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Saturday 6 September 2014

#2 Tai Chi

For the last few weeks, I have been going to not #1, but #2 sessions of Tai Chi.

The usual Friday session is more for being sociable, rather than a strict session. Although some folk have been attending those sessions for many years, the level remains the same. I had begun to wonder where to go to move up in skills. Hence, I now do Tai Chi on Fridays and Saturdays.

1 Tàijí qǐ shì Taiji Begin Form
2 Jīngāng dǎo duì Buddha's Warrior Pounds Mortar [1]
3 Lǎn zhá yī Lazily Tying Coat
4 Liù fēng sì bì Six Sealing And Four Closing
5 Dān biān Single Whip
6 Jīngāng dǎo duì Buddha's Warrior Pounds Mortar [2]
7 Bái é liàng chì White Goose Spreads Its Wings
8 Xié xíng Walk Obliquely
9 Lǒu xī Brush Knees
10 Shǎn sān bù Step Three Times
11 Xié xíng Walk Obliquely
12 Lǒu xī Brush Knees
13 Shǎn sān bù Step Three Times
14 Yǎn shǒu gōng quán Hidden Thrust Punch

15 Jīngāng dǎo duì Buddha's Warrior Pounds Mortar [3]

That's as far as it goes, unless there's someone new, in which case everything is broken down into more segments.

Saturdays are far more purposeful. Today, we focussed on some moves after Buddha's Warrior Pounds Mortar [3].

Green Dragon Emerges from the Water  (Qing Long Chu Shui) 

Pushing With Both Hands (Shuang Tui Shou)

Fist Under The Elbow (Zhou Di Kan Quan and Chui Zhou Di Chui)

Stepping Backwards And Whirling The Arms (Dao Juan Gong or Dao Juan Hong)

White Crane Spreads Wings (Bai E Liang Chi).

Diagonal Whip (Xie Xing)

Turning Back With Arms Twining (Shan Tong Bei) 

Flashing The Arms,

To be covered soon - Flash The Back, Flashing Turn To The back



One of the really good things about Saturday is the focus, no unnecessary noise, everyone determined to do their best.
Then, like today, it is a mixed group with some using  it as a warm-up for the next session. No matter where you look, there's someone more expert whose moves you can imitate. 

Tutor David G 




Quote

Don't stupidly repeat the form and think that you are going to get fighting ability. You must take out single movements from the form and train them repeatedly until you completely understand them.


The form is not a dead thing. Many people can do an outside imitation of the form, but they are lost in, as one participant put it, "copy and paste mode". The form must be alive within the principles.

Use slowness to achieve detail. I cannot emphasise how much importance Wang put on the fundamental need to train slowly.



2 comments:

Sayre said...

I loved taking Tai Chi! I was always amazed that the sweat I worked up from all that slow movement.

joanygee said...

I agree, it never ceases to amaze me how much effort goes in to moving slowly, yet purposefully.