Tai chi is divided into five schools, the chen style, the yang style, the hao or wu shi style, the sun style and the wu style. All of the schools practice soft martial arts where the exercises are low impact and gently moving. The differences between the schools rest in variations in the placements of feet, stances and size of movements. Yang tai chi, however, stands out as arguably the most popular tai chi style in the world today.
In general, the yang tai chi style is characterized by the feet being placed father apart than other schools; the back foot is also placed at a 45 degree angle to the front foot. Yang tai chi movements are rounded and practiced at the same slow speed throughout the exercises, even when transitioning to other movements.
When moving hands in the yang tai chi style, your wrists should always be loose, whether you have an open hand, which you will have more often than not, or a fist. Fists should not be tight, but should simply have your fingers touching your palm and your thumb gently closing your fist.
Imagine yourself holding a piece of paper vertically to the ground. You will have all five fingers touching through that paper and your fingers will be pointing towards the ground. This is called a "hook."
During a "bow stance," your feet will be placed in the traditional Yang manner. Your front foot will face straight forward and your front knee is bent. Most of your weight is on your front leg. While your feet should be apart, you do not want your feet to be so apart as to endanger your balance or make you feel uncomfortable.
Learning yang style tai chi chuan also has meditative elements to it. You will be concentrating not only on your movements, but your breathing and striving for harmony from within and without. In addition, yang style tai chi can help strengthen your muscles, improve your balance and improve your flexibility.
You have several different options about where to take yang tai chi classes. For example, you may be able to find tai chi classes at a local community college or through your city's park and recreational department. You can also go to a business that specializes in teaching yang style tai chi chuan.
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