One aspect of Tai Chi that tends to get overlooked is testing. I don’t mean testing for rank or belts. I mean testing the smoothness of your nervous system that should be evolving as you go deeper into your practice. In this video, Tai Chi Master Bruce Frantzis demonstrates an exceptional degree of smoothness. Even though he is demonstrating a Ba Gua rolling exercise, all of the internal arts aim to cultivate this degree of fluidity:
As you cultivate the mind-body benefits of Tai Chi, you will likely focus on solo training and interactive two-person practices like Push Hands. There’s a third kind of Tai Chi training, though, that will make the link between the other two stronger, Tai Chi Equipment Training.
Using stones, balls, disks, belts, and other objects you find in nature, you can develop important attributes of the Tai Chi body and mind.
