Regulate your breathing – slow, smooth and deep – during your Tai Chi practice.
Tai Chi Round Form
When I first learned Tai Chi it was taught the ‘square’ way – stopping and starting at various points.
Very mechanical, without circles.
Once I learned the Wu Style Tai Chi form the next step was to round it out i.e. make it more circular and continous.
One method that helps me to round out the form is to think of circles when practicing the form. I imagine my arms and legs following the outline of a circle.
For example, in Grasping The Bird’s Tail posture when I have my hands in the left corner position at eye level – I imagine my arms forming a circle. And at the same time as my arms move to the right I imagine my hands following the arc of a circle which is at eye level in front to me.
This gives me a more rounded feeling as I practice the form.
It doesn’t matter what style of Tai Chi you practice you can still use the circle technique to round out your form.
Why not have a go and let me know how it feels?
Tai Chi Form: Hardly Moving
Practicing the traditional Wu Style Tai Chi form (108 movemetns) should take about 15-20 minutes.
But sometimes when I’m in a rush or not concentrating I end up practicing for less than 15 minutes.
When this happens I concentrate on occasionally saying the phrase ‘hardly moving’ to myself which slows me down considerably.
My body, arm amd leg movements barely move which is what I want to happen.
It’s really a mind game to remind myself to slow the form down.
And I suppose it doen’t matter what word or phrase you use as long as the duration of your Tai Chi form is not below 15 minutes – preferably 20 or more minutes.
When I practice the form for around 20 minutes I notice there is a deeper sense of relaxation as opposed to practicing for less than 15 minutes.
I know how long I practice for by setting an electronic clock. Each practice I record the length of time to see if I’m consistently around the 20 minute mark.
If not, then it’s time to hardly move.
Hips And Waist Turns
Getting beginners to turn their hips and waist when practicing boxing drills in Tai Chi is not easy.
What usually happens is they tend to use upper body and arm strength to power their punches instead of their waist and hips.
As this post is for beginners I’m only focusing on using the waist and hips and not on using the whole body to power a punch. That’s another post for later on.
In this drill you can work with a partner holding a hand mitt. If you haven’t got a partner, improvise – hang up a towel or a drape to use as your target.
In Sight In Mind In Action
When I need extra practice for my weapons forms I need a reminder to practice.
For example, the other day when I was practicing my sword form in the garden I felt I had drifted away from some of the postures into incorrect shapes.
So I checked my notes and yes, there were a couple of spots where I had been incorrectly performing the postures. And to get back on track I decided to add more practice time for the sword form.
I grabbed my wooden sword and placed it in my living room where I could see it and every now and again I’d pick it up and briefly run through the form.
Even while watching television, laying on the couch, I could see the sword and would occassional get up and practice the form.
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