{"id":1096,"date":"2011-03-14T12:42:47","date_gmt":"2011-03-14T16:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yang-sheng.com\/?p=1096"},"modified":"2011-11-18T20:07:46","modified_gmt":"2011-11-19T01:07:46","slug":"tai-chi-for-musicians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yang-sheng.com\/?p=1096","title":{"rendered":"The Tai Chi Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tai Chi for Musicians<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

By Violet Li<\/strong><\/p>\n

Performing Guitarist and Senior Artist Teacher Joe Rea Phillips<\/a> of the Blair School of Music of\u00a0 Vanderbilt University<\/a> (Nashville, TN) has studied Wushu for 35 years.\u00a0 He started with Northern Shaolin<\/a> and then Wing Chun<\/a>.\u00a0 In 1984, Mr. Phillips studied with James Cravens<\/a>, President of\u00a0Chinese Boxing Institute International (CBII)<\/a> and a disciple of Chen Style Tai Chi lineage holder Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang<\/a>. Joe Rea has learned Baquazhang<\/a>, Walu, Yang Style Tai Chi<\/a>, and Chen Style Tai Chi<\/a>. Joe Rea became a \u201csenior student\u201d of Professor Cravens in 1994. Through Professor Cravens, Mr. Phillips was introduced to Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang<\/a> and his teaching methods.\u00a0 Mr. Phillips even traveled to Chen Village <\/a>with James Cravens to study with Grandmaster Chen.<\/p>\n

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Sifu Joe Rea Phillips<\/p><\/div>\n

In 1989, Sifu Phillips and a group of students established the Vanderbilt Kung Fu Club<\/a> where Joe Rea serves as an instructor and faculty adviser.\u00a0 This club offers Chinese martial arts classes of Baguazhang, Tai Chi, Walu, and other Chinese boxing styles and hosts special workshops with James Cravens. But in 1997, Joe Rea\u2019s passion for Tai Chi led him to another venture. As a musician, he realizes that many musicians and musical students suffer from Repetitive Stress Injury<\/a> (RSI or Repetitive Motion Disorder).\u00a0 As a Tai Chi practitioner, he fully understands how Tai Chi can help to relieve pain from the injury and prevent RSI to occur.\u00a0 He did a study and found out that Southern Methodist\u00a0University, Webster Conservatory, and Southern Illinois\u00a0University offered Tai\u00a0Chi for credit from their theater departments.\u00a0\u00a0Syracuse\u00a0University offered Tai Chi for credit from their\u00a0school of education.\u00a0\u00a0Allison Bert,\u00a0a\u00a0guitar colleague of Joe Rea\u2019s from Syracuse University, has taught clinics in Tai\u00a0Chi\u00a0for musicians at Julliard and the Manhattan School of Music. \u00a0He presented \u201cTai Chi for Musicians\u201d to the Blair School of Music\u2019s<\/a> curriculum committee and his proposal was accepted unanimously. Sifu Phillips has been teaching this course since.<\/p>\n

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Sifu Joe Rea works with students one-on-one<\/p><\/div>\n

With Joe Rea\u2019s extensive training background in Tai Chi and knowledge of musicians, \u201cTai Chi for Musicians\u201d has a very rich curriculum that includes the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Warm-ups\n
      \n
    1. Chen and Yang – Stretch muscles, tendons, ligaments. Work on circulation of blood and Qi.<\/li>\n
    2. Chen joint opening exercises – very helpful for wrists and shoulders since many musicians working to get their Qi to the fingers.<\/li>\n
    3. Walu energy exercises. Walu is referred to as a “Bridge\u201d of the “external” to the “internal” in martial arts. It has a few bare hand forms and others, but the core of the art consists of 44 energy exercises. Sifu Phillips finds that these energy exercises help to get tension out shoulders and wrists. He selects 4 exercises for the class.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    4. Silk Reeling exercises and Qigong\n
        \n
      1. Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang\u2019s Silk Reeling<\/a> exercises<\/li>\n
      2. Silk Reeling by fleshing out movements from the Tai Chi form<\/li>\n
      3. Various Qigong exercises (some from Chen Style lineage holder Grandmaster Zhu Tincai<\/a> and a couple from Dr. Yang Yang<\/a>)<\/li>\n
      4. 8 Pieces Brocade (Baduanjin<\/a><\/em>)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
      5. Stillness Posture (Zhan Zhuang<\/a><\/em> )<\/li>\n
      6. Form\n
          \n
        1. Students learn the 1st section (or six movements) of the Grandmaster Cheng Man-Ch\u2019ing<\/a>\u2019s Yang short form.<\/li>\n
        2. The students do the 1st section in 4 directions on their final exam for this course.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
        3. Study and use as a training supplement the Essence of Tai Chi<\/a><\/em>, a DVD made by Joe Rea\u2019s teacher, Professor James Cravens.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          As a seasoned Tai Chi instructor, Joe Rea understands the importance of the proper posture and body alignment.\u00a0 He spends much time on one-on-one guidance and tirelessly corrects student\u2019s posture. Joe Rea said that many students took the course due to a pre-existing condition. The results of this course are quite impressive. Students with tendonitis reported that their problem improved greatly after taking this class. One semester he had a student who suffered from scoliosis who claimed improved condition after the course.\u00a0In the past fall semester, a harp student had tennis elbow and informed Joe Rea that her tennis elbow was significantly better at the end of the course.<\/p>\n

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          Sifu Joe Rea Phillips helps students' posture<\/p><\/div>\n

          Tai Chi and music are different types of arts.\u00a0 But to Sifu Phillips, there are many similarities between these two art forms.<\/p>\n