For Beginners – Page 16

Hand Form: Self Defence Applications

Just finished my afternoon Tai Chi workout out in the garden. I practiced the hand form and have added a new segment to reinforce the self defence applications in the form.

Some people suggest you practice the form and imagine using the self defence applications as you do each posture. I’ve never found that helpful because the movements in the form use larger circles and extended postures which are not useful for practical self defence.

I prefer to separate form work from realistic self defence applications and here’s how I do it;

After the hand form I practice the self defence techniques of each of the 37 postures as if I’m facing an opponent i.e. small circles and natural postures
The applications are performed at medium pace
Practice in a sequential manner i.e. Opening Posture, Seven Stars, Grasping the Bird’s Tail, Single Whip etc. I have a sheet of paper on the ground in front of me as a guideline to make sure I cover all the postures
I only do one repetition of each technique, both sides of the body, as I have a more intensive workout during the week practicing these same self defence techniques. The one repetition is more of a reminder than a workout

As there are more than one self defence application from each of the 37 postures; my session almost feels like another form but only with a realistic edge to it. Well, as much as a realistic edge as you can get without training with a partner.

The extra segment to my training is a good way of reinforcing the idea that every movement in the Tai Chi form has a self defence application.

And having this perspective helps the form ‘come alive’.

270 Degree Left Leg

By Chris Leave a Comment

So far so good. My knees are holding up since I’ve got back into training the 360 degree spins on one leg.

My right leg can now do a 360 spin but I’ve only managed to do a 270 degree spin on my left leg. It’s still a bit wonky but with a bit more practice I’ll get a 360 spin in.

The 360 degree spin on one leg is part of my Tai Chi form and in the past I have practiced it in two parts to avoid further straining my knee. A 180 turn, pause and another 180 turn to complete the 360.

What I do now is practice in my socks indoors and do eight repetitions daily on either leg and pay particular attention to each part of the spin – relaxation, balance, kwa, rotation.

I’m determined to build up to 360 degrees without wrecking my left knee.

Only 90 degrees to go!

Tai Chi Breathing

By Chris Leave a Comment

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

By Chris Leave a Comment

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.

Training: 9000 Hours

By Chris Leave a Comment

The other day someone asked me ‘how long have you been involved in Tai Chi for?’ I said, ‘just over 23 years’.

It made me think afterwards that words such as ‘involved’ or ‘doing’ don’t really reflect an accurate account of my experience in Tai Chi.

What does 23 years of involvement or doing Tai Chi really mean? Well, if I break it down into numbers it means about 9000 hours of training. And that doesn’t include the many hours of research I have done during that time.

That estimate comes from an average of 8 hours training per week – which includes club training and my personal training. And these days I’m no longer in a club environment due to work obligations and I train 9 hours per week on my own.

There are many who just go to a one hour Tai Chi class and do very little if any training. Their hours over a 23 year period would add up to approximately 1000 hours. And that’s okay as long as they don’t expect to improve their Tai Chi skill level.

What I have found with 9000 hours of training is that the work you do between classes will determine how much you will improve your Tai Chi. Now you don’t have to do what I do because we are different. My training schedule exists because I’m passionate about Tai Chi and as a teacher I have the motivation and the responsibilty to improve as much as I can.

The more hours you put in the more you improve. A very simple formula. Obvously your improvement will also be determined by the quality of teaching you receive and the effort you put into your training, besides the total hours of training.

My recomendation to students who asks me how much training should they do is at least 3 hours a week. That’s 30 minutes of training six days a week. Three hours training and a one hour class lesson per week over 23 years adds up to approximately 4600 hours of training!

So the next time someone asks you ‘how long have you been doing Tai Chi for?’ What will you say?

I know what I will say.

‘About 9000 hours!’