Chris Chi

Wellbeing & Performance - the Tai Chi way

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Archives for August 2011

Incoming Ideas

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I train six days a week and I usually find many ideas appear during, and after most sessions.

As I work on specific areas I still gain insights and a better understanding of the skills I’m working on.

Because of my basketball coaching background and experience as a Tai Chi teacher I’m constantly analysing and reviewing skills. And also thinking of how can I teach this skill so a beginner can understand.

Sometimes I’d be practicing the Tai Chi form and an incoming idea pops into my head and I’m tempted to dash off and write it down. But I always wait until I finish practice before I note things down.

It’s not only thinking about skills that triggers ideas. I also tap into feelings while practicing which often produces ideas.

For example, the other day while practicing the spear, I felt my my tan tien initiate a movement rather than the muscles in my arms and shoulders. So that’s what I wrote about.

Occasionally the incoming idea is an old one but that is okay because it reinforces something I’ve forgotten.

Reading articles and books, watching vidoes on YouTube also sparks ideas so I rarely run out of ideas to write about Tai Chi.

And after all these yeares in learning and teaching Tai Chi it still is exciting when incoming ideas appear.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Oh, excuse me. There’s another incoming idea knocking on the door.

I better go and open the door and let it in.

Martial Arts Cats

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Here are two cats and I mean real cats using Wing Chun and Ju Jujutsu martial arts techniques. It’s hilarious.

I got this clip from my friend, Lawrence from TanDao who’s written a fine post on martial arts using a cat anology. I like the big cat’s Tai Chi strategy of being centred and waiting for his moment to attack.

It was probably doing abdominal breathing but I can’t be absolutely sure. You know what cats are like – they never tell 🙂

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYmDL8e-Fd4&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Tai Chi Breathing

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Tai Chi has two basic breathing methods – abdominal and reverse breathing.

When I teach abdominal breathing in my various presentations and student Tai Chi workshops, I usually get someone who ends up doing the more advanced reverse breathing method instead.

I don’t know why some people do this as the explanation and demonstration is clear and simple to follow. Maybe it’s because some people get confused with the concept  of breathing in and expanding the abdomen at the same time. Usually after a few attempts they get it right.

I thought I’d write a post, in simplistic terms, on the difference between the two breathing methods and how they are used in Tai Chi.

Abdominal Breathing
You simply breathe in through your nose and expand your abdomen. When you breathe in, your abdomen returns to the resting position. Abdominal breathing is the general breathing method for wellbeing Tai Chi.

Reverse Breathing
This is the reverse of abdominal breathing – you breathe in and your abdomen gently contract – breathe out and your abdomen expands. Reverse breathing is used in Tai Chi self defence.

Sometimes I find when I do my Tai Chi form or Chi Kung exercises I alternate between abdominal breathing and reverse breathing without thinking about it. However when it comes to the Tai Chi self defence applications then reverse breathing is what I tend to focus on.

It’s important for beginner students to focus on abdominal breathing before trying reverse breathing.

 

Tai Chi Wrist Exercise

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In a Tai Chi class I teach various Chi Kung exercises to help students increase their circulation and get the chi to flow.

Besides demonstrating the technique I try to select a visualisation technique that will help students perform the exercise correctly.

Here’s a visualisation technique you can use to get your wrists loose and ready for the Tai Chi form.

  • hold your hands  – out in front and away from your abdomen
  • shake your hands up and down slowly and gently
  • increase the speed of the shake gradually
  • Visualise there are small strips of adhesive tape attached to your finger and thumbs’ tips while shaking your hands
  • Now imagine you are trying to get rid of the strips of adhesive tape

Sometimes students shake their hands vigorously which is a mistake. Relax the hands while you shake them.

And you must relax your face, body, arms at all times and maintain the correct body alignment for the chi to flow smoothly in your wrists.