Practice! Principles Part I

This is a lesson inspired by Open the Door to Tai Chi's Diane Bailey. Once you know the movements of the 24 form and also become familiar with the Principles, they must be combined to allow you to experience the most important features and benefits of tai chi. To complete this lesson you must be familiar with the first six movements and the Principles. To refresh your memory, refer to my Guide.

The breakdown of doing the same movements over and over while concentrating on a different Principle each time is an excellent way to improve your understanding of tai chi, while making personal, individual improvements. This is YOUR practice.

LESSON

The movements in this lesson are:

Preparation

Part the Wild Horses Mane

White Crane Spreads its Wings

Brush Knee

Play the Guitar

Repulse the Money

and end with Preparation, breathing in and breathing out. This will position you to repeat the next Principle. You will be practicing the same movements 8 times with a different focus every time. Give almost ALL of your focus to one Principle at a time.

1. Perform the first six movements, giving your attention to COLUMNS.

   
   

2. Perform the first six movements, giving your attention to ROTATION.

   
   

3. Perform the first six movements, giving your attention to BALANCE.

   
   

4. Perform the first six movements, giving your attention to being ROOTED AND GROUNDED.

   
   

5. Perform the first six movements, giving your attention to gathering ENERGY.

   
   

6. Perform the first six movements, giving your attention to FLOW - CONTINUOUS MOTION.

   
   

7. Perform the first six movements, giving your attention to your BREATHING.

   
   

8. Perform the first six movements using THE UNIFICATION OF ALL THE PRINCIPLES.

   
   

   The only Principle not explicitly included in this practice is the Martial Arts connection. To complete the entire lesson you will need about 30 minutes. My in-person classes always emphasized and included these concepts, and it is difficult to convey the meaning online, BUT, if you practice this lesson and complete all 8 routines, you will understand it better and it will enhance your practice. Do this every day for one week and soon to follow will be Part II and Part III. After completing all three lessons, you should be able to incorporate all of the Principles into the entire Yang Style 24 Short Form. You can review the movements here.

   
   

   Peace