How to Peel a Banana

I have always peeled bananas the same way you probably do: Grab hold of the stem and yank hard. Sometimes it works. Sometimes the step pops off. Sometimes I have to bite the edge of the stem to get it to peel.

Here's how monkeys peel bananas:

Turn the banana around the other way.
Pinch the tip of the banana. The banana peel will magically split into two.
Easily peel the banana.

It's so simple and easy, and I have never had it fail.

What does this have to do with Daoism?

If you want to learn how to do something, look to the experts. In nature, the experts on banana peeling are the monkeys.


Now here is a picture of a cute monkey.

Who was Zhang Sanfeng?

Zhang Sanfeng was a semi-mythological Daoist figure who is credited with all sorts of things, from acupuncture to Taijiquan.

The phrase "semi-mythological" refers to the possibility that he may have been based on a real person. Actually, people who have done better research than I have suggest he may be based on two different people. Regardless, he has been credited with a lot of stuff he didn't do.

Did Zhang Sanfeng invent Taijiquan?

No. Zhang Sanfeng is credited with inventing the 13 Postures, of which Taijiquan uses a specific variation. I'll publish a post about the "Old" 13 Postures soon.

Let's Cut the Cr** about Tai Chi

I don't usually do this kind of negative post, but:

Let's face it. There's a lot of gray area in the art of Taijiquan. It covers a lot of ground.

But there are some things that Taijiquan is, and there are some things that Taijiquan isn't.

Taijiquan is a martial art, whether you want it to be or not. You don't have to study it with the express aim of hurting people, but it's in there.

I get a lot of people showing up to my classes in the park angrily proclaiming that Taiji isn't a martial art. It's funny, because the people who developed it all seemed to think it is a martial art. Some of them even wrote whole books of applications.

You could argue whether it is an effective martial art or not. That's at least arguable, and I don't blame you if you think it isn't. But saying Taijiquan isn't a martial art is a bit like saying your parents never had sex because you dislike the idea.

Imperial Yang Style Taiji History

A quick note about The Imperial Yang Style Taijiquan:

Often when you read about this style, you will be told something like:

"Yang Luchan was pressured into teaching his style to the imperial family, and so he chose to teach them an inferior version of the art."

This is another example of how official histories of martial arts are generally just propaganda. It's cut from the same cloth as the silly story of "how Yang Luchan learned Chen Style through a hole in the fence." (I'll write a series of posts about history and propaganda soon.)

Yang Luchan, by all useful accounts, was thrilled to teach in the imperial household, because it meant good money. He taught them the more comprehensive earlier system with many different forms.

What most people learn now is the "Public" system, which has only one central form. (This isn't necessarily bad: The Public form is a beautiful concentration of the essence of the rest of the system, a sort of "short form" of the whole system.)

Imperial Yang Style Taiji

I've been getting a lot of questions about the Funei ("Imperial") Yang version of Yang style Taijiquan.

This is what I know.

I've reviewed a series of four videos, in Mandarin, on this style.

I'm very excited about Imperial Yang Style, because it has the same forms as the Indoor Yang Style, and so it's the first solid proof that I didn't just make the whole thing up.

According to these videos, which you can buy here (I have no financial connection to this website, but they're great people and one of the best sources for Chinese martial arts information), the Imperial Yang Style has exactly the same set of forms as the Indoor Yang Style that I learned.

The sequence of movements seems to be almost identical in the three forms on these videos.

The presentation is a little different: The frame is a little more conservative, which isn't necessarily bad.

There is also a lot more White Crane in the movements, such as Crane Hook Hands in unusual places. Taiji, like most Daoist styles, has a heavy dose of White Crane as its foundation, so this isn't surprising. (I've mentioned before that White Crane is the "lost mother style.")

The hand movements in general are more expressive, like many Daoist styles. The teacher's hands seem tight rather than loose, which would be bad, but I may simply not understand what I'm seeing. (The most important mantra for a martial arts seeker is "I don't know everything." Repeat 500 times per day for successful results.)

Here's a demo of this version of the Wisdom Fist/Clever Hammers form:



I'm posting video clips of the demonstrations of these forms on youtube here.

How to be a Hermit... In a City.

A lot of the traditional Daoist texts talk about retreating to mountain caves and so forth, in order to escape from the social constructs that limit your cultivation.

Most of us don't have this option. What do we do?

Actually, if you read the less popular (and, in my opinion, more useful) texts, you will find quotes such as:

"If you retreat to a mountain cave, you will become known as a famous hermit, and soon your cave will be surrounded by prospective students and hangers-on. If you retreat to a large city, however, you will become invisible."

That's it. You can be a hermit anywhere, but it's easier to do so in a big city where no one knows you, than in suburbia.

Same Form, Different Day

One of the challenges of teaching the Daoist martial arts is that your students necessarily go through a phase of structure rather than expression, and you have to join them there. Let me explain.

In order to learn a form, for example, you must first learn the form exactly. "Put your foot exactly here, and your arm exactly here," and so forth. The problem is, the Daoist martial arts are about personal exploration and expression. At some point, you have to let go of the mechanics and explore the intent. From this point on, your form will never be exactly the same each time you perform it.

As a teacher, I'm constantly forced to do the form mechanically so as not to confuse my students. Occasionally, I will have a student who "gets it" and I can explore the form with them. With my other students, I have to constantly repeat the form exactly, or they will become confused.

One of the best things a teacher can develop is "senior students." They can teach the basics for you, and you can show up later to develop the more interesting stuff.