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Fitness
There are 3 areas of fitness:
Cardio
In order to exercise the body
properly, you need to gain aptitude in all 3 areas.
Many people can lift heavy weights but they are not flexible/breathing hard
after mild cardio.
This is not good enough for a comprehensive
training approach.
The drawbacks of exercise
Not all forms of exercise are necessarily
good for you. For example,
running may improve cardiovascular health but is also
very hard on the joints.
Lifting heavy weights can cause significant tension to accumulate and - if
the muscles are large enough - adversely affect the skeleton. Most forms of
exercise have pros and cons; especially sport.
Metabolism slows down 90 percent after 30 minutes of sitting. The enzymes that move the bad fat from your arteries to your muscles, where it can get burned off, slow down. The muscles in your lower body are turned off. And after two hours, good cholesterol drops 20 percent. Just getting up for five minutes is going to get things going again. These things are so simple they’re almost stupid.
(Gavin Bradley)
Ideal form of exercise
According to the book The Blue Zones it is important to think
of exercise in terms of what you can reasonably do long-term.
The ideal form of exercise is moderate enough that you can do it for the
rest of your life. It needs to be joint-friendly, provide a gentle workout
and be sustainable.
This sounds rather like tai chi, doesn't it?
Hard work
The tai chi combat work
demands a high standard of personal fitness. Each successive
grade augments your tai chi.
Deliberate practice
Hard work alone is not enough, though. Simply working hard will not
necessarily lead to progress.
It needs to be deliberate, focused improvement designed to improve your
practice by developing key skills outlined by your instructor.
The student must implement corrections, study the recommended books,
undertake assignments and challenge their comfort zone.
Beyond the beginning
If you want to become more than a beginner, it is important to recognise
that the training will become increasingly harder.
At some stage you pass through a capacity barrier and it will no longer feel
difficult. But that may well be years away.
Breathing hard?
If you are tired and out of breath after a few minutes of training, then you
are simply not fit enough. The training has barely started.
You must improve your fitness considerably if you want to complete the
fundamentals. This means training qigong and form regularly.
Many beginners think that
they do not need to warm-up. Skipping a warm-up will automatically result in
pain later on, and that will restrict your fighting abilities. A good
pre-workout warm-up protects against future aches and pains. Furthermore, it
is also an immediate factor in improving performance.
(Frederic Delavier)
Be realistic
People often see tai chi as being an easy martial arts option.
They are the naive ones.
Sooner or later they always quit.
Martial artist?
Tai chi is an internal martial art.
Once upon a time it was only taught to students who were already highly
proficient at external martial arts.
External training is not mild; it requires considerably strength and
stamina.
Tai chi was what they did after all those years of hard training. It was
the next step up the ladder.
Martial fitness
All martial arts require the student to be fit for combat.
Tai chi students train: massage, leg stretches,
qigong, neigong, form, partnered work, martial sets &
drills, combat and weapons.
The training is done carefully, gently - in a controlled manner - without
exertion or strain.
Qigong
If you train the qigong exercises at home every day, your chest will open
and you will start to develop greater strength. You will breathe more deeply
and your endurance will improve.
There will be a notable change in your physical appearance.
5-10 times
Qigong exercises should be repeated 5-10 times
per side.
This encourages the body to relax more and the root to grow.
Physical fitness is a
condition in which an individual has sufficient energy and vitality to
accomplish daily tasks and active recreational pursuits without undue
fatigue.
(Dr Nieman)
Drills
Drilling every day will have a similar effect to the qigong exercises.
Your body will change, your reflexes and stamina will improve.
Form
This is the cornerstone of your tai chi training. If you are neglecting to
practice this daily at home, then you are missing out on a major training
opportunity.
The form offers you a chance to train everything at the same time.
Lazy
It will not get easier. If you are lazy now, expect difficulties ahead of
you. We are expecting your fitness level to improve as you move up the
curriculum. This should happen naturally.
You grow stronger, fitter and far more capable. But it will not happen by
itself.
Gentle
The trick with tai chi is to keep your training mild. It is not a gym
workout. You are not meant to be sweating and straining. Go easy on
yourself. Little and often is the key.
If the training is gentle but works your muscles nicely, then it is easy to
sustain and your energy levels will stay high. Overdo-it and you will suffer
from fatigue, aching joints and sore muscles.
Awareness
Be gentle with your body. Treat it with care.
High repetitions and exotic stances are not tai chi training methods.
Train with mindfulness.
With attention.
Pay attention to what you are doing, and train it slowly, thoroughly and
cautiously.
If anything feels unpleasant, something is wrong.
The more difficult the problem is, the
higher your talents and willingness will rise in order to cope with the
difficulties. You must not hesitate; if you do so, this will make all the
difference in the result.
(Hagakure)
Page created
18 April 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023
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