T'ai Chi Ch'uan

[Trek420]

It is an awesome exercise, So glad to see that you want to learn Tai Chi exercise now a day's. Tai Chi and Qigong exercises are more likely to each other. I was learning and doing this exercise past few years. This exercise is really very good. I have learned from the best Master Andrew Kenneth Fretwell and he taught me the best and the easy way of This Exercise. Here is the link Tai Chi and Qigong where I found the Master Andrew Kennet Fretwell. If you have any problem then Receive a free 30 min audio talk and powerful qigong meditation.

I study Yang Family Style Tai Chi. It's perhaps the largest style or I should say the one with the most people training in it. It's not the only style as there are several styles of Tai Chi each with their own traits. Yang Family style is known for our large circular movements. We do forms, long form, senior form, essential form .. single move training, push hands, sword and saber. In our particular school there are teachers certified to teach Qigong exercises as well. The head instructors at our school are direct students of Master Yang Jun. Yang Jun is a direct descendant of the founder of Yang family style.

I personally am skeptical and would caution against learning Tai Chi online whether from a CD or Youtube channel. You need to find the best instructor available to you in person. To find a good instructor carefully research the lineage; who did your teacher learn from and who did they learn from, and who did they ... etc etc. Find the best qualified person you can regardless of the style you pick. Teaching is its own skill. And there are those who are highly skilled at Tai Chi, but not so much at teaching. You want both. Watch a class and see how you feel about their style of teaching. Again if at all possible find a good instructor, because it's the instructor as much or more than the art that influences the quality of your learning. As a beginner you don't get the feedback you need, and more important the teacher can't see YOU on a CD. So you risk picking up bad habits that can take years to break and may even injure you if you don't have a good teacher.

If you live in an area that does not have Tai Chi available or does but you have doubts about the instructor or does but the class isn't offered when you can go or .... try to find instruction on Zoom.

It's not perfect but at least you can see the teacher, ask direct questions and more important they can see you. I respectfully would never train via a CD as a beginner.

I personally do use recorded classes, our school Youtube channel periodically as a reminder to practice the form or perhaps for sections I am learning. This works for me as a reminder or a learning tool. But then I started training martial arts in 1975 and switched to Tai Chi in 2018. So I've been doing this in person, with teachers for a few years. If you've a beginner do not do as I do. Find quality live instruction.

There are many Tai Chi styles to look into. Don't worry about different styles, IMHO all are good. Find a quality teacher near you. If you're interested in Yang Family Style you might find an instructor near you at:

https://yangfamilytaichi.com/find-an-instructor/