My wife and I signed up for a Tai Chi class with hopes that it will help us become more relaxed and help our Karate. Often, our Sensei’s tell us that we are too stressed or tensed up in class so I am hoping that Tai Chi will help us de-stress and loosen up my body and joints.
This is our second week in this class and I do feel much more relaxed and loose while in class. It is certainly not easy by any means, since most of the muscles used in the movements aren’t used in everyday life. My wife and I do seem to have a a slight advantage since many of the stances are a narrow or medium horse stance.
Tai Chi also has us paying extra attention to our breathing, which I find relaxing by itself. We have only covered a few of the basic movements thus far and are building our foundation before we start on any forms or what looks like kata.
This week was a special since the Master instructor of this style joined us for class and gave a demonstration along with our instructor. The movements they did looked much like a slow motion kata but with extra attention to the breathing. Even though it was executed slowly, it did look powerful and graceful.
Like Karate, this art is going to take time but if it helps make my Karate better, like I think it will, I will keep on doing it.