Flowing Form

Upon seeing Tai Chi, I was attracted to the flowing nature of the movements. And there is a flow.

But how do we flow? A tradtional method of learning would be to learn one posture at a time and understand the movement, energy and application. Then move on to the next posture and so forth. This could take several years. There would be no emphasis on the linking and flow between postures until much later.

I don't think I could teach like that as most students just want to be able to do the Form.Like me, they were attracted by the flow and the softness.

John Kells taught that each posture has a beginning and end. We must not rush or fudge these stages in order to "flow", which produces an empty mishmash. Neither should we linger in our movements.

The mind connects the postures into a form. We need to pay attention to the beginning and end of a posture so there there is no hesitation or stagnation, yet the posture has been fully completed. One method is to visualise the next movement slightly ahead of the physical follow through. It's like having a film running in your mind, with the body following.

This is really hard work but if you are sincere in your investigation of tai chi principles it is well worth it.