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12 week challenge
A great way to take yourself out of your comfort zone is to set yourself
a "12 week challenge". Aim to pass all of the qigong exercises on the
ticksheet within 12 weeks.
This is quite a reasonable target if you think about it.
Tempted?
Why bother?
Most people who start tai chi classes don't make a lot of
progress.
They have a nice time. They
explore new material. They
chat. They relax. They feel
good.
But they don't move up the syllabus...
Treating tai chi like a drop
in session is fine if that's what you want to do. But don't kid yourself
that it's 'learning'.
Difficulty
When life is too easy, we become lazy.
Difficulty causes you to be more
creative because
the demands of the situation require a more flexible,
adaptive mind and body.
That is why we propose
challenges.
Get strong
Qigong is the key to getting the hang of
things.
The more time you spend practicing the
exercises, the easier it will be to learn
anything and everything in the syllabus.
Standing qigong will build strength,
teach alignment and develop
structure.
Moving qigong teach stance (foot position),
coordination, timing,
relaxation and flexibility.
Don't be lazy
Failure to practice qigong
frequently enough or thoroughly enough will retard
progress.
Ideally, a student should stand for 20 minutes and then perform plate
exercise, standing post, 4 directions - forwards & backwards, 4 directions -
to the side, opening & closing - to the side, cloud hands, ba duan jin (8
exercises), moving qigong (8 exercises).
10 repetitions of each. Every day.
Embrace challenges
Dr. K. Anders Ericsson found that long-term intensive practice of any
demanding discipline will lead to a measurable increase in
grey matter.
Your brain can literally get
stronger
- just like a muscle.
Providing you stay out of your comfort zone and don't stop developing your
skills.
Stretch goal
A stretch goal is where you have an
idea/goal/target that takes you far outside your comfort zone. Typically a
stretch goal sounds tough, unreasonable or unrealistic. Intimidating.
This is the entire point. A stretch goal necessitates major
upheaval and change.
Plan
You cannot just leap from where you are right now to the end result. It
isn't going to happen.
A stretch goal isn't like taking a product off the supermarket shelf and then
paying for it at the checkout. You're going to have to think it through
somewhat...
Consider what is necessary to be able to achieve
the desired outcome.
Be honest
Ask yourself:
Do you have any supplementary resources? School DVDs?
How much time can you commit to watching the DVDs?
Can you remember the exercises explored during the Induction Course?
Have you asked Rachel to tick off the Induction Course exercises?
Can you make it to class earlier in order to receive tips/pointers/corrections?
Do you take notes?
Have you tried doing your qigong in front of a mirror so that you can evaluate accuracy?
Can you perform each exercise using either your right or left hand?
Are you genuinely keen to get past the lowest level of training/understanding?
Are there any
workshops on offer
that might help to increase your grasp of the art?
Deliberate practice
Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool,
Smarter Faster Better by Charles Duhigg, Grit by Angela Duckworth
and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg all maintain that progress is best
accomplished by employing 'deliberate practice'.
This entails carefully monitoring your progress and ensuring that you are
continually improving. Seek proof.
Hard work alone is not enough, though.
Simply working hard will not necessarily lead to progress.
It needs to be deliberate, focused improvement designed to improve your
practice by developing key skills outlined by
your instructor.
The student must implement corrections, study the teachings,
deepen their understanding and challenge their comfort
zone.
SMART goals
Set small goals for yourself that can be achieved. Nothing outrageous. Your
aim is to pass the qigong exercises. Do this methodically and
systematically.
Memory
If you experience any memory problems, this is
easy to address. Firstly, clear your mind
before practice. Switch off your phone, the
TV, the PC. Go somewhere
quiet. Or get up early...
Secondly, practice more frequently. Little and
often. We remember what we do every day. Develop a
daily routine for yourself.
Month 1
Start sensibly. Can you remember/reproduce the exercises
explored during the Induction Course? If yes, then ask Rachel to tick
them off.
Now, look at the qigong ticksheet. The
standing qigong exercises are very easy to
learn and remember. Pushing peng is simple. Seek to get
those ticked off next.
Then move onto the reeling silk exercises:
Plate exercise
Standing post
4 directions - forwards & backwards
4 directions - to the side
Opening & closing - to the side
Cloud hands
Work through the 6 exercises one-by-one.
Month 2
Ba duan jin only features 8 basic
exercises. If you learn at least 3 per week, you'll pass no problem.
Month 3
The third month is for moving qigong.
This will be more difficult. However, if you've been practicing all of the
preceding material on a
daily
basis, your strength,
coordination and memory will be
better.
Work through the 8 exercises one-by-one.
Allow time for corrections
You may think you've mastered the exercise.
Rachel may not. Allow for this.
Unless you are a qualified kung fu
instructor, you are in no position to evaluate the quality of your own
training.
Do the exercises have to be in order?
This is one of those tongue-in-cheek questions
where the teacher struggles to think of a polite reply. Of course the
exercise have to be in order. The order helps you to
learn and reproduce them.
It also helps your brain get used to patterns
and sequences - which is vital for
tai chi.
Can you use handouts for reference?
No.
If you need a handout, you don't know the material well enough.
Still a beginner
Students who are still making beginners mistakes need to spend longer
working on the errors.
They won't go away by ignoring them and learning new things.
If you can't do the material you've already been shown, why ask for more?
You won't be able to do that material correctly either because the
basics are poor.
Failure...
Don't be disheartened if you don't learn every exercise within 12 weeks.
Look back over your SMART goals and see if they were unrealistic or if you
didn't stick to them. Try again.
If you've been practicing qigong for 100 days, then you've already passed
the 100 day challenge. A bonus? Well done.
Success!
Don't stop now. Keep it going. Set yourself new targets. How long will
it take to finish your form? Pass the
belt ? Read a
book from the reading list? Do an
assignment?
This attitude of
positive growth and change will affect
all areas of your life.
Grading
Tai chi students have to undertake a full syllabus revision every year. In addition
to grading. Adopting a 12
week challenge attitude can help the keener student get through this
rapidly.
More...
Page created
18 April 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023
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