wayne hansen wrote:I had a student years ago who trained with a famous Shaolin teacher
He had been taught arms and legs seperately
...
Separating the body parts is good but only as a means to an end
Not to the point it becomes habitual
I had an opposite problem. In high school, I was in a theater group and we tried learning juggling. I thought I was going be the best and learn fastest because I could coordinate my body very well. But I was the worst because I moved my waist and hips together with my arms, I couldn't separate my arms individually from each other or from my body. THAT is how much I was stuck in whole body coordination, I did it naturally and didn’t even realize I was doing it. This is also why I started to practice Bagua and Xingyi, to do something different and learn how to step out of my body method.
origami_itto wrote:What method have you had the best results with in teaching your students?
The method teaching my students that has worked best for me or for my students? In short term or long term?
I can't really see that there would be several different ways to teach students that could work. Tai Chi is based on whole body coordination. I incorporate it in all practice, drills, standing, applications, punching. I also teach arm swinging exercises, but that is also about driving the limbs from the feet and from the center of the body. Even "lifting" hands is done from the feet, incorporating the whole body to lift and move the arms.
Generally speaking though, what is always most important, IMO, is awareness. I have always taught my students from the beginning to feel their bodies and what they are doing by awareness. Every little weakness in posture or movement, every glitch, every little tension. This is the real key to skill in Tai Chi, IMHO.
Awareness,
Relaxation,
Sinking (sinking down the strength and keeping it there.)
Moving from the feet and the center
Zhong ding, understanding the centerline and use the waist like a wheel
Those are concepts that are important and always amongst the first things I have taught people.
... Emptiness... Yes, this is a very important concept of course. But I think you have to learn a lot and let everything become second nature before you can really dwell in this state.