I made the trek down to Toronto for another great weekend seminar with Sifu Wing Cheung teaching the finer points of the Shibashi second set on Oct 16 & 17^th.

Sifu was as calm and thoughtful as I remembered him to be from  a year ago when I received my Shibashi set one instructor honours. Sifu patiently guided the class of 12 that had travelled from as far away as Rochester and Montreal to participate.

The main point I came away with from this seminar was an understanding that I need to make it a point to study how best to teach my students how to connect and incorporate the rotation of the Dan Tian into the forms.

The awareness of the energy transfer beginning at the root, directed by the waist and manifested through the shoulders, elbows, wrists and finally the hands is imperative to maximizing the benefits one can derive from not only Shibashi but from all Qigong and Taiji practice.

I was also reminded that sometimes the best way to transmit knowledge, especially if it has to do with the incorporation of a “feeling” is to show the student the opposite of what you are talking about. This play on the Yin/Yang duality can be a powerful teaching tool when dealing with the subtleties of Taiji theory including empty stepping, empty mind, relaxation, etc.

Peace

Rod