Practicing taijiquan, the knee has a cool feeling

Beginners practicing taijiquan are prone to injure their knees because of improper methods and lack of maintenance. Taoist Master Chen Shih-hsing has summarized three key points from his years of experience in teaching and observing these three key points will help to maintain the knees and avoid injuries to the knees.

The first key point is: slow fist high practice, fast fist low practice. The joints at the knees, which play an important supporting role in Taijiquan movements, are often in a semi-squatting position of static support. The conversion of the lower limb lunge, horse stance, servant stance and other steps require moderate flexion and extension of the knee joint to complete. Therefore, the load on the knee joint is very large, so the slow fist should be practiced at a high level, and the fast fist should be practiced at a low level. Slow boxing, such as Taiji thirteen potential, slow movement, practice a longer time, so the center of gravity should be put high; fast boxing, such as Wudang Xuanwu boxing, fast movement, practice a shorter time, and because of the requirements of the action of the fast boxing itself, the center of gravity should be put low. Beginners do not distinguish between fast and slow boxing, the center of gravity has been pressed very low, so easy to get hurt, should know the slow boxing high practice, fast boxing low practice.

Essentials two: the knee but the spring. In slow boxing practice, the position of the knee should not be too forward. In Taijiquan, there is a saying that "the knee is not too far from the tip", but the exact position of the knee is not specified. In the Shih Hsing teaching system, it is emphasized that "the knee is not in front of the Yongquan", the position where the vertical vertical line of the knee meets the sole of the foot is not in front of the Yongquan acupoint, but opposite to the Yongquan acupoint. Years of teaching practice has proved that this method can effectively avoid the beginner taijiquan injured knees.

The third key point: step by step. Learning taijiquan is practicing internal breath and external training of muscles, bones and skin. Beginners have not yet accumulated enough blood and qi, and the external tendons and bones are still relatively fragile. Therefore, only by adhering to the principle of gradual training can we effectively avoid injuries. Especially before practicing gong should do a good job of warming up activities, in the preparatory activities of the lower limbs should focus on the activities of the knee joints. Pressing and kneading the knee, opening and closing around the knee, lunge and press the leg, etc., are all ways to move the knee joint, the knee joint activity, to avoid practicing taijiquan process of straining the knee.

Mastering the above three key points, beginner taijiquan can effectively avoid injury to the knee.