Hello, Tai Chi, nice to meet you.

I arrived at this place called tai chi as a result of some thoughts I had 4 or so years ago.  This internal dialogue went something like this (a complete paraphrase).

"So, I'm getting into my 20s and I'm starting to notice that I'm not as strong or fit as I'd like to be.  I'm starting to get all soggy, and I can see these two futures emerging:  in one future version of myself (in my, lets say, mid 30s), I'm on the couch in a white tee shirt with a large belly and terrible complexion, eating something salty.  (Think Ben Stiller as White Goodman from the movie Dodgeball.  That's right.  The fat version.)"

"NOOOOOOO!!! There has to be another way.  I'd rather see myself fit and strong and not dying early, or even beginning the process of death as I sit there on the couch and destroy myself utterly."

"Fit people exercise.  So if I want to be a cool kid and do what the cool kids are doing, I should exercise too.  Well, how do you exercise? I'd better find out.  Exercise is HARD!  But wait, nothing is harder than watching yourself fall apart in the mirror."

So I embarked on an exercise quest of a little less than a year over which I tried lots and lots of different kinds of exercise. I'm not saying I gave all of these their fair shake.  I stuck with some longer than others.  I'll include an abbreviated list here:

Lifting
Running
Yoga
Richard Simmons videos
Body weight calisthenics (recommended)
Pilates
Tae Bo
Challenges at hundredpushups.com (also a good start)
The Shaolin Workout by Sifu Shi Yan Ming

I'm sure there was more where that came from.  A question that came up in my mind was "When I am all strong and fit, what kind of strong and fit do I want to be?"  Those body builders, mad respect, but I'm kind of a smaller guy.  I think I want to be leaner and more efficient.  Who looks like that?  Martial arts guys do. Yeah! Guys like Bruce Lee.  That's fitness.  That's how I want to be 10 years from now.

Sifu Shi Yan Ming

I started looking at martial arts for fitness and read about and looked at all different kinds.  I initially settled on Shaolin Kung Fu, because I liked the way it looked when I saw myself in my mind's eye doing that stuff.  I got a hold of the book, the Shaolin Workout, and went through the exercises therein.  Now, this is definately not the fault of the author, but due to my inexperience with pace, I sustained a back injury doing the exercises.  This is why they always recommend getting martial arts instruction from an experienced and reputable teacher, in person.  At that point my wife says "No more Shaolin Kung Fu!" and I say "okay." (for now)





I still really liked the idea of pursuing martial arts for fitness.  I started looking at tai chi as a gentler alternative.  I got a hold of the David Carradine AM & PM tai chi from my local library, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Snake Creeps Low

Since then, my back is rehabilitated, though I still have a knot at the site of the original injury.  I think its a great reminder, especially since it doesn't really give me any pain.  After doing David Carradine AM & PM tai chi for awhile, I decided to find more.  I learned the 24 form tai chi from a combination of The 24 form with Dr. Paul Lam and Canadian YouTube sensation Ian Sinclair.  Both are amazing teachers that got me quite a ways.  I also learned the 8 Pieces of Brocade Qigong from multiple sources.  Everyone does it a little differently, but it's a great routine to modify to fit your needs wherever you are.  The 8 Brocade is still the routine I recommend most for people who wish to try an exercise that is more gentle.  Also, while studying tai chi throughout those couple intervening years, I learned Dragon and Tiger Medical Qigong from Bruce Frantzis.  I've also become pretty adept at post standing exercise, or zhan zhuang.  Standing meditation may be my favorite aspect of the training I've undertaken.  I'd recommend it to anyone who can't readily sit in a lotus (that's me too!).

Ian Sinclair

Bruce Frantzis

Richard Clear

In the recent months I've been going through the finer points of my tai chi certification training with Richard Clear, a decision I sat on for a year before making.  Also, because of that training, I started to develop sensitivity to qi (chi) energy.  In the last few months, I've really been exploring energetic healing, but we're gonna blow that way open in future posts.

Thanks for reading!

What about you?  How did your journey lead you here?  I love a good story!