tai chi

Yesterday (Monday) I completed initial instruction in Tai Chi. We have been doing three movements a day and the cycle has a total of 24 moves. The current 24 move series is the standard one and was simplified down sometime in the 1950s from an earlier, more complicated version. As I said, the current 24 move series is complicated enough. And also a lot more physically demanding than it might look if you have ever seen it. It appears like a series of graceful, sometimes almost delicate movements. But if done correctly, it can be as physically demanding as any yoga session I've ever endured. The main factor is that you must perform al the activities "ma bo," or in the manner of riding a horse. That is, your body must be in a sort of permanent squat position, which is not easy. I have only the most rudimentary knowledge at this time, of course, and thankfully have a pretty good video, as well as continued instruction.

As part of my training I am supposed to learn and memorize the names of all the movements. This is no small task because of course the names are all in chinese are are not short. Some of them are only two words (Like "yun shou" or "wave your hands like a cloud") but soome are noticeably longer and harder to pronounce (such as "zuio you dao jun hong" or "fending off the monkey"). One interesting side note here has to do with the explanations of the various movements. As it has been explained to me, the movements are supposed to mimic a fight with an opponent, and indeed I have heard tai chi described as "shadow boxing." But the web sites I have been looking at in order to get the names of the movements, while they all give the same Chinese names that my teacher uses, explains them in different ways. So for exampls, the movement which was explained to me as grabbing an opponent's beard and pulling it is called in couple of web sites "grasping the peacock's tail." Maybe the name is just a metaphor or maybe it has something to do with the fact that my instructor is a former military trainer!