Improving the Low Stances and Mobility

The past 3 weeks have been a killer for me as I am suffering through learning and applying movement with the low stances found within the broadsword form I am training.
Only now am I beginning to see a glimmer of hope lol, the first week was just a lot of pain and difficulty dropping down into that low stance, and not being able to hold it. Now, I am finding it easier to drop into the low stance and holding for a few seconds. Now, I am just beginning to better move from one side to the other side while maintaining a low height.

For sure it has been and will continue to be a struggle for me. I find great satisfaction in clearly observing the improvement and knowing that I will be able to achieve some level of competency in the months to come.

I also understand that once I achieve that level, I will have to practice that form often to keep up and maintain that degree of functionality.

Sigh. Learning Kung Fu is not easy. But with Shifu's teaching and the support of my friends, I am truly loving it!
J

Footwork

Last night I was struggling with several moves in the broadsword form. There was one particular sequence that combined some light steps with turns and sword motions that I just couldn't seem to pick up on. Shifu told me, this particular sequence was a critical one, in that ANY or ALL Kung Fu systems would have this type of footwork pattern. He called it, "Bu Fa." That is my understanding of the pronunciation, but it translates to footwork.

We did a number of different footwork patterns to try to help me understand what it was I needed to understand and learn. Rarely, Shifu told me is the footwork straight forward or back, but rather, i'd be circling in or circling out with my step, AND he was showing me the importance of toes up or down, and most importantly the application of these different footwork motions.

I usually am pretty proud of my footwork, having grown up in the disco era, and not being shy back in the day about dancing, but Man! I gotta tell you, I was frustrating myself and Shifu to no end last night.

Bu Fa, or footwork, is just one of those basic fundamentals that need to be worked on and given time to develop. Without good footwork, our skill level truly is NOT very high or skilled; having the footwork and being able to direct our intention appropriately is important to developing our Kung Fu skill.

Oh, yeah, I still don't have it, lol... this broadsword form is a terrific challenge!
J

Use The Force...

In class today, several of us were trying to work a bit on applications. It's a funny thing, I always remember the words, "use the force," but actually moving appropriately isn't as easy as remembering the phrase.

We worked on a couple of variations today. I felt that when we correctly yielded to an incoming force applied, we were better able to "lock on," or "secure" the opponent's limb to better effectively perform our counter moves.

Life and Training

I want to apologize to my readers, the past several weeks have been very challenging between unreasonable work demands, unfortunate medical changes, doctor's exams and lifestyle changes. Despite all this, Chen Tai Chi remains at the forefront of my thinking and desires.

The weather seriously hasn't been helping, it has seemingly rained or been unseasonably cold the past few weekends. It is disgusting out now, but i'm awake and getting ready to stretch and do a light workout. Obviously, our lives are filled with demands and we are stretched in different directions, but I just wanted to encourage all of you to train and practice when you can, what you can. Every little bit helps in the long run.
J

Missed Again...

Almost there. I have been working on another vid clip showing application of the opening move from Lao Jia Yi Lu against a few attacks, a couple empty hand, and one against a grab and a blade attack. Unfortunately, we have the clips, but they don't have the proper orientation. Hopefully tonite, we can fix that condition and we are re-shooting. Just giving an update, so you know i've still been working on materials!
J

Chen Tai Chi Good for Self Defense?

I know many students that started aikido in hopes of being able to fight as Steven Seagal does on the movie and television screen. Often after training for a year or two they often express disappointment that they feel they "have not learned anything they can use to protect themselves." I know many people view Tai Chi as a slow motion exercise good for health and meditation, but not many new comers check out Chen Tai Chi for self defense training.

I believe Chen Tai Chi should be considered when looking for a self defense program. I believe that with appropriate adjunct training, Chen tai chi can be very effective. I just posted an article up on this. Hope you will take time to check it out!
Chen Tai Chi for Self Defense Training

When Work Gets in the Way...

I always look forward to my classes with Shifu, especially my one to ones. Sometimes, though, like tonight, I have to cancel due to work obligations and work pressure. I really hate that. Fortunately, Shifu does seem to understand. He states, "work has to come first." Yeah, unfortunately. Well, tonight after dinner, I will try to practice a bit, but I always hate to miss an opportunity for good training.