Aamir Rafi - Tai Chi Space

Check out my new blog post discussing a little about the constant repetitive nature of Tai Chi Chuan and it's relation to martial arts.

Chen Tai Chi: Harnessing the Power of Repetition Explore how repetition in Chen Tai Chi contributes to traditional training and enhances martial arts skills.

New Beginners Tai Chi & Qigong Classes
Staring in March 2024

Tuesday 5th March 5.30 pm Chen Tai Chi
Thursday 7th March 6.30pm Qigong - 5 Animals Play

£45 for both classes and class recordings

For more details message me or email me at [email protected]
https://www.taichispace.online/

New post talking a little about Silk Reeling In Chen Tai Chi

Silk Reeling in Tai Chi: Understanding Beyond Waving Hands Explore the significance of silk reeling in Tai Chi beyond just waving hands. Delve into Chen Tai Chi body method and Chan su jin.

In Tai Chi practice we often hear the word ‘Fangsong’ often shortened to ‘Song’ thrown about.

The word ‘fang’ means ‘doing or to release’ and ‘sung’ means ‘relax or relaxation’. When we say relax in english we generally think of eliminating all tension, becoming almost limp. However, fangsong in tai chi refers to having alertness, springiness and aliveness. We can simply say fangsong is the act of releasing unnecessary tension in the practice of Tai Chi. It is the method of becoming aware of how you move, hold your self (posture) and to be able to inhibit any habitual contraction of muscles due to emotional stresses, bad posture, movement and breathing. Simply put we can think of fangsong in tai chi to be ‘active relaxation’ - a method of learning how to let go, release and build awareness!

As all things in tai chi the concept of fangsong isn't achieved easily, it has to be developed, trained and unpacked in stages. You can imagine the concept of fangsong in Tai Chi to be like a zip file where there's loads of information compressed and when you click on it, it all opens up. Sung in Tai Chi is just the same; it contains lots of different components to understand and to achieve song.

To learn more about how to develop and train the concept of fangsong you can join me at this year's Tai Chi Space Winter Weekend - ‘Putting the Internal into Practice’. Where we will explore all things related to developing fangsong in Tai Chi. As the saying goes ‘No song no tai chi’.

The correct practice of Tai Chi Chuan transforms both the body and mind, to create what I personally call the 'Tai Chi body'. So, what is a Tai Chi Body?

Simply put it's the ability to absorb and transmit force, develop integrated whole-body movement and power, and to isolate parts of the body to dissipate incoming force. To be able to empty the body and to become light but also heavy. To root or connect to the ground to generate power. The ability to stick and follow the opponent and to have the sensitivity and listening skill to react to changes made by the opponent. Most importantly the ability to build a physical frame/shape with the body with the correct structure for you to deliver all the above through.

I like to think of the Tai Chi body as a spinning top or a rotating sphere which can rotate in all directions to absorb and redirect incoming force or to project force away. The building of the Tai Chi body begins with the Jiben-gong (basics) correct form practice, zhan Zhuang (Standing Practice) and many of the auxiliary tai chi exercises. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, guidance from a good teacher and lots of practice.

To further build and to test the progress of this transformation we have several two person exercises. These exercises are designed to test the progress of your solo practice and to see if the body has all these connections and capabilities, and to what degree. The exercises start off soft and light with the intensity increasing as the level of the practitioner increases. The feedback gained from the two person exercises informs on how well your form practice is developing and the overall level of your Tai Chi.

The process of going back and forth from the solo and two person practice and working on the feedback gained helps to condition the mind. The idea is to be able to understand the two person exercises and their relation to form practice, and to become aware of weaknesses to understand what one needs to improve. Over time through continuous practice in this way the actions will become natural and automatic, with the mind being conditioned to perform the actions correctly as part of the subconscious.

The video below demonstrates and explains some of these two person exercises and is taken from one of my online workshops. The exercises are not to be confused for martial applications although there will be some cross over to all aspects of Tai Chi Chuan. To join my online or physical classes and workshops check out the following link https://www.patreon.com/taichispace

Does your Tai Chi system have similar two person exercises to test and develop the Tai Chi body?