When I let go of what I am, I become…Lao Tzu

Here is a short clip showing the late master Cheng Tin Hung in 1986 demonstrating ‘Step Back and Repulse Monkey’.

I’ve been practicing this technique, left and right side, and wasn’t aware until now there are two more applications – against a reverse punch. That’s a total of four applications for ‘Step Back and Repulse Monkey’.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Regulate your breathing – slow, smooth and deep – during your Tai Chi practice.

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?

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.

Here’s a very good clip by Glen Hairston that shows the correct way of throwing a Tai Chi punch at various distances.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Respect yourself and others will respect you.

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.

Here’s how to do the drill:

1. Hit the hand mitt a few times with your left and right fists without turning your hips or waist. Focus on how it feels. Do it slowly without power
2. Now hit the mitt and turn your waist – left strike turn left hip and waist to the right – right strike turn your right hip and waist to the left
3. Count out aloud, 1-2, as you turn your hips and waist for each punch
4. Focus on the 1-2 count so you do turn your hips and waist
5. After awhile use a silent 1-2 count

With practice there will be no need to count as your hips and waist will automatically turn as you punch.

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.

I do this with my other weapons, such as the spear, fans, staff and sabre when I feel the need to do some extra practice. I only use the wooden weapons indoors – the metal weapons are used outside.

The ‘in sight – in mind – in action’ method is an easy and quick way of getting extra practice in during the day.  As I generally practice 1.5 hours per week-day, any extra time I can find is a bonus.

And it doesn’t feel like extra training.

Before I know it I’m back on the couch, feet up, watching my favourite television show.

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’.