Goal Setting and Patience

On 27 October 2009, I achieved a personal goal to row 1,000,000 meters on the Concept2 indoor rowing machine in 2009. I set this goal back in January, after reading an article by my friend Jeff Decker (http://www.ultimatefitnessforu.com/) who advocates setting a large goal and then breaking it down into smaller quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily efforts to make the bigger goal more manageable. It works. You can get there one step at a time.

With respect to such activities as rowing or other strength endurance sports, a level of patience and persistence has to be demonstrated. The research on improving performance in endurance sports suggests that up to 4 years of consistent and increasingly intense training is the minimum time required to become reasonably fit and proficient enough to be truly competitive. The breaks out as (Stephen Seiler Phd, The Time Course of Training Adaptations, http://home.hia.no/~stephens/timecors.htm):

• about 1 year to maximize your VO2max potential
• an additional 3-4 years to maximize your lactate tolerance
• concurrently about 4 years to develop technical efficiency through sports specific training and repetition (note that efficiency through improved technique does not seem to plateau as VO2max and Lactate tolerance do)
  

To paraphrase the great British rowing coach Terry O'neill, "Rowing is really a very simple activity, it's just very, very, very hard work." Now apply this to the much more technically demanding and variable art of Tai Chi boxing (or ju jutsu or other arts).

In the case of arts like Tai Chi, it is the one of the basic tenets that you must practice daily and only after a long time, usually several years of steady training, will you achieve a real difference in your life and abilities. As one master said, "We are the school of 10,000 repetitions." My ju jutsu sensei reminds us that at least 1000 correct repetitions are necessary to say one has "learned" a particular technique or skill. In traditional Tai Chi training the timetable would look something like this:

• about 1-1.5 years to learn the Yang Long Form
• an additional 1-1.5 years solo form practice and push hands work to be considered minimally proficient in the solo form
  
• additional decade of training to become relatively proficient in the practical application of Tai Chi
• Continued regular, correct practice will continue to improve technical skill throughout one's lifetime
  

In this context, that oft quoted saying about a long journey beginning with a single step becomes much more meaningful. In Tai Chi we want to take the long view. Be patient with ourselves but "practice daily without stopping." Recognize that the abilities and progress we seek is going to be a lifelong process. Don't consider how long the road, simply take and enjoy each individual step.

Endless correct repetition is the key to success.

Why Tai Chi?

"If asked the purpose of Tai Chi, it is to achieve long life and never aging youthfulness.

If asked the method of Tai Chi training, the mind and energy come first, the muscle and bones come second"

-- Poem of the Thirteen Postures

It has always struck me that the essence of Tai Chi is contained in these two short verses.

Why else do we exercise and play, than to remain youthful and vigorous in mind and body and more fully enjoy life? There are many approaches to exercise and physical culture. The approach taken by Tai Chi (and this is what differentiates so called "internal" and "external" systems of martial arts training) is to train ourselves to be fully present in mind and spirit in each and every movement and action. As we achieve this awareness, we will also come to live better in our bodies and begin to develop strength, flexibility, balance and co-ordination. This forms a positive feedback that builds on past training to improve our Tai Chi experience.

Once, when the noted Tai Chi master T.T. Liang was asked, "What is Tai Chi?" He replied, "Tai Chi is a Chinese system of calisthenics for good health and self defense."

Whether we want it or not, we are in a fight for our good health and well being everyday of our lives, and Tai Chi will help you achieve success in that daily battle.
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Hopefully, we will see more of you at class this month. ;-)

Mother Earth and the end of life?

I have a long fascination with historical events. This includes archeology and paleontology. It seems we humans often overestimate our importance and permanence on the Earthly scence. As a consequence, we don't take climate change seriously, and when we respond, it may be in inappropriate ways. I ran across a few articles of interest lately and this book which you might enjoy.

Under a Green Sky, by Peter Ward.

Peace and joy in Tai Chi!

Thoughts on Fitness

In Yang's Ten Principles (with his commentary) we read:

Use the mind instead of force.

In the "Tai Chi Chuan Treatise," it was said the one should use the mind instead of force. While you practice Tai Chi, you should relax your entire body without using any clumsy strength to leave in your tendons, bones, and blood vessels. The strength will only tighten up your body. Without using strength, you can change your steps with agility, lightness, and turn easily. Some people may hesitate with the thought of not using force, wondering how to increase human strength.
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It was said from the "Tai Chi Treatise", "extremely soft, then extremely hard and strong." If one masters Tai Chi Kung-Fu to a high level, their arms and shoulders will be like steel wrapped with the appearance of cotton (hidden extreme power). It is a big difference from those who practice some "outer academy". While they are using strength, they have strength. If they don't use strength, it is like floating. You can see that "outer force" does not last long, and it's not released from the internal body's jing."

For many people who are used to traditional approaches to physical fitness such as weight training and running, this can be one of the more difficult notions of Tai Chi practice. I think that the key here is to realize that Tai Chi asks you to try a completely different way of activating and accessing the muscles systems of the body. In doing so, you must change your mental attitude and learn to "unclench your muscles" and "let go."

For me, there is not an exclusive, either or, relationship between Tai Chi and "external methods." It is certainly neccessary to organize one's training so that the "external" methods do not interfere with learning the "internal" methods of Tai Chi. It is also important to realize that most of us have spent most of our lives devoted to "external" methods and have entirely neglected the "internal" approaches.

Keep these things in mind:

Do your Tai Chi training before weight training or intense aerobics activity or on alternate days. These "external" activities, while generally good for you, will directly interfere with your ability to settle, relax and let go, if done before your Tai Chi session. On the other hand, Tai Chi will warm up your body and settle your mind. I find this improves results from strength and aerobic work.

Over time, try to increase the time you devote to Tai Chi practice (or other mind body practices if you prefer). The mind body link will likely have been, the most neglected and therefore the weakest aspect of your physical training throughout your life, and it always pays most to work on weaknesses first, rather than continue to do the familiar and easy.