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Cross-training...
Students often want to do other forms of exercise in addition to their
tai chi.
This is fine.
The question is: does the other method conflict with tai chi?
Balance? Relaxed muscles? Coordination?
If it does, the tai chi will not work and you will not get the desired
fitness benefits or any martial
skill.
Saving you money
This page is intended to save you time, money and effort.
We're not telling you what to do...
Congruent
Sifu Waller has designed the syllabus such that everything works
together.
There is no discord between different facets of the
curriculum:
Brain work (meditation, awareness, metacognition)
Neigong (whole-body strength)
Jing (whole-body power)
Chin na (seizing)
Shuai jiao (take downs)
Every exercise, drill and
form works in conjunction with everything else.
The entire syllabus follows the teachings of Taoism
and The Tai Chi Classics.
All areas of study are in harmony.
A spanner in the works
Most people exercise with extremely bad
posture and poor habits of body use.
Qigong and tai chi are trying to remedy these.
If you train another system frequently
enough, the benefits of tai chi are
nullified.
Moderation
It is OK to train a wide range of exercise methods without ruining
your tai chi.
The key concern is moderation.
Avoid over-doing it: over-stretching,
straining or exerting.
Be mindful of posture, poise and
tension.
Little & often
Tai chi advocates moderation; not taxing or
tiring the body.
Rather than train for a lengthy period of time, aim to
practice little & often.
20-30 minute increments, with rest breaks in-between is ideal.
Instead of
pushing your body hard and putting it under duress,
just do a little exercise.
Resting will keep your
concentration sharp and offset fatigue.
Sabotaging the tai chi
Many forms of exercise can actively develop bad
posture.
They often cause serious fatigue and adverse wear and tear on the body.
The tension in the body uses energy and tires you out.
Local limb action is typically favoured rather
than whole-body movement.
Common exercise methods
Most exercise methods have pros and cons when it comes to sabotaging
tai chi practice.
A number of systems have no bearing on your
internal development whilst others
will ruin it.
Potential risks:
Cycling with a drop handle/racing bike
- neck tension
- stooping
- muscular tension throughout the entire body
Running
- elbows are stiff and locked (often raised)
- the body is leaning forwards or stooping; either at the neck or collapsing
at the bottom of the rib cage
- shoulders are lifted; often one higher than the other
- considerable tension in the upper body
- frozen sacroiliac; immobile
- knees twisted (the foot flicks out sideways)
- weight is bearing heavily down into the knees
- the skeleton is not moving freely,
naturally or comfortably
- exceeds 70% rule
Gym machines
- can you use them without muscle tension and bad habits of disconnection?
- interferes with natural, healthy
skeletal use
Cardio
- whilst good in principle, cardio work may unduly stress the joints
- cardio that is not tailored for tai chi encourages habits of body use
that have no bearing on tai chi or the syllabus
- typically very poor form
- usually exceeds 70% rule
Circuit training
- squat thrusts, jumping jacks etc add nothing to your tai chi and from
our point of view are a waste of time and effort
- akin to the Japanese martial arts warm-up
- typically very poor form
- exceeds 70% rule
Weight training
- doing weight training inevitably ruins your tai chi because
it is not geared specifically towards the tai chi approach taught in our
syllabus
- we strongly advise against doing weights without consultation with Sifu
Waller beforehand
- usually exceeds 70% rule
Body building
- can you do it without muscle tension?
- exceeds 70% rule
Yoga
- extended limbs
- no play in the joints
- physically awkward postures
- exertive
- exaggerated stances
- usually exceeds 70% rule
Pilates
- neck tension
- extended limbs
- tight stomach muscles
- no play in the joints
- no spiritual component
Other martial arts
- if you
train another martial art you will make no progress with tai chi
Zumba
- total lack of controlled, careful
body use
Fell walking
- fine in moderation
- a heavy rucksack can cause strain on the knee joints and neck tension
Swimming
- shoulder tension
- exertive
- neck problems
Boot camp
- military style warm ups and training methods are wildly incongruent with
the internal
- exceeds 70% rule
Shortcuts
Martial arts training, meditation, spirituality
and cognitive development all require a
great deal of work.
Over a lengthy period of time.
Often the student is wanting a quick fix.
Lacking the tenacity to sustain on-going
daily practice, the student is hoping for an
easier route.
Vote of no
confidence?
In Asia it is considered a serious insult
to your instructor if you seek to learn the same
skills/methods from somebody else.
For example: if your teacher offers qigong
and you attend another teacher's qigong class this is not good
etiquette.
By looking for tuition elsewhere, the student is showing their impatience
and a lack of faith in the teacher.
What do you know?
Sifu Waller has been training since
1975.
He has chosen the exercises in our syllabus
very carefully and methodically.
Possessing no understanding of the
curriculum or the art, by what
criteria is the student second-guessing
the instructor by incorporating exercises/methods from elsewhere?
How can you be sure you are not undermining/sabotaging
your tai chi?
How much time do you have?
Sifu Waller has detailed a daily training
program necessary for this martial art. If you're training elsewhere, the chances are that
you're not doing our training fully
and completely.
No one can serve two masters;
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one
and despise the other.
(Matthew)
Chasing 2 hares at once
You can't get good at our tai chi by doing other
people's material.
Inevitably, the student flounders in class
over the long run and fails to invest
sufficiently in our syllabus to truly reap the benefits.
How can you expect to steal your teacher's
art if you're training with someone else?
Half-heartedness
Sifu Waller and Rachel gained tai chi skill by doing the forms, drills
and exercises featured in our syllabus.
They followed the required order of training.
If you practice material acquired from elsewhere, how can you
conceivably hope to develop the same skills? You can't.
Does this mean that you can't train elsewhere?
You can do what
you like.
We just don't want to hear about it.
And if it sabotages your progress in our school, remember that's your
problem, not ours.
Worth reading
•
A method
•
Understanding the training
•
Cross-training
•
Cross-training martial arts
•
Syllabus
•
Tai chi is not sport
•
Tai chi as a supplement
Page created
18 July 1995
Last updated
26 August 1998
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