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Fitness
There are 3 areas of fitness:
Cardio
Strength
Flexibility
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.
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 taijiquan, doesn't it?
Hard work
The
taijiquan combat work demands a high standard of personal
fitness.
Each successive grade augments your taijiquan.
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 taijiquan as being an easy martial arts option.
They are the naive ones.
Sooner or later they always quit.
Martial artist?
Taijiquan 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.
Taijiquan 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.
Taijiquan students train: core strength, massage, leg stretches,
cardio work, yoga, 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.
The risk of
injury in combat
sports is especially high. To prevent injury, do the following: 1) Learn to
warm-up well before any exercise, 2) Do everything possible to accelerate
recovery between workouts.
(Frederic Delavier)
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 taijiquan 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 taijiquan 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 taijiquan 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
07 November 2018
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