8 More Benefits of Practicing Tai Chi in Slow Speed

1. Gain Tranquility
“The Solid is the root of the light;
The Quiescent is the master of the Hasty."

These are the words of the Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu in the famous Tao Te Ching. Tai Chi also emphasizes slowing down to stay relaxed. When you practice Tai Chi at a slower speed, you will defeat haste and gain quiescence, or tranquility at rest.

2. Become More Relaxed
If you move too quickly through the sets, you don’t know if you are relaxed or not because you don’t stay in each movement long enough. It’s easier to achieve relaxation when you slow down your movements.

3. Improve Stretching
You can stretch better and really open your joints when you move slower.

4. Challenge Yourself
You are challenging yourself when you go through each movement slower. For example, it’s easier to do a quick kick, but it’s harder to raise a leg slowly into the air and then slowly put it down.

5. Exercise Longer
You will exercise longer when you move slower. When you do movements faster, it’s easier to get tired. For example, if you run fast, you will get tired more quickly. Jogging slower will allow you to keep going longer. Exercising longer also means you can build more strength and endurance. That’s why Tai Chi is especially good for the elderly.

6. Reduce the Chance of Injury
Beginners often complain about hurting their knees when they do Tai Chi. Usually this situation happens because they move their knees over their toes when they form a bow stance (which means they have the wrong stance). If you are moving too fast, it’s easier to let your knee move over too far. But if you move slowly, you will move more carefully, and will be able to notice and readjust your position so as not to hurt yourself.

7. Fully Accomplish Each Movement
When people move quickly, they often don’t pay attention to details and sometimes don’t even complete the move. When you do it slowly, it will help you complete each individual move rather than hurrying to go to the next move.

8. Better Understand Yin & Yang
When Tai Chi master Yang Yu Ting was teaching students Tai Chi, he required them to pay attention to their relaxation, softness, roundness, and speed, and asked them to do it slower. He thought that slow speed would help students better experience and understand the changes of yin and yang, often understood as empty and solid the complimentary energies that work together to create balance.


If you like this article, you might want check out:
8 Benefits of Practicing Tai Chi in Slow Speed

Copyright Huan's Tai Chi 2012

Essentials of the Roots in Tai Chi

Photo by Pulpolux

When people get older, they start to feel it in their legs. Suddenly, balance becomes a problem. When walking, they can't land each foot precisely in the right place. They may experience lack of strength to lift their legs up to certain height. Or they may not be able to put weight on one leg for very long. They may feel numbness and stiffness in their thighs and feet. They may feel as if their entire bodies are hanging in the clouds because the whole lower part of the body is weak.

Legs are the major supporting tools of your body. Tai Chi Master Wu Yi Xiang once said, "Tai Chi's root comes from the feet, and its origins from legs. It is controlled by the waist and spreads to the hands and fingers. From the feet to the legs and extending to the waist, the body should unite as one. … If there are problems, the origin can always be found in the legs or waist.”

It's possible to train your roots (legs and feet) to prevent many problems. Legs and feet play very important roles in the 8 joints and 9 sections to unite and relax your whole body. Tai Chi requires the 8 joints and 9 sections to relax as one. If you do your Tai Chi well, you will know how to walk like a cat. You will also know how to support your body with your legs to form a good structure. Your legs will become very strong after practicing Tai Chi many times. You can train your legs in the following four ways:

1. Zhan Zhuan: Post Standing
Post standing allow you to hold one gesture for a period of time in order to build strength and endurance for your legs.

2. Strength and Leg Control
Strength exercises will flex your legs and allow your legs to turn, move, and reach more positions. Leg control, like standing on one leg and moving your other leg in different angles, will help with leg balance in different positions.

3. Leg Lifting and Landing
When we talk about Tai Chi steps, we often mention moving your feet like a cat. We want you to remember 3 points: Lift lightly and land lightly. Lift slowly and land slowly. Lift with one point and land with one point. For example, lift the heel first, keeping your toes on the ground. Then lift the toes up, and land with the heel first and then the whole foot.


4. How to Move your Legs Correctly
Tai Chi forms already include a full range of leg movements, so doing Tai Chi forms will strengthen your legs. When you move your legs, you want to pay attention to 3 points. One is to make sure you are stable. Once you are stable, then you can lift your foot. Once you lift up your foot, then you can move. Don't lift your foot if you are not stable. And don't move before you have lifted your foot up high enough off the ground.

Your roots (legs and feet) are important parts of your body and your Tai Chi. Having strong legs will definitely strengthen your body and your balance, keeping you healthy and powerful.

Copyrights Huan's Tai Chi 2011

What is really in Tai Chi?

Tai Chi is short for Tai Chi Chuan. Chuan means boxing. Therefore, true Tai Chi Chuan is a martial art. There are different versions of Tai Chi Chuan and many simplified sets. There are for example sets with 24, 42 and 48 movements. With so many variations, how can one differentiate between Tai Chi boxing and Tai Chi dancing? While opinions differ, I believe the difference between boxing and dancing are found in 4 features. They are Content, Application, Mixture of Ying and Yang and Following Yang Chen Fu's 10 principles.

1. Content
   
   
   Real Tai Chi consists of 8 fundamental methods and 5 fundamental steps. Taken together, these yield 13 forms. If any of the simplified forms is missing one of the 13 forms it is not a complete Tai Chi set. The 8 methods are Ward Off - Peng, Roll Back –Lu, Press - Ji, Push - An, Pull Down - Tsai, Split - Lieh, Elbow - Chou, and Shoulder - Kao. The five steps are Advancing Steps – Jin, Retreating Steps - Tui, Stepping to the Left Side - Ku, Stepping to the Right Side - Pan, Settling at the Center – Zhong Ding.
   
   
2. Application
   
   Tai Chi was originally developed for self-defense and fighting. Every movement must have a defensive and/or offensive purpose. Defense makes your body stable and strong. Attacking allows you to actually defend yourself..
   
   
3. Mixture of Ying and Yang
   
   Each movement is made of complimentary and opposing polarities such as closing within opening, opening within closing, upper and lower body coordination, left and right body coordination, Ying and Yang folding, and Ying and Yang twisting.
   
   
4. Following Yang Chen Fu’s 10 principles.
   
   Grandmaster Fu’s teacher, the founder of Yang (Cheng Fu ) Style has 10 famous principles which conclude the characters of Tai Chi. They are
   
   1. Keep your head erect
   
   2. Keep your chest sunken inward and let your Chi/energy stick to the back
   
   3. Relax your waist
   
   4. Distinguish empty and full stances
   
   5. Sink your shoulders and drop your elbows
   
   6. Use concentration instead of force
   
   7. Coordinate the upper and lower parts of the body
   
   8. Combine internal and external energy
   
   9. Have continuous movements
   
   10. Find quietness and peace in movements
   

Next time, when you are in a Tai Chi class, you can be confident that you are really learning real Tai Chi if you find all the above features are included in your instruction.


Copyright Huan's Tai Chi 2011