When doing the Tai Chi kata, it is very important to differentiate the substantial and the in-substantial clearly (虚实分明).
When moving (shifting weight) from leg to leg, there should be no change in height and minimum shifting of body forward or backward. The secret to this is to sink into the back leg and relax the hip-joint. This will automatically shift the weight to the front leg, without any shift in height.
When shifting backward, besides sinking the back leg, you have to imagine the back knee moving forward, which then allows for the front leg to retract back and straighten.
What I try to imagine is that the "weight" is shift at (or below) ground level to feet to feet. You should not shift the weight at upper body level as your chi will be floated up and you are not so rooted.
All these small and precise movement is to ensure that the force/chi is direct to where you want them to go without losing too much in the process of reaching there.
A scrapbook to note down the points of my Taiji practice. The pointers below are what I understand at that point in time, and the understanding may changes over time. Please feel free to share you comments with me.
No comments:
Post a Comment