Develop a more flexible spine. Back problems are one of the major ‘diseases’ of the modern world. They account for a large percentage of visits to the Doctor and almost everybody, as they age, suffers with their back The sheer amount of time we spend sitting down with our backs ill supported leads to the muscles in the front of our body gradually shortening. The back muscles lose tone and […]
This move involves both your arms doing a yin circle, one going forward while the other pulls backward, and at the same time you’re stepping backwards in the cat step. It’s best to learn the arm movements and footwork separately then you can combine them later. The footwork The arms Each arm is doing the yin circle. Make sure you know this before you start. You should do as it’s […]
This is the first move in the third section. it moves you from the single whip posture into a guard position via a strong twist to the left. There is an ancient Taoist symbol for peace and balance which has one hand with the fingers pointing up and the other hand beneath it. The lower hand signifies yin or the earth. The upper hand signifies yang or a plant growing […]
This is another good exercise for restoring mobility. I often do this after doing the sideways clock. This exercise focuses on opening the front and back of the body. Here are the teaching points for this sideways clock exercise. Notes Find out more about traditional Chinese conditioning exercises through the tai chi and kung fu classes I run or sign up to our site to learn the wealth of material we have here. To […]
As with the first section work on each movement individually first. Then put them together. You’ll notice that the moves after embrace tiger, return to mountain are the same as for the first section – rollback and press, push and single whip. You should already be becoming familiar with these important moves. Both the videos below begin with single whip which was the last move of the first section. To […]
This video shows you the first section of the form up to the first single whip from two different angles. Once you’ve learned each of the movements separately use this video to see how to join them together. Then work on incorporating the 4 key qualities of movement and breathing. To view this post in full you’ll need a Basic Level membership. This will give you access to a wide […]
Some of the movements in tai chi have very poetic names. This one is called embrace tiger, return to mountain. Like all the other movements I teach it can be expressed in many different ways. The way shown in the video below is, perhaps, the most popular with the two arms circling out and down as if around an imaginary large ball. However, you could also use the 2 arm […]
Tai chi developed as a martial art and most of the moves still have the potential to be used in combat if you know how to use them. Most teachers don’t but I’ve trained in the Chinese martial arts for 40 years so I know them well. None of the moves of tai chi are more obviously martial than parry and punch Parry and punch does exactly what it says […]
It has been said many times that the best way to practice tai chi is to select one movement and repeat it over and over again. Don’t do this mindlessly but focus on relaxing down, finding the connections between the parts of your body, focus on your balance, breathing and the movement of energy. Any movement will do but ideally it should involve a transfer of weight, a turn of […]
While performing the form there are many elements you can focus on. Each one will bring new insights into how to perform it in the most effective ways. There are many other elements you could focus on which you’ll learn as you progress. Just focus on one or two at a time. To view this post in full you’ll need a Basic Level membership. This will give you access to […]
There is no fixed way of doing any movement in tai chi. Different schools teach different variations of them and this move is a good example. In many schools that teach this form the move we call sink weight is known as shoulder barge or shoulder strike. The body is twisted to the left and there is a strike with the right shoulder. This is equally valid but I find […]
Squeeze and pull down is a surprisingly challenging move. This is because all your weight needs to be on your back leg throughout. From a defensive perspective it is most commonly used to seize your opponent’s arms and pull them down onto your unweighted right knee. .From an energy perspective you are compressing energy in and sinking it down your weighted leg into the earth. How to do it Throughout […]