Quote: Just learn the form. I knew a lady at a community college who died recently. But she taught Tai chi for health, and basic push hands..but her focus was not martial arts, nor was she good at it. But the energy work we did was fabulous, and it helps greatly in ANY martial art.
It might not be the real deal, but the energy and health benefits are always worth it. Especially for free. Honestly, I'm considering going to another class that is more energy focused, because mine is too form/fight focused. (so I go to both at same time).
The truth is that you really never perfect the form. I have been doing the Yang Short Form for almost 12 years, the Yang Sword Form for about 5 and a new form of Tai Chi called the Infinite Nine for 2 or 3 years, which I teach ever so often. You just keep going deeper and deeper into each form. You could do one form all your life and never get the full benefits. Chi Kung helps you know how to. Thatīs why I like doing it so much, especially Tai-Chi Ball Chi-Kung. It is chi-kung that includes all of the foundational movements of every Chinese based MA. I have never taught it though, because it is really difficult to find people who want to go that deep into the MAs nowadays.
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Kendall Ronin, On Being Loveīs Warrior, www.dswellness.com.