Zhan Zhuang is Not for Beginners

[ChiDragon]

Just now, Antares said:

what about this one? still awkward for you?

This is much better. It is the correct Zhan Zhuang stance. The lower legs are not tilted as much as the previous one.

Edited Wednesday at 08:01 PM by ChiDragon

[Antares]

Just now, ChiDragon said:

This is much better. It is the correct Zhan Zhuang stance. The lower legs are not tailed as much as the previous one.

finally sorted it out!

[ChiDragon]

Just now, Antares said:

finally sorted it out!

Yes. Please correct my spelling: Change "tailed" to "tilted". Thanks! 

[Antares]

Just now, ChiDragon said:

Yes. Please correct my spelling: Change "tailed" to "tilted". Thanks!

It will cost you 5$

[ChiDragon]

Just now, ChiDragon said:

If you just do Taiji, it is neigong and qigong already. It is all in one

Let me clarify this. In Taji practice, the breathing coordinates with the movement; and the movement coordinates the breathing. For that said, the breathing part is considered to be Qigong(氣功). The combination of breathing and movement enhance the body strength that is considered to be neigong(內功). 

BTW Neigong practice is something has to be done internally to the body enhancing the function of the body. It enables the body to perform much more difficult tasks. In addition, Neigong determines the health condition of a person. If one has a tremendous body strength, it can be said that one has lots of Neigong. Hence, one may be considered to be an unordinary person.

[dwai]

2 hours ago, Antares said:

I see now. AFTER 6 months taiji stance can be used as static posture, but not from the start

Standing without preparing the body will lead to pain and stress (for most people). I remember that with my first teacher, our sessions would be 2 hours long - first single form warm-ups, then standing meditations (prayer hands set, etc.). Now and then, there would be folks interested in learning who would try the class out. I remember one guy who claimed to have been doing tai chi and qigong for decades - he said he could handle the standing. After about 30 minutes, we heard a thud...the poor man had fallen because he was forcing himself to stand, despite my teacher having told him to move around or sit down if the standing was too much. Unfortunately he never came back to the class  

[liminal_luke]

13 hours ago, steve said:

I think if we stand simply for the sake of standing, with no expectations or demands on ourselves, there is little risk of harm and it can be a wonderful practice, even for beginners.

 

 

Standing without expectations or demands on myself (or others) sounds great.  Actually, doing anything that way would be wonderful, but standing is probably a good place to start. Harder than it sounds, at least for me.

Edited yesterday at 02:20 AM by liminal_luke

[ChiDragon]

On 10/8/2025 at 2:09 PM, dwai said:

I remember one guy who claimed to have been doing tai chi and qigong for decades - he said he could handle the stand.

Yes, if he did the practice, then he should be able to do the stand as long as he like. Apparently, he didn't ptactice that long or didn't do it right the first place. 

Edited 16 hours ago by ChiDragon

[Gerard]

I favour Ma Bu: