AnonymousAnonymous wrote:
I am registered for a Tai Chi class for Spring term at my school.
Do you have to wear special clothing for Tai Chi?
Howdy! No, you don't need special clothes to do Tai Chi. Wear whatever is comfortable. In fact, when you have privacy, it is encouraged that you do it naked... but a good pair of shoes helps a lot.
Disclosure up front: I am a Taoist. Or at least I try to be. Some of the time.
I have been practicing traditional Yang-style Tai Chi for nearly the last 2 years. Tai Chi benefited me most in increased balance, decreased stress, confidence, health, and as a cool conversation starter.
When I say it improved my health I mean that I have a genetic disorder which can cause, amongst other things, internal hemorrhaging and chronic pain. The treatment for this is immunosuppressants. This resulted in me having, amongst a host of other illnesses, a sinus infection that lasted nearly a full year. I stopped taking the maintenance drugs and now rely fully on Tai Chi. It has shown consistently superior results, both in general health and keeping my chronic disease in remission.
It can be extremely beneficial. But I do not practice the same type of Tai Chi that you will be learning in that class, and I believe my style to be superior. I am not saying what I do is perfect, what is important is you find something that works for you, but the style that is typically taught in such classes lacks elements that I believe have made my experience with Yang style such a positive one.
I am going to go more in depth about Yang style here because my praise for Tai Chi is dependent upon my experiences. You may find some of this information completely irrelevant to you, but I would like to point out that I hand no real concept of what Tai Chi was, or what it could do for me, before I started to learn it.
The absolute first thing I learned about Tai Chi was this: the first movement is enough to last you a lifetime.
I learn in a much different (more traditional) manner then you will be taught. In a class you are presumably taught something new every week (or more), regardless of your progress in the form so far (I have never been taken a Tai Chi class). You are taught with a large group of other people. I see my teacher every day, and I have gone months between being taught a new movement. I am usually taught in private, though sometimes he teaches me and his other student at the same time, since we are near each other in the form. He only takes on students he has known for a year, and even though I have been learning for nearly 2 years, I do not qualify as a student yet by some criteria.
Yang style is the style from which all others are derived. Here is a video unintentionally showcasing some of the common pitfalls of being taught in a class:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/381695/ch ... chi_chuan/
Notice that at ~0:14 in the video he rotates his left foot towards the camera before turning his body towards the camera (while holding the chi ball).
During that same movement I instead move all of my weight to my right foot, lift my left leg up in front of me so that my thigh is parallel to the ground and everything below the knee is allowed to dangle, open my left leg open 90 degrees while keeping my thigh parallel with the ground, then, as I turn my torso forward (towards the camera) I reach with my left leg even further left, move all of my weight onto my left foot, turn my right foot, and then recenter my mass before continuing.
This is a pretty significant change because this movement, into Ward Off Left, was what taught me the balance that was so critical. A recent study (I found the article at physorg.com) shows that increased balance and decreased stress cause one another. His execution trivializes that portion of it, though. Basically everything that was difficult for me to learn to do (and thus, bettered me when I had) has been altered so that it is similarly trivial.
He also moves very fast (and like a marionette). He does in 45 seconds what takes me 5 minutes to practice (and 2 years to learn!), and it is obvious by looking at him that he is ignorant of the martial applications of most of it. For example, about 0:40 seconds he trivializes a turn to the right before continuing on with a set of movements that is known as Single Whip. This turn in particular is important because it teaches you how to redirect powerful blows so that you are not injured by them. Understanding aspects like this is key to doing well in Push Hands, a martial sparring game that is related to Tai Chi.
Oh, yeah, I forgot to state it explicitly: Tai Chi is the supreme martial art, but it destroys the desire to fight.
This brings me to one other topic I would like to discuss: the philosophical side of Tai Chi. It is, in effect, a physical practice of the tenets of Taoism (each stance in Tai Chi is a meditative pose, and meant to improve your cultivate and heal your body). Taoism is based on some simple, fundamental concepts that many people find difficult to understand - particularly the concept of a self-validating contradiction. Without these concepts, Tai Chi is without purpose.
Ive spent too long writing this, and used too many words. Ill go now, but I will tell you that noone can tell you the outcome of something until you've tried it. Just be aware that what you learn in a class is not all of Tai Chi. Even if you complete every movement in every form in every style, that is not Tai Chi.
Feel free to ask me any questions you might have.
Here is another video, this one of Master Cheng Man Ching: (you'll want to turn the sound off for it)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgwm4I63 ... annel_page
And here is a humorous Tai Chi video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W1ym3yg ... annel_page
09 Mar 2009, 3:24 pm
