié au taiji

• Des occasions de contacts, de rencontres et de partages avec des praticiens du taiji pour accroître vos connaissances et votre expérience

• Des occasions de vous engager comme bénévoles et d'influencer la communauté du taiji en joignant le Conseil d'administration de la FCT et ses multiples comités

• Des inscriptions à tarif réduit à des ateliers et activités organisés par nos membres

• Possibilité d'acheter les t-shirts et les écussons de la FCT

Membership / Membriété

Mission

Name/Nom: __________________________________________________________________________

Address/Adresse: _____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________ Country/Pays: ___________________________ Postal Code/Code postal: ___________________

Telephone/Téléphone:

Home/Domicile: _____________________________ Work/Travail: __________________________

Email/Courriel: ________________________ Website/Site web: _____________________________

Student of/Étudiant de: ________________________________________________________________ Club/Organization/Organisme: _________________________________________________________

Instructor for/Enseignant pour: _________________________________________________________ Club/Organization/Organisme: _________________________________________________________

Forms Studied/Formes étudiées: ________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

Individual membership $35 (Canadian or US) / Family membership $50 (Canadian or US)Membriété personnelle 35$ (canadiens ou américains) / Membriété familiale 50$ (canadiens ou américains)

Please copy and mail completed membership form along with your cheque or money order to:Veuillez envoyer le formulaire dûment rempli et accompagné d’un chèque ou d’un mandat à la:

Canadian Taijiquan Federation P.O. Box 32055 London, Ontario Canada N5V 5K4

You can also register or renew your membership online. Vous pouvez aussi devenir membre ou renouveler votre membriété en ligne.

www.canadiantaijiquanfederation.com

Canadian Taijiquan Federation Membership Application Form

Formulaire d’ Inscription à la Fédération Canadienne de Taijiquan

www.canadiantaijiquanfederation.com