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| The basics | ||
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Learn the basics
Tai chi students working through the lower grades need to focus on
attaining fundamental skills through dedicated practice:
Most new
starters are not prepared for the reality of learning a martial art. They
are expecting the skills to just be given to them... after all, they've
paid the fee? This is a foolish and absurd.
Attitude is everything. It is the reason why most people never finish what
they start. The skills are attained through hard work and daily practice.
Just like learning to play the piano.
Teachers can only teach you
to the level that the strength of your basics will allow them to. They can't
do anything more, it's impossible.
(Bruce Frantzis)
Verbal understanding
Students read about tai chi or think about combat and get carried away
speculating... But they cannot even stand properly or move in a coordinated
fashion.
Their thoughts are scattered and their minds unclear. Reading information or
watching a video is not the same a being able to do the skill yourself.
Understanding is the outcome of doing.
What can a lower grade student they possibly know
about tai chi? Much is missing from their
training, and this can lead to
misconceptions, incorrect focus and a superficial grasp of the art.
Modern technology has quite literally put all manner of information at our
fingertips. Books do the same. But does this mean that we actually
understand anything?
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Hard work
There is only one way to get good at tai chi - hard
work.
Talk will not lead to skill.
In all martial arts there is a constant, never-ending emphasis on getting
your basics right because without those basics, you'll never become all that
you could be.
(Bruce Frantzis)
Deliberate practice
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 recommended books,
undertake assignments and challenge their comfort
zone.
Patience
Be
patient with yourself. It is not possible to plough your way through the
syllabus. Take your time. Understand the aim of each exercise. Learn the
skill being taught.
Without the basics, your progress will be very slow. You will only
comprehend tai chi if you understand the basic skills. The on-going
syllabus will elude the impatient student.
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The more
effort you make at the start of training, the more long-term progress you
will make. Your first concern is to notably increase your physical
strength. This is not accomplished by going to the
gym.
All you need to do is train the qigong exercises:
both standing and moving. Every day. Build your standing up to 20 mins a day
for the main 4 hand positions.
Then add the Long Yang form to your routine and
start drilling it the same way. Do this with every new thing you learn.
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The
biggest obstacle for the beginner is their mind, their ego, their
self-image, their idea of themselves. Working the brain is the real key to
success.
A strong, pliable, flexible, adaptive brain is required for learning this
art. Brain work includes: meditation,
awareness, clarity, composure, metacognition, constructive reading,
memory and rest.
There is no point attending classes and training at home if your mind is
sorely neglected. People worry about dementia and focus on memory... why?
What about everything else the brain can do?
Train it all.
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Until
you shed old habits of tension, you cannot make progress with tai chi.
The hard part is that you must train new, physically challenging ways of
doing things whilst simultaneously shedding old, comfortable habits.
Relaxation must take place continually when you exercise new skills:
Relax your thoughts
Relax your face
Relax your eyes
Relax your jaw
Relax your neck
Relax your shoulders
Relax your elbows
Relax your wrists
Relax your sternum
Relax your sacrum
Relax your hip kwa and groin
Relax your knees without bending unduly
Relax your weight through your body and into the ground
Do not
mistake relaxation to mean
floppiness.
Heavy - but supported - is the key.
No tensing of the muscles.
If you let go of your
muscular strength your body will start relaxing.
(Bruce Frantzis)
Opening
the joints is a major concern for the beginner.
Use the joints less.
Encourage the major muscle groups of
the body to do the work.
Make your body open and expansive without exerting
or exaggerating.
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This is
just a training method:
Draw the scapula forward so that you are using all three parts of the
arm.
The scapula flattens and the upper back becomes rounded.
This connects the arms to the spine and allows the groundpath to travel
through the arms, downwards. Initially, drawing forward is necessary but in
time it must be relaxed.
Remember not to close the front of the shoulders - keep the arms rounded and
the armpits open. The arms can move up and down or flex towards and away
from the centre.
When the 'connection' is present at all times, stop 'doing' and see if the
arms remain attached to the back. Now, start thinking about cultivating
'peng'.
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Turn the waist
When the arms are connected to the back, you can use the waist for power.
Avoid using the joints too much. Use the larger muscles of the legs and
torso for strength.
Let the soft tissue do the work: muscle, fascia, tendons and ligaments.
Recognise that a waist turn should be coupled with a weight shift.
Turning the waist will amplify your strength so be careful to avoid
'forcing'; blend with your partner instead and lead them.
Once you can use the waist properly, your instructor will encourage you to
involve the spine and start thinking in all three dimensions
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People
train tai chi for years but still cannot
coordinate their own body.
Up & down, side-to-side, backwards and forwards.
These must all move in synchrony.
Practice, practice,
practice.
They would be a lot better
off doing a lot less movements and extracting more quality out of them than
to continue doing a lot of movements and having minimum or no quality within
them.
(Bruce Frantzis)
Learn
about range and reach, how to bend at the hip kwa, how to step closer.
Understand basic biomechanics. Avoid doing
anything physically harmful.
With careful consideration, every form, drill and exercise can be considered
with optimal structure in mind. The key thing is not to interfere with what
the body itself wants to do.
Becoming attuned to your body requires awareness, sensitivity and
relaxation.
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Suppleness, flexibility and nimbleness are paramount. Your body must be free
to move in whatever direction and in whatever manner you choose. This means
that it must be trained.
Moving qigong exercises, reeling silk
exercises, form and partner work will all assist with mobility.
Solo training at home is the key here i.e. beginners normally neglect form
practice because they are not very good at the sequence... This is OK.
You will get better by practicing. Thousands of repetitions are required.
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Your
movements need to be big, obvious and distinct. Show clear lines of force.
Focus on using the body in an expansive way without stretching unduly or
exerting.
Be clear. Be simple. Attempting to make the movements small from the onset will severely retard your progress; the connections have not yet been made
and you have nothing to minimalise yet.
This is not the time for subtlety or cunning.
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Slow down
The emphasis needs to be on centering the attention on the here and now. The
immediate. On what is happening in reality, not in your imagination.
Slow down. Feel your body. Hone your nervous
system. Be aware of your thoughts, your emotions. Cultivate sensitivity
and balance.
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Stances
Many
inexperienced tai chi people are concerned about their hands. But their legs are
awry... Without a balanced foundation the
art cannot work.
The stance determines the method in which power is generated, how the waist turns and the role of the hands.
The basic stances are easy to learn:
Parallel stance
Turning stance
Bow stance
Rear bow stance
Single whip stance
Pigeon toe stance
Empty/cat stance
Heel stance
Horse stance
Become
skilled with each.
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Forcing a result
You must never resort to force or brute strength. The
moment you start to tense your muscles,
you sabotage your efforts at cultivating whole-body strength.
An inexperienced student has difficulty coming to terms with the nature of
whole-body strength.
The reason why you train it for years is so that you do not have to
consciously apply strength when you need it. Whole-body strength is
inherent; it is there all the time.
If your strength never comes or goes, why would you need to deliberately
summon it? Tai chi never uses force against force. It can only be
applied when there is very little resistance.
We only ever apply 4 ounces of pressure.
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Ad-libbing
Students may sometimes think to alter the material, deviate from the lesson,
show off or try and be clever.
If you want the teacher to take you seriously as a student, it is important
to start off in the right way. Arguing, time wasting and second-guessing the
teacher will only bring you adverse attention.
Just do what you have been asked to do. No more, no less. Improvising is a
sign of arrogance and impatience.
You may have all sorts of wonderful ideas, what you
consider to be valuable contributions and insights, your own personal take on
matters. Nobody cares. Quite the opposite.
The fastest way to alienate yourself
in a dojo is to make known these ideas or to volunteer your suggestions on how
training might be better or more effective.
(Dave Lowry)
Understanding
Tai chi contains a great deal of
mystery. The principles, strategies, skills, methodology and insights
can only be acquired (and understood) by actually practicing the art.
If someone explained them to you beforehand, they would lack context.
You would try to comprehend them based upon your previous memories,
opinions, ideas and experiences... rather than understand them in terms of
tai chi.
With tai chi, the deeper you dig, the more you find. Unexpected avenues
lead to unanticipated places. You learn to embrace the unknown; to seek out
information and experiences.
There is no guarantee of a conclusion, and the very idea of completion seems
naive.
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Proof
People have lofty ambitions but very few see them through to fruition. If
you are earnest in learning tai chi this will be quite evident to your
instructor. Don't just talk... Act.
A resolute student attends every lesson, signs-up for workshops, boot camp,
watches school DVDs, reads the books and trains at home.
This level of commitment is reflected in their on-going progress.
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Page created
18 April 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023
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