Yesterday I asked my Tai Chi teacher Liu Sensei how to relax hands, because I feel mines are kind of stiff and contracted. She answered that first you need to be pushing or releasing energy in any other different ways, to be able, afterwards, to relax.
Usually relaxation comes after you sink your wrists and you need to visualize the energy coming out of your middle fingers.
This explanation was really enlightening and, once again, consistent with Taoism’s principles: Tai Chi is an endless alternation of releasing and receiving energy.

Reminder of what we did last lesson

We practiced the backward walk, emphasizing the importance of not to cross your legs while doing this move: crossing your feet would, once again, compromise your balance and, hence, your stability.
We then studied the arm’s moves and combined them to the legs’ ones: now we know how to “Repulse The Monkey”.
We practiced “Eight Style” and went further on in “24 Yang” form: from “Playing The Lute”, till “Repulse The Monkey”, “Ward Off” and “Grasp The Sparrow’s Tail” left and right, “First Single Whip”, “Clouds Hands” and “Second Single Whip”.

Now my students know 60% of “24 Yang” form!

Last year I wanted to paint using the traditional Chinese painting style, and the background of this photo came up. I had a lot of fun with Chinese brushes and sumi ink! My daughter Virginia shot a photo in which I stand one leg, my mom saw it and she wanted to have a larger print. So I combined it with the background, trying to blend it in and this is the result! I hope she likes it, it’s my Christmas gift for her! In this artwork I was able to combine my two major passions, panting and Tai Chi!

I am really so passionate about Tai Chi that I’d like everyone I meet to give it a try! And sometimes I need to tell my students so many details so that they don’t miss too much of the depth of Tai Chi; this can be overwhelming but I keep repeating they don’t need to remember every detail right now,  just be aware of that.

Reminder of what we reviewed in this lesson

I emphasized the differences in arms’ moves between “Parting The Wild Horse’s Mane” and “Ward Off” stances and reviewed the martial applications involved.

We then broke down “Grasp the Bird’s Tail” stance into any single move, standing on a half stance  until our thighs soared!

This stance is a very good example of how the moves of the arms raise the chi from its original  position in the tan-t’ien up to the navel and back down to tan-t’ien, and this happens several times, having the chi circulate your whole body and increase internal energy. This is believed also to prevent many illnesses, accordingly to the main principles of traditional Chinese medicine.

We reviewed “Brush Knee”, practiced “Eight Style” and introduced “Playing the Lute” in “24 Yang Style”.

At the end of the lesson my students were willing to practice a very short Kung Fu form, accompanied by a very martial Chinese music! We had a lot fun, punching and shouting and releasing so much energy!

We’ll keep practicing some Kung Fu, that helps in keeping in mind that Tai Chi is the internalization of Kung Fu.