Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

There are several movements in the form where there are initial hand movements without much external movement of the torso, e.g., Turn the Body to Sweep the Lotus, the Brush Left Knee and Twist Step that follows Turn the Body and Kick with Left Foot, the Repulse Monkey that follows Golden Rooster Stands Alone. I am uncertain how, if at all, to connect my waist to these initial movements.

With the latter two movements, I could introduce a noticeable twist in the waist to the rear, but it does not seem to me that the Yangs perform the postures in this way. Am I missing something? In Turn the Body and Sweep the Lotus, I have been sinking my body further to "justify" straightening the left arm and folding the right arm in, but again, I do think I see such movement in the Yangs' performance. Any ideas?

My question in these movements is not how to perform the full postures, but rather how involve the waist in moving my hands out of the previous movement and into position to begin the following movement. Any suggestions?

Audi

Hi Audi,

I have been playing with a mental image while doing the form (described on this board at http://www.yangfamilytaichi.com/ubb/For ... 00019.html I find that when I imagine the turning ball in my dantian area, it becomes closely related to my sense of intention. That is, when I intend to change my weighting, the "ball" changes its direction of rotation before I even begin to move. ( I apologize, but this could only possibly make any sense if you read my other post first.)

Is it possible that this is a "leading of the waist" that might relate to your concern about connecting the waist when there is little external torso movement? Does it boil down to a matter of intention?

Larry

[This message has been edited by LarryC (edited 05-02-2001).]

Hi Larry,

Thanks for the suggestion. I did read your other post, but have not yet had a chance to comment. I found your approach interesting from several perspectives, but I do not think it solves my problem.

My current approach to T'ai Chi is from external to internal, so that I do not practice anything internally that I cannot feel physically. I have found that when I attempt to proceed from internal to external, I often cannot make my visualization practical or effective. I have also found with this approach that what I think I am doing externally is actually woefully insufficient. I also find that I end up improperly training my intention (or "yi") and so do not have the proper feel for the power, shape, and limits of the technique.

A non-T'ai Chi example would be a golf slice. To correct a consistent 30-degree slice to the left, one could aim 30 degrees to the right. Ultimately, though, one's golf stroke would not improve, because such a strategy would mean never getting the proper feel for how different wrist angles affect the flight of the ball.

Your visualization might help for waist turns I already understand, but unfortunately does not help me create something where I have no physical understanding. Thanks for the suggestion, however.

By the way, is the change in mental ball spin, the only "waist movement" you make in the posture transitions I mentioned?

Respectfully,
Audi