Ramona Gomez是菲尼克斯实用拳法学员。学拳两年半有余。参加陈中华老师在菲尼克斯的讲座两次。每次都有很大的进步。她有严重的膝关节炎。两年半前抱着试试的心情学习实用拳法。在一学期（3个月）的学习和锻炼后，膝关节炎症有了很好的改善。以后就一直坚持了下来。

Tai Chi – The Art of Precision

By Ramona Gomez

As we celebrate another new year, we should take time to reflect on the previous year and the one ahead. For the past few years I have continued to practice and enjoy the art of Tai Chi and hope to continue for a long time. There is much to be said for the accomplishments I have made and I am proud of them. Yet I see there is much more to work on.

After attending Master Chen Zhonghua’s seminar and workshop last month, I seem to have been left with lots of work to do on my form. My teacher Ping Wei always has good feedback for all students generally and also individually about being precise and following the rules and methodology of Tai Chi.

These are some of the constructive criticisms I have received as my Yilu practice has progressed:

When moving through any form that requires rotation as in positive and negative circles, one must move only at the pelvis concentrating on the dantien.

Spine stays straight up and down as if it is a spiral like a hinge on a revolving door.

Keep the top of the head pushing up as if trying to push the ceiling or preventing an object from falling off the head.

Keep the head at the same height not bouncing up nor down.

Knees stay fixed neither splaying in nor out. This requires much practice to ‘open the hips’.

Keep the bum tucked under as this provides more stability.

Drive the power down onto the ground through the feet and out through the middle finger.

Lead with the elbow into the ribcage with the hand only following without a bent wrist. Hand should not move, only follow.

Relax the shoulders down  and avoid shrugging them.

Pay attention to the trailing hand and keep it engaged.

Finish every move completely.

You should apply all these rules while practicing the circles and Yilu. Also when practicing foundational exercises such as ‘twisting the towel, ‘fetching water’, and ‘six sealing four closing’ remember that the quality of the move is more important than the quantity.

To further improve my practice, I recorded myself doing Yilu. I noticed many mistakes that I cannot sense nor see in the mirror. I can suggest to any student of TaiChi that this is so helpful. Using recordings will enable you to track your progress over time. Pick one or two items in your list to work on until you get it right and move on to the next. Eventually your practice will look smooth, effortless and round even though you are working hard.

There will always be room for improvement.

Tai Chi – The Art of Precision

太极——精确的艺术

By Ramona Gomez

作者——Ramona Gomez

 

As we celebrate another new year, we should take time to reflect on the previous year and the one ahead. For the past few years I have continued to practice and enjoy the art of Tai Chi and hope to continue for a long time. There is much to be said for the accomplishments I have made and I am proud of them. Yet I see there is much more to work on.

在我们庆祝新年的时候，我们应该花些时间反省一下过去的一年，甚至是更长时间，因为过去的几年，我一直在练习实用拳法并享受太极的艺术，我希望我会继续下去，因为这里有我取得的成绩，我为之骄傲，然而还有更多的事情要继续。

After attending Master Chen Zhonghua’s seminar and workshop last month, I seem to have been left with lots of work to do on my form. My teacher Ping Wei always has good feedback for all students generally and also individually about being precise and following the rules and methodology of Tai Chi.

上周我参加了陈中华老师的讲座和工作室后我发现我的计划里还有太多的事情要做，我的老师卫平总是能够给所有的学员良好的反馈，还会单独指导个人如何精确地执行太极的规矩和方法

These are some of the constructive criticisms I have received as my Yilu practice has progressed:

这是我接受的建设性的批评，我的一路实践因此受益。

When moving through any form that requires rotation as in positive and negative circles, one must move only at the pelvis concentrating on the dantien.

任何形式的移动都需要旋转，就如在正圈与反圈中所做的，人们只能转动骨盆，且意在丹田。

Spine stays straight up and down as if it is a spiral like a hinge on a revolving door.

脊柱只能像螺旋一样直上直下，好比旋转门的门轴

Keep the top of the head pushing up as if trying to push the ceiling or preventing an object from falling off the head.

保持头顶上顶，就好像努力去推天花板或者防止物体从头上落下来

Keep the head at the same height not bouncing up nor down.

保持头部在同一高度，不会上下

Knees stay fixed neither splaying in nor out. This requires much practice to ‘open the hips’.

膝盖定住不动，不会向内或向外倾斜，这个需要更多的开胯练习

Keep the bum tucked under as this provides more stability.

把臀部落下来（落胯），这样可以增加稳定性

Drive the power down onto the ground through the feet and out through the middle finger.

通过脚把力量推到地面，另外一端从中指出去

Lead with the elbow into the ribcage with the hand only following without a bent wrist. Hand should not move, only follow.

把肘拉向肋部，手仅仅是跟随，手腕不会弯曲，手不动，仅仅是跟着

Relax the shoulders down  and avoid shrugging them.

把肩松沉下来，避免耸肩

Pay attention to the trailing hand and keep it engaged.

注意后手，保持合住

Finish every move completely.

完整地完成每一个的动作

You should apply all these rules while practicing the circles and Yilu. Also when practicing foundational exercises such as ‘twisting the towel, ‘fetching water’, and ‘six sealing four closing’ remember that the quality of the move is more important than the quantity.

当你划圈和做一路的时候要遵循所有这些规则。做基本功也一样，比如“拧毛巾”、“提水”、“六封四闭”，记住动作的质量比数量更重要。

To further improve my practice, I recorded myself doing Yilu. I noticed many mistakes that I cannot sense nor see in the mirror. I can suggest to any student of TaiChi that this is so helpful. Using recordings will enable you to track your progress over time. Pick one or two items in your list to work on until you get it right and move on to the next. Eventually your practice will look smooth, effortless and round even though you are working hard.

为了进一步改善我的时间，我录下了我做一路的过程，我发现了许多我在镜子中不能察觉和看到的错误。我建议每个练习太极的学员都这样做，因为真的很受益。而且它能够跟踪随着时间的推移你所取得的进步。选一条或两条放在你的列表中，直到你做正确，然后可以进行下一条。最终，你的动作会让人感觉非常流畅、轻松、圆润，尽管其实你很努力。

There will always be room for improvement.

改善的空间永远都在！