Yang's long Taijiquan has 108 moves. The teacher has broken the form up in three sections. I have been working on the first section (20 movements) since October. We begin class with some warm up hip exercises and then begin the form.
I can not remember the sequence of the first twenty moves. When I am going through the form I think about my hip motion, stepping forward from my center and the individual technique. This week, I was determined to leave class knowing the sequence to the first section. The instructor indicated that we will work on the second section (38 movements) through February and begin the third section (50 movements) in March.
This week during class my focus was on the pattern. I did not focus on the movement rather the sequence of the form. Finally, after five months, I remember the first section. The other students and the instructor have mentioned that remembering kata should be easy for me. They are right, when referring to Okinawa Kenpo but not Tai Chi.
Why can't I remember?
Racquetball Update:
My brother and I had our first racquetball session. It was fun and a great workout. The week leading up our court time, my brother kept telling me how important it was to stay out of each others way. He told me that we must not run into each other. He made sure that I knew how important it was so stay clear of the wall.
Well...he didn't. He smashed into the wall. His left arm got pinned and smashed into his rib cage. He hit so hard that he got the wind knock out of him. He finally went to the doctor and he has broken ribs.
He still wants to play this Sunday.
7 comments:
Your brother must really like playing racquetball. :P
Hope the recovery time isn't very long. :)
He likes racquetball that much or maybe he is stubborn. I think he should wait until his ribs heal.
Waiting until ribs heal sounds like the wiser course to me!
I have a theory on the kata memory. To me, the hardest katas to learn are always those where the sequence runs smoothly move to move, where there are few clearly defined points where one pauses - it makes it hard for the mind to break it down into more digestible chunks. Naichanchi kata is bad that way - fortunately it's also our shortest kata.
Happy chunking Michele!
:-)
Perpetual Beginner: You make a good point. The Tai Chi form flows from move to move. I may need to approach the form in a different way. Thanks.
Littlefair: Thanks!
This Sunday, I'm home.
11am cut throat!
yesssssss.
Child in Bloom: See you Sunday!
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