Yang Style Tai Chi is a sect of the greater meditative martial art known as Tai Chi. According to the Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan Association, this particular style of Tai Chi was pioneered by the Yang family as a method for improving health and curing illness while exploring the traditional aspects of the art. Considered an internal or non-combative martial art, Yang Tai Chi emphasizes smoothness and control over techniques and motions that study the practitioner's fluid motion through the space around her as she harnesses and circulates vital body energy, or "chi."
Step 1
Visit a Yang Style Tai Chi school or community practice in your area. While many practitioners use a formal space for learning and teaching Tai Chi, it is also commonly found practiced in a loose setting in an outdoor area, such as a park. Consult the American Yangjia Michuan Taijiquan Association website for a practicing group in your area.
Step 2
Attend two to three Yang Style Tai Chi classes each week while augmenting your training with at-home practice sessions. Establish a daily exercise schedule involving at least 15 minutes of stretching exercises, such as hamstring and bicep stretches, followed by strengthening exercises, such as sit-ups and push-ups.
Step 3
Watch instructional Yang Style Tai Chi DVDs or online videos, and carefully practice the form steps that you have been taught in class. For example, if you are a beginner and are learning "Yang 64," watch the appropriate film that shows you the steps required to advance your form. Match each motion, technique and stance as exactly as possible to the video instructor's and ask your "sifu" or Tai Chi instructor for corrections.
Step 4
Memorize the steps of your Yang Tai Chi forms as you learn them by practicing in a home studio, park or local hiking area to access the meditative benefits of performing your forms in a natural setting. Breathe deeply into each posture, inhaling as you change into a new stance or technique and exhaling deeply into each segment of the form. Experience the feeling of your chi expanding and circulating inside of your body as you perform the Yang Tai Chi forms.
Step 5
Contact your sifu and ask if you are ready for advancement in your practice. This allows you to take on other, more complex techniques as you advance through the ranks, and eventually graduate to the Yang Master class taught by your instructor. Remain diligent in your training and always remind yourself to tap into the meditative quality of your motion and breath.
Tips and Warnings
- While some Tai Chi instructors will offer online course instruction solely through webcams and recorded footage, the best and most complete method for learning this family art is to receive it directly from a live teacher.
- Consult your doctor or personal physician if this is your first time engaging in a martial art such as Tai Chi. Inform your sifu and doctor if you experience any pain or other negative symptoms during practice.
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