Carnegie-Mellon Tai Chi Form
This ‘form’ was salvaged from a motion capture library I found earlier this week. The library is apparently a collection of data sets recorded in 2008.
No information is given in regard to the identity of the performance artist. The person is doing what appears to be a Yang style form, beautifully. The file name was listed under filename 12_04
Subject #12 (tai chi, walk)
12_04 tai chi
The motion has not been cleaned! What I can see is that Carnegie-Mellon’s motion capture equipment is wildly accurate. That also indicates that what you are seeing is a very accurate depiction of the movement. Then consider the stability through the main frame of the body.
It is possible to view something like this on your own computer by downloading the FBX file, Quicktime and a plugin for Quicktime that allows you to open FBX files. Contact Brian if you are interested.
“FBX for QuickTime Viewer” plugin:
usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/item?id=10775855&siteID=123112
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Carnegie-Mellon Graphics Lab Motion Capture Database
full file listing with descriptions, word processor format
v1.00 last update July 20, 2008
Compiled from the individual CMU index files by B. Hahne
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Hypercubic X-Stance
The ‘basic’ step, visualized as a hypercube:
Hypercubic X-stance from B dub on Vimeo.
Later, it will be possible to visualize movements of the hypercube through 3d space.
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Consider postures like 扇通背 shan tong bei (Fan Over the Shoulder)
We continuously move the center to a safe position, while defending the outer perimeter.
8-celled structure
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040712
The rest of today’s images are available here:
http://s774.photobucket.com/albums/yy25/BlackWhiteTaiji/040712/
Enjoy!
March Workshop 2:Tai Chi Breathing and Qi Flow in Meridians Continued
Its not too late to join! TC is holding the second of a three part Tai Chi/Qi Gong Workshop tomorrow.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Workshop 2: Tai Chi Breathing and Qi Flow in Meridians
In this workshop you will continue to study Qi channels (meridians) in the human body and learn to nourish them with the correct breathing patterns. This practice can be applied to Tai Chi Chuan, Qi Gong or any daily activity. TC will be demonstrating this within the application of his custom San-Shou routine. TC will also lead you into Tai Chi Sound practice to enrich your Qi flow.
For addition information call Jinn-Sho 錦繡 at (214) 600-1636 or Julia Lee at (202) 270-1350.
Hsuing-YangHo-stabilized-1
Hi there!
I just wanted to share a video from my Vimeo collection If you are not aware, there are quite a few videos of Xiong Yang-Ho out there on youTube. Xiong (sometimes spelled ‘Hsuing’) Yang-Ho (sometimes ‘Yangho’) was the first of TC Hou’s tai chi chuan teachers. In an effort for us to see more of the Yang style tai chi form, I have stabilized some of these shaky youTube renditions. The first of these, I did about a year ago. If you haven’t seen it, you can view it here:
This video shows Xiong Yang-Ho’s rendition of the Yang Style “First Set.” The postures demonstrated match our form- ‘Tai Chi Ready’ ( 预备 ) trough ‘Return Tiger to Mountain’ ( 抱虎歸山 抱虎归山 ).
The non-stabilized, original youTube title was:
熊養和公1973年演練太極拳經典畫面
For more on our lineage, see:
TCSociety lineage
ENJOY!
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March Workshop 1: Tai Chi Breathing and Qi Flow in Meridians
Its not too late to join! TC is holding the first of a three part Tai Chi/Qi Gong Workshop tomorrow.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Workshop 1: Tai Chi Breathing and Qi Flow in Meridians
In this workshop you will study Qi channels (meridians) in the human body and learn to nourish them with the correct breathing patterns. This practice can be applied to Tai Chi Chuan, Qi Gong or any daily activity. TC will be demonstrating this within the application of his custom San-Shou routine. TC will also lead you into Tai Chi Sound practice to enrich your Qi flow.
For addition information call Jinn-Sho 錦繡 at (214) 600-1636 or Julia Lee at (202) 270-1350.
Santa Monica Qi Kung Workshops In March
This post is just a reminder that TC Hou will be repeating his notable, three part Qi Gong Workshop series on the last three Saturdays of March. If you missed this workshop series before, now is your chance to deepen your understanding of the internal power of Tai Chi.
This series is also great as a refresher course. It is a LOT of knowledge to internalize in a short period, so repetition can’t hurt 
The schedule will be as follows:
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Workshop 1: Tai Chi Breathing and Qi Flow in Meridians
In this workshop you will study Qi channels (meridians) in the human body and learn to nourish them with the correct breathing patterns. This practice can be applied to Tai Chi Chuan, Qi Gong or any daily activity. TC will be demonstrating this within the application of his custom San-Shou routine.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Workshop 2: Qi Kung I
You will learn how to make Qi power your movements. You will also be learning how to circulate Qi through our body in when in motion. Additionally we will be exploring the connection of this to our coordination. Application and practice will be further facilitated by continuing through TC’s San-Shou routine.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Workshop 3: Qi Kung II
Workshop 3 will be a continuation of the principals in Workshop 2. This will also finish up the San-Shou routine. By the end you will have been through both the defense and offense of a complete San Shou routine!
Time:
The workshop will be on three consecutive Saturdays from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm in the afternoon.
Location:
They will take place in Santa Monica at the Yahoo! Center located at 2425 Colorado Ave. Santa Monica, CA 90404.
Please read more about Qi Kung Workshops In Santa Monica and Los Angeles by clicking here.
Contact:
You can also call Julia Lee at (202) 270-1350 for more information on class times and fees.
We hope to see you there!
Tai Chi Helps Parkinson’s Patients
NPR’s Patti Neighmond did a story on a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine about the possible benefits of Tai Chi to Parkinson’s Patients balance. The study was lead by research scientist Fuzhong Li, who himself is a Tai Chi practitioner. Tai Chi has already been shown to increase balance in the elderly.
Listen to the story:
In the study, Li divided Parkinson’s patients into three groups. One group did resistance training with weights. Another, stretching classes. And the third took up tai chi. Each group participated in a 60-minute class twice a week for six months.
The group who practiced Tai Chi had greater strength, better balance and fewer falls than the other two groups.
That led to significantly fewer falls for patients in the tai chi group. Maricle says that before tai chi, she would lose her balance eight to 10 times a day. Now it hardly ever happens. She recently even saved herself from what would have been a sure fall before tai chi. It was raining and dark, and she tripped on the curb as she got out of her car. She was able to hop onto the curb and steady herself.
“That would have been a fall for sure six or eight months ago,” she says.
Researchers don’t know exactly how tai chi works to restore balance. UCLA psychiatrist and brain scientist Michael Irwin says it may work by literally re-training areas of the brain that control movement.
“There’s a memory component of our nerves, and they’re receiving signals from our body all the time that are integrated by the brain,” Irwin says. “And it may be that what happens with tai chi is that it’s bringing awareness of the brain to these areas of the body” — thereby strengthening those areas of the brain.
You can read more at Tai Chi May Help Parkinson’s Patients Regain Balance
qikung3-notes-020512
These were the various interpretations mentioned today in class. Please see:
Six healing sounds- http://baharna.com/chant/six_healing.htm
© Copyright 2003 by Joseph F. Morales
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Workshop 3: Qi Kung III
This Sunday we will continue to work on the Qi flow in meridians and analyze the six sounds system. You will learn how to enhance your health with it, also how to apply it in Tai Chi practice.
FYI
The Six Healing Sounds or Liu Zi Jue (六字訣) is one of the common forms of Chinese qigong, and involves the coordination of movement and breathing patterns with specific sounds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Zi_Jue
As I always emphasized, you must understand the logic of Tai Chi to make it alive in your mind. Then it will stay with you and last for your lifetime.
Topic: Breathing and Qi Flow in Meridians
Date: February 5, 2012, Sunday
Time: 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Tuition: $70 (or $180 for all three sessions)
Location: Yahoo Center (2425 Colorado Ave, Santa Monica, Ca 90043)/ Entrance of underground parking is on Colorado Ave near Cloverfield)
Click here to see more information.
Best,
TC
Tai Chi does A Life Good