Set aside talk about relaxation, qi, softness and other concerns... Your body is flesh and bone. It is moved by muscles.
In order to be strong, agile, flexible and adaptive in combat - you need to strengthen your body.
Monday
Conditioning
Being in condition entails:
• Increasing your strength
• Improving your ability to last (endurance)
• Overcoming fatigue
• Being fitter
• Being more efficient in your body use
• Being more capable
• Overcoming stress
Ideal form of exercise
According to the book The Blue Zones it is important to think of exercise in terms of what you can reasonably do long-term.
The ideal form of exercise is moderate enough that you can do it for the rest of your life. It needs to be joint-friendly, provide a gentle workout and be sustainable.
This sounds rather like tai chi, doesn't it?
3 areas
There are 3 areas of fitness:
Cardio
Strength
Flexibility
In order to exercise the body properly, you need to gain aptitude in all 3 areas. Many people can lift heavy weights but they are not flexible/breathing hard after mild cardio.
Friday
Wednesday
Daily exercise
Dr Michael Greger (author of How Not To Die) recommends 90 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day.
The three doctors who wrote The Okinawa Program maintain that tai chi - with its ancient origins and incredible health benefits - is the ideal form of exercise for modern people.
Ancient China
In ancient China, Taoist sages searched for different ways to prolong life, maintain youth, fitness and vitality. They developed a wide variety of anti-aging exercises.
Tai chi is a product of this quest for rejuvenation.
Centenarians
Not many people in the UK live to be 100 years old but in Asia it is far more common. How come? Asia sees aging differently to the UK.
Tuesday
Optimal body
The aim of tai chi is to teach and encourage optimal body use. A body that is capable of spontaneous movement in any direction; comfortably, safely, with the necessary support and stability.
By sitting, standing and moving in a natural, healthy way you will feel energised, relaxed, comfortable and agile. We encourage students to be fresh and open, supple and curious...
Faulty
Over time, the nervous system of most adults has become faulty, and it provides the brain with inaccurate information.
Instead of applying only the necessary amount of strength, it is normal and comfortable to use an incredible excess. This fatigues the muscles, blunts the nervous system and makes you clumsy.
Bones
Correct alignment of the body will enable you to use your body with less effort and greater strength. Counteracting the force of gravity is a key consideration.
The vertebrae and joints must be free to move in a fluid, smooth manner.
Monday
Excitability
Students usually get a crude sense of tai chi quite quickly but never get very good at it. The reason why is simple... There are 3 considerations:
1. The speed/pace determined by your level of excitement.
2. The actual speed that your nervous system can currently handle.
3. How present you really are.
The discrepancy between the 3 is the issue. Your mind/emotions wants to go fast but your nervous system cannot cope. And maybe you're not fully aware because you're thinking about other things
Friday
Control
Tai chi requires the body to perform technically complicated movements in an extremely controlled fashion. Clumsiness must be transcended.
You must become very aware of your own body and make every single movement deliberate and careful. This is not to be confused with prissiness.
It is one of the reasons why some of the training is performed slowly.
Active change
Many beginners train tai chi for ages and never learn to become soft. Why? They pay attention to the end result and not the means.
This is foolish, since the means produces the end. If we do not learn to listen to our body, then it is easy to become injured. Strains, stress and discomfort are ignored.
Listen to your body
As you exert pressure upon an object, your body experiences resistance and there is biofeedback which tells you how much strength is necessary.
Most adults in the Western world have a faulty nervous system and the information it provides is inaccurate.
Instead of applying only the necessary amount of strength, it is normal and comfortable to use an incredible excess. This fatigues the muscles, blunts the nervous system and makes you clumsy.
Thursday
Strong or clumsy?
It is extremely common for people to confuse 'strength' with clumsiness. When someone exerts their muscles and imposes an excess of strength, they are often considered to be strong.
Yet, how is this a reflection of strength? Surely a skilled use of strength requires the appropriate degree of strength relative to the needs of the activity?
Is your instructor offering technical skills?
Every martial arts class should be be teaching a level of knowledge that goes way beyond the superficial learning of patterns and routines.
If your instructor is not providing technical information, what are they teaching you? All students benefit from a more thorough understanding of their given art. Age or experience is not a factor.
An over-50's qigong & tai chi group should be addressing as much technical knowledge as is relevant and appropriate.
A martial class should train every aspect of the syllabus in a manner that assures comprehensive understanding and skill.
What is stress?
Stress is a condition of anxiety caused by the inability to cope with a situation. A person feels to be under pressure and they become upset.
They are often encouraged to see themselves as being a failure when the pressure becomes too much.
Stress is so commonplace that we treat it as normal. Yet, stress is very harmful to your health and can lead to illness, psychological problems and premature aging.
Composure
Taoism and Zen help with composure. They put life and your relationship with the world into perspective.
Instead of accepting conventions, orthodoxy and received wisdom, these disciplines encourage you to find out for yourself. The approach is grounded in the tangible, in the substantial.
Everyone who trains our syllabus is changed by the experience. Their lives are more peaceful and they are less prone to depression, anxiety, anger and aggression.
They learn not to exert unnecessary strength and to yield in the face of force.
Wednesday
Daily training
Taijiquan was designed to be practiced daily. This is why the exercises are so mild: no strain, no pushing. Gentle effort. Little and often is the mantra.
Taijiquan students should be aiming to build strength carefully and progressively.
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