Taijiboxing is a martial art akin to taijiquan the emphasis being on retaining the combative aspect within the practice of Taijiquan for self defense as well as enhancing longevity. My name is Dennis Pounall and I have been Plying Taijiboxing for about 15 years and practicing martial arts about 30 yrs now. I am writing this article to share a experience I came across last year and wanted other Taiji players to be aware of TAIJIQUAN MULTIFACETED range of appeal. Mr John Rochon is a world class internationally recognized precision competitive sport shooter( now retired) . He came to center in Elliot Lake (VitFitKlub) and said he was interested in learning a bit about “Tai Chi” for relaxation. I stated that I practice Taiji Quan which is very similar to Tai Chi for health and relaxation except we have tried to retain most of the self defense applications and the Qi kung internal harmony along with the art. This making it both a self guided discipline as well as a martial art. He was immediately intrigued and decided to give it a try. The next week he came into class I had advised him to wear loose clothing and flat…We began with standing meditation “Embrace the One”and I described the concept of“stillness and motion”, within the paradigm of whole body breathing and mindful meditation.Afterwards, we did some standard Taiji warm up exercises and started on the first 5 moves for the yang style classical form:commencement; turn; ward-off;right; and the grasp bird’s tail sequence. I demonstrated the form, breaking the moves down, explaining both the energetic concepts as well as possible self defense applications.
Therefore, the practitioner need only focus on the form and function! The Sight Picture Meditation in action
I always emphasize “no absolutes” in taijiboxing. Each movement must be naturally spontaneous and flexible for proper applications and fluid energetic flow. Following this, John came to and asked me a few questions after class.
:”This is the purpose of ‘Stillness and Motion’.”
“Why in standing meditation, do we stand with our feet, toe-in” I responded, “For stability. It’s why I focus so much on the breathing and motion.” Following this, John came to class and asked me a few questions: “Why in standing meditation, do we stand with our feet, toe-in?” I responded, “For stability. It’s why I focus so much on the breathing and motion.”
“Perfect practice makes perfect.“
Then he asked me why do we move so slow? I responded, “We practice slow to move fast.”
Finally, he asked if you are relaxed, how can you move fast if you are not ready?I said,
He pondered that for a while and said, “I wish I had studied Taiji when I was competitively shooting. It would have made all
the difference.” Here is where the discussion began, we spoke of the similarities and differences between competitive Taiji Quan demonstrations and competitive precision shooting and found more similarities than differences.
The tools required to be a superior competitive precision shooter are as follows.
Taijiboxing Precision Shooting :
• Self Discipline ATTENTION TO DETAIL
• patience SIGHT PICTURE
• persistence Reassessment and practice
• self examination Application of training skills
• Practice synchronization of training
• Training delivery and adjustment
These traits are also found in the discipline of Taijiboxing and the art form of the Taiji Quan. Both disciplines require a relaxed alertness and being attuned to one’s subtle energy and muscular control that is unique to the individual. Combine this with synchronized breathing control and attention to detail, one can then maintain focus on completion of the task at hand. Regardless of whether it is a Taiji push-hand competition, weapons demonstration, precision shooting match, a perfect tennis
score or a golf game, the discipline works!
When you are able to combine your attention with your intentions without being locked into the results, you’ll achieve success in action (Yin and Yang). With practice and patience, you’ll also achieve “Enlightenment and Illumination.”
You’ll have the perfect match for success, regardless of the outcome….
Thanks for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it.
peace sifu Dennis Pounall
see more below pictures included>>
[000608]Another Revised edition_Taijiboxing and the art of precision shooting