Feel young and happy

[johnwang]

Compare the following 2 different drills, which one can give you better health?

1. 60 Taiji brush knee twist step.
2. 60 outside crescent kick over your head - you will develop single leg balance, leg flexibility.

IMO, 2 > 1. Everybody can do Taiji brush knee at age of 80. Not everybody can still do over head outside crescent kick during 80.

When I do

- Taiji, I feel old and sad.
- long fist, I feel young and happy.

Am I the only person on earth who feels this way? Your thought?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e3QoOQ ... e=youtu.be

[everything]

91 year old gymnast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKDrOWdxLQo

Supposedly 118 year old Taoist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRuansCVV3U

It would be great to do both. If I do just enough sports, I feel energized. If I overdo it, I feel old. If I do taiji as qigong, I also feel energized - edit: but without having used up much or too much energy as in the sports case. If I do yoga, I can feel energized, but having strained a bit to work deeper into the postures.

[origami_itto]

No exercise I've tried feels as good doing it and afterwards as Taijiquan.

[Trick]

If an 80 years old can do BNTS under the table style 60 times, would that be good ? When transition from one Bruch knee to another aren’t we then also challenge our body to keep the balance ?

[Trick]

BNTS=BKTS

[middleway]

I think there is strong evidence that Strength training should be a part of everyones routine over 65. Outside cresent kick will maintain hip flexibility and some strength, however it will not compete with maintaining muscle strength through targeted strength training. I would say that maybe combining the cresent kick training with a squat and lunge routine may provide a more complete benefit for longevity etc.

The study ran several tests over time, including consistent tests on grip strength and quadriceps strength.

Results showed that strength and mortality did not depend upon illness. Rather, illness plagued those who weren’t as strong as others in the same age group.

Both strength tests proved that the weaker you were in strength, the closer you were to mortality (Newman, etc. 2006).

Another study was done on 1,280 men and women who were age 55 and older. The purpose of this study was to see if muscle mass, leg strength and fat mass were associated with physical function (Bouchard, Heroux & Janssen, 2011).

They determined that leg strength was the most important factor when it came to physical function and mortality.

on the effects of strength training in older populations.

In summary, this is the first randomized controlled trial demonstrating clear effects of moderate physical activity to prevent progressive muscle weakness in older adults. In addition, the significant age-associated increase in muscle fat infiltration was prevented with increased physical activity. This effect of physical activity on fat within muscle was depot specific; similar effects were not observed in subcutaneous adipose tissue. These data are the first to indicate specific effects of physical activity to prevent both further losses of muscle strength and increases in muscle fat infiltration in older age.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2584841/

Importantly, after the researchers controlled for physical activity level, people who reported strength exercises appeared to see a greater mortality benefit than those who reported physical activity alone.

The study is strong evidence that strength training in older adults is beneficial beyond improving muscle strength and physical function, the researchers said.

https://news.psu.edu/story/405621/2016/04/20/research/strength-training-helps-older-adults-live-longer

[wiesiek]

so
long forms for young women,
no way around: pump the iron , Guys!

[ors]

Wang laoshi!

No need to choose. If you (not you personally, of course) train taiji correctly you should have to do leg streches, waist bends, leg raises and kicks every day as well. After you finished the basics, you can do whatever you want. Maybe 60 brush knee with step as well....

Örs

[Trick]

so
long forms for young women,
no way around: pump the iron , Guys!

Either pump it or cotton wrap it.

[Trick]

When I do Taijiquan I feel energized and rightly attuned to the point I do more Taijiquan, at that point it comes out in a more spirited and slightly vigorous way and it just feels naturally right. Hope I can keep this up till old age

[middleway]

Either pump it or cotton wrap it.

[roger hao]

Over at club Gym ( Lifetime Fitness ) I stretch then Liang Yi
I find Liang Yi more energizing
Then I blast a exhaustion lift and feel OK
I miss John's classes that include chiropractic slams to the deck.
Problem is Sunday morning
Long live John Wang - Ni Hao Bang!

[Doc Stier]

Maintaining a youthful body and vitality with advancing age, along with an overall sense of happiness and wellbeing, is generally the result of a positive mental and emotional state, not just the result of maintaining physical strength and health over time. Of primary affect psychologically for most people is their mental expectations of physical degeneration and probable health or disease issues based upon the medical history and health experience of their parents and grandparents. While these factors can definitely impact us when left to take their natural genetic course, they can also be neutralized and overcome either in part or in whole through informed changes regarding diet, exercise, and other lifestyle choices, imo.

[johnwang]

a positive mental and emotional state,

That's the main point. You want to put yourself into a happy mode. When you

- do Taiji brush knee, it reminds you when your teacher was 75.
- swing your leg over your head, it reminds you when you were 14.

Which memory will make you happier? Do you want to associate yourself with "old, sick, and weak", or do you want to associate yourself with "young, healthy, and strong"?

[Bao]

Seems like a good sum up Doc.

And I do agree with others, my Tai Chi makes me feel good and happy. For me personally, no other practice has the same effect or benefit. A good session has more or less the same feeling as having a good massage, the body and mind feels rejuvenated. You feel light, alive and all of the senses seem to have become sharpened. That heat and steam you build up from inside, and what it does, is something very hard to describe to non-practitioners.

IME, the practice of IMA arts teaches you to feel your body and helps you to become aware of what you need to feel good and healthy. I myself have no moral issues about health habits or about non-healthy habits. I started to smoke when I was young. I stopped because I didn't like how my body felt when I smoked. I seldom drink because I like being in control of what I do. I eat a lot of vegetables and almost no red meat. Again, it has nothing to do with moral stuff or what people say is healthy. I just do what my body tells me is the best for it. Most of the older Tai Chi, IMA and TCMA practitioners I know, maybe they don't train hard, but they move a lot, walk a lot and are very active with various things. Again, the practitioners seem to understand what is good for them, they act instinctively for their own best. This awareness developed with this kind of practice is probably the very best skill for living a long and healthy life.