About TC hurting knees. I had bad knees for a few years after about 10 years of swimming since I was a small child, and after taking up Hung Ga with WC, the stances actually have strengthened the muscles around my knees and hips. I havent had knee problems at all after I started. So TC stances probably do the same thing.
Depends on the definition of 'straightened' I have always held the belief that the leg(s) are never straightened. The knee(s) are always 'soft' and are kept in line with the toes....ergo...no knee damage. Correct application of the 10 essential points of TaijiQuan results in absolutely no damage to any part of the body. Only incorrect instructions/failure of the teacher to correct stances/ignoring advice on posture can damage knees.
Maybe there's a difference with Chen and Yang on the knees - Chen, which I practiced, required a lot of very low silk reeling, and it really hurt my knees - for a long time I thought I'd get stronger round the knee, but it just wore and wore, and took a long while to get better from. There again, I was doing wushu at the same time, ha ha. So my knees were being blasted. But wushu on its own, surprisingly, gave me no knee problems. Repetitive strain is somethign worth thinking about in martial arts - especially if you think your qi will prevent it.
I know a bit about wushu....very very little about chen. However, a couple of people I met at a seminar did chen style and we discussed knees, their knees were OK. We all demo'd our forms to each other and despite deep stances, they kept their knees in line. I think it is more about gradually gaining deep stances when you have no knee or hip problems than the style or stance. I learnt short form from a teacher who had done a lifetime of external MA and he coerced us into deep stances which knackered my knees. He was my first teacher, so I thought it was me being a wuss and tried to comply. I believe in Qi, but do not expect it to protect my structure if I abuse it.
I do Chen style and my knees are fine, perhaps a bit stronger than when I started... my teachers make sure that I do the movements correctly though... and make sure that my positions are correct so mitigate knee problems I guess... the only thing I can think of is what has been mentioned before and thats your teachers didnt work with you there, that or you were just not a very attentive student...
I started (Yang) because I'm at an age where arthritis is starting to creep in, and I figured that I had better do something about it. I was aware of the martial aspect, but I started in pursuit of the overall health benefits. After more than a year, I can confidently say that it has improved my life. Physically, I have less pain, more flexibility, and better balance and posture. I'm more self-aware when it comes to my body, and having a closer understanding of my muscles, and how to carry myself, has been a lifesaver for me. Mentally, there is also balance. I've gained a deeper appreciation of wu wei and "letting go." Plus I have a confidence that I never fully had before. I'm with CarysB...straightened versus locked. That's something I've had to cope with myself.
Well, I am pretty attentive, and I had a coach from China who was a personal student of Chen Zheng Lei. Blaming the student is always the worst excuse for anything - not that it was my teacher's fault in any way - I improved a lot in Chen taiji, up to the point I could have in that time period. What I think, usually, is that most Chen stylists int he West that I talk to don't do the silk reeling as low or as intensively as the Chinese do. That's what i think. Or, maybe it just didn't suit me - not every art suits everyone.
But that’s the nub isn’t it. Anything that is put up will be written off as just 'kick boxing' (not that we should look at kick boxing in a derogatory fashion). What are you looking for? Gloved up fighters knocking each other down with invisible balls of energy? Sadly, fighting is messy and is rough and doesn’t look like a demonstration.
As for knees: I dropped a guy on the outside of my left knee a few years back, took out my ACL and MCL. Two (or so) months in I was sat on a couch waiting for the specialist to discus if I needed an op to rebuild my knee or not. The consultant told me that the damage was grade '3' (on a scale of 1-3, grade 1 being the least damage, 2 worse and 3 worse still). After we had finished she asked me how I was getting out as she couldn’t see my crutches or chair. She was amazed (after looking at the scan) that I walked in with no apparent problem and that I intended to walk out again. I can only put this down to years of TCC giving my knee good muscular stability.
I could be wrong but for me I displace balance over the heel and maybe about 1/2 the foot. This more equally distributes the weight so the knee joint is not taking as much punishment (for me anyways). It makes the turning aspect a bit harder (as there is more contact with the ground) but I found it makes it more of a stable base as well.
What you are looking for is the knee to be supported in line with the foot and hip. Problems occur when the knee collapses (normally by trying to go to low) and bends sideways. As long as you keep the knee inline you don’t need to worry about the rest.
Huzzah! I keep banging on about this but it is ignored. Probably because it doesn't fit the point being made that it is naughty chen taiji to blame. Arrrrrr Two words Body alignment. :Angel:
Thank you, Taoquan and Charys also. I've just tried some turns with the idea of rotating on the weighted foot and not just on the heel, and also to have the leg less straight. These first few times seemed more easy on the knee, but the balance was more disturbed. As my knee is better today, I'll wait two or three days to see how it took to it before I continue. At least in these ways tai chi forces one to be patient.
NP, The balance will come, as I mentioned it takes some time getting used to, but you will actually be more rooted. You may sense that by not turning on just the heel you have less of a tendency to raise your center. It is a harder method of training, but makes the kick more effective (imo).
Just so I'm clear, are these the 10 points you're refering to?? Or were you thinking of something else?
