The weather Saturday morning was perfect for this time of year in Florida. Sunny and cool with a slight breeze. Ducks on the water. Fisherman on the pier.

We spent some time on different stepping methods and on the fundamentals for qigong. I covered quite a bit of material – comparing taiji and bagua and xingyi stepping practices.

We practiced “Pushing the Mountain” from Wudang qigong and some basic stretches.

In review, there are two points:

1. know what your reach is
2. know where your weight is

Each person has their own body. How far you can reach your arm or leg depends on your body, how strong you are, how good your balance is and mostly, on how long your arm or leg is. This is an important point for movement in general and for applications especially.

When moving through any of the stepping methods and later in any of the forms, knowing where your weight is (forward 6/4; back 4/6 or in transition) matters. This is centering. Always being centered is part balance, part strength, and part understanding what your body is doing.

Center is one of the five elements: Earth. It is (should be) present in every movement.

When one part moves, all parts move.
When one part is still, all parts are still.

Move like the waves of a great river, never stopping, flowing continuously toward the ocean.