Spirited Calligraphy, by Chungliang Al Huang

Chungliang Al Huang is spirited and engaging, and here he speaks about the simplicity of calligraphy.  When you find yourself losing it, you can turn to it.  Notice how he expresses the calligraphy as T'ai Chi postures and he suggests centering the chi (life energy) in our tan tien (lower abdomen).  It is one of the five excellences that Cheng Man-ch'ing possessed.

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Professor Cheng Man-Ch’ing regarded a set of five disciplines—the "five excellences"—to be the mark of a well-rounded person: calligraphy, painting, poetry, t’ai chi, and medicine. Although he is best known for his teachings on the martial arts (in particular, his highly influential adaptation of t’ai chi), versatility was central to Cheng’s philosophy of life, and he encouraged his students to combine artistry with scholarship. This inspiring book is a commentary on and working compendium of Cheng’s literary and pictorial interpretations of these subjects. Of interest to aficionados of Chinese art, culture, and history, Master of Five Excellences also offers internal techniques for practitioners of the martial arts, as Hennessy provides an insight into the rarely-glimpsed creative side of Cheng Man-Ch’ing.

Reference: Master of Five Excellences.

T'ai Chi to Bach, by Chungliang Al Huang

Michael Fitzpatrick performs Bach on the cello, while Chungliang Al Huang performs T'ai Chi to the music.  How wonderful!  There is a reason, for sure, that T'ai Chi is called a martial art.  

I imagine Al Huang simply aligns his movement and spirit to that music, and is not following a particular sequence.  See how well he adapts the posture for the marble steps leading up to the altar.  

Savage Chickens on Self Awareness

Be mindful only of your good qualities, if you'd like 

Poke fun at yourself and others in a good-natured way

Yang Long Form 103, by Conny Landskröner

Hello, I am Conny from Germany and I practice the Yangfamily Style. I will look around this group to partizipate. Here you can see me some Years ago (I just learned the Longform 103 in this time) Best Reagrds an I hope you'll enjoy ;-)

Conny Landskröner is in the early years of her study and practice, and does T'ai Chi really well - with good precision in movement and yin-yang separation in her posture.  Press and Push express the release of chi, and the energy expressed in the movement ought to extend to infinity.  So I suggest more extension, that is, outward flow of chi, in her Press, Push and the like.

Mike Critelli Builds Strength and Mobility

A personal story on how the practice of the Taoist Tai Chi™ internal arts have helped with recovery from illness, losing weight, building up strength, regaining mobility, better breathing and just feeling better.

Mike Critelli must have had serious health concerns at 700 pounds.  I imagine he had a full health program at his disposal and had to work diligently at recovering from his illness.  But T'ai Chi is an integral part of such a program, as it emphasizes simple but sustained effort to build strength and improve mobility.

Even raising your arms with full concentration and weight underside may be akin to lifting dumbbells to build your muscles.  Even squatting down, even slightly at first if that is all you can do, uses the weight of the body to increase strength in those legs.  

Self Defense Applications, by Yang Jwing-Ming

Taijiquan, or 'Grand Ultimate Fist', is a highly effective form of combat specializing in short and middle-range fighting. 

This program offers practical martial applications for each of the 37-postures of traditional Taiji, based on the forms passed down by Yang, Ban-Hou. Once the viewer has a basic understanding of these universal principles, you may use them to devise further applications for every movement no matter which style of Taiji you practice.

We must first learn the concepts, plus postures and movements, of T'ai Chi before we delve into its martial arts application.  It's a matter of building the right foundation, and instilling in our mindset how T'ai Chi may in fact be different than the martial arts from the external school.

For one, there is more direct application of the yin-yang a circle within a circle, that is, via turns and twists, coils and spirals of movement, as Yang Jwing-Ming demonstrates.  For another, there is greater reliance on chi, both to repel an opponent's attack (emptying energy) and to press or push him down (releasing energy).

Interpreting Tao Te Ching, by Stephen Mitchell

Scott London, interviewing Stephen Mitchell

To understand T'ai Chi and to practice T'ai Chi properly, we must study Tao Te Ching.  The Tao Te Ching is at once the philosophical underpinning and the everyday application of T'ai Chi.