How to use your waist in Tai Chi: Advice from the "Great Masters"

The Role of the Waist: Bruce Lee

Back in the 80s I started learning with Sifu Yin Yang Eyebrow and a style that was so flowery that you could have planted it in a window box. I loved its exotic hand and wrist moves that appeared to have been snatched directly from flamenco. Eventually, I dropped the style. It was obvious that the instructor had no clue as to how to teach anything as I began to realise that the arms should not move independently from the waist. Such movements reminded me of a back alley fight from Way of the Dragon and as much as I wanted to imitate Bruce Lee, doing so would not help me understand the role of the waist. 

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The role of the Waist: Sifu Yin Yang Eyebrow

​So I dropped the classes with SIfu Yin Yang Eyebrow, who had looked great doing his flashy moves, but when I asked "Don't the arms derive their strength from the waist?" he said stop asking stupid questions and to keep practising the 8 Inner-Aardvark Shaolin Breaths. 

At home, I perused the Tai Chi Classics and discovered that the Tai Chi Grandmasters said that the waist should "follow the mind", which if I'm honest, didn't help much. They might as well have advised that the waist follows the whim of Neptune's Trident or the breath of Middle-aged dragon.
In my next class I looked at Sifu Yin-Yang Eyebrow and in particular his waist and wondered of it followed nothing more than his rather dubious dietary habits. When I proposed the idea to him, he scoffed at me (as I'm convinced he did with pies and puddings before each class) and defensively pointed out that his belly was full of Qi. At which point, I changed classes.. ​

Waist, Arms & the Mind. 

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So what does it mean for the mind to lead the waist or the arms? Because as much as it sounds very Eastern and profound, I'm tempted to say that we often do too much mind leading as it is. Shouldn't we be turning down rather than amplifying the sound? 
​Ultimately, I suppose, whatever explanation you find, whatever style you practice and under whomsoever's tutelage you eventually study, you have to decide for yourself. 

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​Exercises to Connect Your Arms to Your waist

Connecting the movements of the limbs to the centre axis of the body makes sense to me. Forget thinking about it, just relax and let your waist express itself through your limbs. If you want to really understand this, try practising with a sword, as - paradoxically - using an object in your Tai Chi really helps you take your mind out of your limbs and back into your centre.
And being centred will help with any mind/body activity - and by that I don't just mean tai chi, yoga or meditation, I mean washing the dishes, walking the dog or overthrowing a corrupt regime (there rare plenty out there to choose from).
Obviously, some may point out that the easiest way to connect your arms to your waist is though birth. This is true, but If that's out of the question, then surgery might help. Failing that you could try these few simple exercises that will help reconnect your disparate limbs to your body. ​ 

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Water, Friends and Liking them all. 

Then when you are moving as a single unit and ready to take on the world with loose shoulders, a loose tongue and slippery hips, try this yielding exercise below. In these days of social distancing it may prove useful when confronting mask-less crowds in supermarkets, coffee queues, or when storming the Winter palace with your local vanguard friends. 

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Check out more the Tai Chi Academy for more exercises and mini-courses including the 5 Day Balance course (free) 

• Or download the Beginners Guide to Tai Chi (FAQ style) that contains all the links to all the articles, videos, and essential starting points for a Tai Chi Journey. 

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