The whole body should be threaded together through every joint
without the slightest break.
(Chang
San-feng)
What is form?
Form is a way to practice and remember a whole variety of
principles
simultaneously.
Instead of training numerous individual exercises, they are codified into
one 15 minute sequence.
Beginners are sometimes confused about the
nature of form and
regard it as being some sort of
performance.
Why
form?
Training a whole
series of things in
one go is
very efficient.
Qigong,
neigong,
martial
applications,
stability and mobility
are exercised at the same time.
The form also represents the
way
in which the body is used in
self defence
application.
Clever?
Learning form
It can and should take years
to learn a form well.
Beyond the superficial level of choreography, there are
layers
of detail and substance that need to be added.
Every posture must be a whole-body movement and every nuance should be
applied martially.
In time, the sequence will feel
easy
and
natural.
Learning from form
The form contains an unbelievable amount of information that any diligent
student can access if they are patient enough and have
awareness.
For every posture and transition move, consider
balance,
stability and mobility.
Is your posture comfortable, natural yet
strong
(without tensing or resisting)?
Are your joints mobile?
Can you feel any
discomfort
or awkwardness?
Where are your
knees
aligned relative to the toes?
How
stable
is your balance?
Would it be possible to pick up one of your
feet
easily?
Do you feel relaxed?
The postures need to provide an elastic structural framework that is
optimally aligned for the transmission of
groundpath,
without any discomfort or physical tension.
Your body should not feel
strained
in any way at all; the
postures
should not be exaggerated.
If the form feels like hard work, you need to adjust how you are doing the
postures.
Self defence
Every
posture contains
power,
and the means to generate it - ask yourself what you need to do
internally to produce the desired effect.
Consider the unique body
movement
of the posture, the placement of the feet and hands - ask yourself the
function of that
shape.
What is the posture teaching you?
Why are you moving from one
direction
to another?
Where is the attacker placed?
Which attack are they using?
Will the posture work against
different
types of attack?
In
self defence
work, you must be rational, logical and
scientific.
Simplicity, positioning, alignment, strategy, pragmatism, smoothness and
ease need to be taken into account.
Anything convoluted or physically difficult will not occur naturally under
pressure.
Ease
Ease
is the key.
Your form may require concentration but it should not be uncomfortable for
your body.
If it is, there is something wrong.
Every movement should feel smooth and relaxed.
The slow-motion practice of
tai chi
form allows the
time
necessary to fine-tune your body usage so that every awkward element can be
addressed.
Lessons
We works with our students, offering corrections, tips and pointers.
Students are encouraged to learn from the form itself, to consider
why things are done a certain way and to analyse the possibilities.
The form is the means of journeying deeper into your tai chi, but this will
not occur if you blindly copy
and fail to consider the implications of every
nuance within the
sequence.
One form
We only teach one form.
A good form contains all that you need. The important thing is to peel away the layers.
It take beginners a few years to find the essence of the postures and really
employ them.
It might take a lifetime to appreciate the
genius of one form.
Practicing a number of tai chi
forms
simultaneously divides the
attention
and wastes precious time.
Page created 24 May 1998