The basic step of Taijiquan

The Cat Stance is the basic step of Taijiquan and part of the basic skills

If you don’t have a good step, you can’t practice boxing first. Imagine how hard it is. You will have to learn a single movement for 3 months. After you have done the catwalk and understood the spirit, you can then practice the boxing with half the effort

Cat walk walking method

1. the whole body is loose and quiet. This is very key, if the body is not loose, the heart is not quiet, the heart is not quiet, it is not easy to realize themselves.
2. Shift the weight of the whole body to the left leg and prepare to step right. The process of moving should be slow, experience the right side of the body gradually weak left side gradually solid.
3. Lift the right leg. Experience the relaxation of the right thigh and calf muscles, with the knee lifting up and the right hip loosening, as if the knee had a rope pulling it upward. Experience the left side of the real foot muscle relaxation, joint relaxation, although the real foot, but without a little brute force, the weight of the whole body falls on the left foot, adjust the coccyx, you can feel the heart of the left foot is empty, the weight can be unloaded, the left foot can still have light inspiration.
4. the left leg slightly bent, waist and hips loose stretch open, coccyx forward and upward micro-torch, the right leg sent out.
5. drop step. The right leg should be loose, the right foot is almost parallel to the ground, in the foot will touch the ground before touching, the toes of the foot lightly pick, the heel of the foot lightly on the ground, followed by the whole foot on the ground. At the moment of landing, the abdomen is easy to be tense, usually because the leg strength is not enough. At this time, the center of gravity from the left leg with the fall of the step and slightly to the right side, in order to move forward and backward do not feel stagnant as appropriate.
6. Move the center of gravity to the right leg. The right leg is completely loose, loose to like other people’s legs (loose probably should be so, other people’s things can not be moved, can not be moved on the non-attachment, the heart put down, there is no attachment, naturally loose. This is the author’s own method, welcome to learn), the movement of the center of gravity all rely on the hind legs to promote, the coccyx slightly upward and forward, moving to the calf perpendicular to the ground or the calf and the instep into an obtuse angle. There is a sense of support eight sides.
7. closing step. The right leg is the real leg, collect the left leg, the left leg knee seems to have a rope to hold. Loosen the back hip, and the left leg is lightly withdrawn.

For beginners of taijiquan, the cat walk is the main focus, supplemented by the boxing frame. If the cat walk is good, then practicing the boxing frame is twice the result with half the effort.

Catwalking is divided into the following stages:

• At the beginning of the practice first do not have to pay much attention to, as long as the step can take a big step.

First practice, their own body is very vague, as loose as possible to take big steps, you can relax the tendons (do not advocate leg pressure, if you like to press the legs, in the cat walk or after practicing boxing pressure), in the process of experiencing their own leg muscles, and slowly can hear where their leg muscles where it is, and practice the crotch of the relaxation.

• After some knowledge of their legs, you can take small steps to experience the crotch and crotch, and step in the process of relaxing the crotch. Specific practices:

Step half a foot long and a foot long can be, step out of the leg when the fall like a moment of rest, complete emptiness, the center of gravity in the support leg, and then feel their own crotch and leg muscles of the subtle changes in the center of gravity slowly shifted to step out of the leg. If the strength is ten points, the front leg will be four and the back leg will be six, the center of gravity will migrate, the back leg will send a few points, and the front leg will receive a few points. Even if the front leg becomes a bow stance, a sinking of the heart can turn the front into a solid front and close the back leg. At this point, the back leg is as empty as a waste, dragging it back to experience the relaxation of the back hip. The front leg is as loose as possible, even if it is a solid leg.

How long does it take to take a step? A minute or so or longer, carefully experience the subtle changes in each muscle, joints, at first need a longer time, and so on their own very familiar, naturally less time. You will find that taking small steps turns out to be more tiring than the big steps you have been practicing for months. Small steps are easy to relax and sink due to relaxation.

• After you can experience the subtle changes in the muscles of the hips and legs, you can take a big step again. At this time to maintain the level of the crotch, the spine is not biased, experience the role of the coccyx in the step closing step – coccyx support Dantian: such as the buttocks under a stool that can be seated at any time, and you have been in the time will be sitting without sitting.

Practicing boxing or walking catwalk or, only to do the opposite of internal hearing, in order to be able to examine their own, otherwise with the gymnastics is no different.

Walking catwalk common problems:

• It is easy to stand unsteadily when lifting or dropping the step and supporting with one foot – the upper body is not loose and the center of gravity is high. If you loosen your center of gravity, you will naturally be able to stand steadily.
• after practicing for a period of time, the knees began to crackle – not only when walking catwalk will ring, some people walk on weekdays or exercise will also ring, but there is no pain, which is normal. Rattling more people generally tighter knees, some people used to squat or squat when the heel will buckle, and then most of the flexibility of the legs will have different degrees of improvement.
• usually not easy to sweat, even in summer or running do not sweat, and catwalk not on a dozen steps will sweat and heat – practice catwalk, only focus on the lower plate, the upper body is easy to relax because of neglect, due to relaxation and less obstacles to the flow of qi. Insist on exercising for 2 or 3 months, 15 minutes a day, the original weak body will also improve.
• Before practicing catwalk, I usually exercise, but how can I walk a few steps and my legs become sore and soft? The leg muscles exercised by practicing taijiquan are not the same as those often used on weekdays, and when the leg strength can not keep up on weekdays, the other muscles of the leg and the upper body will be stiff and cooperate, so the leg is not easy to eat the strength. Catwalking requires that the muscles you use work and the muscles you don’t use relax, and even the muscles you use should be relaxed as much as possible when you use them. When one leg supports the ground, the weight of the whole body falls on one leg, that is, dozens of hundreds of pounds of weight falls on one leg, of course, will be tired. Tiredness indicates that the movement is basically in place, if not tired, do not be complacent about their leg strength, it is likely that the movement is not in place. If you don’t lay a good foundation, learning boxing is quite tiring.

Basic skills is actually a shortcut to practice boxing, catwalk on 100,000 steps, basic molding. Traditional things, the most wear patience. If you can’t stick to it, you will naturally be eliminated, and what’s left behind is the essence.