T'ai Chi Ch'uan

[shootingstar]

Thanks for your thoughts Rebecca, and for initially suggesting this. I don't know if Fr. Guy is a Jesuit or not, but am thankful he opens his parish class to all comers - even those of us who aren't Catholic. There are at least 2 from my church who attends his class. He also teaches Taikwondo to the youth in the parish school. Well rounded!

I do look forward to learning more about Tai Chi!

In looking at the 5 different tai chi styles and given your injuries- to choose yang style. Explosive movements that are sudden might not be great right now until your body is used to certain movements.
Best wishes, Catrin.

Tai chi is not intended to hurt opponents...the whole approach is to deflect/push away someone's fist, ec. at you ....or is deflect negative energy that is physically coming towards you, in addition to the mental focus/relaxation. It would be very in keeping with Fr. Guy perspective of the world.

[Catrin]

Thanks Shootingstar - I do appreciate your comments and advice and am finding them quite helpful. As there is only one class I can find - I have to go with that one as I don't think this is something one can learn properly from a video. Fr Guy IS teaching a Chen form right now, but that isn't all he is teaching, he is pulling the warmup from other styles. I will proceed cautiously and avoid those movements I know would be bad for me. Thankfully, I DO have a good idea what will hurt me.

Hopefully my positive experience will continue, but I was really struck by his focus on both flowing movements and proper form. There was an interesting discussion on how to deflect an opponent's movement (and some interesting examples), and also how this can be also used to deflect negative energy - just as you said. Very interesting and I can already tell that it requires the level of focus that I need/prefer.

[Catrin]

Thanks have changed since this discussion in early November. My concussion forced me to slow down with no exercise for a bit, which enabled me to do further research. While the Chen Old Form style being taught in the free class I mentioned earlier is spectacular - Sun style is better for me in both my age and my various broken bits. I've found a highly rated set of DVD's by Dr Paul Lam who focuses in Tai Chi for health rather than more of a martial arts focus - and also have found a local class taught by several women accredited by and who teach the same modified Sun style from Dr Lam.

I find his teaching style quite good, he breaks movements down to their smallest parts and goes over them multiple times - both front and back. He also has other intermediate and advanced non-modified DVD series of different styles (including Chen and Yang) and has a very kind and gentle manner on the DVDs. I'm mentioning it in case others might be interested. I'm working through the "Tai Chi for Arthritis" series (slightly modified Sun style), he does have a "Tai Chi for Beginners" (Yang style).

On a side note, Dr Lam's history is interesting. He wound up trapped in China due to politics (originally from Vietnam), survived a plague, and was finally allowed to go to family in Australia. He has had arthritis since his teens - which is what put him on this path. Highly recommended by both the CDC and the Arthritis Foundation.

I'm finding it most enjoyable and, at least at MY level, I can work on it every day without having to worry about over-doing things. I only do one actual lesson a week, and keep going over the same material that week to really instill it in my muscle memory. It's amazing how difficult it can be to do quite basic movements properly, slowly, and smoothly all at the same time I know I will go back to the beginning when I start the once-a-week class in mid-January - but that's ok. No doubt I will need some correction at that point. They will teach the exact same form that I'm currently learning on my own.

[Crankin]

Sounds wonderful, Catrin. Now you have my interest up.

[Catrin]

Sounds wonderful, Catrin. Now you have my interest up.

Here is a direct link to his Tai Chi for Arthritis series (there is a 35% discount until 12/31 for ALL DVDs, coupon code required but it's right there in the product description.) He has another site that focuses on related information, finding certified instructors, workshops (only 1 workshop per year in the US and Australia). Code only applies to actual DVD purchases, not the downloadable version. This is why I bought both Arthritis DVDs along with the intermediate 73 Sun Form DVD so I have something more challenging to move to once I've the first set of lessons down. Learning Tai Chi well, any style, isn't a fast process - which I like very much.

Amazon doesn't have the sales available through Dr Lam's TaiChi Productions site - and you can't even purchase his video lessons through Amazon, only the DVDs. How often is it more cost effective to NOT go through Amazon? I'm actually glad to see this as I prefer direct purchases if I can afford it whenever possible.

[emily_in_nc]

So glad it is working out for you, Catrin. You've really been through a lot trying to find exercise styles that you can do with your various issues, and your persistence has paid off.

Enjoy!

[Catrin]

So glad it is working out for you, Catrin. You've really been through a lot trying to find exercise styles that you can do with your various issues, and your persistence has paid off.

Enjoy!

Thanks Emily - and I hope that continues -there aren't many options left! There is also QiGong, similar but different. I will eventually add that to my practice, though Sun style does include some of that. One of the more interesting things about Sun Style is this. It's newish (created by a Tai Chi master in the early 20th century by taking elements from other styles - but that isn't the most interesting part. He was the first to defy tradition and teach Tai Chi to women - which was apparently almost unheard of at that time. I'm sure it happened prior to that but not as a matter of normal practice.