I’m now very intent on decluttering. My dumping activities continue. I’m now building inroads to allow an environment where less is really more. But less does not mean lazying around. Less does not mean being idle. It’s being more focused on doing the things that are more important to us. So I’m spending a longer time doing a few things. For example, I’m doing the longer version of Tai Chi as oppose to the shorter version.
Now, I know the title of this post may sound cheesy, but when discussing with a fellow Tai Ji buddy of mine, we ended up discussing why doing the longer version of the Tai Ji form is better than doing the shorter version. Here’s my interpretation:
1. Tradition
I have to say, based on my efficiency bias, I like short forms. I think that the old Tai Ji choreography has too many repetitions. If possible, I would like to remove all the repetitions, and have a set which only has a unique set of actions. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), my current teacher is a traditionalist. He likes the old and original long form. So I’m currently “stuck” with the long form.
2. Mental stamina
By doing the long form, it trains my concentration. It trains the ability to focus for long periods. It’s like the mental stamina required to run a marathon. Training such concentration is no trivial matter, as a lot of marathon runners would testify to. It’s probably the one thing that keeps them going, and the one tool that’ll help in your other daily activities.
3. Threshold training
I believe the real learning starts after a few movements in the form. Just like running. You don’t start burning until after 20 minutes of the workout, that’s when the real burn starts. Similarly, you don’t start getting the benefits of Tai Ji until you train pass a certain period. So, the long form will make sure you get pass that threshold (read here for more on threshold training).
I remember when doing the 24 Yang style competition form, my teacher then would ask all of us to repeat the form at least twice, which results in a long form. My current teacher asks us to repeat the long form at least twice… this is more than 6 times the 24 Yang style short form!
4. Compounding effect
Just like interest rates compounding, there is a compounding effect for training longer. To put it simply, doing it twice in a row is like doing it 3 times, doing it 3 times in a row is like doing it 6 times, and so on… (see 1 and 1 makes 3)
Longer is certainly the way to go, but only if you allow yourself to do it. It’s very tempting to just do the short form because of time commitments (see also my top 10 excuses for not training), which comes back to why focusing on less is more. Join me in my dumping project. You’ll have more time to enjoy the activities that you like most.
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[...] It’s not only your leg muscles get stronger, your muscle is being conditioned to sustain, to hold on that little bit longer. This discipline is necessary if you were to maintain a specific weight management programme, or working towards any set goal, e.g. maintain weight at 60 kg. (see more on why training longer is better here). [...]