Purpose/Intent and Qi
Every once in a while I’ll do a movement that just feels off internally. Externally it looks fine, but something just doesn’t feel right. It lacks internal flow. Usually this occurs when my purpose or intent isn’t clear, or is muddled. That’s what was happening in Tai Chi yesterday. There was a movement that is very similar to other movements we’ve done, but slightly different. It was a separation of the left leg, but instead of shifting weight back onto the right leg, we start by shifting back to the left and then the right to get into the move. Just that small change had me feeling off. Talking through it with Sifu Dennis, I intellectually understood why we did it that way. It’s so we’re not committed to any one movement, and we have options. Even though that was clear in my mind, the movement still felt like it was lacking. So she had me visualize a gathering of e...
