Seated TCC: Great For Beginners & Advanced Students

We discussed this during a break out session at our T’ai Chi Chih conference this year. Participants were surprised to discover how little actual movement it takes to shift the weight from one sitz bone (what you sit on) to the other in the side to side movements. Beginner’s seated practice involves moving hands side to side at waist level and noticing when the weight shift occurs. For an advanced seated practice, the awareness shifts to watching the interplay between the tan t’ien and hands during the side to side weight shift.

The forward and back weight shift in seated position occurs with a small rocking forward and back on the sitz bones – using the pelvic bones (not the upper torso) like a rocking chair. When alignment is good (or as uplifted as it can be), it is much easier to experience moving from the tan t’ien while seated. The beginner’s practice discovers the comfort zone of the forward/back movement. To shift this into an advanced practice, notice what happens towards the end of the forward rock. (Resistance? Pressure? Bounce back? Something else?) Then, on the return back to neutral, where does that momentum go that prevents you from leaning backward; what generates the next forward motion? Can you feel the tan t’ien initiating the next forward movement?

Why am I so enthusiastic about seated TCC?

Seated students have taught me so much about how to teach seated and standing TCC. And my disabled students have taught me even more. Energy is limited and movement is a great effort for some students, so we take breaks between movements and practice “completely relaxing,” which isn’t as easy as it sounds. We start by noticing how we go into and out of relaxation. What do we relax first? Then what? It turns out that this is a practice most of us can benefit from. Many of us waste energy holding tension in muscles even when we are not using them. Just observing what we are doing seems to change things. Moving into and out of relaxation gives those tight neck and shoulder muscles a chance to relax, and takes some stress off of our low backs. Who knew doing nothing (completely relaxing) could have so many benefits?

Other things my students have taught me about doing seated TCC include:

Start with what’s most important. It’s much easier for seated students to learn grounding into the soles of the feet. Getting into alignment is much easier for students when seated. Moving from two inches below the navel can be experienced quite easily when seated – even though experiencing the tan t’ien may take more time.

“Less is more” is a good plan on many levels in TCC. Learning to move from the tan t’ien is so important it’s worth teaching without distractions like leg and arm movements. Hands are either hanging at the side or in rest position during this part of the practice.

This may seem like a long time for students to wait to learn the hand and arm movements. This is deliberate. Hand awareness is distracting to beginners. Because hands are like “bling” I add them last. Once students become preoccupied with hands, many have difficulty noticing their weight shifts. Introducing hand movements too early seems to slow down many students.

All students will learn faster and their standing practice will improve dramatically if time is spent learning to move from the core in a seated position. Once seated weight shifts are familiar, students who are able to stand are ready to learn the weight shift in the standing position.

For students who have already learned the standing form, learning the seated practice is equally valuable. Isolating and performing parts of a learned movement requires an awareness of each part and an ability to break established patterns. Seated TCC is an advanced practice for those who have been doing standing TCC for a while.

Advanced students who have learned the standing practice may have more problems with seated TCC than beginners. Focusing on the torso movements can be disorienting initially; be prepared to have fun with it. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your students’ forms improve by adding seated TCC to the class instruction.

Elbows are another area that don’t get the attention and training they deserve. Once students get the seated weight shift down, it’s time to add in the elbows, which need training not to lift. Lifting elbows adds unneeded stress to the shoulders and upper back, and it becomes hard to learn effortless movement. The effects of lifting the elbows are much more noticeable to students when they are seated, so they may self-correct more quickly. In addition, because arm movements are smaller in seated practice, students find it easier to connect hand and elbow movements with the weight shift.

Now about those pesky hands… During my 2001 teacher training in Albuquerque, Justin pointed out a teacher candidate and loudly declared she was “just waving her hands about” and further stated “she was not doing TCC.” It’s worth stressing to students that it’s a unified, connected movement from the tan t’ien that makes what you are doing TCC – not what the hands are doing disconnected from the rest of the body.

The great thing about seated TCC is that you can introduce the hand movements in a tight relationship to the weight shift. “Let your hands ride out as you rock forward, let the momentum circle the hands as your weight shifts to the other side, and let your hands ride back as you rock back.” Tying the hand movements to the weight shift makes the hand movements naturally smaller without being cramped.

Last but not least… Doing a combination of seated and standing practice is good for students in many ways. Many students have chronic pain issues and the ability to sit or stand during class helps students notice when they should be changing positions to avoid pain. Student attention levels tend to be higher when there are changes from sitting to standing. The process of sitting and standing several times during class encourages physical and mental flexibility.

Adding a seated component to a TCC class is fun; I invite you to try it. Students pick up moving from the core very quickly when there are no other distracting body parts moving. Students’ arm movements tend to be smaller when learned seated, and as a consequence, their movements are softer. Because there is less to notice, students can concentrate more effectively. You may find that your class feels they have become more skillful at noticing what they are doing during TCC practice.

If you are already a cheerleader for seated TCC, isn’t it wonderful to love seated TCC as much as a standing practice?