More on Tai Chi 32 Form Sword
Extra practice anyone?
If you're interested: bring your sword M, W, and F, between 8:45 and 9:00 am we'll do a couple of run throughs of what Master Tam has taught us. (Right now that's just 3 moves, which have lots of parts.)
A pdf with a list of forms appears to the right. Names do vary sometimes from instructor to instructor, but the basic forms are nearly identical no matter what you call them.
32 Tai Chi Sword
Tue & Thur
8:30 to 9:00
Master Tam is teaching this form at Dillard's Court
The key to all Tai Chi is practice.
3 Principles:
-- all moves start from the dantien
-- feet first
-- finish each move
Videos can be incredibly helpful. Just a few are listed here.
Holding the sword:
A breakdown of each of the 32 forms, with names:
Full form, smoothed out, by Amin Wu:
So interesting to see these photos from 1918! They look a lot like the drawings from the original scrolls that, as interpreted by many masters, are the source of all the tai chi forms and styles we practice today. Yang Family Tai Chi is such a rich source for principles, history, teaching . . . you name it.
Changes Now & Holidays Coming
As the holidays approach we'll see many more vendors and events happening at the mall (not to mention the new boxing machine . . . ).
Vivian's dance group is moving to the main (Pacific Avenue) entrance (Dillard's door remains our only morning access).
All of us need to keep these Security Reminders in mind as the space becomes more crowded.
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PLEASE, do not interfere with vendor displays in any way.
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Especially, DO NOT UNPLUG any machines, electrical surges can damage them.
THANK YOU.
P.S. -- Special holiday hours coming soon. Remember: no mall walking on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
Tai Chi BaFa WuBu
Speaking only for myself, I've found it helps me to learn from multiple teachers. While each teacher is different, all share the same basic principles and some explanations work better than others for each student. In addition each student's body and abilities are different.
Amin Wu is one of my favorite teachers. And the BaFa WuBu form is one of my (many) favorite forms. Also doing drills (not to mention yoga) has also helped me immensely as I work to perfect my Tai Chi forms.
So, I invite you all to take a look at Amin Wu's introduction to BaFa WuBu. I think this whole lesson is wonderful, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hkBAD26l6o. She begins teaching the BaFa WuBu at 17:05.
There are many demonstrations of this form on YouTube. Another one, from Shifu Joy, with multiple teaching videos following that I learned a lot from, is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Q4ByfeHs4&t=21s.
We practice this form on most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in Dillard's Court at about 8:45, before Judy's Tai Chi class.
TaiChi — Yi
Elaine Hatch shared this interesting discussion of intention in TaiChi from the BALANCED LIFE TAI CHI blog. Anyone who missed that share may want to take a look.
I started practicing Yoga in the hopes that it would improve my TaiChi, and it has. In Yoga I learned that the practice was really about mind control: controlling the mind, then using the mind to control the body. This seems very similar to the principles of Yi that are explained in this article.
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Mid Autumn Festival
Some downtown fun.
Both Master Tam's and Judy's Tai Chi groups, plus the Chinese Benevolent Association's dragon(s) will perform, along with other local music and dance groups. Come soak up a little culture and support your mall walk friends.
Tai Chi Principles
Master Tam emphasizes THREE principles for practicing Tai Chi:
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Everything starts with the waist (dantien).
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Feet first.
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Finish the move.