How to know if you’ve become a tai chi nerd in 9 points
- When standing on the tube, at a bar or in a queue, you adjust your position to close your kua, relax your shoulders and breathe deep into your dantien. Pavlov reflex.
- You get excited when you come across a pair of trainers with a thin flat sole
- In the middle of a work meeting, you hear yourself tell your colleagues: “It’s like in tai chi, if you’re grounded and relaxed, your moves will be effective and have a stronger impact.”
- While your pasta cooks, you break into a bit of cloud hands. Just because you can.
- You surprise yourself by googling ‘documentaries about tai chi’ and go down a rabbit hole of articles and videos until you end up almost buying an “I love tai chi” t-shirt – and you know it’s time to go for a walk.
- You decline invitations to social events because “you need to go to tai chi”.
- People you live with dread the moment you’re coming home from your tai chi class. You’re a bit too eager to demonstrate the new martial application you’ve learned.
- When you experience insomnia, you practice the form in your mind. Better than counting sheep.
- You managed to find the Qi encyclopedia (rabbit holes can be useful after all) and read the three taijiquan classics: Taijiquan Jing, Taijiquan Lun, and Exposition of Insights into the Practice of the Thirteen Postures.
How to use this list:
- If you can say yes to 3 or more of these points, congratulations, you’re a tai chi nerd.
- If you’ve only manifested a sudden and irrepressible interest for the three taijiquan classics, you’re on the fast track to tai chi nerdiness. It’s good, but remember that going slowly is what helps build your internal power.
- If you can say yes to 1 or less of these, don’t despair, keep practicing. There are 24 hours in a day, you can find 10 or 20 minutes to practice your nerdiness.
*Wondering why there are 9 points and not 10? Ask a tai chi nerd, they’ll know the answer.
