Old Yang as Meditation

[Anonymous]

I’ve noticed, after practicing the little bit (single hand peng, so, quite small) of Wu style I learned/gleaned from the tai chi videos in Gods, that, as I ventured intellectually but didn’t really notice being a raw beginner, Bruce seems to be flowering the qualities of Old Yang that are inherently meditative.
Just running through what I’ve learned of Old Yang so far in comparison to the feel of Wu, it appears that the power building of Old Yang is blended with this very Wu-like meditative feeling. It’s almost, I daresay, ghostly in how subtle it’s in there with the power building (it’s kinda like a dimensional-twist or just on the other side of what comes off as the chi building aspect of it) but I definitely feel a very, very strong amount of meditative energy.
The only difference I’d say is that Wu, and this probably follows with it being short or compact, has a very compact or condensed feel which I feel is what brings out the meditative aspect (I also believe I heard Bruce say the same thing, I’m probably just parroting it). But the feeling I’m getting from the Old Yang is like a zoomed-out version, no doubt due to its lengthening-laden approach, of the same energy so that you can almost miss the meditative strength that’s there.
It’s like Wu is molecular or subatomic tai chi and Old Yang is cosmic or planetary tai chi; the former is downscale and so the explosions into emptiness, as I think I’ve heard Bruce describe the effect of Wu style as meditation, are dramatic and inescapable since they are happening within you, while the latter is upscale and galactic with black holes acting as the bits that suck you in or supernovas that blow you into emptiness but since the feeling is larger and out-there your mind doesn’t have to engage it.
To put it another way yet the same, practicing Wu is like it is happening inside your body’s atoms and particles but practicing Old Yang is like practicing it outside at night and the stars and celestial-mechanics are where it is happening. In a certain sense and certainly garrulously, Wu is like a cattle-chute forcing you into meditation, pushing you through the subatomic black holes and explosive subatomic interactions happening inside your body, while Old Yang gives you the conscious choice to go exploring/penetrating those black holes of emptiness or exploding those dying stars into supernovas with your mind. This is why, no doubt, Wu has been so favorable for meditation but I must say I’m very impressed with how Bruce is teaching the Old Yang as meditation and I can imagine some instances in which Wu’s meditative inclination can be a little too much or too intense for some practitioners.

Has anybody else been experiencing the meditative energy Bruce is infusing in the Old Yang style?
Anybody who’s practiced Old Yang before and can spot the difference?

[Anonymous]

Nice comment Cody.
Yes, I’ve played with the Long Form for 20 years to inform meditation.
I took Bruce’s Bagua Course to enhance it.
Then I took his Wu Tai Chi Course to enhance further.
Now I’m enjoying this Yang Edition, which also enhances meditation.

And like you so nicely express it, there are many different flavors.

For me the time length makes a big meditative difference.

Similar to the length of time seated in meditation;
10 minutes calms you down.
30 minutes sinks it into the lower dantien.
45 minutes gets you to the event horizon of the black hole.
If you’re lucky the last minute gets you sucked in.

A slow Long Form establishes these same phases.

Bob
Post falls, Idaho

[Anonymous]

For me, Bob, it’s about repetition.
As Bruce pointed out, sometimes going slow can make you gap out/space out. This has been the case for me. In lieu of that I’ve found repetition to be tantamount to this meditative pacing.
I haven’t focused on the sets of 20 as I find the finish and start to be ample time for letting it sink in, but I’m going to experiment with this.

[Author]

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