When Yang Lushan/Losim was supposed to be eavesdropping in on the secret classes of Chen Chanxing, what did he see? The records, true or false, indicate he saw fist forms and Push Hands. There is no indication that weapons – long or short – were practiced. When Zhang Sanfeng developed his own version of Tai chi chuan, it was a fist form that he choreographed. No mention of weapons at all. How many fist forms were there? When were the weapons forms developed and included in the curriculum? We’ll probably not know for sure.
Continue reading “Diary 4/19/26: The Yang Family Tai Ji Quan Curriculum and Yang Sau-Chaung “Blog
Articles in the Halo Halo Review
Here are links to three articles in the latest issue of the Halo Halo Review by or about Rene :
AT AGE 85, RENE J. NAVARRO LOOKS BACK AT HIS POETRY:
https://halohaloreview.blogspot.com/2025/11/at-age-84-rene-j-navarro-looks-back-
at.html
RENE J. NAVARRO CREATES A NEW FUTURE FOR HIS EXTENSIVE LIBRARY
https://halohaloreview.blogspot.com/2025/11/rene-j-navarro-creates-new-future-for.html
“EARLY CHILDHOOD IN BAMBAN”
https://halohaloreview.blogspot.com/2025/11/early-childhood-in-bamban-by-rene-j.html
Diary 1/10/26: A De-Colonized Taijiquan?
A quote from the preface of my book “Of Fire and Water: Alchemy and Transformation”
(Tambuli Media: 2023):
A last cautionary tale. The Western Procrustean Bed. The Eastern paradigm of the human being and the world includes not just the physical and material but also the energetic, mystical, intellectual, emotional as well as the spiritual. But much of Eastern culture is often perceived and practiced through the framework of the materialistic West. Yoga has been reduced to an exercise for physical fitness and flexibility, meditation as a mode of relaxation, and nothing more. Martial art, a temple discipline among monks, has become just a system of fighting, sans philosophy, compassion, and virtues. Sunzi’s Art of War, the classic of warfare, is just a manual for capitalist business and gamesmanship. Eastern disciplines often pass through the procrustean bed of the West. We have a long way to go to reach the heart of authentic Eastern culture.
Continue reading “Diary 1/10/26: A De-Colonized Taijiquan?”Book Launch at Marble in NYC
It was a lovely weekend in New York City.
It was a wonderful birthday celebration for my wife Lolit (now 84, the Year of the Snake)) and me (85, the year of the Dragon). We spent the weekend in NYC. Ace, the hotel on 29th Street where we stayed, is a historic landmark. Albert made a great choice of hotel and restaurants (one traditional Sichuan for lunch, another a fusion cuisine (both oh Saturday), and the last Middle Eastern (on Sunday afternoon). He also volunteered to sell my books at the door of the chapel at Marble Collegiate Church: we made a good income, but I won’t abandon everything to become a full-time writer yet. Lovely company: Laura, Ava, Charl, Isabel, Jay and on Sunday Carlos Esguerra, the famous photographer, and Romy Dorotan, the famous chef, both brothers from the Alpha Phi Fraternity of the University of the Philippines. Lola Lolit told me that she had the most wonderful time of her life! Which is definitely the truest compliment she could say for all the loving fellowship we had over the weekend. Not to mention the food, the steamed fish with fermented beans, the Su Dong Po Pork, Peking Duck and for Lola, the pineapple beer. As she would often say, PRICELESS!!! I share her sentiments. It was a great time. I thought the Book Launch organized by Mario Sprouse and Karla Hendrick at the Mable Collegiate Church chapel was incomparable.
Continue reading “Book Launch at Marble in NYC”Diary 9/13/25: Classical Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan Solo Fist 108
CAVEAT: Sadly, the video starts when my hands are already up to the level of my shoulders. In the process of transferring the film to VHS and later to DVD, a short strip got deleted. The actual opening movement starts with the hands down beside my thighs facing the back; then they turn slowly until the palms are facing the front before they are raised with the palms up. When the hands reach shoulder level, they stop and turn over, palms down.
Continue reading “Diary 9/13/25: Classical Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan Solo Fist 108”9/11: E-Mail In Memoriam
When 9/11 happened, I was in Brooklyn. I had an appointment for lunch with a Healing Tao colleague in mid-Manhattan. I took the subway and as it emerged onto the bridge over the East River, the odor of smoke and burning debris and bodies overwhelmed the air. Smoke was still rising from downtown. It was a weird hour in a Japanese restaurant. I received an e-mail from one of my students, a Jungian psychotherapist and author. Here below is our exchange.
Continue reading “9/11: E-Mail In Memoriam”Daoism and Tai chi chuan
It is rather hard to explain the process of learning Taoism and Tai chi chuan. A few important conceptual elements are involved in it:
Continue reading “Daoism and Tai chi chuan”Diary 6/11/25: Instructor’s Training in the Healing Tao (now Universal Healing Tao)
July of 2026 would be the 40th anniversary of my certification as a Healing Tao (now Universal Healing Tao) instructor. I was authorized to teach the 4 basic courses: Microcosmic Orbit (with Inner Smile and 6 Healing Sounds), Iron Shirt Chikung 1 (Zhan Zhuang), Healing Love and Tai Chi Chi Kung 1. The training was held at Rudi’s in Big Indian, Catskills, New York. There were, if I remember, about 10 of us who took the Instructor Training but I remember only a few: aside from me, there were Marie Favorito, John Loupos, Mackenzie Stewart. There were at the time 5 Senior instructors: Juan Li, Ron Diana, Rylin Malone, Michael Winn and Gunther Weill. I do not know how they were trained and selected as senior instructors. Juan Li, Gunther Weil and Rylin Malone were there to assist in the seminar and testing but the trainees were taught directly by Mantak Chia. If anyone remembers more details, please tell me.
Continue reading “Diary 6/11/25: Instructor’s Training in the Healing Tao (now Universal Healing Tao)”“Sulu”
Here is a link to an article about the devastation of Jolo, written decades after the war. I heard in 1974 that napalm was used. Where the napalm came from was obvious: it had only one source, the US. We did not really know what happened. There was apparently a news black out by the Marcos government.
Continue reading ““Sulu””Diary 4/21/25: Herbals in the Gospels
Believe it or not, for Easter, I have been reading the gospel of John. Only chapters 11and 12 on the family of Lazarus, Martha and Mary whom Jesus loved and the strange anointment of Jesus. Did you know that Mary used spikenard, a very rare and expensive oil to wash (perhaps massage) the feet of Jesus?
Continue reading “Diary 4/21/25: Herbals in the Gospels”