New
Push Hands Class
Every Saturday morning
Register while space is still available.
MORNING TAI CHI CLASS
INDOOR TRAINING
Sifu Ruben Torres
Saturday mornings
7:00 am - 8:00 am.
8:15 am - 9:15 am
欢迎大家
US KODOKAN
4221 8TH AVENUE & 43 Street
Brooklyn, New York 11232
347.262-7822 or 347.585-1105
Saturday Evenings:
Northern Shaolin Kung Fu Demo/Competition Team Class
Children, Teens, and Adults.
Call for Team Trial Date and Time.
347.585-1105
*uniforms, training shoes, fans, swords available for sale in our
shop.
*call for Application and Registration, limited space available.
Morning
Tai Chi
is an on going program
taught daily in the playground.
*****
Please call for information regarding application
and registration. short/long term goals? Are you rehabilitating from a surgery, ailment, injury?
Call Sifu Torres
347.585-1105
Everyday is a Tai Chi day and everyone is welcome!
Thoughts from Sifu to novice students of Tai Chi.
The art of Tai Chi that is practiced daily in the local playground goes almost unnoticed by the neighbors.
Yet every morning people get up and meet at an agreed upon time, in an agreed upon location, and move their energy, circulate
it, make it grow!
Some do the Cha Cha, some dance to pop, or waltz, everyone is breathing and moving. It is the most social time of the
day for some. You can see three or four different classes going on at the same time these days.
I often alternate days with different teachers. Acceptance in a class might be as simple as getting behind someone
and just following or depending on the energy you walk with, the selection process by you or a teacher may be necessary.
Some times an introduction is necessary.
I saw this man performing in the park, and the
Form which he demonstrated during his own personal practice just blew me away.
Martial content and applications were very visable and apparent to me.
Balance, focus, potential for power, timing, continuity, grace, all there.
The man's body type was even similar to my own build. I was home.
Now all I had to do was get this man to teach
me what I just saw. How could I become worthy of the investment a sifu makes in a student? I just kept showing
up, hot, cold, icy, humid, dry, weekday, weekend, sunrise, sunset, I was there. Then I started to get there before anyone
else. I would have a complete workout before anyone would show. Then class would begin. I found myself humming
these tunes? That is right we play to music too.
Anyway, that was 18 years ago and I am following
in the footsteps of the teacher. I am still very enthusiastic about each approaching class, and I still practice weekly
with the Master. I want to continue to learn and practice
this art called: "Morning Tai Chi".
The offerring I make here are the expression
of the art I learned, and continue to learn and practice with the same man.
Due to the fact that I have been told "my father no want famous" I
will only work through my own reputation and recognition.
My name is Ruben Torres, I have studied other
art forms over the past 38 years but I look forward to this journey of investigation into "Morning Tai Chi".
For the past 18 years I have worked on the expression
of the sifu.
The way he executed his postures and transitional movements and shifts
while maintaining a correct posture with relaxed breathe patterns, made me realize my
training had only just begun.
Its easy for me to look back and recollect the
events and know what would have yielded good results. I didn't even know about the concept of empty/solid, light/heavy,
these are basic, even what I thought about circular movement and the arts only skimmed the surfice of this aspect. Without
an understanding of cantonese, I was lost.
Without writing about the year that immediately
followed my meeting with the teacher, I will tell you that most of the beginning postures I learned from watching outside
the fence, outside the class parameters of the class.
The teacher would not teach a student he could
not talk to, share the intent, the history, the concepts behind the forms, and how they were to be used. How could there
be a transmission from teacher to student if they could not talk?
I would like to share the "alphabet" I learned
from my Sifu.
This class is called:
Morning Tai Chi.
I am presently working out of Sunset Park on
a daily basis.
Of course its cold now, and finding places the wind doesn't go and the
sun shines in, leads me to all the other players. (most are hiding behind the building and doing their exercises)
Through a series of drills of postures and transitions
from form to form, I learned what the teacher was saying to me.
During our private time, Sifu would review my postures (form) and applications,
my stepping and weight distribution/commitment, my ability to flow through the basic drills, then he would use counters, angles,
folding, and unfolding to access escapes and locks, and throws.
For years now, he has continued to surprise
me with more and more forms used in the Push Hands drills.
Every form has an application!
Many have multiple applications.
The drills I learned for developing Stationary
and Moving Push Hands skills-I teach to my students from the very beginning.
Understanding comes in stages.
You always begin again.
We are not fighting. These drills are
for training!
We parctice an internal and external art for Self Developement.
The drills may influence the performance and application of the
form.
The student first learns the postures
and the stepping, then the form. (a suggestion>)
The student should mimic and mime what is seen during
the practice of the form portion of the class.
This is following from beginning to end the complete form,
whether its a empty hand form, a fan style form, a sword form, etc. Don't forget to keep your eyes on the Teacher!
When you stop looking, you stop learning.
We did three different Chi Kung Sets, depending
on the time of year. 18, 28, and Beat the Drum.
This would always precede the forms.
After the forms, we do the fan, then the sword forms, review is next.
If there is time, we may review Push Hands basics,
Stationary fixed-single hand drills, Double Hand drills,
then Moving Single
Hand drills followed by Moving Double Hand drills.
Cloudhands may follow if the students develop an understanding.
This is a work in progress. I will share as I grow in my understanding.
