I am very grateful to my teacher for his work in making this video. Over the years of practice and training students, I have discovered a few other methods and observations that can be used for the training. Classical Tai Chi's introductory walk is done with the knees slightly bent and remaining so. When practicing the first lesson of Classical Tai Chi Walk, one should look at stretching the neck. Students should also check that they are not watching the ground to see if their feet are correct. Check the position of the feet in one of the exercise methods outlined below, wherein the student will stand in one spot. The position of the legs can also be checked in this “one spot” method, thus making sure that the thighs line up when the student sits back or the knee does not go over the front toe when the student leans to the front. As the student progresses, they should find they are automatically stretching their heads up and looking forward. This is an integral part of the “lean” forward posture where, unless checked, a student will watch their feet. When one “sits” back, the body should be vertical and perpendicular to the floor
As training progresses, the student will keep the body weight back when they are dropping the foot. It is a sign of a perpetual beginner to have the body weight lurch when the foot takes a step. The foot pushes down until it is completely flat on the ground, then used to pull the body forward or back. Until the foot plants firmly, the body does not move, so the body moves from one weight shift to another. One wants to learn to recognize, then end, any rocking action with either lead foot as the weight shifts. I show this “rocking” in my class by students pulling me by the arm AS my lead foot is being planted, then pulling me AFTER my lead foot is planted. This also holds for stepping backward and planting the foot by touching the heel to the floor first. Eliminate the rocking action that occurs when stepping onto the ball of the foot. I will also have them do the same comparative movement. They readily see the instability of rocking the foot as one shifts the weight vs. “planting” the foot.
Students who do the introductory walk for a while will not stand up when they lift their legs to take a step. By “standing up,” I mean that the weight-bearing leg does not flex and straighten itself. This flexion will result in the student bobbing up and down as they walk. Or what might be called a kind of duck walking. To do the walk correctly, the bend of the standing knee will not change as you lift the other leg, whether moving forward or backward. I have my students lightly touch a wall as they move, so lightly that the fingers gently slide as they walk. I tell them that if they are aware enough, they will feel the hand move up and down if the “standing” leg is bobbing up and down as they walk. Another technique I recommend is to put a piece of tape on a mirror at the level of one’s head as one stands with one's knees bent. Students watch the top of their heads as they walk toward it. Do not bob up and down, and keep looking forward while not watching the ground. The top of the head should not rise above the tape as the student moves.
Another use for a wall, post, kitchen counter, etc., isolates the walking practice into a few basic walking steps. The first advantage of this method is that one does not have to worry about balance. In the beginning, students will inevitably be overly concerned with balance and unable to concentrate on the natural movement. Withholding on to the wall or post, at least the balance problem takes care of itself so one can give full attention to the actual practice and training of movement. In the first step, planting the foot while holding the pole will make the body less likely to lurch forward.
Additionally, the student can check their posture in either lean or sit-back positions because they can take an extended pause without concern for maintaining balance. Is the rear end tucked in, is the neck stretched up, is there a continuous stretch from the top of the head to the bottom of the heel, etc.? In this one position, one should slowly and deliberately shift the weight from front to back while pausing to self-check each posture.
Another method for these exercises is to do numerous continuous walking steps while sliding the hand along a wall. This method is slightly different from my teachers, which, as I iterated, involves holding support without moving the hand. I teach students to practice various exercises while using both methods. The “holding” onto support is very useful for lessons that involve training core movement to move the body. Students doing this can do many repetitions where they can contract the lower abdomen or tan tien area to move the body either front or back and shift the weight by pulling. Eventually, one learns to feel the contractions of the abdomen engage the lower back, buttocks, legs, feet, etc. I tell students who struggle with feeling the contractions to engage with other muscle groups to “pull” with the legs. Or, as Mike Fittipaldi, a teacher, put it, to “pull with the knee.” That is how I started, as I gradually began to learn not only to contract the abdominal muscles but also to learn where they contract, how they feel, and how to engage the other parts of the body.
Another method I use for “core contraction” training is having students simply sit in a straight-back chair with one foot slightly in front of the other. I then tell the student to contract the lower abdomen muscles while leaning the upper body slightly forward. From the “lean” position, I then tell students to contact the lower abdomen while pulling the body back to a straight and perpendicular sitting position. Like the “holding” onto support while one stands, this sitting in a chair method can generate many, many repetitions to train such core contractions and body movement. The student thinks and feels what sensations are happening and looks for such things as engagement with the feet to coincide with the pulling action. One can also gradually learn to detect engaged muscle groups such as the back, buttocks, etc.
Another component or method for training the walking is to hold the support, take a couple of steps forward or backward, and pause at each juncture. At each “pause,” it is essential to check the head is stretched up and stretched from the top of the head to the bottom of the heel. However, an additional check is made on how well the rear end is “tucked” in with both the forward lean and sit-back postures. For the forward lean, one still has to try and tuck in the buttocks. For the sit-back posture, one must tuck in the buttocks. In the lean, of course, one will not fully tuck under the buttocks as much as one can when sitting back. I frequently point out to beginners how important the tuck is. To illustrate this, I have them move to touching a wall with the backs of their body. With their legs straight and not bent, they see they can run their hand through the curve in their lower back between the back and wall. Then, I have them bend the knees and tuck in the behind while feeling the same lower back area. With their back to the walls, I can also have them practice the “one step” method of shifting the body repeatedly. When they pull back, I urge them to see which part of the back will touch the wall first. If the shoulders or even the head touches the wall first, the apparent correction is to tuck in the buttocks fully. The lower back near the sacrum should touch the wall with no other portion of the back in contact. These types of additional practices, besides breaking down the various components of walking, thus enable students to practice the most difficult portions of the walking.
