Archive for October 2007
Master Chin's Invitation Only Tai Chi Seminar
Posted on Wednesday, October 31, 2007 at 11:02 AM by Sifu Smith
Master Chin is back from Malaysia and gearing up for his 4 Day
Invitation Only; Sin Tien Wu Chi Tai Chi Seminar next week at the Kung
Fu Center in Fayetteville. Participants from California, Pennsylvania,
Florida and here in NC will be attending. Practicing several hours a
day, for four days with Master Chin will provide an immense body of
information and opportunity to practice.
With permission we will post a few pictures of this event.
Posted in Stories, Students, Tai Chi
Mindfulness Meditation in School
Posted on Wednesday, October 31, 2007 at 10:55 AM by Sifu Smith
Using Tibetan Bowl and Buddhist technique of meditation, a 5th grade school in Oakland, California has found success in working with kids to quiet their minds.
“I was losing at baseball and I was about to throw a bat,” Alex Menton, 11, reported to his classmates the next day. “The mindfulness really helped.”
As summer looms, students at dozens of schools across the country are
trying hard to be in the present moment. This is what is known as
mindfulness training, in which stress-reducing techniques drawn from
Buddhist meditation are wedged between reading and spelling tests.
Angela Haick, the principal of Piedmont Avenue, said she was inspired to try it after observing a class at a local middle school.
“If we can help children slow down and think,” Dr. Haick said, “they have the answers within themselves.”
It seemed alternately loved and ignored, as students in Ms. Graham’s fifth-grade class tried to pay attention to their breath, a calming technique that lasted 20 seconds. Then their coach asked them to “cultivate compassion” by reflecting on their emotions before lashing out at someone on the playground.
Tyran Williams defined mindfulness as “not hitting someone in the mouth.”
Read the Full article in New York Times
Posted in Meditation, Stories
Recent Study of Body-Mind Meditation
Posted on Monday, October 29, 2007 at 9:01 PM by Sifu Smith
Researchers from China and the University of Oregon have developed an approach for neuroscientists to study how meditation might provide improvements in a person's attention and response to stress.
The study, done in China, randomly assigned college undergraduate students to 40-person experimental or control groups. The experimental group received five days of meditation training using a technique called the integrative body-mind training (IBMT). The control group got five days of relaxation training. Before and after training both groups took tests involving attention and reaction to mental stress. The findings appear online this week ahead of publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The experimental group showed greater improvement than the control in an attention test designed to measure the subjects' abilities to resolve conflict among stimuli. Stress was induced by mental arithmetic. Both groups initially showed elevated release of the stress hormone cortisol following the math task, but after training the experimental group showed less cortisol release, indicating a greater improvement stress regulation. The experimental group also showed lower levels of anxiety, depression, anger and fatigue than was the case in the control group.
"This study improves the prospect for examining brain mechanisms involved in the changes in attention and self-regulation that occur following meditation training," said co-author Michael I. Posner, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Oregon. "The study took only five days, so it was possible to randomly assign the subjects and do a thorough before-and-after analysis of the training effects."
The IBMT approach was developed in the 1990s. Its effects have been studied in China since 1995. The technique avoids struggles to control thought, relying instead on a state of restful alertness, allowing for a high degree of body-mind awareness while receiving instructions from a coach, who provides breath-adjustment guidance and mental imagery while soothing music plays in the background. Thought control is achieved gradually through posture, relaxation, body-mind harmony and balanced breathing. The authors noted in the study that IBMT may be effective during short-term application because of its integrative use of these components.
IBMT has been found to improve emotional and cognitive performance, as well as social behavior, in people, said lead author Yi-Yuan Tang, a professor in the Institute of Neuroinformatics and Laboratory for Body and Mind at Dalian University of Technology in Dalian, China. Tang currently is a visiting scholar at the University of Oregon, where he is working with Posner on a new and larger study to be conducted in the United States.
Posted in Meditation
Dalai Lama set to receive Congressional Award
Posted on Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at 9:50 AM by Sifu Smith
Today is the first time a sitting President will be with the Dalai Lama
in a public event. President Bush plans to speak on the wisdom and
goodness the Dalai Lama has brought. Chinese Government has lashed out
against the U.S. since they became aware of the award, and have become
even angrier when they discovered that President Bush is planning to
attend and speak on support of the Dalai Lama.
The medal has also been given to such diverse individuals as Sir Winston Churchill, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa and former South African president Nelson Mandela.
Political and Military Pressure Esculating
Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 9:54 AM by Sifu Smith
The supporting campaign news for Tibet report documents the following new developments in the Tibetan region:
* Further detentions of Tibetans, including a young art teacher, local nomad who expressed support for Runggye Adak and the Dalai Lama, and a senior monk respected for his commitment to Tibetan education, in the Lithang area
* An increased and intimidating military presence in the two neighboring counties of Lithang and Kardze, both in Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (in the Tibetan area of Kham)
* An intensified political campaign that requires Tibetan monks, nuns,
laypeople and children to denounce the Dalai Lama. The stepping up of
this anti-Dalai Lama campaign in the region coincides with a period when
the Dalai Lama himself is increasingly received by world leaders and
respected for his leadership on peace. 
The Last Emporer's Property is Ownerless
Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 9:42 AM by Sifu Smith
China News: Since China's last emperor Puyi had no offspring to inherit his property and he did not name any inheritors in his will before he died, the property resulting from his autobiography, The First Half of My Life, was recently applied as ownerless property, the Beijing Times reported.
Recently, the book publisher, Qunzhong Publishing House, submitted its request to the Beijing Xicheng District People's Court.
In its application to the court, the publisher says since the 1960s, Qunzhong Publishing House, by carrying out the instructions of related department, published the book, The First Half of My Life. The book gained good recognition among readers in society. In 1967, Puyi died and his wife, Li Shuxian, became the copyright owner of the book. In 1997, Li died. Since Li had no children or relatives, and she did not name any inheritors in her will, Qunzhong Publishing House now applies to the court to announce the book's copyright as ownerless property.
The copyright will belong to the state and any gains resulting from the book afterwards will belong to the state, too.
Posted in Stories
China Opposes U.S. awarding Dalai Lama
Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 9:36 AM by Sifu Smith
BEIJING, (Xinhua) -- China News reports that China resolutely opposes the U.S. Congress's awarding of Congressional gold medal to Dalai Lama, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said here Thursday.
China also firmly opposes any country and any person using the issue of Dalai Lama to interfere with China's internal affairs, Liu said.
"We have made solemn representations to the United States over this issue," he said.
The White House said on Wednesday that the U.S. Congress planned to award Dalai Lama the Congressional gold medal on Oct. 17.
Posted in Stories
Kung Fu Stars are Found
Posted on Wednesday, October 10, 2007 at 5:37 AM by Sifu Smith
In Shenzhen, the Guangdong Province, they just completed the "Find the
next Kung Fu Star" competition. Many competitors came together and
performed brilliantly. With Jet Li semi-retired and Jackie Chan heading
in that direction we will entertain us with their abilities of wushu?
The female champion, Li Yujan, and male champion, Meng Fei stood out
among the others and were throaned champions. 
Shaolin Monks will not attend the Wushu at Olympics
Posted on Wednesday, October 10, 2007 at 4:48 AM by Sifu Smith
The China News Reports that despite the announcement that Wushu, known in the West as kungfu, would be showcased alongside the Beijing Olympics, Shaolin Temple, China's most renowned home of martial arts, has said its monks will not be taking part.
Shaolin Temple itself would not send people to take part in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Wushu competition, Orient Today quoted Qian Daliang, general manager of the Henan Shaolin Temple Development Co Ltd as saying.
"Chinese wushu belong to competitive sports, whereas Shaolin wushu belongs to traditional martial arts. The two have different natures, standards and connotations," said Qian.
"Performance in Chinese martial arts can be quantified but Shaolin wushu can not be measured in that way as it contains Buddhist elements and showcases a harmonious combination of Buddhism and kungfu," Qian said.
"In ancient times, people practised Shaolin wushu to resist outsiders, not for competitive purposes.
"Shaolin Wushu, as a cultural heritage, cannot be equal to competitive sports. They are two completely different concepts. They are all monks at Shaolin Temple, we cannot send them to take part in competitions."
The One Foundation - Jet Li Charity Work
Posted on Monday, October 01, 2007 at 11:20 AM by Sifu Smith
Jet Li has established a charity foundation to assist with disasters and
community needs, and it was established in mid-April. The foundation has
already made two large payouts to assist with earthquake victims in
Yunnan Province and a very large contribution to assist thoughs with
mental health problems.
Using his influence to generate donations, Jet Li is also the Red Cross Ambassodor and has managed to gain significant response in a short time. Jackie Chan has agreed to become the Honorary Director-General of the One Foundation for the next two years.
Posted in Stories
Human Smugglers Use KungFu as Disguise
Posted on Monday, October 01, 2007 at 10:59 AM by Sifu Smith
Three smugglers were leading 12 teenagers out of China and were discovered by border police. The smugglers, two who are wushu coaches from the Songshan Shaolin School, were charging these teenagers, $75,000 US Dollars each to smuggle them out of China. The teenagers were to be smuggled out using the disguise of being Martial Art Performers.
The two coaches routinely accompany and guide authentic wushu performers
abroad and were going to use their group trip as railroad to make extra
money. After the teenagers agreed to their fee for service, they met at
a hotel for a few days. In these days the teenagers, who had no martial
background, were given a crash course in Lion Dancing, postures, quick
form, and presentation so they could blend into the larger group they
were meeting.
The two coaches were in a deal with what the Chinese police refer to as a 'snakehead' in village name Chengle. The chinese police also state that the Shaolin Temple had no knowledge or involvement of the activity. The group had aroused suspicion at a Hong Kong entry point and then were sent back for interrogation.
Posted in Stories