First Year Training Reflections: Yang Tai Chi

[drewtoby]

Hello MT,

I've been off and on here throughout the years and thought this post would help some folks interested in Tai Chi. I included some of my reflections after training for nearly a year. I'll also come back to this as I continue to learn and grow in the art of "supreme ultimate boxing" - I am very much still a beginner

Preface: Tai Chi really is an art for those with patience and dedication. I spent a few months getting moved around in push hands and learning the long form movements before I felt like I was in any kind of "groove," even with daily at-home practice and study on non-class days. I am in a learning groove now, meaning I am starting to understand some of what I am growing into.

Training:

• Class Routine:
  • Warm Ups
  • Forms
  • Push Hands (Drills, Fixed Step, Moving Step)
• Home Routine:
  • Form Practice
  • Qi Gong
  • Core and Balance Exercises
  • Solo Drills
  • Stretching
  • Reading

Positives:

• Tension - It is truly amazing how much physical tension a person can carry and not recognize. Personally, training has helped me get better at recognizing tension and letting it go.
• Balance - I have noticed an improvement in my balance from practicing both the form, push hands, and zhan zhuang/qigong. I hope I will start to feel some preliminary ability to rotate my Dan Tien (center of gravity) and shifting my weight without muscular movement soon to further build upon this.
• Breathing - Ties into balance and tension. A book I read, I believe it was Tai Chi for Dummies, mentioned the west is a shallow-breathing society. Qigong has helped me learn to breath deeper, although I still have very much to learn, especially regarding controlling my breath internally.
• Conditioning - Training does involve conditioning, especially related to being able to hold stances while relaxed. Depending on who you talk to, this means conditioning muscles, tendons, and/or fascia.
• Sensitivity - I am sometimes (rarely) able to feel where a training partner is tense during push hands and subsequently respond to that information. I am really looking forward to growing here.

Some Things to be Aware of:

• Tai Chi feels like one of the most divided martial arts in the west. Even within the same style, there is almost no universal understanding beyond basic methodology and terminology.
  • Purpose - Some believe it is only for health, others believe it is health and martial.
  • Qi - This seems like one of the art's most controversial points, but is almost always tied to breathing.
  • Push Hands - Some practitioners hate moving step, others want to expand the rules to be more like Chinese jacket wrestling.
  • Yin/Yang Balance - Some practitioners are more Yin or relaxed, others more Yang and active.
  • Forms - There are many, many varieties of forms out there with different approaches to/understanding of many of the same techniques. What is taught in one school will differ from what is taught in the next school.
• Smaller talent pool, especially when training for martial purpose.
  • Tai Chi, an art with an obscure image (see above), appears to have a hard time attracting younger practitioners, especially those looking for quick results.
  • There are still very talented individuals in the pool willing to teach and practice.
  • Don't be surprised by smaller class sizes, which you may or may not consider a positive.
• Break falls are not trained but really should be for those pursuing push hands.

I hope that this is helpful for someone. As with any martial art, what you put in is what you get out and my experiences may differ from yours!