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1st form
The Long Yang form is often known as the 'slow form'. The
slow, deliberate movements encourage
concentration and allow the student time to
become familiar with the coordination.
There should be no attempt made to speed up the sequence. Slower movement
will also develop muscular
strength and body control.
Evolution
There are different versions of every form in our
syllabus.
They are deeper expressions of the same form.
Each one is harder to learn and more physically demanding than the previous method.
Students learn each pattern relative to competence.
They would be a lot better
off doing a lot less movements and extracting more quality out of them than
to continue doing a lot of movements and having minimum or no quality within
them.
(Bruce Frantzis)
Introductory form
Beginners focus upon the outline of form. This is hard enough. Where to
face, how and where to put the feet, what the hands are doing...
Yet this is not the final pattern.
It is a vague, sketchy shell. An introductory version. The square form.
Qigong?
In some respects the earlier versions have more in common with
qigong than tai chi.
The movements are open, rudimentary and decidedly non-martial.
Mirrored
Form is largely asymmetrical. It does not provide an even stretch on both
sides of the body.
Usually a form was designed to favour a right-handed person.
Students must mirror every form, exercise and drill in our
syllabus.
Doing this will ensure that your body receives a
balanced workout.
It is also a good perceptual challenge.
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)
Refinement
It is necessary to have the form regularly
corrected by the instructor. A process of ongoing refinement and improvement
takes place and injuries can be avoided. Form can always be refined and
improved.
Disconnected
A common error in many forms is that one hand is emphasised, whilst the
other hand is simply ornamental. Trimming. This is ridiculous.
There are no aesthetic moves in tai chi. Every movement has martial content.
Every tai chi movement - whether in the form or in self defence - involves
both hands moving as one.
Remember: it is the entire body that moves. If one part moves, all parts
move. All movement is initiated and controlled by the centre.
Learning from form
The form contains an unbelievable amount of information that any diligent
student can access if they are patient enough and have awareness.
For every movement, consider balance, stability and mobility. Is your
movement comfortable, natural yet strong (without tensing or resisting)? Are
your joints mobile?
Can you feel any discomfort or awkwardness? Where are your knees aligned
relative to the toes? How stable is your balance? Would it be possible to
pick up one of your feet easily?
Do you feel relaxed?
Framework
The movements need to provide an elastic structural framework that is
optimally aligned for the transmission of groundpath, without any discomfort
or physical tension.
Your body should not feel strained in any way at all; the movements should
not be exaggerated. If the form feels like hard work, you need to adjust how
you are doing the movements.
Natural power
The maxim states: Tai chi must be square on
the inside and round on the outside. This is made possible by
the correct use of structure and alignment.
Ease
Ease is the key. Your form may require concentration but it should not be
uncomfortable for your body. If it is, there is something wrong. Every
movement should feel smooth and relaxed.
The slow-motion practice of form allows the time necessary to fine-tune your
body usage so that every awkward element can be addressed.
If you let go of your
muscular strength your body will start relaxing.
(Bruce Frantzis)
Inflexibility
Students who do not train at home tend to be inflexible in the hips and
groin. They struggle to perform the pattern in a nimble fashion.
Lessons in form
We work with our students, offering corrections, tips and pointers. Students
are encouraged to learn from the form itself, to consider why things are
done a certain way and to analyse the possibilities.
The form is the means of journeying deeper into your tai chi, but this will
not occur if you blindly copy and fail to consider the implications of every
nuance within the sequence.
Focus
A good form contains all that you need. The important thing is to peel away
the layers. It take students a few years to find the essence of the
movements and really employ them.
It might take a lifetime to appreciate the genius of just one form.
Practicing tai chi forms from different styles simultaneously divides the
attention and wastes precious time.
Connections and associations
If you just train one style of tai chi, you begin to see connections and
associations throughout the form sequence.
There are less than forty truly unique/distinct movements. Everything else
is a variation on a theme. Patterns emerge in the form. Possibilities.
Options. Choices. Strategies. Rhythms.
This degree of awareness is only possible when your mind is unpolluted by
other concerns, by other forms or systems. Our students are encouraged to
get to know their form really well.
They must apply every movement in multiple ways, deliver jing, incorporate
neigong and take the skills of the form into freeform combat.
What are you observing?
When watching somebody demonstrate tai chi form, it is worth considering
which version it is. Historically, tai chi was a secretive art and teachers
were very reluctant to share.
Usually, the crudest version was shown to the public. Only the most trusted
students even saw the instructor doing form and the martial version was
normally withheld.
Learning form
It can and should take years to learn a form well. Beyond the superficial
level of choreography, there are layers of detail and substance that need to
be added.
Every movement must be a whole-body movement and every nuance should be
applied martially. In time, the sequence will feel easy and natural.
The Chen form derived from
battlefield military movements, where people wore medieval body armour that
had to be compensated for. The Chen-style stances were specifically designed
to achieve these compensations and obtain a workable position from which to
realistically throw an armoured opponent.
By the time Yang had reached Beijing, times had changed. With the advent of
firearms, battlefield armour became obsolete; hence, the need for techniques
to deal with armoured foes had passed.
Yang and his students had to deal with situations encountered by bodyguards,
not armies opposing each other.
(Bruce Frantzis)
Page created
9 March 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023