Tai Chi Basic Skills

Block A

1. • Warmups
• Seven fundamental stances
a. Horse
b. Bow
c. Back
d. Cat
e. Crane
f. Box
g. Dragon
• Dan Tian breathing
• Basic Tai Chi definitions

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Block B

2. • Seven fundamental stances with stepping
• Defining three categories of breathing
3. • Yin/Yang pushing and yielding exercises
• Stance Training:
a. Three planes
b. Lean Forward and Search for the Sea
c. Rhino Looks Up at the Moon
d. Angel Looks in the Mirror
e. Li Kwai Pointing to the Winner
f. Swallow Skims the Water
g. Lying Leg
4. • Bar stretches and partner stretches
• Staff fundamentals whenever Blocks C & D do weapons
• Cleansing breathing

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Block C

5. • Tai Chi Rooting exercises with partner:
a. Horse-stance palm pressing (high & low)
b. Elbow pulling drill
c. Grasping Sparrow’s Tail drill
d. Clasped-hands push and pull drill
• Cyclic Breathing
6. • Diagonal stepping drills:
a. Double pulling
b. Grasping Sparrow’s Tail
c. Two-hand press
• Reverse Breathing
7. • Advanced stepping drills
a. Bamboo
b. Santi
c. Ting zi bu
• Power Breathing Technique

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