Tai Chi for young me

[Occam]

So, I have been trying to get a new school that would be willing to teach me martial arts that I want to go to. After a bit of searching I came across a little Tai Chi place. I met them when they where practicing at the park for a bit, and I wowed the master by knowing the form they where doing and telling my freind what it was. They motioned us over and we had a nice talk, I learned he started training at the old school I went to and we sort of hit it off. Since then I've been thinking about joining.

But should I? In all accounts I have seen, generally the martial artist begins with the hard styles and becomes very good with them before moving into the soft styles. I can say with certainy that I am still in need of much practice in the hard styles. Would it be wrong of me to jump into a Tai Chi school, as I am young and still able bodies, capable of pushing myself to the extremes that the hard styles require. Or is it acceptable that I join this, and learn In an irregular pattern and start the internal styles at a young age?

[Alan Armstrong]

There are styles that contain soft and hard such as Wing Chun; which is considered a Yin/Yang style.

Hard style/external/difficult vs Soft/internal/easy styles, there are many misconceptions about the differences; both need one and the other to function, perhaps the differences come about on how much one or the other is used or relies opone to make the style functional.

Thinking that Tai Chi is for the old is another misconception. Tai Chi is a fighting style that is also practiced solely for it's health benefits.

Tai Chi practice is usually more dependent on the teacher's perspective and benefits than anything else, therefore you will need to match yourself to what the class is offering.

Perhaps for your age, competing would satisfy your martial art young spirit, then competitive styles might be better suited for you.

Chinese styles usually demand a 50/50 balance of physical and cultivating ones character.

The art part of martial arts is similar to drawing, thefore my advice is to draw/take what you need or want that satisfies your uses, as your needs and wants will change with age, then do what feels right now, and deal with later when you arrive there.

I've personally bounced between MA styles and dance to stay physical and other interest that has lasted through out my life such as art, travel and culture.

With balance and moderation, patience and perseverance most worthwhile pursuits are attainable.

Enjoy your choices, all the best!