I'm always enchanted by how tai chi brings in people of all different nationalities, to enjoy playing and practising together. The club I go to myself, to learn and improve from my Sifu, is like a little United Nations, being in London (www.wustyle-europe.com), which helps make it a kindly welcoming place, which I love to go to!
Herzliche wilkommen to our new readers from Germany! I have so many happy memories of visiting Germany and meeting friendly, interesting and lovely people there, as well as experiencing wonderful German food and the usual (and not-so-usual) tourist stuff. Fur mir ist Deutschland das gelobte Land!
I hope you all enjoy your practice and find this page helpful. The videos here are of the first part of the Wu style tai chi form, both front and back views, so you can actually see all those details obscured by your teacher's body in real time practise.
When you're watching the videos, remember the pause button is your friend, as you work your way through them. Going over things again and again will help you develop your body memory, so that doing the movements will gradually become absorbed into you.
Spending time on doing little bits at a time, then gradually adding a new bit, will mean that you build up over time into being able to do the whole thing, without worrying about where everything should be. If you try to speed through the whole thing, it will actually take you longer to learn it accurately!
The mantra is “Feet First”. Don't worry about the hands, check the video for what the feet should be doing. When you've got the feet, then add the hands later. This will make your life a lot easier. The feet are the cake, the hands are the icing on the cake – do them last!
Don't worry about perfection – if you just keep doing things, making mistakes, and enjoying having a go, then perfection will come with time. If you worry about being perfect, it will take an awful lot longer, than if you just are happy to practise with those mistakes. Making mistakes is an essential part of studying and improving. Relax and enjoy!
If you get through to form30, then go to our "tai chi as a martial art" page, and check out the videos of the Kick Form. To form30 together with the Kick Form (starting after Single Whip), forms the first half of the Wu style long form.... but stick to doing little bits at a time, don't try to rush through it.
Names of the first 14 movements of Wu style Tai Chi Chuan:
1. Beginning of Tai Chi Chuan
2. Raise Hands
3. Play Guitar
4. Grasp Bird's Tail
5. Single Whip
6. Slant Flying
7. Raise Hands
8. White Crane Spreads Wings
9. Brush Knee (left and right, 4 times)
10. Play Guitar
11. Parry and Punch
12. Push Forward
13. Carry Tiger to the Mountain
14. Cross Hands