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Memorizing the form is essential if you want your tai chi to improve.  Simply following your teacher in class once a week can be fulfilling enough for some students, but if you want to understand tai chi and progress up though the many levels of the art you have to practice alone.  In order to practice alone you have to memorize the form.  For some people this can be really difficult.  Especially if you are one of the types that can follow in class easily.  When following, especially if you follow well, your body is in charge.  You move your body along without really thinking about it.  In the very beginning this is fine.  After the initial stages however, you must to switch over to your mind being in charge.   

Because tai chi movements are so slow it is easy for your mind to race away and become distracted.  Slowing down your mind can be amazingly challenging.  Once you realize how many things there are to think about, which is the the whole reason tai chi movements are done so slowly, it becomes easier to focus and stay in the moment.  Mindfulness is key.  

There are memorization strategies that can help you remember the posture sequence.

One way is to re-type, or even better hand copy, the list of posture names in the sequence as they appear in the form.  Print it out so that you can refer to it easily.  Read through this list often.   

I had a student that printed out and laminated sections of the form and hung them from a lanyard that he wore around his neck.  If he ever got stuck while practicing he could quickly refer to one of the cards.

Some people remember better by hearing the posture names while they are doing them.  If you are one of these people say the names of the postures out loud as you do them when practicing alone, and say them in your head if you are practicing with other people. 

The tai chi form is usually done slowly, but for memorization purposes speed it up.  For now, this is for training posture sequence memory only.  Don’t worry so much about doing the postures perfectly, just concentrate on sequence.  This is going to bring the speed of your body and mind together so that they can communicate.  Now your mind is going to tell your body what to do.  Your mind is going to be in charge.  Once your body starts following your mind it will develop correct posture sequence muscle memory.  Only then can you trust it to move along without having to think about it.  Once your body knows the form sequence your mind can concentrate on things like proper tai chi principles.  You can apply this strategy to sections at a time, or just to spots you have trouble remembering.

Another way to memorize the form is to practice the part that you have an absolute handle on and then add just the next posture or even just part of the next posture, and stop.  Don’t go any further!  Now go back to the beginning and do the the part you know plus the new part you just added, and stop.  Do this 3, 5, ..10 times, however many it takes to incorporate the new posture into what you already know. Don’t add anything more until that last part you added becomes part of what you have an absolute handle on.  The more you start to remember you won’t have to go back to the very beginning, maybe just the last three postures of what you’ve got down, and then add the next small part.  Practicing memorizing this way can be done fast or slow.  By practicing slowly you can also concentrate on doing the postures you know correctly while then adding the next piece.

There are three sections in the yang 108 form.   Familiarize yourself with each section on its own.  The first section is short, kind of a warming up section.  The second section is longer and introduces kicks.  The third section is the longest section and is much more dynamic.  Each of the sections can be broken down into more manageable chunks (I broke the following list into the chunks that worked for me).  Patterns appear that can be more easily remembered.  For instance you find out that after every Grasp the Sparrows Tail there is a Single Whip.  After Every Cloud Hands there is a Single Whip.  The last posture in both section one and section two is Cross Hands… and so on.

Traditional Yang 108 Form Postures~

First section

Opening
Ward off, Right
Ward Off, Left

Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail (Ward Off, Right; Roll Back; Press; Push)
Single Whip

Lift Hands, Shoulder Strike
White Crane Spreads its Wings

Brush Knee, Left 
Play the Guitar
Brush Knee, Left
Brush Knee, Right
Brush Knee, Left
Play the Guitar
Brush Knee, Left 

Deflect, Parry and Punch

Apparent Close
Cross Hands

Second section

Carry Tiger to Mountain

Fist Under Elbow

Repulse Monkey, Right
Repulse Monkey, Left
Repulse Monkey – Right

Diagonal Flying
Lift Hands

White Crane Spreads its Wings
Brush Knee, Left
Needle at Sea Bottom
Fan through Back

Turn, Back Fist, Parry, Side Punch 

Deflect, Parry and Punch

Ward Off, Left
Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail (Ward Off, Right; Roll Back; Press; Push)
Single Whip

Cloud Hands
Single Whip

High Pat on Horse

Right Toe Kick
Left Toe Kick
Turn, Left Heel Kick

Brush Knee, Left 
Brush Knee, Right
Right Punch Downward 

Turn, Back Fist, Parry, Side Punch

Deflect , Parry and Punch

Right Heal Kick
Taming the Tiger, Left 
Taming the Tiger, Right
Right Heal Kick

Box Ears with Fists

Left Heal Kick

Pivot Around, Right Heal Kick

Deflect, Parry and Punch

Apparent Close
Cross Hands

Third section

Carry Tiger to Mountain

Single Whip (to the front)

Part the Wild Horse’s Mane, Right
Part the Wild Horse’s Mane, Left
Part the Wild Horses Mane, Right

Ward-Off, Left
Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail (Ward Off, Right; Roll Back; Press; Push)
Single Whip

Fair Lady Works the Shuttles, Left
Fair Lady Works the Shuttles, Right
Fair Lady Works the Shuttles, Left
Fair Lady Works the Shuttles, Right

Ward-Off, Left
Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail (Ward Off, Right; Roll Back; Press; Push)
Single Whip

Cloud Hands
Single Whip

Snake Creeps Down

Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg, Left
Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg, Right

Repulse Monkey, Right
Repulse Monkey, Left
Repulse Monkey, Right

Diagonal Flying
Lift Hands

White Crane Spreads its Wings
Brush Knee, Left

Needle at Sea Bottom
Fan Through the Back

White Snake Puts Out Tongue, Parry, Side Punch

Deflect, Parry and Punch

Ward-Off, Left
Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail (Ward Off, Right; Roll Back; Press; Push)
Single Whip

Cloud Hands
Single Whip

High Pat On Horse
Palm Thrust

Turn and Cross Kick

Punch downward

Ward-Off, Left
Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail (Ward Off, Right; Roll Back; Press; Push)
Single Whip

Snake Creeps Down

Seven Stars

Ride the Tiger

Turn Body Sweep Lotus Leg

Bend Bow and Shoot Tiger

Deflect, Parry and Punch

Apparent Close
Cross Hands

Close

~Jill

Fullness ~ Emptiness
Sinking ~ Ascending
Inward rotation ~ Outward rotation
Cross connection
Extension ~ Rolling Back
Expanding ~ Contracting
Absorbing energy ~ Explosive energy
Warding off ~ Dissolving
Breathing in ~ Breathing out
Motion ~ Stillness

The Tai chi form is one long physical expression of many continuous yin and yang changes.

~Jill

Relaxed and confident is my current motto.

Practicing tai chi over time will give you a sense of relaxation and confidence in your body and in your mind.

What is it to be relaxed in body?  What it is not is to be limp or collapsed or deflated or sleepy.  What relaxing in body is is a release of physical tension and stress.

Releasing and letting go of tension in your muscles and joints allows energy to flow freely.   

When you unlock all of your stress points you will begin to feel a free flowing circulation of energy that permeates your entire body.

It takes time and practice to recognize some of the tension you have in your body.  Some tension has become so ingrained and is such a life long way of being that you aren’t even aware of it as being tension anymore.  This usually manifests in the shoulders and neck. 

Once you begin to truly unlock your muscles and joints, particularly the shoulders and hips, you will find lowering your center of gravity, or rooting, becomes smooth and easy. 

Lowering your center takes on a fuller more -sinking into the ground- quality that creates a strong base that your torso can move freely upon.

This leads to a confident feeling in your body.  

What is it to be confident in body?  What it is not is to be off balance.  What it is is moving your body in a deliberate way so that it will not fall over.  Your postures are stable in stillness and in movement.

Lowering your center of gravity so that you feel very attached to the earth and knowing how to transfer your weight from one foot to the other with proper alignment, builds body awareness and body confidence.

This body work has a great impact on the mind.  After practicing a tai chi form long enough so that you basically know how to do the postures and the order that they come in, your mind is free to focus on relaxing the joints and muscles, and lowering your center of gravity as you go through the movements.  A relaxed state of mindfulness is the goal.  A nice energy begins to flow and you may experience being in the ‘zone’ of moving meditation.  This has a calming and relaxing effect on the mind.  This relaxed state of mind combined with a confident state of body leads to a confident state of mind.  

A confident mind does not need to prove anything.  It does not need to be aggressive or overbearing.  It is not ego driven.

A confident mind is a knowing and positive sense of self.   Your mind is relaxed.  You are not threatened by what others think.  Your self worth comes from within.  You are not afraid of losing or of admitting when you are wrong.  You are calm in familiar and unfamiliar situations.  You are free from negative self talk.  You have a nice positive internal energy that radiates into the world.  

Being relaxed and confident is a goal toward tai chi improvement.  All of these qualities of a confident and relaxed body and mind are important when practicing push hands. Adding push hands to your practice will inform you on how well you’re doing with becoming ever more relaxed and confident in your form work, and in your body and mind.  Not only will your tai chi become better but life outside of tai chi (is there such a thing?) will also change for the better.

Tai chi is a path to a healthier, happier, relaxed and confident way of being and living life.  

~Jill

Basic tai chi standing posture~

Stand with both feet pointing forward and shoulder width apart.

Your weight should be evenly distributed between your feet. Your weight should be evenly distributed across the bottoms of both feet. Don’t lean forward onto the balls of your feet. Don’t lean back on your heels.

Imagine the crown of your head being suspended from above by a string. Tip your chin slightly down and inward. Relax your neck muscles.

Relax your shoulders.

Relax your elbows.

Let your chest be slightly concave. ..like at the end of a heavy sigh… but don’t collapse.

Unlock your knees.

Relax and unlock your hips.

This posture creates a straight line from the crown of your head through your shoulders, hips and heels.

An often used metaphor in tai chi is that of a string of pearls. With the feeling of your head being suspended from above and unlocking your knees and hips, let your spine relax and hang like a string of pearls.

A hanging spine, along with unlocking and relaxing the muscles around your hips results in your pelvis having a kind of hanging basket effect.

When in the relaxed standing position the pelvis hangs naturally. Don’t try to tuck the hips under, it will ruin your alignment.

While moving during tai chi practice the hanging basket effect allows for a wide range of waist motion.

Lower your center of gravity. let your thigh muscles take on the load. Now you have a strong base. Your relaxed torso can easily move on top of this base.

Relaxing the joints is key in all tai chi postures. Chi will not flow through a tensed up joint. Relaxing does not mean being limp. Your muscles should relax without losing the structure of the posture. Actually, there is a nice energy and vitality that comes with relaxing. Learning to relax, or being ‘sung’, or ‘song’ in tai chi language, is an ongoing practice. You may think you’re completely relaxed but you can always relax a little bit more.

As you stand at the start of each form practice go through this checklist of requirements. eventually it will become second nature.

~Jill