| How to Improve your Tai Chi |
| By: Dr Paul Lam and Nancy Kaye |
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 After you have a good foundation of tai chi (see my guide how to learn tai chi), going beyond is to progress to a higher level, which will give you more enjoyment and greater health benefit. People learn differently, some learn best by concentrating on one area and others by working from different aspects. You can continue to improve on what you've already learned or venture out and learn a new set of forms or a new style. Whichever way you choose, you can reach a higher level and as long as you continue to practice, you'll improve your level no matter what age you are. Perhaps going to a more complicated, harder-to-learn set of tai chi forms (for example the 42 Forms) of tai chi will give you more enjoyment and a greater sense of achievement. To most of us familiar with tai chi, though, it's not a sport in which you move up in some arbitrary grading system, nor is it a competitive sport where somebody wins and somebody loses. The real achievement in tai chi is an intrinsic reward, one that gives you a sense of personal fulfillment as well as the enjoyment of practice and better health. In high-level tai chi, to varying degrees, tai chi becomes a way of life for the practitioner. Sun Lu-tang, the creator of Sun style and one of the greatest tai chi masters in history, said that the highest level of tai chi is not being invincible, but is at understanding the Dao. The Dao is nature. A practitioner will reach the highest level of tai chi when they are in harmony within themself and with nature. So at a high level, the internal component matters most.
"When I teach how to integrate the essential principles into these simple sets," he continued, "I demonstrate. And as I demonstrate, I focus on integrating the principles. Through the numerous repetitions, I found that my understanding of the essential principles deepened each time, and as a result, my forms improved immensely." What is the right way to do tai chi? Often, tai chi beginners ask, "Is there only one right way?" If you lived back in the old days, you'd be spending your lifetime seeking out "the one best teacher". Then, you'd devote yourself totally to studying under that person. You'd have absolute faith, and to you, there'd be only one truth - and one best teacher. It's lucky we can't go back in time. There's no such thing as one "best teacher," and in those days, limited exposure often ended with limited ability. Learning tai chi today offers a lot more opportunities than in the older days. How the ancients would have loved to have the chance to be exposed to different styles and teachers before committing their lives to one teacher. Today, we have a better chance to see what will work best for us. We don't want to spend a lifetime devoted to one path, only to find out later it wasn't meant for us. Also, by learning different things from different styles and interpretations, our path to a higher level could be shortened. Seeing the bigger picture can help us to progress more quickly.
"Depress the chest and raise the upper back." That's one of the 10 essential points by Yang Chen-fu, one of the most famous tai chi masters in history. What does that mean? Different styles hold different interpretations. To many, it means relaxing the chest and allowing your qi to reach your back. But check this out: most Chen stylists don't hunch their backs; many Yang stylists do, because they interpret this particular point as hunching the back. Different styles even have different hand shapes. For example, Yang style uses an open palm, while Chen uses a closed one. So, as you can see, differences exist between styles. Even within one style, you might encounter many variations, and even significant differences. The point? Minor differences aren't important; the important thing is to understand and integrate the essential principles of tai chi. All styles of tai chi follow the same essential principles. Guidelines It's challenging and fun to continue to strive for a higher level in tai chi, but it's important to understand that no one knows all about tai chi, nor is it important to be perfect in tai chi. The enjoyment and benefits come from the journey of getting there. Most important, regular practice of tai chi is a must for improvement. Only through practice will you truly understand the inner meaning of tai chi as well as receive its great benefits. So make practice, combined with the tai chi principles, a top priority. Here are some guidelines that would help you to progress whichever way you choose to move on: back to the top |
It's not necessary to learn more sets of tai chi in order to reach a high level. We had one tai chi teacher tell us: "Over the last 30 years, I've learned many sets of forms. My greatest improvement came from teaching the simple sets of forms like Tai Chi for Beginners.
To touch on some of these differences, take Yang style. In Yang, you move forward and backward by lifting your foot just off the ground and touching down like a "cat". In Chen style, you step forward, brushing your foot on the ground and often stomping noisily on the ground. So it can be off-putting after learning that you should lift your foot up to step forward, and then seeing Chen stylists dragging or brushing their feet on the ground. But can you say that all Chen style or all Yang style is wrong?
