Just found some fellow winter practitioners! In fact, that is just one of a series called Tai Chi Through the Seasons. And these gents really get out there in the weather, doing the Yang-style 108 movement long form. That is the blizzard episode, filmed up in Bangor, Maine. The narration is some of the best … Read more
In the introductory video I mentioned that the imagination plays a big part in the tai chi chuan form. Today a relatively new student, but with experience in a different martial art, asked if we tense up muscles during the form, other of course than the leg muscles supporting our weight. I had never considered … Read more
Quite a wild sequence today, with the whole class dedicated to sorting out Step Up, Deflect, Intercept, and Punch, then spontaneously deciding to make the closing round our first ever exploration of a newer idea from Master Chen: the Four Butts. Yes, the Four Butts. Master Chen loves to have fun, part of why he … Read more
Perhaps this comes as no surprise to most of you, but my budding little tai chi group includes not one but three ballerinas! One of them, the most experienced (decades!) is also a modern dancer (decades!) and she is having fun but really struggling with the form. ChatGPT offers: That said, the big challenge is … Read more
Got to play solo today with the rain and onshore wind discouraging our stalwarts. Worked on balance, so much harder outside the kitchen. Balance in Golden Pheasant Stands On Left Leg During our last practice, I was reminded that the human head is quite heavy, ten or twelve pounds. Same as a small to medium … Read more