Tai chi chuan?

Tai chi chuan is a Chinese martial art. It was developed hundreds of years ago and draws upon Taoist observations, Chinese traditional medicine, biomechanics, physics and combat. 13 patterns of movement are used to express power.

To train the art correctly you need a highly-skilled Instructor who can offer a very comprehensive syllabus.

A good health-only class will offer

1. Exercises to improve strength, balance, relaxation (qigong)

2. Optimal body use

3. Learning a complex sequence of movements (form)

4. Meditation training

5. Partnered drills

  Over the centuries many variations of the movements have been taught, but provided the principles are adhered to there is no need for the student to doubt the authenticity of what he is being taught.

 (Paul Crompton) 

Locked knees?

Locked knees or overly-straightened legs prevent the knee from acting as suspension for the body.

Relax the knees but do not bend unless squatting down to lift something.

Hamstrings?

Most people have very tight hamstrings.

Unfortunately, the back compensates for tight hamstring muscles (by slouching); giving the illusion of greater flexibility than is actually present.

We address this in the syllabus by way of psoas exercises and leg stretches. The training is done carefully, gently - in a controlled manner - without exertion or strain.

Buttocks

Most men and women sit too much. This can lead to under-developed gluteus maximus muscles; which is bad for the back in particular. Weakness in these large muscles can affect the whole body.

Buttock muscles are supposed to be akin to a vertical oval for each buttock. There should be notable muscular development; the outcome of healthy everyday squatting.

Shoulder tension?

A lot of people experience pain in their shoulders and reduced movement.

If you ignore the shoulders entirely and focus instead on their legs you will inevitably discover that their legs are tense.

Once the legs are freed up the shoulder problems fade...

Too much sitting?

The main problem with sitting is gravity, loss of circulation and the tightening/shortening of your muscles.

Muscular tension stops your joints and vertebra from moving freely. When the hips, groin and sacroiliac freeze-up, the overall skeletal mobility is reduced.

Bipeds

Monkeys, horses and other mammals have arms and legs of the same length. Humans are different. We are bipeds. Our legs are much longer and stronger than our arms.

  The risk of heart failure was more than double for men who sat for at least five hours a day outside of work and didn't exercise very much, compared with men who were physically active and sat for less than two hours a day.

(Dr. Deborah Rohm)

We weren't designed to sit. The body is a perpetual motion machine.

(Dr. Joan Vernikos) 

Foetal position

A lot of people sit at a desk, operate their mobile phone, drive the car or watch TV in what is essentially a standing/sitting version of the foetal position.

We start life in that position. But we do not want to revert back to it as we age.

Fix

Appeasing the symptoms will produce no lasting benefits. It is akin to taking a pill in order to mask/hide the symptoms whilst the underlying pain remains.

Fixing the problem usually entails some sort of lifestyle change.

Stable

For optimal body use we need the pelvis to naturally sit beneath the abdomen.

The physical centre of the body contains a lot of water, our intestines etc and needs to be pretty stable.

Stability is accomplished by encouraging the pelvis to operate naturally and without interference. This may involve stopping existing bad habits in favour of letting the body re-align itself.

Posture

The pelvis is pretty large. If you turn it to the right or to the left, the entire upper body is affected. Turn it too far and the knees bear the brunt of the turn.

If you tilt it forwards or backwards, the entire balance of the body changes. Pretty soon you are leaning.

Although the pelvis itself has limited scope for movement, inclining or rotating the pelvis has a major impact on posture.

Core stability

People talk a lot about core strength but not much about core stability. The two concerns are not the same.

Core strength is about the muscles of the lower body (crotch, groin, hips, buttocks, lower back, legs and abdominals) whereas core stability is about keeping the pelvis favourably aligned.

  Remember, when moving, there is no place that does not move. When still, there is no place that is not still.

(Wu Yu-hsiang)

 

Arthritis?

The body must be exercised carefully, with a clear emphasis upon safety and relaxation. Dr Paul Lam (an expert in using tai chi for arthritis) emphasises the importance of:

1. Higher stances
2. A lot of qigong to improve breathing, relaxation and healing
3. Looking deeper into the art of tai chi in order to improve students awareness and understanding

  Programs for fighters should consist mostly of compound exercises. These allow for intense work on a maximum number of muscles in a minimum time.

(Frederic Delavier)