Tai Chi Vlog 2 - Slow and Steady — Myriad Misadventures

Slow and steady wins the race. Or at least that’s what we’re always told. And I certainly hope it’s true because tai chi is definitely going to be a marathon and not a sprint. Because it’s so different than what I’ve done in the past I’m still having more trouble with it than I usually do when I start trying a new martial art (JKD, capoeira, wing chun). But I am making some progress…I think.

In these classes we continued doing the Yang Style 28 form that we started in my first couple of classes. I didn’t know what it was called at first but I finally asked and got it’s name. I think we finished it up. We got to a move that seemed like the end. But then we did some more stuff in a later class that looked like a form and maybe came from that part that seemed like an end. I’m honestly not entirely sure if it’s another form or another part of the 28 form. We’ll see I guess.

As for techniques and stuff I’m still working on it. The sort of ball that you use to transition between moves is getting better. I still do a cross body chamber a lot but I’ve started to catch myself doing it more so I can fix it. I’m still struggling with timing though, which is weird since the forms are so slow. But I don’t think I’m always shifting into my stances and striking when I should be. The stances themselves are also still a little tough. When I can’t connect the tai chi stance to a stance I’m familiar with I often have a tough time figuring out what it’s supposed to be. I realized a lot of stances seem to have a lot of weight sinking and shifting and I’m not so good at it. I think it might be because my stance length isn’t quite right and it’s hindering my ability to do the weight shift correctly. Tai chi is also challenging my elbow knowledge. It seems to keep the elbows out more than other styles I’ve done and I have a bad habit (in tai chi class at least) of keeping them too close to my body when I should be keeping them a little farther away from my body.

While I’m definitely still struggling with tai chi…a lot…I still think it’s worth it. Because I’m definitely also enjoying the class still. So hopefully I’ll start to see more real improvement going forward.

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