Ride the Tiger A Tai Chi Activity Book for Youth
Dr. Gregory T. Lawton
Ride the Tiger, a Tai Chi Activity Book for Youth, Copyright 2015, Revised 2017 Dr. Gregory T. Lawton All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from Gregory T. Lawton. Muyblue Productions 2040 Raybrook SE, Suite 104 Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546 616-285-9999
Writing, Art and Design – Dr. Gregory T. Lawton
Dedication I am dedicating this book to two young adventurers and explorers, Ajay and Alex, who have on several occasions accompanied me into the woods and swamps of western Florida where we have faced the dangers of wild animals, snakes, insects, quicksand, and oppressive heat. By placing this knowledge and these skills in their hands I am empowering a new generation within our family to carry this torch aloft and to continue the traditions of exploration that have been in our family for a very long time and certainly since our ancestors stepped off of the Mayflower and stepped foot in the Americas in 1620 at Plymouth Rock. Dr. Gregory T. Lawton The Dalai Lama said: “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” Confucius said: “Forget injuries; never forget kindness.” Baha’u’llah said: “A kindly tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men. It is the bread of the spirit, it clotheth the words with meaning, it is the fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding. – Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, page 289.
Introduction - What is Tai Chi Chuan By appearance, the martial art Tai Chi Chuan is a dance in slow motion. But this unhurried grace is simply a mask to be lifted away layer by layer until reaching the seed of physical and spiritual energy hidden within a human being. The gentle dance of Tai Chi is poetry in motion. Tai Chi is an expression of the most beautiful thoughts and beliefs brought from the intangible into the actual. Tai Chi allows us to actualize our spiritual self through the demonstration of physical form and technique. Tai Chi is not a mere philosophy of words but rather a test of words through the application of Tai Chi’s intrinsic physical principles. The statement "Be still as a mountain, move like a great river" describes, in poetic language, the meditation in stillness and flowing motion that is achieved through the practice of Tai Chi. The practice of Tai Chi Chuan is the study of the harmony of nature and the universe. Consider that the complexity and the enormity of nature and the universe make complete knowledge of either impossible to obtain. We are limited in our search for understanding by time and space, we are limited to a single lifespan of approximately eighty to ninety years of experience and the universe is too vast a space to travel in a lifetime. How then can we even begin to understand the universe? Tai Chi Chuan, which can be translated to mean grand ultimate power is not a religion and it is not a philosophy, although a person might find spirituality and truth through the practice of Tai Chi Chuan. Tai Chi Chuan is a personal and subjective experience in the harmony of the forces of the universe. Our body literally becomes our ship through which we sail
the mysteries of the universe. Our body is the tool with which we discover the revelation of the mysteries of the universe hidden within ourselves. This activity book is designed so that lessons can be completed at any pace and so that lessons can be added to the binder on an ongoing basis.
Lesson One - Be Still as a Mountain
Our first lesson in Tai Chi Chuan is about stillness or meditation. Meditation is not “doing nothing”. Meditation is about being quiet and listening to the voice within ourselves. Meditation is about calming the mind and body through physical relaxation and breathing. The best way to meditate is to keep the practice of meditation as simple and as comfortable as possible. In Tai Chi Chuan we have three main methods of meditation and these methods of meditation include: Sitting Meditation – Dao Yin Standing Meditation – Chi Kung Moving Meditation – Tai Chi Chuan Form In Lesson One we will begin with sitting meditation. Sitting meditation is called Dao Yin which means gentle way or path. For sitting meditation you need to find a secure and comfortable spot to sit quietly. Make certain that you are ready to meditate and that you are committed to spending a few minutes sitting quietly. Once you are committed to meditating for a few minutes begin by sitting comfortably and quietly and begin to concentrate on your breathing. Breathing is very important to meditating. Breathing might be considered the key that unlocks the door to the hidden rooms and secrets within you.
Focus your attention on your breathing and on making your breathing calm and regular. You will notice that as you do this your breathing will slow down and you will feel more mentally and physically relaxed. Don’t worry if at first lots of thoughts move through your mind because as you meditate longer these thoughts will slow down and become more profound and insightful. In Tai Chi mediation, we do not attempt to block out all our thoughts or the outside world rather we seek deep inner peace and awareness and often this awareness comes from a flow of thoughts and ideas within us, and from the world around us. This is the part of meditation that we call listening to the voice within us and learning from the observation of the natural world around us. Remember that Tai Chi Chuan is a martial art so as martial artists we do not want to become unaware of our surroundings instead we want to balance our inner self with the outer world and to find a peaceful harmony between these two worlds. Other things that you should consider as you meditate include: 1. Meditation should not be physically uncomfortable or painful, if it is, move into a more comfortable position. 2. If you are distracted during meditation return your focus and concentration to your breathing and relax. 3. Meditate daily and if possible at the same time each day. The best times for meditation are in the early morning and late at night, but you can meditate at any time. 4. If you have trouble with your breathing or being quiet consider repeating part of a prayer or a phrase like a mantra silently to yourself over and over again. A mantra is a spiritual word or phrase used in meditation to quiet the mind. 5. Breathe lightly through your nose.
Lesson One Activities – 1. Meditation Begin your daily practice of sitting meditation or Dao Yin today. Begin your meditation practice by re-reading and reviewing the meditation guidelines provided in Lesson One and then sit quietly and meditate.
2. Draw a Sitting Figure You can color or draw your own sitting figure, either male or female.
3. Yin and Yang In Chinese philosophy, the idea of yin and yang describes how apparently opposite or contrary forces are complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Many qualities found in nature such as light and dark, fire and water, hot and cold, and male and female are thought of as physical manifestations of the concept of yin and yang. This concept of opposite and complementary forces in nature is expressed by the yin and yang symbol which looks like two fish swimming side by side and in a continuous circle around each other. One fish is white with a black eye and the other is black with a white eye although there are many artistic expressions of the yin and yang symbol. The yin and yang symbol and the symbolism associated with the symbol is used in Tai Chi Chuan and other styles of martial arts. For your activity in Lesson One see what kind of creative and artistic representations you can come up with for the yin and yang symbol provided below. You might also consider using another piece of paper and drawing and painting your own yin and yang symbol, perhaps to hang in the spot that you have chosen to practice your daily meditation.
Yin and Yang Symbol
Lesson Two – Stand like a Tree
Lesson Two is about standing meditation. Standing meditation is called Chi Kung which means hard work or effort to obtain energy. There are two major kinds of Chi Kung practice and these are healing Chi Kung and martial Chi Kung. In this training program we are practicing healing Chi Kung, but later we will learn how to practice martial Chi Kung. Healing Chi Kung is used to heal the body and to balance the mind, body, and the spirit. Martial Chi Kung is used to strengthen the body and to increase our resistance to injury. In our practice of standing meditation, or Chi Kung, we observe all of the rules that we discussed and practiced in Lesson One or seated mediation and these included: 1. Relax your body. 2. Concentrate on your breathing. 3. Breathe lightly through your nose. 4. Be quiet.
In addition to the rules above, we will now add the following procedures for our practice of standing Chi Kung: 5. Stand up straight but relax your back and spine. 6. Relax and lower your shoulders. 7. Touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your upper front teeth. 8. Pretend that a thin sting is attached to the top of your head and is lightly pulling on your head. Remember, this should be a relaxed and comfortable exercise and it should not hurt. If it does hurt then change your position. We should once again mention that Tai Chi Chuan is a martial art and Dao Yin and Chi Kung practice are part of Tai Chi martial art training.
Lesson Two Activities – 1. Stand like a Tree For this activity you should begin the practice of your standing Chi Kung by standing like a tree. There are many ways to hold your arms when you stand like a tree. You can hold your arms out like you are hugging a tree or a person, you can make a circle of your arms over your head, or you can hold your arms in the position shown in the drawing of Stand like a Tree. How you hold your arms is really your choice and you can change your arms from one position to another as they get tired.
2. Draw a Tai Chi Tree For this activity you can draw on and color the Tai Chi Tree provided below or you can create your own Tai Chi Tree on a separate piece of paper.
Lesson Three – The Dao or Path When you begin to study the art and science of seated, standing, and flowing meditation (Dao Yin, Chi Kung, and Tai Chi Chuan) you will frequently hear the word Dao (or Tao). The word Dao simply means a path or the way. When we study meditation and the martial arts we have begun to travel along a long path of rigorous physical, mental, and spiritual training. It would take a very long life or many life times to master all of the knowledge and abilities that are treasured within the study of the martial arts because the martial arts are not just about physical abilities or self-defense they are also about art and creativity, philosophy and intellectual knowledge, healing and wellbeing, peace and service to humanity, and they are also a long spiritual path, or the Dao. When we commit ourselves to the study of the martial arts we need to be disciplined and dedicated to using these arts as a process of positive change in our lives: “Mount the steed of change but let the reins hang free. Ride the energy; it knows the path of lightning.”
Lesson Three Activity – Follow the Path (Dao) See if you can find your way down the path…
Lesson Four – Move like a Great River Lesson three is about moving meditation or the Tai Chi Chuan form. While Dao Yin and Chi Kung constitute a regular part of the practice of Tai Chi Chuan, Tai Chi Chuan is mainly practiced in what is called a Tai Chi form. There are many styles of Tai Chi Chuan and many Tai Chi forms, both long and short. A typical long form has 108 postures and can take 20 minutes to perform. Major styles of Tai Chi Chuan include Chen, Cheng, Yang, Wu and Hao. The Tai Chi form is composed of different postures and each posture is a martial art technique that might involve defensive movements such as deflecting a punch or a kick, or offensive movements such as delivering a punch or a kick. In a sense, a Tai Chi form is a slow or fast dance that mimics a fight. Most people have seen Tai Chi Chuan forms practiced as a very slow dance like movement, but in martial art applications such as for self-defense the Tai Chi practitioner moves with lightning fast speed, great strength and power, as well as, with remarkable flexibility and agility. It is very difficult to learn the Tai Chi Chuan forms from a book. To learn the Tai Chi form you need a good teacher, however, if no teacher is available to you a book and a video is better than not learning Tai Chi Chuan. In our activity section of this book we are going to learn 4 Tai Chi Chuan postures. Before we start to learn these 4 Tai Chi Chuan postures let’s review the basic rules again: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Relax your body. Concentrate on your breathing. Breathe lightly through your nose. Be quiet.
5. Stand up straight but relax your back and spine. 6. Relax and lower your shoulders. 7. Touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth just behind your upper front teeth. 8. Pretend that a thin sting is attached to the top of your head and is lightly pulling on your head.
Lesson Four Activity – Move like a Great River, The Tai Chi Chuan Form Posture One – Hold the Ball/Close Up To learn the following Tai Chi Chuan postures we are going to begin with a transition posture called Hold the Ball/Close Up. There are several ways to perform the Hold the Ball/Close Up posture and we are going to use the vertical Hold the Ball posture. Hold the Ball/Close Up is frequently used as a defensive posture to block and to trap punches and kicks. In this Tai Chi Chuan form we are going to use Hold the Ball/Close Up as a transition movement between the Tai Chi Chuan postures of Partition of the Wild Horses Mane, Slant Fly and Single Whip. In this Lesson Four activity you are learning 4 Tai Chi Chuan postures and movements. When you study Tai Chi Chuan it is normal to learn between 1 and 4 movements per class. How many postures you learn in a class is dependent upon the student’s ability and the complexity of the postures since some postures contain several combined movements.
Hold the Ball/Close UP
Posture Two – Partition of the Wild Horses Mane Partition of the Wild Horses Mane is a posture that is seen early in most Tai Chi Chuan forms. It is often used as a deflecting or defensive posture, however, it is also used as the posture from which punches or kicks can be delivered. The legs are positioned in what is called the bow stance and the bow stance can be performed with the weight on the front or the back leg. Another name for the bow stance is horse stance. Partition of the Wild Horses Mane is shown below from the closed Holding the Ball/Close Up position to the open Partition of the Wild Horses Mane forward weighted leg position.
Hold the Ball/Close UP
Partition of the Wild Horses Mane
Posture Three – Slant Fly Slant Fly is a Tai Chi Chuan posture that is used for several purposes including throwing someone off balance, throwing someone to the ground, and/or deflecting a punch or a kick. Slant fly is also practiced from the bow or horse stance and commonly ends up in the forward weighted leg position. SLant Fly is shown below from the closed, Holding the Ball/Close UP, position to the open Slant Fly forward weighted leg position.
Hold the Ball/Close UP
Slant Fly
Posture Four – Single Whip The Tai Chi Chuan posture of Single Whip is both a beautiful movement and a complex Tai Chi Chuan technique with numerous defensive and offensive applications. Single Whip can be used to block, deflect, and to redirect punches and kicks, as well as, to trap attacks, break joints, and to throw an opponent to the ground. Single Whip has many applications. Once again we are using the basic bow or horse stance and the posture of Single Whip is like being in a small space and pushing out against two walls.
Hold the Ball/Close Up
Single Whip
Lesson Five – Kung Fu The words Kung Fu mean hard work or effort. Certainly the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of the martial arts, and specifically the art and science of Tai Chi Chuan, require decades of dedicated effort in order to obtain mastery. In a sense all of the many and diverse forms of marital art are Kung Fu and they require Kung Fu in order to master them, but Tai Chi Chuan, which the Chinese consider to be the most beautiful flower of their culture, (and they have named the Grand Ultimate Fist) should especially be considered as a very high form of Kung Fu. Systems of Kung Fu in China are often named after animals upon whose movements the system is modeled. While styles of Tai Chi Chuan are not named after animals various movements and postures within the Tai Chi forms are named after animals such as postures like White Crane Spreads Wings and Long Green Snake Creeps Down. For this book the author has chosen the Tiger as a symbol of the beauty and power of nature and to present this version of Tai Chi Chuan. The Tiger is a powerful symbol and the Tiger derives its power from within. When the tiger moves it moves with beauty and power and the source of that power is from the Tigers ability to use its deep intrinsic muscles. This is called internal power and in our practice of Tai Chi Chuan we attempt to emulate the beauty and the power of the Tiger.
Lesson Six – Tai Chi Calligraphy The words Tai Chi can be translated to mean the Grand Ultimate. Tai meaning grand and chi being translated as the ultimate. The Chinese ideograms for tai and chi are written in a form of writing called calligraphy. Calligraphy is a stylized and artistic method of writing and most cultures with a written language developed forms of calligraphy. The ideogram for tai is composed of 3 or 4 strokes and those strokes can also be translated in a more poetic fashion to mean “One Centered Person between Heaven and Earth. Below is an example of calligraphy for Tai Chi. The second ideogram for chi contains the figure of a pine tree and it indicates that a person that practices Tai Chi stands with the strength and flexibility of a pine tree.
Put your Tai Chi calligraphy here:
Ride the Tiger, a Tai Chi Activity Book for Youth, Copyright 2015, Revised 2017 Dr. Gregory T. Lawton All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from Gregory T. Lawton. Muyblue Productions 2040 Raybrook SE, Suite 104 Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546 616-285-9999 Writing, Art and Design – Dr. Gregory T. Lawton