Remember in tai chi, it is important to control your movements so that they are slow, even and continuous rather than moving fast and getting over as many movements as possible. Tai chi is different from the fast paced world we are now a part of. Tai chi philosophy is that moving slower may get you closer to nature and health faster, and moving in curves can be more effective than a straight line.

You can learn the 4th Qigong (pronounce as chee gong) exercise in one or two sessions. Practice all four Qigong exercises together once you remember them.

Movement 2 should take one to two sessions; remember to practice before moving on.

Movement 3 should take one to four sessions, and same sessions for practice.

If you encounter any discomfort or problems, discuss with your health professionals or instructor. It is a good idea to check with your health professional every now and report how you are getting along.

Link everything you have learned and practice in a sequence. For example, once you have learned movement 1 and 2, practice them together, and then when you have learned movement 3, continue to practice 1,2 and 3 together in a sequence.

7. Lesson 3 (47-59 minutes) begins to put everything together; the natural flow of tai chi is beginning to show.

The contents are:

• Movement 4 - Waving Hands in the Cloud.
• Movement 5 - Opening and Closing Hands
• Movement 6 - Closing
• Both sides of the six movements

As a general rule, I recommend two to four sessions per movement and a similar numbers of sessions for practice. By now you should have a rough idea of what you can do; if you are not sure, go for the conservative approach. Movement 4 is more difficult, you may need more time, whereas movement 5 and 6 are repetitions which do not require much time to pick up.

You may need to give yourself more time to learn and practice the Basic Six set to the other side.

8. Depending on how well you have done the previous lessons, you can adjust your speed accordingly.

Now you should read "Six Tai Chi Principles for Beginners" at page 53 of the handbook, as listed below.

ESSENTIAL TAI CHI PRINCIPLES

Tai chi contains essential principles, all of which are fundamental and similar in the different styles. When you concentrate on the essential, you speed up your progression, and you improve, no matter what style you do. Don't worry about the minor details. Focus your practise on these principles.

In my workshops and videos, I mention these essential principles. Here, I've converted them into simple, easy to understand terms. They are classified into: Movement; body and internal.

Movement:
1. Make your movements slow, even and continuous, maintaining the same speed throughout. In other words, control your movements.

2. Move as though there is a gentle resistance. Imagine that the air around you is dense and you have to move against this dense air. This will help you cultivate your inner force.

Body:
3. Be aware of your weight transference. First, centre yourself, then control your balance, keeping your body alignments, and when you move backwards, forwards or sideways, touch down first, then gradually and consciously transfer your weight forward or backward.

4. Body Alignments. Be sure you keep your body in an upright position.

Internal:
5. Loosening the joints. It is important to do the Tai Chi movements in a relaxed manner but relaxation here does not mean that all your muscles go floppy. You should be stretching, loosening. Try consciously and gently stretch every joint from within, almost like an internal expansion of the joints.

6. Mental Focus. Be sure not to let your mind distract what you are doing and focus on your movement so that your internal and external are well integrated.

Try to work on one principle at a time, for several sessions, until you feel proficient with it, then pick up another principle to practice with the Basic set you have done so far. Keep practicing with all principles before moving on to the next lesson.

These are the contents of the remainder of the lessons:

Lesson 4 - moving (59 minutes -1 hour 30 minutes)

• Warm up, stretching and cooling exercises
• Qigong exercises
• Both sides of the six movements

Lesson 5 - moving (- 1 hour 38 minutes)

• Advanced movement 1 - Brush Knee
• Advanced movement 2 - Playing the Lute

continue...

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