Yang style Tai chi

grassette

I have been studying yang style tai chi for 7 years now. After our Tai Chi warm-up, the first sequence that we do is the 8 steps. Here is a you-tube video of the 8 steps, demonstrated in mirror form so that you can see the back and front simultaneously.

https://youtu.be/lH4JZ6aqCbA

Is this one of the forms that you practice?

grassette

Though I learned this sequence the first year that I started Tai Chi, learning it movement by movement, we are still practicing certain moves. Cloud Hands is one that we do regularly as well as the two moves where one does the leg raises. We practice the leg raises every session, doing 8 on each leg, and holding the position for at least 30 seconds if not a minute. I am finding this quite the challenge to both my balance and my endurance. It requires a lot of strength to hold your leg up that long, and is something that I need to practice every day if I am to get it right. One of the stories our Master tells us is how the Master of her school practiced only these 8 steps during the Cultural Revolution, because that was all he knew. But he got to know them so well, that he was able to make incredible progress once it was once again licit to teach tai chi.

clippergear

I am just now starting to learn Tai Chi from a DVD. It's something I've always wanted to learn and I can burn some calories to boot!