It is easy for most people to perform large, extended movements that rotate the shoulder joint or bend the elbow.
No particular skill is involved.
Our students are not taught to practice in this way.
Whilst large movements may indeed exercise some of the muscles and the joints, they fail to address the full range of potential movement.
The real skill lies in the small, in the subtle.
Instead of feeling apart from what is happening, we feel the physics of the movement, the kinetic flow.
Our own body and our self-consciousness is lost in the event itself.If you go too slowly it can be counter-productive. Instead of loosening and relaxing, you stiffen up. This occurs because the muscles are working too hard to carry the weight of the body. Find a pace that is slow but still smooth.
Beginners find it quite difficult to move slowly. This is understandable. In our class, beginners move at a comfortable, easy pace. They are not encouraged to be too slow at first.Almost every beginner struggles to understand the application of strength in tai chi.
They wrestle with the subject, believing that they cannot reasonably apply the system without tensing their muscles and using force.In tai chi you must always remain within your natural range of movement.
Any stretching is done subtly and never forced; the body is allowed to open by itself, rather than be forced.
By encouraging the joints to be free, mobility increases radically and the body can move more comfortably.
Tai chi should never strain or hurt the body.
Some movements may feel uncomfortable if you have bad postural habits and this is to be expected - your body is already used to set patterns of movement and poise - and the tai chi is gently changing these.
The loose flowing movements of tai chi are very deliberately slow because gravity is maintained when you move slowly. You can align the body to work with gravity and improve your balance. Leaning of any kind will destabilise the body.
Moving slowly is quite difficult. New students cannot sustain a slow, even movement. They jerk.
The remedy to this is to practice. Gradually, your body changes from within.The equivalent process to seeking the "Holy Grail" in internal arts is the ability to move more slowly than your opponent and consistently win.
Slower speed that wins out requires three types of speed coming together simultaneously:
1. Timing.
2. The signals required to maintain some level of conscious power.
3. The ability to release the internal gears of your body, which, if they freeze up, can create a momentary mental gap that breaks the connection between you and your opponent.
This method is referred to in the Tai Chi Classics in the form of a question:
"How is it possible that an old man can defeat a group of younger men?"
Obviously, elderly men, even the most talented, are not physically capable of moving at the speed of young men. Virtually, by definition, the elderly move with slowness, and yet those old men internal arts masters by slipping in between the gaps, are justifiably well-known for defeating younger and faster men.
(Bruce Frantzis)
Our approach to tai chi places emphasis upon feeling/physically sensing. You must be totally present in order for the system to work effectively for health, meditation and self defence.
This entails feeling every part of your body consciously as it moves. Immersing yourself in the 'here and now' heightens your awareness and reduces the risk of injury.
In your quest for martial power, it is very easy to be led astray. Gimmicks, short-cuts and secrets will promise you everything you desire. The danger lies in the fact that you are inexperienced.
Your quest is based on your perception of what is important, of what is necessary. To a more experienced student, those same concerns may seem irrelevant or misguided.
When you remove any notions of being perfect, you can relax and get on with the practice. Everyone is flawed. Everyone makes mistakes. This is part of what makes us human.
Don't be so worried about 'getting it right'. Just be.
Skill in tai chi is internal, within the body - and can always be improved upon. The outward form should reflect the energy of each movement. Every movement should be like a wave, rippling out of the body and then returning. This is shown by the water-like undulation of the body as you move.
Posture is a framework for shaping the movement, nothing more. It is the scaffolding, not the substance.
Accurate form postures do not necessarily reflect skill in tai chi. They demonstrate accuracy, memory and spatial awareness. Do not be caught up in how nice your form looks.
Some people seek to 'perfect' their tai chi practice. They seek a condition of faultless excellence with nothing lacking. This idea of completeness has the connotation of finality. Yet, tai chi is not about reaching a goal.
Tai chi is the process, the means, the nature; not the end.
Taoism considers 'perfection' to be a condition of uncontrived naturalness. Yet, the very notion of perfection is simply a concept... Your tai chi can only ever be a work-in-progress. The learning will never end.
Pre-natal breath is held on the in-take and then then exhalation continued for as long as possible.
This is specifically used as a qigong breath.The front of the body ripples as you breathe.
This is the advanced version of reverse breathing and incorporates a more powerful action of the diaphragm.Breathe in and the abdomen comes in, breathe out and the abdomen goes out.
This is Taoist breathing. It is also essential for energy release.The shoulders are commonly overused in tai chi. They should be connected to the hips and moved as a consequence of the leg and waist muscles, rather than independently.
There are no conventional punches in tai chi; you never deliver a blow by 'cocking' the shoulder.
The shoulders should be free to fold and flex normally but never lead the movement.
If your shoulders are stiff, consider how free the legs are...
