I've been taking taijiquan at the DC GRTC for 9 months. I have no experience in martial arts, self defense or structured fighting. I like to think of myself as a blank page, ready to be written upon by Laoshi and my seniors.
I've been lurking the forums for about 6 months. There's a lot of information, but most of the recent activity is by 5yr+ students about 3yr+ -level topics. At first I wanted to complain about that, then I thought to ask every question I could think of; but any good forum participant knows to look for your question in the archives before asking. It was here that I found several threads mostly from 2-4 years ago (when all you guys were closer to my level!) that are really useful to total beginners like myself. I decided to list them here for the benefit of others; maybe this can become a "sticky" thread that stays at the top if it becomes valuable enough.
If you have any threads you think are of particular use to a novice, please share.
Taijiquan 101 FAQ:
On The Taiji Roadmap
A basic discussion of where you start and how you progress/grow through the various classes GRTC offers.
On The 5 Principles
Choose a principle each week and incorporate it into your daily practice. Practice daily!
On Progressing with Patience
I wish Laoshi would supplement this with the talk he gave in class recently about the distance from 0% to 95% and the distance from 95% to 100%. The combination has really helped me to commit to a long-term schedule of perpetual improvement.
On Taiji and Other Forms of Exercise
This is not as firm an answer as one might hope, but gives clarity to the aspects of exercise and strength training that could inhibit taiji progress.
On Commonly Mentioned Concepts
Yi, Qi, and two perspectives on what it means to relax when practicing taiji. Other useful threads cited.
On Fangsong
A lot of you like this explanation... I'm still re-reading this and each time it provides greater illumination
On Balance
I've always wondered if the arch of the foot had bearing on the recognition of the "bubbling wells" in the feet. If you have flat feet and/or are experiencing trouble balancing, check out this thread.
On Press... (not Push!)
Possibly the most insightful thread I've read sofar. Helpful instruction like this is why this forum is so valuable. I look forward to creating or contributing to a thread like this for each of the 8 movements, each of the 37 postures, and every single one of my common beginner mistakes.
I hope this is helpful for others who are looking for basic info as they begin taiji. We are all learning together so don't be afraid to look to your seniors for fundamental answers and to each other for help and support!
