Hello, World!
An introduction to Coffee, Qi, and Me
Hello World!
Welcome to “Coffee, Qi, and Me,” my sometimes weekly, sometimes more frequent newsletter on the topics of Tai Chi, Qigong, and other subjects related to living a healthy life, such as meditation, movement, diet, and sleep.
Conventional wisdom (and tons of advice from random people on the Internet) suggests that the best way to kick things off is with a short-ish article where I introduce myself and describe what this is all about.
I’ll do so here by answering the “W” questions: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. I’ll also throw in a brief “How” to wrap things up.
Who am I?
My name is Larry Frost. There’s no point in me trying to maintain any kind of anonymity because my name is right there on my website (https://internalartsmadeira.com/), and is floating about in other corners of the Internet and social media. That said, I’m not going to give so many details as to allow someone to easily steal my identity.
I’m originally from the United States, where I was born and grew up near the city of Seattle in Washington State. I left home after graduating from high school and spent the next twenty years gallivanting about as a member of the US Army. Along the way, I got married and then followed my State Department wife to work at various embassies around the world. We are now semi-retired and living in Portugal, where I spend my days teaching Tai Chi and Qigong, taking care of too many cats, and enjoying a quiet life.
My martial arts journey began in my teens, and I cycled through periods of training in Karate, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, and Wing Chun. Along the way I discovered that I don’t like getting injured and I hate competitions. I’ve also dabbled in Filipino Martial Arts, mainly Arnis, as well as Hapkido and Aikido.
There’s a whole back story to why I dipped my toe into so many different martial arts ponds, but I’ll save that for later.
As for Tai Chi and Qigong, I should actually place them in the opposite order because I became involved with the latter prior to the former; most people start with Tai Chi and then later discover Qigong, but I began with Qigong.
I first experienced Qigong in my aforementioned Wing Chun training but never took it seriously until I suffered a life-threatening illness in 2006. Unable to continue with my martial arts endeavors, I ran across a copy of Daniel Reid’s “A Complete Guide to Chi-Gung: Harnessing the Power of the Universe” on a shelf in a random consignment/antique shop that rekindled my interests. This book became my bible, of sorts, and I believe the information within it played a key role in my recovery.
Once I was healthy enough to participate in more rigorous activities, I gravitated towards Tai Chi. In this I was incredibly lucky because I soon discovered that one of the most talented instructors in the US, Stephan Berwick, had his school just a few minutes’ drive from my home. I started training with him in early 2007 and now consider him to be not just my mentor, but also among the best of my friends.
This is going to be the lengthiest section of my introduction because I think it’s important to identify who you are. Who is my target audience? Or, as they like to say in social media marketing, who is my avatar?
My ideal reader is not someone who already has deep knowledge of Tai Chi or Qigong; I doubt anything I write about will prove revelatory to such a person. Instead, I’m trying to reach the people who are just starting out, want to learn more about Tai Chi and Qigong, and don’t want to be led astray by outlandish claims and fraudsters.
I’m not some wise sage sitting on a mountain top, but instead a fellow traveler who has gone a few steps further down the path than you and wants to help guide you safely along the way.
Something I need to point out is that even after almost two decades of experience in Tai Chi, and a few years more than that in Qigong, I am far away from being a master of these arts. I am not a sifu, or a guru, or any other honorific. I’m just someone who wants to share his knowledge with others in the sincere hope that it will improve their lives the same as it did me.
What do I write about?
Mostly Tai Chi and Qigong. I practice Chen Style Tai Chi, in the lineage of Chen Xiaowang, Ren Guangyi, and Stephan Berwick. The Qigong I practice is the Five Elements Style, as formulated by Tom Bisio, as well as the Baduanjin Style, which has its roots in the Song Dynasty of ancient China, and the Five Tibetan Rites, the origin of which is in murky.
Also in my repertoire are topics such as meditation, movement, exercise, diet, the important health benefits of quality sleep (I have had past struggles with insomnia and sleep deprivation), and being a part of a supportive community of like-minded people.
What about coffee though, as in the name of this newsletter, “Coffee, Qi, and Me?” I chose that name because I think all too many Tai Chi and Qigong practitioners who are active on the Internet and social media focus too much on tea. It’s now become a bit of a cliché, with too many folks in silk pajamas lovingly pouring tea from their favorite artisanal clay pot before launching into a deep lecture on connecting their baihui with their huiyin.
I love tea, and I drink copious amounts of gunpowder green tea (珠茶) and pu’er tea (普洱茶) every day. But I love coffee even more. Oh, how I love coffee…but I’m not going to wax lyrically over it. In fact, I’m not going to wax lyrically over anything.
I take a straightforward, practical approach to Tai Chi and Qigong, and this attitude will be reflected in my writing. I only write about what I know or have firsthand experience with. As often as I can, I will collate anything esoteric with evidence from peer-reviewed research and studies.
When will I publish articles?
I’ve actually been writing articles since late 2024, but they were released as blog posts on the Facebook page associated with my Tai Chi and Qigong school (https://www.facebook.com/internalartsmadeira). I now have a fairly robust back catalog of about 60-70 articles.
Most of these were roughly written and posted without too much editing or review. I plan to polish them up and start posting them here at a rate of two per week, probably on Tuesdays and Fridays. After that, I’ll probably slow down to one article per week, or more if my muse strikes me.
Where else can you find me?
If you want to learn Tai Chi and Qigong from me directly, you can always attend one or more of the classes I teach weekly in Portugal on the Island of Madeira.
These classes are open to the public and do not require any previous experience. They are also free (I only charge for private individual or small group training). You also don’t need to ask permission to attend, just show up.
Details about these classes can be found at the website and Facebook links above.
Also, I would be remiss if I did not mention that if you are in the Northern Virginia/Washington DC area, you should definitely seek out training with my instructor, Stephan Berwick (https://www.truetaichi.com/). Ren Guangyi also offers numerous training opportunities through his Chi Force organization (https://chiforce.com).
Why am I doing this?
If information is not shared with others, then it’s a secret, and secrets benefit no one other than their bearers.
I’ve spent decades accumulating knowledge about Tai Chi and Qigong and, if I don’t share it with others, then when I eventually pass from this world, so too does everything I’ve learned.
I think it would be selfish of me to not leave it all behind.
How do I write?
It’s just me folks! No AI, no Grammarly, no nothing. These are my thoughts and mind, based on my own research and practice. Take it for what it is, or don’t take it at all.
The choice is yours.
A Closing Comment about, well, comments.
I appreciate lively discussions and I welcome sincere critiques of my ideas. What I will not tolerate though are insults and rude criticism.
If that’s all you have to offer, then this newsletter is not for you.
Also, please don’t bother me with any nonsense about how Tai Chi isn’t “real martial arts,” or that it “won’t work in the octagon,” etc. I’ve heard it all before and I don’t care, and neither does the retiree who might be reading this because they want to learn Tai Chi to improve their balance so they can avoid a fall that would put them in a bed for the rest of their life.
My Sincere Appreciation for taking the time to read the above. Thank you!
For further reading:
Daniel Reid’s book is a gem, and I highly recommend getting your own copy: https://amzn.to/4t6Ne4o
As an Amazon Affiliate, I may receive a small commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you.
Hello there! If you’ve read this far, let me express how grateful I am for your attention and interest. Time is the most precious commodity we have, and I appreciate you spending some of yours on my thoughts and musing.
If you take a look at my subscription page, you’ll notice that I haven’t monetized my Substack page. I don’t want to do that because I want to share my knowledge freely; I don’t want it to be locked away behind a paywall.
If you do want to kindly support my page with a donation, you can do so using the button below, which will take you to my Buy Me A Coffee account, which I set up for receiving donations:
I would like to tell you that any funds received will be used to actually buy me a coffee, but it’s more likely that it will be used to buy food for my cats.
Thank you!!!