It has been a long time since I put up a post in Reeling Silk's
blog because I wasn't sure that I actually had anything to say that
hadn't already said by others, and better than I could have said it.
And with what I was considering saying at the time, that was certainly
true.
But I have finally discovered the place that I
want to come from and talk about in this blog; the merging of Tai Chi
practice with my Soto Zen Buddhist practice and my curiosity about how
the Tao and Zen speak to one another through the medium of Tai Chi. So
let's talk a little bit about my practice of both, so you know where I'm
coming from.
Every morning before I begin my Tai
Chi forms, I sit zazen. Sometimes for as little as 25 minutes,
sometimes as long as an hour. Then after a stretch, I do a short bowing
practice and then either begin my Tai Chi form practice or further warm
up with a Qi-qong routine I learned from one of my former teachers,
Master Xu Gong Wei (you learn a bit more about him here).
Then I practice 1-3 forms before beginning my regular morning routine.
They will either be chuan (hand/fist), jian (sword) or some of each,
although lately I have been doing a chuan form and then Yang jian
51-form.
Sitting meditation before doing Tai Chi
offers several benefits. First, I get to wake up a bit more gradually,
my zazen practice being to follow my breath. Second, the slow awakening
and the focus on breathing results in a very nice accumulation of
energy, which I get to carry over into my form work. And I can also carry my meditation breath work into my form work.
Both aspects are especially helpful when doing my Chen forms, which
require a bit more speed and oomph to them with the fa-jin moves than
Yang or Wu styles.
Then it's on to the rest of day, whatever that may be; work, play, relaxing, etc.
That's
a quick summary of how I physically approach Tai Chi from a Zen
meditation point of reference. Stay tuned for more regular posts in the
future now that I know what I want to say.
Salute and Gassho,
Rich
Thursday, 19 December 2013
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
What Moves What?
One of the first things I learned in Tai Chi was that parts of the body never really moved the way you were used to thinking of moving them. Let me illustrate.
Your teacher tells you to raise your hand so you think ok, no problem, I'll just raise my hand. Ding, Ding, Ding....my alarm bells just went off. Not really.....If you only do that you're just waving your hand and why would that be of any use, either for martial or health benefits? So how actually do you raise your hand?
Well, let's get really simple and add complexity as we go. You remember that song Dry Bones? Here's just one verse but I highly recommend you check out all the others.
"With the finger bone connected
to the hand bone,
and the hand bone connected
to the arm bone,
and the arm bone connected
to the shoulder bone,
Oh mercy how they scare! " and so on.... What's important is to keep in mind all those connections.
Ok, let's get back to raising the hand. Hold your arm out in front of you at shoulder height with your hand nice and relaxed, same for the shoulder. Now, just raise your hand. You can do that by flexing your wrist and tightening the wrist muscles. But notice that it doesn't get your hand very much higher and now your wrist is all tensed up. Not an ideal situation.
Extend your arm and hand again and this time, drop and close your elbow joint. Hey, look at that, your hand just got raised up and now, it's still nice and relaxed and ready for action. This works even if you're sitting down. That's because the hand bone's connected to the arm bone, the arm bone connected to the elbow bone, the elbow bone connected to the.....you get the idea :)
Now, let's take it a step further. I assume you're standing. If not, stand up and extend your hand and arm. This time, drop and close your elbow joint but do that by using Dan Tien chi energy. If it's your right hand we're raising, visualize sinking Dan Tien chi into and through your lower back and down into the right heel as you sit down and open into your lower back. If done properly, the sinking of the chi into the heel will automatically lower and close the elbow while raising the hand. Practice connecting these pieces and your on your way to beginning to understand how use your whole body to move a single part.
As you deepen this awareness, because that's what your really doing, you will begin to feel it in your muscles, your tendons, your ligaments and your bones. And that's what the song's really about, isn't it? All those connected bones.
Keeping it all connected until next time,
Rich
Your teacher tells you to raise your hand so you think ok, no problem, I'll just raise my hand. Ding, Ding, Ding....my alarm bells just went off. Not really.....If you only do that you're just waving your hand and why would that be of any use, either for martial or health benefits? So how actually do you raise your hand?
Well, let's get really simple and add complexity as we go. You remember that song Dry Bones? Here's just one verse but I highly recommend you check out all the others.
"With the finger bone connected
to the hand bone,
and the hand bone connected
to the arm bone,
and the arm bone connected
to the shoulder bone,
Oh mercy how they scare! " and so on.... What's important is to keep in mind all those connections.
Ok, let's get back to raising the hand. Hold your arm out in front of you at shoulder height with your hand nice and relaxed, same for the shoulder. Now, just raise your hand. You can do that by flexing your wrist and tightening the wrist muscles. But notice that it doesn't get your hand very much higher and now your wrist is all tensed up. Not an ideal situation.
Extend your arm and hand again and this time, drop and close your elbow joint. Hey, look at that, your hand just got raised up and now, it's still nice and relaxed and ready for action. This works even if you're sitting down. That's because the hand bone's connected to the arm bone, the arm bone connected to the elbow bone, the elbow bone connected to the.....you get the idea :)
Now, let's take it a step further. I assume you're standing. If not, stand up and extend your hand and arm. This time, drop and close your elbow joint but do that by using Dan Tien chi energy. If it's your right hand we're raising, visualize sinking Dan Tien chi into and through your lower back and down into the right heel as you sit down and open into your lower back. If done properly, the sinking of the chi into the heel will automatically lower and close the elbow while raising the hand. Practice connecting these pieces and your on your way to beginning to understand how use your whole body to move a single part.
As you deepen this awareness, because that's what your really doing, you will begin to feel it in your muscles, your tendons, your ligaments and your bones. And that's what the song's really about, isn't it? All those connected bones.
Keeping it all connected until next time,
Rich
Thursday, 31 January 2013
Tai Chi is not Exercise
Tai Chi is not Exercise
Recently, in my Creekside class, I talked about how Tai Chi is not really exercise and that to do it only as such is to miss the point. The reason I was talking about this is because one of my friends told me that he had re-injured himself while doing Tai Chi and I immediately thought, "he's not doing Tai Chi, he's doing exercise that he thinks is Tai Chi."If you are really doing Tai Chi, the slow, deliberate motions done properly will not EVER re-injure or cause you any discomfort, IF you are LISTENING to your body. And you can't direct energy if you aren't listening. Tai Chi is good for healing, restoring a feeling of wellness, and strengthening your body in subtle ways, not for reinjuring yourself!!
When you do Tai Chi, you DO get some exercise, but more importantly, you are beginning to learn how to direct your energy (ji) with your mind (shen). Done properly, your internal organs get massaged, energy channels open and chi accumulates.
If you want exercise, go to the gym and workout, go ride a bike, go for a run, go skiing, go swimming, go for a long walk, etc.... I enjoy all those, too, but it has nothing to do with my Tai Chi. Unless, of course, you incorporate Tai Chi principles into these activities!
I'll have more to say about this in the future but this is a good place to stop for now. I'm happy to entertain questions, feedback, comments, etc.
Searching for Balance,
Rich
Monday, 29 October 2012
The Secret to Relaxing During Tai Chi
RRRREEEELLLLAAAAXXXXXXINNNNGGGG....ahhhh :)
One of the things I was constantly told when I was a beginning student, and now I tell my students is that they need to relax more. Just relax. So simple, right?
NOT!
How can you relax when you're busy trying to remember your posture movements and transitions, you only have a few minutes to practice, you have to get groceries, the laundry needs to be done, the kids are screaming or need to be transported, your arthritis is bothering you, and on and on....
I have puzzled over this myself for many years and I think I may have finally unlocked the secret! And it's deceptively simple. Ready?
be......... here.......... now!!
It's a bit counter-intuitive but the more you can concentrate on what you are doing IN THIS MOMENT, the less the rest of your external world that creeps in and the more you end up relaxing. The deeper you focus your awareness on the single movement you are performing (rotating your waist, sinking into your root, extending your hand/foot), the more your physical body will drop tension in other areas and relax. And this is not a forced, conscious "trying to" relaxation. It just happens without you even noticing or realizing it at first.
Another thing that often sabotages students' attempts at relaxation is simple physical discomfort. You absolutely cannot relax if you are uncomfortable. I keep telling my students that if they feel any pain or discomfort then they need to adjust the posture so that it feels comfortable. We have all heard the expression "No Pain, No Gain" especially associated with increasing performance in sports. Well fawgeddaboudit for Tai Chi. If anything, in Tai Chi, it will set you back and can easily lead to injury from improper body positioning and strain.
So start by getting comfortable. If your postures are leading to really tense muscles and regular soreness, talk to your teacher and work out variations that are best for you. We all do Tai Chi differently because we all have different bodies and capabilities. And even those are continuously changing if we are practicing regularly.
Let's do a little simple relaxation exercise. Assume your starting Wu Ji pose. Just stand there for a few moments and pay attention to all of your body. First, centre your weight to rest equally on both feet, preferably mostly in your heels, but also throughout the bottom of your foot. Now take a few abdominal breaths and check other parts of your body. To check your shoulders, shrug them up military style and then let them fall loosely. Now they will be relaxed. Tense and wiggle your toes and then just let them be. Now they should be relaxed. Clench your fists and then extend your fingers as far down as possible and then just let them hang. Now they are relaxed. And you can do the same with any other parts of your body; knees, elbows, neck, head. So you will now be pretty fully relaxed and ready to start your form practice.
Simple, right?! And all you had to do was to pay attention to what you were doing and feeling in that moment. You were Being Here Now.
Tai Chi can be practiced on many levels - from simple exercises to advanced martial art skills - but most people that I encounter are looking for the health benefits that they have heard about. Bottom line: The more often and deeper you can relax, the more those benefits will begin to manifest and appear in your life. So pay attention, relax and enjoy.
Keep on playing,
Rich
One of the things I was constantly told when I was a beginning student, and now I tell my students is that they need to relax more. Just relax. So simple, right?
NOT!
How can you relax when you're busy trying to remember your posture movements and transitions, you only have a few minutes to practice, you have to get groceries, the laundry needs to be done, the kids are screaming or need to be transported, your arthritis is bothering you, and on and on....
I have puzzled over this myself for many years and I think I may have finally unlocked the secret! And it's deceptively simple. Ready?
be......... here.......... now!!
It's a bit counter-intuitive but the more you can concentrate on what you are doing IN THIS MOMENT, the less the rest of your external world that creeps in and the more you end up relaxing. The deeper you focus your awareness on the single movement you are performing (rotating your waist, sinking into your root, extending your hand/foot), the more your physical body will drop tension in other areas and relax. And this is not a forced, conscious "trying to" relaxation. It just happens without you even noticing or realizing it at first.
Another thing that often sabotages students' attempts at relaxation is simple physical discomfort. You absolutely cannot relax if you are uncomfortable. I keep telling my students that if they feel any pain or discomfort then they need to adjust the posture so that it feels comfortable. We have all heard the expression "No Pain, No Gain" especially associated with increasing performance in sports. Well fawgeddaboudit for Tai Chi. If anything, in Tai Chi, it will set you back and can easily lead to injury from improper body positioning and strain.
So start by getting comfortable. If your postures are leading to really tense muscles and regular soreness, talk to your teacher and work out variations that are best for you. We all do Tai Chi differently because we all have different bodies and capabilities. And even those are continuously changing if we are practicing regularly.
Let's do a little simple relaxation exercise. Assume your starting Wu Ji pose. Just stand there for a few moments and pay attention to all of your body. First, centre your weight to rest equally on both feet, preferably mostly in your heels, but also throughout the bottom of your foot. Now take a few abdominal breaths and check other parts of your body. To check your shoulders, shrug them up military style and then let them fall loosely. Now they will be relaxed. Tense and wiggle your toes and then just let them be. Now they should be relaxed. Clench your fists and then extend your fingers as far down as possible and then just let them hang. Now they are relaxed. And you can do the same with any other parts of your body; knees, elbows, neck, head. So you will now be pretty fully relaxed and ready to start your form practice.
Simple, right?! And all you had to do was to pay attention to what you were doing and feeling in that moment. You were Being Here Now.
Tai Chi can be practiced on many levels - from simple exercises to advanced martial art skills - but most people that I encounter are looking for the health benefits that they have heard about. Bottom line: The more often and deeper you can relax, the more those benefits will begin to manifest and appear in your life. So pay attention, relax and enjoy.
Keep on playing,
Rich
Monday, 10 September 2012
What Should I Practice?
This is probably the most common question that I'm asked. The other one is "How long will it take me to learn the form?" As they are both related, let's talk about them together.
"Give me 5 minutes a day. That's all I ask. 5 minutes."
Whoaaaa!! How can I learn Tai Chi if I only practice 5 minutes a day?? What benefits can I get from only practicing 5 minutes a day?! Must not be that important if he's only asking for 5 minutes.
That couldn't be further from the truth!!
What you need to do is to start to incorporate it into your everyday routine so that it becomes a habit. This is more difficult than it sounds. In my experience, the reason many students stop doing T'ai Chi is because they were never able to get into the habit of practicing. But if you start with just 5 minutes a day, 3-5 days a week, after a few weeks, you'll find yourself practicing a couple of minutes more. And that's a good thing. Now it's in your routine, it's a habit and you're more likely to improve and learn your forms. And it's a lot easier to find 5 minutes a day than it is to try to set aside 15-30 minutes. Especially if your life is as busy as mine!!
And let's take it a step further, so to speak. Once you know a simple form like Yang style 24-form, how long does it take to do it from start to finish.....Just 5-10 minutes depending on just how fast or slow you do it. And if that's all you do - Yang style 24, everyday - you'll get a significant amount of benefits, both mental and physical. That's why it's such a popular form! Only takes 5 minutes or so to do and the payoff is terrific!!
Ok, that's enough about how you should practice. Now let's talk about "what should I practice?" Of course your teacher will tell you what to practice, and that's usually the last thing they taught you! But personally, I think anything you can remember from your classes is what you should practice. Or if you have a weakness in a particular part of doing Tai Chi, for instance, foot placement during bow stance, which we talked about in a previous article on this blog. And this brings up another less verbalized question that students have: When am I actually doing Tai Chi?
I always take a few moments with new students to let them know that "doing Tai Chi" is not about completing a form from beginning to end but rather is practicing whatever piece of Tai Chi you are working on at that moment. If what you practice is the opening sequence and work on using your Tan Tien to transfer your weight properly to acheive good body position, alignment and foot placement, you are doing as much Tai Chi as someone who is doing a form from beginning to end. Don't short change yourself by thinking that if you don't know a whole form you aren't really practicing Tai Chi yet. Nothing could be further from the truth! It is not the what that you practice but the intention and awareness that you bring to your practice that transforms it from just casually moving your body to actually doing Tai Chi. I often do Tai Chi when I'm waiting for a bus. I just stand there and conciously align my body and practice shifting weight from one foot to the next. Try it the next time you're waiting for a bus or in a line at the grocery store. No one will know you are actually practicing Tai Chi because most people are constantly shifting their weight and moving around when they're in a queue. They just don't bring the awareness aspect into play.
There are 2 common modern styles of teaching forms that I have encountered. They both have advantages and disadvantages and I have learned from teachers that used one or the other as their method for instruction. The first method is to go through the whole form every class - calling out each move with directions as to how to do it - while students of all levels follow along as best they can. Then after going through the form, the instructor will work in depth on one form or set of movements to help students understand them better.
The second method is to introduce a new movement each class. In this method, the class starts off reviewing the form with the instructor up to the movement learned in the previous class. Then questions from students and problems with performance as noted by the instructor are worked on. After a while, the next move in the form is then introduced, with the rest of the class session being devoted to it's instruction. In this method, you're never quite sure how far along in learning the form you are but you can assume that if it's a 24 posture form, it's going to take you at least 24, and more likely 30 weeks to learn the form. That's because it is always necessary to take a week now and then to just work on the form up to where the students have progressed. This also gives students that have missed an occasional class a chance to catch up to where everyone else is.
So how long will it take you to learn a form via the first method? Probably about the same amount of time as by the second method! Unless..... you are a very dedicated student, who practices hard (more than 5 minutes a day!), and has a talent and a good memory for body movement patterns. Those students are rare so don't worry about them. They'll be your teachers, soon!!
Ok, enough reading about Tai Chi for now. Go practice for 5 minutes!!
How Should I Practice and What?
Good question!! I'm glad you asked. And the truth of it is there is no one answer. If you're a long time student, you pretty much know what you need or want to work on but as a beginner, it is often a bit of a mystery. There you are, you've just completed your first class and depending on your teacher, you may not even have learned any of the postures in the form, yet! Here's what I tell all my beginning students:"Give me 5 minutes a day. That's all I ask. 5 minutes."
Whoaaaa!! How can I learn Tai Chi if I only practice 5 minutes a day?? What benefits can I get from only practicing 5 minutes a day?! Must not be that important if he's only asking for 5 minutes.
That couldn't be further from the truth!!
What you need to do is to start to incorporate it into your everyday routine so that it becomes a habit. This is more difficult than it sounds. In my experience, the reason many students stop doing T'ai Chi is because they were never able to get into the habit of practicing. But if you start with just 5 minutes a day, 3-5 days a week, after a few weeks, you'll find yourself practicing a couple of minutes more. And that's a good thing. Now it's in your routine, it's a habit and you're more likely to improve and learn your forms. And it's a lot easier to find 5 minutes a day than it is to try to set aside 15-30 minutes. Especially if your life is as busy as mine!!
And let's take it a step further, so to speak. Once you know a simple form like Yang style 24-form, how long does it take to do it from start to finish.....Just 5-10 minutes depending on just how fast or slow you do it. And if that's all you do - Yang style 24, everyday - you'll get a significant amount of benefits, both mental and physical. That's why it's such a popular form! Only takes 5 minutes or so to do and the payoff is terrific!!
Ok, that's enough about how you should practice. Now let's talk about "what should I practice?" Of course your teacher will tell you what to practice, and that's usually the last thing they taught you! But personally, I think anything you can remember from your classes is what you should practice. Or if you have a weakness in a particular part of doing Tai Chi, for instance, foot placement during bow stance, which we talked about in a previous article on this blog. And this brings up another less verbalized question that students have: When am I actually doing Tai Chi?
I always take a few moments with new students to let them know that "doing Tai Chi" is not about completing a form from beginning to end but rather is practicing whatever piece of Tai Chi you are working on at that moment. If what you practice is the opening sequence and work on using your Tan Tien to transfer your weight properly to acheive good body position, alignment and foot placement, you are doing as much Tai Chi as someone who is doing a form from beginning to end. Don't short change yourself by thinking that if you don't know a whole form you aren't really practicing Tai Chi yet. Nothing could be further from the truth! It is not the what that you practice but the intention and awareness that you bring to your practice that transforms it from just casually moving your body to actually doing Tai Chi. I often do Tai Chi when I'm waiting for a bus. I just stand there and conciously align my body and practice shifting weight from one foot to the next. Try it the next time you're waiting for a bus or in a line at the grocery store. No one will know you are actually practicing Tai Chi because most people are constantly shifting their weight and moving around when they're in a queue. They just don't bring the awareness aspect into play.
How Long Will It Take Me to Learn the Form?
I think now you can see how the 2 questions are related. Obviously, the more you practice, the quicker and better you'll learn the form. But this is also related to how the form is being taught.There are 2 common modern styles of teaching forms that I have encountered. They both have advantages and disadvantages and I have learned from teachers that used one or the other as their method for instruction. The first method is to go through the whole form every class - calling out each move with directions as to how to do it - while students of all levels follow along as best they can. Then after going through the form, the instructor will work in depth on one form or set of movements to help students understand them better.
The second method is to introduce a new movement each class. In this method, the class starts off reviewing the form with the instructor up to the movement learned in the previous class. Then questions from students and problems with performance as noted by the instructor are worked on. After a while, the next move in the form is then introduced, with the rest of the class session being devoted to it's instruction. In this method, you're never quite sure how far along in learning the form you are but you can assume that if it's a 24 posture form, it's going to take you at least 24, and more likely 30 weeks to learn the form. That's because it is always necessary to take a week now and then to just work on the form up to where the students have progressed. This also gives students that have missed an occasional class a chance to catch up to where everyone else is.
So how long will it take you to learn a form via the first method? Probably about the same amount of time as by the second method! Unless..... you are a very dedicated student, who practices hard (more than 5 minutes a day!), and has a talent and a good memory for body movement patterns. Those students are rare so don't worry about them. They'll be your teachers, soon!!
Ok, enough reading about Tai Chi for now. Go practice for 5 minutes!!
Rich
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Resolving Body Confusion: Your Feet
As I watch my T'ai Chi students, I often see a common problem that I'll call, body confusion. They're not sure which part should move when and to where, and how to get it all connected. How DO you know, apart from listening to and watching your teacher? In the next few articles, I'll give you a few simple tips to help you sort through and improve this part of your practice.
Tip 1: Work on one thing
Sounds so simple, doesn't it? But what should you work on; hands? feet? transitions? connections? smoothness? energy awareness? and the list goes on. How do you choose where to start? Well, there's no right or wrong but what I like to do is work from a position of strength. And since strength in T'ai Chi comes from your root, which is your connection to the Earth, the feet are usually a good place to start so let's talk about your feet.
First, let`s just look at your feet. Just take your normal everyday comfortable stance that you would assume if you were talking to someone who is directly in front of you. What`s going on down there on the floor? Do you have large, small, narrow or wide feet? Do you stand with one foot splayed out to the side? Are you pigeon-toed or knock-kneed? Are they spaced wider than your body or very close together? All this will have an effect on how you do your T'ai Chi forms. Let's go right back to the beginning and start with a good technique I use for finding a good starting foot placement during T'ai Chi Form work.
OK, let's do some analysing. Start doing your form and at any posture of the form you're practicing, stop, hold the posture and then look at how you've placed your self and in particular, your feet. If your feet aren't well placed, get them where they need to be and hold that for a minute or so. Try to memorize what that feels like. Then continue your form. Stop again and repeat. In Forms that have repeating postures, you might see if you achieved a better position the next time it comes around. If not, readjust and continue. T'ai Chi is a never ending source of learning and practice. Eventually, with good intention and many repetitions, your feet will begin to obey you.
Most important, playing T'ai Chi should be fun. That's why we say playing, not working! Don't worry if it's not exactly right in the beginning. You have the rest of your life to get it right.
Rich
Tip 1: Work on one thing
Sounds so simple, doesn't it? But what should you work on; hands? feet? transitions? connections? smoothness? energy awareness? and the list goes on. How do you choose where to start? Well, there's no right or wrong but what I like to do is work from a position of strength. And since strength in T'ai Chi comes from your root, which is your connection to the Earth, the feet are usually a good place to start so let's talk about your feet.
First, let`s just look at your feet. Just take your normal everyday comfortable stance that you would assume if you were talking to someone who is directly in front of you. What`s going on down there on the floor? Do you have large, small, narrow or wide feet? Do you stand with one foot splayed out to the side? Are you pigeon-toed or knock-kneed? Are they spaced wider than your body or very close together? All this will have an effect on how you do your T'ai Chi forms. Let's go right back to the beginning and start with a good technique I use for finding a good starting foot placement during T'ai Chi Form work.
- Just stand naturally
- Place one foot directly in front of the other, in a straight line, with the heel of the foot in front touching the toes of the foot in back. Not so easy to stand like this is it!
- Now, rotate the front foot on the big toe toward the side of the foot that it is - right to right or left to left - until they make a perfect right angle (corner of a rectangle) to each other, about a foot's distance apart. You should look and feel kind of silly.
- Finally, rotate the front foot on the heel so that the toes are again pointing forward naturally
OK, let's do some analysing. Start doing your form and at any posture of the form you're practicing, stop, hold the posture and then look at how you've placed your self and in particular, your feet. If your feet aren't well placed, get them where they need to be and hold that for a minute or so. Try to memorize what that feels like. Then continue your form. Stop again and repeat. In Forms that have repeating postures, you might see if you achieved a better position the next time it comes around. If not, readjust and continue. T'ai Chi is a never ending source of learning and practice. Eventually, with good intention and many repetitions, your feet will begin to obey you.
Most important, playing T'ai Chi should be fun. That's why we say playing, not working! Don't worry if it's not exactly right in the beginning. You have the rest of your life to get it right.
Rich
Too much, too little, Just right
I've been thinking about this for a while now; how much is too much? How much is too little? and How much is just right? For the most part, I'm referring to leg and knee extensions but it also applies to arms, upper body, waist turns and other aspects.
Let's concentrate on the legs and knees. When I watch my students, I often see a fair amount of confusion as to how far to step and how far to extend the knee in relation to its foot's placement. I have talked a little bit about how to place one's feet in relation to each other so let's focus first on how far you should step.
What I teach is that it is totally unique to each individual. Tall people with long legs are often going to step out further than a short person like myself. The bottom line is that there is no simple formula for distance that I know of. It also depends on what you are practicing at a given moment. Often, when I do a form in the morning, I'm still a little stiff and so I tend to economize in movement - all my movements - but especially the extensions. In the afternoon and evenings, I'm a lot looser so I will often explore larger movements and leg extensions. That translates into needing anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 the space to do the same form in the morning vs the evening! And I'll sink lower later in the day, which also makes it easier to do longer extensions, especially in Chen forms.
Ok, how about the knees. I have only one critical rule for your knees and it's this:
Let's take a look at a picture taken from this article about Tai Chi's effectiveness for increasing motion in arthritic joints. Look particularly at the top right and lower left drawings. This has the angle where the leg meets the foot looking like the corner of a square when viewed from the side. This is the most comfortable, least stressful position for the joints, will result in smoother form work, and facilitates sending your Chi energy into the earth through the heel and bubbling well to establish your root.
Also note that the upper body has the spine at a right angle to the ground, as well. This prevents you from overextending your arms and helps to establish a good sense of balance and rooting.
So if you haven't thought much about it, this is a good time to examine how you're positioning your body in regard to these basic concepts. And keep practicing!! A little effort each day can take you a long way on this T'ai Chi journey you're on.
Rich
Let's concentrate on the legs and knees. When I watch my students, I often see a fair amount of confusion as to how far to step and how far to extend the knee in relation to its foot's placement. I have talked a little bit about how to place one's feet in relation to each other so let's focus first on how far you should step.
What I teach is that it is totally unique to each individual. Tall people with long legs are often going to step out further than a short person like myself. The bottom line is that there is no simple formula for distance that I know of. It also depends on what you are practicing at a given moment. Often, when I do a form in the morning, I'm still a little stiff and so I tend to economize in movement - all my movements - but especially the extensions. In the afternoon and evenings, I'm a lot looser so I will often explore larger movements and leg extensions. That translates into needing anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 the space to do the same form in the morning vs the evening! And I'll sink lower later in the day, which also makes it easier to do longer extensions, especially in Chen forms.
Ok, how about the knees. I have only one critical rule for your knees and it's this:
- Never let your front knee extend past the toes of its foot!!
- Repeat, Never let your front knee extend past the toes of its foot.
Let's take a look at a picture taken from this article about Tai Chi's effectiveness for increasing motion in arthritic joints. Look particularly at the top right and lower left drawings. This has the angle where the leg meets the foot looking like the corner of a square when viewed from the side. This is the most comfortable, least stressful position for the joints, will result in smoother form work, and facilitates sending your Chi energy into the earth through the heel and bubbling well to establish your root.
Also note that the upper body has the spine at a right angle to the ground, as well. This prevents you from overextending your arms and helps to establish a good sense of balance and rooting.
So if you haven't thought much about it, this is a good time to examine how you're positioning your body in regard to these basic concepts. And keep practicing!! A little effort each day can take you a long way on this T'ai Chi journey you're on.
Rich
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