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Hi my name is Bob Linde and I'm here today to teach you a little bit about the 24 Yang
Style Tai Chi. I have actually been practicing Tai Chi for about 13 years now. So probably
the single most important aspect of learning the Tai Chi set is what is called Tai Chi
stepping. What I always say is all the arms and all the interesting flowing movements
we do with the arms are important but really they are eye candy a lot of times. Remember
to always start with the foundation. So our foundation is our weight shifts and our stepping.
So let me just demonstrate a couple of the Tai Chi steps for you. The main one is what
is called the empty step and basically what we'll do is put your feet in together, move
your right foot to a 45 degree angle. We sink all of our weight into our right leg and bend
our knees slightly so that we can step out. Notice there is no weight here on my foot.
What I always like to talk about is with us here in Florida, we are feeling for sand spurs
or for other places in the world for broken glass. No weight is on that foot. I very slowly,
pour my weight over to this foot. Now my weight is evenly spaced about 60/40. My knee doesn't
go past my toe and my knees are bent slightly. I can rock back, pivot my foot, all my weight
is on my left foot now as I take another empty step. What I always encourage my students
to do is to go home and practice empty stepping across the living room floor. They can run
to answer the telephone just like this, knees bent, very slow, slowly shifting their weight.
So remember if you remember nothing else from your Tai Chi set, remember to do the empty
stepping and practice, build from your foundation and work your way up. Find a good Tai Chi
instructor in your area and enjoy playing Tai Chi.