Despite its recent growth in popularity, tai chi still lags behind other martial arts such as karate, mixed martial arts or the seemingly ubiquitous taekwondo. Although the best training is live instruction from a qualified trainer, not everybody is in a location that has a tai chi instructor. Also, people who live near a place where a class is offered don't have a schedule that allows them to attend. You can get started by using online resources to learn the basics.
Step 1
Clear out about 100 square feet for practice. This space can be in your garage or yard, or you can simply clear the coffee table out of your living room.
Step 2
Find tai chi training websites online. Martial arts historian David Coffman notes that you can find quality videos on user-generated sites like YouTube and Veoh. Search strings such as "beginning tai chi" or "basic tai chi" can also locate good resources. Note that tai chi is also spelled "taiji," "taichichuan" and "taijichuan."
Step 3
Choose a single posture from those available. Some good postures for beginners include "salutation," "move hands as clouds," "stork cools wings" and "parting the horse's mane." Review the posture online until you feel you can practice without stopping to reference your training material.
Step 4
Practice the posture on your own for 10 to 20 repetitions, then check it against your training materials. Repeat this cycle until you can perform the posture correctly without pausing or double-checking the details.
Step 5
Select a new basic posture. Once you've gotten the hang of several basic postures, move on to some intermediate postures such as "needle at bottom of the sea," "snake creeps down" or "repulse monkey."
Step 6
Continue practicing, at least four to five days per week. Mastery of any martial art comes only with practice and repetition. Olympic judo coach Phil Porter says that competence with any martial arts moves begins at 5,000 successful repetitions.
Tips and Warnings
- Seek feedback whenever possible. If you can't get live instruction, video yourself and post at a tai chi forum or user content site. Ask for feedback. Although you'll get your fair share of Internet junk, the comments will include a few useful pieces of advice.
Things You'll Need
- Internet access
- Training area
References
- "Easy Tai Chi"; Dr. Keith Jeffreys; 2003
- David Coffman; Martial Arts Instructor; Hillsboro, OR
- "The Tao of Jeet Kun Do"; Bruce Lee; 1968
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