The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, February 24, 1993, Page 8, Image 8

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    ArtsSentertainment
_ -Daily -
Nebraskan
Wadnasday, Fabruary 23,1923
Expert brings world of tai chi to Lincoln
Calm, relaxation are important
to many martial arts, she says
fsLKnmaiv jj
By Bryan Peterson
Staff Reporter
Using soft, expressive hand ges
tures as she spoke in Chinese, Di Ma
watched her husband, Jim Chen. Chen
began to translate, then broke into
Chinese to discuss the philosophical
details of the translation of a particu
lar term. The two continued in their
native tongue for a moment; then
Chen went on in English.
Because she does not consider her
English to be adequate, Ma spoke
sometimes on her own and sometimes
through her husband while explaining
her practice and teaching of tai chi. It
was soon clear that her personality
and her practice of tai chi are nearly
inseparable.
Tai chi is a traditional Chinese
martial art that is practiced more
widely as a form of exercise or medi
tation today. Performed in sequences
consisting of24,48 cm- more motions,
the tai chi form suggests beauty, power
and control brought forth through an
intense union of mental and physical
concentration.
“Modem tai chi is about 400 years
old,” Ma said. “It was previously more
oriented toward fighting. The turning
point was the introduction of weap
ons” . ... ,1..-^
After that time, it became less prac
tical to defend oneself against armed
attackers.
Although contemporary tai chi
emphasizes exercise and meditation
more than self-defense applications,
Ma stressed the seriousness of prac
tice.
“Tai chi is different from sports,”
Ma said. “You should become calm
and relaxed before practicing, then
breathe with each movement.”
The emphasis on calmness and
relaxation is what draws many people
to practice the art of tai chi.
-44
In China I had more
time to practice. It is
harder to calm down in
the United States
before practicing. You
need to practice every
day. Then you feel
good.
— Di Ma,
tai chi instructor
-tf -
“It is gaining more popularity and
awareness in the United States now,”
said Chen, a doctoral student in man
agement. “That is a good thing in
modem society, with the fast pace and
many stresses.”
Coming from a family steeped in
the Chinese martial arts, Ma began
her studies at age 11. Both her father
and her grandfather were serious prac
tices of the arts. Two of Ma’s three
brothers were trained by her father
and now act in Chinese martial arts
movies.
Ma was not often able to train with
her father because she spent nine years
at a special school for children who
Therrese Goodiett/DN
Di Ma has been practicing tai chi since she was 7 years old. She learned it from her father, who
learned it from nis father.
_im r »» i
snow special apuiuae in me maruai
arts. There she studied wu shu, a term
encompassing such practices as that
of tai chi; the use of weapons such as
the staff, spear and sword; the breath
ing exercises known as qi gong; and
chuan, or “fist way.”
After nine years of wu shu training,
Ma was hospitalized for a slipped disc
ip her back. A doctor told her she
likely would not be an athlete again.
“Bull practiced tai chi and qi gong
every day, and now I feel much bet
ter,” Ma said.
“Qi gong promotes the functions
of internal organs by dealing chan
nets, improving Diuuuuuvuiauuu ami
assisting the exchange of energy be
tween the self and the world,” said
Chen.
Ma continues to practice tai chi,
though not as often as she would like.
“In China I had more time to prac
tice. It is harder to calm down in the
United States before practicing,” said
Ma. ‘‘You need to practice every day.
Then you feel good.”
Ma is currently offering instruc
tion in tai chi and tai ch i sword through
the F Street Recreation Center (1225
FSl). Anew session will begin April
4 and will last “eight or 10 weeks for
vPllrUl lYia XUU.
Tai chi sword, as the name sug
gests, adds the use of a sword to a form
similar to those of tai chi.
“It is my favorite,” Ma said. “When
I was 14 I won second place in a
national competition with the sword.”
However, that competition was in wu
shu sword, which uses the same
weapon but has much faster motions
than the tai chi sword she now teaches,
Ma added.
Ma sometimes practices outdoors
with her sword and also reviews tai
See DIMA on 9
In-depth book explores
meditation techniques,
healing ability of mind
BILL MOVERS
□HEALING
,4 -AND*
THF MIND 1
Courtesy of Doubleday
By Heather Sinor
Staff Reporter
Can meditation cure chronic illness?
Bill Moyers, PBS journalist, former White
House press secretary, and author of the book,
“Healing and the Mind,” interviewed profes
sionals who say it can.
Moyers’s book, arranged as a collection of
interviews with physicians, scientists, thera
pists and patients, gives a fascinating insight
into the realm of mind/body healing.
He begins by examining the effects medita
tion (more popularly referred to as “stress
reduetion”) techniques have had on patients
who are participating in newly developed self
help programs.
Award-winning professor of Medicine at the
University of Massachusetts Medical School,
JohnZawacki, M.D., told Moyers that although
he didn’tknow where the source of energy from
meditation comes from, he believes it is partly
learning to love oneself.
He says chronically ill patients on a medita
tion program for only eight weeks undergo a
self-awareness that is part of the healing pro
cess.
“They have come to an understanding that
they can adapt, and that they can carry out their
daily activities despite discomforts, and that
they can enjoy life more,” Zawacki said.
The most intriguing part of the book comes
when Moyers probes into exactly what the
mediation process involves. He examines the
procedures of Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., a mindful
meditation professor, who teaches his students
how to “scan” their bodies using yoga tech
niques.
Moyers describes a room with 25 people
sitting in a circle on the floor, with their eyes
closed, eating raisins—three of them. “S-L-O
W-L-Y,” says the man in the center. “Lift one
raisin slowly to your mouth. Chew it v-e-r-y s
1-o-w-l-y... This begins the session.
Kabat tells Moyers that most of us live with
our minds on auto-pilot. He says, “Without
really realizing it, every one of the people in this
circle is actually practicing an eating’ medita
tion, mindful of the raisin, living in the mo
ment, becoming aware of something other than
their pain.”
But Moyers doesn't stop with Western Cul
ture. He travels to the People’s Republic of
China, where he interviews Chinese medical
authorities and patients on effective medical
therapies like acupuflCtPreand traditional herbal
remedies that have been around f&scpnuries.
He interviews a Chinese pharmacist who
explains how elaborate mixtures of specific
Chinese herbs are boiled in copper pots for
about an hour and a half and then administered
to the patients like a kind of tea every day.
See MIND on 9
‘Master of Horror’ shakes
supernatural, rattles reader
with modem murder instead
Stephen King
“Dolores Claiborne”
Viking
been almost
two novels
Stephen King, proclaimed the “Master of
Horror,” has recently takAn a stah at rr»n tem
porary fiction
His last
completely devoid of supernatural napp
j — JLg^lings—and they have both
,B~ WlUN been written from a
woman’s perspective,
something that King said
he thought he was inca
pable of just a few years
ago. ; . 5.
The latest, “Dolores
Claiborne,” is set in rural Maine (no sur
prise) and written entirely from the perspec
tive of an older woman.
The woman is the title character, Dolores
Claiborne. She gives her account of two
murders, both in which she was a key sus
pect The first murder victim was her hus
band, Joe, who was killed 29 years ago.
There were lots of suspicions regarding her
involvement, but nothing was proven.
second death is Dolores’ employer
Donovan, an eccentric woman who
died mysteriously, again with heavy evi
dence pointing toward Dolores.
Dolores admits to the murder of her hus
band in order to convince the town sheriff
that she is innocent of Vera Donovan’s
homicide. She tells her audience what her
husband did to their daughter and why she
felt justified in killing him.
King develops her character as she tells
her tale. She changes from a subservient
Courtesy of Viking Penguin
housewife into a calculating murderer.
Dolores is a solid, believable character
and the reader is swayed to her side after
hearing her tragic experiences.
King is still his old self, building up
suspense at crucial points and graphically
describing Joe's murder. Joe doesn’t die
cleanly or easily, and King includes some
surprises.
The first-person perspective of the book
and Dolores’ colorful slang take some get
ting used to. The New England, backwoods
language interferes at first, but it is essential
to the story and Dolores’ character. Her
cynical humor makes the story flow better
and adds some levity to an otherwise serious
tale.
King proves he is still the “Master of
Horror.” He makes the reader feel a little
anxiety with his description of Vera
Donovan’s insane terror of the dust bunnies
in her room.
“Duh-lorrr-isss! It’s dust bunnies! They’re
everywhere! Oh-dear-God! Oh-dear-God!
Duh-lorrr-iss, help! Help me!”
“Dolores Claiborne” is an entertaining
read, a must for King fans and enjoyable for
anyone. ^
— Joel Str&uch