Martial routine | ||
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Martial art
Start with the fitness routine.
If you can handle that, you have the physical
foundation upon which to build your
martial skills.
Unless you can perform the qigong and
tai chi for health material with ease, you
are not yet fit enough for
tai chi.
A martial athlete?
Combat is not easy and there is a risk of injury if the student is unfit.
This is true of any martial art. To reach a high level of skill, the student
needs to take a lesson from sport.
They must become a lot fitter, but not necessarily a martial
athlete.
How much should you do?
The key thing is to practice what you have been
taught.
Practice often enough to remember the art.
Train frequently enough to progress at the
speed you want, relative to your own individual ambitions and
expectations.
Little & often
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.
Pain
Sore muscles are fine but aching
joints are not.
If you experience any lasting discomfort, see your instructor immediately.
Invest in form
Students normally underestimate the significance of
form.
Bad form = bad tai chi. It is that simple.
Your form reflects and determines how you
move, how you use your body.
Invest as much time as
you can in form practice. The better your form, the easier all aspects
of the tai chi will be to pull off.
Beginners routine
About 30
minutes a day. Full
circle qigong (30 mins) should be performed weekly.
Coloured belt routine
The next level of training involves a lot of applications, along with
martial drills.
These need to be practiced frequently.
Significant progress with form is also required.
Black belt
routine
If you make it past the
foundation level, you will
need an established home training routine in order to maintain and improve
your standard of fitness.
Being in condition is a must.
Neglecting your fitness means injury.
The routine must include
everything you have previously studied, plus everything
new... It may take 2 hours to perform...
Instructors
An instructor's routine exceeds anything shown above.
The
Tao Te Ching
teaches: master self before attempting to master others.
As an instructor, if your own
training is lax, you are not doing the
art (or
yourself) justice.
You owe it to your students to set the example.
Your skills cannot ever be mediocre
or unrefined.
Page created 2 March 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023