Form pattern: square | ||
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Form
Form is the sequence of movements that people
associate with the words 'tai chi'.
Traditionally, it took 6 years to learn the form pattern
correctly.
In the 20th century, tai chi form was
simplified and shortened.
Short forms are now very popular.
Sifu Waller does not teach short forms.
An earnest student will spend their
entire life
exploring the form, increasing their skill,
knowledge and insight through daily
practice.
Square form
Lower grade
students focus upon
the pattern, the outline of form.
This is hard enough to learn.
Where to face, how and where to put the feet, what the hands are doing...
But this is not really the Long Yang form. It is a vague, sketchy shell.
Patience
When a new starter is given a form movement to practice, they sometimes grow
impatient and seek the next move.
Although they cannot perform the first move correctly, they want more.
It is necessary to spend quite a lot of time with each movement - a handful of
repetitions is not enough.
Seeing
Initially, a new starter will only get a vague sense of a movement. That is
enough to begin with.
However, to make progress you need to see the detail.
You must understand the underlying body mechanics of each movement.
When you can see how any one movement really works, you realise that you have a
lot to practice.
Substance
When you begin to see the detail contained in one
form, you can see why a student spends a while on the basics.
A beginner initially only learns section 1 of the form.
Section 1 is the first 2 minutes of a 15-20 minute form.
There are 5 tai chi forms to learn in our
syllabus.
Concentration
Students learn to focus on what they are doing. They keep their mind on what is
right in front of them.
For many people, this is a very challenging endeavour.
It will take considerable practice and patience.
And it cannot be forced...
Concentration is a necessary first step.
Accuracy
Tai chi offers an opportunity to come to terms with making mistakes and also the
experience of 'being corrected'.
The complex nature of the art demands a very unusual degree of accuracy.
A slight deviation from the necessary
position can mean weakness and
imbalance.
Mistakes
Some new starters become paranoid about making mistakes.
Everyone makes mistakes, and not just in class. Our
lives
are littered with words and acts of foolishness. It is human.
You cannot avoid making mistakes. But perhaps you can learn from them, grow and move on?
Learning from mistakes
People frequently fail to learn from their mistakes. They just keep on doing the
same thing again and again and again.
There is far more to intelligence than
acquisition. We must be
alert.
If something does not work, it is necessary to
determine
why it failed and try something else.
This capacity to
change is a key
factor.
A dull mind is doomed to repeat the same error
continually. An intelligent mind
adapts and moves
on.
Flowing or flawed?
Some
martial
students make the mistake of trying to make their form
flow.
This is absurd.
It always (without exception) leads to disconnected movement.
Be patient. Flow comes later on...
Practice
Students need to become familiar with the
sequence.
This will take a lot of practice.
Ideally, at home, between lessons.
Lame excuse
A common excuse offered by
lazy students is that they do not want to practice at home for fear of
making mistakes... How exactly can they hope to do the form correctly without practice?
Improvement comes from
familiarity.
Yes, they will make many, many
mistakes. This
is inevitable.
The reason why you should train at home is to gain the
habit of where to move, what to do.
It will not be accurate, but it is a necessary starting place.
Improving
Form improves through
corrections and awareness.
The instructor corrects your form.
Your capacity to understand and implement those corrections is directly linked
to how receptive, observant and
attentive you are.
If you are prideful, stubborn or
lazy, you will not make
changes to your form.
Awareness is something that
needs to be cultivated.
It involves having an eye for the art, for
perceiving what the instructor is
actually doing.
Not what you think they are doing.
Tension
The main problem with the form is that
the beginner is normally extremely
tense.
Only through ongoing relaxation, ease and patience
can they hope to lose the unnecessary stiffness in the muscles.
Relaxed, lengthened, flexible
muscles will allow your
joints and vertebrae to move freely and easily.
Over-confidence
Students often
struggle to get
section 1 of the form right.
We are not expecting
perfection.
However, the students is woefully
underestimating how hard
the form is to learn.
Without daily practice, progress is very slow.
More?
Until a student cannot perform each and every section 1 movement to a reasonable
degree of accuracy there is little point in learning any new movements.
If the existing
movements are already proving too great a
challenge, adding more is fruitless.
Poor form?
Poor form means that the form offers virtually
no fitness or martial benefits.
Form every day
Tai chi form was never intended to be a once-a-week
exercise.
It was designed for daily practice.
Ideally, 15-20 minutes should be set aside for form
because the complete sequence takes that long to perform.
A
beginner may only have 2 movements to train or a 2 minute sequence, but they
should still consider committing up to 15 minutes
practice to what they have learned.
If a martial student knows the entire sequence and can mirror it, this
will take at least 30 minutes to do.
No time?
People frequently complain that they have no time to practice tai chi at home.
A beginner only learns section 1 of the form and that section takes 2 minutes to
perform.
Is there anyone on the planet who cannot set aside 2 minutes of their day for
something useful and productive? It is all a matter of priority.
Gym & other martial arts
Tai chi is not like gym work or other martial
arts.
Once a week training at your local karate
class may result in a black belt in a few years, but this approach will
not work for tai chi.
We are looking to move instinctively and
naturally - without forethought or hesitation - and this entails
regular
practice of the form sequence.
Memory
If you have trouble remembering the form, then
take one movement home with you from class and drill that posture every day
until the next lesson.
The following week, take home two movements, and so on...
Pretty soon, you will have an entire sequence.
Form DVD
The form DVD features section 1 of the Long Yang form at its most
basic.
There are no neigong incorporated and the stepping is
simplistic.
Stumble stepping
A new student lacks the groin
flexibility to walk
like a cat.
They must just step in whatever
manner their body
allows.
This is usually quite limited.
The steps are not nimble
or agile. More like a shuffle than a cat step.
Page created
4 July 1995
Last updated
30 November 2023