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LESSON
6:
LIKE
CLOSE, SIMILAR TO SHUT
CARRY
TIGER BACK TO MOUNTAIN
TEN
CHARACTER HAND
| please read the following text information while the images load on the page |
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1<<<here
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LESSON - 5<<<here
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LESSON - 7<<<here
Letters in ( )*
stand for the eight directions=N, S, E, W, NW, NE, SW, SE.
Numbers in ( )*
correlate to the frame number in main lesson image below,
as much as possible...(some frames are 'in between' described movements,
in which case either I will try to redo the image, or you will need to
exercise
your imagination even more than is necessary to learn any movement art
from
'text and images' alone in the first place.)
Formula in brackets [W= ] denote weightedness,
which is the amount of body
weight shifted to either side (L=left, R=right, even=doubleweightedness);
example: [W=70R] means 'put 70% of your weight on your right
side.' The range
here will be approximate, ideally based on an individuals personal needs,
abilities and experience. *You
may choose to read through the text the first time disregarding these
parentheticals...it's easier!!
We OPENED
the set (Lesson 1) facing
North (N); as you view images on your monitor for the current postures
(below), imagine that you are now facing West as you begin
lesson 6. As you end this lesson (Ten character hand) you are again facing
North.
| Like
close, similar to shut Carry tiger back to mountain Ten character hand Like close, similar to shut (1 through 15) At the conclusion of lesson #5 you are still facing West. Your left knee is slightly bent and aligned directly above your left toe (no further, anyway); your left foot points West and your right foot is pointed at about a 30° angle to it. Your right fist is punching toward the West, elbow slightly bent, while your left palm, fingertips up, rests alongside your right inner forearm (lower arm). (1) [W= 80L] Begin like close, similar to shut by slowly shifting your weight back (E) toward your right side as your right fist slowly unclenches.(2,3) [W= 70L] As you shift your weight back pull your left toe up (3-8), balancing the weight of that foot on its heel; simultaneously, your hands slowly pull backwards, as the right hand, no longer in a fist, moves slightly in an arc to its left (S), above the left hand¹, which sinks slightly beneath the right as it sweeps in a slight arc to its right (N). [W= 60L] Thus, the two hands cross each other, left hand under right, with the palms facing away from each other (left palm facing N, right palm facing S) as they cross.(4-6) As your weight continues to shift backward onto your right side [W= 60R], your palms/forearms rotate from the elbows until they both face you (E) at about eye level, with your left forearm behind the right, both forearms also facing you (E). [W= 80R] At this point (8) your two arms form an "X", with the back of your right wrist resting against/near the front of your left wrist at a 90° angle. Your fingers now point up at a diagonal. With your weightedness held steady here [W= 80R], the hands cross again (palms both still face you) by pulling your left elbow to the left (S) as you pull your right elbow to the right (N).(8-10) As the left hand is drawn to your left and the right hand is drawn to your right, your palms/forearms again rotate away from you, from the elbows, until they face away from you (W). At this point, your left toe is raised up, your right and left palms are at shoulder height and shoulder width, and your elbows are acutely bent. (10) [W= 80R] Now your left toe again starts to lower back down to the floor as you begin to shift your weight [W= 60R] in the opposite direction (W) and push both palms, still facing out (W), directly forward by unbending your elbows (10-15). Continue shifting [W= 60L] as your chi pushes you as one, as if your palms are closing the shutters of a window. [W= 80L] Carry tiger back to mountain (16 through 29) Begin carry tiger back to mountain by starting to shift your weight back again onto your right side [W= 70L] while you allow your elbows to sink down and toward you, pulling your palms downward (16-20) to a point where they are slightly in front of, above, and facing your knees, which are bending more as you draw your arms downward. (A good measure of the position of your arms here makes use of the fist space/separates² concept.) As your arms reach this position, rotate both wrists, turning your palms outward³(facing W, and slightly up) (21,22). As you are finishing this motion, start to pivot on your left heel, raising your left toe and moving it toward your right side, as you continue shifting your weight in that direction [W= 60L]; as this happens, allow your arms to move as one with the shifting of your center of gravity, drawing your right arm across the front of you to your right side (23-29), palm facing out (N) and turning your entire torso from facing West to facing North, once again. Your left foot pivots on its heel until your left toe points to the corner (NW), where it is then parallel to your other foot (23). Your left arm turns to the right with the motion of your chi, its palm facing outward (N). Then, rest the ball of your left foot down as you begin to pivot on the right heel, raising the right toe slightly and moving it to the right (24-29), until it points to the corner (NE) and the right foot and left foot align at a 90° angle to one another (29) [W= even]; remember, this is movement that is in tandem with the shifting of your weightedness, and you are still drawing your right arm to your right side as you shift your weightedness in that direction. Rest the ball of your right foot down. Your hands are now resting comfortably in front of you, to the side a bit, with palms facing away from you (N). (29) [W= even] Ten character hand (30 through 36) Ten character hand begins as you straighten your knees a bit while you draw your arms upward at your side in an arc, with your palms still facing out (N). As your arms begin to reach shoulder level (31), start to rotate your forearms inward toward one another, bringing the hands closer and closer together as they continue to rise. (32-35) (By tracing the movement of ones hands in ten character hand, one can draw an outline of a large imaginary oval or circle.) As the forearms rotate, your palms turn first inward facing toward each other; then as your hands rise and near each other at an apex just in front of and slightly over your head (34), your forearms/palms continue their rotation until they just about face you. As the hands reach this apex just above the head, your left hand is outside of (further from you than) the right¹, and your fingertips point upward at a diagonal. (35) Here, the inside of your right pinky (little finger) may graze the knuckle of your left index finger, as you next again bend your knees slightly more, drawing you, your chi, and your crossed hands down to their concluding repose, where the tips of your fingers rest at your eye level and the remainder of your hands obscure a full view to your face. In this, the right handed set, finish ten character hand with the back of your right hand reposing just inside your left palm, which is the outside hand here. (This of course would reverse in the opposite left handed set.)¹ (36) [W= even] [No significant change in weightedness occurs in ten char- acter hand; most of the change in balance here involves sinking/rising movement, as opposed to left/right movement.] ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ (Remember to keep your knees and elbows at least slightly bent and your behind tucked in throughout the set.) (If at all possible, it is suggested that someone read the text to you - or record it on a tape and play it back - while you slowly practice the form...and slowly is the best way to practice.)
|
do not over-do do
not under-do
click>>>LESSON
1<<<here
click>>>LESSON
2<<<here
click>>>LESSON
3<<<here
click>>>LESSON
4<<<here
click>>>PREVIOUS
LESSON - 5<<<here
click>>>NEXT
LESSON - 7<<<here
|
FUNDAMENTALS OF |
May I suggest the best way to see these
images in the days after
the lesson page has changed is to 'right click' on those images you want NOW
and click
'save image as', then save it to some hard drive (the loads are BIG!)
You can also freely copy/paste/amend the text. (But do not sell, please)
~ ~ special thanks
~ ~
to
Michael W and Shar'n
for making free cyberspace available for MORE Playshop lessons here
at
www.caliban.net
NOW all of the Playshop lessons should ALWAYS be available online
~ ~ ~
If the pictures stop animating on your page,
hit reload (refresh)
(I've even had to "clear memory
cache" first if I interrupted initial page loading)
follow my movement on your monitor
you will be performing a Right Hand Set...
(tai chi is practiced from both sides)
when YOU practice tai chi,
move slowly
(and hopefully less jerkily than this animation)
|
Another angle of this lesson |
click>>>LESSON
1<<<here
click>>>LESSON
2<<<here
click>>>LESSON
3<<<here
click>>>LESSON
4<<<here
click>>>PREVIOUS
LESSON - 5<<<here
click>>>NEXT
LESSON - 7<<<here
~ ~ ~ ~
~
notes:
I made the Tai Chi graphic images using a reverse image option so that
I could
video the Left Hand Set, then when it is viewed here on your monitor, it appears
as a mirror image of a Right Hand Set, which you can emulate by following
my movements. Most Tai Chi students only learn the Right Hand Set, and
it is a good way to start. One can practice the opposite side movements
(Left Hand) by practicing the reverse of the image(s) above. I
am fortunate that the students who instructed me at my 'tai chi beginning'
practiced both sides of the set daily. By learning the left and right
versions (identical, just reversed) of tai chi, I believe one may gain even
more.
~ ~ ~ ~
~
more notes:
Please
let me know what you like here and what really bugs you here, too
TO EMAIL HERE PLEASE MANUALLY CHANGE 'AT'
TO '@'
Is there some aspect of the movement not made clear by the images
(or the text, for that matter)?? Please tell me, and if I cannot clarify
it with words I will try to make a new image to illustrate a way out
of that confusion.
~ ~ ~
~ ~
still more notes:
It is better by far to experience learning Tai Chi of any kind
in a group setting, primarily for two reasons. First, it's more fun! and
nothing is better for learning than sharing ideas and practice with individuals
who share the same interests. By having many artisans practice together,
this allows for an excellent source of useful feedback. More than
critically watching the moves as others do them, this also affords an opportunity
that is unparalleled: by standing in the center surrounded by more advanced
students, with every movement in every direction, the novice has a rotating
view of the form. This allows the newer student to follow all the
others, even as the plane of movement tangents onto a new direction. Turn
left, a senior student is in front to follow from; turn right, another teacher
is in view;
spin around 180° and, yep, you guessed
it.
Though learning Tai Chi from pictures, and (sometimes even worse) from text,
is not the best method to use...it is what I can offer. Some people
have little or no access to teachers or classes in their area; some have
little or no money for them even if they did exist; some folk are shy and
some may be to dis-eased to go to a class; it is for all these people (the
ones online, at least) and of course for the martial arts intellectuals
(you know who you are) that I make this meager presentation.
For anyone in or near (or just visiting) the
San Francisco Bay Area, please accept our invitation to join us in our VIRTUAL REALITY
PLAYSHOP
(real people), any Saturday morning from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.
at 1819 10th Street, in Berkeley.
(The set usually begins @ 9:10 a.m. Saturday
Just take the outside stairs on the south side of Finnish Hall to the top
to get in--or take the disabled folks elevator inside--if you need it)
~ ~ ~
~ ~
finally! feedback
finally, your notes:
Scott, I HAVE FEEDBACK FOR YOU
and/or
I wanna get email when the lesson page changes :)
FEEDBACK FORM:
Only you yourself will know if you have stretched
your chi 'enough', 'too much', or even 'not enough'. What we desire
to achieve with Tai Chi is balance: to get there, moderation, not excess,
is required.
~ ~ ~
~ ~
Keep in mind while upon this new journey
that we do it for our health, for our joy, for our spiritual reawakening...not
to suffer more, but to complete ourselves
as beings, and rejoice of the universe.
~ ~ ~
~ ~
With gratitude to Li Lida (1922-1982)
SPECIAL THANKS
to Ruth, David, Lydia, Michael G, Shar'n, Harold, Eileen, Robert,
and all of the other people who have helped me learn Tai Chi...
injoy. heartLove!
BOOKMARK THIS PAGE
FOR EASY RETURN
nothing new here in this part of the Universe since
9:33 P.M. P.S.T., Wednesday, July 22, 1998
page
last updated on November 27, 2006 at 5:20 P.M.
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© 1998-2005 by
swrichie for hand use creations
ALL RIGHTS REVERSED
~ ~
~ ~ ~
| we share some common strand in this universe...we |    
|
as one |
notes: