Taiji is AWESOME.
Feb. 10th, 2010 12:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
batskeetsIn the sea of "Same Shit, Different Day," that feels like my life as of late, there is one bright spot: I am SO freakin' excited to be doing Taiji again.
I have been to class 1x/week for all of two weeks now, and I feel like I've entered a whole new universe of details that I don't yet understand. It's so similar to wushu in some ways, and yet completely different in others. I'm being reminded again that Taiji Is Not Just Wushu Done Slowly, and I've already been let in on nuances that I didn't learn when I did this the first time around, back in Eugene.
It's also going to be really good therapy for my knee, I think. One of the things I was corrected on was the difference between a wushu bow stance and a taiji bow stance, and the taiji bow stance? Requires me to work the bejeezus out of the muscles that will support my knee. And the slower, more controlled moves allow me to be more aware of what my legs are doing and how well they are (or aren't) staying aligned. So excellent.
This feels a lot like how wushu felt before my knee started acting up: I can let go of everything else for a while, and just hand over my body and consciousness to the thrill and complexity of movement. Wushu is more about feeling powerful, though, whereas taiji taps into something else entirely. Taiji is more subtle and centered, a more quiet strength.
I find it a bit funny that both of these things appeal to me so much, because they represent such opposing extremes, even though they're built the same foundation... but eh, it's all about balance, in the end. We could all use a little Yin to go with our Yang.
I have been to class 1x/week for all of two weeks now, and I feel like I've entered a whole new universe of details that I don't yet understand. It's so similar to wushu in some ways, and yet completely different in others. I'm being reminded again that Taiji Is Not Just Wushu Done Slowly, and I've already been let in on nuances that I didn't learn when I did this the first time around, back in Eugene.
It's also going to be really good therapy for my knee, I think. One of the things I was corrected on was the difference between a wushu bow stance and a taiji bow stance, and the taiji bow stance? Requires me to work the bejeezus out of the muscles that will support my knee. And the slower, more controlled moves allow me to be more aware of what my legs are doing and how well they are (or aren't) staying aligned. So excellent.
This feels a lot like how wushu felt before my knee started acting up: I can let go of everything else for a while, and just hand over my body and consciousness to the thrill and complexity of movement. Wushu is more about feeling powerful, though, whereas taiji taps into something else entirely. Taiji is more subtle and centered, a more quiet strength.
I find it a bit funny that both of these things appeal to me so much, because they represent such opposing extremes, even though they're built the same foundation... but eh, it's all about balance, in the end. We could all use a little Yin to go with our Yang.
