I have searched the internet and can not find a source to purchase a solid wood tai chi ball.Various exercise balls are fine for the core training aspect of the practice but do not provide the Qi feedback I am anticipating.i am an experianced wood worker and am considering making my own.Do you think there is a market for them?
Well there's that.. and it's a good question.. Do not anticipate too much young jedi, for starters your internet fu is still weak Dr Yang Jwing Ming used to sell them from his website. But now you are re directed Tai chi Balls for you sir, get them here: http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=TAICHI4 Slip, you may find of interest they also sell stone locks from that page.
Yes... I'd noted that a while back! I've found several suppliers here in China and once I get off the heavy travel schedule and can be in one place long enough for them to be delivered... THEY ARE ALL MINE!! MUUUAAHAHAHahhahahahahahahhahahhaa!!!!!!!!!
The manifesations of qi developement are hard to describe and even harder to verify,at least for me.After 40 min. to an hour of my qi gong practice (Dr. Yang's set,Master Kao Tao's, eigth pieces of brocade,Kumar's,mine ha ha)I can sense a warmth and feeling of almost material substance between my cupped palms when i practice empty hand tai chi ball.I also notice my palms covered with blotchy white spots.This may just be the result of changes in circulation I do not know.When I separate my hands i feel a distinct coolness replaced by warmth again when i bring them together slowly (about 6" apart).I do not feel this warmth between my palms when I use a rubber ball.I do however feel a stickyness to the ball and experiment with applying less and less pressure to hold it until it drops.I'm curious if these sensations will feel any different with a wood ball.
well no, wood is dead. and if you carry on like this, your brain will be too. What you're feeling are basic physiological reactions to what you are doing.
Training ain't about sensations.Whether pleasant,irritating,interesting. Do not concentrate on the pointing finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory. OK,I have to go vomit now. Too much ch'i of the intellect or something.
Imo not many people (east or west) know much about the paradigm that Qi belongs, particularly when understood with respect to it's milieu and time. I think it's ridiculous to be talking about Qi as if people were expert enough to present anything approachiong a factual perspective; whether supporting or disparaging precisely because no one (here at least) knows enough about it to talk about it. But to sorta go back to the o.t. ... I would also prefer wood because I like the feel of wood in preference to plastic. While it is technically 'dead', to me wood feels very much 'alive', particularly if varnished with pure Tung oil ... I prepare all my sticks (reshaped pick and hoe handles) with Tung oil ... feels very nice in my hands :hat:.
Well this is a steaming pile of chi-it. Chi Balls!!!! That had me laughing for a good long while. For that money you could get one of these that are FAR more awesome. http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/plush/bb2e/ The Bear.
If the metaphor of 'Chi' helps people relax or gain strength or whatever - then surely TO THEM it is valid and does not deserve to be scorned. Do I personally believe in 'chi' as a energy force that can be used to affect another person - in the sense of repulsing an attack - No. Do I believe that thinking of 'chi' and 'chi flow' may be useful means of visualisation - yes.
The fact is that taichi developed in a culture where the chi paradigm was an important part of the prevailing world view. I consider Sun Lu Tang an authority on the internal arts of China. Therefore I respect the way he describes his arts in his writings, even when I realise that I do not fully appreciate the depth and breadth of his world view. My practice is constrained by my understanding, but it would be foolish and disrespectful of me to expound that Sun Lu Tang is wrong. The deficiency is mine ... and yours, not of the original cultural environment from which taichi sprang; it's their creation, their concepts. European broadsword fighting comes from a different environment again. I'm not European (and am not steeped in it's world views), so it would be silly of me to claim I'm practising European broadsword fighting and yet boast that the original paradigm (from whence it came) was wrong. If that was the case, I would in reality be practising something else of my own invention. It might even have a passing resemblance to European broadsword ... but it would not be. I accept that there could be many 'chi - power' charlatan's out there ... but the parallels exist among the crowd training with a western 'scientific' bias as well.
Some antique items along these lines are worth a small fortune I hope you discover one.An example......A couple found a ceremonial hat in their attic that their grandfather had put away. They took it to the antique road show to be appraised.After describing the object to the couple the fellow stated that it was valued at 60.000 US. Some old relics even one of this balls we are speaking of may be of great value.And the opportunity to find some type of item along these lines in a foreign country may be a literal gold mine.
Chi doesn't exist in any form other than abstract. It is an abstraction of well understood physiological processes. Continuing to use the term would be like myself continuing the art of alchemy even though it is entirely defunct. The only reason Tai Chi practioners hang on to this is due to a delight in orientalism and exotica. Sun Lu Tang was wrong, Tai Chi was wrong. Chi is not and never was an energy form, deal with it. The Bear.
All language is an abstraction or don't you know that ... and you do taichi a disservice. Why are you even a topic mod on this forum, because whatever you are doing it isn't taichi. As an asian part chinese who has spent a large part of his life trying to understand the western world view, I find your pespective myopic, condescending and ignorant to the extreme. That you so easily insult that which you only have a superficial knowledge ... and yet you think you know the universe?
I studied Tai Chi for several years and I'm not a topic mod on this sub-forum. 90% of the people I encoutered were frauds who hid behind mysticism to cover the fact they had no martial skill. Playing with wooden balls isn't going to make you a fighter. Here is the truth, like it or lump it. My degree in physics and extensive reading has given me understanding of the universe. My SCIENTIFIC view is based on FACT and not old fairy stories. The Bear.
Well thanks for clearing that up.... Any chance of you explaining your view? Um, to clarify, not the 'selling' part - just the reason why "If the metaphor of 'Chi' helps people relax or gain strength or whatever - then surely TO THEM it is valid and does not deserve to be scorned." is wrong?
I don't disagree with your premise - that Chi is an abstract - but I do disagree with the way you appear to state that "chi doesn't exist" as if you could prove that it doesn't.
And yet .. scientific FACT has a habit of changing over time. If your understanding of the universe is based on your degree in physics I understand the limitations under which you operate and offer my commiserations. Because from a philosophical perspective (and science does have a philosophical base), one might also suspect that which constitutes the basis for the reality upon which western science is based might be flawed. I draw this conclusion borrowing from a layman's perspective of quantum physics. In my opinion the paradigm legitimizes the theory, and in your paradigm Chi is not measurable. In the old Taoist paradigm it apparently is. I think this debate exists in parallel and will never meet. All that is left is tone and choice of language. P.S. Robert, I agree. Respect.
Eh, no they don't, you are confusing Scientific fact with Scientific theory. It's a common misconception. We know the facts it's finding the underlying reason and mechanisms that bring about these facts that changes as our understanding grows. Philosophical perspective won't help you in a fight. The Bear.
