As are my wife & I.
Tai Chi is a wonderful excercise. Its not only good for your body, it calms your nerves and BP as well. We did Yoga for several years too.
Unfortunately, we didn't care for our Tai Chi instructor too much. He was way too slow, and was very picky about how you learned your form (routine). We always thought...get us through the routine...and then we can go back and fine tune it from there.
We ran into some friends of our who stayed in the class, and after 2 years, they were finally learning the final steps.
Good for you in taking this class!!! I hope you really enjoy what it does for you!
(We've heard that there may be a new Tai Chi instructor in our community college...if so, we're going back.)
Sorry you dont understand the proper learning of a 2500 year old form. to totally understand and learn the whole TAI CHI modality, 2 years is still not long enough to learn & perform the 108 form of TAI CHI CHUAN, YANG STYLE, as it was designed, and utilizing all it can do in many ways. iam presuming that was the style you were being taught. this is the one i know, and spent 5 years learning, and was given permission by my instructor to teach if i wished. the last lessons we were taking was on TAI CHI SWORD. that is another few years of learning, if you got the time!
There is also a 24-27 position short form, which most who are teaching for money, will do since it is less time consuming. but that also if taught and learned properly will take a good year.
there are 3 basic styles of tai chi, the YANG style being the original & oldest form. CHIN style & WU style are the other 2 later spin off forms.
finding a QUALIFIED instructor................is the biggest problem. there are many who "think" they know it well enough to teach, and to many are not.
there is also a part of TAI CHI called CHI GONG. this is also included in the years of learning. if you really want to learn the form, and all that TAI CHI encompasses many years will be spent. this is called an INTERNAL MARTIAL ART. unlike what you are used to seein in martials in the movies, that is EXTERNAL FORMS.
some famous movie martial artists were trained in TAI CHI as children in china. JACKIE CHAN, BOLO YUNG,(the bad guy in BLOODSPORT) SAMO HUNG,(TV series) JET LI.
if you dont want to spend the time, there is always TI KWAN DO.
TAI CHI is also used in ACUPRESSURE, ACUPUNCTURE, CHINESE MASSAGE, CHINESE MEDICINE & is usually a lifelong practice. so even the 5 years i studied is not a long time.
to the OP, if i can be of any help to you PM me. you will enjoy what you discover. oh and my instructor hada school in MONTREAL, MOUNTAIN CRANE TAI CHI CHUAN.
