Tai Chi Techniques

Video Transcript

"Good afternoon. I'm Bob Waers, and we're here at U Health Center, Orlando, Florida. We're going to look at some of the techniques of tai chi. The techniques will be rooting, connecting, listening, adhering, measuring, mutualizing, and control. You have to understand your own place in space first so you have to root. Your feet are firmly on the ground, the knees are bent. The pelvis is rotated forward. You can now accept energy. You don't engage your traps. You drive the energy down into your feet. As force is applied you connect to it, and by connecting to it I mean you become one with what the force is. From there, you listen to it. You listen to its direction, its speed, its intention. Now, you are adhering to it. As it moves, you move. You add just enough force, without being overbearing, to misdirect it. You are measuring it. Is it heavy? Is it fast? Is it coming directly at my center? You are the scales. You don't do anything but measure. This is where you begin to neutralize. By gently shifting and maintaining that rooted place the energy bounces off of you like it would a rubber ball; a big inflated rubber ball. This leads to you controlling your place in space. This happens as your space moves in space and it bumps into something. You do the same thing. You bounce off of it without causing any damage to yourself and maintaining your control of your place in space. These are just some of the techniques in tai chi."