Tai Chi Drill Post Exercise (part one)

Posted In How to - tai chi | 10 comments

Sorry for the late posting.  Computers are great when everything is working well.  This video demonstrates how to do the drill post exercise for Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan.  Tomorrow I’ll follow this up with an additional drills that can be done to add some variety, and to practice incorporating turning the waist.

Enjoy the drill and be sure to tell me what you think.

John

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  1. wujimon (10 comments)
    1132 days ago

    Awesome of you to share this information, John! I really like the part about how the width of your stance should be roughly the length of one’s foot! I got corrected on this many times and I often took a much wider stance (I blame it on Chen taiji.. lol ;) )

    Additionally, I liked how you spoke about the knees barely covering your toes and how going too low may over exert the knees. Best to start small and work your way up (or down..) ;)


  2. admin (64 comments)
    1132 days ago

    Wujimon

    Glad you liked this. You’re always so enthusiastic when it comes to tai chi. You’re right, the width of stance is what we use in our style and other styles can vary quite a bit (even other Yang Style Schools).

    Although I’m not an expert in external arts, I’ve seen greatly varying stance widths there too and the masters in any style always seem to be well rooted. I believe it has more to do with learning to really use energy anyway.

    Look forward to reading more on your blog and talking with you there and here.

    John


  3. Steven Smith (2 comments)
    1132 days ago

    Nice work John. Pretty straight forward explanation. I think explaining Qigong is a bit ironic in that we cannot show Qigong while explaining, and we cannot explain it while showing. Tragic!

    Also, there’s so many depths to this simple pose. One of the other names: 3 Circles Standing Zen Meditation…a mouthful.

    We’ll watch for more.

    Wujimon: I’m with you…I like narrow better.


  4. admin (64 comments)
    1130 days ago

    Steven,

    Yea, it seems everything about taiji and qigong has many levels. Good to hear from you and I’ll be looking for more on your blog as well.

    John


  5. Tobi - Phuket Meditation (2 comments)
    811 days ago

    Great explanation. Thank you so much. Your strength is detail and friendly explanations. Enjoyed watching this…


  6. John Crewdson (479 comments)
    811 days ago

    Thanks Tobi. I try to make it clear. My teacher is particularly good at passing along the details so I’ve had a good role model.

    John


  7. dianelacruz (2 comments)
    472 days ago

    Hi John, this is the first time I have been introduced to Tai Chi. And your right my knees started to hurt as I was standing with them to close together. Once I found a more comfortable position I managed to relax. It will take me awhile to get to the 5 minutes you recommended as I took a fall last year and hurt my knee. John, may I ask you if it is okay to do this if I had a previous injury? I am still unable to kneel on it and I am hoping perhaps the Tai Chi will help mend it. Cheers!


  8. John Crewdson (479 comments)
    471 days ago

    Deane,

    From what you’ve said here is sounds as though you should be able to do this exercise as long as you don’t push it beyond what your body can stand. If your knee hurts more than just an ache or if it hurts later on in the day you may still be injured and you may not be ready for this exercise. I’ve found that once my body begins to heal, tai chi speeds the process along.

    Thanks,
    John


  9. tom (1 comments)
    303 days ago

    Thank you for your post and very useful for me.