Tai Chi Saturday

This morning, I had a Tai Chi make up class because our last class of the cycle was canceled. I can't make the class on the 10th because of a prior commitment to Boy Scouts, so we had a make up class today.  We met at one of the local malls that is reasonably quiet.  There were two of us there.  E and I were both there to take advantage of the additional training.  
I warned Sifu (Sifu means 'teacher') that I hadn't been practicing. We went over a lot of basics and picked up from the "Four Corners" in our form and went on through "Chinese Guitar" and then to "Carry the Tiger over the Mountain".  I think the form is really neat, even without the names of the sections.  
Today, Sifu caught some mistakes I was making and corrected me. During Chinese Guitar, I have a tendency to not use my hips...actually, I have a tendency to not use them during most of the things I do, but she corrected me today.  We practiced turning until I was able to turn my complete trunk.  In Tai Chi, the entire trunk is from your neck down to just below your hips.  I have a habit of forgetting that my hips are there, so when I turn, I put stress on my knees. Today was one of those "aha!" moments.  The light came on  After E left, I talked to Sifu and we went over Four Corners to Carry the Tiger over the Mountain, and then I showed her the opening of Kee Cho Hyung Il Bu (Basic form #1).  I am actually using my hips and NOT flopping around or losing my balance.  That's what I needed to be able to do.  That form felt so much better than it's ever felt!  I was pleased with myself for that!  I don't feel like I was reaching past my knees (that's something I need to watch out for in Tai Chi) and I wasn't losing my balance.  It made me happy to see how that went together.  Tai Chi is about balance.  I'm feeling like I saw a definite correlation between Tai Chi and Tang Soo Do.  

I won't have another Tai Chi class until January 24th.  I have a Zumba class starting on the 11th and running for a month.  I'm seriously hoping that I see some weight loss sparked during that class as I'm sure it's going to be intense cardio.  If that doesn't make me lose weight, I'm going to have a discussion with one of my doctors about that.  

Balance

In talking to my chiropractor this week, I mentioned to him that I needed to learn to turn my hips over better when I'm doing side kicks. He mentioned to me that I needed to get a wobble board to work on improving my balance. My chiropractor is a martial artist and knows that you have to have balance in order to be able to get the movement down for the turn. When you perform a side kick, you need to be able to 1. Turn your hips over and 2. Allow your supporting foot to pivot. If you don't, you will not perform the kick correctly. He said that the wobble board would improve my balance and would allow me to be able to execute the kicks properly.

I missed a good class on side kicks a few weeks ago. K said that Master G had everyone lay on the floor and practice kicking. It helped improve the positioning. I have to make a point of practicing that at home. It will definitely help with the ability to learn how the kick should feel.

Tony told me that the Wii Fit board we have should do the same as a wobble board, but I'm not 100% convinced. Yes, it will work on balance, but is it enough to improve the balance properly? I'm going to keep that in mind.
I have the Wii Fit, but I don't use it. I haven't used it in nearly 6 months. It is time to dig it out and start using it.

Great week

This has been an interesting week. I went to class on Tuesday and on Thursday. By Thursday, I was counting in Korean. I learned a bit about the Korean flag. I can explain what the bars on the flag mean. I haven't learned the name of the Yin/Yang symbol in the middle of the flag, but I CAN tell you that the blue is Female, the red is male. On Tuesday, I worked with Master M and K on Pyung Ahn Ee Danm. I feel like I'm doing it better. It's definitely coming together. I learned how to transition to the inside/outside block, kick, reverse punch. That looks better now.

Last night we worked on hand techniques, then went on to work on kicks. Master F gave us a drill where we worked on a high x block. Please pardon me...I had the Korean for that but just let it escape. Sang Soo Sang Dan Mahkee...that's it!
We used a blocking tool, but I can just imagine how that would have felt if we'd been using actual swords/bats/whatever. That and one steps are my next things to work on at home. Well, one steps and Ho Sin Sul. I need that. I want to go back to class and be prepared.

I am also working on learning the Funakoshi codes. In our school, every first gup should be able to know these codes and explain them. It stands to reason that if I am walking into the position of Dan in this school, I must learn it as well, so that's what I'm working on. I DID just learn to count to ten in Korean so that's a good thing. I feel like I've crossed a bridge there. I'm getting somewhere.

In talking to my chiropractor about a few things, I mentioned that I didn't turn my hips over when I was doing side kicks.. He's a martial artist, so he had an answer for it. I need to get a "wobble board". My friend, S, said she got one after one of her knee surgeries. She swears by it. I'm going to look into it. Dr. B says that working on my balance will fix my kicking. I'll be less rooted and more balanced. I think it'll make a huge difference in everything--forms, technique, one steps, ho sin sul. I might even get past the fear of falling that I have. It's certainly worth a shot!!