Move #73 - Tai Chi Conclusion

This past Sunday, we flew through the final ten moves in our T'ai Ch'i form! I don't think this would have happened if a couple of us had not started practicing the form before Sigung arrived. She must have assumed we had warmed up beforehand because, after observing for a few minutes, she just stood up and started directing like she would in the middle of class.

Those last ten moves were much easier than I thought they would be. Recently, Sigung has taken to saying, "Just like the other side. Easy, right?" Sunday, I commented on how the moves that are duplicated on both sides of the body are harder than entirely new moves. I spoke without thinking. I realized later that I only feel this way about the Single Whip and Punch Under Elbow poses.

Ever since we started doing Single Whip on both sides, I've messed up almost every instance of Single Whip in the form. I can't remember anymore which hand forms the peacock and which hand does the circling. I choose on-the-fly and I almost always choose wrong.

In a small victory, though, Sigung watched me go through 59 - Cloud Hands, 60 - Single Whip (on the right), 61 - High Pat Horse (on the right), and 62 - Fair Lady at Shuttles (on the left) and I finally learned what I've been doing wrong with Single Whip all along. (What I learned doesn't solve the problem of figuring out which hand forms the peacock and which circles, but it does add some finesse to what I've been doing.) When I do Single Whip, the hand that circles starts palm out and ends palm out before I shift my weight forward and extend that hand in front of me. Well, I should have been finishing the circle with my palm facing me before I turn it outward and extend. A small thing, but it's always a small thing when it comes to doing t'ai ch'i properly.

I also found out that when you shift your weight onto the back leg for High Pat Horse, it's more of a sitting motion than the leaning or sliding back motion that I was doing before...

Aside from 63 - Punch Under Elbow, all the moves we learned on Sunday were surprisingly natural. Sigung even said towards the end of class, "You say the moves are harder on the opposite side, but you see how fast we went through them today? You should have seen how you looked the first time through!"

I never thought we'd finish the form before the end of the month. I do think it helps that most of the people in our class also practice kung fu, but even the one person who doesn't has done a great job. Sigung didn't think we'd finish so soon either. She said she had been planning to bring champagne to next Sunday's class to celebrate! I wonder if she still will! Maybe I will bring orange juice just in case.