Yang-style Tai Chi: A Basic Guide by Shaz Davis

Yang-‐style Tai Chi-‐A Basic Guide

YANG-‐STYLE TAI CHI A Basic Guide

SHAZ DAVIS

Yang-‐style Tai Chi-‐A Basic Guide

Copyright Yang-‐style Tai Chi: A Basic Guide Copyright © 2012 Shaz Davis ISBN: 978-‐0-‐473-‐22824-‐8 Published by FirstLine Limited PO Box 36 614, Merivale Christchurch, 8146, New Zealand sharon@sharondavis.co First edition, November 2012

Other books in this series: Yang-‐style Tai Chi: An Intermediate Guide Yang-‐style Tai Chi: An Experienced Guide ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, without the prior consent of the copyright holder.

Yang-‐style Tai Chi-‐A Basic Guide

Contents Before you start

Introduction to Tai Chi Avoiding injury Tai Chi terms and concepts Getting started

Section one in detail

Opening posture Grasp sparrow's tail Single whip Raise hands, lift leg White stork displays wing Brush knee, twist left (1) Play guitar (1) Brush knee, twist left (2) Brush knee, twist right Brush knee, twist left (3) Play guitar (2) Brush knee, twist left (4) Deblect sideways, parry, step forward, punch Apparent closure and counter Cross arms Closing posture

Summary of section one

(Includes breathing sequence for section one).

Yang-‐style Tai Chi-‐A Basic Guide

2: SECTION ONE IN DETAIL GRASP SPARROW'S TAIL For ease of learning and execution, this posture (actually a group of postures) has been divided into a number of sub-‐postures. Grasp Sparrow's Tail is extremely important as it embodies four of the eight major energies in Tai Chi.

Ward off to the Left [Peng Zuo] Lift your R hand to shoulder height (keeping your arm straight), straightening your R wrist as it rises, keeping your palm horizontal to the bloor throughout the lift. When your arm passes through 45 degrees, start to sink the body lower -‐ bending your knees further. Then move your weight fully onto your L leg while still looking N and keeping your R arm raised. Turn your hips, head and R foot through 90 degrees to E. Your R arm bends at the elbow (approximately 45 degrees – bingers pointing NE). Remember to keep shoulders relaxed with hand at shoulder height, and a slight dip at the elbow. Keep your wrist straight and the hand in Fair Lady's Hand. Move your weight onto your R leg (hips still facing E), as your head now turns to NE. Simultaneously turn your L hand so that your palm faces upward, bingers pointing to E, placing your L wrist against the top of your L hip, while lifting your L heel off the ground – with your R leg. Your R hand still points NE. Lift your L foot slightly off the bloor and bring it up to your R ankle and then step forward and out to NE, opening your stance out to shoulder width, as in the Tai Chi Walk. L foot

Yang-‐style Tai Chi-‐A Basic Guide facing NE. (Eyes still looking NE). You transfer your weight forward to the L leg, and ward off to the L by raising your L arm up in front of your chest (L palm in front of R shoulder) and then horizontally forwards until it ends in a rounded position in front of your chest (palm facing you tilted slightly so that your baby binger is closer to you than your thumb. Your wrist is in front of the centre of your chest). Simultaneously your R hand blows over your L wrist like water blowing over a waterfall, and lowers across the body -‐ palm downwards, to the outside of your R thigh, ending with a blexed wrist at your side, base of thumb opposite your hip joint. This move is sometimes referred to as stroke the bird or the waterfall technique. Ward off to the right [Peng Yao] Move your weight onto your L leg by moving your torso forward. Remember not to lift upward -‐ imagine your head is brushing under the ceiling throughout your Tai Chi practice. Simultaneously lift your R heel and turn your L hand over so that the palm faces the bloor and the bingers point E (L arm at 45 degrees to the body). Turn your R hand so that the palm faces upward while positioning it under the centre of the L palm; at the same time turn your head to face E. Hips remain NE throughout. Lift your R foot off the bloor and step forward with your R leg, by bringing the R foot up to the L ankle, and then forward and out to E. Keep your torso facing NE. Ward off to the R, by rotating hands maintaining their relative postures as if holding a ball in front of your chest. (Your R

Yang-‐style Tai Chi-‐A Basic Guide wrist is now facing centre chest at shoulder height with slight hand tilt, L palm facing inside of R wrist – L hand in line with R elbow). Maintain the open door position throughout. Simultaneously move weight forward onto your R leg, turning hips E. Your shoulders are rounded to form part of the circular design of the R arm and hand for Peng energy or ward off. Lift up Raise your R hand so that the R wrist is at eye height, by lifting the entire arm at the shoulder. Angle the L hand slightly, as you raise R wrist, so that the L palm maintains the relationship of your L palm facing your R wrist. Your eyes now look at your R wrist. Extend Straighten out your R arm so that your bingers point E, wrist at eye height, while your L hand adjusts so that your palm faces the inside of your R elbow. Your eyes still look up at your R wrist. Turn both palms so that your R palm faces the bloor, and your L palm moves to face upwards under your R elbow. Your eyes now look at the R hand. Roll back [Lu] The arms sweep down slowly across the body as you lower the arms in front of you, past your L hip and then raise them behind you, as you simultaneously transfer your weight onto your L leg and turn slowly to look behind you W. As your arms move you watch your R hand until the L arm reaches vertical at which stage your gaze transfers to the L hand. Your L arm stops when parallel with the bloor, at shoulder height, bingers pointing W, palm down. Your R arm stops just above the hip, in the waist, protecting the descending colon, R palm facing body, but not touching. Your hips are facing NE.

Yang-‐style Tai Chi-‐A Basic Guide

Press [Ji] Turn your L hand so that the palm faces upward while pulling your R hand toward the elbow of your L arm. (Keep our R elbow and shoulder down and relaxed). Keep looking at the L hand and into the palm once it turns over. Keep looking into the L palm as you fold your L arm, bending it at the elbow, and watch your L palm, as it approaches behind your L ear. As our R hand gets out of sight, look down into your R palm. Lower your L hand to touch the inside of your R wrist with your L bingertips and press through to E, transferring your weight onto your R leg and turning hips to E (ending in the classic forward stance). Look at the R wrist until the end of the press when you extend your gaze to the distant horizon E. Push [An] Separate your hands by blexing R wrist up and the opening both hands out. Then pull your arms slowly back to your shoulders, wrist blexed, as you transfer your weight onto your back leg (L). You thumbs touch the outside of your chest, and your elbows point behind you. Keep your hips square facing E. Transfer your weight forward onto your R leg, and push forward with your arms at shoulder height keeping your hands shoulder width apart. You don't want to straighten your arms fully; the aim is to avoid locking the elbows. The push is directed from the legs and hips.

SINGLE WHIP Commencing from the end of the Push [An] in Grasp Sparrow's Tail (facing E), move your weight backwards on to your L leg, keeping your arms out straight at shoulder

Yang-‐style Tai Chi-‐A Basic Guide height. Slowly straighten your wrists as you move your weight back, ending with your palms horizontal to the bloor, bingers pointing W – hands at shoulder height. Keep your weight on L leg, and turn your R foot, leg, hips and shoulders to NW -‐ with your arms still extended out in front of you -‐ your bingers will end pointing NW. Your head follows this movement, which is directed by the hip, and also looks NW. Transfer your weight slowly on to your R leg, rotating the upper torso -‐ shoulders and head and arms -‐ to NE. Keep your hips facing NW; this rotation is in the waist. Your arms are still extended, and your bingers end pointing NE. Whip your upper torso around (slowly) to face NW, while your head looks W. Your weight remains on your R leg which has it's foot pointing NW -‐ your foot and hips remain NW. As you turn slowly, lift your L leg slightly to raise the foot off the bloor, and place ball of L foot down on the bloor, facing W half a foot's length in front of the R foot (but just to the outside of the R heel) in a half print. Your L hand deblects across in front of your face, and ends in front of your L shoulder, palm facing shoulder (elbow has dropped down to waist). Your R arm is extended to ENE and your hand is "holding a dirty nappy" -‐ the bingers are straight and drawn together against the thumb, wrist bent. Your R arm is held slightly behind the R shoulder, opening it out and exercising the shoulder joint. The top of your R wrist should be at eye level, and your elbow should be slightly bent downward. Turn your L palm slowly to face W while keeping it at the same height in front of the L shoulder. Step forward and out with the L leg to the W, and then strike forward W with the L hand as if striking out to the

Yang-‐style Tai Chi-‐A Basic Guide face (binger tips at your eye height), as you power the strike by turning the hips and shoulders from NW to W. Your R hand is still "holding the dirty nappy" at eye height -‐ the shoulders end square W, with the R arm still slightly behind the R shoulder.

Yang-‐style Tai Chi-‐A Basic Guide

3: SUMMARY OF SECTION ONE Understanding this summary Each paragraph is a single move where all body parts must start and end their movements at the same time, although each part will be moving at a different speed and through a different range of movements. This is known as the Tai Chi principle of synchronicity. Please note that Tai Chi is performed very slowly, becoming slower as you advance. The goal of moving slowly is implied with every move (and not repeated in the text to save you from insanity by repetition). Breathing is shown by IN and OUT. Directions used in this summary are: ◦ Forward -‐ in front of (same direction as body is facing), ◦ Backward -‐ behind (opposite direction to that which body is facing), ◦ Up (away from bloor), ◦ Down (towards bloor), ◦ Out (away from the body) and ◦ In (towards the body). ◦ Left and Right are abbreviated to L and R. Cardinal compass points are abbreviated to N, E, S, W, NE, SE and so on. North is taken as the direction you face when starting the form.

Opening Posture Start with feet together (parallel and touching toe-‐to-‐toe,

Yang-‐style Tai Chi-‐A Basic Guide heel-‐to-‐heel), knees bent slightly (unlocked). Arms are straight and relaxed by the sides of the thighs, but not touching thighs. Hands are straight and relaxed, bingers separated and 'alive'. (Fair Lady's Hand or Beauteous Tai Chi Hand). Consciously relax, breathe gently (deep, slow and long). Look straight-‐ahead N and quieten your thoughts (this is known as Wu-‐Chi). IN Shift weight onto R leg, and move L foot out to the L side so that feet are shoulder-‐width apart (outer edge of feet in line with outer edge of shoulders). Feet still parallel, facing forward, toes and heels in a straight line. OUT Move weight onto L leg, and centralise. Knees still bent slightly. Tuck pelvic girdle under, keeping buttocks relaxed – 'navel looking at moon'. OUT Turn hands, rotating the hands around the thumbs so that the palms face back or S, and hands are in line with front of thighs. IN Lift both hands forward to shoulder height by lifting shoulder blades slightly forward, keep wrists straight, maintaining hands a shoulder width apart. Try to keep the arms 'heavy' and relaxed. OUT Lower both hands slowly to your sides, keeping arms straight. Slowly blex wrists as you lower your arms, keeping palms horizontal to the bloor throughout, so that by the end of the lowering movement your palms face the bloor, wrists bent to maximum extent, cutting off the blow of Chi. Your arms are next to your sides, but not against them. Your hands should be under your shoulders. Imagine you are pushing down with your arms during this move.

Yang-‐style Tai Chi-‐A Basic Guide Closing posture IN Bring L foot in to R foot. Flatten out arms at shoulder height -‐ R forearm on top of L forearm. Finger tips at edge of elbows. OUT R hand moves outside of L elbow. Drop arms slowly, blexing wrists, crossing in front of the navel so that the palm are facing down, parallel to the bloor. Then sweep the elbows round to your sides. OUT Lower the hands, straightening the wrists, palms to thighs, and return to Wu Chi.