2009.09.23 19:00 - yin/yang + me makes three

The Guardian for this meeting was stevenaia Michinaga. The comments are by stevenaia Michinaga.

A short evening with  Paradise Tennant

stevenaia Michinaga: hello Paradise
Paradise Tennant: hiya steve :)
Paradise Tennant: how are you :)
stevenaia Michinaga: I am good
stevenaia Michinaga: thanks, jsut got in
Paradise Tennant: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: ready for tomarrow? I'll be around to assist you in posting the log
Paradise Tennant: err no .. when I said I will take on Thurs .. it has to start in october ..i have an agm to attend tomorrow :)
stevenaia Michinaga: ok, my misunderstanding
stevenaia Michinaga: hello Pila
Pila Mulligan: hi Paradise and Steve
Paradise Tennant: I mentioned it twice to pema so I suspect he will have a sub :)
stevenaia Michinaga: nods
stevenaia Michinaga: october is almost here
Pila Mulligan: they've started making delicious subs at the local store here
stevenaia Michinaga: different kind of subs, Pila
Pila Mulligan: yes, Pila was havig fun
stevenaia Michinaga: laughs
Paradise Tennant: :))
Paradise Tennant: how are you pila :)
Pila Mulligan: I'm fine thanks, and how are you (both:)?
Paradise Tennant: very well drinking bergamot tea .. and winding down :)
stevenaia Michinaga: I am good, backk to weekly tai chi again
Paradise Tennant: cool
Pila Mulligan: nice
Pila Mulligan: makes me think of chai tea
stevenaia Michinaga: teacher took 15 minutes on one move a few of us were learing,
Paradise Tennant: yes
Pila Mulligan: that is how teachers often do
stevenaia Michinaga: learning, still wasn;t enought time
Paradise Tennant: :)
Paradise Tennant: time and practise ..
Pila Mulligan: yes, teach minute detail and then after learning forget it
stevenaia Michinaga: talkes some time for it to become a habit, like meditation
Pila Mulligan: yes, it does
Paradise Tennant: :)
Paradise Tennant: what would we llike to talk about tonight ?
stevenaia Michinaga: nudge
Paradise Tennant: or did you come with a topic in mind steve :A)
Paradise Tennant: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: brb, have to urge to practice that Tai Chi move
Pila Mulligan: :)
Paradise Tennant: lol
Pila Mulligan: verse 48 of the Tao Te Ching:
Pila Mulligan:

In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped. Less and less is done Until non-action is achieved. When nothing is done, nothing is left undone. The world is ruled by letting things take their course. It cannot be ruled by interfering.

Paradise Tennant: thank you pila .. beautiful
Paradise Tennant: i have been meditating on letting go
Paradise Tennant: of late
stevenaia Michinaga: nicely said
Pila Mulligan: learning tai chi detail reminded me of it
Pila Mulligan: then dropping it :)
stevenaia Michinaga: of course my cat always gets involved with my feet
Paradise Tennant: lol
Pila Mulligan: the cat must be learning too, or maybe just playing
Paradise Tennant: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: now I just learned how much I forgot
Pila Mulligan: shall we watch your practice Steve?
Pila Mulligan: or is it a bad time for an audience
Pila Mulligan: at first ... trying to rememebr :)
stevenaia Michinaga: don;t think we figured out how to fo group video yet
stevenaia Michinaga: *do
Pila Mulligan: ok
Pila Mulligan: I always do it by myself, almost, and when people watch I sometimes get lost
Paradise Tennant: ;)
stevenaia Michinaga: I find it best to watch yourdself (mirror or video)
Pila Mulligan: yes, it helps
Pila Mulligan: as long as you don't get lost in the watching :)
Paradise Tennant: yes
--BELL--
Paradise Tennant: pila once explained .. an intriguing aspect of tai chi how it allows you balance external forces with internal forces ..
Paradise Tennant: ....
Pila Mulligan: balance being the big idea
stevenaia Michinaga: seems there are amny kinds of balance
Pila Mulligan: ....
stevenaia Michinaga: many
Paradise Tennant: yes
Pila Mulligan: part of the balance is in using tai chi as a martial art
stevenaia Michinaga: which is the naure of yin/yon
Pila Mulligan: letting someone else's energy function as you would like it to
Pila Mulligan: yin/yang :)
stevenaia Michinaga: that too
Paradise Tennant: :)
Pila Mulligan: :)
Paradise Tennant: could be yon .. we don't know about :)
Pila Mulligan: could be
stevenaia Michinaga: teachers accent?
Paradise Tennant: how to do you let someone's energy function as you would like
Pila Mulligan: well, it is true that some mis-pronounce it like 'yankee'
Pila Mulligan: it is yang link 'song'
stevenaia Michinaga: simple version would be someone running toward you and step out of the way and trip them
Pila Mulligan: or just step aside and let them keep going -- even more fun
Paradise Tennant: never .. viewed tai chi as a martial art
Pila Mulligan: it really isn't essentially, but it can be
Pila Mulligan: those soft hands can be used to push away an intrusion
Paradise Tennant: hmm because it puts you in such an advanced stage of a balance it allows you to unbalance an attacker?
Pila Mulligan: or to stay where the aggression does not reach
Pila Mulligan: better to be empty than push back
Paradise Tennant: run between the rain drops
Paradise Tennant: ;)
Pila Mulligan: yes, exactly
Paradise Tennant: use to try to do that as a kid
Pila Mulligan: Steely Dan
Pila Mulligan: or Donald Fagen at least
Pila Mulligan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKmOI12oHqE
Paradise Tennant: ;)
Pila Mulligan: one of the most interesting phenonmena of this part of the practice is what I call shrinking
Pila Mulligan: it is not explained easily in scientific terms, except maybe as an illusion of perspective
Pila Mulligan: but it invovles shrinking in size as an aggression approaches
stevenaia Michinaga: a psycologial tactic?
Pila Mulligan: you might want to explain it that way, maybe it is -- when I first saw it I was befuddled
Pila Mulligan: the teacher was doing some moves and then walked about ten feet further away and did the same ones
Pila Mulligan: as he walked away his body shrank much more than you wold expect
Pila Mulligan: so it looked like he was more than ten feet away
Pila Mulligan: ... you get it eventually
Pila Mulligan: it is not done conciously
Paradise Tennant: blinks
Pila Mulligan: :)
Pila Mulligan: yep, blinks
Pila Mulligan: this is why some people complain that when they try to spar with a tai chi master 'he is never there'
Paradise Tennant: ;0
Paradise Tennant: happily so
Pila Mulligan: yes, much better tha getting all entangled in contention
stevenaia Michinaga: the best fight is one to be avioded
Pila Mulligan: yep
Paradise Tennant: agree the more you push the more force you give your oponent it seems
Pila Mulligan: it is true
Pila Mulligan: secrets of tai chi night ... reminds me of another
--BELL--
Pila Mulligan: when you touch someone there is an instant kinetic reaction on contact
Pila Mulligan: so part of the practice is to be yielding when you are touched, to minimize that kinetic moment and, conversely, to be sensitive to the kinetic moment of an aggressor to redirect their momentum
Paradise Tennant: hmm
stevenaia Michinaga: I must leave early tonight, my apologies
Paradise Tennant: no worries steve :))
Pila Mulligan: nice to see you Steve
Paradise Tennant: big wave from toronto :)
stevenaia Michinaga: good seeing you both, wednesdays nights are becoming special
Paradise Tennant: ;)
Pila Mulligan: is there much new at your place Paradise
Paradise Tennant: hmm lol
Paradise Tennant: a little
Paradise Tennant: would you like to see ?
Pila Mulligan: sure
Paradise Tennant: kk