Monthly Archives: August 2012
Tai Chi 2: The Lifestyle
Last time we looked at the practice. This time it’s about the place and the people, about what life was like there on Wu Dang Shan. First the setting: life there is encased in a sea of mountain tops and valleys, adding to the ambiance in ways only thought possible in movies or imagination: When mist provided … Continue reading
Tai chi: Practicing the Present
My trainer and I arrived at the tai chi school mid-morning. Last time I showed you a few pictures of what this mountainside martial art boarding school looked like. After dropping my stuff in my room, my trainer took me back outside to begin. Not wasting any time. On the other side of the street … Continue reading
Up the Mountain
I had a decision to make. After the small-town experiences in Henan province, was I going to travel north to sight-see the Longmen Caves? There, centuries ago, Buddhist monks decorated hundreds of caves with a museum of sculptures. Or was I to head south, into the adjacent province of Hubei? I read about a beautiful … Continue reading
Old-School China = Bone-Breaking Pressure
In China around 1000 years ago, a unique trend began in the area of fashion, custom, and duty. Parents started to tightly wrap the feet of their young daughters so the feet wouldn’t grow large. This binding became extreme enough to require the breaking of the toes and of the arch. And it evolved to … Continue reading
