“A guy who can stand for two hours is a guy you don’t want to fight.” -Sifu Ted Mancuso Traditional Tai Chi training, back in the day, was markedly different from what is practiced today. There was considerable emphasis on stance training. Before students were taught a form, they spent countless hours perfecting/holding postures. It […]
Displaying posts written by
Gary Shapiro, PT
who has written 18 posts for KaiMen.
Dec
27
2019
27
2019
Nov
3
2019
3
2019
Sitting—The New Smoking?
I’m an unabashed fan of old movies, good and bad. The time period between 1930and 1960 holds a particular fascination for me. I enjoy watching the cultural norms as compared to the present day. Men wore wide brimmed hats, married couples slept in separate beds, and cigarette smoking was rampant. Chain-smoking appeared to be the […]
Jan
12
2019
12
2019
Stand Still, Be Fit
The CDC released some disturbing data on falls for the year 2017. More than one in four seniors experienced falls. Among Americans, falls were the number one cause of injury and death from injury. The CDC recorded 29 million falls, 3 million emergency room visits, resulting in $31 billion in medicare costs. Most alarming was […]
Jan
7
2018
7
2018
Gary Shapiro: Looking Back
In the past, I’ve written some articles for Plum detailing my Tai Chi adventures on cruise vacations. After nearly 40 years of work as a physical therapist, I decided that it was the right time to take a permanent vacation. On Aug 4, 2017, I made my last patient visit, went to the “big” office, […]
Feb
12
2012
12
2012
Qi Droppings #2: Use Your Qi for Good, Not Evil
Well, Shaolin Grandma was SUCH a success that we are moving on to the next choice video found by Intrepid Video Hunter, Gary Shapiro. This Japanese game show pits QI against Qi, and who comes out the winner is anyone’s guess… Want to share with a friend? Luckily, Gary has found an english language […]
Jan
23
2012
23
2012
Qi Droppings: All the Film That’s Fit to View #1
Plum’s intrepid correspondent, Gary Shapiro, scours the web, finding gems and treasures for our mutual entertainment. After receiving numerous links to these fine films, we finally decided we needed to share these with you, and offered to give him his own occasional column. These may not ever make it to a theatre near you, but […]
Jun
14
2010
14
2010
BOXING WITH IZZY
I had been practicing how to pronounce “arrondisement”(district) and searching the internet for images of Parisians practicing Tai Chi in the Luxembourg Gardens. Then, a volcano in Iceland erupted…
Nov
3
2009
3
2009
The Tai Chi Master
I tried to “dazzle” her with a some Chen silk reeling. “Oh yes, we did that too”, she said. Then, out of nowhere Betty did a double serving tea cups—without spilling a drop! Bagua! Who was this woman?
Sep
12
2008
12
2008
Tai Chi with a Leg Bag
The shaved head and earring were permanent fixtures. I was often told that I looked in good shape, maybe ten years younger than I actually was.
May
19
2007
19
2007
Ch’i at Sea Redux
A Caucasian Bruce Lee wannabe does all out battle with a very skillful digitalized cow in a wide open grassy field. It was udder nonsense.
Jan
20
2007
20
2007
Ch’i at Sea
Two rounds of the form after rising, two rounds before retiring. That’s been my Cheng Man Ching protocol for the past 25 years…
Sep
3
2006
3
2006
Full Circle
You don’t even need to leave your room, just sit at your table and wait. Don’t even wait, just listen. Be quiet, be still, be solitary. The world will offer itself to you, to be unmasked, it has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet. Franz Kafka
Jun
7
2006
7
2006
Could It Be That Simple?
I have started to integrate chi kung into my homecare practice. I have to write it up in my visit notes as “static unsupported standing”…
Jun
7
2006
7
2006
Top of the World!
Based on what Bob wanted to accomplish, I started him on a gentle Yi Quan /Zhan Zhuang regimen. I had to “sell” him on this approach…
Feb
13
2006
13
2006
Don’t Just Do Something – Stand There!
The basis for these skills is forged through hours of standing practice…
Nov
10
2005
10
2005
Tai Chi for Seniors: Part #2
Regardless of the brevity of a form, these videos expect seniors to move in ways that may have become entirely foreign to them.
Oct
21
2004
21
2004
Tai Chi, Balance and Longevity
Falls often result in permanent disability and shortened life spans. Tai Chi proved to be an effective, low cost method of improving balance.
Sep
25
2004
25
2004
Tai Chi For Seniors: Part #1
Part One During an early scene in the 60’s classic Easy Rider, two biker/drug dealers stop for some R&R at a peaceful southwestern desert commune. The camera scans the assorted goings on, and among the different groups pictured is a solitary, bearded, shirtless fellow practicing what appears to be Tai Chi. This was fairly representative […]
