Why (How) Did I Start Doing Tai Chi?

I've been practicing Tai Chi about 4 years now. I love it. It has become one of my passions. Last year I also started training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Neutral Ground in Milwaukee.  About 6-7 months ago Jon Friedland, the owner of Neutral Ground, gave me the opportunity to teach a Sunday night Tai Chi class there.

One day I saw one of my fellow Jiu Jitsu brothers at a concert and I was telling him about my Tai Chi class . He asked me how I got into Tai Chi and what I felt the benefits were. In the concert atmosphere it was hard to put together any concrete thoughts so I answered with a very generic "Uh… I don't know. I like it." - Hahahahaha

I feel like these are 2 really good questions though, so I thought I'd take the time to answer them here. Each question is pretty important, so I've decided to separate them into 2 different blogs :)

1. Why (How) Did I Start Doing Tai Chi?
I've always been interested in martial arts since I was a kid. I mean what kid doesn't like ninjas? When I was younger and all through high school I had terrible allergies to the outside as well as having asthma which totally dissuaded me from any physical activities or sports. By the time I was in my early 30's, I felt a real itch to start something martial arts-wise but didn't really know where to begin. At this point one of my best friends had been working on Southern Style Kung Fu and then Bagua for about 10 years. I talked to him about starting a martial art - I wanted him to teach me, but at this point in his life he didn't really have time.

The advice he did give was this: "Since you'll be just starting martial arts now, being a little older, you might want to look into some of the internal/softer styles of martial arts like Tai Chi or Bagua." Softer/internal styles of martial arts focus more on what's happening within your body and tend to be more meditative. Tai Chi specifically trains relaxation, sensitivity, center and balance. They focus on a 'soft' power which is, in theory, supposed to be able to overcome harder strength based attacks - though there are very Tai Chi 'masters' skilled enough to demonstrate this adage. Tai Chi is also a form of Qi Gong which has many health benefits from increased bone density to lowering blood pressure.

The Bagua teacher he learned from was very skilled, but only taught the public on Saturdays in Madison which didn't work very well with my work schedule at the studio. So I asked my friend if he knew any Tai Chi places and he said "I know this guy that's really good. He makes these crazy YouTube videos. You should check him out."



That's my Tai Chi teacher Casey in the video. Casey's been working on Tai Chi for about 13+ years. In the winter of 2009, Casey was teaching out of the Neutral Ground space (where I teach now). He had a Sunday morning class that I started going to. 2 years later, in January 2011, I went down to San Diego and competed in my first martial arts tournament, taking home 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal in Fixed Step, Restricted Step and Moving Step Push Hands (Tai Chi Sparring).

I love Tai Chi. It has benefitted my life in countless ways since I started. I'll focus on a few of the most important ones in the second half of this post: What Does Tai Chi Do For Me?

-Shane
The Newloud

2 Simple Steps to Letting Go OR How To Save The Next Taco Night From A Stupid Argument

I can start obsessing about things fairly easily. Like my girlfriend won't return a message or text and it starts this feedback loop in my head. I wonder what she's doing that she didn't respond. I start to feel small and unimportant, my ego starts to get hurt, I start to get pissed. In reality all I'm doing at that point is drinking past or future poisons. Almost anything that is messing with your present can be traced to the illusions that are the past and future playing tricks on you.

So this is what I'm working on now: Eliminate any possible past or futures that are negatively effecting my present, my NOW.

I learned a trick which works really great for this. When I find myself getting upset because of projections or memories or regrets, I simply ask myself 2 questions:

1. What are you feeling NOW?

The first question has to do with the moment. What am I feeling right this second? What I want to be feeling is happiness or whatever my version of 'happy' is. So if I'm not feeling happy or content or positive, I determine how I'm feeling and then move on to the 2nd question.

2. Is there anything missing?

Why am I feeling like I'm feeling and how is it messing with my NOW? What is missing that I am not happy or content? Then I go through a list of things.

For instance: I inadvertently start a fight with my special lady on Taco Night about attention that I feel I've been missing (past) and attention I feel like I should receive (future).

These regrets or negative projections are simply past and future poisons. I can't go back in "time" and add the attention I was missing and by focusing on negative things yet to come or uncertainties I am simply making myself miserable thus causing a fight and totally messing up my present, my NOW.

Ahhh my NOW… what really IS my NOW?

My NOW, Taco Night, should've been a blast! (I mean how can you mess up Taco Night?!? There was even Patron… I'm big stupid.) In fact, after stripping away the illusions and tricks of the past and future, most situations are not inherently bad, they're actually pretty good. Even during the mundane, I become more attuned to my present circumstance which creates a kind of wonder that brings pleasure and happiness. I am walking and begin enjoying the weather (no matter what weather it is). I am driving and begin to enjoy the music I'm playing in the car or the response of the vehicle to the slightest movements of the controls.

Without the past and future gremlins mucking things about, life begins to really open up. But just like anything, it takes practice. I'll still have my fair share of ruined NOWs while this new line of "thinking" becomes more automatic.

At least the next Taco Night will be safe :)

-The New Loud