Tai Chi and the link to balance

IIt was inevitable that recent Tai Chi studies of folks with good or improving balance would show a positive link between physical balance and dementia. Those with the best balance and walking abilities at the start of recent studies were three times less likely to have developed dementia as those with lower physical abilities. It's not a big leap in thinking and reasoning that with some faithful practice, the Classical Tai Chi with it's "small frame" tilted postures can probably even dramatically improve your balance within months or even weeks. Be sure to not use large steps but include Classical Tai Chi "walking" with its abbreviated size steps to maintain and improve balance in your daily routine, especially after the age of 60. Give a try with eyes closed to balancing on one foot or stand up and sit down without using your hands. Adults of all ages should make it a goal to try frequently standing on one foot, for at least 30 seconds. With eyes closed and using just the very tip of one finger to touch the wall while one footing will also keep a good structure and not affect the process.

Liked on YouTube: Classical Tai Chi Forum 16 -silk reeling

Classical Tai Chi Forum 16 -silk reeling
To learn more visit our Online School: https://ift.tt/2OfwbtJ Practice routine and silk reeling exercise to train how to move the arm and the core as a unit. Recorded in Master Stephen Hwa tai chi class. https://ift.tt/1JtLXfG In Chinese: https://ift.tt/1Kyh2cJ Online School: https://ift.tt/2OfwbtJ First Online Video Tai Chi Class: https://ift.tt/2A8C8Wt
via YouTube https://youtu.be/2Uo9lQ6azVA

Liked on YouTube: Direction is the first thing to learn

Direction is the first thing to learn
To learn Tai Chi "Form", you must first learn where to step and what direction those steps must take. It is pointless to concern yourself with the hands and arms if you do not know the direction to take.
via YouTube https://youtu.be/kDjUahG3wLs

Classical Tai Chi is implicit "Mindfulness" of the direction

from Instagram

First concern is which direction

                 (video link)

It is pretty easy for most people to watch a movie and be "mindful" not being distracted at all...it is pretty stimulating.   For most beginners in Tai Chi however there is little stimulation, one might say mind/body sensation to be had when learning "does this arm go here, does that leg go there" etc. So one might say Mindfulness in Tai Chi at least for beginners is upstaging distraction with even lower stimulation, not higher...this is quite a task. Classical Tai Chi takes a different tact, it gets you going in the right direction first thing. Of course, this does take practice at home after class unlike the many forms of exercise where one can go to class then come home to days of no exercise.  Classical Tai Chi is also not a panacea for not being mindful, it requires daily maintenance.   So for most beginners in Tai Chi mindfulness is a practice for training your mind to focus more on what stimulates less and then move on to learning hand position, timing then internal discipline.  Notice I used the keyword "focus".  

Lots of Tai Chi instruction coupled with "mindfulness" asks that you be "aware", "be present", " know what all of your body is doing, etc. but this is all pretty difficult for beginners. Classical Tai Chi, on the other hand, assumes if you don't know which direction to be aware or present in it matters little how you are moving the arms and legs.  If you are lost in a giant forest and do not know which way to walk you could probably wave the arms for a long time and literally not get anywhere. Waving arms with no "internal movement" from the core is called "external" Tai Chi. 

In Classical Tai Chi  the ultimate goal is to learn "internal discipline" and every move inward directs every move outward.  Arm and leg movement without an inward movement is called "external" Tai Chi not "internal".  First things first however, moving in the right direction,not only teaches direction but also teaches the "internal discipline" of the lower body...how to move the legs from an internal movement of the core muscles.

Square form is analogous to printing

Learning kǎishū or regular script ("printing") then cǎoshū cursive script ("writing") is analogous to learn Square Form with its stops and pauses then learning Round Form with continuous internal motion. Every movement in square form has a clear-cut moving part of the body and a stationary part of the body. Normally we call them the yin and yang pair of the body Yin is the stationary and yang is the moving part of the body. The junction of the Yin and Yang is where the power of the movement is generated. When the junction is in the Torso of the body the power of the movement is generated by the Torso of the body. You can refer to this as internal power or internal energy. The movement is an internal movement that is what we try to learn from practicing the Tai Chi form...how to make “internal movement”. The difficulty comes in learning to set the stationary part of the body precisely. Any smearing or vagueness in the stationary part of the body will result in inefficient power generation. This inefficient power generation will occur at the joint or at the junction. This is an indication that the practitioner does not have sufficient control or efficient control of the body. The movement will look precise and robotic. It is also important in learning the square form to learn how to set the correct body posture or body structure during movement. People want to practice the Forum day in and day out for years this could result in injury if the body structure or postures are not correct. Square form is a great template for learning round form every movement has a clear starting point and a clear endpoint. This is similar to the way we all might have learned to write first we learned to print and then we learned to do the cursive script without stopping our movement. Learning to print as you remember goes from point to point in making the letters clear and precise.This learning of using a square form carries over from one generation to the next so that learning the form practicing the form maintains its Integrity and precision over the years.

Stretch out opponents arm gently then...fajing!

Stretch out opponents arm gently then...fajing (video)

In push hands exercise, the sitback and lean forward pair of movements alternate repetitively representing offensive and defensive moves. So, both are extremely important moves in the Tai Chi form.  During application, when an opponent attacks, stick to them, stretch the opponent forward by sitting back, thus draining off some of their forward force, and turn the body to ward off to destabilize them.  Here Master Hwa works with someone who is just beginning Tai Chi and most people will be unstable as well.  The Tai Chi form is really where you can gain skill in the push hand essentials of "sitback" and "lean forward".  After much practice in the form one should feel comfortable and agile moving in and out of these positions.  At this point one is really ready to do push hands.  In addition both the sitback and forward lean contribute to the up and down flow of internal energy and the qi in the body.  Therefore they are important components in the internal energy and qi circulation during the playing of the Tai Chi form.