Taijiquan/Qigong studies

Hello everyone

I have been studying various martial arts for a handful of years now and as my focus in them is getting more, well, focused, I have decided to start studying some internal art forms to improve my structure, biomechanics, and overall health and long-term well being. I plan to begin studying Taiji and eventually Qigong at a local school sometime later this year (probably around fall/winter) and I was wondering if anyone else has experience with these or other similar forms-based internal arts, if anyone has chosen to apply their concept of the Force to these studies, and what sort of interesting finds, conclusions, or advice people have.

If I was to imagine a manifestation of the Temple's Jedi Tenet's I could say that focus is of mind, knowledge is of the Force, and Wisdom is action of both of them together... the Tenet's being the realization perhaps of the fictional Jedi Pillars of Force, Knowledge and Self Discipline, such that;

Mind;
Jediism emphasizes rigorous meditation-practice, insight into Force-nature, and the personal expression of this insight in daily life, especially for the benefit of others. As such, it deemphasizes mere knowledge of myth and doctrine, and favors direct understanding through meditation and interaction with other Jedi. (eg Zen)

Body;
Slow - Force Cultivation practice typically involves moving meditation, coordinating slow flowing movement, deep rhythmic breathing, and calm meditative state of mind. (eg QiGong)
Fast - Force Focus practice typically involves moving meditation, coordinating fast flowing movement and breathing, and calm meditative state of mind. (eg Martial Arts, sword play, etc)

So yea I think QiGong is a great body of knowledge to Jediism!!!

I've got a few years of experience in both. Do you have any specific questions? As for a general thing, I'd say...
Qigong is very important, perhaps more important than Taijiquan, due to the focus of linking breath to movement and method of breath. I would say that Qigong should be studied before Taijiquan, since the methods in Qigong are greatly beneficial to Taijiquan practice. As for the physical aspects of Qigong, it is light exercise which will probably increase your lung capacity and make you feel more energetic in general due to the increased amount of air you take in. The more metaphysical aspect of Qigong is something which I do not subscribe to, but if you're interested in it I can at least say that it is rumored to allow for better qi flow throughout, and in and out of the body. A connection to the Force would be similar to this depending on your view of the Force, as it would allow for you to more readily feel your own connection to it; in essence, the metaphysics of Qigong as applied to the Force would be a physical exercise which through intent and qi flow would open your mind, soul, or whatever to what we might call the living Force. I noticed, for example, that I could more easily meditate after practicing Qigong.

Taijiquan as it is practiced today is a workout first, a meditation tool second, and a martial art third, in most of the world and especially in the West. But it should be noted that it was and still is through some teachers a martial art, specifically one which focuses on throws, circular blocking, and reactive counterstrikes. One must look no further than the basic movements of the form such as Brush Knee, Push to understand a martial application (in this case, to redirect an opponent's strike and respond with a strike of your own). It should also be noted that most of the power in Taijiquan comes from pushing strikes rather than powerful, crushing blows. The combat aspect of Taijiquan is, in theory, an excellent standup defense neutralizing an opponent's offense until the fight is over. But since you are already experienced in martial arts and are unlikely to find a school which encourages sparring or even (sadly, in my opinion) free-form push hands, I am reasonably sure that you are more interested in the other aspects of the art.

Like Qigong, Taijiquan is focused on breath-movement interaction, and it is for this reason that Qigong is usually taught alongside Taijiquan, often posed as a warm-up exercise or cool-down exercise. The physical side of Taijiquan is a focus on strong rooting and a flexible back and waist. So, your legs, waist, and back will mostly be the focus of your movement. Depending on the school you go to, you may or may not have frequent spine movement; Yang-style seems to be more focused on this than Wu-style in general insofar as my experience is concerned. But every school I have been to has stressed the importance of the waist and legs for rooting and directing force. Taijiquan is usually practiced slow, but there are fast forms, and the general progression if offered will likely be starting with a slow form and moving on to practice a fast form which is just a refinement of the slow form; you should go at whatever pace you feel is necessary. Taijiquan will give to you whatever you put into it.

In terms of meditation of metaphysics, the slow movement of the form is perhaps the most obvious thing to point out. Through slow movement, the steps of the form become internalized, and great attention should be put into each individual movement. Once the form is learned, I find nothing more useful while forgetting my surroundings and being in the moment. To be bold, I have practiced many forms of meditation included Zen meditation, and none have compared to doing Taijiquan.

That's all I really have to say unless you want to ask something specific of me. I hope this helps. This reminds me, in a few weeks I really should start going back to practice under my old teacher. :laugh:

Wow, thank you guys for the excellent responses! I really appreciate it

In terms of specifics, I can go into a little depth of my studies. I'm coming up on my first year of Ving Tsun study, and while we do often emphasize slow movements and attention to detail in our forms, I wanted to branch out a little so I could get my body used to moving in different directions as while Ving Tsun isn't restrictive per se it's built on a very unique set of structural principles that I can't as easily apply to my swordplay. The Taiji school near me does teach push hands, so I was hoping to also use that as a tool to improve my sticky hands practice in VT as well. This is all sort of long-term stuff, I'm not even doing sticky hands in VT yet and probably won't for a little while. I'm just trying to solidify an idea of what I want to get into so that when I start taking these classes I'm taking them in an order that will make sense to me.

I suppose if there is one specific question I have, it would be is there an appreciable practical difference between qigong forms? Also, I was interested in learning White Crane as the form itself is interesting to me and I am currently reading some of the works of Yang Jwing-Ming who is one of its foremost proponents, but the school near me teaches Soaring Crane and Primordial forms. If, after a couple years of practice I was fluid enough in the movements, would it be reasonable for me to try and learn the form myself through practice? Most of my martial arts background is in Historical Fencing, so it's relatively easy once you've learned one weapon to pick up another - but it doesn't quite seem so for forms-based arts like these.

For chi sao and tuishou, there are definitely some similarities! It's good that you're considering both hard and soft styles, as the two can benefit each other greatly. VT/WC/WT or however you want to spell it has a fighting theory which is very similar to Taijiquan's; both tend to fight mid-range Taijiquan being more defensive and grappling-oriented than VT. There are definite differences too, however. While I haven't practiced chi sao personally it seems to be to be the process of looking for openings in mid-range, whereas tuishou is all about redirection and pushing off-balance. Combined, the two would make for excellent mid-range skills. So while tuishou might not directly improve your chi sao, it will make you better at mid-range.

As for Qigong, it's best to remember the old saying "Just breathe". The style of Qigong, in my opinion, is not so important. All of them seem to be light exercises which focus primarily on the breathing method. I remember distinctly when I started learning Yang-style after a while of Wu-style study (I learned what Yang-style I know under a student of Yang Jwing-Ming) that I noticed that the movements were different, but that in essence Qigong is all about breath. The grandmaster of my Shaolin and Wu-style school, Chian Ho Yin, actually wrote a book (which is out of print) on Qigong, detailing standing, sitting, and laying Qigong and saying that all of them were beneficial. So ultimately Qigong is about breath, and in my experience all schools teach that the same way.

Once you become proficient in these arts, you could complete your mid-range skillset by taking on a style like Chu Gar, or any of the other Southern Praying Mantis styles. They're very similar to what you're studying now, but they focus a lot on pressure points and I think they would complement these other styles well.

And historical fencing? The closest I ever got to that was playing with blockers and shields in Taekwondo, lol. That was fun. I bet the real thing is a lot of fun as well (and probably more heavy than foam blockers and shields, too).

I would love to be able to learn more Chinese martial arts down the road but the variety available is very limited in my area... There is no shortage of BJJ or MMA schools around as that is what is hip to study these days, but my VT school as far as I know is the only Chinese combative martial arts school in the area, possibly even the state. Either way, thank you very much for your input

Historical fencing is incredibly fun, and steel is much lighter than you'd think. The basket-hilted swords and bastard swords I'm proficient in typically don't weigh much more than 3 pounds.

Like I tell my husband (Alot)

You wont be young, strong, and powerful forever. I feel a healthy combination of Boxing/MuiTai (Hard) Karate/Japanese Style (Medium) And QiGong/Chinese Style (Soft) Is important to a persons lifestyle. The thing is....Not to delude yourself into thinking the Soft Styles of Chinese QiGong/Akido/BajiQuan/Taijiquan will save you in a real street fight. Balance, combination, and understanding of your true capabilities is important in any form.

if anyone has chosen to apply their concept of the Force to these studies, and what sort of interesting finds, conclusions, or advice people have.

I practice/do QiGong almost every day. For slow mild movements it can be a surprising stimulus to my body.

I think anything that gently focuses you brain and strenghtens the mind body connection is wonderfull, jedi application or not.

I find calmness, relaxiation, greater visualization ability, it helps with my, acks, pains, old injuries, balance and core strength.

Advice, just do it, don't expect fast results, go slow, be gentle, make it part of your daily life style, and enjoy yourself.

It's all good.