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| Form (2) | ||
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Muscle memory
Form trains muscle memory. Your body becomes familiar with certain ways of
moving. These become habit. The habits can then be used martially.
Form follows function
The form movements arise from functionality. You evade an attack, coil the
body, store and then release power. Nothing is random, aesthetically
motivated or unfocussed.
Every pattern of movement has its nature,
meaning and purpose, and must be researched and studied before it can be
really understood.
(Yang Jwing-Ming)
Intent
Every action arises from intent. By moving the body according to the
dictates of the mind, the form flows naturally and freely. The body
responds. If there is no purpose, no intent, why even move?
Go deeper
Once the form choreography is accurate and familiar, the real work begins.
The choreography is the beginning of your tai chi, not the end of it.
Instead of acquiring a new form, understand the one you have. Explore the
body mechanics, how power is being generated, what lessons it is teaching
you, and what you can do with it.
Feel it become smooth and subtle as your body grows into the sequence.
Mirror
The Long Yang form sequence will take 10-15 minutes to perform. Then it must
be mirrored.
Do not show off
Tai chi cultivates a taste for naturalness. Instead of glossy, flamboyant,
outward show, the student turns their attention inward.
They begin to notice the small, the seemingly insignificant, and they see
the wonder of the ordinary.
This way of looking at things seems most appropriate for a martial art that
conceals its power so skilfully. The art is not ornate. It is simple,
direct, flowing and natural.
Within the slow spirals, curves and gentle steps can be found a grace that
is difficult to articulate.
Good form is the most efficient manner to accomplish the purpose of a
performance with a minimum of lost motion and wasted energy.
(Bruce Lee)
Collecting forms
Tai chi students occasionally seek to collect forms. This usually stems from
boredom and a lack of depth in their understanding.
A good guideline when considering learning a new form is to ask yourself
why. What is the new form teaching you? Is it augmenting your current range
of skills?
Which style?
We are training the Long Yang version -
high frame, small circle, reeling silk and a notable combat emphasis
It does not matter which style of tai chi you practice or which form you
train providing it serves as a vehicle for the
adequate practice of The Tai Chi Classics.
Style is irrelevant providing you are training:
• The tai chi
principles
• 13 methods
• Martially applicable movements
• Optimal biomechanical use of
the body
• A physical embodiment of
Taoism
Numbered forms
In the 1950's the People's Republic commissioned the creation of a
simplified tai chi exercise sequence deliberately devoid of martial and unpolitical Taoist influences.
This was 24 step form.
Please note that this was not a system or style of tai chi. It was only a
form. Later, more numbered sport/competition forms were developed.
One of the most difficult skills is the ability to change
movements. This skill is a primary aspect of forms. When you are swiftly and
smoothly able to change movements, your chances of defeating an opponent are
greatly increased.
(Adam Hsu)
There is more to tai chi than form
Authentic tai chi is more than a form; it
is a system.
The training methods associated with the art are extensive and diverse; they
teach you how to move, how to strike, take a strike, evade and counter.
Students seek to embody the principles of tai chi as expressed by The
Tai Chi Classics. Competence with form is one thing. Skill in all areas of
tai chi is something else entirely.
There is much more to tai chi than form.
Page created 2 March 1995
Last updated
29 May 1999