The first video contain instruction similar to how this tai chi form is taught during my classes, the 2nd video is of all the movements joined together filmed from front and back to make it easier for you to learn.
40. Turn Body Hammer - turn body, weight right front leg, hammer right hand41. High Pat the Horse - touch left toe, right hand high, weight on right leg42. Circle Hands, Right Toe Kick - circle hands, step out left leg, kick, right hand & leg in line to right cnr43. Step Back, Strike to Throat - left hand then right hand44. Fighting Tiger Posture - right hand small circle low, left hand large circle high, weight front left leg
When we first learn Tai Chi slow form we are focussed on remembering and performing all the new movements that we have been taught, also learning new ways in which to move. While this learning process involves a lot of thinking it also can be a blessing as in it anchors our attention to what we are doing. While this is not the pure type of attention that I will be talking about, it is still an anchor that stops us wandering off mentally into the past and the future. Article Continued Below
However this anchor does not last long; as we become more comfortable and familiar with the movements of the form habit starts to appear and then a new hindrance to our practice sneaks in through the back door. This hindrance is what I will call the wandering mind; it is the scattering of our attention towards thoughts of the future and memories of the past. At this stage we start to realise how little control we actually have over our mind, a task as simple as following the movements of the form is harder then what we first thought.Before going further I would like to clarify what I mean by the word mind, our mind in this context is not that which thinks and
learns through intellectual knowledge, but that which knows. Normally we think of our mind as being something that can be improved and strengthened through reading books, studying courses or working out puzzles. We then take this type of learning as knowledge, my knowledge. The truth of it is that this type of knowledge is that of the writer, not of the reader. We can bring up facts and knowledge that we have learned from books or have heard about but in reality we are just regurgitating what someone else has said. Article Continued Below
The only true way to gain real knowledge is through our own experience, and this is the context that mind is being used here. Real knowledge has the ability to change the way we perceive and relate to the world, it comes about from studying our forms, from watching them internally, by always asking what and why? This knowledge brings us in line with nature, with its flow, we begin to be able to answer the question of why and what regarding life, leading to our life having a more even flow, more happiness.
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This article was written by Stephen Procter, instructor from Tai Chi Health for Life, Australian College of Tai Chi & Qi Gong and Meditation Instructor from Meditation in the Shire, Kirrawee NSW, Australia. If you wish to post this article on another website or in a publication please respect the author and reference / link back to this website, thank you
