Tai Chi By the Numbers for Beginners

Tai Chi by the Numbers for Beginners

I am inspired to discuss a simple paradigm for beginner tai chi students, a sort of best practices to get a student up and running.   Because tai chi is very very different from other exercise programs, it might be helpful to lay down some pre-class guidelines.

1. Attend every class.  Tai chi will never come to you, you must go to it.  Because it is sequential and layered, there is plenty to learn at each and every class.  Don’t skip class, unless you have to.  It has to be a priority in your schedule, not an alternate plan.

2. Pay attention to everything that goes on in class.  It is sequential in that first things first – pay attention to your OWN practice and what you need to learn the moves.  If someone else is getting a correction, you need to pay attention to that because often the same correction or idea will apply to you.  Be aware of the special distance relationship to the other students and find the right place to be.

3. Practice at home, every day, even twice a day (as recommended by Prof. Cheng).  Benefits will never happen if you practice once a week in a class without home practice.  If you aren’t disciplined, you will need to find a way to become disciplined.  Some have the luxury of two classes a week or more and often those that really want to learn more quickly take up that option.  If you don’t have that option, you need to find some way to inspire regular home practice. 

4. Pay even more attention.  Class is just one hour.  You need to take advantage of that hour to the max.  One hour in a week of 189 hours.  Keeping focus for an hour is a challenge – but you need to become a sponge.  Most of life is not like this – total commitment to the hour to get the most out of the hour.

5.  Be still and be silent.  Well, not entirely still and entirely silent.  You will need to ask questions or get clarifications.  But tai chi begins top down: teacher teaching student.  Later on, a dialogue will happen and in this way – questioning, doubting – the student helps to teach the teacher.  At first, it’s monkey see, monkey do.  Yep, that simple.  If it feels wrong, you need to speak up.  However, I always remind my classes that IF they think they can’t or shouldn’t do something I’m asking them to do, THEN DON’T!  It is always best to be conservative, particularly as you get to know your instrument in this new way.

6. Assume that change is a given.  What you wanted will change.  What you may need to do will change.  How you behave may change.  If you haven’t signed up for change, you will miss the magic of tai chi.  Most students are not aware that this is what is going on.  This is the basic matter of tai chi.  You don’t do “change”, it does you.  But being aware of this will help you get out of the way of stopping change from happening, which is where the problem always sits.

You will progress; I’ve never seen this NOT happen.  That’s the good news.