Fall 2009: meet each Thursday, from 12:10 to
12:50. People start showing up at
noon to warm up. Most of the time
we are in the Regency Room, but may also be in the SCC, close by.
Human Resources
will issue their flyer on fitness courses, which will include meeting
places. In perfect weather we will
still meet on the big lawn between Admin. and Eastvold.
All are welcome, whether you are one of the regulars, someone who has
not attended in a while, or someone just starting. Many people in the class are interested in tai chi for the
health benefits (the link is to an article in the May 2009 Harvard Women’s
Health Watch newsletter).
The class focuses on the
standard (sometimes called simplified) Tai Chi 24 form. Here is a list of the 24 postures.
VIDEO CLIPS OF THE FORM:
·
Here is the form
filmed from behind, easier for following along. The front view
of the same person is here.
·
This gem
from Youtube is billed as a world champion—learn a lot by comparing
her to the others.
·
Here is the form
gracefully and athletically performed. (Note: this person is a Cirque du
Soleil level athlete, and no one in our class bends that low or kicks that
high. But it is something to see.)
·
Here is what a group can look like.
For people who want an audio
clip of the form, to guide them through the 24 postures, ask Sid.
Courtesy of Michael P.
Garofalo, here is a detailed
description of the 24 form, along with figure drawings for each
posture.
Here are “Ten Important Points for Tai
Chi.” The list is also
referred to at the “Ten Essentials.” Beginning
and advanced students should refer to this often.
The
“ten important points” link is excerpted from a very good book: Douglas Wile, compiler and translator, T’ai-chi Touchstones:
Yang Family Secret Transmissions (NY: Sweet Ch’i Press, 1983), ISBN =
0-912059-01-x.
Another
very good book, with the Ten Essentials, tai chi classics, and detailed
descriptions of each posture in the long form, is Fu Zhongwen, Mastering Yang
Style Taijiquan, translated by Louis Swaim (Berkeley: Blue Snake Books,
2006), ISBN-13 = 978-1-58394-152-2.
An interesting book is Wolf Lowenthal, There Are No Secrets: Professor Cheng Man-Ch’ing and his Tai Chi Chuan (Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 1991), ISBN 1-55643-112-0.
People interested in tai
chi classes are invited to check out the Tai
Chi Qigong Wellness Center, in Tacoma. For people who want a more intensive class in the standard
24 form, take a look at my Monday class.
The objective is to have you know the standard form, and many details of
Tai Chi movement, over ten weeks.
We also offer classes in the Yang style long form.
And, for those interested,
here are links to some amazing
and weird tai chi things.
Thank you,
Sid Olufs
last updated June, 2009.
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