HOW DO YOU START YOUR FORM?

And whilst we are on the subject: how do you start your own business, start your car on a cold morning or even, how do you start each and every day?
In Tai Chi we are taught to start  - as we mean to go on. But what does that mean? We obviously gather ourselves, check out weight, our position. But is there something else we are overlooking?
So today I want to ask you, before you begin your Tai Chi Form - irrespective of style or school, tradition or trouser length - what is it that you do?
I’m not talking about checking if your show is on correctly, your audience has quieted down, or your dinner has gone down. I’m not talking about ensuring that the crease in your satin suit is in the right place or that your eyebrows have been neatly combed into position.
I’m talking about before that very first posture, that initial move. Before the weight shifts. Before the limbs race ahead
Before the mind moves ahead, rehearsing what you are about to play out.

DID YOUR SIFU NEVER TELL YOU?

Hopefully s/he did. But if not - as it was for many, overlooked, skipped or simply left out of your shaolin training schedule - fear not. The teapotmonk is here to help with this handy check list for all those in search of the Perfect Form.

PLACES TO PUT YOUR LIST

• On your  Dojo door
  
• Stuck to the bottom of your shoe
  
• Inside your Black belt/sash
  
• Next to where the incense is stored
  
• Alongside where all those Andean Pipe music CD’s are kept
  
• Where Sifu keeps his/her iron to add those smart creases to his/her uniform.

Better still, remember the 5 points and pass them on to someone else.
If you get this right, you can leave behind the nonsense of geometry and angular precision taught incessantly and instead float above  the noise, seamlessly fusing one move into another, navigating the twist and turns of the sinews as they propel you forward. The wind behind you, the sun on your face and you, merely watching and riding the breath.

THE TOP 5 CHECKLIST

1. Peripheral: Look, but keep your focus soft.
2. Sensual: Feel the weight of the feet on the floor, the arms hanging form the shoulders, the hilt of the sword (if appropriate) in the palm of your hand.
3. Structural: Have you bent the knee? (To Daenerys Targaryen). Loose hips. Soft Chest, Shoulders relaxed, Head up?
4. Respiratory: Is that a breeze between your fingers? Around your ears? Coming into your lungs? Do you feel it rising and sinking? Can you sense what was out there is now in here?
5. Finally, Why are you here? Out of curiosity or habit? For martial or health purposes? For a spiritual or philosophical  direction. Be clear.

Then go!
​Watch the video below and for more details about starting and finishing - check out the mOnks online training