Additional Drills

Body Rotation – do 3 reps

  • with bottle cap on palm of hand
  • Basic Posture
  • to open up all joints
  • with palm facing up & open, place bottle cap or any flat item on palm
  • starting  from waist, move hand under the arm, turn hand over the head & back to waist as rotate body, keeping palms open without dropping item
  • start with right hand then with left hand
  • reverse direction

Tai Chi walk – intro

  • Open right foot 45 degrees, left foot step forward
  • weight on back foot, shift to front, turn waist, shift weight to back
  • open left foot 45 degrees, right foot forward
  • weight on back foot, shift to front, turn waist, shift weight to back
  • repeat as walk forward
  • maintain same height as walk forward  (visualize rope across path of walk, head stays under rope – do not go above rope)

Tai Chi – 8 energy drills

  • 4 energy: peng, lu, ji, an
  • 4 corners: cai, lie, zhou, kao

4-Energy:

  • peng – expand, maintain
  • lu – redirect, deflect to the side
  • ji – press forward/inward with energies from opposing directions
  • an – press downward

4-Energy drill:  peng, lu, ji, an

  • open back foot, 45 degrees, front foot step out shoulder width
  • peng – sink down on kua as raise arms up to front, palms out, shift weight back to front
  • lu – flip hands, shift weight front to back as visualize grab person arm (left hand on wrist, right hand close to elbow), relax
  • ji – left arm face body, right hand push toward left wrist as shift weight back to front
  • an – open arms, bring hands close to center, palms down as press down & spiral, weight balance on both legs

4-Corners:

  • cai – pluck & pull down
  • lie – split
  • zhou – elbow strike
  • kao – leaning strike

4-Corners drill:  cai, lie, zhou, kao

  • open back foot, 45 degrees, front foot step out shoulder width
  • cai – sink as pull down with fist, turn waist to knee (weight on back leg)
  • lift leg & step out to side then step front with back leg
  • lie – circle arm counterclockwise as shift weight to left, step right, shift weight, turn waist, & open hands with palms facing each other and arms open
  • zhou – turn arms counterclockwise, then shift weight to from & elbow strike as step with front leg
  • kao – circle front arm as lift front leg, drop front leg then shoulder strike