Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

There seems to be a certain amount of instability in the Chinese and English posture names in the hand form and the other forms as well). Much of this is understandable. As elegant as the hand form may be, its utilitarian purposes probably make change in the nomenclature inevitable. Nevertheless, ch...

David, Interesting insight about the direction of the spins. I had never heard or thought of this, but it seems to make biomechanical sense. Putting it crudely, the weight of the swinging leg tends to shift the balance in the spinning foot onto the ball going forward or onto the heeling heading back...

Michael, Thanks for your reply. I have heard that what I do is actually advocated as an expression of silk reeling energy and "rotating the dan tian." I can see how it might be helpful, but am leery about mixing and matching practices without knowing what I am doing. Hence, I posted my que...

Hi Horatio and Nik, For some reason, I had missed your earlier posts, but thought I would post a belated reply. I agree with and appreciate the points Horation raised. I wish I had seen them many years ago, but I do not think I would have understood their importance for me. What I find valuable in t...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Michael: <B>Audi, this may be just be a function of how MY body is built. Watch the left hands movement when stepping out with the toe, ...

Is there any general consensus on how to do traditional forms in cramped spaces? Should you delete postures? Add postures? Shorten your steps? Forget the whole thing and do standing postures or qi gong? What about in class, when you realize you are one strike away from having one less push hands par...

David, Thanks for the link. The history was very good and stated a lot of things more cogently than I have heard expressed elsewhere. I also like the discussion of the eight energies and T'ai Chi combat theory. The description of squeeze/press energy was new to me. Talking about sticking, adhering, ...

When we straighten the leg to stand up for a kick, should any of the momentum be used in the energy of the kick? When I have seen instructors perform kicks quickly, it seems as if the kick rises from the ground. However, when the form is performed slowly, it looks as if the kick is not initiated unt...

Should the hips remain relatively level throughout the form? I have noticed that as I have tried to lengthen my steps, I have developed a habit of spiraling my hips to increase my forward reach.

Audi

Hi Bob, Being without a regular teacher can be frustrating. It can be hard to tell if what one is doing or feeling is right, wrong, essential, or irrelevant. Even if one can distinguish between these, it can be hard to figure out which external practice should match up with which internal ones, sinc...

Hi everyone, For those who perform Empty Stances without significant weight on the front weight, how do you perform Needle at Sea Bottom? Can you still lift your front foot without shifting your weight? Does this posture feel natural? I confess that I performed this posture in this fashion for a lon...

Hi Charla, Michael, and Michael, I agree with Michael's description of the mechanics. One small refinement I might add is that as you settle backwards into Play the Guitar, I think the right hand describes half of a vertical circle, pulling backwards, then downward, and then pushing slightly forward...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Mike: <B> Of course I subscribe to his 10 principles... they are part of Taiji, no matter what style. As Yang Cheng Fu noted, "ther...

Hi Steve, Thanks for your response. Let me add to my question about leaning in push hands. It seems some practioners advocate leaning forward or backward in order not to offer "resistance" in certain positions. I have always found this somewhat strange in view of what the classics say abou...

Can anyone describe applications for the Big Dipper and Lifting up the Curtain postures in the sword form? Also, any ideas about the backwards sword flourish (liao?) that begins the Big Dipper, Pushing the Canoe with the Current, Right Cartwheel, Tiger Sways his Tail, and perhaps other postures? Audi