Three ancient art forms learned from a 7th level Kung Fu master (the highest level one can be before age 80, there were only 7 in the entire city) in a thoroughly Chinese town was a unique experience. Beginning in the morning by learning how to harness our energy in the smooth and meditative Tai Chi we used one of our days to learn these Chinese cultural mainstays. After increasing our bloodflow and our life force in our body while gaining skill in self defense (and participating in a morning tradition of millions of old people in China) through Tai Chi, we went to learn about calligraphy. There were particular ways of moving the brush for each stroke in each character we learned...apparently this is something that is required learning of all Chinese children in gradeschool...and while we had one hour to learn how to write our names, I believe that I would have been better at using my feet draw a self portrait then make the character "Eth." Then our crash course on Yin and Yang, the defensive and offensive, the balance and counterbalance, the positive and the negative, the light and dark, and an innumerable number of opposites. We learned about Kung Fu. All that I can say is awesome. Kung fu is required in many universities and rightly so. Its movements train flexibility, increase confidence in terms of self defense, and show how even with martial power peace can be sought through motions that are largely defensive rather than offensive. And, as far as Yin and Yang goes, Kung Fu focuses on you being the opposite of whatever the other person is so that you redirect their energies and put them off balance...almost a physical form of expressing philosophy.
Great picture G.
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