Virtue Tai Chi

 

Virtue: 1.the quality of being morally good, "she is the epitome of virtue". 2.

a particular quality that is morally good, "patience is a virtue". 3. cardinal virtues:justice, hope, faith and above all love. 4. chastity-moral quality of being chaste. 5. Effective power, "he has the virtue of communication" and "by the virtue of..."

 

The root of virtue is from the Latin vir or virtus signifying "man", "excellence", "strength"," moral" thus a virtuoso is a powerful skilled person and at one point deemed of high moral character as in "virtuous". Interestingly all character traits are known as virtues and yet if you ask people to define virtue or moral they have a hard time describing a clear "picture" of what it is or how to apply it.

This is a great example of how our words are abstract, fragmentive, vague and why we speak with "forked tongues" - we often have either no idea or a vague idea of the picture, power or goal behind our words. Thus getting a clear picture of virtue as a foundation word is essential to get a clear integration with any word that we consider a virtue.

The two key elements to look at are power and moral. Even though virtue signified man it is no longer essential since it is now a generic usage referring to humanity but if you wish to play with the word, you can see how it grew from the concept of a husband, the householder, taking care of his family and tribe justly and wisely. Interestingly, the original ideogram, kanji or pictographic for power/moral as described in the "g.e.t.i.t.together" book by Peter Hill was an army moving forward with one heart toward a common goal of protecting one's country.

The word "courage" comes from the French word "coeur" meaning "heart" thus one with courage moves from their heart and what goals they have their heart set on. One who "cowers" focuses inward on the self, worried about what others are doing

or not doing. Courage and Fear are in essence both high in energy but the FOCUS/

GOAL or INTENT is very different.

The modern description of the ideogram captures the essence of VIRTUE/POWER/MORAL all in one simple picture. It is a person moving toward a goal with a loving heart (intent) that ten eyes can find no fault with. Thus when you use power to defend and protect, there will be people who do like your techniques or what has to be done but they can find no fault with your intent. Like a surgeon cutting off an arm to save the body, cutting someone out of your life to save your self, freeing someone from your world because it is the best, is the most loving thing to do.

USE the words VIRTUE/POWER/MORAL. TEST THEM and start seeing how effective is your VIRTUE, your POWER, your MORAL SENSE and how it resonates into relationship. Observe how others move or do not move from their "hearts": the courage, the passion, the power, the ripple effect of their actions.

Encourage yourself and others not to COWER but to set Goals, to cultivate Energy, to learn Techniques that fit the situations they encounter daily to move forward from a heart that is wide open to the world. Use the situations to build Inner Skills and then test it all daily and recapitulate your day to see what works and what does not until it all integrates harmoniously within you.

Be cautious and aware of what is in your heart and the hearts of others because reason will always find a way to work or move towards it.

Be virtuous, Be powerful, Be loving.

Tai Chi - The Five Elements

What is commonly referred to as the Five Elements is better translated as the Five Phases, as they actually represent processes rather than actual physical objects.They are used throughout traditional Chinese science and medicine to describe actions that are taking place in areas from Astronomy to Zoology. The Five Phases are...

 

Metal

(金)

Water

(水)

Wood

(木)

Fire

(火)

Earth

(土)

 

Split: Uses the palm to strike down. It is associated with the element of metal (金). Metal

creates Water (水) and conquers Wood (木). Also referred to as Chop. 劈

Drill: Uses the fist to uppercut. It is associated with the element of water (水). Water creates

Wood (木) and conquers Fire (火). 钻

Drive: Uses the vertical fist to punch. It is associated with the element of Wood (木).

Wood creates Fire (火) and conquers Earth (土). Also referred to as Smashing. 崩

Cannon: Uses the vertical fist to punch towards the opposite foot, while the non-punching

arm blocks the head. It is associated with the element of Fire (火). Fire creates Earth (土) and conquers Metal (金). Also referred to as Pounding.

Crosscut: Uses the palm up fist to strike towards the opposite foot with the back of the

knuckle. Its energy is somewhat similar to that of split (裂) in Taiji. It is associated with the

element of Earth (土). Earth creates Metal (金) and conquers Water (水). Sometimes referred to as Wringing.

 

The basic introductory form, after learning each fist is the Five Phases Linked Form

(五行连环拳). This form includes all five fists and the Cat climbs a tree movement, which is

similar to the dragon posture of the twelve animals.