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Thread: Teaching Tai Chi/Chi Kung to the Elderly

  1. #1
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    Teaching Tai Chi/Chi Kung to the Elderly

    Recently I started volunteering to teach tai chi (24 posture) and basic chi kung to a elder church group that my secretary belongs to. So far so good. I've found that I have to grossly modify the form to account for the varying physical capabilities of the members. Some of them can only move their arms while sitting in chairs. Anyone else have experience in this that you can share? I'm looking for ideas to help teach them. My goal is to just get them breathing and moving in a non-impact way to improve over-all health.
    Last edited by Judge Pen; 04-28-2005 at 08:30 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Oso View Post
    AND, yea, a good bit of it is about whether you can fight with what you know...kinda all of it is about that.

  2. #2
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    good for you man!

    lord knows the average western elderly folk could use a little exercise to hold back the ravages of time.
    Kung Fu is good for you.

  3. #3
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    Is your secretary hot?

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    My only suggestion is to have fun with it. I helped someone do this once, they kept getting frustrated because some didn't get the movements, they were hoping to make taiji hippies out of hippy hating old people.
    practice wu de


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  5. #5
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    Make sure to not kill any of them. That would totally suck.
    A man has only one death. That death may be as weighty as Mt. Tai, or it may be as light as a goose feather. It all depends upon the way he uses it....
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  6. #6
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    We had one guy up in Rogersville that had had a stroke. He had very limited use of his right arm. In four-five months time he didn't make it that far. If he missed a week or so he'd have to remember how to spread the horses mane, etc. without getting his hands mixed up. It was about three months before he went on from learning basic postures to trying to put them together into the 24 form. He worked real hard even though he got tired. His wife did it with him, she didn't have any limitations physically. The biggest thing I took from watching was that actually learning the 24 form can be too much physically and mentally for some elderly people. I guess "Can't teach an old dog news tricks" applies occasionally. On the flipside there have been a few others that were sharp as a tack and picked it up and flew with it. Seems to be a real person by person thing.

    -Will
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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by norther practitioner
    My only suggestion is to have fun with it. I helped someone do this once, they kept getting frustrated because some didn't get the movements, they were hoping to make taiji hippies out of hippy hating old people.

    Yeah, the frustration is hard to watch. The guy I was talking about that had had the stroke was a former NYC policeman. He brought pictures and stuff in from way back when of him and his buddies. The frustration he dealt with being physically limited compared to what he was in the prime of his life was very apparent.

    He brought his old night stick in once. They had several department routines like forms they did with them. Interesting stories of heads that stick had thumped. lol


    -Will
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  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by YouKnowWho
    Maybe! But I still think running 3 miles a day will be better than Taiji for them. Helping promote Taiji? Definite not! The more old people get involve in Taiji, the more that people think CMA is for health only and nothing more.
    These are people who can barely stand up straight and walk to the bathroom unassisted, for the most part. They would never make it down the block, let alone 3 miles.

    For people who have had no physical activity for years, Taiji provides them with a practical means to increase joint mobility and muscle strength. Just because it didn't cure a woman's cancer doesn't mean regular physical activity cannot improve the quality of life of these people and help ease some of their physical aches and pains.
    Last edited by MasterKiller; 04-28-2005 at 10:03 AM.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by YouKnowWho
    But I still think running 3 miles a day will be better than Taiji for them.
    Sorry, but.....

    ROFLMAO!

    If they get winded walking to the kitchen and even that's painful, running three miles would be like climbing mount everest to a midget. MK it's right, it's more about making their lives functionally better than anything else.

    -Will
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by YouKnowWho
    I had a group of old folks and one of them had cancer and hope she could recover from Taiji exercise. All her friends tried to cheer her up and prolong her life with Taiji. She still died 6 months later. Taiji did not save her from death.

    Most of the old folks don’t care about Taiji application. Even you have explained to them that you just want them to know the application so it can be a guide line to their moves, they still think that you expect them to fight. Health benefit to them? Maybe! But I still think running 3 miles a day will be better than Taiji for them. Helping promote Taiji? Definite not! The more old people get involve in Taiji, the more that people think CMA is for health only and nothing more.
    WTF?

    Tai Chi will not stop death from cancer. It may give them something to focus on other than death and improve the quality of time they have left. Quality of life is important and some excercise is better than none.

    I'm not teaching application; this class is health/excercise related. Some of these people can't walk across the room without the assistance of others so you expect me to recommend that they run 3 miles a day? Wow, that's obtuse.

    CMA for health and nothing more? No, but the health benefits are there nonetheless. they are not interested in fighting (why would they be at this age?) If they ask why a move is done I can show it to them, but I'm just trying to get them to participate and move a little.

    I start with chi kung, some basic Tai Chi warm-up excercises, lead them through a couple of postures the best that they can (most of them cannot keep any of the core tai chi principles, but they do what they can) and end with more chi kung.
    Quote Originally Posted by Oso View Post
    AND, yea, a good bit of it is about whether you can fight with what you know...kinda all of it is about that.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by YouKnowWho
    I had a group of old folks and one of them had cancer and hope she could recover from Taiji exercise. All her friends tried to cheer her up and prolong her life with Taiji. She still died 6 months later. Taiji did not save her from death.

    Most of the old folks don’t care about Taiji application. Even you have explained to them that you just want them to know the application so it can be a guide line to their moves, they still think that you expect them to fight. Health benefit to them? Maybe! But I still think running 3 miles a day will be better than Taiji for them. Helping promote Taiji? Definite not! The more old people get involve in Taiji, the more that people think CMA is for health only and nothing more.

    I will never teach the complete Taiji form to old people. Instead I would asked them to do "brush knee" 20 times, then "diagonal fly" 20 times, and then "grasp the sparrow's tail" 20 times, ...

    As long as you don't teach them the complete Taiji form, they will never be able to teach others in the future and create a next generation of "fake Taiji fighters".

    Ummm... dude... he's teaching an elderly person this for exercise who can't run 3 miles a day...

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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by YouKnowWho

    As long as you don't teach them the complete Taiji form, they will never be able to teach others in the future and create a next generation of "fake Taiji fighters".
    You are really missing the point here. These people aren't going to be aroung another generation.
    Quote Originally Posted by Oso View Post
    AND, yea, a good bit of it is about whether you can fight with what you know...kinda all of it is about that.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by YouKnowWho
    As long as you don't teach them the complete Taiji form, they will never be able to teach others in the future and create a next generation of "fake Taiji human".
    haha, either I missed that one or you edited and added.

    Your completely delusional. These are people that are in the last years of their lives and your worried about them creating a next generation of fake taiji practitioners? Wow. Go meet so elderly people and help them for awhile. You need a better understanding of their daily lives. It will also motivate you to WORK harder while your young in order to extend you quality of life longer before you die.

    -Will
    Hippies can't stand deathmetal - Eric Cartman

  14. #14
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    Wow, I didn't expect anyone would react that way!
    Quote Originally Posted by Oso View Post
    AND, yea, a good bit of it is about whether you can fight with what you know...kinda all of it is about that.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Judge Pen
    Wow, I didn't expect anyone would react that way!

    haha I think YouKnowWho just wants to implement population control.

    Dear Misses,

    Understanding that your husband has congestive heart failure we feel it's in his best interest to run three miles a day. The exercise will energize his heart and increase his circulation. Three miles a day will keep me, the doctor away.


    Dr. YouKnowWho


    -Will
    Hippies can't stand deathmetal - Eric Cartman

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