Tai Chi Long Form - Ward off Left

20 May 24 Ward Off Left

  This begins the sequence called “Grasp Sparrow’s Tail”. Waist turns to the left, both arms turn to the left, moving in a circle to the right. Shift your weight to the left foot, turn your hips to the right, rotating your right foot 45 degrees to the right on the heel. Step to 12 o’clock with your left heel, settling into a 60/40 stance with the weight on your left foot. Your left forearm moves up and to the left in ward off position. Your right hand moves in conjunction with your left arm, slightly above. Turn your hips to the right letting your right arm move to the right and down, completing its motion at the level of the tan tien. The fingers of your right hand will be pointing forward to 3 o’clock, palm facing the ground.

From Boonchai -

  “Now imagine that there is a string from the sky tied to your hair pulling your head up. And it pulls the hair, hair pulls the head, head pulls the spine all the way down to the coccyx. The whole things pulls upward. In tai chi we have to relax.  Tai chi is supposed to be natural. The spine must be straight to the top of the head. Don’t lock the low back or later you will have low back pain. Loose you hip. Breathe in.  Breathe out.

  From the center of the hand to your feet is a string.  It’s pulling. The string is pulling the hands down.  We try to pull the hands up against the resistance. The string is pulling down all the time to the center of the feet. So it’s not easy to raise.  In tai chi the term for bending the wrist is called “sit”, you sit the wrist, you “sink shoulders” and “sink the elbows”.”

  From Boonchai, on “Ward off, Left” –

  “Raise qi from tan tien to the chest through the nose. So, what you are doing is not focus on the arms. You need to pay attention outside of the body. Such as you are pulling a string, such as your breathing, so don’t just focus on the movements the hardest is not the movements, the hardest is the feeling. So when you are doing the moves don’t try to see if you are doing it right or not. I will go around and correct you. Focus on that kind of feeling.”