Tai Chi Headaches

[Dragon Fire]

About a year and a half ago I took a Tai Chi course offered at my university. It was only for health, no fighting applications. Anyway, by the end of the semester I started getting severe migrains(sp?). I stopped doing Tai Chi and they went away. Since then I've tried to start practicing the form again only to have the headaches return after a few weeks. I very much want to study Hsing-I, but am afraid that the headaches will return. Can anyone offer any advice on why this happens and anything I can do to prevent it? Thanks in advance.

Dave

[count]

Ask 8stepsifu. He has spoken about them before. I had never heard of Tai Chi Headaches until he brought them up.
b

[Sam Wiley]

Was it one of the short forms? I have heard from many people who say that practicing one of the short forms make them feel sick, and I myself cannot practice Cheng Man-Ching's form because it makes me so disoriented and dizzy I throw up.

The healing properties of Taiji are so great that the healing itself may cause discomfort or other symptoms. Do the headaches appear at a certain point in the form or in a certain posture? Or is it that they just appear later after practicing the form? If they appear at a certain point or posture, then it is probably the movement healing something that needs to be healed. If the headaches appear after practicing the form, then that form is probably no good for you.

I have a theory about the short forms. If you're really out of balace, then doing a short form will not really harm you and will really help heal you. But if you're fairly well-balanced anyway, then you should practice the long form because the short form may imbalance you.

People sometimes tell me I'm full of crap for saying that the short forms are not good for you, but I'd like to point out 2 things:
1. More and more people keep saying that the short forms make them sick in some way. And
2. While some of the short forms make me feel sick, the long forms never do.

My advice, if you were learning one of the short forms, would be to find a teacher who teaches one of the older and longer forms and learn it from them. Not only is it better for health, but it will not give you headaches.

*********
"I put forth my power and he was broken.
I withdrew my power and he was ground into fine dust."
-Aleister Crowley, The Vision and the Voice

[Dragon Fire]

Thanks for the info Sam. It was one of the short forms, only 24 movements if i recall correctly. The headaches would show up later, usually when I woke up the next morning. Do you think Hsing-I has a long enough form? Or should I study another of the internal arts? Thanks again.

Dave

[8stepsifu]

tai chi headaches. I and others I know used to get them. They come from trying to "succeed" in tai chi. You must diligently not care to get anywhere in tai chi. My biggest meditation breakthrough happened when I said, "This stuff is bull****, it wont help you fight, I'm just standing here for 15 mintues cuz I have to" Then my breathing dropped and I had a great meditation sessions.

The next session I demanded the same results and regressed a month. Now tai chi is stable for me, but only because I got the hang of it mentally. Also before I was worried that I wasn't good enough as a sifu and tried really hard. Now I have a certain consistancy and can gradually progress. Having students helps a lot too, because I can break things down and explain it all to them


Take the world lightly, and your spirit will not be burdened. Consider everything minor, and your mind will not be confused. Regard death and life as equal, and your heart will not be afraid.

[Sam Wiley]

Dragon Fire,
Ahhh...the 24 movement short form, one of my pet peeves, as members of this board are well aware. Best to steer clear of that one.

Anyway, it's not so much the length of the form as the way it cycles your qi. The shorter forms do not cycle the qi as smoothly because they have had movements altered or deleted altogether. They just don't flow as well. Taijiquan's original forms were pretty short and explosive, but made the qi cycle smoothly. (Although they pretty much focused on a particular meridian at a time, they still flowed beautifully from one posture to the next.) Some of the modern long forms have what I feel are awkward transitions, easy enough to do but they never feel right to me, as if there should be more to them.

Xingyi is a very good martial art in it's own right. I have seen several styles and I liked them all. The forms I have seen are a bit more athletic than Taiji forms, and Xingyi can be pretty demanding. If you feel you want to study Xingyi instead of Taiji, then by all means do so. Both are equally effective for both health and fighting. The only other Internal art I have had experience with is Baguazhang, which is again more athletic and more demanding physically than Taiji forms. It is another great art and I have very rarely seen anything I did not like. There are other Internal arts of course, but my experience is really limited to the big 3. And again, if you feel you want to study Bagua instead, then go for it. It is much more difficult to go wrong with Xingyi or Bagua than with Taiji, at least when it comes to finding a good teacher.

What's most important is to find something that you like and that feels natural and right to you. In any case, let us know what you decide, and good luck in your search. I hope you find the right art for you.

*********
"I put forth my power and he was broken.
I withdrew my power and he was ground into fine dust."
-Aleister Crowley, The Vision and the Voice

[TheBigToad]

I've had some experience with this tai chi head ache. Well, dealing with the Jiulong system of Baguazhang which deals a lot more with mental association and physical energy of each palm and "forms" almost become secondary.
The "energy" is already there I simply need the direct and develop my ability to lead it better. I found that when I tried hard or even "forced" my intent that I became dizzy and very uncomfortable.
Its not until I just become quite and forgot about achieving and simply concentrate on relaxing and the natural flow of things and being "one" without he energy and idea I was try to develop I felt tremendously better and my skill really started to improve.
I like the Tao Te Ching where it says "What seems dull is truly bright," and "to truly move forward you must move backwards."

The circle will always be, but you alone decides when it starts and where it ends.