Not Enough Space to Practice?

I hear the statement that, "I don't have enough space to practice the whole form," a lot from many people. Thus, they often wait until they can get to class before they try to remember and practice what they have learned in previous classes. While we should not judge and be overly critical of that practice, it is exceedingly difficult to grow and learn efficiently in that manner.

Despite having minimum space available to you there are many ways in which to practice and improve in Chen Tai Chi. In some of my private training with Shifu, we often only have 12-15 square feet to train in. Within that small space, we have worked on single postures, often repeating one given movement over and over, repeatedly. Sometimes we'll work on a single basic in a given movement, as well.

There are many basics in the form which some of us need to practice to get down the body mechanics. One of my own personal issues is twisting and turning my body enough to properly perform a given motion. Shifu has taught me to sustain a solid and firm stance, and gently turn the body in one direction to perform the motion to one side, and then to turn in the opposite side to perform the motion on the other side. He feels that by performing enough repetitions, any individual can learn to develop greater flexibility and correct turn of the body to perform all motions correctly.

It is clear that while it is good to be able to practice the entire form in a large space, sometimes our homes, or available training area isn't always optimal. In those instances we should try to practice a bit, develop some creativity in the use of our available space, and try to practice as often as we can.
J