Tai Chi Notes, April 21, 2019

Early notes this week since I won’t be at Tai Chi class on Tuesday. The Lotus Wu Ji is still going well; I’m staying at 20 minutes for now instead of going up to 21 minutes today, since for whatever reason I find it harder on Sundays, but I did make the full time on Thursday and Sunday. And I feel like it’s reorienting my shoulders somewhat, which I hope is good; I’ve actually noticed that I’m swinging my arms more freely when I’m walking, and I’m pretty sure that is good.

On Saturday my teacher went over my form. Notes:

• I should spiral when doing the Ji to left at the start, I shouldn’t just push.
• When on one foot before the first Jin Gang, don’t move my right elbow back, it breaks the energy at my shoulder, move my arms out from the body instead.
• When pounding in the Jin Gang, be a little more full with elbows out.
• After the second Jin Gang, keep my back full when extending my right arm and stepping back. In general, be more full in that section.
• In Oblique Posture, lead more with my shoulder.
• Move left elbow back more when punching, to help with getting energy from twisting my body.
• When transitioning from Fist under Elbow to Reverse with Spiraling Forearms, strike forward with my left hand. But you don’t do that in the repetition of Reverse with Spiraling Forearms: that comes after The Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg, so you’re pushing up there instead of forward.
• After the Oblique Posture following Reverse with Spiraling Forearms, don’t lean forward or reach up and over, instead sink and grab an arm right in front of you, doing a Lu on it. And expand out with your top arm in the two blocks at the start of Flash through the Back.
• In Kick with Two Feet Up, make sure the right arm goes back, up, and over.
• After the second Pat the High Horse, have the left hand turned around so the back of the hand is on your stomach before starting to turn your foot/body/right hand.
• In general, I should expand a little more: when bending my arms, don’t bend my elbow so sharply, keep my forearm further away from my body.

Also on Saturday one of the senior students was helping go through the second form. One question I had was which foot you turn on when doing the move where you open and close both arms simultaneously, looking to the left and right. (I need to learn the names of the second form moves!) The answer is that you should be planted on your left foot with your right foot moving in both the turns (the one at the start and the one in the middle).