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| Beginner | ||
| Taijiquan syllabus | ||
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Introductory grade
The beginners grade is about reaching a basic level of health. It is not
a martial grade. Students wear a white T-shirt and explore preliminary concerns.
The onus is upon starting to get fit,
stronger, more supple, better coordinated and
somewhat more relaxed. Good alignment, ergonomics
and elementary physics are all introduced.
Students learn how to focus and work with one another in a constructive manner.
It should take the average student about 6-12 months to complete the beginners
syllabus.
Where do you start?
Beginners practice:
Long Yang form (section 1)
4 directions with a partner
Ba duan jin (8 exercises)
Central equilibrium – maintain the centre
Eyes-closed walking
Form posture qigong
Full circle qigong
Monkey paws
Moving qigong (8 exercises)
Palm at 3 distances
Peripheral vision - mugger scenario
Posture testing
Psoas exercises
Pushing legs
Reeling silk exercises (5 exercises)
Single pushing hands
Standing post
Standing qigong/3 circle qigong
Stepping
Yielding basic skills
Yielding exercise
These topics
provide the adequate, necessary foundation for later practice.
Awaken your
brain
According to the book The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal, the human
brain is quite literally akin to a
muscle.
The more frequently and consistently your brain works on a given area of skill, the
greater its capacity to perform the skill with ease.
The student has
nothing to offer but an absolute willingness to follow the teacher's
instructions and direction without question or comments or personal
improvisation.
(Dave Lowry)
Train as much as you can
Taijiquan beginners often have high expectations and a low commitment to
practice. Often the student struggles to meet their own ambitions.
To break this problem, train frequently. Nothing beats practice. Time
committed to practice during your early stages of development will pay
dividends in the long run.
Qigong
Since an exponent is not adept with taijiquan, they need to do a lot of
qigong. It will provide the necessary fitness benefits by serving as a
stopgap pending higher level taijiquan skill.
Get healthy
The beginners grade is all about improving health and fitness. A student is
required to work at notably improving their stamina, flexibility,
coordination, cardiovascular fitness and agility.
Motor learning
For many people, their fitness regime
does not take into account
'motor learning'.
Motor learning is about the process of using the body, rather than simply
exercising the body.
Agility,
mobility, relaxed
spontaneous movement, balance,
structure, alignment, biomechanics, efficiency,
ambidextrous body use, joint
health, coordination,
skill, emotional wellbeing or
psychological flexibility.
Taijiquan combines exercise with motor learning.
Worth reading
•
4 levels
•
Strong mental attitude
• The Sword Polisher's Record by Adam Hsu
beginner intermediate experienced competent skilled advanced instructor expert mastery
Page created
18 April 1995
Last updated
15 February 2020