February 1986

Ways of looking at the development of Tai Ji practice:

1. getting the posture right
2. getting the form right
3. getting the muscles right
4. developing opening and closing
5. breathing.

Or:

1. "quan" - literally the fist, but indicating the physical part, body movement
2. "gong" - a degree of mastery
3. "yongli" - physical strength
4. "qi" - inner energy
5. "shen" - spirit.

Posture can be worked on throughout, but pay attention to it especially at the beginning, before starting:

1. root yourself in the ground; feel your whole foot on the floor, and imagine your toes, then your ankles, then your knees, gripping the floor
2. open your arch
3. relax your hips; let them move out to the side, corresponding to a bending of the knees, and let the lower spine drop downwards
4. head up, shoulders down
5. feel your body from top to toe to be loose, very loose
6. watch your breathing a little to calm your mind.

Breathing: because Tai Ji is not a rigid, 1-2-3, system, the arms and legs do not always move uniformly, though they should move in harmony. Miss Li suggested harmonising the breathing with the legs, as you transfer weight backwards and forwards.

Work on the smoothness of the rhythm: imagine your hands always connected by a thread; be aware of shifting your weight from leg to leg.

Points in the form I haven't got quite right yet.
Coming up from Low Stretch, have your rear hand palm down to get more of a stretch in your arms.
In Backward Brush Knees, the torso should begin by moving somewhat round to the side and backwards towards the rear knee; then off a bit to the other side at the front; which gives a stronger and less rigid feeling to the movement.