Hi Kristy, Steve, and all I practise Karate kihon and kata in slow, almost Taichi-like motion. SOME speed does pick up as I get warmer, but not that much speed. I think it's great that the martial arts are seen as beneficial to one's health. Any talk of health(or even PEACE, for that matter) is good. So far so good The thing is that....that particular martial, combative spirit is what gets one further. This is not to say that one will survive a short but violent assault just because one trains to fight regularly, because one may actually die in an encounter no matter how much martial arts training he/she has gone through in the past. At my age of 48, I suffer from a variety of health problems. If Karate is merely a healthful exercise to me, I'd probably vary my gym matters and other regimes over a 12 month period. In other words, I'd save myself from boredom through variety With a martial spirit, one works through the boredom. Let's think about it for a moment here...how can one be bored when one is doing something that could save one's butt(or even life) later on? Even that extra millisecond to take somebody down as one goes down could be significant. Basics in my Karate practise may bore many, but they helped me pull through some violent encounters in the past This martial or combative spirit is like fuel(I say, fat) thrown into the fire, and makes all sorts of dojo-kun and lectures on love, peace, and other extras insignificant in the face of baseball bats, sharp-edged objects, and so forth. A lot of martial artists teach about such love and peace to appease frightened policy makers, and the whole population end up forgetting that Karate and other combative arts were(and still are) weapons of war. I had never understood why people spoke of love and respect through a 'karate life and spirituality'(?????), when such statement belong in the realms of religion and spirituality. I personally see nothing religious in either breaking a bar-stool over a violent psycho's head, or making for that dreadful elbow strike across the mandible area. To me, Karate is merely a tool, but a tool of great preference Does the above sound harsh? Me? Harsh enough to get me off my lazy butt and go to the gym so that my blood sugar, pressure, and cholesterol may lower and stabilize....even when all I feel like is staying in bed all day. There is nothing martial or combative about laziness. Add Zen or Tao into the mix and one may end up with an individual who loses fear of death, or even of life itself Buddha be praised Mel
--- On Sun, 20/2/11, Kristy McClain <[email protected]> wrote: Hi Steve, I am learning Tai Chi as part of a mindfulness and extension of a spiritual practice. Question? Is Tai Chi considered a martial art like karate, or no? Are karate and kung fu related? Any tips on how to improve one's focus and concentration while practicing--as a beginner? Thanks..k ---
