Cloud Hands Homepage
Lesson 1 Lesson
2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4
Practice Assignments
24 Form Taijiquan
Standard Peking Short Form 1956, Yang
Style
Practice after Lesson 1
1. Practice Grasping the Sparrow's Tail
Practice the Grasping the Sparrow's Tail sequence twice
each day. This sequence
includes: Ward Off (Peng), Roll Back (Lu), Press (Ji), and Push
(An). Practice the four
movements both to the left side (Grasp the Sparrow's Tail to the Left Side -
Zuolan
Quewei) and to the right side (Youlan Quewei).
Practice for 3 minutes on each side. Practice twice
each day. Experiment with both
higher and lower stances - within your levels and limits of physical
conditioning and
readiness for comfortable movement. Train but don't strain!
Experiment with very
slow movements and moderately paced movements.
In Peng, Lu and An remember to keep the front of the knee
placed between the toes and the
heel, i.e., the knee should not extend in front of the tip of the toes nor
should the kneecap be
behind the heel. Assume a comfortable stance with slightly more weight in
the front leg
during Peng, Lu and An.
We practiced this sequence of four moves in Lesson 1 in
class and will do so again in
Lesson 2-5. These four postures or movements are four of the classic 13
Postures of Taijiquan.
Study the pictures and descriptions given in one of our textbooks. Grasping
the Sparrow's
Tail to the left is movement/posture #7 in the 24 Form, and Grasping the
Sparrow's Tail
to the Right is movment #8 in the 24 Form. This sequence of four moves is
know as
Grasping the Sparrow's Tai, Gasping the Swallow's Tail, or Grasping the Bird's
Tail. This
movement sequence is done many times in the Yang Style
Taijiquan Long (88/108) Form,
but only to the right side in the long form. .
2. Practice Standing Meditation in the Wu Ji position.
Stand quietly a few times each day in the way that we
practiced in class: place your feet together
or at shoulder width, allow your arms to hang at your sides, keep your neck and
back straight and
upright, keep you chin slightly tucked in, have your eyes take a wide angle soft
focus, breathe in
through your nose and out through your mouth, relax (Sung) your whole body, keep
your knees
slightly bent, and keep your buttocks tucked in. Use the abdominal
breathing technique: allow your
abdomen (belly) relax as you breathe in, then as you breathe out then slowly tighten
and suck in your
abdomen.
Try your best to just enjoy the moment. "Be Here
Now." Relax (Sung) and sink into a state
of consciousness that can be characterized as calm, peaceful, open, joyful,
content, unhurried,
and uplifting. If worries, concerns, memories, daydreams, or
thoughts come into your
mind, then just note them, exhale completely, tighten your abdomen, then raise
your hands up
in front as your breath in, then lower your hands as you breath out.
This standing meditation posture (Wu Ji) is called the
Mountain Pose (Tadasana) in Hatha
Yoga.
3. Be Patient and Be Kind to Yourself
Yes, you may have felt a bit frustrated after Lesson
1. Maybe you got a bit tired. Maybe you
could not get coordinated when doing some of the movements. Maybe you
think you will
never remember all these weird movements. Maybe you did not feel
comfortable with the
warriorship aspects of Taijiquan martial arts. Maybe you feel like a bull
in a supermarket.
Maybe you feel you will "never get it."
Allow yourself to just be a beginner. Your body will
take time to learn to move in new
ways, and will resist change. Just be patient and coax it
along. Your mind (Yi) can lead
your bodily energy (Chi) in a gentle and patient manner. As you practice
each day your
body will slowly but surely become stronger, more confident, more coordinated,
more
skilled, more aware. Just smile, just practice! In doing so
your will find that your
self-critical and self-judgmental tendencies will just slowly become less
important,
less meaningful, less useful to you. Take your time and have
confidence. Congratulate
yourself for wanting to improve your health and fitness, for taking the time to
attend
the Taijiquan class, for respecting yourself, for striving for
self-realization.
Remember to keep a nice soft smile on your face as you practice Taijiquan.
Be thankful you are able to enjoy your Taijiquan
practice. Mentally send your good-will,
best wishes, and prayers out to other persons not so fortunate or healthy as
you.
4. Study
The long-term enjoyment, benefit and advancement in Taijiquan involves 90%
practice
and 10% theory. Beginners should make some efforts to learn about
the theory,
history and practices of Taijiquan.
Obtain one of the suggested Instructional Resources
cited in the handout. Purchase
one book, study, then exchange your book for a different book with a fellow student
in the Taijiquan
class.
Explore the Cloud Hands website.
Lesson 1 Handouts:
24 Form Taijiquan Instructional Resources
Practice after Lesson 2
Repeat practices of Lesson 1.
Reconect with your Great Bear Self via some of the postures and moves we
practiced and
discussed in class: swaying arms from side to side, wagging the tail from side
to
side from the Eight Section Brocade, hands up in claws and
turning from side to
side as you softly growl, and Cloud Hands - Chasing the Clouds from the
Sky.
Remember to Frolic!
It is just fine for you to Dance like a Bear, and become a Silly Bear for a
awhile!!
Allow yourself some time for frolicking.
Review moves 1-3 of the 24 Form.
Practice after Lesson 3
Repeat the suggested practices of Lesson 1 and 2.
Review and practice moves 1-5 of the 24 Form:
Commencement: Step left, Raise and Lower Arms
Parting the Wild Horse Mane (Left side, Right side, Left Side)
White Crane Spreads its Wings
Brush Knee and Palm Strike (Left side, Right side, Left Side)
Step Up and Play the Pi Pa (Lute, Guitar)
Do some reading in our textbooks, and view the 24 Form instructional
videotape
for moves 1-5.
Explore some of the web links on the 24 Form webpage.
Waving
Hands Like Clouds Homepage
Valley
Spirit Tai Chi Chuan Club
Red Bluff, Tehama County,
North Sacramento Valley, Northern California, U.S.A.
Cities in the area: Oroville, Paradise, Durham, Chico, Hamilton City, Orland,
Corning,
Rancho Tehama, Los Molinos, Tehama, Gerber, Manton, Cottonwood,
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© Michael P. Garofalo, 2003, All Rights Reserved
Cuttings: Haiku and Short Poems
Cloud Hands: T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Chi Kung Website
Tai Chi Chuan, Taijiquan, T'ai Chi Ch'uan,
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GongFu, Kung Fu
October 14, 2004