Learn Tai Chi Basics For Dummies

By Stacey Burt


Tai chi is known to be a very popular martial art for those who are health conscious because this type of exercise is known to be for the strengthening of the immune system. Aside from making the internal organs strong, this type of exercise also strengthens the muscles and the bones as well. So if one would want to learn tai chi, here is a short overview of what he will learn.

Now for those who do not know, the main concept of this art is the manipulation of internal energy or otherwise known in Chinese culture as chi. Now chi is an extremely important aspect to know about because it is the one thing that Tai chi aims to be able to harness. Of course in order to harness this hidden power, the only way to do that would be through breathing exercises.

Now if one would want to harness his chi, he has to first be able to control his breathing and breathe through his abdomen. To do this, he has to first inhale and fill his abdomen with oxygen. After he does this, he should breathe our and deflate his stomach so that carbon dioxide comes out.

Now if one would want to do this martial art properly, then he has to make sure that this would be the new way that he would breathe from now on. So of course he would have to keep on practicing if he would want to get it right. Once he has done that, then he can learn about the basic stances.

The first stance that one will be learning in this art would be the horse stance. The horse stance is a very crucial stance in this art because it is the stance that one will be assuming most of the time while he is doing his forms. It is also the stance wherein one will be relaxed the most.

So for those who would want to try out this basic stance at home, basically it is done by first spreading the legs open in shoulder width and relaxing the entire body. Once one has already relaxed his body, then he has to now breathe in slowly and exhale while he bends his legs. Now all he has to do now would be to keep on practicing that stance until he will be able to hold on to that stance for around fifteen or more minutes.

After learning the horse stance, he will then be learning the bow stance which is a forward stance. He will then also be learning the cat stance wherein majority of the weight of his body will rest on the back leg. He will then slowly switch from each stance to the next one and then to the next.

Now after learning those stances, the instructor will then let the student incorporate some hand movements. This would include some slow punching movements, kicking movements, and even some pushing movements. Doing this will all encompass the forms.




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