Learning tai chi online or through an app?
March 29, 2017 3:38 AM Subscribe
I'm enrolled in a weekly beginner's Tai Chi class and I am honestly truly terrible because I have co-ordination and balance issues. The class is mixed ability and quite large and I want to be able to practice on my own at home. There are tons of videos on youtube and websites but I can't tell which of them are yay! and which suck. I just want something for the first 10-15 movements so I know when to turn my wrists and when to drop the invisible ball!
Are you learning Yang 24, or something else?
posted by hollyholly at 4:42 AM on March 29, 2017
posted by hollyholly at 4:42 AM on March 29, 2017
My answer would be, coming from someone who has taken classes for four years and has heard his teacher rant about this, don't bother.
The main reason is that there isn't really one (short) form. There are hundreds of different small variations and teaching styles. If you learn slightly the wrong thing from the video it will just make more work down the line getting it corrected in class.
Instead I would urge you to:
a) Take notes with a notepad just after class.
b) Practise whatever you remember in class, paying particular attention to specific things you were corrected on. You will likely make exactly the same mistakes again unless you try to correct them.
c) It's about repetition and building things up in layers. If you can only remember the first movement just practise that lots of times - it will help with all the other movements. Also 10 minutes every day is a million times better than 10 minutes once a week which is a million times better than only learning in class.
d) Try to let go of thoughts about being terrible at tai chi. Serious. This is something I struggle with because I'm not flexible enough. But at the end of the day anxious thoughts don't help your tai chi.
But if you don't agree with the above then your teacher is the best person to ask this question to.
posted by Erberus at 5:34 AM on March 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
The main reason is that there isn't really one (short) form. There are hundreds of different small variations and teaching styles. If you learn slightly the wrong thing from the video it will just make more work down the line getting it corrected in class.
Instead I would urge you to:
a) Take notes with a notepad just after class.
b) Practise whatever you remember in class, paying particular attention to specific things you were corrected on. You will likely make exactly the same mistakes again unless you try to correct them.
c) It's about repetition and building things up in layers. If you can only remember the first movement just practise that lots of times - it will help with all the other movements. Also 10 minutes every day is a million times better than 10 minutes once a week which is a million times better than only learning in class.
d) Try to let go of thoughts about being terrible at tai chi. Serious. This is something I struggle with because I'm not flexible enough. But at the end of the day anxious thoughts don't help your tai chi.
But if you don't agree with the above then your teacher is the best person to ask this question to.
posted by Erberus at 5:34 AM on March 29, 2017 [7 favorites]
Best answer: I took Tai Chi for a year and was one of those lucky people who caught on, but would like to hear this question answered. It sounds like the asker wants video as a reminder, not as a teacher. I too am interested in links to Yang form Tai Chi videos that are good-as-reminders. Ones I knew before have been deleted.
posted by fraula at 6:17 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by fraula at 6:17 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I've studied tai chi at 6 different schools. The form has been different at each school. As Erberus has noted, there will be differences between what you're learning from your teacher and what you see online. That will make things more confusing and complicated for you.
Practice what you know. For a little bit, everyday. Even if it's just standing and breathing and holding the ball. Tai chi is not a race, there are no rewards for learning faster. Just try to improve yourself.
posted by gnutron at 7:11 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Practice what you know. For a little bit, everyday. Even if it's just standing and breathing and holding the ball. Tai chi is not a race, there are no rewards for learning faster. Just try to improve yourself.
posted by gnutron at 7:11 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I had taken Tai Chi for a while, moved, and then tried taking Tai Chi at a different studio. The little variations in the style added up where I needed to move back to the level I class to relearn some of the basic movements. Unless you find a video that matches your instructor's style, you might not see/feel much improvement if you're out-of-sync with your classmates.
I second Erberus' statement, though I'd get even more granular than that. When I was learning Tai Chi, I initially focused my notes on one or two movements and a transition and practiced that series of movements exclusively at home. It helpled build muscle memory and gave me small, concrete goals to focus on (which works better with my learning style.) I'd still try to do the full sequence during home practice, but the component parts really helped me gain confidence.
posted by TofuGolem at 7:26 AM on March 29, 2017
I second Erberus' statement, though I'd get even more granular than that. When I was learning Tai Chi, I initially focused my notes on one or two movements and a transition and practiced that series of movements exclusively at home. It helpled build muscle memory and gave me small, concrete goals to focus on (which works better with my learning style.) I'd still try to do the full sequence during home practice, but the component parts really helped me gain confidence.
posted by TofuGolem at 7:26 AM on March 29, 2017
I taught Tai Chi to beginners for 8 years. (Wu style, as taught by BK Frantzis for anyone who cares.)
I will echo the comments from Erberus. From my perspective, everyone is terrible when they begin to learn this stuff. Everyone has balance and coordination issues.
Try not to compare yourself the other students in your class. Your body is not their body.
Learning Tai Chi is literally a life-long process. The longer you keep at the practice, the more you will learn.
At the beginning, just learning the basics is hard enough. The details will come. I sometimes described it to my students as similar to learning to draw. You start out with stick figures, and gradually work your way to more and more detail and refinement.
The bad news is it will take years. The good news is you have the rest of your life to work at it.
Having said all that, if the school you're going to has an instruction video or dvd, that would be the best to get and use at home. As gnutron pointed out, there are just about as many forms as there are schools that teach them.
posted by qurlyjoe at 7:27 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I will echo the comments from Erberus. From my perspective, everyone is terrible when they begin to learn this stuff. Everyone has balance and coordination issues.
Try not to compare yourself the other students in your class. Your body is not their body.
Learning Tai Chi is literally a life-long process. The longer you keep at the practice, the more you will learn.
At the beginning, just learning the basics is hard enough. The details will come. I sometimes described it to my students as similar to learning to draw. You start out with stick figures, and gradually work your way to more and more detail and refinement.
The bad news is it will take years. The good news is you have the rest of your life to work at it.
Having said all that, if the school you're going to has an instruction video or dvd, that would be the best to get and use at home. As gnutron pointed out, there are just about as many forms as there are schools that teach them.
posted by qurlyjoe at 7:27 AM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I've studied tai chi for about six years now, and even help my instructor from time to time with the new students. What Erberus and gnutron are saying is correct - let go of judgement, remember that comparison is the thief of joy, and just practice what you know, everyday. If that means going back and forth across the room doing "brush knee and push" a dozen times, then do that. I still practice tai chi walking just about every day, or will do a dozen "cloud hands" across the kitchen while I wait for my supper to heat up.
There is no race to learn this. When I learned the Yang 108 form it took me about a year to just learn the physical movements, and three years later I'm just starting to feel like I've got a good handle on the first section of the form, which is only about 17 movements long. I expect mastery of the rest of the form will be a lifelong pursuit.
However, if you do want a good video to use to check your form (assuming you're learning the standard 24 form), I always recommend Master Gao Jiamin who teaches at US Wushu in Portland, OR. Here she is doing the standard 24 form: Tai Chi 24 Form. The video quality is not the best but her form is stellar. You could also look at the videos by Dr. Paul Lam - he has a good DVD for the 24 forms: Tai Chi 24 Forms.
posted by ralan at 7:30 AM on March 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
There is no race to learn this. When I learned the Yang 108 form it took me about a year to just learn the physical movements, and three years later I'm just starting to feel like I've got a good handle on the first section of the form, which is only about 17 movements long. I expect mastery of the rest of the form will be a lifelong pursuit.
However, if you do want a good video to use to check your form (assuming you're learning the standard 24 form), I always recommend Master Gao Jiamin who teaches at US Wushu in Portland, OR. Here she is doing the standard 24 form: Tai Chi 24 Form. The video quality is not the best but her form is stellar. You could also look at the videos by Dr. Paul Lam - he has a good DVD for the 24 forms: Tai Chi 24 Forms.
posted by ralan at 7:30 AM on March 29, 2017 [5 favorites]
Best answer: I used my phone to video a few moves of my teacher's form from different directions. Would your teacher allow that?
It's been helpful to me to write, memorize and recite the moves, however, I've found that my ability to mirror someone has decreased greatly as I age, so even after (is it really?) almost ten years I still have trouble recalling the form without someone leading.
Also, I went to three different tai chi teachers before fortunately finding one whose form and teaching style worked for me.
posted by anadem at 8:20 AM on March 29, 2017
It's been helpful to me to write, memorize and recite the moves, however, I've found that my ability to mirror someone has decreased greatly as I age, so even after (is it really?) almost ten years I still have trouble recalling the form without someone leading.
Also, I went to three different tai chi teachers before fortunately finding one whose form and teaching style worked for me.
posted by anadem at 8:20 AM on March 29, 2017
Response by poster: My teacher is the one who suggested I look up videos on youtube for additional study, and it's standard 24 form.
As I wrote, I have ACTUAL physical issues with coordination (yay strokes and related medication and health issues) that I'm taking the tai chi class in part for. It's also so I can connect with the Chinese community in New Zealand for daughter who is half-Chinese when we move there next year, as there's a tai-chi practice that's mostly Chinese where we're moving, so this will be long-term, together with Chinese language lessons.
I wanted the video/app equivalent of a DK book that would step me through the forms at my own pace so I could practice in-between class and understand as the class is also mostly in Chinese, not English and my Chinese is bad
I'm kind of annoyed by some of the patronising advice about how to let go of competitiveness etc etc. I wanted practical answers, not woo. Of course I'd asked my teacher and googled already.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:50 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
As I wrote, I have ACTUAL physical issues with coordination (yay strokes and related medication and health issues) that I'm taking the tai chi class in part for. It's also so I can connect with the Chinese community in New Zealand for daughter who is half-Chinese when we move there next year, as there's a tai-chi practice that's mostly Chinese where we're moving, so this will be long-term, together with Chinese language lessons.
I wanted the video/app equivalent of a DK book that would step me through the forms at my own pace so I could practice in-between class and understand as the class is also mostly in Chinese, not English and my Chinese is bad
I'm kind of annoyed by some of the patronising advice about how to let go of competitiveness etc etc. I wanted practical answers, not woo. Of course I'd asked my teacher and googled already.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:50 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
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The most important lesson I learned from the teacher there was that progressing through the form is not as important as getting a good sense of balance and stability in the movements you do remember. So if you can only get through 5 movements without losing track, just do those, but really pay attention to where your centre is and how it's moving - over time your arms will start to follow almost automatically.
posted by crocomancer at 4:18 AM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]