Posts Tagged ‘ Tai Chi Chuan ’

Rocker Lou Reed Died Practicing Tai Chi

November 2, 2013
Rocker Lou Reed Died Practicing Tai Chi

Ah, it was so sad last week to hear of the death of legendary rocker Lou Reed. Reed fronted “The Velvet Underground”, and was often referred to as the pioneer of punk rock. What I didn’t know about Lou is that he was aparrently really into Tai Chi. Here’s a great little story from his […]

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The Utility of Tai Chi Chuan

May 12, 2013
The Utility of Tai Chi Chuan

Readers of the old “Dojo Rat” blog, which began in the fall of 2006, know that martial arts has been one of my passions for over thirty years. It began with wrestling in high school, progressed through Japanese and Korean Karate, some Aikido blended with Jujitsu, and landed in the soft Chinese arts of Bagua, […]

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Chi, “The Second Brain”, and “The Wellspring”

March 28, 2013
Chi, “The Second Brain”, and “The Wellspring”

Ever had a “gut feeling”? All of us have had the experience where we have some emotional stress, and right away our stomach gets upset, and our breath rate may increase. Perhaps you have to make a choice and it just “feels right” in your gut. Well, modern science is going a long way to […]

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Misconceptions About Tai Chi Chuan “Ward-off”

November 17, 2012
Misconceptions About Tai Chi Chuan “Ward-off”

Last summer one of my Aikido friends came up to visit, and we had several hours of standing grappling and some cool knife stuff. When we were pushing hands, I was trying (successfully) to use ward-off (as pictured above) to neutralize his arms and torso.  As you see above, there is a nice, round feel […]

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RSS Northwest Research & Covert Book Report

  • Review: Killers Of The Flower Moon
    Soon to be a major motion picture, this story has some real promise. Promise to help solve age-old crimes, promise to resolve inhuman atrocities, promise to help make things right. This is the promise of “Killers Of The Flower Moon – The Osage Murders And The Birth Of The FBI”, by David Grann. Sadly, it […]
  • Review: Pandora’s Gamble, By Alison Young
    Review: Pandora’s Gamble Where do I begin with this startling and disturbing book? First, the author, Alison Young, worked as a reporter for USA Today, the Detroit Free Press, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and has won numerous awards for her investigative reporting. “Pandora’s Gamble” is subtitled “Lab Leaks, Pandemics, And A World At Risk”. Much […]
  • Review: Floating Stones – Great Pyramid Built With Water Power
    Now here is an interesting find, recommended by a good friend. This book is a very thought-provoking theory of how the Great Pyramid was built. Authors Samuel R. Sampson is an architect, and co-author Michael N. Read is an engineer. Together they have come up with a very plausible scenario on how the largest Egyptian […]
  • Review: “The Dawn Of Everything”
    In my recent study of ancient civilizations, I bought this huge book – “The Dawn Of Everything – A New History Of Humanity”, by David Graeber and David Wengrow. This was a completely different type of read for me; Graeber and Wengrow are anthropologists and archeologists, and write as such. I don’t know a lot […]
  • Review Of Two Books On Neanderthals
    After reading Hancock and Schoch describing the destruction and survival of the human population during the last Ice Age, I wanted to learn more about the development of primitive man. Mind you, Hancock believed the destruction was caused by a comet that broke apart and hit the earth, while Schoch has evidence that the destruction […]