Black Panta, after major ACL surgery, shoulder surgery, bulging disks in lower back, spinal stenosis in two neck vertebrae, I still love this stuff!!! But I am enjoying rooting more than flying these days...lol. I find that when I do Shaolin stances I am fine as long as I keep moving. In taiji, sometimes the stances hurt more, especially with upper body, because of the slowness and concentrated stuff in the present. I agree with you totally on your comments....kung fu and taiji's ability to allow each one of us to adapt to our personal conditions and external conditions as they arise is what makes it so cool.....besides, as you know, after a while we are a reflection of our teachers but still take the art to a personal level to fit our own unique abilities.
I use to be able to sit in proper horse stance for 30 minutes to an hour with no problem. These days, that is unnecessary. As one of my teachers says, after 15-20 years, one should stop training and start practicing-translation, stop doing all the hundreds of kicks, etc. and practice the application, the breathing, and understand the naturalness of the movements, not the techniques anymore. Plenty of technicians get their butts kicked and that alone does not ensure long life or a unbroken body....laughing. Both gravity and age are hell!!! Happy New Year to you!!!  |