by Thomas M. Krapu, Ph.D.

Supplemental comments to the article published in:
Taijiquan Journal,
Volume 3 Number 3 Summer 2002
(http://www.taijiquanjournal.com/archive.html)
or
Internet version of the article

One comment related to the article, Developing, Maintaining and Enhancing Daily Practice follows. My experience is very similar to this person's so I wanted to share his insights into this process:

I just finished reading your excellent TJ article, "Developing, Maintaining, and Enhancing Daily Practice." Congratulations on a great publication.

As someone with low "activation energy" by nature and, shall we say, unusually great need for external stimulus to begin weighty tasks (deadlines closing in, for example), time and again I have found your "two principles" to be spot-on, whether in work, school or in taking care of nagging daily tasks, but I hadn't heard these principles articulated so concisely as in your article. Hopefully now, when I open the daily planner at the beginning of the week, thinking about your two principles, as _principles_, will help me stick to following them!

Two things have helped me get my practice more regular and consistent during the last year. First, setting a specific time to practice. For me, it's 6-7 AM and 8-9 PM. Then, it's working during that time in 12-minute increments, using a kitchen timer similar to yours. From my current teacher I have been picking up a repertoire of exercises that isolate postures and transitions from the form (such as Cheng's '8 Ways'), so I'll pull out a few that I feel I need to work on, then create 12-minute sets out of them. Between each 12 minute set, I'll do a round of form, so that I get through 4 rounds (usually 2-3 rounds of regular form and 1-2 rounds of sword form) during the session.

I regret that I haven't been practicing the Wu Chi posture regularly (somewhere Prof. Cheng basically says, "You neglect it to your peril!"), so hopefully I'll get back on the ball soon. There's just so much to practice and so little time!

This person was good enough to find the actual quotes, though I like the way he stated itabove.

Master Cheng's New Method, p. 35:

"Form and function arise from this posture--do not neglect it! You must
understand this posture clearly."

Cheng Tzu's Thirteen Treatises, pp. 114-116

"Most people neglect this posture. Who would have thought that the way to
practice and the applications are all based on this one? When you begin
to study, you must be very clear about this."

(Note from Tom Krapu: This is EXACTLY why I started the practice that led to the article.)

2/15/03