Three Teachers on Bird Flaps Its Wings

Bird Flaps Its Wings & Jumping Rope

By Anita Vestal, Dundee, FL

I recently introduced Bird Flaps Its Wings to a new group. After practicing a week on her own, one student asked how to remember which way to orient her hands when starting the wrist circles. She liked this suggestion: imagine starting to jump rope with the open palms facing forward to cup around the end of the rope and circling the rope with forward movement. We’ll see if that image works for her, but she nodded as if it would.

Bird Flaps Its Wings & Knees

By Daniel Pienciak, Bradley Beach, NJ

In teaching Bird Flaps Its Wings, I ask the students to open the angle of their feet a bit wider than their usual stance for the rest position. I find that this allows the knees to open out to the sides easier and there is a sinking into the knees so that the heels lift.”

I tell them that the knees move apart as they bend, and as the knees separate out to the sides, the wrists/hands separate out to the sides as well. But the wrists stay low, and then open softly. As the knees come back together, the wrists/hands come back together with fingers pointed downward, and palms come back close together so that you can feel the polarity.

When the knees bend, the torso sinks, and the weight rolls forward into the balls of the feet, with the heels lightening. When the knees straighten, the torso rises and we rest upon flat feet once again.

I ask them to imagine balancing a small paper cup of water on top of their heads, so that they do not lean forward into the movement when the knees bend. I find that older people, especially, tend to do this.

Bird Flaps Its Wings & Six Points

By Linda Braga, Castro Valley, CA

T’ai Chi Chih uses bird-like gestures in Bird Flaps Its Wings, with an emphasis on soft, flowing movements that are centered and convey a sense of stillness.

The most basic and universal form of communication is gesture. The foundation of dance, pantomime, sign language, and ritual all depend on the meaning of movements of the body.

“The delicate yet strong gestures of birds

conveys more nuances of meaning than

1,000 well-chosen words.”

The purpose of Bird Flaps Its Wings, like all movements, is to circulate and balance the Chi:

by opening and stimulating the T’an T’ien region;

by softening the knees and allowing the heels to release from the ground;

by lowering the center of gravity;

by stimulating the Bubbling Spring point on the ball of the foot;

by softening the wrists;

by sensitizing the palms to the Chi;

by stimulating the Chi between the palms.

Key principles when teaching the movement include:

Show before telling.

Demonstrate first, only with movement so that the student’s visual, kinesthetic, and emotional sensory channels can pick up all the subtleties of the movement.

Teach (or verbalize) while students are moving.

Encourage students to move with feeling awareness, rather than thinking about a movement. Watch what students are doing so you know what points to emphasize in your teaching. Give positive feedback to the whole group.

Maintain good vertical posture, alignment, correct foot position, and balance.

Emphasize soft wrists and soft knees.

The flow of hands (out and back) mirror the movement of the legs bending and straightening.

Encourage students to explore this move.

Imagine sitting on a nest, like a bird. Lower yourself carefully. Feel it. Fan your feathers, making one slow circle with the wrist. Open and center yourself. Now rise slowly.

Locate the T’an T’ien region.

Have students place their palms on their lower belly, putting their thumbs in the navel, letting the fingers hang down. The diamond shape space made by the hands is the general location of the T’an T’ien, where Chi accumulates.