Woo Hoo.  I finally know one complete Taiji form.  I had the last few postures of the CMC form to my practice yesterday so now I am doing the whole form.  Now that I know the coregtaphy of the movements the real work begins and I can start the never ending process of perfecting my form.  I don't feel bad that I'll be learning a different form in classes as I can apply the principles to the form I already know.  This also means it is time for me to gather the materials to start the saber form.  I found enough instructions online to begin this process until I can scrape up the money for the DVD I want for saber training.  And until that time I can also keep working on my Lotus kick which really sucks at the moment.

Well, some interesting Tai Chi related stuff.  I was standing in "T" stance the other day at work while waiting for the elevator and had the oddest sensation, without my body moving I had the most uncanny feeling of sinking down.  I was just standing in stance and got the funniest feeling like everything in my body had just dropped down several inches, but I didn't lose my balance or even shift my posture.  I wonder if that sensation had do with the concept of "sinking the chi."  I've still been getting the burning palms sensation during practice, and I think several parts of my form are finally starting to smooth out in the transitions.



I think I've finally found a Tai chi class I had start attending, although I would have to switch from my CMC form to the Beijing simplified forms.  The city health department sponsors some Tai Chi classes every Mon and Wed at 5:30 and the building is right on my way home from work.  It looks like I'll be trading one simplified form for another, not a big deal.  I started drilling the 24 form while I was at work yesterday and it doesn't seem to difficult, at least through most of the postures, as they are almost all contained in my CMC form I just have to put them together in a different order.  I'll be heading to the class next Wed to check it out.  Yeah, I get to learn Tai Chi from a human being instead of a DVD or book.

Well, I recently started adding some Chen silk reeling exercise to my morning routine and then had the effect of feeling burning palms during my forms practice.  This means the Chi is really starting to circulate which is just cool.



I commented to one of the instructors from my Cheng Man-Ch'ing discussion group about an article he had written about Taiji as a spiritual practice, and found out he would be willing to travel to Louisville for a workshop if 5-6 interested folks could be found.  So I e-mail the only gentleman in the area that teaches 37 posture Taiji but there's a conflict with a workshop he is suporrting in Cincinnati so that thought was a no go.



I'm really starting to get frustrated about trying to find Tai Chi instruction.  I do feel I'm starting to reach the limit of what I can learn independently but all the classes around the area either don't follow a schedule that someone with a job and family can accomodate (KY Yang Center), are prohibitively expensive (Chen style at the Shaolim Do school), are located far away from public transportation (37 posture and Taoist), or are senior's programs scheduled in the morning during the business week.  I found one guy in NYC who would be willing to give me some correction via webcam but at the cost of $400 that I just don't have.  I'm beginning to wonder why I decided to take up Taiji to begin with, but I do enjoy it and it has helped my shoulder and back.  Oi Vey!

Let's see my morning routine consists of some very exciting stuff.  First, my morning starts at 04:00.  I get up, roll out of bed and head straight to the coffee pot to get it going.  Next check e-mail and wait for coffee to brew, and then gulp down a fast cup before my morning gets into full swing.  Then it's a run of the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, my own Physical Ritual of the Pentagram - Lesser Banishing, then 20 - 30 minutes of Yoga, followed by several rounds of Taiji form practice to finish out the rest of an hour.  Then it's get dressed, clean the cat's litter box, gather the trash, and out the door to work.  By the way, I normally do rituals and exercises skyclad, it's a freedom of movement thing.