“It’s all in the hands,” the man assured me after watching my tai chi chuan form. He seemed quite confident that tai chi chuan was all about moving your hands around.
It isn’t.
Movement is generated by the feet, directed by the waist and comes out of the hands. Or feet, shoulder, elbow, whatever…
If you think it’s in the hands, you’re either not looking closely enough or the demonstration is lousy.
Some teachers fuss about hand positions, and whilst these are important, they are secondary to the feet. A subtle change in hand position will only make a mild difference to form whereas incorrect foot alignment can actually damage the knee joint.
‘Faulty sensory appreciation’/‘sensory mis-appreciation’ can mean that you think that the insides of your feet are parallel or that your knee is pointing in-line with your toe... but when you look down, this is not the case at all.
Tai chi chuan isn't just in the feet any more than it’s all in the hands, but the feet are a good place to begin.
