Best age to begin Taiji training?

[tai chi hermit]

I was just thinking about this the other day, because I am 15 and I really have a hard time getting the amount of training I want. So do you think it is better to start around, below, or above my age? When did you and in what ways did you struggle?

[B-Rad]

I think that's a good age to start. I started taiji quan when I was about 20 (after an injurey). The hardest part for me was (and still is sometimes) getting regular practice, and taking my time to do things right. And sometimes the ego gets in the way as a young guy where you're more interested in being as good as these masters rather than just enjoying the practice for what it is and focusing on self improvement and developing your own talents. The sooner you start the better, imo (except maybe very young children).

[bawang]

my best advice to you is to practice the techniques one at a time, instead of practicing the forms. you don't need to learn the whole forms.
even if you want to do taiji to relax, you would want to do taiji qigong, not forms.

i been practicing only 3 or four tecniques from yang taiji for past two years. there is huge number of variations and applications in each technique is taiji. i spent half a year just doing wild horse part mane. and you need to do them fast.

[tai chi hermit]

well... its not like i am starting or about to. i have been training for the past year and have the taiji long form and i do train the specific techniques more than the form. i do chi kung and taiji every night that i can. also i am not one of the big headed punks that think they're all that, i dont show anyone anything or perform anything in school or public. and i cant help but think about the masters.... i mean if i could just go and learn from them non stop, thats my dream. i wish i could stop everything, but i cant

[bawang]

keep up the good work man, keep trianing.
can you tell me more about your style of taiji, your teacher and how you train?

about training non stop, i did that for two summers when i was in high school. it's pretty monotomous. i don't know why you wanna train with a master full time. in high school you can squeeze four to five hours a day training before and after school. you have plenty of time right now to train.

[GiggityZZ]

n high school you can squeeze four to five hours a day training before and after school. you have plenty of time right now to train.

wow ur so right. uve just motivated me to wake up early, and train before school as well as after school now. that sounds so good, but monotonous as u said.

i am someone who is wanting to learn taiji but im not able to get a teacher. i cannot afford the monthly fee to be trained. it greatly saddens me and i wish i would meet a master who finds potential in me and begins training me. lol my fantasies

[Xiao3 Meng4]

Congrats on choosing Tai Ji at your age. If you stick with it, you'll have something valuable to maintain your health and share with others in your old age.

If you're looking at Tai Ji as a martial art, then I recommend you find a push hands partner. If your instructor teaches push hands, there should be other people around you who know it and can practice with you, both in and out of class. If your instructor doesn't teach push hands, then either find a workshop that does, or find some basic info and a willing partner to get you started.

One-step push hands is usually a good place to start... it involves getting your partner to take a single step due to a loss of balance/structure as a result of your own Peng, Liu, Ji, or An.

Christian

[GiggityZZ]

i think i do see tai chi as a martial art. im trying to look more into qigong as well.

im sure there are academys out there that teach tai chi, but for now im going to look for someone willing to teach me for free.
Christian, ill look into push hands. i have heard about it before, but never practiced it.

not do i have a partner to practice with O_O

[tai chi hermit]

keep up the good work man, keep trianing.
can you tell me more about your style of taiji, your teacher and how you train?


well normally, but not lately because i am training for a triathlon, i would wake up at around 4:30a and do chan ssu chin in my room til about 5:00a then go outside and do taiji chi kung then the long form normally once or twice which takes me to about 6:00, gotta wait 30 mins to eat.... after school i hang with my grandma for about and hour until around 5:00p, then i focus more on the 'external' aspects of taiji (specific movements takin out the 8 gates) i practice stationary, moving, jing...... on the weekends i practice iron palm, and finger strengthening. then end the day with taiji chi kung and the long form once which i always do even lately with training.

it has just been frustrating me a bit lately that i cant get the training that i want. i learned the form from my dad which is a wah lum kung fu teacher. and to the person asking about push hands.... there are pretty much 0 martial artists in the TN area i am in, and yes i am training this as a martial art with very little focus on the health aspects.

[bawang]

yo man, big up. nice routine and i 'll give my opinions. i hope you take my opinions seriously and try to do what i say. it will help you, trust me. this is gonna be a long ass post. bear wit me!


well normally, but not lately because i am training for a triathlon, i would wake up at around 4:30a and do chan ssu chin in my room til about 5:00a then go outside and do taiji chi kung then the long form normally once or twice which takes me to about 6:00, gotta wait 30 mins to eat.....

i recommend you don't do the form at all, but focus ONLY on a few techniques and do them for half an hour, thinking about the applications. repeat the technique a few times, then do it fast. you can be soft bu tstill fast. this is the most important!

second you need to do more silk reeling chan ssu chin. chan ssu chin contains the basic movements for blocks and punches and some grappling! in fact chan ssu chin is more important than your form.
third if you have time train horse stance(zhan zhuang). in taiji horse stance training is internal. when you do deep horse stance, use qigong breathing and bring qi to dantian. i assume you know zhan zhuang. do zhan zhuang but do it medium or low. high zhan zhuang is for sick and elderly people.
then punch in horse stance(again this is internal. each punch send qi from dantian to your fists.) then do some fist pushups(imagine qi from dantian to fists each time you come up).


after school i hang with my grandma for about and hour until around 5:00p, then i focus more on the 'external' aspects of taiji (specific movements takin out the 8 gates) i practice stationary, moving, jing...... .
this is good.
but you need to do squats(same time imagine lead qi from dantien to feet), pushups(lead qi to arms), situps(lead qi to stomach), punches(fist, palm, slap, chop et, lead qi to hands). if you don't rest this will only take half an hour, with rest one hour.



on the weekends i practice iron palm, and finger strengthening..
WOAH! watchout, only train iron palm on a thick phone book! if you use iron pieces you will stunt growth in your hands! do it softly and gradually!

then end the day with taiji chi kung and the long form once which i always do even lately with training..
internal power doesn't come from doing qigong or taiji form. it comes from gathering qi meditation, horse stance meditation and silk reeling. remember that!
qigong is nest for recovery after external training.


it has just been frustrating me a bit lately that i cant get the training that i want. i learned the form from my dad which is a wah lum kung fu teacher. and to the person asking about push hands.... there are pretty much 0 martial artists in the TN area i am in, and yes i am training this as a martial art with very little focus on the health aspects.
if you can't find sparring partner focus on conditioning.

i recommend you join a gym and lift weights. many internal people are against that, but if you want to fight with taiji you HAVE to listen to me.
start with light gentle weights, lift weights slowly ,each time use internal breathing(pop out your stomach when you're breathing out) and lead qi gently to whatever part of the body you're using and lift the weights semi relaxed. not to relaxed, have a bit of tension, half relaxed.

[bawang]

wow ur so right. uve just motivated me to wake up early, and train before school as well as after school now. that sounds so good, but monotonous as u said.
i wish i trained even harder, but i don't have the time anymore. USE YOUR TIME WISELY! after high school there wil be no more time!


i am someone who is wanting to learn taiji but im not able to get a teacher. i cannot afford the monthly fee to be trained. it greatly saddens me and i wish i would meet a master who finds potential in me and begins training me. lol my fantasies
the best instructors teach for free :)

[tai chi hermit]

i had been practicing horse stance for a while when i was learning kung fu, but kinda stopped when i had read about being 'double weighted' and thought training hill climbing stance would be better. also.... pretty much everything you said except the weight lifting i do. but not meditation, bc i have no teacher and i dont want to screew up. i meditate every now and then for just cleansing my mind and standing meditation pretty often with stances for the form. and on most of the things im not an idiot, i have studied quite a bit about everything i am training, like iron palm... i know not to start out like that, lol

[bawang]

training horse stance is not for leg strenght, it's to train internal and develop root. for leg strength do squats one leg squats. you don't do horse stance you won't be good in most kinds of chinese kung fu.




there's nothing left for me to say, i started training at 15 too ,

good luck.

[tai chi hermit]

I feel sometimes like not training and i dont. yet when i do go train, it feels like the best day ever. i feel really confused. anyone else had this? how am i to overcome it?

[bawang]

i went through that phase too don't worry. but if you become too lazy one day of rest will turn into one weke then one month. this ususally happened when i train too much for one day. its better to do a tiny bit every day, then slowly increase the stuff you do every day,to build a habit.

in fact today i've been lazy, but tomorrow i will train hard i promise!

[tai chi hermit]

lol THATS WHAT I DO!

if i rest one day then its like i double up the next day, lol. i see what you're saying and it makes perfect sense, THANKS!

[GeneChing]

Check out Thirteen Years of Tai Chi Study (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=734) by Sandra Balint, exclusively on our ezine.

[Egg fu young]

Check out Thirteen Years of Tai Chi Study (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=734) by Sandra Balint, exclusively on our ezine.

great article! I'm close to 40 and feel her pain:D

[GeneChing]

Wow. I got years to go before I should start again. ;)


Is Rachel the world's olders tai chi student? (http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/4688076.106___and_still_doing_her_tai_chi_/)
6:20pm Tuesday 20th October 2009

CENTENARIAN keep-fit fan Rachel Hush is living proof you’re never too old for a spot of healthy exercise.

At the age of 106, Rachel, who regularly practices tai chi with her friends in Shoebury, reckons she’s probably the world’s oldest student of the gentlest of martial arts.

Tutor Graham Horwood said: “Rachel seems to really enjoy the classes I run.

“Apparently, she has a reputation for being a bit stroppy, but she’s fine with me. You can join in tai chi even sitting down. After checking on the internet, I agree she probably is the oldest tai chi student in the world.”

Graham, 60, runs regular classes at Kathryn House, in Ness Road, Shoebury.

Tai chi is said to harness a life force called chi – something which seems to be rubbing off on Rachel and fellow residents.

Winnie Breckon, who celebrates her 86th birthday tomorrow, said: “I enjoy the classes very much. They so different from anything else we’ve done and very relaxing. It does seem to relieve a lot of aches and pains and Graham is great at teaching it. He’s fabulous and I’m even going to get my niece to try it.”

Kieun Wong, dementia services manager at the home believes the classes offer residents much more than simple, physical benefits. She explained: “Tai chi is ideal, because it is not only a slow-moving form of exercise – it also provides exercise for the mind as well.”

Graham, of St Andrews, Shoebury, a tai chi instructor for more than 30 years, describes the Chinese technique as a “system of slow, meditative physical exercise, designed for relaxation and balance and health”.

He added: “It is non-threatening and gives the practicioner two things – relaxation and a sense of well-being”.

[Lucas]

I feel sometimes like not training and i dont. yet when i do go train, it feels like the best day ever. i feel really confused. anyone else had this? how am i to overcome it?

we have all been through that part of the process. will power and a desire to achieve your martial art goals will see you through that. just hold fast to that feeling as you lie in bed at the end of the day feeling your training that day take hold in your body.

that always got me through tough times

[bawang]

when i was younger in high school i had al the time to train kung fu, instead i was lazy and watch tv and play on the computer.
now that i want to train hard, i dont have the time anymor.
use you time wisely

[GeneChing]

Now this is a great tai chi story on many levels. :D

90-year-old woman extends Taichi challenge to other practicers worldwide (http://www.cctv.com/english/special/news/20100128/103048.shtml)
2010-01-28 14:18 BJT

The 12th Aunt in Foshan, who is 90 years old, has good kungfu techniques and even aggressively makes open challenges on the Internet to fight. On the Internet, she challenges old women over 85 years old and old men over 90 years old into a kungfu contest. Unfortunately, by now, nobody has taken the challenge and 12th Aunt has turned into an "uncontested top dog." So, the 12th Aunt of Foshan has become an Internet star.

Sending out the message on the internet

No response yet

Because the 12th Aunt doesn't speak Mandarin, her junior fellow apprentice Xiao Bin, the vice-chairman of Foshan Wushu Association, did the interview yesterday. Xiao Bin said, the title of "12th Aunt" isn't meant to be associated with Huang Feihong, "the name of her senior sister apprentice is Yuan Shi'er (means 12th), among which, Yuan is her surname, and Shi'er is her first name, referring to her ranking among her brothers and sisters. Shi'er (means 12th) refers to a dozen, and in Foshan dialect, it's pronounced as DaYi, the same pronunciation as 'Aunt'. She was born on February 6, 1920, and will be 90 years old soon!"

Xiao Bin said the 12th Aunt started to learn Taichi Quan in her fifties, "in order to do physical exercise, she unwittingly learned Kungfu. The practice was very hard, but she learned well." After mastering Kungfu, the 12th Aunt wanted to work on her techniques with a person in the same condition, and therefore brainstormed methods of "setting the arena," through which, she hoped she could find another master around her age in the same camp with her. Xiao Bin said, "The 12th Aunt started to set the arena from the year of 2006, which attracted a lot of criticism at that time and people thought she just wanted to make money and it was only a kind of show. In 2007, we set the global arena, and the arena was open for the females above 75 years old and the males above 80, however, nobody took the challenge. So the 12th Aunt won without even having to fight."

Now, Xiao Bin has opened a micro-blog on behalf of the 12th Aunt, and helps her post statements and manage the blog every day. The 12th Aunt often throws down challenges on the micro-blogs, which turns her into an Internet star. Her bio on the micro-blog is "Let's Practice Taichi Quan to Prevent the Flu and Save the Earth by Pushing our Hands together!" Her Internet friends cannot help laughing, “She not only mentions the fitness of the nation in her slogan, but also saving the earth. She seems like a superwoman! Too powerful!

A martial arts version of "Susan Boyle"

The slogan of the 12th Aunt is full of heroic spirit, encouraging the old people throughout the world to challenge her, and the 12th Aunt even heroically expresses that the rules are open to negotiation. The "setting of the arena" is even divided into a male version and a female version. The declaration in the challenges against the men is 'regardless if your style is Muay Thai, Judo, boxing or anything else, as long as you are no younger than 90 years old, you are welcomed to fight with me, even if you are a fighting master-hand. The rules shall be decided based on negotiation between the two parties, and I will face the fight with the attitude of "I cannot lose and I will win!" The opponent must be a real warrior and a real man! The declaration in the challenges against women is "to all younger and elder sisters over 85 years old, don't hesitate to challenge me! As long as you are dare to join the Taichi Push-hands Exercise or kumite competition (the rules will be decided by negotiation between the two parties). It will be full of an entertainment and sports spirit regardless of who wins and who loses!" Such declarations also excite the young, "how energic and powerful she is! It's too bad that I don't know Kungfu and my age disqualifies me from taking part. All I can do is silently watching the 12th Aunt." Also some Internet buddies expressed that when they found that the 12th Aunt was in such good shape, I felt pressure to exercise myself, "I hope I could be as healthy as the 12th Aunt when I am in my nineties."

She is chosen to perform at the Internet Spring Festival Gala

Her micro-blog is extremely popular, but the 12th Aunt's dream to set up a ring has not been realized because no one has answered her challenges. Having no choice, she continued to increase the promotion of the contest ring. Learning the news about the Spring Festival Internet Gala, the 12th Aunt decided to do the audition and eventually succeeded in the final recruitment.

On January 15, accompanied by her daughter, the 12th Aunt flew to Beijing to join the record of Spring Festival Internet Gala. According to Xiao Bing, the 12th Aunt's excellent performance won her two programs at the Gala. Xiao said, "The first program is Tai Chi, and the second one is a chorus by Post- N0 band, which is composed of people born in each generation. She is the representative for people over 90. She is in good form, and sings the song hand in hand with others on stage."

For the 12th Aunt, however, nothing is more attractive than her contest ring. On her micro-blog, she posted her own comments on the Spring Festival Internet Gala: "Many thanks to the netizens who supported me. Many people may not know about my contest ring because I just set the ring not long ago, please promote it for me. I'm going to the Beijing Spring Festival Internet Gala in order to find my rivals." It is a pity that even when the ring is set in Beijing and on the Gala, there is still no one competing with the 12th Aunt. Xiao Bing said, "up till now, there has been no one who has answered the challenge, and even if there were, a contest between people of such advanced ages would certainly be breaking news." Xiao Bing said that the 12th Aunt is the embodiment of the spirit of bodybuilding, "Foshan boasts Huang Feihong and Ye Wen, and I hope later people will remember the 12th Aunt."

Tai Chi Push-Hands, also known as Pushing Hands, Attacking Hands and Rubbing Hands, is a resistant exercise performed by two people barehanded. It is an outward manifestation of the Tai Chi, and the two complement each other. It can be traced back to Zhang Sanfeng (a famous martial artist) in the Northern Song Dynasty, and is about 1000 years old. Wang Zongyue (another famous martial artist) wrote explicitly in his "On Tai Chi" that: moving in harmony, the two must stay balanced while not falling down. Pushing Hands is the way to test one's boxing frame, which is the bridge between the simple boxing frame and free combat. The main methods for pushing hands are: using the arms to contact and hold up the opponent in order to set up defensive line; pushing the opponent sideways or backwards; pushing forward and constraining; pushing forwards and downward; horizontal constraining or advancing on the opponent and spinning the forearms or elbows to constrain the opponent or to advance on the opponent.

[Bob Ashmore]

Tai Chi Hermit,
When I get asked "what is the best age to being my Tai Chi Chuan training" I always answer with this question:
"How old are you?"
Whatever answer they give, I respond with: "Yep, that's perfect. Let's start now."
Because that is always the answer, "how old are you now?"
You can't go back in time and start then and there's no point in not starting now if you're going to take the journey.

I will give slightly alternate advice to some you are receiving here. I'm not saying the advice is not heartfelt or that those giving it are incorrect, I am merely offering another insight that is different.
It is good to get different opinions, but then you have to make up your own mind.
My advice to you is this: Slow down.
You have plenty of time to learn TCC and any other arts you would like to in your lifetime, so make haste a little more slowly.
At your age you will naturally want more and you will want it right now, but Wang Zongyue gives the advice not to give up the near to seek the far. That is what you will be doing if you search always for the next "new" thing and don't spend time working on what you already have.
All the fancy movements and applications in the world will not do you any good if you do not completely understand the underlying principles behind TCC. What good does it do you to know 500 forms if you can't do one well?
As for form training, do not short yourself on this. Do the forms as precisely as you can, do them slowly at first until you learn all of the nuances of the form, then you may begin go to speed up. But forgoing forms training, in my opinion, is a huge mistake in TCC.
The forms were created as a tool, that tool is most usefull when used frequently.

Ask your father for his advice on how to continue your training. As he taught you the forms he will be a good person to get advice from.
I know, most 15 year olds won't want to do that, so if that is not something you are willing to do, then ask another trusted TCC teacher for their advice.

Good luck.

[KTS]

agree with previous comment, you will probably want to go faster than you really should. u might be doing it anyways, and not even realize it.
taiji is a fairly matured art, and to do it correctly, takes more than just physical endurance.
btw, there is always an instructor around somewhere. you might have to travel 50+ miles once a week or so. but better that than learning a "watered down" taiji or learning from someone who only learned a taiji form or practices it as a 3rd or 4rth martial arts for example.

and, it does kind of depend what you want to get out of it. do you want physical fitness? many martial arts provide that. do you want self defence abilities? many provide that as well.
i believe you mentioned that you like the martial side. i didnt read every single post, but have you thought of looking into other arts from a school/group where you can participate in 2 person training?

[GeneChing]

Another from Sandra Balin (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=807255#post807255)t that just happens to fit well on this thread.

Incorporating Tai Chi Pivoting Technique as a Fall Prevention Method (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1063)by Sandra Balint

[Mfinn]

Taking this up seriously is akin to beginning to play a musical instrument or learn a new language. Do not waste your time if you are the sort of person who does such things casually and then lets it all drop. Do that and you weaken your character. Any kind of serious practice means you must "eat bitter." If this is not who you are, then this is the type of person you must become.

Technically, I would say that more important for someone like you is to learn and practice daily any sort of hard-style art. I have students who come to me who have never even been in a fistfight. In the old days, every Chinese boy had some grounding in basics. When you are young is the right time for that. T'ai chi ch'uan requires an almost supernatural patience that most young people do not have.

[YouKnowWho]

What do you mean "Taiji training"?

First you have to decide what skill that you want to develop. You then set up a plan and try to achieve that goal. The word "style" has no meaning. If you want to train "punch to the head", which style did that skill come from? Do you truly care?

[taai gihk yahn]

T'ai chi ch'uan requires an almost supernatural patience that most young people do not have.
sure, when taught in the obtuse and esoteric manner that has been the case for most of its history; when you cut to the chase, you can teach someone to effectively utilize taiji principles in a significantly shorter period of time (months, as opposed to years); for example, you can acquire very good listening and pushing skills quite rapidly and there are much more efficient ways to teach the solo body mechanics than has been the case; while u can certainly spend decades refining things, the initial skill acquisition can be relatively rapid;

taiji people need to get over themselves - there's nothing particularly special or unique about what it teaches that should take 30 years before the light goes on; it's just one way of utilizing a set of body principles, and if u understand how to communicate certain things, u can get respectable results fairly quickly;

[taai gihk yahn]

What do you mean "Taiji training"?
a lot of the time it seems to mean taking new students with enthusiasm and natural ability, and suppressing both in the name of making them conform to an ill-defined and obfuscated paradigm of movement that seems to serve to make long-time practitioners feel morally superior to everyone else around them...


First you have to decide what skill that you want to develop. You then set up a plan and try to achieve that goal. The word "style" has no meaning. If you want to train "punch to the head", which style did that skill come from? Do you truly care?
nope; well said; all that matters is proper application of body-based principles;

[YouKnowWho]

The first time I did Taiji I was 5 or 6.

The 1st time I did Taiji I was 7. Since my 1st Taiji teacher was a "Taiji for health" guy (I didn't know at that time). I tried to use it in street fight and it didn't work very well back then. Since then trying to use Taiji in combat is not my priority.

[-N-]

The 1st time I did Taiji I was 7. Since my 1st Taiji teacher was a "Taiji for health" guy (I didn't know at that time). I tried to use it in street fight and it didn't work very well back then. Since then trying to use Taiji in combat is not my priority.

So you came out of that fight less healthy than when you got in?

:rolleyes:

[Fa Xing]

TGY and YKW have very good points. I spent almost 7 years studying/practicing Taiji exclusively and I eventually stopped because I felt I hit a dead end with it in terms of martial arts. I went to few different teachers and circumstances were never good enough to get what I wanted out of it. I eventually started training in kickboxing and then found my way to Jeet Kune Do, now I find myself thinking about how I would take the Taiji principles to JKD.

It's actually been quite fascinating thinking about it many ways I had not thought about before.

[YouKnowWho]

So you came out of that fight less healthy than when you got in?

:rolleyes:
The problem was my 1st Taiji Teacher didn't teach me how to throw continuous punches in combat speed. If my punches were faster and more powerful than other kids, I would come out ahead in those fights. Even today, I still feel uncomfortable to connect any 3 Taiji moves and finish that combo within 1 second. That kind of "slow speed" training for young kids could build up "bad habit" for the rest of their life big time.

To be healthy was not the reason that I train TCMA when I was a kid. If my 1st Taiji teacher taught me the combat part of that system properly, I would have faith in Taiji for the rest of my life and I would be a Taiji believer for sure. Until my 2nd TCMA teacher who forced me to train "1 step 3 punches" for 3 years. I won't be able to understand what TCMA training for combat supposed to be like. "Combat" is not how much that you have mastered the system. It's how well that you can do few effective "finish moves". My 1st Taiji for health teacher just didn't understand that at all. You have to develop your "finish moves" first. You then try to find the training path and figure out how to create chance to make your finish moves work. Only when you have confidence in your finish moves, you will have courage to move in close to your opponent. A power punch, kick, lock, throw are so important. It should be developed first. Unfortunately, most Taiji teachers just don't treat "combat" as the highest priority.

[-N-]

Unfortunately, most Taiji teachers just don't treat "combat" as the highest priority.

I just meant that it's not healthy if your Tai Chi gets you beat up :)

[SPJ]

any age is a good start.

or better late than never.

sort of.

:)

[TaichiMantis]

I'm very thankful my sifu teaches the martial applications/techniques of our first form. You can see how they are rooted in the form but performed slightly different in application...fast, fluid, efficient and effective.

[GeneChing]

14 December, 2012 9:30AM ACDT
Tai chi Dorrie's secret weapon at 90
By Catherine Heuzenroeder
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201212/r1048691_12159317.jpg
Tai chi instructor Dorrie Ellard moves with a grace and energy that belies her 90 years of age.

She credits this to nearly 30 years of studying the ancient Chinese martial art form.

Dorrie has also been sharing her love of tai chi by teaching classes to women at the Berri Cottage Homes retirement village.

The weekly classes are held at the village's outdoor gazebo and attract about 20 women.

Dorrie says 'her girls' are keen to continue their lessons next year.

"They've learnt now the first form and when we start again in January they will learn a more complex form of defence and healing of their bodies," she said.

"The elderly ladies need this because we're not as active normally.

"The beauty is you can do this standing up or sitting down, it doesn't matter.

"You can be in a wheelchair and still get the benefits for your body and your brain."

Bones of a 'young matron'

Dorrie began tai chi with the hope that it would improve her bone density.

"I was a candidate for osteoporosis when I was about 60 and I heard that this was very good for bones," she says.

"My last test showed I had the bones of a young matron... I've been going now about 28 years and I've just had a test recently and it shows I'm a very healthy woman."

So healthy in fact that her doctor has told her he hopes she continues with the tai chi classes.

"He says I'm a very healthy, fit young lady," Dorrie says.

"He says please don't stop teaching tai chi because he finds that a lot of his patients that come here are much different people, they're healthier and happier."

Self-defence

Soft, meditation music plays as the tai chi class gently move through different poses.

Those in the class are aged from their 70s upwards - the eldest member is 92-year-old Joy O'Donnell.

Despite the gentleness of the exercise, Dorrie demonstrates with surprisingly strength and speed how the tai chi moves can be used with deadly force.

"It's quite dangerous really, I don't teach them the really dangerous ones in case they take it out on their husbands or something, I only teach them the gentle ones," Dorrie laughs.

"It's a self defence, especially for the elderly people with the lack of respect for the age from the young people.

"These girls know exactly what to do, and people get a big surprise when someone in their 70s or 80s stand up to them."

Dorrie likens her training in tai chi to having a black belt in karate or judo and says she won't stop 'until she drops'. sweet story.

[rett]

Cool article. There are several older women at the Taiji class I attend who are there for this kind of benefit. They do as much as they can, and leave early if it's too strenuous, but they keep at it year after year. Respect.

It's worth reflecting on what giving birth involves. Women are already warriors without needing to brag about it.

I've also been amazed by the character of our teacher who comes over to visit from Finland, teaching Taiji as well as Baji. He has students ranging from younger guys looking for fighting skills to the elderly wanting health benefits, and lots somewhere in-between, sometimes all at the same seminar. He treats everyone with the same respect and answers all questions in a way that makes the answers beneficial for more people than just the asker.