Alex Dong Intl Taijiquan Assoc: Pacific NW School

Alex Dong Intl Taijiquan Assoc: Pacific NW School - Essays and Articles

MIND BENDER EXPLAINED
June 24, 2004

I developed this form during a short creative cycle I went through in the summer of 2003. There wasn't much stopping the process, this energy was moving through my body and needed to be expressed somehow. I can assure you, the idea of creating my own short tai chi form and teaching it to my students was not really there. Internal power, the result of over 10 years of Dong/Tung style tai chi chuan training, was building inside of me and needed to be expressed outside the structure of our established forms. The movements, engrained in my being from practicing the Dong style all these years, supported me along a mini tai chi exploration that resulted in this form being created. Once I started linking postures together, the purpose of creating the form became clear and I put more thought into formalizing the movements. It all came together relatively quickly and probably 90% of it was finished in a month.

Ok, you hardcore fundamentalists, I know you think this is sacrilege. After all, what qualifications do I have to say that practicing this form is good for anything? What about the other forms that we are supposed to be studying already in the Dong/Tung family system? Am I suggesting that I don't need to practice them now, or that I an arrogant enough to think I have something that is better or missing from our school curriculum?

At the risk of non-conformity and unconventional thought, I will try to defend my decision to teach the Mind Bender. I like the form because it has all the circular waist-oriented movement typical in our other forms and also shows several 'hidden' applications that are not apparent to beginning students. I consider this a supplemental form that I only recommend to intermediate students who are already established in practice routines and regular classes where the other forms are taught. I have no plans to develop other such forms at this time and my goals are to continue focus on Slow set and Family set.

The strengths of the mind bender should be clear from the facts:

The form begins with a waist turn and wrist block to the right, and then a pivot out on the left heel. After about 20 more postures the routine is finished on that side and started over, with the left arm circling out first. Since I decided to create a short martial form, then it was going to be a balanced workout on both the left and right sides of the body.
There often isn't enough space available for people to practice our standard forms without adjusting constantly, and time is always short for busy people. I designed it so there would be minimal stepping and it could be practiced in tight areas. A space of about 6' in side width by about 8' in length is plenty for comfortable execution. It takes about as long as one Family Fast Set to complete both sides of the form, yet takes about 1/3 of the space to perform.
I wanted to stay true to tai chi principles and Dong Family style movements. All movements are from Dong/Tung style forms. Most are from the slow set and Family set, but there are also elements from the Hao set, and Tiger Mtn. Tai Chi Kung form. The execution and transition movement between postures is consistent with Dong style principles and energy changes as expressed in the different sets.

TAI CHI FOR PARKINSON'S
May 1st, 2005 article from FTE News Magazine (PDF file)

THE DONG FAMILY FAST SET
January 2005 Inside Kung Fu article (PDF file)

SLOW AND FLAWED vs. FAST AND PRECISE
January 1, 2000 - Updated July 5, 2004

MIND BENDER TAIJI CHI KUNG
Last revision: October 20, 2005

WHAT IS QIGONG?
November 25, 2003

QUEST FOR BALLANCE
May 24, 2003

TIGER MOUNTAIN TAI-CHI KUNG
February 10, 1999

UNITY THROUGH POLARITY
November 23, 1998

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Alex Dong International Taijiquan Association
Pacific Northwest School - Andy Holmes instructor
P.O. Box 4056, Tumwater, Washington 98501