Tai Chi for exercise

[LLLEARNER]

Hello all,

I know this is not the best way to learn, but I am considering adding tai chi to my exercise routine. However, there is no Sifu where I live and no facility to train. I was wondering if any dvds or books might help, and what they might be.

I started Shotokan mixed with Judo and Jiu Jitsu in February and am really enjoying it. I am 38 and would be doing this with my 5 year old daughter. Well, trying anyway.

Thank you much,

[DWx]

There are plenty of books and videos out there you can learn from. Same as always though, it would be better to learn with a teacher of possible to correct your firm and any mistakes you are making. Depends what your goals are though and if you just wanted a taste of Tai Chi, books and videos would be ok.

[Alan Armstrong]

You say there is no Sifu where you live and no facility either, have you tried to ask someone in the Chinese community to help you.

Or inquire at your local college or university for someone that has Tai Chi knowledge.

Tai chi is difficult to learn even with a Sifu. Books and videos will certainty give you some background knowledge.

A Tai Chi teacher is a must. You will need a partner when doing push hands.

Take out a small advertisement in your local news paper "Looking for a Tai Chi teacher"

Ask every Chinese person you know or meet to help you find a teacher.

Many Chinese people practice Tai Chi very early in the morning in parks.

(The police would sit in their car while my Sifu was wielding his sword, doing Tai Chi; often thought if what he was doing was illegal!)

People in rural areas just make there own group practicing Tai Chi. Perhaps you could make up a group of your own.

Contact Tai Chi associations in your part of the world to help you.

Tai Chi is the most practiced martial art in the world, someone near you must know of a Tai Chi instructor, perhaps someone at your local Yoga school knows of a Sifu!

Many Chinese martial art schools also teach Tai Chi, worth looking in to.

[LLLEARNER]

Or inquire at your local college or university for someone that has Tai Chi knowledge.

Tai chi is difficult to learn even with a Sifu. Books and videos will certainty give you some background knowledge.

(The police would sit in their car while my Sifu was wielding his sword, doing Tai Chi; often thought if what he was doing was illegal!)

People in rural areas just make there own group practicing Tai Chi. Perhaps you could make up a group of your own.

I do appreciate your input. It made me re-evaluate trying it on my own. I was hoping to find something I that I could do pretty independently due to time and geographic constraints. If I do hear of something I will defiantly look into it.

I live in Central Maine. It is pretty rural. I drive 40 miles to work. There are not many options locally. The YMCA where my current Sensei rents space has been looking for a Tai Chi instructor for sometime without success. I was hoping with such a large aging population in this state it might be easier to find. There is not much of any ethnic population, at least in this part of the state. There are some ethnic groups due to a couple of restaurants.

I do go to one of the local colleges. There is no instructor.

They police may have been watching because it was cool, or that was just their hangout out spot.

[Alan Armstrong]

Hi again LLLEARNER! I happen to notice that all of your MA is Japanese based.

Tai Chi is very different from all of your chosen MA styles.

Perhaps if you can't find a Tai Chi instructor then look maybe at finding a Sifu in any style of 'Kung Fu' nearby.

All Kung Fu schools practice Chi Kung; martial art exercises.

I'm raising the point that Japanese MA styles are usually hard and Chinese MA styles are usually soft.

Japanese MAs have their virtues and equally Chinese MAs have their virtues also.

Having a Yin/Yang approach to MA finding softness in the hard and finding the hardness in the soft, is a way to appreciate the best of both perspectives; Japanese and Chinese.

[LLLEARNER]

I kinda was hoping to have a mix. I have also seen the deep flowing movements of Tai Ch and thought that it would help my flexibility (especially the hips) with a lower impact. I have never been called graceful so I thought it might help that too. I feel like I am Godzilla stomping around the mat.

[Alan Armstrong]

I kinda was hoping to have a mix. I have also seen the deep flowing movements of Tai Ch and thought that it would help my flexibility (especially the hips) with a lower impact. I have never been called graceful so I thought it might help that too. I feel like I am Godzilla stomping around the mat.

There are a few topics worth investigating regarding hip flexibility, that is your ROM range of movement and hip decompression exercises, also understanding how and why to pandiculate.

All of these topic can be explained by experts on YouTube.

Also on YouTube, would suggest looking into Tai Chi Chuan and how modern sports/science/medicine tries to explain how it works, as in less (muscle) energy used creates more power.

Personally I know it is Chi power but there are many sceptics. Tai Chi and chi kung is all about harnessing the power of chi.

Guinness book of records for the fastest amout of punches thrown in one minute is held by a Wing Chun man. Relaxation in movement is the key to gracefulness and speed both necessary in Tai Chi and Wing Chun.

Practicing Tai Chi slowly is also training muscles to move fast such as in Wing Chun the truth in irony is also Tai Chi.

Western reasoning and Eastern reasoning are very different. For example we in the West have been investing in the bigger the better such as with cars. While in the East have been investing in the smaller; Micro technology and compact automobiles.

Western outer space vs Eastern inner space the balance is yin/yang=Tai Chi=grand ultimate.

Eastern reasoning also states that outside has no inside and inside has no outside. This implies that every time an atom is split there will always be something smaller and the further we travel through outer space we will discover another greater space than the one we are in; this is the way of yin/yang=Tai Chi=grand ultimate.