Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

hello all,
my question is about the fact that i have 2 total hip replacements. causing my skeletal system to go from bone, to steel, to plastic, to steel, to bone, at the level of the hips. i am wondering if this could cause a blockage?

RAM,
I may be uniquely qualified to answer this question for you. Probably one of the only questions I've seen here that I can speak to with a great deal of confidence that my answer is correct. That confidence comes from eleven years of training with a Wu family Disciple who has had a total hip replacement on his right side.
Let me assure you, his skill level is very high.
Yes, he did have some troubles that he had to work through. He still does, I'm sure. However he can and does practice TCC every day. In fact, it's all he does.
He is a fully qualified, full time teaching Disciple at a Wu's Tai Chi Chuan Academy.
I cannot answer any questions on how exactly he generates chi or anything like that, or how he feels the chi gets "conducted" through his replacement hip, but I know he can toss me around like a rag doll and I haven't had any major surgeries or replacements of any kind. Since I was a teaching Senior Student who trained many Beginners and Intermediates in the same Academy, I am not exactly an easy person to toss about.
You will need to pay close attention to your instructor. Follow his or her advice at all times and please be careful to give those hips all the caution they deserve. But you can become a very skilled T'ai Chi Ch'uan practicioner, given time and much dedicated practice.
Good luck.

Hi RAM:

I can’t say that I have much expertise in Qi per se. My understanding is that it is a very vast subject, like talking to an M.D. about blood. In Taijiquan, I think that Qi is supposed to be mediated by the soft tissues in the body, i.e., tendons, ligaments, etc. Hip replacement surgery mainly removes bone and should have no effect on these tissues, assuming the surgery was uneventful.

As you may know, the bones in the body are indeed live tissue that does and should remodel over time, depending on diet, exercise, and general health. The metal, plastic, and bone cement (if any was used) cannot do this; however, the remaining bone should be largely unaffected. Good health requires a balance between keeping the musculature and bone strong and not causing premature wear to the plastic and bone cement that would loosen the placement of the prostheses.

You may also have heard about Qi “permeating the bones” or the “bone marrow.” Again, I do not think the surgery does much to the tissues that are said to be involved in this process, other than slightly reducing the available amount of bone and associated marrow.

I hope this helps.

Take care,
Audi