Just saw this over on reddit and couldn't help myself, as it sums up my feeling about why I want to look at tai chi from a scientific perspective.
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Friday, 2 November 2012
Tai Chi Elements virtual training environment
[Thanks very much to my friend, and reader, Ashley for pointing this out to me]
An interesting kickstarter proposal for a new virtual environment for training in tai chi, is currently open for backers.
The idea seems to be that it's a virtual world where people can study 3D models of "Tai Chi masters" developed through motion capture technology. This is an interesting project and I've made a pledge. I have to say though that I'm sceptical as to what the real benefit of this might be, but am supportive of it as an interesting initiative.
The reason I'm sceptical is that they don't talk about things like being able to capture your movements directly using a kinect for example to match your body positions to that of the motion capture model. Without this feature, I can't really see what the benefit of the motion capture is. Tai chi is after all about subtle rotations of the body core/centre/dan-tien. The positions of your arms and legs are a secondary consideration, as they should follow the movement of your centre. The 3D animated model would potentially suffer from the drawback of capturing limb position very well but miss the movement of the centre. In other words, why not just watch a video (even a multi-angle video) of a real master, rather than removing yourself one step through this animated 3D model. Because it's an immersive 3D environment/game that's why - which I guess in itself is a benefit if you are into computer games.
So it's obviously not the all singing all dancing virtual in training environment that I would want. But as with most things in life, that would need to be developed over time. This project looks to be a good first step on that road, and perhaps if I help them out it might open up chances to include all these "more advanced" features in the future. I'm happy to put a little bit of money towards it, to reward their initiative. It's easy to talk (or write), I give respect to people who are actually trying to do.
PS. I notice that some of the larger pledges include all-inclusive residential courses. Now I don't know anything about who is running these or what they might include, but giving them the benefit of the doubt that it will be a fair amount of tai chi tuition, these prices seem to be pretty good value. Hence even if you don't care in the slightest about the 3D game, it might be quite a cheap way to get some good residential tuition, or a tai chi retreat holiday!
EDIT: Having failed to get anywhere near their £75,000 funding target, they are trying again with an "incremental approach" and a radically reduced target at only 7% of the original goal. At the time of writing it looks to have attracted roughly the same level of interest (i.e. mainly people buying residential courses who they presumably know already in most cases).
An interesting kickstarter proposal for a new virtual environment for training in tai chi, is currently open for backers.
The idea seems to be that it's a virtual world where people can study 3D models of "Tai Chi masters" developed through motion capture technology. This is an interesting project and I've made a pledge. I have to say though that I'm sceptical as to what the real benefit of this might be, but am supportive of it as an interesting initiative.
The reason I'm sceptical is that they don't talk about things like being able to capture your movements directly using a kinect for example to match your body positions to that of the motion capture model. Without this feature, I can't really see what the benefit of the motion capture is. Tai chi is after all about subtle rotations of the body core/centre/dan-tien. The positions of your arms and legs are a secondary consideration, as they should follow the movement of your centre. The 3D animated model would potentially suffer from the drawback of capturing limb position very well but miss the movement of the centre. In other words, why not just watch a video (even a multi-angle video) of a real master, rather than removing yourself one step through this animated 3D model. Because it's an immersive 3D environment/game that's why - which I guess in itself is a benefit if you are into computer games.
So it's obviously not the all singing all dancing virtual in training environment that I would want. But as with most things in life, that would need to be developed over time. This project looks to be a good first step on that road, and perhaps if I help them out it might open up chances to include all these "more advanced" features in the future. I'm happy to put a little bit of money towards it, to reward their initiative. It's easy to talk (or write), I give respect to people who are actually trying to do.
PS. I notice that some of the larger pledges include all-inclusive residential courses. Now I don't know anything about who is running these or what they might include, but giving them the benefit of the doubt that it will be a fair amount of tai chi tuition, these prices seem to be pretty good value. Hence even if you don't care in the slightest about the 3D game, it might be quite a cheap way to get some good residential tuition, or a tai chi retreat holiday!
EDIT: Having failed to get anywhere near their £75,000 funding target, they are trying again with an "incremental approach" and a radically reduced target at only 7% of the original goal. At the time of writing it looks to have attracted roughly the same level of interest (i.e. mainly people buying residential courses who they presumably know already in most cases).
Thursday, 1 November 2012
Structural warm up exercises
About time I posted an actual tai chi video, so here's one I really like. Great set of generic warm-up exercises with a detailed commentary. Extremely articulate explanations based on structure and bio-mechanics, without any supernatural mumbo-jumbo, which makes it all the more authoritative for me.
Simple exercises, but if you understand the principle they can be powerful. That is the secret of tai chi - being able to do a small number of things extremely well. The art of course is understanding what those small number of things actually are!
Simple exercises, but if you understand the principle they can be powerful. That is the secret of tai chi - being able to do a small number of things extremely well. The art of course is understanding what those small number of things actually are!
Friday, 19 October 2012
Demystifying chi - a must watch video
Wow, I have just discovered the most wonderful video thanks to my fellow blogger at internal gong fu. This video is called demystifying chi and is essentially reinforcing the point that I have been making (as regular readers will know), that I am not a big fan of "chi" and all it's connotations as energy. Where does this apparent translation come from? This video provides the answers:
Direct video link
But for those of you who don't have time (it's ~1 hr long but I suggest you make the time if you are interested in internal arts or "energy") or just want to get the gist of it, let me quote from internal kung fu on his write up:
"[Dr. Nugent-Head] begins the seminar with a brief history of the word "Qi" and follows this with presenting nine primary definitions for Qi. He then reads through a list of 163 definitions where Qi is the first part of a compound character set and and then reads a list of 235 definitions where Qi is the second part of a compound character set for a total of 407 definitions that use the character Qi. This largely consumes the first 37 minutes of this lecture.Good summary - and now let me add a couple of highlights of my own from the video, that I would draw your attention to:
While you might think that listening to a reading of definitions is boring, if you only know Qi as "energy", "life force", "pneuma", "breath of God" or whatever, then you are in for a real surprise and listening to this list is absolutely essential! I found my understanding of Qi shifting and changing as he read through the list.
In my opinion, by us (American's) translating a non-definitive, non-elemental word-concept like Qi into definitive, elemental terms like "energy" or "life force" or whatever, this flawed "translation" process has resulted in some real silliness in the internal martial arts."
- At time index 03:00 (and then discussed at 40:00), he points out that if we want to talk about a word from another language (chi) rather than arguing about it we should go to a dictionary first of all. He then points out that not a single one of the nine English to Chinese translations of chi is energy. Go figure. Why has this come about? Through his language grinder concept and for historical and co-incidental reasons (watch the video).
- At time index 51:30 - "The concept of chi as energy creates an aura and vaulted status to practitioners; to demystify it would leave them naked to the scrutiny of their own skill level" [and later on] there are a lot of unscrupulous people making money off chi, not like the proverbial snake oil salesmen - they are snake oil salesmen.
Representational not definitive
Frankly a wonderful video in which I found very authoritative, entertaining and based in reality not superstition. As Dr. Nugent-Head says at the end in summary, chi is not a thing (a thing that confounds Western science), it is a "representational not definitive" concept of a pictorial language.
In other words chi is more like an adverb or an adjective rather than a noun or verb. Adverbs & adjectives on there own mean nothing, but they give flavour and emphasise to meaning. So as a little though experiment; imagine that for some reason the word "very" had been translated into Chinese as "strong". A whole lexicon and theory had then grown up around the concept of this "English strength", intermingled with some hypothetical cultural feature. Chinese practitioners would spend years of their life debating this "very" concept, trying to find and explore it. It sounds ridiculous, but neverthless that is exactly what has happen with "chi means energy" in the west.
"What is very?" a Chinese person might ask you, "well it doesn't really mean anything on it's own" you would reply "it depends on the context of the sentence". And low and behold that is the same answer a Chinese person would give to you if you asked them "what does the word chi mean?". Chi is just a way of language, of culture. It is not a thing. It is not energy.
Friday, 12 October 2012
Humiliation for Yan Fang
I'm glad to see some action has been taken against that obvious charlatan Yan Fang that I wrote about before. She has been striped of all of her tai chi credentials and denounced as a faker and fraudster by her closest peers. As Xiang Guoyuan, is rightly quoted:
"I've told her to stop faking the technique years ago, but she never listened... Such foolishness can damage the image of Tai Chi."
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Tai chi as a martial art
People often wonder if tai chi has any real martial value, and indeed I have written about this before. I said then that seeing was believing, and so here are two videos from China which I think go a small way to ticking that box.
First of all a student of Chen Style tai chi winning a mixed wushu competition on Chinese tv. Read about the details here and watch the video below (note the guy with the red sash is the chen tai chi student):
Secondly a video of Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang demonstrating the technique of tai chi rooting to overcome China's strongest man. Yes that's the current strongest man out of a population of over a Billion, being unable to push a 70 year old man over (in three 1 minute rounds). Amazing demonstration of technique over strength.
First of all a student of Chen Style tai chi winning a mixed wushu competition on Chinese tv. Read about the details here and watch the video below (note the guy with the red sash is the chen tai chi student):
Secondly a video of Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang demonstrating the technique of tai chi rooting to overcome China's strongest man. Yes that's the current strongest man out of a population of over a Billion, being unable to push a 70 year old man over (in three 1 minute rounds). Amazing demonstration of technique over strength.
Monday, 24 September 2012
Tai chi zero trailer
Ahhhh.... the serene and spiritual practice of tai chi originating in chenjiagou. I'm sure Hollywood will stay true to the art and do it justice....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)