Wednesday, April 29, 2009
News09/04 An Interview with a Malay student Dato' Rastam
It is very rare to see a Malay learning Taichi Chuan in this country. Recently one Malay student joined our Taichi Chuan class. We are all very excited over this affair. Dr Law HN of the NS Shenlong Association interviewed Dato’ Rastam as follows:
Law: Dato’ could you introduce yourself please.
Rastam: Thank you. Now I am fully retired. When I was young, I was a Civil Servant. Among the posts I held were the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Defence (1969 – 1971), the Deputy Governor of Bank Negara (1971~73) and the Managing Director of Petronas (1973-1989). .
Law: How do you know about this Taichi Chuan group?
Rastam: I have had a life-long interest in meditational exercises. I have read many books on Yoga, Taichi Chuan, Qigong, etc.
I shifted from Kuala Lumpur to Bandar Springhill, Lukut seven years ago. Now that I am retired and have a lot of leisure time available I thought this was the right time for me to pursue the next stage of my development and learn the practical side of Tai Chi.
I have been asking almost every person I meet whether there is a Tai Chi class in Port Dickson, Lukut, or Seremban but most people are not aware of any. However, about two months ago, a good friend brought me to this place. And so , here I am, happily struggling to learn Tai Chi with my old bones…
Law: What do you expect to get from learning Taichi Chuan?
Rastam: To begin with, as we get older, most people expect to get weaker and to have more health problems. I expect the practice of Tai Chi to reduce these problems for me.
That is on the physical side. On the mental side, I expect Tai Chi to give me peace and tranquility. This mental aspect is even more important to me than the physical aspect.
Law: What do you think is the biggest difficulty in learning Taichi Chuan?
Rastam: To have the patience, the persistence and the perseverance to practice daily, without fail.
Law: What do you like best in Taichi Chuan?
Rastam: The breathing aspect of Tai Chi practice. I had earlier in my reading discovered the importance Yoga attaches to controlled breathing in its practice of Pranayama. Many books have been written on this subject but I find it difficult to narrow down the choices I need to make. But Tai Chi seems to have narrowed them down for me. I am very comfortable with Taichi Chuan’s stress on slow and meditated breathing. For example, in Bear Swing and Quashing the Demon we do a lot of meditated breathing. It’s exactly what I have been looking for.
Law: What is your opinion on Taichi Chuan?
Rastam: I feel that since Taichi Chuan has been passed down by the Chinese people for thousands of years, from generation to generation, there must be some value to it. Otherwise it wouldn’t have survived such a long transmission.
Law: Why do you like Taichi Chuan as practiced here?
Rastam: I feel that Taichi Chuan is run like a club here. Everybody is trying to be healthy himself and is trying to encourage the whole community to be healthy. They say health is better than wealth. So if you can contribute good health to your community you are making a really worth while contribution.
Law: Do you think we can promote Taichi Chuan to the Malay folks?
Rastam: Definitely. Islam attaches a great deal of importance to mental peace. All over the world, when one Muslim meets another, he says: “Peace be on you”. The Prophet teaches his followers the importance of mental peace. He also instructs them to seek knowledge even from far away China. Tai Chi seems ideal for both purposes.
Conclusion:
From Dato’s Rastam’s interview, we come to the realization of a need to adopt a positive attitude when it comes to sharing the benefits of Taichi Chuan with the Malay community. Like tennis and golf Tai Chi is not a religion. It is there for one to take advantage of and to enjoy. If we can contribute to the health of the whole community we certainly should not refrain from doing so.
Many thanks to Dato’Rastam from NS Shenlong Association.
Law: Dato’ could you introduce yourself please.
Rastam: Thank you. Now I am fully retired. When I was young, I was a Civil Servant. Among the posts I held were the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Defence (1969 – 1971), the Deputy Governor of Bank Negara (1971~73) and the Managing Director of Petronas (1973-1989). .
Law: How do you know about this Taichi Chuan group?
Rastam: I have had a life-long interest in meditational exercises. I have read many books on Yoga, Taichi Chuan, Qigong, etc.
I shifted from Kuala Lumpur to Bandar Springhill, Lukut seven years ago. Now that I am retired and have a lot of leisure time available I thought this was the right time for me to pursue the next stage of my development and learn the practical side of Tai Chi.
I have been asking almost every person I meet whether there is a Tai Chi class in Port Dickson, Lukut, or Seremban but most people are not aware of any. However, about two months ago, a good friend brought me to this place. And so , here I am, happily struggling to learn Tai Chi with my old bones…
Law: What do you expect to get from learning Taichi Chuan?
Rastam: To begin with, as we get older, most people expect to get weaker and to have more health problems. I expect the practice of Tai Chi to reduce these problems for me.
That is on the physical side. On the mental side, I expect Tai Chi to give me peace and tranquility. This mental aspect is even more important to me than the physical aspect.
Law: What do you think is the biggest difficulty in learning Taichi Chuan?
Rastam: To have the patience, the persistence and the perseverance to practice daily, without fail.
Law: What do you like best in Taichi Chuan?
Rastam: The breathing aspect of Tai Chi practice. I had earlier in my reading discovered the importance Yoga attaches to controlled breathing in its practice of Pranayama. Many books have been written on this subject but I find it difficult to narrow down the choices I need to make. But Tai Chi seems to have narrowed them down for me. I am very comfortable with Taichi Chuan’s stress on slow and meditated breathing. For example, in Bear Swing and Quashing the Demon we do a lot of meditated breathing. It’s exactly what I have been looking for.
Law: What is your opinion on Taichi Chuan?
Rastam: I feel that since Taichi Chuan has been passed down by the Chinese people for thousands of years, from generation to generation, there must be some value to it. Otherwise it wouldn’t have survived such a long transmission.
Law: Why do you like Taichi Chuan as practiced here?
Rastam: I feel that Taichi Chuan is run like a club here. Everybody is trying to be healthy himself and is trying to encourage the whole community to be healthy. They say health is better than wealth. So if you can contribute good health to your community you are making a really worth while contribution.
Law: Do you think we can promote Taichi Chuan to the Malay folks?
Rastam: Definitely. Islam attaches a great deal of importance to mental peace. All over the world, when one Muslim meets another, he says: “Peace be on you”. The Prophet teaches his followers the importance of mental peace. He also instructs them to seek knowledge even from far away China. Tai Chi seems ideal for both purposes.
Conclusion:
From Dato’s Rastam’s interview, we come to the realization of a need to adopt a positive attitude when it comes to sharing the benefits of Taichi Chuan with the Malay community. Like tennis and golf Tai Chi is not a religion. It is there for one to take advantage of and to enjoy. If we can contribute to the health of the whole community we certainly should not refrain from doing so.
Many thanks to Dato’Rastam from NS Shenlong Association.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Lecture09/04 Lecture Guiding Principle
《Lecture Guiding Principle》
1 Lecture once a month, the day schedule is ：8.00~~8.30 Practise Taichi Chuan
8.30~~8.45 1st Speaker on Practice
8.45~~9.00 2nd Speaker on Theory
9.00~~9.15 Free Q&A and Exchange of Views
9.15~~9.30 Evaluator Speaks
2 Purpose of the Lecture is:，a) Promote reading & thinking on Taichi Theory
b) Promote writing ability
c) Promote speaking ability
d) Promote mutual learning and upgrading
3 All shixiong/shijie will be designated to be responsible for one topic as listed below
4 Each topic is divided into 2 parts: 1) on practice, 2) on theory based on Master Wu’s book
5 Designated shixiong/shijie will undertake reading and thinking on their respective topics
6 After the speeches, all students are encouraged to raise questions and exchange views freely
7 Designated shixiong/shijie will prepare their speeches in the form of texts to be posted on the notice board in the Society premises
8 Prepared texts will be put onto our websites: //sbntaiji.blogspot.comChinese), //nstaichi.blogspot.com(English)
9 An evaluator assigned in every lecture. He chairs the meeting and makes overall evaluation after the proceedings. Evaluations should be more on praising than criticism. The criteria are:
1 Clarity 20%
2 Raise interest 15%
3 Fluency 15%
4 Integrate with practice 15%
Total 100%
The Topics
1 Taichi Chuan is the correction of errors
2 Taichi Chuan stresses “a little bit”
3 Integration of the Heaven and the Human Being
4 One movement and all moves
5 The basic 8 principles of Taichi Chuan
6 Taichi Chuan is about the whole body being hands and yet hands are no hands
7 The minuscule movement of Dao
8 Taichi Chuan is health-building, self-defense and cultivation
9 Taichi Chuan is an art of self-questioning, questioning what?
10 Internal activation first then comes external movements
11 The major criteria of body movement of Tacihi Chuan
12 Taichi Chuan stresses the root at the foot and manifested at the hands
1 Lecture once a month, the day schedule is ：8.00~~8.30 Practise Taichi Chuan
8.30~~8.45 1st Speaker on Practice
8.45~~9.00 2nd Speaker on Theory
9.00~~9.15 Free Q&A and Exchange of Views
9.15~~9.30 Evaluator Speaks
2 Purpose of the Lecture is:，a) Promote reading & thinking on Taichi Theory
b) Promote writing ability
c) Promote speaking ability
d) Promote mutual learning and upgrading
3 All shixiong/shijie will be designated to be responsible for one topic as listed below
4 Each topic is divided into 2 parts: 1) on practice, 2) on theory based on Master Wu’s book
5 Designated shixiong/shijie will undertake reading and thinking on their respective topics
6 After the speeches, all students are encouraged to raise questions and exchange views freely
7 Designated shixiong/shijie will prepare their speeches in the form of texts to be posted on the notice board in the Society premises
8 Prepared texts will be put onto our websites: //sbntaiji.blogspot.comChinese), //nstaichi.blogspot.com(English)
9 An evaluator assigned in every lecture. He chairs the meeting and makes overall evaluation after the proceedings. Evaluations should be more on praising than criticism. The criteria are:
1 Clarity 20%
2 Raise interest 15%
3 Fluency 15%
4 Integrate with practice 15%
Total 100%
The Topics
1 Taichi Chuan is the correction of errors
2 Taichi Chuan stresses “a little bit”
3 Integration of the Heaven and the Human Being
4 One movement and all moves
5 The basic 8 principles of Taichi Chuan
6 Taichi Chuan is about the whole body being hands and yet hands are no hands
7 The minuscule movement of Dao
8 Taichi Chuan is health-building, self-defense and cultivation
9 Taichi Chuan is an art of self-questioning, questioning what?
10 Internal activation first then comes external movements
11 The major criteria of body movement of Tacihi Chuan
12 Taichi Chuan stresses the root at the foot and manifested at the hands
Photo09/04 Oath Taking of the 5th EXCO
On 20-4-2009 the 5th EXCO members took an oath at the Association premises
Photo09/04 The 5th EXCO
On 12-4-2009 an election was carried out for the 5th EXCO of the Association. The EXCO members took a group photo
News 09/04 Election of the 5th Exco
12-4-2009 The election of the 5th Exco resulted in the following results:
President： Chen Zeng Xiang
Vice President： Xie Shuang Nian
Secretary： Zhou Liang Jie
Vice Secretary： Jian Yong Sheng
Treasurer： Chen Zhang Sen
Liason： Ye Jin Fu
Chief of Education： Zhong Ping Wen
Deputy Chief of Education：Ma Zi Xuan,
Deng Yue Ji
Auditor： Su Qiao Zhu
Exco Members： Chen Tan You Lai Li Li
Gan Ya Mei Chen Gan Shun
Yan Shu Mei Law Heng Neng
President： Chen Zeng Xiang
Vice President： Xie Shuang Nian
Secretary： Zhou Liang Jie
Vice Secretary： Jian Yong Sheng
Treasurer： Chen Zhang Sen
Liason： Ye Jin Fu
Chief of Education： Zhong Ping Wen
Deputy Chief of Education：Ma Zi Xuan,
Deng Yue Ji
Auditor： Su Qiao Zhu
Exco Members： Chen Tan You Lai Li Li
Gan Ya Mei Chen Gan Shun
Yan Shu Mei Law Heng Neng
News09/04 Oath Taking by the 5th Exco
20-4-2009
The 5th Exco（2009~2010）Oath Taking Ceremony
Script of Oath
We, the 5th Exco members of NS Shenlong Taichi Chuan Association, with utmost sincerity, pledge
that we will be abided by the Constitution of this Association to follow the disciplines and do our best in the development of the matters of the Association and the promotion of Taichi Chuan. Our missions are as below:
Take the Association as our family
Learn Taichi Chuan lifelong
Treat brothers and sisters as co-members
Have interest in the learning of the art
Make servitude as part of life
Let contribution be a challenge
Have culture returning to its root
Hence the oath
All Exco members signed
The 5th Exco（2009~2010）Oath Taking Ceremony
Script of Oath
We, the 5th Exco members of NS Shenlong Taichi Chuan Association, with utmost sincerity, pledge
that we will be abided by the Constitution of this Association to follow the disciplines and do our best in the development of the matters of the Association and the promotion of Taichi Chuan. Our missions are as below:
Take the Association as our family
Learn Taichi Chuan lifelong
Treat brothers and sisters as co-members
Have interest in the learning of the art
Make servitude as part of life
Let contribution be a challenge
Have culture returning to its root
Hence the oath
All Exco members signed
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