Young kids and Tai Chi

Junior practices karate and some Tai Chi. He has a lot of energy and a good eye to copy. Obviously he does prefer the flashy jumps and kicks of Chen style. On the outer appearance, it is much more similar to external arts than to what the general public erroneously perceives as Tai Chi. The rest of the class is practising posture and weight shifting. Not as easy as meets the eye.

Chen style for the health-compromised

There are many methods of teaching Tai CHi. Traditionally there are many teaching methods and these are very black and white. Just to mention how to memorize a form: My teachers have been traditionally taught how to observe their teacher, give up themselves and follow. It is by no means just monkey sees monkey does. After following my teacher for some time, I experienced somethng in my body had changed. Apart from the movements I also felt that I started to feel without seeing. My awareness increased, I sensed mistakes and could correct them nearly instantly. I sensed my center of gravity, whether the body is balanced or not, how rooted or uprooted I am, what application the movement is all about........I was able to listen into my own body.

When a newcomer comes to the class, h/she is urged to follow the group and do the form, right or wrong. The teacher emphasized that one does not see oneself. If we focus too much on what is wrong, it will result in unnecessary tension. The newcomer can copy the movements as well as s/he can; the more advanced will get different information for their level. Subconsciously the beginner will imbibe the advanced information as well. After the plenary session with the group, the large group is split up into smaller groups. The beginners or those who do not practise will always be taught a new movement without slowing down the more advanced.

A person with limitation and critical medical conditions is very often unable to lead a normal life. These people may need a special class and attention. It depends on the sensitivity of the teacher how much this group of students is prepared to learn the form or just to enjoy social interaction and some exercise.

Chen style is the oldest style and the origin of all other styles. Most Chen style forms are athletic, characterized by low stances, jumps, stomps, obvious martial movements, fast and slow intermixed. However, the main characteristic for Chen style is not the above mentioned outer appearance but sophisticated spiral force or reeling silk.

The reeling silk qi gong and short forms are an excellent way for the less athletic practitioner to obtain the very high health benefits. The muscles and tendons are stretched well by the joint rotation caused by spiral movements. Apart from this, the inner organs like the heart or intestines receive a gentle massage through the twisting and uncoiling movements. The body is squeezed like a sponge which results in better lymph drainage.

A good teacher who has a certain sensitivity for the students will be able to teach the students with physical limitations. It is important that the teacher works in cooperation with doctors and physical therapists. A medical training would be ideal but it is not really necessary.

Chen style 56 competition forms

The 56 competition forms is composed based on the movements of the first and second routine of the New Frame. The purpose is the opportunity for the judges to judge the correctness of the movements. This was the first Chen style form that I have learnt which inspired me to pursue my studies of traditional Chen style with the Chen family

Female Tractor and Pink Barbie

As my teacher assigned my new partner to me, I thought:" Wow.....is this a woman?" She was barely taller than me, but my Xray eyes scrutinized through her body and I saw heavy bone and muscle mass. At the very moment I gave her the name"Female Tractor" in my mind. For privacy reasons I will not mention which country she comes from because I have been sparring with many tractor type females in many countries.

Female Tractor(FT) and myself started to push hands as relatively novice fighters. She was strong, it felt like a brute disco doorkeeper without any understanding of internal strength. I was not very experienced, neither with brute nor internal force. With my just 100 pounds I had to push against FT in lowest stance. This was the very moment as I thought that everything my teachers taught me was wrong because brute force was certainly better than no force.

"You have a good structure and posture and your body is athletic, your rooting good. You are relaxed enough to absorb somebody else's force." said my teacher. "Ah well, just words." I thought. But I tried to follow his advice and apply what I could remember of the principles. Indeed it was hard for anybody to push me because of my relaxation, body-mind coherence and rooting. My listening skills, however, especially combining it with internal strength was simply not developed enough. Everything I could express through the solo form was forgotten as soon as I came into contact with real resistance from a stronger person.

FT and me had long sessions of pushing hands. I watched her practicing long hours of the solo form, slowly and patiently. Her form visibly became softer and I could feel more softness and patience in her pushing. At the same time my muscle force improved through pushing hands and weapons training. It was not until yesterday that for the first time I could push her off her feet with uprooting techniques. Yet I noticed a soft internal force coming from her body which felt stronger and absorbed part of my own force. I have been practicing for a few years since the first time I pushed with FT and apparently my internal force(jin) improved along with my muscle strength.Chen style forms are very effective when it comes to natural muscle development, as opposed to forced weight training.

The experience is invaluable: Various types of people cultivate their internal strength by taking a completely different path. Sometimes it starts out with more native muscle force like FT. On the other hand it does not occur very seldom that a person like myself who is a figure skater to start out with body flexibility and mental support. Eventually it will develop into the more jin force as well as outer muscle strength. FT and me have become good sports mates and we still laugh when we think back of the first time we pushed together......

Should a teacher correct too much?

A modern teacher in the West usually adjust somebody's posture at will. A traditional teacher, however, gives very little corrections. What my teacher did to me was: He modelled my body like clay and I instantly felt that it was the right posture. Sometimes it can be somewhat painful, especially when it is a low posture.

I remember when my "dragon on the ground" Chen style was corrected, I felt some discomfort but my whole strength was in the lower body and there was a clear difference between heavy and light leg.

My teacher would look at me and test my posture. For Jin Kang Dao Dui(Buddha's Warrior Pounding Mortar) he said I would stamp too hard with downward force. "This is a kick to the ground and you should use the leg as a lead to discharge power." he said. He let me perform a normal kick with downward force and of course it did not work

"Observe me and you will see the mistakes yourself. If you don't see them, it makes no sense for me to correct." I had to learn how to feel the mistakes and correct them myself, because my teacher is not with me all the time.

He shows several martial arts applications to let me feel myself why my movement is wrong. This way it will be engraved in my mind. It would not be the case when he corrected me verbally and at will, critical and patronizing..........