Tai chi and Juggling

So recently my training has lead me towards lots of stretching, i have not been traing very much with set aside times for it i have just been doing little bits throughout the day mostly strecthes. This has been invaliable to my training so far i have inreased my range and flexiblility a hell of a lot it is starting to become noticible in my form.

In my juggling/manipulation practise i have been working on contact juggling, the main area i have been working with is my head a balance on the crown of my head and on the temples and forhead (which later will lead to rolls from point to point).

I have found there is a few points on the top of the head where a ball could be balanced, one is more forward towards forhead and one is further back towards crown, the one on or near crown is the one i have been really training even though it is a harder balance to acheive, the reason is i want to keep my manipulation particularly contact juggling in line with tai chi principles as a experiment to see if the Principles of tai chi as taken from the classics will be a useful model to learn various manipulation (juggling arts) and from there use that model in my own teaching.

Also as a side line to the above points i would like to eventually acheive a balance on the top of my head with a 100mm acrylic ball all the way through my tai chi form (or as much of is as possible bearing in mind Snake creeps and Low punch)

TAi chi

So a few posts earlier i was talking about the satorius muscle and how we focused on that muscle in a tai chi class.

So i have noticed now that that muscle is used a huge amount during the form, everytime there is a turning into either hip or a exspasion out of then it is this muscle which is stretching (all others too). to be fair all muscles are used etc.. i am just noticing this one alot more right now and how it behaves in the form and push hands

This is also directily asocciated with the spiraling force that is "rooted in the feet, strenghtend at the thighs, guided by the wasit and expresed at the fingertips"

tai chi

First class back last night, it was very informative!

we looked at the hip joint and the muscle that connects from the knee to the hip

which by the look of this picture the one i was focusing on is called the satorius.

we were looking at coming into a forward stance and how that muslce streches across and lenghtens and how all those muscles in the leg the vastus muscles all spiral around. The main point to this excersise was to keep the knee still when in place.

So My teacher adjusted my posture so my hip was fully sitting into the hip joint and relaxed around that hip, this meant my rear leg was not in a very good position at all so lots more strecthing needed to loosen and open up the hips so i can achieve that while mataining root and connection with the back foot.

i have to say that it was one of those moments when i had been feeling like i had made some progress then look up ahead and see the mountain and realize i am not even at base camp!

so lots more standing needed!

and stretching i am soon going to start with a yoga teacher to help with my stretching.