Lee's Modified Yang Style
Because I got this account, I figure I might as well use it. And because I named it after my favorite move thus far in my education in Lee's Modified Yang Style, why not write about t'ai ch'i?
This weekend, I looked at the "cheat sheet" of moves in this "intermediate"-length t'ai ch'i form I've been learning and realized I'm near the end. By the end of class this Sunday, we'll have completed move 53, Punch Under Elbow on the opposite side. Only twenty to go after that! So far, repeating moves on the opposite side has felt very strange, but Small Circle, Single Whip feels especially weird.
Every week, Sigung chooses least one thing I (or the class as a whole) need to work on and spends extra time getting the subtleties right. Recently, we were asked to focus on the hip and shoulder movements that propel Small Circle, Single Whip. It's not so much the hands or arms that move. Rather, it's how your torso moves while your hands more or less stay in one place. Not too unlike all the other t'ai ch'i moves, but still something I had certainly glossed over. It wasn't too hard to learn once Sigung pointed it. And yet, now that I'm trying to apply the same principles of movement to Small Circle, Single Whip on the opposite side, I feel like I must be doing it wrong because it just feels so much more...showy. I'd never thought of it as a showy move until now.
Of all the moves thus far, the Stomp move(s) have been easiest for me to get right off the bat. My body actually feels more centered when I thrust my leg and foot forward with my hands rising behind me. Interestingly, Sigung says she thinks it's the hardest move in the entire form. What about the slow crescent kicks of Separate Arms and Feet? What about Grasp Bird's Tail? It still takes a ton of concerted effort for me not to bob up and down when I'm moving from one Grasp Bird's Tail to the next.
Sometime this week, I'm going to time how long it takes to go through the form up to step 53. Up until recently, we used to spend the last ten minutes or so of class going through every move in the form. I suspect it'll take at least that long if I can manage to do the form without skipping any steps.
This weekend, I looked at the "cheat sheet" of moves in this "intermediate"-length t'ai ch'i form I've been learning and realized I'm near the end. By the end of class this Sunday, we'll have completed move 53, Punch Under Elbow on the opposite side. Only twenty to go after that! So far, repeating moves on the opposite side has felt very strange, but Small Circle, Single Whip feels especially weird.
Every week, Sigung chooses least one thing I (or the class as a whole) need to work on and spends extra time getting the subtleties right. Recently, we were asked to focus on the hip and shoulder movements that propel Small Circle, Single Whip. It's not so much the hands or arms that move. Rather, it's how your torso moves while your hands more or less stay in one place. Not too unlike all the other t'ai ch'i moves, but still something I had certainly glossed over. It wasn't too hard to learn once Sigung pointed it. And yet, now that I'm trying to apply the same principles of movement to Small Circle, Single Whip on the opposite side, I feel like I must be doing it wrong because it just feels so much more...showy. I'd never thought of it as a showy move until now.
Of all the moves thus far, the Stomp move(s) have been easiest for me to get right off the bat. My body actually feels more centered when I thrust my leg and foot forward with my hands rising behind me. Interestingly, Sigung says she thinks it's the hardest move in the entire form. What about the slow crescent kicks of Separate Arms and Feet? What about Grasp Bird's Tail? It still takes a ton of concerted effort for me not to bob up and down when I'm moving from one Grasp Bird's Tail to the next.
Sometime this week, I'm going to time how long it takes to go through the form up to step 53. Up until recently, we used to spend the last ten minutes or so of class going through every move in the form. I suspect it'll take at least that long if I can manage to do the form without skipping any steps.
posted by Bend Bow Shoot Tiger at 1:36 PM
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