My tai chi teacher in Kunming

[abcdefg]

Was cleaning out large computer files this morning. Found this short video, shot on my Xiaomi phone 4 or 5 years ago in Kunming. We met every morning at 8 a.m. on a square behind a small shopping center, short walking distance from my apartment. Instruction cost 25 Yuan a month. Some days we practiced open hands routines, like in this video; some days used mock swords, some days sturdy folding martial-arts fans, other days we used two short bamboo sticks. Teacher had a cassette player that supplied music. Usually 15 or 20 students; I was the only gringo. No English spoken. 

 

This link will be good for 30 days: https://vimeo.com/784145019 

 

 

[TheBigZaboon]

Your teacher is gorgeous, and I mean this sincerely. I certainly don't mean it as a joke.

 

More than ten years ago, I was the first, and as far as I know, only, westerner allowed into a certain Chinese-language school in Japan. It was not a conversation school.  In order to maintain its accreditation, all students were required to take physical education, which in our case was tai qi chuan. My teacher was a Japanese woman whose skills were good enough to satisfy the Chinese on the staff, who were quite picky about anything involving Chinese culture. But your teacher exudes the good health and calmness associated with tai qi. And she moves with a smoothness I didn't notice in my teacher. I'm jealous.

 

TBZ

 

PS: I was never any good at Tai Qi, I couldn't keep my balance. Found out I had a spinal stenosis, and a slight amount of scoliosis that wasn't severe enough to keep me out of the army. Kept falling on my butt.

[abcdefg]

@TBZ -- I agree. She was graceful and elegant. I was always amazed at how absolutely she could concentrate and wall off external distractions. She was also patient and kind. Afraid I was rather inept and had two left feet. She sometimes would assign a senior student to work with me off to the side a little while on moves that I was butchering.

 

Most of the people in the class had been doing Tai Chi off and on since childhood. Majority were middle-aged women, some were retired guys who would talk to me during the breaks about what life was like on the railroad or in the factory. A few younger students would drop in occasionally.

 

Must confess I went for the social contact and fresh air as much as anything else. (Class was outside.) Sometimes a few of us would go off together afterwards for coffee or tea. Or someone would ask me out of the blue where I usually bought my rice. Then they would insist on taking me to their favorite rice store, where it was fresher and cheaper and better than anywhere else in town. 

[Zeppa]

She is beautiful and I can see how good it would be for someone like me who can scarcely stand on one leg. I hope she got through the pandemic (and gets through) OK.

[abcdefg]

On 12/26/2022 at 7:37 AM, Zeppa said:

I hope she got through the pandemic (and gets through) OK.

 

I hope so too. Unfortunately, I don't know. For the first year after returning to the US, I kept in touch with her grown son (who sometimes attended the classes as a student.) He wasn't keen on the practice, but would do it anyhow after carrying her cassette player and gear to and from class just to be helpful. She would always bring a couple spare swords or fans or sticks for students who had forgotten theirs. 

 

It always amazed me how some of the ladies, who looked rather ordinary, could, at the right moment, kick one foot out front, knee straight and easily touch it with an outstretched hand when it got to shoulder level.  Flexibility, strength, balance. 

[Zeppa]

That was the bit that got me. I can't even stand on one leg for a minute. It is a great illustration of the value of the practice. The only time I went to a tai chi class, in Germany, I did something nasty to my knee.

[imron]

Two important things with knees in Taichi:

 

1. When there's weight on it, your knee should always move in line with your foot.  If you watch your knee moving while it is taking weight it should move in a straight line in the same direction (and directly above) your foot.

2. When there's weight on it, your knee should never extend past the toes.

 

Fail to pay attention to this (or failure of a teacher to point it out) will lead to injury (either immediately, or gradually over time).

[Jan Finster]

On 12/30/2022 at 10:15 AM, imron said:

2. When there's weight on it, your knee should never extend past the toes.

 

This may be outdated: https://www.youtube.com/c/thekneesovertoesguy

(I was sceptical at first, but my knee problems completely resolved after doing the exercises he recommends)

[Zeppa]

Thank you. But I can't remember what I was doing - it was only about the fourth session - and I concluded myself that the teacher was not experienced enough. As for the video, I don't think the problem remained after a few weeks and it was about forty years ago.