Questions on Tai Chi Chuan?

Question

Hello, I'm looking at teaching myself some of the basics of Tai Chi, and would like to know a couple of things.

First of all, I am fat [240 @ 5'7"] and would like to know if this will interfere too much [I excpect a little added difficulty]. I am also asthmatic, will this hinder me?

Also, will it help me deal with the fatness and asthma mentioned above?

Thanks.

Answer 1

The breathing aspects included with Tai Chi will help with your athsma. Qi Gong are the breathing excersies that coupled along with Tai Chi complete the art. Now your weight is really not of issue if you really want to do this. Just do it and if you like it it will ultimately help you learn how to shed some weight too.

lr

http://www.pacificwingchunassociation.com

Answer 2

your weight and your asthma shouldnt hinder you at all with tai chi.

i have asthma as well, and learned a yang style short form a few years ago. it's going to be a new thing for you, so when you start don't worry too much about matching the breath with the movement perfectly. just breathe naturally and over time, with practice, you will be able to work the breath into the movements comfortably.

although you are moving very slowly, it's more beneficial to conform the movement to match the breath than conform the breath to match the movement in the beginning. you don't want to be forcing your breath to match...especially being asthmatic.

tai chi is MOSTLY a slow moving art. i say mostly because if you had a good teacher, they would incorporate fast movements as well to provide a balance. it may not shed the pounds very quickly and you will have to put in alot of practice time to really burn some of your fat off....maybe 60 minutes practice in one session. but...tai chi will teach your body how to align itself properly and be intregrated in movement, as well as teaching you to relax the body parts you don't need to be tensing, so in this regard it WILL help you DEAL with the fatness, as you eloquently stated. : )

it will defeinitely improve your breathing. as you learn to relax the chest and lungs and continue breathing throughout your form practice, i believe it will be natural that the vital capacity of the lungs increase over time.

as you feel more comfortable with the form, you can attempt to slow your breathing a bit if you feel it's too fast. but be very wary. if you feel dizzy or lightheaded, you need to stop and breath naturally. learning on your own like you are, i wouldn't attempt breath control until a good year into your practice.

lastly, it's an art you really would benefit having a teacher or guide in...even if it's only going to a local seminar or something. please consider, if not taking regular classes, attending a seminar in your area maybe once a year. and when you are there, take notes!

Answer 3

tai chi train on the outside it looks very easy, but what is hard about it is the time and knowledge you have to develope as you go.....and that is just toward basic training, but once you get into to true movent then you will start see strain and result.......it also help your weight problem and asthmatic if you are consistance is practicing every day...............I do not quite understand it that much my self, but I have also practice a little combinning with kick boxing that I have been train for 15 years now and I believe that tai chi is the main structure to develople each body movment..........

Answer 4

Do some research on these names.... Yang Chen-Fu and Cheng Man-Ching.

Yang Chen-Fu was one of the famed Tai Chi Chuan masters who is largely responsible for how it appears today. He took the Yang style form and changed it to the slow form we mostly see today. (There are some pictures of the man showing him to be neither thin nor apparently athletic, but he is still revered as a Tai Chi master.)

Cheng Man-Ching was a student of Yang Chen-Fu. According to information on the man, he was not a healthy child suffering from lung related disease. He turned to the practice of Tai Chi Chuan as a means of treatment.

So to answer your question.... Yes, I think you can learn it and it would help you deal with those issues. (But you might also want to add just some walking exercise to your routine as well.)

Good luck.

Answer 5

Weight is not a factor. Tai Chi, to me is much more a mental thing. Now, it is not that easy, either, but the challenge is for the whole body.

Go, do it.

Answer 6

Actual Thi Chi Chuan is NOT easy. To do it correctly and to understand the movements is so hard! If you understand the art IT IS the mother of all martial arts... plain and simple.

Answer 7

This will help you a lot,the breathing exercises,focusing,while you eat oxygen,focusing while you exhale.

Answer 8

any trainiing will help your issues.

It concerns me that you mention you want to "teach yourself" , I hope you meant find an instructor and learn from him or her.