Practice levels

Chen Taiji Ball is practised at every level. As a rough guide to pacing: Foundation takes a minimum of one term; the 9 Step Form and Four Direction Fist about a term; the 19 Form and Single Sabre a term; the 38 Form, Single Sword and Chen Fan two to three terms; and the long frames — Laojia Yi Lu, Xinjia Yi Lu — and Double Sabres a year or more each.

Not every form in the syllabus is taught every term — Shifu Liu concentrates on Foundation, the 19 Form, the Old Frames and Xinjia Yi Lu, with weapons forms often covered in workshops. New students wishing to join Level 2 or Level 3 classes need Shifu Liu’s approval first.

Term structure

Classes are organised across three terms of approximately 12 weeks each: January to Easter, May to Summer, September to Christmas.

Assessments

Shifu Liu periodically offers formal or informal assessment where students have the opportunity to determine their level of practice and the classes they should be attending. If any student is not sure of their level of practice they are welcome to inquire with Shifu Liu directly.

How the teaching works

Learning Taijiquan is a mix of external and internal awareness: the traditional method is to watch closely and copy the teacher’s movements exactly, and postural adjustment in class is a key part of the training. Patience and perseverance matter most — through constant repetition the body comes to flow naturally from one movement to the next.

“Push hands is like practicing form with a partner, the purpose is to correct body structure and discover body mechanism, not to win the game.” — Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang