Tai Chi

I can't believe I am saying this, but I am glad that Saturday is finally here.  I have been waiting all week for the Tai Chi class today.  Who would have thought?  Tai chi is not my most favorite thing to do, I have to be honest and say that.  Still it is part of what I have to do, and I know it is beneficial to me.  Having said that, if I have to do it, for me, I have to do it right.

I went to tai chi last week, and sifu Dennis showed me one very small thing to do with my feet to improve the transition from cloud hands to single whip.  Wow!  It makes the world of difference when I am doing the form.  That one thing made the whole hour of class worth being there for.  That wasn't the only thing I got out of class either. 

I am so determined to lick this tai chi, and get it right.  It is so difficult for me, and I seem to be struggling more than most.  I just can not get the sequence in my head.  Muscle memory doesn't help either because after single whip you could have cloud hands, snake creeps down, high pat on horse,or fair lady at the shuttle.  You have to be so incredibly focused to know which single whip you are at.  Going slow increases the difficulty of this.  I gain little bits and pieces of good strong memory of how the form works, and then days later, I lose it again, and things just don't make sense.  The most frustrating part is that I get real good with it, but then I doubt myself, stop and get all screwed up.  When I look at my notes, I find I was doing it right after all.  The stopping and starting seems to set me back.   This is why it helps me immensely to do the form with someone else, because then there is constant continuum, and I am confirmed that I am doing it right.  We finished the black belt class last night doing tai chi together as a group, and I don't think sifu Masterson realizes how beneficial that was for me.

So, this is why I am excited for tai chi today.  Tai chi is a HUGEMUNGOUS challenge for me.  And when I get challenged with something, I like to kick that challenge where it hurts.  I push myself to succeed.  Going to the tai chi class is going to help.