Saturday, August 17, 2013

TT Liang Introduces me to T'ai Chi


My introduction to T'ai Chi was happenstance.  Then again perhaps it was fated, instead.

I was weight training throughout high school, in order to get stronger for the sports I played - hockey, football and wrestling - and to stay fit in general.  I read about a bodybuilder who used chi strength to lift heavier weights, so I headed off to the bookstore to see what I could find out about this curious technique.  Without hesitation, the lady there walked me to an aisle and pointed me to this book:

(image credit)
The book obviously had nothing to do with weight training, but I found it rather intriguing after thumbing through it.  So I bought it.  Less than two weeks later, I saw a poster for T'ai Chi Ch'uan classes, not too far from Northwestern University where I was finishing my freshman year.  That was in May 1978, and I've been studying and practicing this ancient Chinese martial art since.

I must've read this book a hundred times, and referenced it ten thousand times.  So to say that TT Liang formed the underpinning of my T'ai Chi is an understatement.  He was my influence and inspiration.


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