Thank you to everyone who contributed to making it such a great day for all
Tai Chi Stuff offers Tai Chi classes and private lessons in Sutton Coldfield and throughout the West Midlands. Our Sutton Coldfield Tai Chi classes are on Thursdays at the Methodist Church, and you can find out further details here. In the meantime, I have a spare few minutes, so let me ponder the question “How long does it take to learn Tai Chi?”
This is one of those impossible questions with no proper answer. Essentially, it depends on two things.
Firstly, how frequently do you practise? If you only practise during class, once a week, you will never learn to get the best out of it. At the other extreme, if you practise from morning ’til night, seven days a week, you will never be able to apply it to real life, because you won’t have a life. Start by practising, however inadequately, for 2-3 minutes twice a day. As you gain in confidence this will naturally increase all by itself.
The second consideration is what you mean by ‘learn Tai Chi’. It is such a huge area that it may take decades to master Form, Straight Sword, Broadsword, Stick, Fan, Push Hands, San Sau, Da Lu, Martial Applications, Acupressure etc. etc. If you just want to waft your way vaguely through a few oriental-looking movements, then 20 minutes should be enough.
The thing with any art worthy of the name is that it should last a lifetime and lead you to the deepest possible self-awareness. There is no point of arrival as such. The journey itself is the point.
“Will Tai Chi help me improve my balance?”
Yes, if you want it to. It is not a miracle cure for poor or deteriorating balance, nor will it make you into a ballet dancer. It will give you an improved awareness of your own movements and limitations and of their gradual or sudden changes with the vagaries of life. There is very little balancing as such in the Tai Chi Form, but there is a very precise approach to taking a step. Once your relationship with this simple act has been rediscovered, you will find yourself more poised, more relaxed and confident in your movement.
As you learn the Form you will be introduced to plenty of tricks and techniques for maintaining your balance, which you can then use in day to day activities. These are covered in our Tai Chi Sutton Coldfield lessons.
None of this is of any use to you unless you practise. So what are you sitting about reading this for? Get up and do some.
For further information about Tai Chi lessons Sutton Coldfield, or about any aspect of Tai Chi, just get in touch. We’d love to hear from you!